He Said/She Said: Truth-Telling and #MeToo

"He Said/She Said: Truth-Telling and #MeToo" analyses how the conversation about sexual violence changed when millions of women worldwide raised their voices to say “Me Too.” It historicizes the #MeToo movement within feminist activism in communities of colour around sexual assault advocacy and in relation to Anita Hill's testimony in 1991 that Clarence Thomas sexually harassed her. The #MeToo moment offers a clear representation of the scale of sexual violence and presents a vivid example of the power of testimony to conjure a scene of witness through the power of truth-telling. Leigh Gilmore argues that truth-telling is dynamic and that survivor speech in the form of #MeToo has disrupted the routine minimization of women's accounts of harm into the "He said/She said" pattern

He Said/She Said: Truth-Telling and #MeToo

"He Said/She Said: Truth-Telling and #MeToo" analyses how the conversation about sexual violence changed when millions of women worldwide raised their voices to say “Me Too.” It historicizes the #MeToo movement within feminist activism in communities of colour around sexual assault advocacy and in relation to Anita Hill's testimony in 1991 that Clarence Thomas sexually harassed her. The #MeToo moment offers a clear representation of the scale of sexual violence and presents a vivid example of the power of testimony to conjure a scene of witness through the power of truth-telling. Leigh Gilmore argues that truth-telling is dynamic and that survivor speech in the form of #MeToo has disrupted the routine minimization of women's accounts of harm into the "He said/She said" pattern

Organic Matter Removal via Biological Drinking Water Filters: Removal Efficiency Based on Quantifiable System Factors

Biodegradable organic matter (BOM), found in all surface waters, is a challenge for drinking water utilities as it can lead to distribution system bio-regrowth, react to form disinfection by-products, or be a specific compound of concern. Drinking water utilities face the challenge of removing BOM to meet increasingly stringent regulations, often at higher costs and operational complexity. Biofiltration can be an efficient treatment technology to remove BOM from the influent water, but should be optimized to achieve maximum removal performance. The objectives of this dissertation were to evaluate and model the impacts of biologically active filter (biofilter) design and operation on BOM removal as measured by dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Operational and water quality parameters, i.e. extended empty bed contact time (EBCT), temperature, biomass acclimation and distribution, and natural organic matter concentration and origin (microbial, terrestrial and wastewater effluent), were evaluated to determine impacts on biofilter performance. A novel bench scale methodology was developed in Chapter 2 that incorporated a batch reactor and a single-pass flow through reactor that allowed arduous pilot scale experiments to be replaced with streamlined bench scale testing, which could expedite biofilter implementation in drinking water utilities. In Chapter 3, a model derived from Monod kinetics was developed for biological filters based on EBCT and a single biomass measurement from the top of the filter. The model was developed for the control of DOC and successfully applied to predict DOC removal. Biomass activity, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), measurements were a direct function of temperature, yet biomass concentration, phospholipid measurements, were not a function of temperature in the range of 5 °C to 22 °C. Pilot scale work in Chapter 4 found acclimation of the ‘fresh’ media in terms of DOC removal and activity occurred over a two-month time frame. Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 found extended EBCT of a biofilter and higher temperatures improved the performance of biofilters for controlling DOC, yet influent DOC did not impact DOC removal directly. Biomass activity, ATP, was highest at the top of the filter and decreased with increasing filter depth. Chapter 5 bench scale work found biofilters were robust in removing DOC from microbial, terrestrial and wastewater effluent sources and reduced DBP precursors. In chapter 6, a life cycle assessment model was used to compare conventional filtration and biofiltration. Biofiltration had lower environmental impacts than conventional filtration for average U.S. source waters by about 25%. Chemicals, in particular alum and caustic soda, had the largest contributions to environmental impacts. The most effective way to substantially decrease negative environmental impacts of either filtration system is to optimize chemical doses. Higher temperatures can support greater DOC biodegradation, which increases the environmental benefits of biofiltration, and higher levels of biodegradation can also be achieved at lower temperatures when biofilter parameters are optimized

Knot Floer Homology and Categorification

With the goal of better understanding the connections between knot homology theories arising from categorification and from Heegaard Floer homology, we present a self-contained construction of knot Floer homology in the language of HOMFLY-PT homology. Using the cube of resolutions for knot Floer homology defined by Ozsváth and Szabó, we first give a purely algebraic proof of invariance that does not depend on Heegaard diagrams, holomorphic disks, or grid diagrams. Then, taking Khovanov's HOMFLY-PT homology as our model, we define a category of twisted Soergel bimodules and construct a braid group action on the homotopy category of complexes of twisted Soergel bimodules. We prove that the category of twisted Soergel bimodules categorifies the Hecke algebra with an extra indeterminate and its inverse adjoined. The braid group action, which is defined via twisted Rouquier complexes, is simultaneously a natural extension of the knot Floer cube of resolutions and a mild modification of the action by Rouquier complexes used by Khovanov in defining HOMFLY-PT homology. Finally, we introduce an operation Qu to play the role that Hochschild homology plays in HOMFLY-PT homology. We conjecture that applying Qu to the twisted Rouquier complex associated to a braid produces the knot Floer cube of resolutions chain complex associated to its braid closure. We prove a partial result in this direction

