Fearless Friday: Erin Meachem

In this round of Fearless Friday, SURGE is honoring the work of Erin Meachem ‘16! Erin is originally from Queensbury, New York and is currently in her senior year at Gettysburg, majoring in English and Spanish. She has been heavily involved with student senate, serving as the senator for the Class of 2016 over the last three years. Erin currently works as the Student Liaison for the Career Development Center, advertising career development events to people who participate in student senate. In addition, she worked as the Peer Learning Assistant for a First-Year Seminar last semester and helped First Years hone their writing abilities. Last but not least, Erin volunteers at Casa de la Cultura in order to tutor young students in their English skills. [excerpt

Black History Month Biography Highlights

February is a month that we celebrate the rich history of African-Americans who have transformed our world into what we know today. To start the month off, GWU-Today has a guest post highlighting biographies of lesser-known key individuals in African-American history.https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/gwu-today/1286/thumbnail.jp

Sunan Kalijaga: The Birth of a Self-Actualized Pilgrimage Culture

Javanese Islam is incredibly unique in its style and practice. Despite boasting a Muslim population larger than the entire Middle East, Indonesia and its Islamic cultural practices are largely unknown in academic circles. This has made an introduction to Islam in the archipelago even more difficult for the rare interested Western reader. Frustratingly, what is lost on the rest of the world is basically second nature to 155 million Javanese Muslims, who learn from their families, schools, and pilgrimages about the Wali Songo, a group of nine semi-mythical figures credited with spreading Islam to Java. When we stop casting a value judgment on oral histories, we see they allow us into the ethos and nuance of Javanese society (even if their methods do not have the rigid fact-based approach that scholars are used to). In place of textbook history, the Wali, such as Sunan Kalijaga, offer a compromise: an origin story for the Muslims of Indonesia that aligns their faith with indigenous cultural values. It cannot be confirmed whether they lived at the same time or if they ever existed at all, but their social “footprints” validate the differences in Indonesian religious practice and fasten Java sturdily to the family of the Prophet Muhammad, recentering an ancient history into the fold of Islam. Much like the characters in his wayang puppet shows, the Wali Sunan Kalijaga has achieved immortality in the retelling of his stories. This essay attempts to use personal travels around Central Java and interviews, visits to makams and mosques (masjids), and collected oral histories to formulate a basic narrative and historically contextualize the so-called Bandit saint, Sunan Kalijågå. Most importantly, it presents a depiction of the Wali not as he really was, but as Java remembers him today, and considers why he remains essential to a thorough understanding of Islam on the island

A Needle in the Heart.

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Designing in creativity: an investigation into the role of creativity in graphic design

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.Graphic design practice is currently entrenched within a process-driven, formulaic approach to design that is time constrained and closely aligned with the working practices of the business environment. This approach is not conducive to creativity. Although design institutions recognise the call from UK governments for increased creativity and innovation in support of economic, social, and cultural initiatives the current commodification of knowledge, developed in response to the needs of business and industry, has its limitations. There is today a tension in the academic community between the pursuit of creative practice as a valuable entity in itself and the preparation of graduates for employment. There is a growing concern within the industry at the educational marginalisation of creativity within the design process in an attempt to remain current with technological and professional skilling. The intellectual and theoretical underpinning of graphic design is weak with little scholarly debate in relation to creativity and critical thinking. The aim of this research therefore is to support future practice and educational initiatives by developing a new theoretical and contextual framework from which to engage with both industry and education. Utilising a mixed method approach together with the insider/outsider status of the researcher working as both a design practitioner and design educator the research addresses the following questions: what is the role of creativity in graphic design? Why is creativity important to graphic design education and industry practice? How can creativity be facilitated within graphic design education and industry practice? A small-scale qualitative online survey was conducted initially in the form of a targeted emailed questionnaire. It collected opinions, knowledge, and experiences from 9 universities within the UK Higher Education sector and a small number of industry practitioners. The aim was to gain insights from a cross-section of individuals most likely to have special knowledge about the research topic and provide a snapshot of how things are currently. The study built on these insights by considering creativity in different contexts and demonstrates through substantial critical investigation and analysis the theoretical and contextual knowledge underpinning discussions in relation to creativity. It explores the significance of creativity as a term and an activity in graphic design. It examines possible explanations for the marginalisation of creativity in graphic design by looking at the historical precedents for the split between the fine and applied arts and the impact that this has had on the way that design has been taught and practiced. The findings confirm that understanding the role of creativity within practice is fundamental to ensuring that graphic design remains relevant in twenty first century culture and society. However, what creativity is and the various forms it can take may be different to what is currently recognised by education and industry practice

The effect of testosterone, dihydrotestosterone and oestradiol on the re-initiation of spermatogenesis in the adult photoinhibited Djungarian hamster

