Attitudes of Muslim Americans Regarding Prejudice and Discrimination Displayed by Non-Muslims

Abstract Muslim Americans have reported experiencing racial profiling, physical threats, and verbal abuse based on their religion, ethnicity, and color (Samari, 2016). These types of lived experiences can have negative personal consequences for Muslim Americans and influence their attitudes and behavior toward non-Muslims. A literature review conducted by Simon et al. (2018) suggests the need for research that explores the point of view of minorities regarding intolerance displayed by majority members. Intolerance is defined as the refusal and unwillingness to tolerate or respect individuals from different social or minority groups who hold different beliefs. Prejudice and discrimination can hinder the discovery of new information needed to promote positive social change by influencing social boundaries among groups based on their negative lived experiences (Ellis & Abdi, 2017). Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the attitudes of Palestinian Muslim Americans in Cleveland, Ohio, regarding prejudice and discrimination displayed by non-Muslims. The theory of planned behavior was used as the theoretical framework for this study. Purposeful and convenience sampling were used to recruit the 10 participants in this study. Giorgi’s (2012) psychological method, coding, and template analysis were used to perform data analysis. The study revealed the participants described prejudice and discrimination among Muslims and non-Muslims as “good and bad” or “it depends.” The study also found participants used the terms “we versus they” or “us versus them” when describing the behavior displayed by non-Muslims. Information discovered from this study can be used to develop new social strategies that can help improve the social interactions among Muslims and non-Muslims in the United States

Transformation of Humulone By UV-Visible Spectroscopy with Introduction of Magnesium

In the brewing industry, there are four main ingredients that are required to produce beer: water, yeast, barley, and hops. Hops are used in many different stages of brewing. The key reason for their use is the conversion of humulone (a-acids) during the boiling process to cis- and trans-iso-humulone (iso-a-acid). These compounds are the main contributors to the bitterness in beer. Humulone undergoes an acyloin condensation to form a 5-membered ring. Magnesium ion concentration and the pH of the solution are important mediators of this reaction. We envisioned exploration of this mechanism using UV-vis spectroscopy and polarimetry to determine the binding constant of metals to the humulone. The results, coupled with computational analysis, indicated that Mg2+ binds to the anion of humulone resulting in structural changes that promote the rearrangement

Aryl Halides as Potential Components for O-Aryl-N-(9\u27-acridinyl)-hydroxylamines Antitumor Agents

Acridine derivatives such as m-amsacrine (m-AMSA) are known to intercalate deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Their action targets the growth, function, and replication of cancer cells. Because of this, they are primarily used as anticancer and antimalaria drugs. Unfortunately, due to the low half-life m-AMSA possesses because of the ease of hydrolysis of the carbon 9-nitrogen bond (C9-N bond), large concentrations of the drug are needed to be pharmaceutically effective. This results in a large concentration of toxic aniline byproducts. To reduce the rate of hydrolysis but still maintain the binding to DNA, a modification to the m-AMSA structure was made. A series of m-AMSA derivatives with a hydroxylamine linkage between the acridine nucleus and the C9-pendant was prepared via a linear three-step synthesis. Commercially available aryl bromides were coupled with hydroxylamine using catalytic palladium. Once the resulting O-substituted hydroxylamine was hydrolyzed, the product could be coupled with 9-chloroacridine to form the target compounds. Spectroscopic methods such as Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR), Carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (13C-NMR), 1H Correlation Spectroscopy (COSY), and heteronuclear single-quantum coherence (HSQC) were used to determine the purity and structure of each target derivative. The target derivatives will be analyzed and evaluated for their ability to bind DNA through thermal denaturation. A trial with DNA in a phosphate buffer through thermal denaturation was conducted to make a baseline for the thermal denaturation. The baseline showed that the melting point of calf-thymus DNA in the specific phosphate buffer system ranged between 68-71°C

Social Experiences of Muslim Americans Regarding the Intolerance Displayed by Non-Muslims

