Legacies of War: Reflections on Culture and Conflict in Contemporary South-East Asia

2013 essay contest winner Elizabeth Turner\u27s Legacies of War: Reflections on Culture and Conflict in Contemporary South-East Asi

Linfield College: Study Abroad in Japan

This letter from returnee Elizabeth Turner explains the value of studying abroad in Japan

Biophysical Studies of SNARE Protein- Membrane Interactions

SNARE (Soluble NSF (N-ethylmaleimide Sensitive Fusion) Attachment Protein Receptors) proteins have been linked to the membrane fusion mechanism since 1993 as fusion proteins and have been suggested to be the minimal machinery. The complexity of the fusion process means that many questions remain unanswered as to how SNARE proteins perform their role. The most favoured model (the stalk model) does not involve proteins directly and so the influence of the SNARE proteins on lipid properties is of interest. In this thesis, work is presented which investigates how these proteins may manipulate membrane properties in order to promote fusion. Purified proteins solutions of His6-VAMP2 (Vesicle Associated Membrane Protein 2), His6-SNAP-25 (Synaptosomal-associated Protein 25) and a truncated form of Syntaxin 1A (His6-ΔN-Syx 1A, w.t aa 181-288) were obtained following bacterial over-expression. Fluorescent versions of His6-VAMP2 and His6-ΔN-Syx 1A were produced by the addition of cysteine residues to the C-terminus followed by labelling using Alexa Fluor® 488-C5-maleimide and Alexa Fluor® 555-C2-maleimide respectively. These fluorescent proteins were used to establish that the purified protein inserted into model lipid bilayers. The effect of SNARE protein incorporation on the relaxed curvature of bilayers was explored by examining giant unilamellar vesicles grown using electroformation. Bilayers containing either 1:300 His6-VAMP2: DOPC or 1:1:600 His6-SNAP-25: His6-ΔN-Syx 1A: DOPC were smaller than pure DOPC vesicles, indicating that SNARE proteins increase the relaxed curvature of the bilayer. Analysis of these vesicles by micropipette aspiration suggested that VAMP2 lowered the bending rigidity of the membrane and a reduction in the area expansion modulus relative to the pure lipid bilayer was found. The t-SNARE sample also indicated a reduction in bending rigidity but the area expansion modulus was found to increase. These latter results are thought to be due to the formation of protein aggregates. Lipid mixing assays were conducted to investigate how changes in the properties of liposome bilayers affected fusion rates. It was found that the addition of DOPE to DOPC bilayers increased the rate of hemifusion and this was also found for cholesterol addition, suggesting both components are fusogens. The rate of hemifusion rose continually upon DOPE addition but reached a plateau in the cholesterol study shortly after 10 mol%. Despite this, the fusion rates for the cholesterol study were generally higher than the same mol% DOPE added. The changes in fusion rates observed have been explained by considering the impact of the additives on the free energy and stored curvature elastic stress of membranes as well as the change in the energy of formation of intermediate structures. From the findings of this thesis it is proposed that the SNARE proteins are able to soften the membranes in which they reside. This allows the membrane to be deformed with less energy input. The strength of the SNARE complex and the force applied to the membranes during its formation increases membrane tension and reduces inter-membrane separation; promoting hemfusion. Following the action potential of the neuron it is proposed that a conformational change occurs in the synaptic SNARE complex, pulling on the hemifusion diaphragm and inducing the formation of a fusion pore

Criminology and Criminal Justice: Differences in Programs at the Master's Level

Our aim in this work is to: (1) determine how distinct the program structure and curriculum content for graduate education in Criminology was compared to Criminal Justice; and (2) evaluate whether the diversity or consistency of the curriculum in either field varied depending of what type of department was offering the degree. Differences in department titles, hours required for the M.A. degree, program descriptions, curriculum content and curriculum content by department type between M.A. programs in Criminology and Criminal Justice were examined. The results suggested there is both consistency and difference in program structure and in curriculum content across the two fields of study.Criminology, Criminal Justice, Curriculum, Program Development

“I Am Alive in Here”: Liveness, Mediation and the Staged Real of David Blaine’s Body

This article explores how mediation has impacted the meanings of David Blaine’s endurance feats Above the Below (2003) and Dive of Death (2008), using both traces of the live events found through academic and journalistic commentary, and the films made that document these performances. Using this evidence, both performances suffered from an ambivalent reception that suggested they failed to entertain on the level of high or popular culture. Mediatization plays a recuperative role in understanding Blaine’s body as a container of his power and as invulnerable, retroactively interpreting the live events so that he emerges from his ordeals triumphantly as a coherent, heroic subject. Above the Below engaged a discourse of individual transcendence that valorized the extraordinary power of Blaine’s body, while the recording of Dive of Death attempted a recovery of a stunt that was largely considered to have failed. Both these works therefore engage the potential of mediation to retrospectively interpret performance, offering a ‘version’ of the performance that can be consumed and circulated on its own terms

Mathematical models of gonorrhoea and chlamydia: Biology, behaviour and interactions

Gonorrhoea and chlamydia are curable, bacterial, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) of humans, with important long term consequences for health. Their epidemiology and biology are reviewed in chapter one. The way the biology of the organisms and the behaviour of human hosts interact to influence the patterns of infection and the potential impact of interventions is the subject of the main body of the thesis. Mathematical models are presented, together with empirical data, to gain a better understanding of the epidemiology of gonorrhoea and chlamydia. New approaches are applied, using more complex measures of disease occurrence including reinfection (subsequent infection by the same organism) or coinfection (infection with both organisms simultaneously). Coinfection with gonorrhoea and chlamydia is investigated in chapter two. The third chapter investigates the importance of heterogeneity in human behaviour (i.e. level of sexual activity, mixing patterns within and between populations) on the spread of disease in subpopulations, using a model incorporating race, gender and sexual activity level. This was parameterised and validated using data collected in South East London. In chapter four, models of reinfection are used to investigate the interaction of population level parameters such as degree of assortative mixing and rates of reinfection. In chapter five, the characteristics of individuals coinfected with both organisms are shown to provide additional information useful in determining how infection is distributed across a population. The biology of the organism is demonstrated, in the fifth chapter, to play an important role in the prevalence and incidence of disease within the host population. The impact of the emergence of resistant or asymptomatic phenotypes under selective pressure by different treatment regimens is quantified using a two strain model, including asymptomatic and symptomatic infections. The final chapter considers the contribution of the research and discusses the implications of the results for STI intervention strategies