Die Karriere des Bergriffes "Generation 9/11" im Spiegel ausgewählter US-amerikanischer Printmedien und des bedeutendsten US-amerikanischen online 9/11-Archivs

Die zur Einreichung gelangende Dissertation geht der Frage nach, welche `Karriere´ der Begriff „Generation 9/11“ und das damit verbundene Gedankenmodell, das hinter einer solchen Generation steht, in US-amerikanischen Printmedien sowie einem US-amerikanischen online 9/11-Archiv seit den Anschlägen am 11. September 2001 bis heute gemacht hat. Zu Beginn wird ein Überblick über die verschiedenen wissenschaftlichen Aspekte und Zugänge zur Generationenforschung gegeben und die Bedeutung einer kommunikationswissenschaftlichen Auseinandersetzung mit dem Thema herausgearbeitet. Im empirischen Teil werden sechs amerikanische Printmedien (New York Times, USA Today, Time Magazine, Newsweek, Cosmopolitan und People Magazine) sowie das online Archiv www.911digitalarchive.org zunächst quantitativ nach dem Vorkommen des Begriffes „Generation 9/11“ untersucht. Im Anschluss an die statistische Auswertung der gewonnenen Daten mittels der Statistiksoftware SPSS erfolgt eine qualitative Inhaltsanalyse der zentralen Inhalte, die einer beschriebenen „Generation 9/11“ zugrunde liegen. Die Dissertation zeigt, dass der Begriff „Generation 9/11“ bereits sehr früh in der (print-)medialen Darstellung aufkommt und zu den Jahrestagen der Anschläge eine bemerkenswerte Konjunktur erlebt. Ähnlich verhält es sich mit der Karriere des Begriffes „Generation 9/11“ im digitalen online Archiv: Auch hier erfolgt die Etikettierung einer „Generation 9/11“ bereits sehr bald nach den Anschlägen und auch in Bezug auf die Nennung des Begriffes „Generation 9/11“ zu den Jahrestagen ist eine besondere Zunahme zu beobachten. Die qualitative Inhaltsanalyse hat ergeben, dass der Begriff der „Generation 9/11“ vor allem für jene Menschen, die zum Zeitpunkt der Anschläge zwischen 15 und 27 Jahren alt waren, als Generationenbeschreibung verwendet wird. Es wird sowohl in der printmedialen Darstellung als auch im online Archiv häufig darauf Bezug genommen, dass die „Generation 9/11“ vor allem auch ein Identitätsangebot für eine Jugend ist, die bis zu den Anschlägen vom 11. September 2001 ohne eine Aufgabe zu leben schien, ohne politische Werte, ohne kriegerische Auseinandersetzungen auf eigenem Boden erlebt zu haben.The main aim of this dissertation is to find out what “career“ the term “generation 9/11“ has made in US print media as well as in an US online 9/11-archive since the attacks on September 11th, 2001. One of the further main research questions is the disclosure of how the term “generation 9/11“ is understood in both print media and the public forum. First of all, an overview of the different scientific aspects and approaches to generation research is presented and the importance of communication science in this discussion is made clear. In the empirical part, six American print media (The New York Times, USA Today, Time Magazine, Newsweek, Cosmopolitan and People Magazine) as well as the online archive www.911digitalarchive.org are initially analyzed quantitatively regarding the occurence of the term “generation 9/11“. After the statistical analysis of the collected data by means of the statistics software SPSS, a qualitative content analysis of the essential issues regarding a described “generation 9/11“ is carried out. This dissertation shows that the term “generation 9/11“ appears already very early in the print media and its use shows remarkable peaks on and around 9/11-aniversaries. The term “generation 9/11“ has made a very similar career in the digital online archive: Here, too, the labelling of a “generation 9/11“ occurs very soon after the attacks and regarding the mentioning of the term „generation 9/11“, peaks are to be observed around the anniversaries. The qualitative content analysis shows that the term “generation 9/11“ is mainly used as a generation label for those people, who were between 15 and 27 years old at the time of the attacks. Both in the print media and the online archive it is very often mentioned that the “generation 9/11“ is especially an offer of self-identification for a youth, that seemed to live without a task in life, without political values, without having experienced any kind of war acts on home ground

Transcriptional and Chemical Changes in Soybean Leaves in Response to Long-Term Aphid Colonization

