Fatale, Fragile, and Furiosa: Redefining Female Tropes for a New Generation of Feminism in Jeanne Shaffer\u27s Three Faces of Woman for Clarinet and Piano

Among the discipline of music, the representation of women in music professions and the artform itself reveals great disparities between gender identities. In spite of this, musician and composer Jeanne Shaffer approaches the ongoing fight for women’s representation and equity in music. Shaffer’s piece “Three Faces of Woman” for clarinet and piano (1995) depicts three delineations of femininity that women are reduced to. Influenced by cultural minimalization of women, Shaffer’s piece uses different compositional genres as vehicles to illustrate these ever-present stereotypes and the unyielding need to combat them. The first movement presents the trope of the Femme Fatale; the seductive woman who knows her way around the block, but often leads people to their demise. Shaffer’s use of dotted rhythms and subtle syncopation within the Blues genre create an aural landscape that envelopes the listeners in the entrancing persona. Femme Fragile, written as berceuse, captures the domestic female identity of women. While the characteristic aspects of a lullaby are present, a compound meter with a rocking-like pulse, Shaffer further implements the symbolism of the fragile and domestic woman with timbral effects and an uncommon meter of 7/8, conveying the complexities of the tumultuous role. The final movement, the Feministe Furieuse, signifies a new dawn on the fight for women’s rights. The scherzo form and the Femme Furiosa trope suggest it to be a fiery yet dismissive explosion of rage, but Shaffer’s specific implementation of twisting a traditionally comedic and lighthearted form, infused with thematic materials from the prior movements, creates a much more hopeful approach. The intentionality in the intertwining of all three themes in the final movement prove to be a pivotal artistic contribution in not only women’s activism but in diversifying the traditional western canon

Fatale, Fragile, and Furiosa: Redefining Female Tropes for a New Generation of Feminism in Jeanne Shaffer\u27s Three Faces of Woman for Clarinet and Piano

Among the discipline of music, the representation of women in music professions and the artform itself reveals great disparities between gender identities. In spite of this, musician and composer Jeanne Shaffer approaches the ongoing fight for women’s representation and equity in music. Shaffer’s piece “Three Faces of Woman” for clarinet and piano (1995) depicts three delineations of femininity that women are reduced to. Influenced by cultural minimalization of women, Shaffer’s piece uses different compositional genres as vehicles to illustrate these ever-present stereotypes and the unyielding need to combat them. The first movement presents the trope of the Femme Fatale; the seductive woman who knows her way around the block, but often leads people to their demise. Shaffer’s use of dotted rhythms and subtle syncopation within the Blues genre create an aural landscape that envelopes the listeners in the entrancing persona. Femme Fragile, written as berceuse, captures the domestic female identity of women. While the characteristic aspects of a lullaby are present, a compound meter with a rocking-like pulse, Shaffer further implements the symbolism of the fragile and domestic woman with timbral effects and an uncommon meter of 7/8, conveying the complexities of the tumultuous role. The final movement, the Feministe Furieuse, signifies a new dawn on the fight for women’s rights. The scherzo form and the Femme Furiosa trope suggest it to be a fiery yet dismissive explosion of rage, but Shaffer’s specific implementation of twisting a traditionally comedic and lighthearted form, infused with thematic materials from the prior movements, creates a much more hopeful approach. The intentionality in the intertwining of all three themes in the final movement prove to be a pivotal artistic contribution in not only women’s activism but in diversifying the traditional western canon

It\u27s Not TMI: Causes and Risks of Vaginal Discomfort

Many people with vaginas feel uncomfortable discussing vaginal discomfort with their health care providers. Not disclosing symptoms such as pain, itching, dyspareunia, etc can lead to long term complications such as PID and significantly impact quality of life. I designed a pamphlet to help normalize talking about one\u27s vagina to one\u27s health care provider. This pamphlet outlines common causes and risks of vaginitis.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1542/thumbnail.jp

Automated DNA Motif Discovery

Ensembl's human non-coding and protein coding genes are used to automatically find DNA pattern motifs. The Backus-Naur form (BNF) grammar for regular expressions (RE) is used by genetic programming to ensure the generated strings are legal. The evolved motif suggests the presence of Thymine followed by one or more Adenines etc. early in transcripts indicate a non-protein coding gene. Keywords: pseudogene, short and microRNAs, non-coding transcripts, systems biology, machine learning, Bioinformatics, motif, regular expression, strongly typed genetic programming, context-free grammar.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure

Influence of Gluteus Medius Strength on Interlimb Asymmetry in Female Recreational Runners.

