Objects of affection

The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on September 2, 2008)Thesis (M.F.A) University of Missouri-Columbia 2008.I have always been fascinated by the mystery in old things and the relationships that we form with the inanimate. Many people project emotional and psychological importance onto personal possessions. They are a source of reminiscence, help us cope with mortality, and inspire us to care for them. My work simultaneously represents the beauty and ugliness that is an inherent part of life. Influenced by personal collections and idealized childhood memories, my paintings and sculptures are at once sweet and disturbing. I deal with concerns specific to the human condition, which is an emotional struggle of love and loss, nostalgia and sadness, and hope and tragedy. Full of contradiction, the work represents a bittersweet longing. I find old things both alluring and sad, so I seek to create a world that embraces comforting, romantic notions of nostalgia while at the same time exposes loss of innocence and childhood security. This work encourages us to conjure the memories and feelings that we associate with our own objects of affection. As a result, we are inspired to look within our emotional selves and reflect on what brings magic into our lives. In so doing, we can reclaim the awe and compassion for the world that we forget with age. When we step back from our fast-paced lives to appreciate what is simple, we can rekindle suppressed memories and feelings through the power of objects.Includes bibliographical references

Cooperative Tumor Suppression by ARF and p53

Cancer is a complex genetic disease characterized by the inactivation of tumor suppressor genes and enhanced activity of oncogenes leading to deregulated cellular proliferation. Two tumor suppressor genes, p53 and Arf, play important roles in protecting cells against numerous biological stresses. In response to oncogenic signals, increased ARF expression leads to the activation of p53, which in turn leads to the cessation of cell division or induction of an apoptotic response. Interestingly, p53 coordinates repression of Arf transcription, setting up a negative feedback loop with currently unknown physiological significance. Cells that lack p53 express elevated levels of ARF, but it has been generally accepted that these levels serve no tumor suppressor function. This view has been challenged recently as numerous groups have demonstrated ARF can inhibit both cell growth and proliferation independently of p53. Additionally, co-inactivation of p53 and Arf is frequently observed in human cancers, suggesting they do not function in a strictly linear genetic pathway. The objective of my dissertation was to examine the biological functions of ARF in the absence of p53. I specifically wanted to understand why p53-deficient cells express elevated levels of ARF, and whether these increased levels are able to suppress tumorigenesis. By addressing these questions, I hoped to provide a mechanistic explanation for the selective advantage cancer cells gain by inactivating both p53 and Arf, and ultimately uncover novel therapeutic approaches that could be used to treat patients whose tumors exhibit these specific genetic abnormalities. My dissertation work utilized an in vitro system to study the role of ARF in cells lacking p53. I hypothesized that acute loss of p53 would lead to an upregulation of ARF which would exert a currently undefined tumor suppressor function. Indeed, I have demonstrated that loss of p53 leads to an induction of ARF, which is able to potently suppress tumorigenesis. Depletion of ARF in this genetic setting lead to the activation of a type I interferon response driven by interferon-beta and the STAT1 transcription factor. I further demonstrated that ARF and p53 cooperate to suppress the interferon response, and when both proteins are inactivated, interferon signaling can drive tumor cell proliferation. Additionally, I have shown that breast cancer cell lines lacking ARF and p53 are sensitive to STAT1 depletion, indicating targeted disruption of this signaling pathway can inhibit cancer cell growth. Finally, I identified a subtype of breast cancer, defined as ER-/PR-/HER2-, that exhibits activation of the interferon signaling pathway in the absence of p53 and ARF function. This work has solidified ARF\u27s role as a p53-independent tumor suppressor, and provides insight into the selective advantage cancer cells gain by co-inactivating these two tumor suppressor genes. As we enter an era of personalized cancer therapy, a detailed understanding of cancer cell vulnerabilities is imperative. The data presented in this dissertation has identified a subset of patients that would benefit from targeted inhibition of IFN-β signaling. Equally as important, I have identified a novel oncogenic signaling pathway that could be promoting tumor growth in numerous other cancer types

FIX - The fear index. Measuring market fear.

In this paper, we propose a new fear index based on (equity) option surfaces of an index and its components. The quanti¯cation of the fear level will be solely based on option price data. The index takes into account market risk via the VIX volatility barometer, liquidity risk via the concept of implied liquidity, and systemic risk and herd-behavior via the concept of comonotonicity. It thus allows us to measure an overall level of fear (excluding credit risk) in the market as well as to identify precisely the individual importance of the distinct risk components (market, liquidity or systemic risk). As a side result we also derive an upperbound for the VIX.

