Is Tomorrow Another Day? The Uncertain Implications of Scarlett\u27s Life Decisions in Margaret Mitchell\u27s Gone with the Wind

Anyone who is familiar with Margaret Mitchell’s life and her novel, Gone with the Wind, should notice that Mitchell’s work in some fashion parallels events from her life. Exactly how and why these parallels function, however, has been the subject for much scholarly debate. In my thesis, I examine Mitchell’s biography to get closer to the truth of the events in her life up to the publication of her novel. I then synthesize this information with a side-by-side analysis of some important figures in Mitchell’s life and characters from her novel; from there, I provide a feminist critique of selected characters, relationships between those characters, and scenes from the novel. In particular, I focus upon Mitchell’s relationship with her mother, Maybelle, and how this relationship compares with Scarlett O’Hara’s relationship with her mother, Ellen

Divergent Selection and Primary Gene Flow Shape Incipient Speciation of a Riparian Tree on Hawaii Island

A long-standing goal of evolutionary biology is to understand the mechanisms underlying the formation of species. Of particular interest is whether or not speciation can occur in the presence of gene flow and without a period of physical isolation. Here, we investigated this process within Hawaiian Metrosideros, a hypervariable and highly dispersible woody species complex that dominates the Hawaiian Islands in continuous stands. Specifically, we investigated the origin of Metrosideros polymorpha var. newellii (newellii), a riparian ecotype endemic to Hawaii Island that is purportedly derived from the archipelago-wide M. polymorpha var. glaberrima (glaberrima). Disruptive selection across a sharp forestriparian ecotone contributes to the isolation of these varieties and is a likely driver of newellii’s origin. We examined genome-wide variation of 42 trees from Hawaii Island and older islands. Results revealed a split between glaberrima and newellii within the past 0.3–1.2 My. Admixture was extensive between lineages within Hawaii Island and between islands, but introgression from populations on older islands (i.e., secondary gene flow) did not appear to contribute to the emergence of newellii. In contrast, recurrent gene flow (i.e., primary gene flow) between glaberrima and newellii contributed to the formation of genomic islands of elevated absolute and relative divergence. These regions were enriched for genes with regulatory functions as well as for signals of positive selection, especially in newellii, consistent with divergent selection underlying their formation. In sum, our results support riparian newellii as a rare case of incipient ecological speciation with primary gene flow in trees

Selective Alterations of Opiate Receptor Subtypes in Mono sodium Glutamate-Treated Rats

Neonatal treatment of rats with monosodium glutamate (MSG) has been demonstrated to destroy cell bodies of neurons in the arcuate nucleus including the brain beta-endorphin (B-END) system. The effects on opiate receptors of the loss of B-END is unknown. Neonatal rats were treated with MSG as previously described. After reaching maturity (7-9 months), MSG-treated rats and litter-matched untreated control rats were decapitated and brains dissected into brain regions. Opiate receptor assays were run with [ 3 H]morphine (mu receptor ligand) and [ 3 H]D-alanine 2 -D-leucine 5 (DADL) enkephalin (delta receptor ligand) for each brain region for both MSG and control rats simultaneously. Scatchard plot analyses showed a selective increase in delta receptors in the thala-mus only. No corresponding change in mu receptors in the thalamus was found. The cross-competition IC 50 data supported this conclusion, showing a loss in the potency of morphine in displacing [ 3 H]DADL enkephalin in the thalamus of MSG-treated rats. This shift in delta receptors produced an IC 50 displacement pattern in thalamus, ordinarily a mu-rich area, similar to that of striatum or cortex, delta-rich areas, again indicating an increase in delta receptors. Similar changes in delta receptors in other brain regions were not found. These results represent one of the few examples of a selective and localized shift in delta with no change in mu sites. Furthermore, the delta increase may reflect an up-regulation of the receptors in thalamus after chronic loss of the endogenous opioid B-END.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65552/1/j.1471-4159.1983.tb08126.x.pd

The Pathology of Cancer

Patients and physicians depend on pathologists to make the diagnosis of cancer and of the specific type of cancer. Pathologists are expert in pattern recognition and in the natural history of diseases, including cancers. This chapter in Cancer Concepts: A Guidebook for the Non-Oncologist will describe the pathology of cancer.https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/cancer_concepts/1023/thumbnail.jp

Considering Educators’ Perceptions of Ethics and Safety in Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs)

