Line as Site and Material

This paper recounts my artistic practice over the last three years. I will describe the places, artists, artworks, and processes that have been meaningful to me in this time as I pursued my MFA and worked to understand my relationship to the living world. In the thesis Line as Site and Material, I respond to materiality and site through installation, sculpture, drawing, and video. I work with clay harvested from my hometown of El Paso, TX to connect to the personal histories of the borderlands and geological time. In the Second River Series, I walk in the empty riverbed of the Rio Grande to look for in-between space and document with video. Sculptures, drawings, and photography explore Portal or Void concepts. Time Study drawings scratched into the clay painted surfaces project light and shadows, changing shape and size with the rotational shift of the earth around the sun. With sensitivity to light, material, and site, I pay attention to nature in relation to how I see myself connected to place. My work hinges on the transformation of material and the healing realization that the human-nature relationship is not singular

Copper Binding of Heterocyclic Compounds Is Vital For Novel Drugs Against Gram-Positive Bacteria

Azzy Minjarez1, Man Zhang1, Anjana Delpe-Acharige1, Kayla Eschliman1, Olaf Kutsch2, Stefan H. Bossmann1 1: Department of Chemistry, Kansas State University 2: Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham Copper Binding of Heterocyclic Compounds Is Vital For Novel Drugs Against Resistant Gram-positive Bacteria Multidrug resistant bacteria are capable of developing resistance to a majority of available antibiotics making them an imminent threat. Thus, synthesizing novel drug candidates is vital. The average adult contains 50-80 mg of copper within the body, which assist the immune system. Efflux pumps of bacterial cells are the primary defense mechanism, which recognize and remove copper. Our research focuses on synthesizing heterocyclic compounds that allow copper to bind and go unnoticed by efflux pumps to fight against the bacteria. To synthesize these heterocyclic compounds, we have used substituted pyrazoles and aryl substituted phenyl isothiocyanate compounds. Column chromatography and recrystallization are then completed to obtain purified products. Finally, the products are structurally verified by using Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR. In 2019, I have synthesized and purified 17 novel compounds, which led to 5 novel designer drugs capable of copper binding

Factors influencing the use of physical restraints on children living in residential treatment facilities

The use of physical restraints in residential treatment centers for children has been shown to be detrimental to both staff and the children. Although there have been nationwide initiatives to reduce or eliminate the use of physical restraints on children, to date, researchers have not yet identified the organizational factors that predict the likelihood of using physical restraints on children. Based on the two-factor theory, in which two different types of predictors of motivation and behavior in the workplace were identified, the purpose of this quantitative non-experimental study was to examine whether satisfaction with pay, a hygiene factor, and satisfaction with supervision and perceived organizational support, motivating factors, predict the frequency of the use of physical restraints. Satisfaction with pay and supervision were measured using the Job Satisfaction Survey and perceived organizational support was measured using the Perceived Organizational Support Survey. Data were collected from 245 direct care staff members employed at residential treatment centers for children. Pearson product moment correlations and multiple regression analysis were conducted. The results indicated that satisfaction with supervision was negatively and statistically significantly related to the use of physical restraints on children in residential care and satisfaction with pay approached significance. Organizational changes that address training, development, pay, and best practices for supervision may aid in the reduction of physical restraints used on children. The reduction in physical restraints would thereby reduce the undesirable impact they have on children and result in positive social change

Faculty Recital: Mary Ackerman, guitar

Kennesaw State University School of Music presents Faculty Recital: Mary Akerman, guitar.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1707/thumbnail.jp

Studies on plant-animal interactions : Terrestrial molluscs and their food plants.

