Mechanisms of selenomethionine developmental toxicity and the impacts of combined hypersaline conditions on Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes).

Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient that can cause embryotoxicty at levels 7-30 times above essential concentrations. Exposure to hypersaline conditions and 50 μM selenomethionine (SeMet) decreased embryo hatch and depleted glutathione in Japanese medaka embryos without affecting Se accumulation. To better understand the impacts of nonchemical stressors on developmental toxicity of Se in fish, several adverse outcome pathways were evaluated in the Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). We treated medaka embryos at 12 h post fertilization with 50 μM SeMet for 12 hours in freshwater or in 13 ppth hypersalinity and evaluated the contributions of oxidative stress, the unfolded protein response and apoptosis to reduced hatch. Exposure to SeMet and hypersalinity decreased embryo hatch to 3.7% ± 1.95, and induced teratogenesis in 100% ± 0 of hatched embryos. In contrast, treatments of freshwater, saltwater, and SeMet in freshwater resulted in 89.8% ± 3.91-86.7% ± 3.87 hatch, and no significant increase in deformities. We found no significant differences in lipid peroxidation, indicating that oxidative stress may not be responsible for the observed toxicity in embryos at this time point (24 h). Although significant changes in apoptosis were not observed, we witnessed up to 100 fold increases in transcripts of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperone, immunoglobulin binding protein (BiP) and trends toward increasing downstream signals, activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) and ATF6 indicating potential contributions of the unfolded protein response to the effects of SeMet and hypersaline conditions. These data indicate that multiple adverse outcome pathways may be responsible for the developmental toxicity of Se and salinity, and these pathways may be time dependent

The Effects of Different Diets and Transgenerational Stress on Acyrthosiphon pisum Development.

Despite the fact that sap-feeding hemipterans are major agricultural pests, little is known about the pea aphid's (Acyrthosiphon pisum) nymphal development, compared to other insect models. Given our limited understanding of A. pisum nymphal development and variability in the naming/timing of its developmental events between different environmental conditions and studies, here, we address developmental knowledge gaps by elucidating how diet impacts A. pisum nymphal development for the LSR1 strain when it develops on its universal host plant (Vicia faba), isolated leaves, and artificial diet. Moreover, we test how plant age and transgenerational stressors, such as overcrowding and low plant vigor, can affect nymphal development. We also validate a morphological method to quickly confirm the life stage of each nymphal instar within a mixed population. Overall, we found extremely high variation in the timing of developmental events and a significant delay in nymphal (~5-25-h/instar) and pre-reproductive adult (~40-h) development when reared on isolated leaves and artificial diets, compared to intact host plants. Also, delays in development were observed when reared on older host plants (~9-17-h/event, post 2nd instar) or when previous generations were exposed to overcrowding on host plants (~20-h delay in nymph laying) compared to controls

Religion and the Cell-Only Population

Compares the religious affiliations, church attendance, and religious salience of the cell phone-only, landline, and combined cell/landline samples, and explores the extent to which the differences are due to the relative youth of the cell-only group

Interrupting the Narrative: Reader Emapthy and Authorial Resistance in Gayl Jones’s \u3ci\u3eCorregidora\u3c/i\u3e and Brit Bennett’s \u3ci\u3eThe Vanishing Half\u3c/i\u3e

In recent years, there has been a conversation about whether or not narrative theory, and particularly narratology, are fields that are worth pursuing in the modern academy. With narrative theory’s intense focus on categories and binaries, it has fallen out of fashion as fields such as feminism and queer studies have begun to grow rapidly and expose the fluidity of these categories. Theorists such as Robyn Warhol and Susan Lanser have strived to find ways that narrative theory can co-exist and even enrich these newer fields of study while simultaneously learning from them. In this essay, I suggest that one of the ways narrative theory can continue to offer contributions to a variety of fields is through the study of narrative form as it relates to narrative empathy in both lyrical and legal subjects. Through close examinations of two novels written by Black women, Corregidora by Gayl Jones and The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennett, I hope to show that studying narratives in a formulaic way can still offer insights outside the rigid categories of traditional narratology and that these examinations can help bolster positive representation of marginalized groups in popular narratives

High-Speed Projects in the United States: Identifying the Elements for Success-Part 1, MTI Report 05-01

For almost half a century, high-speed ground transportation (HSGT) has held the promise of fast, convenient, and environmentally sound travel for distances between 40 and 600 miles. While a number of HSGT systems have been developed and deployed in Asia and Europe, none has come close to being implemented in the United States. Yet this is not for lack of trying. There have been several efforts around the country, most of which have failed, some of which are still in the early stages, and a few of which might come to pass. The goal of this study was to identify lessons learned for successfully developing and implementing high-speed rail (HSR) in the United States. Through a broad literature review, interviews, and three specific case studies—Florida, California, and the Pacific Northwest—this study articulates those lessons and presents themes for future consideration

Girl Time: A Space to Embody a Different Narrative A Review of Maisha T. Winn’s Girl Time: Literacy, Justice, and the School-to-Prison Pipeline

With a passionate commitment to her participants’ stories, Maisha T. Winn provides an opportunity for her readers to engage with the everyday experiences of student artists and their teachers whom she came to know in Girl Time, a theater program designed for girls incarcerated in juvenile detention centers and girls who had been formerly incarcerated. Based on interviews with the teaching artists, student artists, and participant observation, this three-year, multi-sited ethnographic work offers representational breadth and a chance to engage with the discourses of a small group of women committed to social justice and the girls they serve. Winn takes her readers into the workshops and performances in the detention centers, shares the reflections of Girl Time’s co-founders and teaching artists, and offers examples from the scripts the girls produced. Committed to the study and work of critical literacies, Winn celebrates the pedagogy of Girl Time, which is student-centered, and the possibility of critiquing monolithic stereotypes that position young girls of color. She argues that Girl Time provides a space for student artists to engender multiple narratives of experience through their creation of ensembles, plays, and performances, and through talking back. Represented evocatively in five acts, Winn provides compelling accounts of the work teaching artists and student artists completed together in a setting too often disregarded or ignored by educators and policy makers—juvenile detention centers

Is Twitter More Than Just Sharing What I Ate for Breakfast?

Twitter is a simple way to join an international conversation, to showcase your work to a new audience, and to meet new colleagues. Learn how this engaging and easy-to-use tool can bring your expertise to interested faculty, lawyers, students, journalists, and friends across the world. In this Brown Bag, Daniel Saunders (Faculty Scholarship Marketing Coordinator) and Allison Bernstein (Social Media Strategist and Manager) discussed how Twitter works, how other faculty and law schools use Twitter, and how to get started with your own account

Is Twitter More Than Just Sharing What I Ate for Breakfast?

Twitter is a simple way to join an international conversation, to showcase your work to a new audience, and to meet new colleagues. Learn how this engaging and easy-to-use tool can bring your expertise to interested faculty, lawyers, students, journalists, and friends across the world. In this Brown Bag, Daniel Saunders (Faculty Scholarship Marketing Coordinator) and Allison Bernstein (Social Media Strategist and Manager) discussed how Twitter works, how other faculty and law schools use Twitter, and how to get started with your own account