Uncommon Action: An Interdisciplinary Arts Performance on Ally Involvement

This instrumental and dance performance, titled “Uncommon Action: An Interdisciplinary Arts Performance on Ally Involvement”, was designed to raise awareness about bullying and becoming an active ally in the event of bullying. Sixteen student musicians and a team of production assistants were enlisted to produce this interdisciplinary program that was over a year and a half in the making. This production is a unique artistic effort where the classical musicians will also perform as dancers while playing, similar to what is seen in performances by marching bands, drum corps, Stomp, Barrage, Blue Man Group, etc. The musical piece, commissioned from Eric Maine (’12, B.M. in Music Education), tells the story of a student who suffers the effects of being bullied in school, and the ally who steps in. The story is based on a four-sectioned poem written by Rachel Dentinger. Each section then relates to the four movements of the symphonic music. This type of story music is called program music. Different instruments represented different “characters” in this original classical piece, with a single cello playing the role of the victim of bullying, and the alto saxophone as the ally, the leading roles. The upper strings and the brass represented the bullies and the woodwinds acted as bystanders. The first half of the performance featured a seated performance, with the performers in traditional concert dress. However, in the second half of the performance, the entire ensemble came alive with movement, lights, colorful costumes, and make-up. For the larger instruments, such as the cello, bassoon, and tuba, special harnesses were either purchased or engineered to make the dance possible. Rigging for the snare and bass drum were designed based on traditional marching band gear. Most notable for ingenuity and design was the cello mobility device: a cello stand with weighted wheels and casters to allow for the cellists participation in the choreography. The focus of this project is on becoming an active ally as an empowered bystander in the instance of bullying through the creative elements of music and dance. The performance premiered on February 3rd, 2013 at 2 PM and 4 PM at CNY Jazz Central in downtown Syracuse. The goal now for this performance is to turn it into touring educational programming that visits schools and community centers, to spread the anti-bullying message to students

Animal roles and traces in the history of medicine, c1880-1980

This paper argues for the need to create a more animal-centred history of medicine, in which animals are considered not simply as the backdrop for human history, but as medical subjects important in and of themselves. Drawing on the tools and approaches of animal and human–animal studies, it seeks to demonstrate, via four short historical vignettes, how investigations into the ways that animals shaped and were shaped by medicine enables us to reach new historical understandings of both animals and medicine, and of the relationships between them. This is achieved by turning away from the much-studied fields of experimental medicine and public health, to address four historically neglected contexts in which diseased animals played important roles: zoology/pathology, parasitology/epidemiology, ethology/ psychiatry, and wildlife/veterinary medicine. Focusing, in turn, on species that rarely feature in the history of medicine – big cats, tapeworms, marsupials and mustelids – which were studied, respectively, within the zoo, the psychiatric hospital, human–animal communities and the countryside, we reconstruct the histories of these animals using the traces that they left on the medical-historical record

Highly specific electronic signal transduction mediated by DNA/metal self-assembly.

Highly specific interactions between DNA could potentially be amplified if the DNA interactions were utilized to assemble large scale parts. Fluidic assembly of microsystem parts has the potential for rapid and accurate placement of otherwise difficult to handle pieces. Ideally, each part would have a different chemical interaction that allowed it to interact with the substrate only in specific areas. One easy way to obtain a multiple chemical permutations is to use synthetic DNA oligomers. Si parts were prepared using silicon-on-insulator technology microfabrication techniques. Several surface chemistry protocols were developed to react commercial oligonucleotides to the parts. However, no obvious assembly was achieved. It was thought that small defects on the surface did not allow the microparts to be in close enough proximity for DNA hybridization, and this was. in part, confirmed by interferometry. To assist in the hybridization, plastic, pliable parts were manufactured and a new chemistry was developed. However, assembly was still absent even with the application of force. It is presently thought that one of three mechanisms is preventing the assembly. The surfaces of the two solid substrates can not get in close enough proximity, the surface chemistry lacks sufficient density to keep the parts from separating, or DNA interactions in close proximity on solid substrates are forbidden. These possibilities are discussed in detail

Taming the beast: a revised classification of Cortinariaceae based on genomic data

© The Author(s) 2022. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.Abstract: Family Cortinariaceae currently includes only one genus, Cortinarius, which is the largest Agaricales genus, with thousands of species worldwide. The species are important ectomycorrhizal fungi and form associations with many vascular plant genera from tropicals to arctic regions. Genus Cortinarius contains a lot of morphological variation, and its complexity has led many taxonomists to specialize in particular on infrageneric groups. The previous attempts to divide Cortinarius have been shown to be unnatural and the phylogenetic studies done to date have not been able to resolve the higher-level classification of the group above section level. Genomic approaches have revolutionized our view on fungal relationships and provide a way to tackle difficult groups. We used both targeted capture sequencing and shallow whole genome sequencing to produce data and to perform phylogenomic analyses of 75 single-copy genes from 19 species. In addition, a wider 5-locus analysis of 245 species, from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, was also done. Based on our results, a classification of the family Cortinariaceae into ten genera—Cortinarius, Phlegmacium, Thaxterogaster, Calonarius, Aureonarius, Cystinarius, Volvanarius, Hygronarius, Mystinarius, and Austrocortinarius—is proposed. Seven genera, 10 subgenera, and four sections are described as new to science and five subgenera are introduced as new combinations in a new rank. In addition, 41 section names and 514 species names are combined in new genera and four lecto- and epitypes designated. The position of Stephanopus in suborder Agaricineae remains to be studied. Targeted capture sequencing is used for the first time in fungal taxonomy in Basidiomycetes. It provides a cost-efficient way to produce -omics data in species-rich groups. The -omics data was produced from fungarium specimens up to 21 years old, demonstrating the value of museum specimens in the study of the fungal tree of life. This study is the first family revision in Agaricales based on genomics data and hopefully many others will soon follow.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Computational analyses of ancient pathogen DNA from herbarium samples:Challenges and prospects

