The Odyssey Panorama

Unlike various conventional drawing techniques, changes and edits to digital drawings can be made quickly, which easily enables the creation of many versions and layers of the same image. My ability to manipulate my medium and easily merge previously drawn disparate objects, like cars and trees, often leads me to investigate further elaborations and variations that produce previously unthought of results. This versatility and sense of freedom promotes a sense of risk free experimentation that often leads to an inquisitiveness that motivates me to push the limits of representation. Although imbued with a good measure of humour and implied optimism,The Odyssey Panorama resembles a familiar Hollywood science fiction, a Mad Max kind of world, where survivors of an apocalyptic event recycle the cast-off remnants of industrialization and prepare for an uncertain future. Technology in The Odyssey Panorama is apparent, but simplified and reduced to a personal scale in the form of renewable energy systems. By suggesting that the products of unsustainable systems be used to construct inhabitable sculptures, that is architectural art, this exhibition proposes a shift in thinking from the standpoint of the preservation and maintenance of the ecological, economic and technological status quo to the survivalist approach of preparing for an inevitable and unstoppable change

Common themes in nutrient acquisition by plant symbiotic microbes, described by the Gene Ontology

A critical function for symbionts is the acquisition of nutrients from their host. Relationships between hosts and symbionts range from biotrophic mutualism to necrotrophic parasitism, with a corresponding range of structures to facilitate nutrient flow between host and symbiont. Here, we review common themes among the nutrient acquisition strategies of a range of plant symbiotic microorganisms, including mutualistic symbionts, biotrophic pathogens that feed from living tissue, necrotrophic pathogens that kill host tissue, and hemibiotrophic pathogens that switch from biotrophy to necrotrophy. We show how Gene Ontology (GO) terms developed by the Plant-Associated Microbe Gene Ontology (PAMGO) Consortium can be used for describing commonalities in nutrient acquisition among diverse plant symbionts. Where appropriate, parallels found among animal symbionts are also highlighted

Contrast discrimination with Nike Maxsight contact lenses in natural light

Background: The use of tinted and clear contact lenses in all aspects of life is becoming a more popular occurrence, particularly in athletic activities. This study broadens previous research regarding MAXSIGHTTM contact lenses and their effects on objective and subjective visual performance. Methods: 33 subjects (14 male, 19 female) were placed in clear B&L Optima@ 38,50% VLT Amber Nike MAXSIGHTTM Contact Lenses and 36% VLT Grey-Green Nike MAXSIGHTTM contact lenses in an individualized randomized sequence. Subjects were dark-adapted with welding goggles prior to testing and in between sub-tests involving a Bailey-Lovie chart and the Haynes Distance Rock test. The sequence of testing was repeated for each lens modality. Results: MAXSIGHTTM Amber and Grey-Green lenses enabled subjects to recover vision faster compared to clear lenses. Also, subjects were able to achieve better visual recognition in bright sunlight when compared to clear lenses. Additionally, the lenses allowed the subjects to alternate fixation between bright and shaded conditions at a more rapid rate as compared to clear lenses. Subjects preferred both MAXSIGHTTM Amber and Grey-Green lenses over clear lenses in the bright and shadowed conditions. Conclusions: The results of the current study show that MAXSIGHTTM Amber and Grey-Green lenses provide better contrast discrimination in bright sunlight, better contrast discrimination when alternating between bright and shaded conditions, better speed of visual recovery in bright sunlight, and better overall visual performance in bright and shaded conditions

Mapping The Movement of Overwintering Western Monarch Butterflies (Danaus Plexippus) at the Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove Using ARCGIS Software

Dr. Villablanca of the Cal Poly Biology Department commissioned this project with the goal of tracking Monarch Butterfly spatial redistribution in anticipation of or response to severe weather events. We believe that Monarchs cluster non-preferentially on introduced Eucalyptus trees until midwinter when they begin to cluster preferentially on native conifers. Based on the efforts of a previous group of students, it has been deter- mined that, over a two-week time period in mid-winter, Monarchs spend the majority of their time on native conifers. We set out to clearly demonstrate Monarch Butterfly spatial redistribution in either anticipation of or response to severe weather

Functional and Conformational Plasticity of an Animal Group 1 LEA Protein

Group 1 (Dur-19, PF00477, LEA_5) Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) proteins are present in organisms from all three domains of life, Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya. Surprisingly, Artemia is the only genus known to include animals that express group 1 LEA proteins in their desiccation-tolerant life-history stages. Bioinformatics analysis of circular dichroism data indicates that the group 1 LEA protein AfLEA1 is surprisingly ordered in the hydrated state and undergoes during desiccation one of the most pronounced disorder-to-order transitions described for LEA proteins from A. franciscana. The secondary structure in the hydrated state is dominated by random coils (42%) and β-sheets (35%) but converts to predominately α-helices (85%) when desiccated. Interestingly, AfLEA1 interacts with other proteins and nucleic acids, and RNA promotes liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) of the protein from the solvent during dehydration in vitro. Furthermore, AfLEA1 protects the enzyme lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) during desiccation but does not aid in restoring LDH activity after desiccation-induced inactivation. Ectopically expressed in D. melanogaster Kc167 cells, AfLEA1 localizes predominantly to the cytosol and increases the cytosolic viscosity during desiccation compared to untransfected control cells. Furthermore, the protein formed small biomolecular condensates in the cytoplasm of about 38% of Kc167 cells. These findings provide additional evidence for the hypothesis that the formation of biomolecular condensates to promote water stress tolerance during anhydrobiosis may be a shared feature across several groups of LEA proteins that display LLPS behaviors

