In-Group Bias—Coloring Public Opinion and Spurring Public Backlash: A Comparative Analysis of Affirmative Action and Title IX

The Civil Rights and Women’s Rights Movements were two parallel rights revolutions in American history. Each spurred noteworthy social change for a disadvantaged group, through affirmative action for African Americans and through Title IX programs for women. However, when one looks at the college enrollment data, it becomes clear that these programs achieved success at different rates—at least in higher education. This thesis is an attempt to explain why these seemingly analogous programs produced such disparate results. It attempts to answer the question: Did in-group bias influence public opinion and public backlash in the form of Supreme Court litigation, impacting the time it took for race-based affirmative action programs to achieve success in comparison with similar women’s rights initiatives? In studying affirmative action and Title IX, this thesis examines both public opinion data and Supreme Court litigation surrounding each program. In doing so, it attempts to argue that in-group bias colored public opinion data, diminishing the support for race-based affirmative action. It also attempts to show that public backlash, in the form of Supreme Court litigation, presents a direct challenge to race-based affirmative action in higher education. On the contrary, there are no Supreme Court cases that question the need for Title IX enforcement in the academic sector of higher education. The proof is in the college enrollment statistics. It took women just seven years after the passage of Title IX to become the majority of the college undergraduate population and just eight years to reach what this thesis defines as the point of success; that is, the point when the percentage of the group—whether women or African Americans—in the undergraduate population exceeds the percentage of said group in the general American population. It took African Americans 34 years after President John F. Kennedy coined the term “affirmative action” to reach this point of success. Therefore, based on the college enrollment data and the explanatory variables of public opinion and Supreme Court litigation, this thesis concludes that in-group bias colored public opinion data and spurred public backlash against race-based affirmative action programs in the form of Supreme Court litigation, slowing the adoption and success of race-based affirmative action programs, in contrast to analogous women’s rights initiatives

Mode I Fracture Toughness of a Small-Grained Silicon Nitride: Orientation, Temperature, and Crack Length Effects

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65267/1/j.1151-2916.1999.tb02134.x.pd

Association of Vitamin D Status with Chronic Disease Risk Factors and Cognitive Dysfunction in 50–70 Year Old Adults

Vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency has been primarily associated with skeletal disorders, however, since vitamin D receptors are found on multiple types of cells, there is also a link to increased chronic disease risk and all-cause mortality. The aim of this study was to examine whether deficient/insufficient vitamin D levels are associated with risk factors of chronic diseases and cognitive dysfunction in 50 to 70 year old adults. Participants completed the health status, three-day dietary record and vitamin D food frequency, sun exposure, and international physical activity questionnaires. Cognitive function of the participants was assessed using the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics while body composition (percent body fat, android/gynoid ratio) was assessed using Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry. Applanation tonometry was used to obtain pressure wave forms at the radial artery to examine arterial stiffness and central pressures. A fasting blood draw was taken to measure vitamin D, blood lipid and glucose levels. Fifty percent of the participants (36/72) were vitamin D deficient/insufficient. Individuals in the low physical activity (PA) group had lower serum vitamin D concentration compared to those in the high PA group (p = 0.04). Moreover, serum vitamin D levels were negatively related to risk factors of chronic diseases; blood glucose (r = −0.38; p = 0.01), triglycerides (r = −0.27; p = 0.02), and android/gynoid ratio (r = −0.32; p = 0.01). Deficient/insufficient vitamin D levels are linked to the risk factors of chronic diseases in men and women aged 50 to 70 years.This research received no external funding. The APC was funded by University of Oklahoma Libraries, and Department of Health and Exercise Science at University of Oklahoma. Publication fees were paid in part by the University of Oklahoma Libraries Open Access Subvention FundYe

Chromosomal organization of biosynthetic gene clusters, including those of nine novel species, suggests plasticity of myxobacterial specialized metabolism

IntroductionNatural products discovered from bacteria provide critically needed therapeutic leads for drug discovery, and myxobacteria are an established source for metabolites with unique chemical scaffolds and biological activities. Myxobacterial genomes accommodate an exceptional number and variety of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) which encode for features involved in specialized metabolism.MethodsIn this study, we describe the collection, sequencing, and genome mining of 20 myxobacteria isolated from rhizospheric soil samples collected in North America.ResultsNine isolates were determined to be novel species of myxobacteria including representatives from the genera Archangium, Myxococcus, Nannocystis, Polyangium, Pyxidicoccus, Sorangium, and Stigmatella. Growth profiles, biochemical assays, and descriptions were provided for all proposed novel species. We assess the BGC content of all isolates and observe differences between Myxococcia and Polyangiia clusters.DiscussionContinued discovery and sequencing of novel myxobacteria from the environment provide BGCs for the genome mining pipeline. Utilizing complete or near-complete genome sequences, we compare the chromosomal organization of BGCs of related myxobacteria from various genera and suggest that the spatial proximity of hybrid, modular clusters contributes to the metabolic adaptability of myxobacteria