PURPOSE: Running-related injuries are most often single-sided and are partially attributed to lower limb movement and loading asymmetries.1 Gluteus Medius (GM) plays a significant role in lower limb alignment, especially in the frontal and transverse planes by its influence on the pelvis and the femur.2 Female runners are more prone to GM weakness which has been proposed to be a risk factor for overuse injuries.3 These strength deficits contribute to abnormal lower limb kinematics and kinetics during dynamic tasks like running and jumping.4 These changes include an increase in peak hip adduction angle (HA), hip internal rotation angle (HI), knee abduction moment (KA) and rearfoot eversion angle (RE).4 Symmetry Angle (SA) is a commonly-used, robust measure of determining symmetry.1 No study has evaluated the role of unilateral GM strength on interlimb asymmetry for HA, HI, KA and RE during running. We hypothesized that female runners with stronger GM would demonstrate decreased interlimb asymmetry for HI, HA, KA and RE during running. METHODS: Thirty healthy female recreational runners (Age: 35.40±10.52 yrs, Height: 1.66±0.06 m, Weight: 61.61±7.31 kg) running at least 10 km per week participated in this study. Isometric GM strength was measured using a handheld dynamometer for the right lower limb and participants were divided into two groups of stronger and weaker. 3D gait analysis was conducted as participants ran on an instrumented treadmill at 2.98 m/s. Peak HA, HI, KA and RE were generated for the bilateral lower extremities and interlimb asymmetry using SA was calculated for all variables. A Shapiro-Wilk test for normality was conducted and it showed that all variables were not normally distributed. Wilcoxon Two-Sample Test was performed to look at differences between the two groups for HA, HI, KA and RE. RESULTS: Female runners with weaker GM demonstrated significantly increased asymmetry for HA (18.80±24.11 vs 12.20±24.11 %, p=0.02), HI (18.47±24.11 vs 12.53±24.11 %, p=0.03), and KA (18.33±24.11 vs 12.67±24.11 %, p=0.04). For RE, the weaker group had greater asymmetry (16.13±24.11 vs 14.87±24.11 %, p=0.35), but the relationship was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggested that runners with weaker GM on one side exhibited increased interlimb asymmetry during running for certain kinematic and kinetic variables. Future studies should determine how unilateral and bilateral strength deficits contribute to interlimb asymmetry and running biomechanics in healthy and injured runners.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1290/thumbnail.jp

Temperature–chemistry coupling in the evolution of gas giant atmospheres driven by stellar flares

The effect of enhanced UV irradiation associated with stellar flares on the atmospheric composition and temperature of gas giant exoplanets was investigated. This was done using a 1D radiative-convective-chemical model with self-consistent feedback between the temperature and the non-equilibrium chemistry. It was found that flare-driven changes to chemical composition and temperature give rise to prolonged trends in evolution across a broad range of pressure levels and species. Allowing feedback between chemistry and temperature plays an important role in establishing the quiescent structure of these atmospheres, and determines their evolution due to flares. It was found that cooler planets are more susceptible to flares than warmer ones, seeing larger changes in composition and temperature, and that temperature–chemistry feedback modifies their evolution. Long-term exposure to flares changes the transmission spectra of gas giant atmospheres; these changes differed when the temperature structure was allowed to evolve self-consistently with the chemistry. Changes in spectral features due to the effects of flares on these atmospheres can be associated with changes in composition. The effects of flares on the atmospheres of sufficiently cool planets will impact observations made with JWST. It is necessary to use self-consistent models of temperature and chemistry in order to accurately capture the effects of flares on features in the transmission spectra of cooler gas giants, but this depends heavily on the radiation environment of the planet

Understanding the transmission of monophasic Salmonella enterica 4,[5],12:i:- through alternate exposure methods in swine and demonstrating the importance of common biosecurity measures on swine farms