The application of DNA sequencing technology to the study of ancient DNA has enabled the reconstruction of past epidemics from genomes of historically important plant-associated microbes. Recently, the genome sequences of the potato late blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans were analyzed from 19th century herbarium specimens. These herbarium samples originated from infected potatoes collected during and after the Irish potato famine. Herbaria have therefore great potential to help elucidate past epidemics of crops, date the emergence of pathogens, and inform about past pathogen population dynamics. DNA preservation in herbarium samples was unexpectedly good, raising the possibility of a whole new research area in plant and microbial genomics. However, the recovered DNA can be extremely fragmented resulting in specific challenges in reconstructing genome sequences. Here we review some of the challenges in computational analyses of ancient DNA from herbarium samples. We also applied the recently developed linkage method to haplotype reconstruction of diploid or polyploid genomes from fragmented ancient DNA

Deciding the future. Do dual-earner couples plan together for retirement

This study examines the retirement planfulness of men and women in dual-earner couples using data from the Ecology of Careers Study and structural equation modeling. It assesses whether each spouse plans independently, whether this is a gendered division of labor, whether both spouses' plans mutually influence each other, or whether decision making about retirement is an individual process for each member of a couple. The authors find that spouses' levels of retirement planfulness are positively related but in different ways depending on gender, cohort, and family circumstances. Perceived control (mastery), income adequacy, and workload all predict both husbands' and wives' planfulness. And husbands' planfulness tends to shape their wives' planfulness in the full sample. However, age cohort and family stage both moderate dual-earner couples' decision making about retirement. Younger couples (those in the trailing edge baby boom cohort) make plans independently, and in this younger cohort, only wives' planfulness can be modeled

Reclassification of Parapterulicium Corner (Pterulaceae, Agaricales), contributions to Lachnocladiaceae and Peniophoraceae (Russulales) and introduction of Baltazaria gen. nov.

The genus Parapterulicium was first introduced to accommodate two Brazilian species of coralloid fungi with affinities to Pterulaceae (Agaricales). Despite the coralloid habit and the presence of skeletal hyphae, other features, notably the presence of gloeocystidia, dichophyses and papillate hyphal ends, differentiate this genus from Pterulaceae sensu stricto. Fieldwork in Brazil resulted in the rediscovery of two coralloid fungi identifiable as Parapterulicium, the first verified collections of this genus since Corner's original work in the 1950s. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of nrITS and nrLSU sequences from these modern specimens revealed affinities with the /peniophorales clade in the Russulales, rather than Pterulaceae. The presence of distinctive hyphal elements, homologous to the defining features of /peniophorales, is consistent with the phylogenetic evidence and thus clearly distinguished Parapterulicium and its type species P. subarbusculum from Pterulaceae, placing this genus within /peniophorales. Parapterulicium was also found to be polyphyletic so Baltazaria gen. nov. is proposed to accommodate P. octopodites, Scytinostroma galactinum, S. neogalactinum and S. eurasiaticogalactinum also within /peniophorales

From healthy cows to healthy humans: Integrated approaches to world hunger, c. 1930-1965

This chapter is concerned with diseased and under-nourished dairy cattle, and how they came to be perceived simultaneously as threats to agriculture and as contributors to world hunger and malnutrition. Moving from inter-war Britain and its empire, to the post-war international stage, it explores how developments in nutritional science and veterinary medicine combined with economic depression, war-time food shortages, and the aftermath of war, drew attention to the undernourished, unhealthy bodies of both cows and humans, and suggested connections between them. Enrolled by the United Nations and its agencies in their campaign against hunger in the developing world, cows inspired the formation of new health structures that aimed to tackle their unproductive bodies. Within them, experts in human health, veterinary medicine and agricultural science came together to survey the situation, and plan interventions that would create new bovine bodies and new experts capable of supporting their provision of health and nutrition to humans

FLASHFOAM : a triboluminescent polymer foam for mechanical sensing.

The formulation and processing of a brittle polyurethane foam containing triboluminescent powder additives is described. Two powder additives, known to exhibit triboluminescence, were individually examined: triethylammonium tetrakis (dibenzoylmethanato) europate [NEt3H][Eu(DBM)4] and ordinary table sugar (sucrose, C12H22O11). In each instance, the powders were mixed into the polyol component of the foam. When combined with the isocyanate component, the resulting foams had these powders incorporated into their cellular structure so as to induce a triboluminescent response upon crushing during impact testing. The triboluminescent response of foam specimens containing each of these powder additives was characterized by measuring: the time rate of change in the optical output (measured as Watts), the peak optical output, the total integrated output (Watt-seconds), during the impact event. Foams containing the europate compound were found to yield several orders of magnitude higher output when compared to the sugar-containing foam. Strain rate and concentration of the powder (in the foam) were important variables with respect to optical output. Both the peak and total triboluminescent output increased with increasing powder concentration. Peak output was also found to increase with increasing strain rate. However, the total output was found to be roughly constant for a given concentration regardless of strain rate (over the strain rate range: 20 sec-1< e& < 150 sec-1). At very low strain rates, no triboluminescent response was measured