Soybean aphids (Aphis glycines Matsumura) are specialized insects that feed on soybean (Glycine max) phloem sap. Transcriptome analyses have shown that resistant soybean plants mount a fast response that limits aphid feeding and population growth. Conversely, defense responses in susceptible plants are slower and it is hypothesized that aphids block effective defenses in the compatible interaction. Unlike other pests, aphids can colonize plants for long periods of time; yet the effect on the plant transcriptome after long-term aphid feeding has not been analyzed for any plant–aphid interaction. We analyzed the susceptible and resistant (Rag1) transcriptome response to aphid feeding in soybean plants colonized by aphids (biotype 1) for 21 days. We found a reduced resistant response and a low level of aphid growth on Rag1 plants, while susceptible plants showed a strong response consistent with pattern-triggered immunity. GO-term analyses identified chitin regulation as one of the most overrepresented classes of genes, suggesting that chitin could be one of the hemipteran-associated molecular pattern that triggers this defense response. Transcriptome analyses also indicated the phenylpropanoid pathway, specifically isoflavonoid biosynthesis, was induced in susceptible plants in response to long-term aphid feeding. Metabolite analyses corroborated this finding. Aphid-treated susceptible plants accumulated daidzein, formononetin, and genistein, although glyceollins were present at low levels in these plants. Choice experiments indicated that daidzein may have a deterrent effect on aphid feeding. Mass spectrometry imaging showed these isoflavones accumulate likely in the mesophyll cells or epidermis and are absent from the vasculature, suggesting that isoflavones are part of a non-phloem defense response that can reduce aphid feeding. While it is likely that aphid can initially block defense responses in compatible interactions, it appears that susceptible soybean plants can eventually mount an effective defense in response to long-term soybean aphid colonization

Genome scan detection of selective sweeps among biotypes of the soybean aphid, Aphis glycines, with differing virulence to resistance to A. glycines (Rag) traits in soybean, Glycine max

Multiple biotypes of soybean aphid, Aphis glycines, occur in North America adapted for survival (virulence) on soybean, Glycine max, with one or more different resistance to A. glycines (Rag) traits. The degree of genome-wide variance between biotypes and the basis of virulence remains unknown, but the latter is hypothesized to involve secreted effector proteins. Between 167,249 and 217,750 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were predicted from whole genome re-sequencing of A. glycines avirulent biotype 1 (B1) and virulent B2, B3 and B4 colony-derived iso-female lines when compared to the draft B1 genome assembly, Ag_bt1_v6.0. Differences in nucleotide diversity indices (π) estimated within 1000 bp sliding windows demonstrated that 226 of 353 (64.0%) regions most differentiated between B1 and ≥ 2 virulent biotypes, representing \u3c 0.1% of the 308 Mb assembled genome size, are located on 15 unordered scaffolds. Furthermore, these 226 intervals were coincident and show a significant association with 326 of 508 SNPs with significant locus-by-locus FST estimates between biotype populations (r = 0.6271; F1,70 = 45.36, P \u3c 0.001) and genes showing evidence of directions selection (πN/πS \u3e 2.0; r = 0.6233; F1,70 = 50.20, P \u3c 0.001). A putative secreted effector glycoprotein is encoded in proximity to genome intervals of low estimated π (putative selective sweep) within avirulent B1 compared to all three virulent biotypes. Additionally, SNPs are clustered in or in proximity to genes putatively involved in intracellular protein cargo transport and the regulation of secretion. Results of this study indicate that factors on a small number of scaffolds of the A. glycines genome may contribute to variance in virulence towards Rag traits in G. max

Transcriptional and Chemical Changes in Soybean Leaves in Response to Long-Term Aphid Colonization

Soybean aphids (Aphis glycines Matsumura) are specialized insects that feed on soybean (Glycine max) phloem sap. Transcriptome analyses have shown that resistant soybean plants mount a fast response that limits aphid feeding and population growth. Conversely, defense responses in susceptible plants are slower and it is hypothesized that aphids block effective defenses in the compatible interaction. Unlike other pests, aphids can colonize plants for long periods of time; yet the effect on the plant transcriptome after long-term aphid feeding has not been analyzed for any plant–aphid interaction. We analyzed the susceptible and resistant (Rag1) transcriptome response to aphid feeding in soybean plants colonized by aphids (biotype 1) for 21 days. We found a reduced resistant response and a low level of aphid growth on Rag1 plants, while susceptible plants showed a strong response consistent with pattern-triggered immunity. GO-term analyses identified chitin regulation as one of the most overrepresented classes of genes, suggesting that chitin could be one of the hemipteran-associated molecular pattern that triggers this defense response. Transcriptome analyses also indicated the phenylpropanoid pathway, specifically isoflavonoid biosynthesis, was induced in susceptible plants in response to long-term aphid feeding. Metabolite analyses corroborated this finding. Aphid-treated susceptible plants accumulated daidzein, formononetin, and genistein, although glyceollins were present at low levels in these plants. Choice experiments indicated that daidzein may have a deterrent effect on aphid feeding. Mass spectrometry imaging showed these isoflavones accumulate likely in the mesophyll cells or epidermis and are absent from the vasculature, suggesting that isoflavones are part of a non-phloem defense response that can reduce aphid feeding. While it is likely that aphid can initially block defense responses in compatible interactions, it appears that susceptible soybean plants can eventually mount an effective defense in response to long-term soybean aphid colonization

Expanding the diversity of mycobacteriophages: insights into genome architecture and evolution.