Non-Muslims in the United States have openly expressed their opposition regarding Muslim Americans, which has led to the racial profiling and unequal treatment of Muslim Americans. Literature regarding the intolerance displayed by majority members indicates a need for further research that explores the point of view of minorities in the United States. Intolerance is defined as the refusal and unwillingness to respect or tolerate persons of a different social group or members of minority groups who hold beliefs contrary to one’s own. The intolerance displayed among members of different religious and cultural backgrounds can limit the ability to discover new information needed in promoting positive social change among Muslims and non-Muslims in the United States. Semistructured interviews were used to explore the social experiences of Muslim Americans of Palestinian descent in Cleveland, Ohio, regarding prejudice and discrimination displayed by non-Muslims. The theory of planned behavior and impression management theory were used as the framework for this study. Convenience and purposeful sampling were used to recruit the 10 participants chosen for this study. Template analysis, Giorgio’s psychological phenomenological method, and coding were used to analyze the data obtained from this study. Participants revealed experiencing prejudice and discrimination “everywhere” and “anywhere,” including verbal attacks and emotional distress. Participants also described the intolerance among Muslims and non-Muslims as “good and bad” or “it depends.” Information from this study can help in the development of social strategies that can be used to improve the interactions among Muslims and non-Muslims in United States

Emotional Experiences of Muslim Americans Regarding the Intolerance Displayed by Non-Muslims

Muslims in the United States report experiencing unequal treatment and racial profiling from non-Muslims. Recent literature (Simon et al., 2018) suggests the need for further research on the intolerance displayed by majority members from the point of view of minority members in the United States. The unwillingness or refusal to respect or tolerate individuals from a different social group or minority groups, who hold beliefs that are contrary to one’s own, is referred to as intolerance. The display of intolerance among members of different cultural and religious backgrounds can hinder the discovery of new information needed to promote positive social change among non-Muslims and Muslims in the United States. To explore the emotional experiences of Palestinian Muslim Americans in Cleveland, Ohio, I conducted semistructured interviews regarding the display of prejudice and discrimination by non-Muslims. The theoretical framework used for this study is the theory of planned behavior. To recruit the 10 participants in the study, purposeful and convenience sampling were used. Data analysis was performed using Giorgi’s psychological phenomenological method, template analysis, and coding. Findings of the study revealed that participants experienced emotional distress from the intolerance displayed by non-Muslims, which involved experiences such as verbal attacks “anywhere” and “everywhere.” The study also found the participants describing the intolerance among Muslims and non-Muslims using terms such as “we vs. they” or “us vs. them.” The discovered information from this study can be used to develop social strategies that promote and improve interactions among non-Muslims and Muslims in the United States

Reclaimed asphalt pavement with waste frying oil and crumb rubber

The application of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) has become a relatively standard material in the road industry in most countries. However, some of the problems associated with the addition of RAP to asphalt mixtures are the increase in moisture and cracking damage. The addition of rejuvenators into the recycled mixture containing RAP is also needed to enhance its performance although the rutting resistance remains a major issue. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the incorporation of other materials in the design of the asphalt mixture to achieve improved properties and better performance. This study was carried out to investigate the performance of the recycled asphalt mixture that consists of the conventional asphalt binder with 60/70 penetration grade, 25% and 40% RAP, and the incorporation of waste materials comprising 2.6% and 4.7% Waste Frying Oil (WFO) as the rejuvenator and 1.5% Crumb Rubber (CR) with sieve size of 0.15 mm as the modifier. The study was divided into three stages, namely evaluation of material properties, analysis of the asphalt binder properties, and determination and analysis of the asphalt mixture performance. Based on the results, the addition of 25% and 40% RAP in the asphalt mixture along with WFO and CR lowered the Indirect Tensile Strength (ITS) by 31.1% and 47.3%, respectively, which fulfilled the requirement of the ITS ratio test. The resilient modulus pattern for the recycled asphalt mixture containing WFO and CR was identical at 25 and 40 °C. When tested at 40 °C, the 25% and 40% RAP with incorporated WFO and CR generated a significant resilient modulus of 848 and 901 MPa, respectively. The recycled asphalt mixture with WFO and CR also exhibited a lower permanent strain than that of the virgin asphalt binder. The rutting values of all asphalt mixtures in the wheel tracking test demonstrated a similar pattern at 45 and 60 °C test temperatures. The rutting resistance of the recycled asphalt mixture with WFO and CR slightly improved compared to the virgin asphalt binder at 60 °C. Therefore, the incorporation of WFO and CR has a considerable influence on the RAP performance while preserving the environment and reducing pollution through the recycling of waste materials

The Lived Experiences of Muslim Americans Regarding Prejudice and Discrimination by Non-Muslims

