Speculative Literature in Modern Society: Octavia Butler and the Tragedy of the Commons

What leads to peaceful prosperity and what leads to destructive collapse in any society? While it may seem daunting or overwhelming to dissect the success or collapse of a multi-faceted society, there are lenses and tools through which we are able to do so, such as political theory and speculative dystopian fiction. By using lenses to analyze the society in which we live, we are able to recognize the seeds of both prosperity and destruction in our society that may otherwise be overlooked or ignored. The speculative dystopian fiction of Octavia Butler may be considered as building upon the political theory of the tragedy of the commons. Butler provides her American audience an analysis of the root causes of this tragedy, as well as some possible preventative measures or solutions. We are able to read her novel, The Parable of the Sower, as a warning against ignoring current trends in our society which could lead to our tragedy of the commons. Octavia Butler was an American author of speculative dystopian fiction, and was the first science fiction novelist to be awarded the MacArthur Fellowship in 1955. She was born in California on June 22, 1947 and died in Washington on January 24, 2006. Butler was well-known for critiquing social hierarchies and inequalities as well as for exploring what forms healthy, sustainable communities. Her first novel in her Parable Series, The Parable of the Sower, introduces Butler’s reader to a broken community in a divided society after an environmental apocalypse. Through her protagonist, Lauren Olamina, Butler shows her reader the flaws and failures in society that lead to the community’s collapse as well as how a community can be rebuilt

Economic Contribution of the Agricultural Sector to the Arkansas Economy in 2010

This report is the seventh in a series of reports examining agriculture’s economic contribution on the Arkansas economy. Utilizing data from the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), USDA Economic Research Service (ERS), USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), and Minnesota IMPLAN Group, Inc. (MIG), the economic contribution of agriculture on the Arkansas economy was estimated for the most recent year available, 2010. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by State information for Arkansas in 2010 was compared with those of other states in the Southeast U.S. to give a measure of the relative importance of agriculture in Arkansas.2 The total economic contribution of agriculture (direct, indirect, and induced effects) on value added, employment, and labor income was estimated with the Impact Analysis for Planning System (IMPLAN). The economic contributions of agricultural production and processing were estimated for agriculture as a whole and also separately for the Crops Sector, the Animal Agriculture Sector, and the Forestry Sector

Physical and Behavioral Measures that Predict Cats' Socialization in an Animal Shelter Environment during a Three-Day Period

Information from surveys completed by the cats' caregivers provided a score for the level of socialization of cats. We examined the effectiveness of structured assessments and measures in their ability to distinguish More and Less Socialized cats in a shelter-like setting over a three day period. Statistical models were developed that best predicted More and Less Socialized cats. Measures from these models were used to calculate a point system where more points indicated more socialization. In combination with key socialized behaviors, these points were able to fairly accurately distinguish More Socialized from Less Socialized cats

Economic Contribution of the Agricultural Sector to the Arkansas Economy in 2009

This report is the sixth in a series of reports examining agriculture’s economic contribution on the Arkansas economy. Utilizing data from the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), USDA Economic Research Service (ERS), USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), and Minnesota IMPLAN Group, Inc. (MIG), the economic contribution of agriculture on the Arkansas economy was estimated for the most recent year available, 2009. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by State information for Arkansas in 2009 was compared with those of other states in the southeast U.S. to give a measure of the relative importance of agriculture in Arkansas.2 The total economic contribution of agriculture (direct, indirect, and induced effects) on value added, employment, and labor income was estimated by employing the Impact Analysis for Planning System (IMPLAN). The economic contributions of agricultural production and processing were estimated for agriculture as a whole and also separately for the Crops Sector, the Animal Agriculture Sector, and the Forestry Sector

Ecosystem Metabolism Modeling of Estuaries in Maine: Using Dissolved Oxygen as a Tool for Aquaculture Site Assessment