Master of ScienceDepartment of Animal Sciences and IndustryCassandra K. JonesValentina TrinettaSalmonella is a major foodborne pathogen in the United States, causing approximately 31% of foodborne illnesses in the United States. Swine are capable of replicating Salmonella serotypes without showing clinical signs of infection and can produce contaminated pork products. The first experiment surveilled swine finishing operations to determine the distribution of Salmonella within farms and their environments, 186 samples from five finishing farms were collected in the fall of 2020. 100 (53%) of the samples were culture positive for Salmonella and 14 (7.5%) were confirmed Salmonella by PCR. Of the PCR positive samples, 12/14 were from either feces or locations in contact with feces such as the pen floor, gate, and fence. Salmonella was rarely observed in locations not typically associated with feces such as the feeders and waterers. 13/14 PCR positive samples originated from a single farm. These results suggest that Salmonella prevalence on surfaces and in feces is impacted by the farm and its current group of pigs, disease challenges, and the environment. The second experiment focused on Salmonella enterica 4,[5],12:i:- which is an emerging serotype commonly linked to contaminated pork products with a high degree of antimicrobial resistance. Transmission of this serotype to weaned pigs was conducted via contaminated feed, water, and aerosolized particles. S. enterica 4,[5],12:i:- was intermittently shed in the feces, rectal and nasal swabs, and in the environment of all inoculated pigs. Furthermore, S. enterica 4,[5],12:i:- was observed in the respiratory, lymphatic, and digestive systems of the infected pigs. Contaminated fomites such as feed and water are capable of S. enterica 4,[5],12:i- transmission and can introduce this serotype into the pork supply chain. The final experiment focused on the importance of biosecurity to prevent pathogen entry. Glo Germ is a fluorescent powder which can be used to track contamination in a simulated situation without risking the health of the farm. Glo Germ was spread prior to common biosecurity measures on a swine operation. Before and after photographs were used to evaluate whether Glo Germ had spread into the area following the biosecurity measure. Common biosecurity protocols are able to limit the spread of Glo Germ throughout a swine operation. Implementing similar visual techniques can help demonstrate to employees the importance of biosecurity on swine farms

Concert recording 2022-04-30a

[Track 1]. Concert horn. I. Allegro / Reinhold Gilere -- [Track 2]. Three songs for horn and piano. I. Song for the lonely ; II. If you should go ; III. Bayou home / William Grant Still -- [Track 3]. Works for solo horn. I. Old song ; II. Vocalise ; III. Action / Povilas Syrrist-Gelota -- [Track 4]. Sonata for horn and piano. I. Allegro moderato ; II. Melodie ; III. Rondo / Gina Gillie -- [Track 5]. Danzon no. 1 for wind quintet / Derrick Rassinier

Concert recording 2022-04-30a

[Track 1]. Concert horn. I. Allegro / Reinhold Gilere -- [Track 2]. Three songs for horn and piano. I. Song for the lonely ; II. If you should go ; III. Bayou home / William Grant Still -- [Track 3]. Works for solo horn. I. Old song ; II. Vocalise ; III. Action / Povilas Syrrist-Gelota -- [Track 4]. Sonata for horn and piano. I. Allegro moderato ; II. Melodie ; III. Rondo / Gina Gillie -- [Track 5]. Danzon no. 1 for wind quintet / Derrick Rassinier

Septal Closure Device

The septal closure device was designed to seal defects in the atrial septum. To fully seal an atrial defect, the device was designed to consist of two circular seals to cover the defect in both the right and left atria, attached with a central rod. The materials were chosen for compressibility (for ease of insertion), biocompatibility, and tissue ingrowth. A CAD model was drafted in SolidWorks. Key customer requirements include ease of implantation (specifications: adjustable sizing and clear directions for use), physician controlled (specifications: short implantation time and compatibility with current catheter/scope techniques), and a long lifetime (specifications: materials that will not excessively degrade over time and material will become ingrown in endothelium). Key data that demonstrates functionality is plastic deformation not exceeding 1 mm after 2E9 cycles, no adverse reactions with the native tissue, and becoming ingrown with the native tissue