Developmental Evolution of the Progamic Phase in Nymphaeales

The period between pollination and fertilization, or the progamic phase, is a critical life history stage in seed plants and innovations in this life history stage are hypothesized to have played an important role in the diversification of flowering plants. Over the course of this dissertation research, I investigated programic phase development in Nymphaeales (water lilies), an ancient angiosperm lineage that diverged from the basalmost or next most basal node of the angiosperm phylogenetic tree and that is represented in the oldest angiosperm fossil record. I used field experiments and microscopy to document pollination biology, breeding system, and reproductive developmental traits in two families of Nymphaeales: Cabombaceae (Brasenia, Cabomba) and Hydatellaceae (Trithuria). Nymphaeales exhibits considerable variation in reproductive traits and true carpel closure, wind-pollination, and a primarily selfing breeding system have arisen independently in the lineage. Pollen tube pathway length, timing of stigma receptivity, and pollen tube growth rates are conspicuous traits that have undergone considerable modification in concert with shifts in pollination biology and breeding system. Post-pollination developmental processes in Nymphaeales appear to experience selective pressures similar to those experienced by more derived angiosperms and to evolve in similar ways. Nymphaeales also exhibits traits, such as accelerated pollen tube growth, callosic pollen tube walls, and the formation of callose plugs, that are almost certainly plesiomorphic in angiosperms and may have facilitated modification of carpel structure and progamic phase ontogenies. The finding that pollen tube traits that underlie developmental flexibility were already in place before the divergence of Nymphaeales supports the hypothesis that innovations in male gametophyte development were instrumental in facilitating early angiosperm diversification

Teaching While White: White Identity Development and Antiracism for Educators

This project explores the use of mindfulness in antiracist professional development for educators, documenting the development and implementation of workshop curriculum across three conference settings. The purpose of the project was to engage White educators in the important inner work of understanding White racial conditioning and actively challenging the institutional and structural racism inherent in our education system. Beginning with an understanding of race, racism and Critical Race Theory, the curriculum was designed to support White educators in developing their own racial identities to further their own personal development. The workshop focuses on White Identity development (Helms, 1990) to support participants in developing awareness of their own racial conditioning, introducing Whiteness Identity Development (Helms, 1990), White privilege (McIntosh, 1989), and White fragility (DiAngelo, 2011) while addressing common impacts of White racial conditioning - including silencing, colorblindness, color muteness, and the use of racially coded language. The curriculum explores concepts related to race and racism while offering mindfulness practice as a means of supporting self-reflection and skillful engagement with discomfort and difficult discussion. Participants were challenged to explore their own awareness of and role in addressing racism. Through this process White educators can begin to deconstruct racism in themselves and in the educational spaces where they work. It is only through this crucial inner work, that we as educators can begin the outer work of addressing “educational debt” (Ladson-Billings, 2006)

Exploring Inequality in Relation to Rates of Reporting Sexual Assault at Canadian Post-Secondary Institutions

Abstract: Sexual assault on Canadian post-secondary campuses remains a persistent, reoccurring issue, with 25% of post-secondary women being sexually assaulted (Hawn et al., 2018). This examination of the literature endeavours to determine how the policies, barriers, and responses to sexual assault at Canadian post-secondary institutions helps or hurts an individual’s odds of reporting sexual assault issues. The literature review revealed three themes that act as obstacles to reporting sexual assault: a) lack of sexual assault policies, b) existing barriers to support, and c) poor responses by post-secondary institutions. If these obstructions are reduced—or eliminated completely in a best-case scenario—the likelihood of sexual assault survivors reporting may increase.