Several aspects of plant-animal interaction were studied using terrestrial molluscs and their food plants. 1. Seedling monocultures of 7 species of plants with different acceptability (measured previously using leaf discs) were grazed by slugs (Agriolimax Caruanae) for controlled periods. (I) The risks of death due to slug grazing varied with plant size and growth form. Acceptability was a poor predictor of the risks of death due to grazing. (ii) Seedlings were killed by slugs, remained intact or were damaged but not killed; the acceptability to slugs of mature leaves was a poor predictor of the damage done to seedlings. (iii) Plants of at least some of the species had an increased risk of death after grazing. Those grazed plants that survived were usually smaller. (iv) It is suggested that for most species there is a 'critical size of escape' when the plants are able to tolerate grazing without being killed. 2. Monocultures of Capsella bursa-pastoris and Poa annua were grown, at densities high enough for plants to interfere with each other's growth and survival, in the presence and absence of slugs (A. caruanae). (1) Slugs behaved quite differently towards the two plant species. They ate whole, or parts of, leaves of C. bursa-pastoris, but rarely killed the plants. They ate P. annua (only after a 'starving threshold') by chewing through shoots at ground level, 'felling' but not consuming the shoots; many of the damaged plants of Poa died. Grazed and ungrozed populations - II - of both species conformed to the -3/2 thinning law. (ii) The compensatory effects of competition and predation are discussed. 3. Populations of Capsella bursa-pastoris were grown at two densities in a background of plant diversity given by the seedlings emerging naturally from soil collected from areas where the slugs Agriolimax caruanae and A. reticulatus are abundant. The populations were grazed by both slugs and the plants of Capsella were monitored for most of their life cycle. (i) C. bursa-pastoris was clearly the species most preferred by slugs. (ii) Grazing of Capsella by slugs affected plant survival, rosette diameter, number of flowering and fruiting plants and the number of capsules per plant. The effects were almost exclusive to the populations of low density. The reproductive potential of Capsella was also affected by defloration., (iii) It was suggested that the diversity of the vegetation that is relevant to a given herbivore depends on its search and range and that studies on the role of herbivores on a population must take into account the diversity of the whole community (inter- and intraspecific). 4. The intraspecific variation in plant acceptability was studied by examining the response of slugs to the cyanogenesis polymorphism in Trifolium repens. (i) Molluscs failed to distinguish between cyanogenic and ocyanogenic leaf discs or detached clover leaves but experiments with intact growing plants, as well as field surveys, showed clearly that molluscs preferred the acyanogenic morphs. The pattern of grazing was characterised by an excess of nibbling on the cyanogenic plants and an excess of heavy damage on the acyanogenic forms. - III - (ii) Animals fed on monotonous diets of lettuce grew considerably faster than slugs feeding on diets of cyanogenic and acyanogenic clover leaves but there was a marginally lower rate of growth of the slugs fed on cyanogenic leaves. (iii) There was a significant association between the spatial distribution of mollusc activity and clover morphs in the field: areas of intense mollusc activity had an excess of cyanogenic morphs while in areas of low mollusc activity the acyanogenic morphs were represented in excess. (iv) Homogenates mdde from the digestive tract of slugs produced cyanogenic reactions with clover leaves that had cyanoglucosides but lacked hydrolising enzymes. (v) A tentative coevolutionary model of the clover-mollusc interaction is suggested. 5. The performance of transplanted cuttings of cyanogenic and acyanogenic morphs was observed in the field for 1 year. (i) There was some superiority of the acyanogenic morphs for several growth parameters and plant survival during the growing season of the sward. (ii) There was much heterogeneity between clones of both morphs with respect to their susceptibility to grazing by several herbivores; nevertheless, there was a consistent preference for the acyanogenic forms by molluscs. Weevils and sheep showed preference for one morph at one time of the year, and for the other morph at another time. (iii) Damage by the rust Uromyces trifoii was almost en%rety confined to the cyanogenic morph. - Iv - (iv) It is concluded that studies on the interaction between clover and mollusc must also take into account the intraspecific (or even intraclonal) variation in reaction of clover to grazing, pathogenic infection and response to competing neighbours

Unraveling the Cloth that Binds Latina Garment Workers in Texas: A Critical Analysis of the Texas Pay Day Act

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A Survey and Perspectives on Mathematical Models for Quantitative Precipitation Estimation Using Lightning

Lightning is one of the most spectacular phenomena in nature. It is produced when there is a breakdown in the resistance in the electric field between the ground and an electrically charged cloud. By simple observation, we observe that precipitation, especially the most intense, is often accompanied by lightning. Given this observation, lightning has been employed to estimate convective precipitation since 1969. In early studies, mathematical models were deduced to quantify this relationship and used to estimate precipitation. Currently, the use of several techniques to estimate precipitation is gaining momentum, and lightning is one of the novel techniques to complement the traditional techniques for Quantitative Precipitation Estimation. In this paper, the authors provide a survey of the mathematical methods employed to estimate precipitation through the use of cloud-to-ground lightning. We also offer a perspective on the future research to this end

Sideroflexin 3 is an α-synuclein-dependent mitochondrial protein that regulates synaptic morphology

α-Synuclein plays a central role in Parkinson's disease, where it contributes to the vulnerability of synapses to degeneration. However, the downstream mechanisms through which α-synuclein controls synaptic stability and degeneration are not fully understood. Here, comparative proteomics on synapses isolated from α-synuclein(−/−) mouse brain identified mitochondrial proteins as primary targets of α-synuclein, revealing 37 mitochondrial proteins not previously linked to α-synuclein or neurodegeneration pathways. Of these, sideroflexin 3 (SFXN3) was found to be a mitochondrial protein localized to the inner mitochondrial membrane. Loss of SFXN3 did not disturb mitochondrial electron transport chain function in mouse synapses, suggesting that its function in mitochondria is likely to be independent of canonical bioenergetic pathways. In contrast, experimental manipulation of SFXN3 levels disrupted synaptic morphology at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction. These results provide novel insights into α-synuclein-dependent pathways, highlighting an important influence on mitochondrial proteins at the synapse, including SFXN3. We also identify SFXN3 as a new mitochondrial protein capable of regulating synaptic morphology in vivo

Proteomic profiling of quality protein Maize kernels using mass spectrometry

Maize (Zea mays L.) is the third most crucial crop worldwide and is of paramount importance in both humansand livestock diets. Conventional maize varieties have less than half of the amino acids recommended for humannutrition, and this deficiency results in an imbalance of amino acids and low protein content, which has been associatedwith several pathologies, including malnutrition. Thus, different countries have focused on research onfortified foods, such as quality protein maize (QPM) noting that these improved varieties may contain up to 100%more essential amino acids residues than conventional maize. Hence, this study aimed to characterize throughtandem mass spectrometry and bioinformatics analysis, relative expression of polypeptides contained in a hybridvariety of QPM, which allow to identify potential markers with implications in the management and improvementof this crops maintaining their intrinsic characteristics. We identify 262 polypeptides, highlighting those related tomolecular function (catalytic activity, structural molecule activity, and binding) and biological process (cellular andmetabolic process). These results provide the necessary information, not only for the characterization of the QPMproteome through novel tools such as proteomics, but also to describe mechanisms related to different biologicalprocesses such as the embryogenesis, development and growth of grains and eventually plants. PotentiallyIt promotes the discovery of molecular markers (biomarkers) that would allow the improvement of agronomicalprocesses