The worship value of music in liturgy

This item was digitized by the Internet Archive. Thesis (M.A.)--Boston Universityhttps://archive.org/details/theworshipvalueo00dav

A two-decade analysis of the spatial and temporal variations in burned areas across Zimbabwe

Understanding wildfire dynamics in space and over time is critical for wildfire control and management. In this study, fire data from European Space Agency (ESA) MODIS fire product (ESA/CCI/FireCCI/5_1) with ≥ 70% confidence level was used to characterise spatial and temporal variation in fire frequency in Zimbabwe between 2001 and 2020. Results showed that burned area increased by 16% from 3,689 km2 in 2001 to 6,130 km2 in 2011 and decreased in subsequent years reaching its lowest in 2020 (1,161km2). Over, the 20-year period, an average of 40,086.56 km2 of land was burned annually across the country. In addition, results of the regression analysis based on Generalised Linear Model illustrated that soil moisture, wind speed and temperature significantly explained variation in burned area. Moreover, the four-year lagged annual rainfall was positively related with burned area suggesting that some parts in the country (southern and western) are characterised by limited herbaceous production thereby increasing the time required for the accumulation of sufficient fuel load. The study identified major fire hotspots in Zimbabwe through the integration of remotely sensed fire data within a spatially analytical framework. This can provide useful insights into fire evolution which can be used to guide wildfire control and management in fire prone ecosystems. Moreover, resource allocation for fire management and mitigation can be optimised through targeting areas most affected by wildfires especially during the dry season where wildfire activity is at its peak

Hox-logic of preadaptations for social insect symbiosis in rove beetles

How symbiotic lifestyles evolve from free-living ecologies is poorly understood. Novel traits mediating symbioses may stem from preadaptations: features of free-living ancestors that predispose taxa to engage in nascent interspecies relationships. In Metazoa's largest family, Staphylinidae (rove beetles), the body plan within the subfamily Aleocharinae is preadaptive for symbioses with social insects. Short elytra expose a pliable abdomen that bears targetable glands for host manipulation or chemical defense. The exposed abdomen has also been convergently refashioned into ant- and termite-mimicking shapes in multiple symbiotic lineages. Here we show how this preadaptive anatomy evolved via novel Hox gene functions that remodeled the ancestral coleopteran groundplan. Using the model staphylinid Dalotia coriaria, we abolished activities of the five thoracic and abdominal Hox genes. We show that elytral shortening is a staphylinid-specific property of the Hox-less appendage ground state, which is overridden in the metathorax by Ultrabithorax to promote hind wing expansion. In the exposed abdomen, we present evidence that defensive gland development stems from novel combinatorial outputs of the Abdominal-A and Abdominal-B Hox proteins: in the posterior compartment of tergite VI they specify a chemical gland reservoir, an imaginal disc-like invagination of ectodermal secretory cells; in the anterior compartment of tergite VII Abdominal-A and Abdominal-B specify clusters of classical duct-bearing glands. These distinct gland cell types collectively synthesize a blend of benzoquinone irritants, surfactant esters and alkane solvent, a defensive chemistry, which in symbiotic species has been augmented with specialized volatiles that potently manipulate ant behavior. These results reveal how Hox-controlled body axis modifications caused a convergent trend towards evolving symbiosis in the Metazoa

Spectral performance of a zero-order liquid-crystal polymer commercial q-plate for the generation of vector beams at different wavelengths

Liquid-crystal polymer q-plates are commercial devices for generating vector beams at the design wavelength where the device exhibits half-wave (HW) retardance. Since they are not voltage addressable, the operational wavelength remains fixed. In this work we perform a broadband spectral characterization of the q-plate retardance as a function of wavelength, /(k), and identify the wavelengths with retardance values relevant for vector beam generation (p, p/2, and 3p/2). The wavelength is then used as a tuning parameter to change the device performance from a HW q-plate to a positive-QW or a negative-QW q-plate. These performances are analyzed using the Jones matrix formalism. We present a simple procedure to derive the polarization distribution of the vector beams expected at these QW wavelengths, as a superposition of the input polarization state and the output state of a HW q-plate. Experimental results using the red and blue lines of an Ar-Kr laser and an IR laser diode of 980 nm confirm the theoretical predictions. We show that for input linearly polarized light of 980 nm and 488 nm the device generates hybrid vector beams (where the ellipticity varies with the azimuthal angle), while for 647 nm pure radial vector beams with constant ellipticity are obtained. These results could extend the use of commercial q-plates for multicolour vector beam applications

Hox-logic of body plan innovations for social symbiosis in rove beetles

How symbiotic lifestyles evolve from free-living ecologies is poorly understood. In Metazoa's largest family, Staphylinidae (rove beetles), numerous lineages have evolved obligate behavioral symbioses with ants or termites. Widespread convergence of this lifestyle is thought to stem from a novel, chemically defended body plan that enables free-living species to infiltrate colonies and undergo extreme evolutionary specialization. Here we show how this innovative body plan evolved, via new Hox functions in staphylinids that remodeled the coleopteran groundplan. Using a model staphylinid, Dalotia coriaria, we reveal the Hox basis for changes in thoracic appendage morphology that shortened the beetle elytron and left the abdomen physically unprotected, selecting for an abdominal defense gland that was likely key to unlocking ant and termite societies. We present evidence that the gland evolved through a novel, combinatorial role of the abdominal Hox proteins AbdA and AbdB. These proteins function together to specify distinct gland cell types in neighboring segmental compartments, each cell type synthesizing a different class of compound - irritant, ester and solvent. Only when secreted together do these compounds constitute a bioactive secretion, providing an example of emergent chemical functionality that arises from synergy between individual gland cell types. Hox-controlled specification of glandular diversity implies a modularity in compound biosynthesis that likely catalyzed the evolvability of rove beetle chemistry, including the capacity of symbiotic taxa to produce potent compounds for host deception. This study reveals how Hox-controlled body axis modifications predispose a major animal to convergently evolve into symbionts

