The mass of solitude

Weathering, metamorphosis, heat, and tectonics are forces that form and transform the earth. Over millennia, these methods of abrasion construct captivating structures out of ubiquitous materials. I reference rock landscapes by using the same minerals to create new metamorphic rocks. By stripping clay down to its basic nature, I exploit the rawness of the material. These craggy surfaces hold a presence of solemnity. The undulations and irregularities of these objects are what give them fortitude, encouraging contemplation in the viewer; a time to recognize the earnestness of life in comparison to the gravity of death. I have found myself in this capacity when hiking through desert landscapes. The massiveness of the rock formations combined with the expansiveness of the horizon, humbles me to a contemplative state. In these times of solitude, I have been able to resolve who I am and what is important to me. I replicate these experiences, evoking solemnity in the viewer interacting with my work

Modeling Ephraim Chambers' Knowledge Structure from a Naïve Standpoint

In the preface to his Cyclopaedia published in 1728 Ephraim Chambers offers readers a systematized structure of his attempt to produce a universal repository of human knowledge. Divided into an interconnected taxonomic tree and domain vocabulary, this structure forms the basis of one effort from the Metadata Research Center to study historical ontologies. The knowledge structure is being encoded into a Simple Knowledge Organization System (SKOS) form as well as a Web Ontology Language (OWL) version. This paper explores the expressive and functional differences between these SKOS and OWL versions of Chambers’ knowledge structure. As part of this goal, the paper research focused on the construction and application of rules in each system to produce a more computationally ready representation of Chambers’ structure in SKOS, which is more thesaurus-like, and OWL, which represents additional ontological nuances. First, studying the various textual aspects at the semantic, syntactic, and typographic levels allowed for the relationships between terms to manifest from which rules governing expression of the connections between elements developed. Second, because each language, SKOS and OWL, functionally expresses different logical relationships, their possibilities and limitations offer a ground for further analyzing the resultant knowledge structures; although, each stemmed from the same basic source of Chambers’ text. Lastly this paper will examine rule making and expression in light of Paul Grice’s theory of conversational implicature to understand how a naïve agent formulates and applies these rules to a knowledge structure

Modeling Ephraim Chambers' Knowledge Structure from a Naïve Standpoint

In the preface to his Cyclopaedia published in 1728 Ephraim Chambers offers readers a systematized structure of his attempt to produce a universal repository of human knowledge. Divided into an interconnected taxonomic tree and domain vocabulary, this structure forms the basis of one effort from the Metadata Research Center to study historical ontologies. The knowledge structure is being encoded into a Simple Knowledge Organization System (SKOS) form as well as a Web Ontology Language (OWL) version. This paper explores the expressive and functional differences between these SKOS and OWL versions of Chambers’ knowledge structure. As part of this goal, the paper research focused on the construction and application of rules in each system to produce a more computationally ready representation of Chambers’ structure in SKOS, which is more thesaurus-like, and OWL, which represents additional ontological nuances. First, studying the various textual aspects at the semantic, syntactic, and typographic levels allowed for the relationships between terms to manifest from which rules governing expression of the connections between elements developed. Second, because each language, SKOS and OWL, functionally expresses different logical relationships, their possibilities and limitations offer a ground for further analyzing the resultant knowledge structures; although, each stemmed from the same basic source of Chambers’ text. Lastly this paper will examine rule making and expression in light of Paul Grice’s theory of conversational implicature to understand how a naïve agent formulates and applies these rules to a knowledge structure

Effective Control of Chronic γ-Herpesvirus Infection by Unconventional MHC Class Ia–Independent CD8 T Cells

Control of virus infection is mediated in part by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) Class Ia presentation of viral peptides to conventional CD8 T cells. Although important, the absolute requirement for MHC Class Ia–dependent CD8 T cells for control of chronic virus infection has not been formally demonstrated. We show here that mice lacking MHC Class Ia molecules (K(b−/−)xD(b−/−) mice) effectively control chronic γ-herpesvirus 68 (γHV68) infection via a robust expansion of β(2)-microglobulin (β(2)-m)-dependent, but CD1d-independent, unconventional CD8 T cells. These unconventional CD8 T cells expressed: (1) CD8αβ and CD3, (2) cell surface molecules associated with conventional effector/memory CD8 T cells, (3) TCRαβ with a significant Vβ4, Vβ3, and Vβ10 bias, and (4) the key effector cytokine interferon-γ (IFNγ). Unconventional CD8 T cells utilized a diverse TCR repertoire, and CDR3 analysis suggests that some of that repertoire may be utilized even in the presence of conventional CD8 T cells. This is the first demonstration to our knowledge that β(2)-m–dependent, but Class Ia–independent, unconventional CD8 T cells can efficiently control chronic virus infection, implicating a role for β(2)-n–dependent non-classical MHC molecules in control of chronic viral infection. We speculate that similar unconventional CD8 T cells may be able to control of other chronic viral infections, especially when viruses evade immunity by inhibiting generation of Class Ia–restricted T cells

Prospectus, April 17, 2002

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_2002/1013/thumbnail.jp

Metadata for Scientific Experiment Reporting: A Case Study in Metal-Organic Frameworks

Research methods and procedures are core aspects of the research process. Metadata focused on these components is critical to supporting the FAIR principles, particularly reproducibility. The research reported on in this paper presents a methodological framework for metadata documentation supporting the reproducibility of research producing Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs). The MOF case study involved natural language processing to extract key synthesis experiment information from a corpus of research literature. Following, a classification activity was performed by domain experts to identify entity-relation pairs. Results include: 1) a research framework for metadata design, 2) a metadata schema that includes nine entities and two relationships for reporting MOF synthesis experiments, and 3) a growing database of MOF synthesis reports structured by our metadata scheme. The metadata schema is intended to support discovery and reproducibility of metal-organic framework research and the FAIR principles. The paper provides background information, identifies the research goals and objectives, research design, results, a discussion, and the conclusion.Comment: Accepted by the 17th International Conference on Metadata and Semantics Researc

Monoamine oxidase A expression is vital for embryonic brain development by modulating developmental apoptosis

Monoamine oxidases (MAO-A, MAO-B) metabolize biogenic amines and have been implicated in neuronal apoptosis. Although apoptosis is an important process in embryo development, the role of MAO isoenzymes has not been investigated in detail. We found that expression of MAO-A and MAO-B can be detected early on during embryo development. Expression levels remained constant until around midgestation but then dropped to almost undetectable levels toward birth. Similar expression kinetics were observed in the brain. Isoform-specific expression silencing of MAO-A mediated by siRNA during in vitro embryogenesis induced developmental defects, as indicated by a reduction of the crown rump length and impaired cerebral development. These alterations were paralleled by elevated serotonin levels. Similar abnormalities were observed when embryos were cultured in the presence of the MAO-A inhibitor clorgyline or when the transcriptional inhibitor of MAO-A expression Rl was overexpressed. In contrast, no such alterations were detected when expression of MAO-B was knocked down. To explore the underlying mechanisms for the developmental abnormalities in MAO-A knockdown embryos, we quantified the degree of developmental apoptosis in the developing brain. MAO-A knockdown reduced the number of apoptotic cells in the neuroepithelium, which coincided with impaired activation of caspases 3 and 9. Moreover, we observed reduced cyclin Dl levels as an indicator of impaired cell proliferation in MAO-A knockdown embryos. This data highlights MAO-A as a vital regulator of embryonic brain development