Letters to Mother: A One-Act Play

Few graduate students in English elect to write a creative thesis to complete their degrees, their tendency perhaps to believe that a thesis based on research seems a more scholarly endeavor. I do not think one could successfully argue the superiority of one type over the other, simply because the two are quite different. While a research thesis can require the reading and analysis of another author\u27s work, a creative thesis requires the writing, reading, and analysis of one\u27s own work. For that reason, the main body of this thesis consists of an introductory essay in addition to the creative component, a one-act play entitled Letters to Mother. The introductory essay details the creative and writing processes that Letters to Mother underwent before reaching its completion. The focus of the play--childhood adoption--arose from my personal experience as an adopted child, and the plot that developed--a young woman who wants to search for her biological mother--stemmed from my own thoughts on that issue. Once the actual drafting of the play began, I discovered that my original plans for staging the play in all black and in an entire format of letters contained flaws because the resulting script\u27s draft posed within itself no substantial conflict. Subsequently, I turned to several playwriting sources, studies on adoptive reunions, and other scripts to see what I could do to improve my own script, and I also explored writings concerning mother-daughter relations to aid my revision process. The final play then offers a less abstract idea of place with more visual and aural contributions, the personalities of the characters have become more developed, and the letters between the characters now intermingle with dialogue. As for the play itself, it contains three female characters: a DAUGHTER, in her late twenties; her adoptive MOTHER, in her early fifties; and her biological mother, MOTHER 2, in her late forties. The set requires only three large black cubes placed in the shape of a triangle, and a black bench and table placed at the center of the triangle for scenes in which the characters directly interact. When Letters to Mother opens, the DAUGHTER vocally writes a letter to her MOTHER that reveals several aspects of her life, such as what she does for a living and how she feels about marriage. The DAUGHTER first brings up the idea of searching for her birth mother in this letter. Her MOTHER in turn responds with a letter, and then the two share a scene where we learn they have a close relationship. However, we also learn that the DAUGHTER\u27s possible search for her birth mother causes tension between her and her adoptive mother. Through a series of letters between the DAUGHTER and MOTHER, this tension becomes readily apparent, culminating in a face-to-face argument where the DAUGHTER learns that her MOTHER has kept some information about her birth mother to herself since the DAUGHTER was very young. As a result, their relationship experiences a potentially permanent rift, and the DAUGHTER decides to go ahead and search for her biological mother. When she does make initial contact with MOTHER 2, the DAUGHTER finds that MOTHER 2 does not want to correspond. After some coaxing, the two exchange letters for a time, and when the DAUGHTER expresses interest in meeting, MOTHER 2 feels neither one of them is ready. Even so, the DAUGHTER shows up unexpectedly at MOTHER 2\u27s office, and when the two later have a chance to talk, MOTHER 2 learns that her DAUGHTER and the adoptive MOTHER had a falling out over the search. As a result, she believes it best if she and her DAUGHTER sever their relations in order to preserve the other mother-daughter relationship. Later, the DAUGHTER finally talks with her MOTHER after several months of silence, and their relationship, while not completely healed, shows a glimpse of restoration. Even though the final Letters to Mother script is different from the play I first envisioned, through it I achieved my personal goals and wrote a play that for me captures the quintessence of being an adopted child. The next step for me will be to see that it is shared with others

THE ROLE OF COMPLEMENT C3 AS A TRIGGER FOR HUMAN MACROPHAGE DEATH DURING INFECTION WITH FRANCISELLA TULARENSIS STRAIN SCHU S4

