"Their object is to strengthen the Moslem and repress the Christian": Henry Jessup and the Presbyterian Mission to Syria under Abdul Hamid II

Henry Jessup and the American Presbyterian Mission to Syria faced a new challenge in 1885 when the Ottoman authorities closed various American schools there. Jessup, the Secretary of the American mission, responded with a rhetorical campaign against the Ottoman impositions that portrayed the policies of Abdul Hamid II's administration as new, pro-Muslim, anti-Christian, and designed to replace American missionary institutions in Syria with Muslim institutions backed by Ottoman force. While some of Jessup's writing while in Syria from 1856 to 1910 was polemical, his writing surrounding the school controversy in the 1880s rather reflected the historical context of local and foreign educational competition in Syria that now included Ottoman initiatives against foreign institutions who presented a threat to Ottoman-Islamic imperial discipline. This thesis seeks to contextualize Jessup's writing to portray 1885 as a watershed in the history of a mission whose evangelistic efforts were then successfully limited by Ottoman reforms

Phenotypic and genetic differentiation between native and introduced plant populations

Plant invasions often involve rapid evolutionary change. Founder effects, hybridization, and adaptation to novel environments cause genetic differentiation between native and introduced populations and may contribute to the success of invaders. An influential idea in this context has been the Evolution of Increased Competitive Ability (EICA) hypothesis. It proposes that after enemy release plants rapidly evolve to be less defended but more competitive, thereby increasing plant vigour in introduced populations. To detect evolutionary change in invaders, comparative studies of native versus introduced populations are needed. Here, we review the current empirical evidence from: (1) comparisons of phenotypic variation in natural populations; (2) comparisons of molecular variation with neutral genetic markers; (3) comparisons of quantitative genetic variation in a common environment; and (4) comparisons of phenotypic plasticity across different environments. Field data suggest that increased vigour and reduced herbivory are common in introduced plant populations. In molecular studies, the genetic diversity of introduced populations was not consistently different from that of native populations. Multiple introductions of invasive plants appear to be the rule rather than the exception. In tests of the EICA hypothesis in a common environment, several found increased growth or decreased resistance in introduced populations. However, few provided a full test of the EICA hypothesis by addressing growth and defence in the same species. Overall, there is reasonable empirical evidence to suggest that genetic differentiation through rapid evolutionary change is important in plant invasions. We discuss conceptual and methodological issues associated with cross-continental comparisons and make recommendations for future research. When testing for EICA, greater emphasis should be put on competitive ability and plant tolerance. Moreover, it is important to address evolutionary change in characteristics other than defence and growth that could play a role in plant invasion

#15 - Assessing the presence of Wolbachia in the mosquito populations of Northeast Georgia, USA

Wolbachia, a Gram-negative bacterium that infects mosquitoes along with other arthropods, can suppress the spread of microfilaria through reducing the populations of mosquitoes that carry the heartworms. Historically, research has been conducted to use in the prevention of infections from parasites or viruses like Zika or yellow fever. It is important to understand ways of preventing the various infections from occurring not only by host prevention but through vector prevention or suppression. In the summer of 2018, a total of thirty-five adult female mosquitoes were collected in Oakwood, Georgia at the University of North Georgia in two locations between May 29, 2018 through August 10, 2018 to evaluate for microfilaria and Wolbachia. Following evaluation for microfilaria, DNA extraction from each mosquito was completed for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing to test for Wolbachia presence and absence. Data analysis is being continued at this time. Determining the presence of Wolbachia in our adult female samples could help us better determine ways to control mosquito populations to slow or halt the spread of ultimately fatal diseases, parasites, and viruses that are transmitted through adult female mosquitoes. Research conducted through PCR could lead to larger scale research projects sampling mosquitoes for this high-impact bacterium in the future

A low stellar obliquity for WASP-47, a compact multiplanet system with a hot Jupiter and an ultra-short period planet

We have detected the Rossiter-Mclaughlin effect during a transit of WASP-47b, the only known hot Jupiter with close planetary companions. By combining our spectroscopic observations with Kepler photometry, we show that the projected stellar obliquity is $\lambda = 0^\circ \pm 24^\circ$. We can firmly exclude a retrograde orbit for WASP-47b, and rule out strongly misaligned prograde orbits. Low obliquities have also been found for most of the other compact multiplanet systems that have been investigated. The Kepler-56 system, with two close-in gas giants transiting their subgiant host star with an obliquity of at least 45$^\circ$, remains the only clear counterexample.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, Accepted for publication on ApJL, comments welcom

Concert recording 2014-04-18

[Track 01]. Piano sonata no. 5 in C minor, op. 10, no. 1. I. Allegro molto e con brio ; [Track 02]. II. Adagio molto / Ludwig van Beethoven -- [Track 03]. Nocturne in D-flat major, op. 27, no. 2 / Frederic Francois Chopin -- [Track 04]. Rhapsody in blue / George Gershwin -- [Track 05]. Happy from Despicable me 2 / Pharrell Williams -- [Track 06]. Let it go from Frozen / Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez -- [Track 07]. Spain / Chick Corea

Anthropogenic controls on overwash deposition: Evidence and consequences

Accelerated sea level rise and the potential for an increase in frequency of the most intense hurricanes due to climate change threaten the vitality and habitability of barrier islands by lowering their relative elevation and altering frequency of overwash. High-density development may further increase island vulnerability by restricting delivery of overwash to the subaerial island. We analyzed pre-Hurricane Sandy and post-Hurricane Sandy (2012) lidar surveys of the New Jersey coast to assess human influence on barrier overwash, comparing natural environments to two developed environments (commercial and residential) using shore-perpendicular topographic profiles. The volumes of overwash delivered to residential and commercial environments are reduced by 40% and 90%, respectively, of that delivered to natural environments. We use this analysis and an exploratory barrier island evolution model to assess long-term impacts of anthropogenic structures. Simulations suggest that natural barrier islands may persist under a range of likely future sea level rise scenarios (7-13mm/yr), whereas developed barrier islands will have a long-term tendency toward drowning