The Impacts of Sprawl on Biodiversity: the Ant Fauna of the Lower Florida Keys

Sprawling development can affect species composition by increasing the rate of invasion by non-native species, and decreasing the persistence of native species. This paper briefly reviews the scientific literature on the impacts of sprawl on biological diversity, with specific emphasis on the influence of sprawl on non-native species richness. We then explore the relationship between sprawl and biodiversity using a data set of ant species collected from 46 habitat patches located in the increasingly suburbanized Florida Keys, USA. We quantified sprawl as the proximity of roads and amount of development surrounding a habitat patch. Using bait transects, we identified 24 native and 18 non-native species of ants. Neither the overall number of native species nor the number of rare native species were significantly affected by the amount of development or proximity to roads, however, the number of non-native species was significantly correlated with the amount of development. Surprisingly, the number of native species and rare native species was significantly positively correlated with the number of non-native species. Areas that supported many species of native ants also supported a diverse non-native ant fauna, and the species distribution was highly nested. Currently, the native ant fauna of the Florida Keys does not appear to be dramatically influenced by sprawl, however, if development increases, the number of non-native ants may increase, and many of these species have been documented as decreasing native ant diversity. If development plateaus, there is evidence that the native ant fauna could persist and could decrease non-native species richness through competition or predation

The Impacts of Sprawl on Biodiversity: the Ant Fauna of the Lower Florida Keys

Sprawling development can affect species composition by increasing the rate of invasion by non-native species, and decreasing the persistence of native species. This paper briefly reviews the scientific literature on the impacts of sprawl on biological diversity, with specific emphasis on the influence of sprawl on non-native species richness. We then explore the relationship between sprawl and biodiversity using a data set of ant species collected from 46 habitat patches located in the increasingly suburbanized Florida Keys, USA. We quantified sprawl as the proximity of roads and amount of development surrounding a habitat patch. Using bait transects, we identified 24 native and 18 non-native species of ants. Neither the overall number of native species nor the number of rare native species were significantly affected by the amount of development or proximity to roads, however, the number of non-native species was significantly correlated with the amount of development. Surprisingly, the number of native species and rare native species was significantly positively correlated with the number of non-native species. Areas that supported many species of native ants also supported a diverse non-native ant fauna, and the species distribution was highly nested. Currently, the native ant fauna of the Florida Keys does not appear to be dramatically influenced by sprawl, however, if development increases, the number of non-native ants may increase, and many of these species have been documented as decreasing native ant diversity. If development plateaus, there is evidence that the native ant fauna could persist and could decrease non-native species richness through competition or predation

Influence of the proximity and amount of human development and roads on the occurrence of the red imported fire ant in the lower Florida Keys

We examined the influence of both the proximity and extent of human developments and paved roads on the presence of the predatory, non-indigenous, red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta). This species was inadvertently introduced into the United States at the port of Mobile, Alabama, around 1930 and rapidly spread to many southeastern states, including Florida. More recently, S. invicta colonized the Florida Keys, an area with a high proportion of rare and endemic vertebrate and invertebrate species. We placed bait transects in transitional salt-marsh, pineland, and hardwood hammocks on 13 of the lower Florida Keys and compared habitat type, the shortest distance of the bait transect to a development or road, and area of development and roads 50, 70, 100, and 150 m around each bait transect for areas with and without red imported fire ants. Red imported fire ants were detected on 21 of the 80 transects and were equally abundant in all habitat types. While all of the development and road variables differed significantly between bait transects with and without red imported fire ants, transects that were closest to roads and that had the largest amount of development within a 150 m radii had the highest probability of presence of red imported fire ants. Recovery efforts for endangered species in areas invaded by red imported fire ants should include analyses of the cumulative impacts of roads and developments in areas near protected lands

Behavior of tumors under nonstationary theraphy

We present a model for the interaction dynamics of lymphocytes-tumor cells population. This model reproduces all known states for the tumor. Futherly,we develop it taking into account periodical immunotheraphy treatment with cytokines alone. A detailed analysis for the evolution of tumor cells as a function of frecuency and theraphy burden applied for the periodical treatment is carried out. Certain threshold values for the frecuency and applied doses are derived from this analysis. So it seems possible to control and reduce the growth of the tumor. Also, constant values for cytokines doses seems to be a succesful treatment.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure