Speech is My Hammer, It\u27s Time to Build: Hip Hop, Cultural Semiosis and the Africana Intellectual Heritage

The article examines Hip Hop music\u27s relationship with African cultural symbolism and the discipline of Africana Studies. The author maintains that Africana Studies must reclaim the study of cultural semiosis, which may be used to contextualize Hip Hop praxis. Examining semeiotic traces within African and Afrodiasporic primary sources, including Hip Hop lyrics, the article posits that Hip Hop is the latest development in a long tradition of Afro-Kemetic oral artistry, semeiotic systems and the uses of these dual literacies as modes of resistance and affirmations of Black historical and cultural agency. The article adapts Harryette Mullen\u27s literary model of African Spirit Writing and Elaine Richardson\u27s Hip Hop Literacy studies to discuss specific constructs that affirm an African Diasporic worldview and foster resistance to the dominant political-economy that frames Black agency

Using nucleic acid-gold nanoparticle conjugate in the fight against bacteria that are resistant to tetracycline antibiotics

Antibiotic resistance is major problem in modern medicine. Seventy percent of bacterial strains are resistant to at least one antibiotic, making treatment of bacterial infections ever more expensive and difficult. Currently, we are investigating the therapeutic potency of nucleic acid-gold nanoparticle conjugates as treatments against bacteria that are resistant to the antibiotic tetracycline. We hypothesize that by attaching RNA that binds to tetracycline to silver or gold nanoparticles the resulting conjugates will work as a “Trojan-horse” tetracycline-delivery vehicle that smuggles the antibiotic into the cell without being detected by cellular defense systems. Moreover, we reason that silver or gold ions released by the nanoparticles add to the antimicrobial effects of tetracycline. To demonstrate the viability of this idea, we set out to generate a nuclease resistant variant of the tetracycline binding RNA ykkCD and attach it to gold nanoparticles. During the summer we furthered the progress of this research in there major ways. First, we optimized conditions used for the polymerase chain reaction that generates the DNA template for RNA synthesis. Second, we found the most efficient way to synthesize RNA containing modified nucleotides. Usage of modified nucleotides is necessary to prevent degradation of the tetracycline-binding RNA by cellular nucleases. Third, we optimized a stability assay to verify that the modified RNAs are stable in cellular environments. Fourth, we attached the tetracycline binding RNA to gold nanoparticles. The next steps in the process would be to test the potency of this modified RNA-gold nanoparticle conjugate against a tetracycline-resistant strain of the bacteria E. Coli.https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/sureposters/1009/thumbnail.jp

Sequencing and analysis of the gastrula transcriptome of the brittle star Ophiocoma wendtii

Background The gastrula stage represents the point in development at which the three primary germ layers diverge. At this point the gene regulatory networks that specify the germ layers are established and the genes that define the differentiated states of the tissues have begun to be activated. These networks have been well-characterized in sea urchins, but not in other echinoderms. Embryos of the brittle star Ophiocoma wendtii share a number of developmental features with sea urchin embryos, including the ingression of mesenchyme cells that give rise to an embryonic skeleton. Notable differences are that no micromeres are formed during cleavage divisions and no pigment cells are formed during development to the pluteus larval stage. More subtle changes in timing of developmental events also occur. To explore the molecular basis for the similarities and differences between these two echinoderms, we have sequenced and characterized the gastrula transcriptome of O. wendtii. Methods Development of Ophiocoma wendtii embryos was characterized and RNA was isolated from the gastrula stage. A transcriptome data base was generated from this RNA and was analyzed using a variety of methods to identify transcripts expressed and to compare those transcripts to those expressed at the gastrula stage in other organisms. Results Using existing databases, we identified brittle star transcripts that correspond to 3,385 genes, including 1,863 genes shared with the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus gastrula transcriptome. We characterized the functional classes of genes present in the transcriptome and compared them to those found in this sea urchin. We then examined those members of the germ-layer specific gene regulatory networks (GRNs) of S. purpuratus that are expressed in the O. wendtii gastrula. Our results indicate that there is a shared ‘genetic toolkit’ central to the echinoderm gastrula, a key stage in embryonic development, though there are also differences that reflect changes in developmental processes. Conclusions The brittle star expresses genes representing all functional classes at the gastrula stage. Brittle stars and sea urchins have comparable numbers of each class of genes and share many of the genes expressed at gastrulation. Examination of the brittle star genes in which sea urchin orthologs are utilized in germ layer specification reveals a relatively higher level of conservation of key regulatory components compared to the overall transcriptome. We also identify genes that were either lost or whose temporal expression has diverged from that of sea urchins

Minimum clinically important difference of the Social Functioning in Dementia Scale (SF-DEM): cross-sectional study and Delphi survey.

OBJECTIVES: Good social functioning is important for people living with dementia and their families. The Social Functioning in Dementia Scale (SF-DEM) is a valid and reliable instrument measuring social functioning in dementia. However the minimum clinically important difference (MCID) has not yet been derived for SF-DEM. This study aims to define the MCID for the SF-DEM. DESIGN: We used triangulation, incorporating data from a cross-sectional study to calculate the MCID using distribution-based and anchor-based methods, and a Delphi survey. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: The cross-sectional survey comprised 299 family carers of people with dementia. Twenty dementia experts (researchers, clinicians, family carers) rated whether changes on clinical vignettes represented a meaningful change in the Delphi survey. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: We calculated the distribution-based MCID as 0.5 of an SD for each of the three SF-DEM domains (1-spending time with others, 2-communicating with others, 3-sensitivity to others). We used the carers' rating of social functioning to calculate the anchor-based MCID. For the Delphi survey, we defined consensus as ≥75% agreement. Where there was lack of consensus, experts were asked to complete a further survey round. RESULTS: We found that 0.5 SD of SF-DEM was 1.9 points, 2.2 and 1.4 points in domains 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Using the anchoring analysis, the MCIDs were 1.7 points, 1.7 points, and 0.9 points in domains 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The Delphi method required two rounds. In the second round, a consensus was reached that a 2-point change was considered significant in all three domains, but no consensus was reached on a 1-point change. CONCLUSIONS: By triangulating all three methods, the SF-DEM's MCIDs were 1.9, 2.0 and 1.4 points for domains 1, 2 and 3, respectively. For individuals, these values should be rounded to a 2-point change for each domain

When Street Harassment Comes Indoors: A Sample of New York City Service Agency and Union Responses to Street Harassment

Street harassment in an under-researched, but likely prevalent, experience for many New Yorkers. In partnership with Hollaback!, researchers from the Worker Institute at Cornell sought to better understand how often New York City-based social service providers receive reports of street harassment, and how they respond to those reports. In a survey of 110 service providers, we found that more than 86 percent of respondents had received reports of street harassment from a client, constituent or consumer, and that 92 percent of respondents felt there was a need for increased training and resources for both their staff and those they serve. This report explores these findings further and offers some possible steps for taking action on this important issue

Revisiting membrane rejection: On the relationship between solute size and pore size in the nanofiltration regime

The molecular resolution of nanofiltration depends on resistance to solute transport along the permeation channel, manifesting steric hindrance and hydrodynamic friction. To date there is little direct experimental evidence of reporting on rejection in nanofiltration for ideal membranes with uniform pores, and defined size solutes. However the recent availability of defined nanoparticles in the range 1-20 nm makes new investigations feasible. Phenomenological models for predicting solute permeation through defined cylindrical channels started with the Hagen-Poiseuille equation, which includes viscosity as the key parameter for solvent permeation. The Bowen-Welfoot model was developed to incorporate several correction terms to account for solute-pore interaction. However, the Bowen-Welfoot model generates ideal rejection curves only under the conditions of low pressure-driven flow. Under high-pressure conditions, the rejection curve as predicted by Bowen-Welfoot model assumes a broad spread, similar to the rejection profile predicted by Ferry’s sieving model, demonstrating steric hindrance based on solute-pore interaction as the key parameter in rejection. We set out to obtain new fundamental experimental evidence to interrogate these nanofiltration models. In this work, transport of spherical nanoparticle (NP) imaging probes through model polycarbonate track etch (PCTE) and alumina (Al) membranes were studied empirically using citrate-coated gold nanoparticles of defined sizes (1, 5, 15 nm) and straight channel PCTE (nominal pore diameters 10 and 30 nm) and Al (nominal pore diameters 40 nm) membranes with uniform pore sizes. A priori calculations of theoretical rejections of the membranes with respect to different solute sizes were computed using Bowen-Welfoot pore-flow model. Two simulation approaches were used to describe both discrete and continuous (Gaussian distribution) pore size distributions using probability density functions and taking into account the solvent viscosity as a function of pore radii. Empirically measured rejections of nanoparticle imaging probes were compared with simulation results to confirm the phenomena of hindered transport of NPs inside defined cylindrical nanochannels. Given the experimentally observed evidence of hindered transport of solute moving through pores of commensurate dimensions, we revisited the measurement of rejection in nanofiltration regime in different operational modes: dead-end filtration, diafiltration and cross-flow using a same combination of nanoparticle solute size and membrane pore size. Our results show that dead-end and cross-flow measurements of rejection values do not always agree well with each other; while our diafiltration experiments provide evidence of solutes getting trapped inside membrane pores of commensurate sizes (permanent loss) or solutes in retarded movement through the pores due to much faster solvent flow (transient accumulation). In summary, this fundamental study will illustrate the relation between solute sizes and pore sizes, the implications of it on measurements of rejection values, and the applications of the use of nanoparticle imaging agents for quantifying pathway dimensions in commercial membranes such as reverse osmosis thin film composites and integrally skinned asymmetric nanofiltration membranes with tortuous pore channels that are otherwise difficult to imaging the sizes directly using electron micrographic techniques

Differentiation of dementia with Lewy bodies from Alzheimer's disease using a dopaminergic presynaptic ligand

Background: Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is one of the main differential diagnoses of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Key pathological features of patients with DLB are not only the presence of cerebral cortical neuronal loss, with Lewy bodies in surviving neurones, but also loss of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurones, similar to that of Parkinson's disease (PD). In DLB there is 40-70% loss of striatal dopamine.Objective: To determine if detection of this dopaminergic degeneration can help to distinguish DLB from AD during life.Methods: The integrity of the nigrostriatal metabolism in 27 patients with DLB, 17 with AD, 19 drug naive patients with PD, and 16 controls was assessed using a dopaminergic presynaptic ligand, I-123-labelled 2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-iodophenyl)-N-(3-fluoropropyl)nortropane (FP-CIT), and single photon emission tomography (SPET). A SPET scan was carried out with a single slice, brain dedicated tomograph (SME 810) 3.5 hours after intravenous injection of 185 MBq FP-CIT. With occipital cortex used as a radioactivity uptake reference, ratios for the caudate nucleus and the anterior and posterior putamen of both hemispheres were calculated. All scans were also rated by a simple visual method.Results: Both DLB and PD patients had significantly lower uptake of radioactivity than patients with (p<0.01) and controls (p<0.001) in the caudate nucleus and the anterior and posterior Putamen.Conclusion: FP-CIT SPET provides a means of distinguishing DLB from AD during life