Opposition to Muslim Americans in the United States is openly expressed by majority members, which includes profiling and a recent presidential campaign proposing a “ban on Muslims.” There is a lack of qualitative studies in the United States that explore minorities’ point of view of about the tolerance displayed by majority members. Tolerance involves a degree of restraint about the disapproval and dislike of others of different religious, racial, political, and cultural backgrounds. This limits the ability to develop and implement appropriate policies that are needed to promote positive social change. In this phenomenological study, semistructured interviews were used to explore the lived experiences of 10 Palestinian Muslim Americans from Cleveland, Ohio, about the prejudice and discrimination they have experienced by non-Muslims. Impression management theory and the theory of planned behavior constituted the theoretical framework for this study. Purposeful and convenience sampling were used to recruit 10 participants. Data analysis used Giogio’s psychological phenomenological method, template analysis, and coding of emerging thematic categories. Findings revealed that the participants experienced prejudice and discrimination “anywhere” and “everywhere” by non-Muslims. These included verbal attacks and being treated differently, resulting in emotional distress. The tolerance between Muslims and non-Muslims was described as “good and bad” or “it depends.” Findings from this study may help in the development and implementation of social strategies that can promote positive social change among Muslims and non-Muslims in the United States

l-Arginine deprivation impairs Leishmania major-specific T-cell responses

The amino acid l-arginine plays a crucial role in the regulation of immune responses. We have recently shown that uncontrolled replication of Leishmania parasites at the site of pathology correlates with high levels of arginase activity in nonhealing leishmaniasis and that this elevated arginase activity causes local depletion of l-arginine. To further our understanding of the impact of l-arginine deprivation in experimental leishmaniasis, here we characterize in detail the effects of l-arginine deprivation on antigen-specific T cells and MΦ. The results of our study show that decrease of l-arginine levels in the extracellular milieu affects the biological activities of Leishmania major-specific T cells, both at the level of the magnitude and the quality of their responses. L. major-specific CD4+ T cells rendered hyporesponsive by l-arginine deprivation can be partially rescued by addition of exogenous l-arginine to produce IL-4 and IL-10, but not to produce IFN-γ. Furthermore, our results show that l-arginine deprivation also greatly impacts parasite growth in activated macrophages. In summary, our results suggest that l-arginine levels affect both Th cell responses and parasite replication

Multi-Cue Pedestrian Recognition

This thesis addresses the problem of detecting complex, deformable objects in an arbitrary, cluttered environment in sequences of video images. Often, no single best technique exists for such a challenging problem, as different approaches possess different characteristics with regard to detection accuracy, processing speed, or the kind of errors made. Therefore, multi-cue approaches are pursued in this thesis. By combining multiple detection methods, each utilizing a different aspect of the video images, we seek to gain detection accuracy, robustness, and computational efficiency. The first part of this thesis deals with texture classification. In a comparative study, various combinations of feature extraction and classification methods, some of which novel, are examined with respect to classification performance and processing speed, and the relation to the training sample size is analyzed. The integration of shape matching and texture classification is investigated. A pose-specific mixture-of-experts architecture is proposed, where shape matching yields a probabilistic assignment of a texture pattern to a set of distinct pose clusters, each handled by a specialized texture classifier, the local expert. The reduced appearance variability that each local expert needs to cope with leads to improved classification performance. A slight further performance gain could be achieved by shape normalization. The second multi-cue approach deals with cascade systems that employ a sequence of fast-to-complex system modules in order to gain computational efficiency. Three optimization techniques are examined that adjust system parameters so as to optimize the three performance measures detection rate, false positive rate, and processing cost. A combined application of two techniques, a novel fast sequential optimization scheme based on ROC (receiver operating characteristics) frontier following, followed by an iterative gradient descent optimization method, is found to work best. The third method investigated is a Bayesian combination of multiple visual cues. An integrated object detection and tracking framework based on particle filtering is presented. A novel object representation combines mixture models of shape and texture, the former based on a generative point distribution model, the latter on discriminative texture classifiers. The associated observation density function integrates the three visual cues shape, texture, and depth. All methods are extensively evaluated on the problem of detecting pedestrians in urban environment from within a moving vehicle. Large data sets consisting of tens of thousands of video images have been recorded in order to obtain statistically meaningful results

Characterization of a novel population of low-density granulocytes associated with disease severity in HIV-1 infection

The mechanisms resulting in progressive immune dysfunction during the chronic phase of HIV infection are not fully understood. We have previously shown that arginase, an enzyme with potent immunosuppressive properties, is increased in HIV seropositive (HIV+) patients with low CD4(+) T cell counts. Here we show that the cells expressing arginase in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of HIV+ patients are low-density granulocytes (LDGs) and that whereas these cells have a similar morphology to normal-density granulocyte, they are phenotypically different. Importantly, our results reveal that increased frequencies of LDGs correlate with disease severity in HIV+ patients