Experimental and Computational Study of BODIPY Dye-Labeled Cavitand Dynamics

Understanding the distance distribution and dynamics between moieties attached to the walls of a resorcin[4]arene cavitand, which is switchable between an expanded kite and a contracted vase form, might enable the use of this molecular system for the study of fundamental distance-dependent interactions. Toward this goal, a combined experimental and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation study on donor/acceptor borondipyrromethene (BODIPY) dye-labeled cavitands present in the vase and kite forms was performed. Direct comparison between anisotropy decays calculated from MD simulations with experimental fluorescence anisotropy data showed excellent agreement, indicating that the simulations provide an accurate representation of the dynamics of the system. Distance distributions between the BODIPY dyes were established by comparing time-resolved Förster resonance energy transfer experiments and MD simulations. Fluorescence intensity decay curves emulated on the basis of the MD trajectories showed good agreement with the experimental data, suggesting that the simulations present an accurate picture of the distance distributions and dynamics in this molecular system and provide an important tool for understanding the behavior of extended molecular systems and designing future applications

Against the Manufacture of Washing Machines: Maoist Materialist Dialectics, Poststructuralist Feminism and the Liberation from Metaphysics

This dissertation attempts to contribute to the literature on the transformation of gender relations and patriarchy by creating a discursive nexus between two seemingly incompatible paradigms: materialist dialectics as interpreted by Mao Tsetung and poststructuralist feminism. Despite the important differences between the two traditions, it argues that they have important ontological similarities. This creates the potential for a fecund cross-fertilization, a potential which has been largely unrecognized by scholars. This dissertation argues that Mao's ontology of ceaseless transformation arising from universal and concrete contradictions provides an essential foundation for any progressive praxis of social transformation. It examines aspects of how the maoist approach to materialist dialectics was put into practice in revolutionary China, along with a summary of some of the recent contributions to this paradigm by Bob Avakian. It examines the historical experience of transforming patriarchal relations and ideas under Mao and argues that, though there were real shortcomings, the historical experience of revolutionary China remains an essential foundation and contribution to transforming patriarchal gender relations and identities. Focusing on the writings of Judith Butler, it discusses the contributions of poststructuralist feminist, particularly its thorough critique of essentialism and the deconstruction of the categories and conceptual foundations of feminism. Butler's emphasis on the cultural production of gender and sex, along with the need to destabilize the regulatory functions and frameworks which police them, are invaluable in developing the ability of maoist materialist dialectics to transform gender relations. The dissertation includes a discussion of sexuality, violence and democracy as way of pointing towards a thoroughly materialist and dialectical method and approach which can move beyond the anchors of metaphysics while embracing thinking from a wide spectrum, including Queer theory. The dissertation concludes with a brief discussion on how such abstract theoretical concerns are relevant to current political realities

Comparing the Structure of RNA Genomes from Virulent and Avirulent Strains of Coxsackievirus B3

The study of a viral structure, replication, and evolution is important for understanding how viruses cause disease. Coxsackievirus (CVB3) is a picornavirus that causes inflammation of the heart and pancreas with a particular pathogenicity in infants. Previous research has shown that the structure of the CVB3 RNA genome is responsible for virulence, with clear differences in structure between the genomes of virulent and avirulent strains of the virus. The CVB3 genome is comprised of a well-organized ssRNA beginning with a 5’ untranslated region (5’UTR). This 5’UTR contains an internal ribosome entry site (IRES), which drives translation of viral proteins. This study will determine how structural differences between the virulent and avirulent 5’UTR sequences influence interactions between viral RNA and host proteins. We hypothesize that viral interactions with the host protein, PCBP2, differ in virulent and avirulent 5’UTR sequences. Our lab has previously determined characteristics of PCBP2 interactions with the 5’UTR of a virulent strain (CVB328). We now focus on interactions of PCBP2 with the 5’UTR of an avirulent strain (CVB3GA). This will be done by monitoring PCBP2 affinity using electrophoresis mobility shift assays and PCBP2 influence on RNA structure through chemical probing. Results from this study may lead to new approaches for treating CVB3 infection

Drift

This music score was submitted for the Kaleidoscope 2020 Call for Scores, an open access collaboration with the UCLA Music Library