Francisella tularensis, a Tier 1 Select Agent, is a highly infectious Gram-negative bacterium that causes the potentially deadly disease tularemia. Macrophages are considered a primary target of F. tularensis and serve as a replicative niche for the pathogen. F. tularensis escapes the phagosome to replicate in the host cell cytosol. Macrophage death is commonly observed following F. tularensis infections. The mechanism and significance of macrophage death in tularemia is not well understood, though the cause has been commonly attributed to the high bacterial burdens obtained following cytosolic replication. Research presented here indicates that extensive cytosolic replication of F. tularensis subsp. tularensis strain SCHU S4 in human monocyte-derived macrophages is neither necessary nor sufficient to induce macrophage death. Serum opsonization of F. tularensis results in iC3b deposition on the bacterial surface, which greatly enhances uptake by macrophages. Macrophage death was observed following uptake of F. tularensis in the presence of human serum, but not in the presence of C3-depleted serum, even when the multiplicities of infection were adjusted to ensure equal uptake under both conditions. This revealed that C3 plays an important role in macrophage death following infection with serum-opsonized F. tularensis. Single-cell analysis revealed that high bacterial burdens were not required for the induction of macrophage death. Infection with the mutant SCHU S4 ΔpurMCD, which can escape the phagosome but is deficient in cytosolic replication, resulted in macrophage death in a C3-dependent fashion like wild-type SCHU S4, supporting the conclusion that replication to high cytosolic burdens is not required for the induction of macrophage death. Infection with the mutant SCHU S4 ΔfevR, which cannot escape the phagosome but was taken up by macrophages at similar levels to wild-type bacteria in a C3-dependent manner, did not induce macrophage death. This revealed that engagement of complement receptors on the macrophage surface by uptake of iC3b-opsonized F. tularensis did not yield a sufficient signal to trigger macrophage death. One interpretation of these findings is that phagosome escape, but not extensive cytosolic replication of C3-opsonized F. tularensis is required for the induction of macrophage death. The existence of a cytosolic C3 sensor which leads to NF-B activation has been proposed by the same laboratory that identified TRIM 21 as a cytosolic antibody receptor. Here a hypothetical model is proposed in which C3 fragments enter the cytosol following phagosome escape of serum-opsonized F. tularensis, and that the response to cytosolic C3 in F. tularensis-infected macrophages is diverted to a cell death pathway resulting in host macrophage death

Monitoring the kinetics of the pH driven transition of the anthrax toxin prepore to the pore by biolayer interferometry and surface plasmon resonance

Domain 2 of the anthrax protective antigen (PA) prepore heptamer unfolds and refolds during endosome acidification to generate an extended 100 Å beta barrel pore that inserts into the endosomal membrane. The PA pore facilitates the pH dependent unfolding and translocation of bound toxin enzymic components, lethal factor (LF) and/or edema factor (EF), from the endosome into the cytoplasm. We constructed immobilized complexes of the prepore with the PA-binding domain of LF (LFN) to monitor the real-time prepore to pore kinetic transition using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and bio-layer interferometry (BLI). The kinetics of this transition increased as the solution pH was decreased from pH 7.5 to pH 5.0, mirroring acidification of the endosome. Once transitioned, the LFN-PA pore complex was removed from the BLI biosensor tip and deposited onto EM grids, where the PA pore formation was confirmed by negative stain electron microscopy. When the soluble receptor domain (ANTRX2/CMG2) binds the immobilized PA prepore, the transition to the pore state was observed only after the pH was lowered to early or late endosomal pH conditions (5.5 to 5.0 respectively). Once the pore formed, the soluble receptor readily dissociated from the PA pore. Separate binding experiments with immobilized PA pores and soluble receptor indicate that the receptor has a weakened propensity to bind to the transitioned pore. This immobilized anthrax toxin platform can be used to identify or validate potential antimicrobial lead compounds capable of regulating and/or inhibiting anthrax toxin complex formation or pore transitions

Neuronal control of maternal provisioning in response to social cues

Mothers contribute cytoplasmic components to their progeny in a process called maternal provisioning. Provisioning is influenced by the parental environment, but the molecular pathways that transmit environmental cues between generations are not well understood. Here, we show that, in; Caenorhabditis elegans; , social cues modulate maternal provisioning to regulate gene silencing in offspring. Intergenerational signal transmission depends on a pheromone-sensing neuron and neuronal FMRFamide (Phe-Met-Arg-Phe)-like peptides. Parental FMRFamide-like peptide signaling dampens oxidative stress resistance and promotes the deposition of mRNAs for translational components in progeny, which, in turn, reduces gene silencing. This study identifies a previously unknown pathway for intergenerational communication that links neuronal responses to maternal provisioning. We suggest that loss of social cues in the parental environment represents an adverse environment that stimulates stress responses across generations