The net primary productivity (NPP), also known as the net ecosystem metabolism, of an estuary is a value indicative of the growth and activity of an estuary’s primary producers, relative to the metabolic activity of its consumers. When NPP is high, estuaries exhibit autotrophic conditions that have the capacity to support fruitful bivalve aquaculture. For oyster farmers, the ability to monitor an estuary’s NPP would allow them to predict and prepare for seasonal changes to oyster growth that result from changes to their phytoplankton food source and access to dissolved oxygen (DO). Not only would this aid farmers on site at the location of current oyster culture operations, but measuring the NPP of potentially new locations for oyster farms could also aid farmers in informed site selection, saving them money down the road. NPP can be calculated using dissolved oxygen measurements applied to an equation for Net Ecosystem Metabolism (NEM) known as the Delta Method. This study aimed to create an easy-to-use, inexpensive model that oyster farmers can use on site to monitor the changes to biological activity, in terms of NEM, occurring in the estuary in which they grow their oysters. By using dissolved oxygen data collected from the Damariscotta River, an estuary that supports multiple productive oyster farms and hosts two data-gathering, remote-sensing buoys, I also determined the viability of using this tool for site assessment of future oyster farm locations. A comparison of NEM and net primary productivity (NPP) values generated by the model to values reported in the literature, NPP found using 14C radiocarbon analysis, and seasonal trends in other biological and physical variables at play in the estuary, such as chlorophyll, nitrate, PAR, and temperature, revealed that the model is capable of producing useful and relatively accurate values. An evaluation of DO as a measurement, compared to 14C, revealed that DO measurements have their limitations, but the NEM values they are used to calculate provide a more comprehensive picture of biological activity occurring among trophic levels in an estuary than any of the other measurements discussed in this study. The highest NEM values generated by the model were found at the location of current oyster farm operations in the Damariscotta River, indicating that the values generated by the model correctly reflect this site’s current, demonstrated capacity to support aquaculture. This suggests that the model could be used by oyster farmers as a viable, inexpensive tool for site assessment in the future

Exploring Diphosphene Synthesis with Trimethylsilylated and Imidazolidine Reductants

Various reducing agents were tested to try and find a new way to synthesize the diphosphene DmpP=PDmp (Dmp = 2,6-dimesitylphenyl). The reducing agents tested were an organosilicon-based compound, 1-methyl-3,6-bis(trimethylsilyl)-1,4-cyclohexadiene (MBTCD), 3,6-bis(trimethylsilyl)1,4-cyclohexadiene (BTCD), and 1,3,1’,3’-tetraethyl-bis(2,2’-imidazolidine). Through the use of dimesitylphenyl phosphorous dichloride (DmpPCl2), it is thought that the chemistry exhibited by these reducing agents on similar compounds could be applied to compounds with PCl2 groups, such as DmpPCl2, in the hopes of creating the diphosphene DmpP=PDmp

The Cracks in NATO\u27s Fault Narrative: Why NATO Enlargement Fails to Explain Russian Aggression

What explains Russia’s recent behavior? Some blame the expansion of NATO for Russian aggression, but that isn’t the whole story

ALPS Annual Report 2009-2010

Summary of activities by the Academic Librarians in Public Service (ALPS) section of the BCLA

Trogocytosis by Entamoeba histolytica Mediates Acquisition and Display of Human Cell Membrane Proteins and Evasion of Lysis by Human Serum.

We previously showed that Entamoeba histolytica kills human cells through a mechanism that we termed trogocytosis ("trogo-" means "nibble"), due to its resemblance to trogocytosis in other organisms. In microbial eukaryotes like E. histolytica, trogocytosis is used to kill host cells. In multicellular eukaryotes, trogocytosis is used for cell killing and cell-cell communication in a variety of contexts. Thus, nibbling is an emerging theme in cell-cell interactions both within and between species. When trogocytosis occurs between mammalian immune cells, cell membrane proteins from the nibbled cell are acquired and displayed by the recipient cell. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that through trogocytosis, amoebae acquire and display human cell membrane proteins. We demonstrate that E. histolytica acquires and displays human cell membrane proteins through trogocytosis and that this leads to protection from lysis by human serum. Protection from human serum occurs only after amoebae have undergone trogocytosis of live cells but not phagocytosis of dead cells. Likewise, mutant amoebae defective in phagocytosis, but unaltered in their capacity to perform trogocytosis, are protected from human serum. Our studies are the first to reveal that amoebae can display human cell membrane proteins and suggest that the acquisition and display of membrane proteins is a general feature of trogocytosis. These studies have major implications for interactions between E. histolytica and the immune system and also reveal a novel strategy for immune evasion by a pathogen. Since other microbial eukaryotes use trogocytosis for cell killing, our findings may apply to the pathogenesis of other infections.IMPORTANCE Entamoeba histolytica causes amoebiasis, a potentially fatal diarrheal disease. Abscesses in organs such as the liver can occur when amoebae are able to breach the intestinal wall and travel through the bloodstream to other areas of the body. Therefore, understanding how E. histolytica evades immune detection is of great interest. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that E. histolytica acquires and displays human cell membrane proteins by taking "bites" of human cell material in a process named trogocytosis ("trogo-" means "nibble"), and that this allows amoebae to survive in human serum. Display of acquired proteins through trogocytosis has been previously characterized only in mammalian immune cells. Our study suggests that this is a more general feature of trogocytosis not restricted to immune cells and broadens our knowledge of eukaryotic biology. These findings also reveal a novel strategy for immune evasion by a pathogen and may apply to the pathogenesis of other infections