Metamorphosis through Modern Poetry

I have memories of being in my room with a notebook, scribbling lines and rhymes about cats and fireworks. I have proof of these memories—a staple- bound booklet of poetry, illustrated with clipart and colorful text. I was so proud of the work; it was the project of a third grader’s time, effort, imagination, and mind. Even in my movement from that childhood room to the campus at the University of Rhode Island; and my maturity from nursery rhymes to Chaucer and Shakespeare, I have always carried a passion for language and creativity. For the Honors Project, I wanted to return to the intricate roots of poetry, specifically poetry defined by the Modernist Avant-garde movement: poetry that is textured, complex, intertextual, that examines the self in an ever-changing world. The project consists of two main components: one, an in-depth survey of four modernist poets; the other, the writing of original poetry. In my focus on the works of Gertrude Stein, Mina Loy, Wallace Stevens, and Blaise Cendrars, I pay attention to poetic technique and application of poetic elements, while also considering the works’ application to broader contexts. Two of these contexts are my personal writings and public performance. In the poems that make up my collection, I attempt to emulate aspects of poetic presentation that I observed in my survey of modernists. In a curated reading, I will supplement original work with photography and examples of modern art in an attempt to intensify and enrich the experience of the poetry—poetry has certainly added intensity and richness to my experience. Through my experience of composition and performance, I not only improve my ability to navigate the intricacies of language, imagery, form, and sound; but, I also begin to discover and develop my own poetic voice within the context of a continuously metamorphosing literary art form. When I transferred to URI as a junior, I was still developing my voice and presence within the world. In my short time at URI, I have transformed considerably—a transformation largely influenced by my engagement with poetry. I have become bolder across the page and in life; I take more risks and am more inclined to explore unfamiliar territory, both in my writing and my actions; I have learned to confidently inhabit my poetry and comfortably inhabit space. The culmination of my project: a curated reading and collection of original poetry in the form of a chapbook, is meant to demonstrate my own metamorphosis—both personal and literary

Effect of adult thymectomy on tumour immunity in mice.

The effect of adult thymectomy in DBA/2J mice on the in vitro response to syngeneic tumour cells was investigated. Spleen cells from adult mice which had been thymectomized 8 weeks previously demonstrated a severely impaired primary cytotoxic response to P815 tumour cells, whereas their cytotoxic responses to allogeneic cells (C57BL/6) and to non-H-2 antigens (BALB/c), and their ability to form a primary antibody response to sheep red blood cells was unimpaired. Suppressor T cells, specific for P815 cells, appeared early in the thymuses of animals inoculated with P815 cells (between 4 and 8 days after tumour-cell injection). No differences in tumour growth between animals thymectomized as adults and sham-operated controls were observed, and thymectomized tumour-bearing animals had levels of specific suppressor cells in their lymph nodes equivalent to the levels found in untreated controls. Severely thymocyte-deprived animals which had been thymectomized, irradiated and reconstituted with either marrow or spleen cells 8 weeks before tumour implantation succumbed more rapidly to metastatic tumour than did control animals

The blue suns of 1831: was the eruption of Ferdinandea, near Sicily, one of the largest volcanic climate forcing events of we nineteenth century?

One of the largest climate forcing eruptions of the nineteenth century was, until recently, believed to have taken place at the Babuyan Claro volcano, in the Philippines, in 1831. However, a recent investigation found no reliable evidence of such an eruption, suggesting that the 1831 eruption must have taken place elsewhere. We here present our newly compiled dataset of reported observations of a blue, purple and green sun in August 1831, which we use to reconstruct the transport of a stratospheric aerosol plume from that eruption. The source of the aerosol plume is identified as the eruption of Ferdinandea, which took place about 50 km off the south-west coast of Sicily (37.1∘ N, 12.7∘ E), in July and August 1831. The modest magnitude of this eruption, assigned a volcanic explosivity index (VEI) of 3, has commonly caused it to be discounted or overlooked when identifying the likely source of the stratospheric sulfate aerosol in 1831. It is proposed, however, that convective instability in the troposphere contributed to aerosol reaching the stratosphere and that the aerosol load was enhanced by addition of a sedimentary sulfur component to the volcanic plume. Thus, one of the largest climate forcing volcanic eruptions of the nineteenth century would effectively have been hiding in plain sight, arguably “lowering the bar” for the types of eruptions capable of having a substantial climate forcing impact. Prior estimates of the mass of stratospheric sulfate aerosol responsible for the 1831 Greenland ice core sulfate deposition peaks which have assumed a source eruption at a low-latitude site will, therefore, have been overstated. The example presented in this paper serves as a useful reminder that VEI values were not intended to be reliably correlated with eruption sulfur yields unless supplemented with compositional analyses. It also underlines that eye-witness accounts of historical geophysical events should not be neglected as a source of valuable scientific data