With the proliferation of students’ abilities to use technology, in particular virtual reality (VR) applications, teachers are experimenting with VR in virtual learning environments (VLE) to engage students; but clear ethics and safety guidelines are not available. Within the field of education additional research is needed to determine how VR is employed in VLEs. Additionally, what are the decision-making processes of educators for the VR programs chosen for classroom use based on ethics and student safety? Through qualitative inquiry, educators from K–12 and higher education shared their perceptions of ethics and safety concerns in VR applications for use in the classroom. We collected data from a sample of K–12 and higher education professionals from the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) membership, an educational organization emphasizing technology integration and learning. Data analysis from the individual interviews with open-ended questions revealed five primary themes and twelve sub-themes. Participants agreed that they need ethical and safety guidelines as they embark on new horizons that influence student well-being. The findings from this study may provide an in-depth understanding of the importance of developing ethics and safety guidelines for educational VR programs when used by students

Exercises for improving quick perception grades I, II, III.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University N.B.: Page 242 is misnumbered. No content is missing from thesis

Monomeric ephrinB2 binding induces allosteric changes in Nipah virus G that precede its full activation.

Nipah virus is an emergent paramyxovirus that causes deadly encephalitis and respiratory infections in humans. Two glycoproteins coordinate the infection of host cells, an attachment protein (G), which binds to cell surface receptors, and a fusion (F) protein, which carries out the process of virus-cell membrane fusion. The G protein binds to ephrin B2/3 receptors, inducing G conformational changes that trigger F protein refolding. Using an optical approach based on second harmonic generation, we show that monomeric and dimeric receptors activate distinct conformational changes in G. The monomeric receptor-induced changes are not detected by conformation-sensitive monoclonal antibodies or through electron microscopy analysis of G:ephrinB2 complexes. However, hydrogen/deuterium exchange experiments confirm the second harmonic generation observations and reveal allosteric changes in the G receptor binding and F-activating stalk domains, providing insights into the pathway of receptor-activated virus entry.Nipah virus causes encephalitis in humans. Here the authors use a multidisciplinary approach to study the binding of the viral attachment protein G to its host receptor ephrinB2 and show that monomeric and dimeric receptors activate distinct conformational changes in G and discuss implications for receptor-activated virus entry

Seeking primary care in Oregon : utilization of the emergency room services in a Salem hospital

This thesis examines how changes made to the Oregon Health Plan (OHP) in 2003 impacts those now utilizing the emergency room (ER) for primary health care. This thesis also examines how these changes impact staff members working in the ER of Salem Hospital. Through the utilization of qualitative research methods, this study finds that changes made to the OHP have greatly impacted those with reduced health care coverage as well as those without any health care coverage. Guided by the theories of Critical Medical Anthropology (CMA) and structural violence this study finds that patients experience a loss of personal agency, feelings of hopelessness, and diminished social capital. Not understanding the policy of the OHP the ER staff places blame on OHP recipients, seeing them as abusing the system. The conclusion drawn from this study is that the implemented policy changes to the OHP set into motion a cycle that perpetuates the health disparities that result from income disparity.Keywords: Primary Care, Structural Violence, The Oregon Health Plan, Applied Anthropology, Emergency Room Care, Critical Medical Anthropolog

Changes in Proopiomelanocortin Primary Transcript Levels in the Anterior Pituitary Accompany Increased Adrenocorticotropin Secretion During the Diurnal Surge

Proopiomelanocortin (POMC) gene transcription in the anterior pituitary varies during stress and glucocorticoid feedback. These changes appear to parallel alterations in peptide release. The diurnal rhythm of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis also involves the periodic excursion of adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) levels in plasma, but it is not clear whether the diurnal release is accompanied by changes at the transcriptional level. In the present study, we have initially characterized the heteronuclear species of POMC (hnPOMC) RNA found in the anterior pituitary by a Northern blot analysis and subsequently used this method to quantitate relative changes in the levels of heteronuclear transcript during diurnal stimulation. Two species of RNA migrating at 6.0 kb and 4.1 kb were found in the nuclear fraction of the anterior pituitary. Successive probing by various POMC cRNAs indicated that the 6.0 kb fragment was the primary transcript and the 4.1 kb fragment corresponded to the intron A-containing processing intermediate of POMC. The nuclear species were quantitated after acute swim stress and during the diurnal ACTH secretion. Acute swim increased plasma ACTH levels by 243% after 30 min. This was paralleled by a 214% increase in the primary transcript RNA levels. Endogenous circadian stimulation in the evening produced a smaller rise of plasma ACTH (79%), and was accompanied by a 34% increase in POMC hnRNA levels. Nuclear processing intermediate (4.1 kb) and the mRNA levels did not vary during the evening. These results suggest that the diurnal mechanism transiently increases ACTH release as well as POMC gene transcription in the anterior pituitary. Release and transcription appear to be tightly coupled during circadian activation as well as during stress.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75121/1/j.1365-2826.1992.tb00340.x.pd