Investigating Mitochondrial Influence on the Rate of Anaerobic Glycolysis in an \u3ci\u3ein vitro\u3c/i\u3e Model

The rate at which the muscle acidifies after an animal is harvested has a profound effect on the quality of the resulting pork. When acidification increases gradually, desirable pork quality characteristics are developed. In contrast, rapid acidification deteriorates pork quality, exemplified by the pale, soft, and exudative (PSE) pork defect. The rate of acidification is determined by the rate of anaerobic metabolism in postmortem muscle. Yet the processes controlling postmortem anaerobic metabolism are not well understood. Recent research suggests that mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell, may influence this process by competing for substrate (pyruvate) with anaerobic metabolism, thereby reducing its rate. This study aimed to examine the role of mitochondria in post-harvest acidification of pork. We hypothesized that inhibiting mitochondrial ability to uptake pyruvate would increase the rate of acidification. To test this hypothesis, CPI-613 and Avidin, inhibitors of pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) and pyruvate carboxylase (PC), respectively, were used in lab settings mimicking postmortem muscle metabolism. Four treatments were tested: control, CPI-613, Avidin, and CPI-613 + Avidin. A similar follow-up study incorporated a tracer to track pyruvate\u27s fate. The results showed that inhibition of PDH with CPI-613 increased anaerobic metabolism and decreased mitochondrial metabolite enrichment, evidenced by an increased rate of acidification and anaerobic metabolism compared to the control. No effect was observed in the PC-inhibited samples. These findings suggest that mitochondria could have a regulatory role on the rate of post-harvest metabolism. Overall, the data support our hypothesis that inhibiting mitochondrial ability to uptake pyruvate increases the rate of acidification

Solar neutrino physics at dark matter direct detection experiments

As the sensitivity of direct detection experiments improves, they will soon be subject to a new, irreducible background from the coherent elastic scattering of solar neutrinos with nuclei. The presence of new physics can modify this scattering rate, and signals of neutrino scattering may appear in direct detection experiments sooner than expected. In this thesis, we explore the effects of several simplified models of new physics on neutrino scattering at direct detection experiments. We introduce the neutrino contour, a projection of the modified coherent neutrino scattering rate on a dark matter parameter space. This contour can be used to quickly identify whether a direct detection experiment could set competitive constraints on a given model, or conversely, whether the model could produce a large enough neutrino scattering rate to hinder searches for dark matter at that experiment. We discuss the subtleties that arise while computing constraints from the results of one experiment, CDMSlite, in particular the challenges of including electron scattering in the analysis. Finally, we calculate the sensitivity of several future direct detection experiments to one model, the \umt. We find that the upcoming LUX-ZEPLIN experiment will be able to test solutions to two ongoing problems in fundamental physics: the muon g-2 anomaly and the $H_0$ tension

Low prevalence of SEC detected in various Staphylococcus aureus strains.

Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from bacteria swabs collected from participants at Concordia University St. Paul for this study. Isolated Staphylococcus aureus was then run through genomic prep to gather DNA from each strain. Collected DNA was amplified using PCR with specific primers to the targeted sec gene. The amplified sec gene was then transferred to gel electrophoresis, establishing whether the original strain contained the sec gene

Barriers to the use of a diagnostic oral microbiology laboratory by general dental practitioners

OBJECTIVE: To identify barriers on the use of diagnostic microbiology facilities in general dental practice. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey using a postal questionnaire. SETTING: Primary/secondary care interface between the diagnostic oral microbiology laboratory, University of Glasgow Dental Hospital and School, Glasgow and dental practitioners within the surrounding health boards, 1998. SUBJECTS: All GDPs (797) within Argyll and Clyde, Ayrshire and Arran, Lanarkshire and Greater Glasgow Health Boards. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The responses were expressed as both absolute and relative frequencies. RESULTS: Responses were received from 430 (55%). The most frequent reason for failure to use the service was lack of information, with more than half of the respondents claiming to be unaware of the facility. Lack of request forms and sampling equipment were also viewed as barriers to using the service. CONCLUSIONS: The laboratory is failing to successfully communicate its role in addressing the growing burden of antibiotic resistance in the community and must be more proactive in encouraging appropriate use and increasing accessibility of the service to GDPs