Inflation from Wrapped Branes

We show that the use of higher dimensional wrapped branes can significantly extend the inflaton field range compared to brane inflation models which use D3-branes. We construct a simple inflationary model in terms of 5-branes wrapping a 2-cycle and traveling towards the tip of the Klebanov-Strassler throat. Inflation ends when the branes reach the tip of the cone and self-annihilate. Assuming a quadratic potential for the brane it is possible to match the CMB data in the DBI regime, but we argue that the backreaction of the brane is important and cannot be neglected. This scenario predicts a strong non-Gaussian signal and possibly detectable gravitational waves.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures; v2 typos corrected, minor additions, added reference

Effects of Early-Adolescent, Mid-Adolescent, or Adult Stress on Morphine Conditioned Place Preference

Early-life stress is correlated with negative mental health outcomes, including illicit drug abuse. One mechanism that may contribute to drug abuse is stress-induced elevation of drug reward. Place conditioning paradigms show that exposure to uncontrollable stress as an adult enhances opiate conditioned place preference, CPP. The present work addressed whether early-adolescent, mid-adolescent, or adult stress amplified morphine CPP. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to stress or no stress conditions and received stress during early-, mid-adolescence, or adulthood. Stressors were unpredictable consisting of exposure to synthetic fox odor (trimethylthiazoline) and an elevated platform. Morphine place conditioning occurred during adulthood, and all animals received either morphine (15 mg/kg) on the initially non-preferred side or saline (1 ml/kg) on the initially preferred side. A post-test was conducted and time on non-preferred side was analyzed. A 2 (S/NS) x 2 (pre-/post-test) x 3 (early-adolescent/mid-adolescent/adult) mixed ANOVA revealed a significant main effect of test, F(1,42)=115.90, p \u3c .001

Agents’ Perceptions of What Makes Offenders Successful in Intensive Supervised Release

The current study addresses what makes an offender successful in the Intensive Supervised Release program (ISR) by looking at agents’ perceptions based on past success and failures and focusing on counseling strategies that are implemented in this correctional field. The participants of this study are made up of ten ISR agents between age 35 and 50 years old, consisting of two female and eight male agents. This study is qualitative in nature and the data obtained was assessed by using a semi-standardized interview. Each interview was transcribed in order to identify salient themes regarding agents’ perceptions of what makes an offender successful in the ISR program. The offender’s internal motivation for success was identified as the biggest indicator for success. The implications of this study indicate that further training regarding working with a client with mental illness may be beneficial for the agents, as well as developing interventions that help the offender achieve motivation for success

Interpreting the Ursinus Food Forest: Visualizing, Designing, and Realizing Signage at the Whittaker Environmental Research Station (WERS)

In the fall Ursinus will begin planting the initial species of its food forest on two acres at the Whittaker Environmental Research Station (WERS), an agricultural field currently characterized by livestock forage species, just off campus. By increasing biodiversity at the site and implementing a design that mimics the structure of a healthy forest ecosystem, this food forest intends to improve the wider ecosystem’s health and resilience, while also providing the local community with a source of harvestable food and craft materials. As the system matures and becomes available to the public, interpretive materials will become imperative to ensuring visitors interact with the site in a safe, appropriate, and meaningful manner. Successful interpretation should see visitors come away from the site with a deeper understanding of the system’s functioning, direct and indirect benefits to humans and wildlife, and ideally a greater appreciation for and willingness to care for the surrounding ecosystem. This project develops an interpretive signage protocol that includes a) a conceptual framework for understanding the food forest and its multiple goals, b) an inventory of specific signage topics (i.e. interpretable elements) and their placement within the site’s current layout, and c) the design parameters that should govern the textual clarity and visual appearance of these signs. The protocol is accompanied by finished signage models that illustrate these goals

Agents’ Perceptions of What Makes Offenders Successful in Intensive Supervised Release

The current study addresses what makes an offender successful in the Intensive Supervised Release program (ISR) by looking at agents’ perceptions based on past success and failures and focusing on counseling strategies that are implemented in this correctional field. The participants of this study are made up of ten ISR agents between age 35 and 50 years old, consisting of two female and eight male agents. This study is qualitative in nature and the data obtained was assessed by using a semi-standardized interview. Each interview was transcribed in order to identify salient themes regarding agents’ perceptions of what makes an offender successful in the ISR program. The offender’s internal motivation for success was identified as the biggest indicator for success. The implications of this study indicate that further training regarding working with a client with mental illness may be beneficial for the agents, as well as developing interventions that help the offender achieve motivation for success

Playing God: Legacies of Narrative Control in Danticat and Walker

In The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat and The Color Purple by Alice Walker characters experience and manifest power through the production of narrative, naming and labeling, and bodily interactions. Abusers such as the Dew Breaker, Duvalier, and Alphonso understand power as hierarchical, gained at the expense of others. These men commit acts of physical violence, spin scapegoat narratives which justify torture and rape, and attempt to name reality and define morality for their victims; in short, they pursue the power of a god to assert hegemony and control others. Scholars such as Bellamy suggest that the Dew Breaker is a changed man after giving up occupational torture and starting a family in America. However, close examination of his interactions with Anne and Ka demonstrates that he continues to exert control over others through acts of physical violence and the narcissistic, possessive act of naming his daughter as an extension of himself. Mr. Bienamé is no longer a Tonton Macoute, but exhibits the same need for control and self-deifying narrative which undergirded his career as a torturer. Danticat and Walker address unrepentant abusers like the Dew Breaker not through communal action which brings perpetrators to justice, but by focusing on the stories and growth of victims