Hox-logic of preadaptations for social insect symbiosis in rove beetles

How symbiotic lifestyles evolve from free-living ecologies is poorly understood. Novel traits mediating symbioses may stem from preadaptations: features of free-living ancestors that predispose taxa to engage in nascent interspecies relationships. In Metazoa's largest family, Staphylinidae (rove beetles), the body plan within the subfamily Aleocharinae is preadaptive for symbioses with social insects. Short elytra expose a pliable abdomen that bears targetable glands for host manipulation or chemical defense. The exposed abdomen has also been convergently refashioned into ant- and termite-mimicking shapes in multiple symbiotic lineages. Here we show how this preadaptive anatomy evolved via novel Hox gene functions that remodeled the ancestral coleopteran groundplan. Using the model staphylinid Dalotia coriaria, we abolished activities of the five thoracic and abdominal Hox genes. We show that elytral shortening is a staphylinid-specific property of the Hox-less appendage ground state, which is overridden in the metathorax by Ultrabithorax to promote hind wing expansion. In the exposed abdomen, we present evidence that defensive gland development stems from novel combinatorial outputs of the Abdominal-A and Abdominal-B Hox proteins: in the posterior compartment of tergite VI they specify a chemical gland reservoir, an imaginal disc-like invagination of ectodermal secretory cells; in the anterior compartment of tergite VII Abdominal-A and Abdominal-B specify clusters of classical duct-bearing glands. These distinct gland cell types collectively synthesize a blend of benzoquinone irritants, surfactant esters and alkane solvent, a defensive chemistry, which in symbiotic species has been augmented with specialized volatiles that potently manipulate ant behavior. These results reveal how Hox-controlled body axis modifications caused a convergent trend towards evolving symbiosis in the Metazoa

Association of HLA-DRB1-restricted CD4+ T cell responses with HIV immune control

The contribution of HLA class II-restricted CD4+ T cell responses to HIV immune control is poorly defined. Here, we delineated novel peptide-DRB1 restrictions in functional assays and analyzed the host genetic effects of HLA-DRB1 alleles on HIV viremia in a large cohort of HIV controllers and progressors (n=1085). We found distinct stratifications in the effect of HLA-DRB1 alleles on HIV viremia, with DRB1*15:02 significantly associated with low viremia (P=0.003, q=0.04) and DRB1*03:01 significantly associated with high viremia (P=0.004, q=0.04). Interestingly, a sub-group of HLA-DRB1 alleles linked with low viremia showed the ability to promiscuously present a larger breadth of peptides with lower functional avidity when compared to HLA-DRB1 alleles linked with high viremia (p=0.018). Our data provide systematic evidence that HLA-DRB1 allele expression significantly impacts the durable control of HIV replication, an effect that appears to be mediated primarily by the protein-specificity of HIV-specific CD4+ T cell responses to Gag and Nef

Molecular imaging of drug transit through the blood-brain barrier with MALDI mass spectrometry imaging

Drug transit through the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is essential for therapeutic responses in malignant glioma. Conventional methods for assessment of BBB penetrance require synthesis of isotopically labeled drug derivatives. Here, we report a new methodology using matrix assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI MSI) to visualize drug penetration in brain tissue without molecular labeling. In studies summarized here, we first validate heme as a simple and robust MALDI MSI marker for the lumen of blood vessels in the brain. We go on to provide three examples of how MALDI MSI can provide chemical and biological insights into BBB penetrance and metabolism of small molecule signal transduction inhibitors in the brain – insights that would be difficult or impossible to extract by use of radiolabeled compounds

The Lantern, 2018-2019

The Treasure Buried in Ponce de Leon\u27s Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park • High Cards on the Low River • Sestina of a Vagina left in the microwave too long • Keeps on Tripping • The Auction • Nuclear Meltdown on Seedship C5B.6 • Cock Fight • An Interview with God • Minimum Wage • Star-Crossed Lovers • Romeo Echo Alpha • PM Entertainment, or Action Beats • The Gospel of Aggregates • Hel Hath no Fury • Crossing the Line • Mango de la hora • Stress Judgment • Perception (Part 2) • Rain Falling Up • Church: the Italian Market • Landscape with the Fall of Hillary • Forced to Ponder • Morally Upright • Adulthood • Migration in Tandem • Hospital Bed • To Autumn (After Keats) • Selected Tweets • Hidden Moments • Mysteries are Wrong • Jukebox Memory • Flames • A Simple Moment • The Farmhouse • Lord, Let Me Catch a Fish • Sun-Kissed • Five • The Thing • The Moons of Mars • You are Weak • You Kept Me Quiet • Offer Her a Seat • Sacraments • Cigar • The Lake George Mafia • Houses • Spun Out • To Romanticize the Restless • 12/25/17 • skylight • lanternflies • Goo Girls • Toi Le • Lovers, Thinkers, Rebels • home in paradise • Irreverence • The Fisherman • St Mary Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh • Mirror 2https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/lantern/1187/thumbnail.jp