Biodiversity of living, non marine, thrombolites of Lake Clifton, Western Australia

<p>Lake Clifton in Western Australia is recognized as a critically endangered ecosystem and the only thrombolite reef in the southern hemisphere. There have been concerns that increases in salinity and nutrient run-off have significantly impacted upon the thrombolite microbial community. Here we used cultivation-independent molecular approaches to characterize the microbial diversity of the thrombolites at Lake Clifton. The most dominant phyla currently represented are the Proteobacteria with significant populations of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. Cyanobacteria, previously invoked as the main drivers of thrombolite growth, represent only a small fraction (∼1–3% relative abundance) of the microbial community. We report an increase in salinity and nitrogen levels at Lake Clifton that may be contributing to a change in dominant microbial populations. This heightens concerns about the long-term health of the Lake Clifton thrombolites; future work is needed to determine if phyla now dominating this system are capable of the required mineral precipitation for continued thrombolite growth.</p

Pre-settlement Vegetation of Greene, Jersey and Macoupin Counties along the Prairie/Forest Border in Illinois

The US Federal Government established the Public Land Survey (PLS) to survey federal land before sale to settlers in the early 1800’s. We used a Geographic Information System (GIS) and the PLS to explore the relationship among forests, fire frequency, topography, and soils in Greene, Jersey and Macoupin Counties in Illinois. The PLS data was digitized from microfiche copies of the survey in the Lovejoy Library at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The floodplains along the Illinois River supported a fire-intolerant forest of Salix sp., Populus deltoides, Acer spp., and Fraxinus spp. The floodplain is bordered by a line of bluffs which forms a region of broken topography supporting moderately fire tolerant species on alfisols. To the East is a region of mixed prairie and forest. The prairie was on flat mollisols where it was intermixed with the forest on and hillier slopes and alfisols. The forest areas supported highly fire tolerant forest trees with large diameters at large distances from survey points. Non-Metric Multidimensional scaling reveals a close relationship among topography, vegetation and soils. Forests were on hilly land. Prairies were located on level uplands where there were no firebreaks. Floodplains are just as level as prairies. They are also located on mollisols adjacent to the river. They are protected from fire by sloughs, swamps and lakes. The results of our study support the conclusion that topography and moisture is an important control on the geographical distribution of vegetation in the study area. These factors likely operated by controlling fire frequency

Pre-settlement Vegetation of Greene, Jersey and Macoupin Counties along the Prairie/Forest Border in Illinois

The US Federal Government established the Public Land Survey (PLS) to survey federal land before sale to settlers in the early 1800’s. We used a Geographic Information System (GIS) and the PLS to explore the relationship among forests, fire frequency, topography, and soils in Greene, Jersey and Macoupin Counties in Illinois. The PLS data was digitized from microfiche copies of the survey in the Lovejoy Library at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The floodplains along the Illinois River supported a fire-intolerant forest of Salix sp., Populus deltoides, Acer spp., and Fraxinus spp. The floodplain is bordered by a line of bluffs which forms a region of broken topography supporting moderately fire tolerant species on alfisols. To the East is a region of mixed prairie and forest. The prairie was on flat mollisols where it was intermixed with the forest on and hillier slopes and alfisols. The forest areas supported highly fire tolerant forest trees with large diameters at large distances from survey points. Non-Metric Multidimensional scaling reveals a close relationship among topography, vegetation and soils. Forests were on hilly land. Prairies were located on level uplands where there were no firebreaks. Floodplains are just as level as prairies. They are also located on mollisols adjacent to the river. They are protected from fire by sloughs, swamps and lakes. The results of our study support the conclusion that topography and moisture is an important control on the geographical distribution of vegetation in the study area. These factors likely operated by controlling fire frequency

Weekend admission and mortality from acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in winter

Historically, acute medical staffing numbers have been lower on weekends and in winter numbers of medical admissions rise. An analysis of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) admissions to Portsmouth Hospitals over a seven-year period was undertaken to examine the effects of admission on a weekend, of winter, and with the opening of a medical admissions unit (MAU). In total, 9,915 admissions with AECOPD were identified. Weekend admissions accounted for 2,071 (20.9%) of cases, winter accounted for 3,026 (30.5%) admissions, and 522 (34.4%) deaths. Adjusted odds ratio (OR) for death on day 1 after winter weekend admission was 2.89 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.035 to 8.076). After opening the MAU, the OR for death day 1 after weekend winter admission fell from 3.63 (95% CI 1.15 to 11.5) to 1.65 (95% CI 0.14 to 19.01). AECOPD patients have an increased risk of death after admission over a weekend in winter and this effect was reduced by opening a MAU. These findings have implications for the planning of acute care provision in different seasons. © Royal College of Physicians, 2011. All rights reserved