Free to Play/Pay to Win: Consuming Competition through Online Gaming in the Neoliberal Age

This project examines online gaming in the context of decades of deregulation and privatization. In the piece, I examine American culture’s infatuation with the value of competition through a historical and hegemonic scope. Throughout the piece, I make connections between online gaming and the illusion that the populace must compete for unnecessarily scarce resources. The goal of this project is to illustrate how micro-transactions in online gaming is not beneficial for the consumer, but rather coercive reinforcements of the spontaneous philosophy of competition prevalent in the Neoliberal age

Using Greek in Rome: Learning from Pliny the Polyglot

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/classics_lectures/1030/thumbnail.jp

Ghost Whispers: Physical Memory and the Self in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

In Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex director Kenji Kamiyama tells the story of Motoko Kusanagi, a young woman who has inhabited a prosthetic body from the age of six. Through her life and the lives of her team, Kamiyama presents how items of sentimental value can become the embodiment of memories. These items can help preserve self-identity in the face of existential doubt in the truthfulness of memory and the unknown body. In the two seasons of Stand Alone Complex, Kamiyama challenges Motoko by raising up two figures to serve as mirrors for her own life and choices and presents to the viewer the decisions that Motoko faces and why she chooses to reject them. In a franchise like Ghost in the Shell where the prosthetic cyborg interface easily becomes the focus, Kamiyama instead presents the humanity of Motoko Kusanagi and what she does to maintain herself despite the challenges she faces

Post-Secondary Success In Relation To Transition Programs

The general topic of this qualitative case study was post-secondary success in relation to transition programs, which was assessed by looking at evidence-based practices, employability frameworks, and guidepost to success. The findings from this research can identify current gaps about this topic by analyzing previous research, looking at existing theories, or by identifying practices that are not effective. Research in this area suggests there is still a way to go despite tremendous focus on providing more opportunities for individuals with disabilities to gain employment in areas of interest. Previous studies about this topic are limited because there is not a substantial body of literature about the efficacy of transition model. Furthermore, each school district may or may not institute the model the same way. Studies exploring the efficacy of the transition model would assess how the program is being implemented (i.e., what evidence-based practices, employability frameworks, and guidepost to success are being implemented with fidelity). Comprehending employability includes considering the many aspects and various ways in which it is assessed and evaluated, the basic applicable skills, and the competencies required for employment opportunities. It is important to look at employability through multiple lenses and thoroughly assess the study. It is not sufficient to consider only whether someone has a job. It is also important to look at a person’s happiness related to their job and place of employment, success in their job, opportunity for growth in their industry, whether they want their specific job, and opportunities for developing relationships with co-workers

Dual Targeting of the Mesenchymal and Amoeboid Pathways: A Viable Therapy against Metastatic Breast Cancer

Metastasis from the primary tumor site is the major cause of death in breast cancer, and acquisition of migration capacity is a key element for successful metastasis. Recently, it was found that expression of NEDD9, a focal adhesion associated scaffolding protein, could be used to switch between two types of single cell movement known as mesenchymal and amoeboid. Control of this switch can potentially open up new avenues of treatment against cancer metastasis. Simultaneous inhibition of both types of single cell movement may prevent cancer migration, thus decreasing cancer spreading and increasing survival of cancer patients. For example, forcibly pushing the switch toward amoeboid migration in combination with treatment against the kinase ROCK, a key component of amoeboid movement, might prove to be a vital strategy against metastasis. Currently, such strategies are not available in clinical practice. This project seeks to fill this gap in knowledge and provide new migration-based strategies to treat breast cancer metastases by 1) defining the impact of NEDD9 expression on regulation of mesenchymal invasion in breast cancer cells, 2) deciphering the mechanism and characterizing the key downstream effectors of NEDD9-dependent signaling that contribute to breast cancer mesenchymal migration, and 3) determining the anti-metastatic therapeutic benefit of inhibiting both mesenchymal and amoeboid breast cancer cell movement in vitro and in vivo

The Effects of Puberty Blocking Treatment (Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone Agonist) On Physical Activity and Reproductive Health in Young Female Rats

The number of adolescents identifying as transgender has been increasing with many transgender youth receiving treatment with a gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) that suppresses sex hormone production (i.e., puberty blocker). Transgender individuals taking a GnRHa to block puberty have reported improved mental wellbeing, but the physiological impacts need to be examined. Purpose: To investigate the effects of puberty blocking treatment using GnRHa on physical activity, reproductive morphology, and reproductive function in young female rats. Methods: Four-week old female Sprague Dawley rats were given daily subcutaneous injections of the GnRHa triptorelin or saline as control. One group of rats was housed in cages outfitted with a voluntary running wheel to monitor physical activity while treatment continued for 4-weeks. At eight weeks old, non-wheel running rats were euthanized and the uterus and ovaries were removed for H&E staining or flash frozen to assess morphology and DNA methylation. An additional group was taken off GnRHa treatment for 4-weeks to examine recovery of reproductive organ morphology and DNA methylation. The final group was taken off GnRHa treatment and housed with fertile males to determine reproductive performance. Results: Animals treated with the GnRHa had a significant reduction in total wheel running distance. Daily wheel running analysis showed a significant main drug effect, main time effect, and time x drug interaction. The reduction of wheel running activity began on day-5 and continued until the final day-28. The puberty blocked rats also had a significantly greater body mass than controls. GnRHa treatment led to a reduction in the mass of uteri and ovaries which recovered after 4-weeks of drug withdrawal. The myometrial and endometrial thickness of the uterus was reduced in GnRHa treated animals. The ovaries of puberty blocked animals exhibited a disruption in follicle development and corpora lutea health. The morphology of the uterus and ovaries recuperated after 4-weeks of drug withdrawal. With respect to reproductive performance, no significant difference in pregnancy rate was detected; however, both the number of days until pregnancy detection and number of days until giving birth were considerably longer in GnRHa rats following withdrawal. The number of pups per litter was also significantly reduced by puberty blocking treatment but no abnormalities were observed in the pups. Conclusion: Young female rats treated with a GnRHa had significantly reduced voluntary wheel running, increased body mass, and developmental delay of the reproductive organs. After 4 weeks of GnRHa withdrawal reproductive organ mass and morphology recovered. A minor disruption in reproductive function was detected immediately following GnRHa withdrawal. These physiological effects on physical activity and reproductive health should be considered when administering a GnRHa to block puberty

A Gaussian Integral Filter with Multivariate Laplace Process Noise

This paper introduces the concept of the Gaussian integral filter (GIF), the limit of the Gaussian sum filter (GSF) for when the number of mixands tends to infinity. The GIF is obtained via a combination of GSF, quadrature, and interpolation. While it is a very general concept, in this paper the GIF is used to represent multiviariate Laplace (ML) distributions defining the process noise when tracking a maneuvering target. The filter is first applied to a linear three-dimensional toy problem, and then to a maneuvering target tracking problem in Earth orbit. For the more complex maneuvering target tracking problem, the filter requires only 1.4 times the computational resources of an unscented Kalman filter (UKF), while having errors up to 11 times smaller. For the same problem, the UKF slowly diverges.Comment: IEEE International Conference on Information Fusion, Charleston, SC, U.S.A., June 27-30, 202