The roles of testosterone (T) and its metabolites on hamster spermatogenesis are poorly defined. This study assessed the effects of T, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and oestradiol (E) on the re-initiation of spermatogenesis in the adult Djungarian hamster. Hamsters raised under long photoperiods (LD, 16 h light:8 h darkness) were exposed to short photoperiods (SD, 8 h light:16 h darkness) for 11 weeks to suppress gonadotrophins. Groups of eight animals then received T, DHT and E for 5 weeks. Cell numbers were determined using the optical disector (sic). The number of Sertoli cells was suppressed in SD controls to 48% (P<0·001) of LD control and restored either fully or partially by exogenous DHT and E (2·6- and 1·8-fold above SD levels) respectively, corresponding with a twofold elevation of serum FSH. The number of germ cells in SD animals was reduced (all P<0·001) to levels reported. The number of type A spermatogonia increased in line with the rise in Sertoli cell number, by 2·6-fold (P<0·01) and 1·8-fold (NS) above SD controls after DHT and E treatments respectively. DHT increased the number of type B spermatogonia/preleptotene spermatocytes, leptotene/zygotene and pachytene spermatocytes by 3·5-, 5·7- and 21-fold above SD (all P<0·01) respectively, compared with a 2·2-fold (P<0·01), 2·4-fold (not significant, NS) and 6-fold (NS) in E-treated animals respectively. Exogenous T had little effect on cell numbers or serum FSH compared with SD controls. Spermatids were rarely observed after steroid treatment. We believe this study suggests that steroids can regulate the re-initiation of early spermatogenic cells via a mechanism which includes FSH

Antimicrobial and brine shrimp toxicity of some plants used in traditional medicine in Bukoba District, north-western Tanzania

Herbal medicines constitute a potentially important resource for new and safe drugs for the management of microbial infections and other diseases. In this study, dichloromethane, ethylacetate and ethanol extracts of Canarium schweinfurthii Engl., Dissotis brazzae Cong., Iboza urticifolia (Bak) E.A.Bruce, Isoglosa lacteal Lindau, Strombosia Scheffleri Engl., and Whitfieldia elongate T. Anders were tested for antimicrobial activity and brine shrimp toxicity. The objective was to validate claims that they are used to treat bacterial infections, diarrhoea and heal wounds among the Haya tribe of north-western Tanzania. At least one extract of each plant showed antibacterial activity. Dichloromethane extracts were the most active while ethanol extracts were the least active. Extracts of Whitfieldia elongate and Isoglossa lacteal were the most and least active with MICs in the range 0.08-0.62 mg/ml and 15.6-62.5 mg/ml, respectively. The dichloromethane extract of Whitfieldia elongate exhibited strong antifungal activity against Cryptococcus neoformans. Against brine shrimp larvae, the extracts from the six plants exhibited a low to very low toxicity with LC50 values ranging from 15.35-374.0µg/ml. However, ethanol extracts of Dissotis brazzae and Strombosia scheffleri had LC50 values of >1000µg/ml. The seemingly innocuous nature and relatively good antibacterial activity against skin infections and gastrointestinal pathogenic bacteria support the traditional uses of the plants and deserve more detailed studies

All Cats Are Grey in the Dark: Enrichment/Depletion Approaches for Biomarker Discovery on Felis catus Plasma

In veterinary medicine, assay performance is often affected by the lack of species-specific diagnostic tools. Reliable biomarkers might be identified by investigating biological fluids of the species of interest, but protein sequence databases are often incomplete and human-specific devices for reducing sample complexity might fail when applied to animal plasma. Here, seven commercial methods based on different capturing agents (anti-human antibodies, affinity ligands, mixture of antibodies and ligands, and combinatorial peptide ligand libraries) were applied to cat plasma and evaluated in terms of yield, identified proteins/ peptides, and relative abundance by high resolution shotgun proteomics and label-free quantitation. As a result, anti-human antibody-based methods were unsatisfactory. Most failed in reducing albumin and immunoglobulins, and some led to a substantial removal of other highly abundant proteins, probably because of nonspecific interactions. A protein A/dye ligand-based method was efficient in reducing immunoglobulins, fibrinogen and apolipoprotein A1 and A2, but not albumin, and protein identifications did not increase. Only peptide ligand libraries flattened the dynamic range, and increased protein identification (59.0%). Albumin and immunoglobulins were successfully depleted (60.7% and 35.9%, respectively). Although further studies will be required for reinforcing our observations, this work can provide a useful guide for cat plasma pretreatment in biomarker discovery studies

Associations between testicular hormones at adolescence and attendance at chlorinated swimming pools during childhood

The goal was to evaluate the associations between testicular hormones at adolescence and the exposure to chlorination by-products when attending chlorinated swimming pools. We obtained serum samples from 361 school male adolescents (aged 14–18 years) who had visited swimming pools disinfected with chlorine or by copper–silver ionization. We analysed serum concentrations of inhibin B (two different assays), total and free testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS). There were strong inverse associations between serum levels of inhibin B (both assays) or of total testosterone, adjusted or unadjusted for gonadotropins and the time adolescents had spent in indoor chlorinated pools, especially during their childhood. Adolescents having attended indoor chlorinated pools for more than 250 h before the age of 10 years or for more than 125 h before the age of 7 years were about three times more likely to have an abnormally low serum inhibin B and/or total testosterone (<10th percentile) than their peers who never visited this type of pool during their childhood (odds ratio, 95% CI, 2.83, 1.06–7.52, p = 0.04 and 3.67, 1.45–9.34, p = 0.006, respectively). Such associations were not seen with free testosterone, LH, FSH and DHEAS or with the attendance of outdoor chlorinated pools or of the copper–silver pool. Swimming in indoor chlorinated pools during childhood is strongly associated with lower levels of serum inhibin B and total testosterone. The absorption of reprotoxic chlorination by-products across the highly permeable scrotum might explain these associations