Sulfolipid-1 Biosynthesis Restricts Mycobacterium tuberculosis Growth in Human Macrophages

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis, is a highly evolved human pathogen characterized by its formidable cell wall. Many unique lipids and glycolipids from the Mtb cell wall are thought to be virulence factors that mediate host-pathogen interactions. An intriguing example is Sulfolipid-1 (SL-1), a sulfated glycolipid that has been implicated in Mtb pathogenesis, although no direct role for SL-1 in virulence has been established. Previously, we described the biochemical activity of the sulfotransferase Stf0 that initiates SL-1 biosynthesis. Here we show that a stf0-deletion mutant exhibits augmented survival in human but not murine macrophages, suggesting that SL-1 negatively regulates the intracellular growth of Mtb in a species-specific manner. Furthermore, we demonstrate that SL-1 plays a role in mediating the susceptibility of Mtb to a human cationic antimicrobial peptide in vitro, despite being dispensable for maintaining overall cell envelope integrity. Thus, we hypothesize that the species-specific phenotype of the stf0 mutant is reflective of differences in antimycobacterial effector mechanisms of macrophages

A new age of believing women? Judging rape narratives online

Book synopsis: This book critically examines the last few decades of discussion around sex and violence in the media, on social media, in the courtroom and through legislation. The discursive struggles over what constitutes "sexual violence", "victims" and "offenders" is normally determined through narratives: a selective ordering of events and participants. Centrally, the book investigates the social processes involved in the telling of stories of rape and its political implications. From a multidisciplinary feminist perspective, this volume explores what narratives about sexual violence are deemed legitimate at this historical juncture. This volume brings together feminist scholars working in a wide variety of disciplines including law, legal studies, history, gender studies, ethnology, media, criminology and social work from across the globe. Through situated empirical work, these scholars seek to understand currents movements between the criminal justice system and the cultural imagination

Prevalence and Mechanisms of Mucus Accumulation in COVID-19 Lung Disease

Rationale: The incidence and sites of mucus accumulation, and molecular regulation of mucin gene expression, in COVID-19 lung disease have not been reported. Objectives: Characterize incidence of mucus accumulation and the mechanisms mediating mucin hypersecretion in COVID-19 lung disease. Methods: Airway mucus and mucins were evaluated in COVID-19 autopsy lungs by AB-PAS and immunohistochemical staining, RNA in situ hybridization, and spatial transcriptional profiling. SARS-CoV-2-infected human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cultures were utilized to investigate mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2-induced mucin expression and synthesis and test candidate countermeasures. Measurements and Main Results: MUC5B and variably MUC5AC RNA levels were increased throughout all airway regions of COVID-19 autopsy lungs, notably in the sub-acute/chronic disease phase following SARS-CoV-2 clearance. In the distal lung, MUC5B-dominated mucus plugging was observed in 90% of COVID-19 subjects in both morphologically identified bronchioles and microcysts, and MUC5B accumulated in damaged alveolar spaces. SARS-CoV-2-infected HBE cultures exhibited peak titers 3 days post inoculation, whereas induction of MUC5B/MUC5AC peaked 7-14 days post inoculation. SARS-CoV-2 infection of HBE cultures induced expression of EGFR ligands and inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-1α/β) associated with mucin gene regulation. Inhibiting EGFR/IL-1R pathways, or dexamethasone administration, reduced SARS-CoV-2-induced mucin expression. Conclusions: SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with a high prevalence of distal airspace mucus accumulation and increased MUC5B expression in COVID-19 autopsy lungs. HBE culture studies identified roles for EGFR and IL-1R signaling in mucin gene regulation post SARS-CoV-2 infection. These data suggest that time-sensitive mucolytic agents, specific pathway inhibitors, or corticosteroid administration may be therapeutic for COVID-19 lung disease. This article is open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Comics Telling Refugee Stories

This chapter begins with an indicative survey of comics responding to the current ‘refugee crisis’. The comics in question adopt one of two distinct and established approaches. The first is reportage, usually featuring the author/creator as a central device, while the second re-works and renders testimony in visual form. In their different ways, both contribute to a wider repertoire of positive and sympathetic representations of refugees, offering a counter-point to hostile media and political discourse, often by a focus on the stories of individuals. Mobilizing compassion and moral responses through personal stories of hardship, trauma, tenacity, and survival has long been a tactic of reformist agendas and humanitarian advocacy. By their qualitative difference from dominant forms of factual discourse, comics offer certain advantages. They may also circumvent certain problems associated with photographic representations of suffering. Such comics can nevertheless run the risk of re-producing established victim tropes, and just as with other forms of representation, human-interest angles carry the potential to obscure political dimensions. In an attempt to consider and situate these concerns, the analysis considers the various positions and relations that constitute ‘refugee comics’: subjects, readers, creators, (im)materiality, and circulation