Mycobacteriophages are viruses that infect mycobacterial hosts such as Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. All mycobacteriophages characterized to date are dsDNA tailed phages, and have either siphoviral or myoviral morphotypes. However, their genetic diversity is considerable, and although sixty-two genomes have been sequenced and comparatively analyzed, these likely represent only a small portion of the diversity of the mycobacteriophage population at large. Here we report the isolation, sequencing and comparative genomic analysis of 18 new mycobacteriophages isolated from geographically distinct locations within the United States. Although no clear correlation between location and genome type can be discerned, these genomes expand our knowledge of mycobacteriophage diversity and enhance our understanding of the roles of mobile elements in viral evolution. Expansion of the number of mycobacteriophages grouped within Cluster A provides insights into the basis of immune specificity in these temperate phages, and we also describe a novel example of apparent immunity theft. The isolation and genomic analysis of bacteriophages by freshman college students provides an example of an authentic research experience for novice scientists

Development Of A Compact Optical Rapid Diagnostic Test Reader And A Point-Of-Care Fluorescence Lateral Flow Assay For Dengue Detection

As the prevalence of febrile illnesses continues to increase, there is a growing need for reliable, low-cost means of diagnosing these diseases. To address this, a highly sensitive point-of-care fluorescence lateral flow immunoassay is being developed to diagnose dengue in its earliest stages. Through use of different fluorescent labels, multiplexed test strips will eventually be created to test for several diseases simultaneously. To quantify the resulting signals produced by the assay, a corresponding optical reader was designed, built, and tested in accordance with design thinking principles. The effectiveness of the design was verified through usability testing. The reader works in conjunction with software run on any internet-enabled device to take an image of a test strip and analyze the signal levels by comparing them to predetermined calibration curves. Through use of the fluorescence lateral flow immunoassay and corresponding optical reader, users in resource-limited settings can diagnose dengue rapidly and accurately

Investigation of soybean susceptibility to soybean aphids and how aphids affect plant-mediated pest interactions

The soybean aphid (Aphis glycines) is an important insect pest of soybean (Glycine max). Previously, jasmonic acid (JA) was shown to elicit effective plant defense responses against soybean aphids. However, aphids were able to attenuate wound- or JA-induced responses in infested leaves in the compatible interaction and the mechanism of suppression remained uncharacterized. We hypothesized that aphids induce a decoy pathway to suppress plant defense responses and showed that aphids exploit the abscisic acid (ABA) pathway to suppress JA-mediated signaling. Both endogenous and exogenous ABA suppressed the wound-induced JA response. Furthermore, aphid populations were significantly reduced in the absence of a functional ABA biosynthetic (aba2 RNAi) or signaling (scof-1 RNAi) pathway and attenuation of JA responses by aphids was abolished in these mutants. Suppression of defenses by aphids could result in susceptibility toward other pests infesting the plant. Previously, soybean aphid feeding was shown to facilitate the performance of other soybean aphid biotypes or soybean cyst nematodes (Heterodera glycines) on uninfected systemic leaves or roots of soybean, respectively. Therefore, it is critical to understand the impact of soybean aphids on a whole-plant level, including the plant-mediated response triggered on uninfested plant tissues. We quantified aphid-induced transcriptome changes in locally infested leaves and systemic roots during an early (12 hours) and late (7 days) aphid infestation. Our results suggest that leaves and roots have distinct responses to foliar soybean aphid feeding and the plant response is highly variable across time. Aphids caused delayed onset of defenses and a growth-defense tradeoff in locally infested leaves. Most interestingly, foliar feeding by soybean aphids triggered the transient repression of widespread defense responses in roots. This report provides the first genetic evidence of aphid counter-defense mechanisms in soybean and begins to unravel the systemic plant response to soybean aphids. Aphids use host ABA signaling to suppress plant defense responses in locally infested tissues but this does not seem to be the case in the transient suppression of root defense transcripts. Thus, suppression of defenses in uninfected tissues caused by soybean aphids likely occurs via different mechanisms.</p