Underwater Reactor Inspector Nuclear Fuel Inspecting Drone

The Underwater Reactor Inspector (URI) is a tethered and radiation resistant remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) designated to operate within the reactor pool of the Rhode Island Nuclear Science Center (RINSC). The main purpose of the ROV is to be able to inspect the core elements of the reactor within the pool. The design process was done by brainstorming multiple different designs and optimizing them based off the ease of the design as well as the engineering process that each design featured. The final design consists of all significant aspects for the ROV to achieve its’ goal. The URI underwent a redesign at the beginning of the year which has made the current product smaller and cheaper to make. It utilizes a periscope which in this case is an angled mirror to show a perpendicular view from the orientation of the camera. Shielded by three feet of water and more than three quarters an inch of Lead, the camera and other contents in the electronics bottle will be protected from gamma radiation ensuring that the effective dosage will not exceed the operable dosage rate of 50 Gy/hr. The ROV will receive power from the topside of the pool via tether which also is how the ROV is controlled

Protein secretion systems in bacterial-host associations, and their description in the Gene Ontology

Protein secretion plays a central role in modulating the interactions of bacteria with their environments. This is particularly the case when symbiotic bacteria (whether pathogenic, commensal or mutualistic) are interacting with larger host organisms. In the case of Gram-negative bacteria, secretion requires translocation across the outer as well as the inner membrane, and a diversity of molecular machines have been elaborated for this purpose. A number of secreted proteins are destined to enter the host cell (effectors and toxins), and thus several secretion systems include apparatus to translocate proteins across the plasma membrane of the host also. The Plant-Associated Microbe Gene Ontology (PAMGO) Consortium has been developing standardized terms for describing biological processes and cellular components that play important roles in the interactions of microbes with plant and animal hosts, including the processes of bacterial secretion. Here we survey bacterial secretion systems known to modulate interactions with host organisms and describe Gene Ontology terms useful for describing the components and functions of these systems, and for capturing the similarities among the diverse systems

Assessment of the Mankato Area\u27s young Adult Population\u27s Knowledge of Mall Video Mining for Marketing Research

The most modern form of gathering marketing information is not as new as many people believe. The trepidation of Big Brother’s cameras watching down on us puts a chill down most peoples’ backs. In numerous mall stores, cameras are located in each store and are examining you. Most believe that the cameras are positioned for the purpose of shoplifting and crime, but the truth is many are also used for the purpose of marketing. Video mining as it is known has emerged as the latest method of conducting market research. The stores that are participating in this study are diligently watching an assortment of things. Marketing analysts watch what a customer has picked up, what they have looked at, the amount purchased, colors that attract them, their facial expressions, and many other forms of movement. This information is gathered and recorded, then shot across the nation via computer to a company such as Shopper Trak that views and analyzes clips of customers shopping. Shopper Trak presently has 40,000 cameras in various stores across the nation. Most customers have little knowledge of this marketing tactic or that there are no laws prohibiting this action. Do stores and business’s have an ethical duty to reveal their practices to their customers? Is it legal for them to use the personal information or preferences of their customers to exploit them without their knowledge or consent? Finally, where is the line drawn on what is considered personal, private information

Tethering of Multi-Vesicular Bodies and the Tonoplast to the Plasma Membrane in Plants

Tethering of the plasma membrane (PM) and many organelles to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) for communication and lipid exchange has been widely reported. However, despite growing interest in multi-vesicular bodies (MVBs) as possible sources of exosomes, tethering of MVBs to the PM has not been reported. Here we show that MVBs and the vacuolar membrane (tonoplast) could be tethered to the PM (PM-MVB/TP tethering) by artificial protein fusions or bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) complexes that contain a peripheral membrane protein that binds the PM and also a protein that binds MVBs or the tonoplast. PM-binding proteins capable of participating in PM-MVB/TP tethering included StRem1.3, BIK1, PBS1, CPK21, and the PtdIns(4)-binding proteins FAPP1 and Osh2. MVB/TP-binding proteins capable of participating in tethering included ARA6, ARA7, RHA1, RABG3f, and the PtdIns(3)P-binding proteins Vam7p and Hrs-2xFYVE. BiFC complexes or protein fusions capable of producing PM-MVB/TP tethering were visualized as large well-defined patches of fluorescence on the PM that could displace PM proteins such as AtFlotillin1 and also could displace cytoplasmic proteins such as soluble GFP. Furthermore, we identified paralogous ubiquitin E3 ligase proteins, SAUL1 (AtPUB44), and AtPUB43 that could produce PM-MVB/TP tethering. SAUL1 and AtPUB43 could produce tethering in uninfected tissue when paired with MVB-binding proteins or when their E3 ligase domain was deleted. When Nicotiana benthamiana leaf tissue was infected with Phytophthora capsici, full length SAUL1 and AtPUB43 localized in membrane patches consistent with PM-MVB/TP tethering. Our findings define new tools for studying PM-MVB/TP tethering and its possible role in plant defense.Significance StatementAlthough not previously observed, the tethering of multi-vesicular bodies to the plasma membrane is of interest due to the potential role of this process in producing exosomes in plants. Here we describe tools for observing and manipulating the tethering of multi-vesicular bodies and the tonoplast to the plant plasma membrane, and describe two plant proteins that may naturally regulate this process during infection