Chemistry of layered d-metal pnictide oxides and their potential as candidates for new superconductors

Layered d-metal pnictide oxides are a unique class of compounds which consists of characteristic d-metal pnictide layers and metal oxide layers. More than 100 of these layered compounds, including the recently discovered Fe-based superconducting pnictide oxides, can be classified into 9 structure types. These structure types and the chemical and physical properties of the characteristic d-metal pnictide layers and metal oxide layers of the layered d-metal pnictide oxides are reviewed and discussed. Furthermore, possible approaches to design new superconductors based on these layered d-metal pnictide oxides are proposed.Comment: 29 pages including 6 tables and 2 figure

Public–private partnership in higher education provision in Tanzania: implications for access to and quality of education

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From rehabilitation to recovery: protocol for a randomised controlled trial evaluating a goal-based intervention to reduce depression and facilitate participation post-stroke

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is much discourse in healthcare about the importance of client-centred rehabilitation, however in the realm of community-based therapy post-stroke there has been little investigation into the efficacy of goal-directed practice that reflects patients' valued activities. In addition, the effect of active involvement of carers in such a rehabilitation process and their subsequent contribution to functional and emotional recovery post-stroke is unclear. In community based rehabilitation, interventions based on patients' perceived needs may be more likely to alter such outcomes. In this paper, we describe the methodology of a randomised controlled trial of an integrated approach to facilitating patient goal achievement in the first year post-stroke. The effectiveness of this intervention in reducing the severity of post-stroke depression, improving participation status and health-related quality of life is examined. The impact on carers is also examined.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>Patients (and their primary carers, if available) are randomly allocated to an intervention or control arm of the study. The intervention is multimodal and aims to screen for adverse stroke sequelae and address ways to enhance participation in patient-valued activities. Intervention methods include: telephone contacts, written information provision, home visitation, and contact with treating health professionals, with further relevant health service referrals as required. The control involves treatment as usual, as determined by inpatient and community rehabilitation treating teams. Formal blinded assessments are conducted at discharge from inpatient rehabilitation, and at six and twelve months post-stroke. The primary outcome is depression. Secondary outcome measures include participation and activity status, health-related quality of life, and self-efficacy.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The results of this trial will assist with the development of a model for community-based rehabilitation management for stroke patients and their carers, with emphasis on goal-directed practice to enhance home and community participation status. Facilitation of participation in valued activities may be effective in reducing the incidence or severity of post-stroke depression, as well as enhancing the individual's perception of their health-related quality of life. The engagement of carers in the rehabilitation process will enable review of the influence of the broader social context on recovery.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register (ANZCTR): <a href="http://www.anzctr.org.au/ACTRN12608000042347.aspx">ACTRN12608000042347</a></p

The Influence of Life History Milestones and Association Networks on Crop-Raiding Behavior in Male African Elephants

Factors that influence learning and the spread of behavior in wild animal populations are important for understanding species responses to changing environments and for species conservation. In populations of wildlife species that come into conflict with humans by raiding cultivated crops, simple models of exposure of individual animals to crops do not entirely explain the prevalence of crop raiding behavior. We investigated the influence of life history milestones using age and association patterns on the probability of being a crop raider among wild free ranging male African elephants; we focused on males because female elephants are not known to raid crops in our study population. We examined several features of an elephant association network; network density, community structure and association based on age similarity since they are known to influence the spread of behaviors in a population. We found that older males were more likely to be raiders than younger males, that males were more likely to be raiders when their closest associates were also raiders, and that males were more likely to be raiders when their second closest associates were raiders older than them. The male association network had sparse associations, a tendency for individuals similar in age and raiding status to associate, and a strong community structure. However, raiders were randomly distributed between communities. These features of the elephant association network may limit the spread of raiding behavior and likely determine the prevalence of raiding behavior in elephant populations. Our results suggest that social learning has a major influence on the acquisition of raiding behavior in younger males whereas life history factors are important drivers of raiding behavior in older males. Further, both life-history and network patterns may influence the acquisition and spread of complex behaviors in animal populations and provide insight on managing human-wildlife conflict