Capitalism and Blithedale : Exploring Hawthorne\u27s Response to 19th Century American Capitalism

With the intensive migration of the American public from rural to urban settings in the mid-nineteenth century came many logistical problems. Chief among them was the contention that the city was a place fundamentally void of, or else lax with morals. The examination into these issues explores why Americans felt the city was a catalyst for immorality, specifically examining prostitution and the exploitation of the working poor. It seeks to answer these questions within the framework of the anchor text, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Blithedale Romance”

Water deficit-induced changes in phenolic acid content in maize leaves is associated with altered expression of cinnamate 4-hydroxylase and p-coumaric acid 3-hydroxylase

The amino acid phenylalanine is a precursor to phenolic acids that constitute the lignin biosynthetic pathway. Although there is evidence of a role of some phenolic acids in plant responses to pathogens and salinity, characterization of the involvement of phenolic acids in plant responses to drought is limited. Drought reduces water content in plant tissue and can lead to decreased cell viability and increased cell death. We thus subjected maize seedlings to water deficit and evaluated relative water content and cell viability together with p-coumaric acid, caffeic acid and ferulic acid contents in the leaves. Furthermore, we measured the enzymatic activity of cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (EC 1.14.13.11) and p-coumarate 3-hydroxylase (EC 1.14.17.2) and associated these with the expression of genes encoding cinnamate 4-hydroxylase and p-coumarate-3 hydroxylase in response to water deficit. Water deficit reduced relative water content and cell viability in maize leaves. This corresponded with decreased p-coumaric acid but increased caffeic and ferulic acid content in the leaves. Changes in the phenolic acid content of the maize leaves were associated with increased enzymatic activities of cinnamate 4-hydroxylase and p-coumarate hydroxylase. The increased enzymatic activity of p-coumarate 3-hydroxylase was associated with increased expression of a gene encoding p-coumarate 3-hydroxylase. We thus conclude that metabolic pathways involving phenolic acids may contribute to the regulation of drought responses in maize, and we propose that further work to elucidate this regulation may contribute to the development of new maize varieties with improved drought tolerance. This can be achieved by marker-assisted selection to select maize lines with high levels of expression of genes encoding cinnamate 4-hydroxylase and/or p-coumarate 3-hydroxylase for use in breeding programs aimed and improving drought tolerance, or by overexpression of these genes via genetic engineering to confer drought tolerance

Characterization of the role of Zea mays burp domain-containing genes in maize drought responses

Philosophiae Doctor - PhDGlobal climate change has resulted in altered rainfall patterns, causing annual losses in maize crop yield due to water deficit stress. Therefore, it is important to produce maize cultivars which are more drought-tolerant. This not an easily accomplished task as plants have a plethora of physical and biochemical adaptation methods. One such mechanism is the drought-induced expression of enzymatic and non-enzymatic proteins which assist plants to resist the effects of water deficit stress. The RD22-like protein subfamily is expressed in response to water deficit stress. Members of the RD22-like subfamily include AtRD22, GmRd22 and BnBDC1 which have been identified in Arabidopsis thaliana, Glycine max and Brassica napus respectively. This study aims at characterising two putative maize RD22-like proteins (designated ZmRd22A and ZmRd22B) by identifying sequence/domain features shared with characterised RD22-like proteins. Semi-quantitative and quantitative PCR techniques were used to examine the spatial and temporal expression patterns of the two putative maize Rd22-like proteins in response to, water deficit stress and exogenously applied abscisic acid in the roots and 2nd youngest leaves of maize seedlings. Using an in silico approach, sequence homology of the two putative maize Rd22- like proteins with AtRD22, GmRD22 and BnBDC1 has been analysed. Online bioinformatic tools were used to compare the characteristics of these Rd22-like proteins with those of the two maize proteins. It was shown that the putative maize RD22-like proteins share domain organisation with the characterised proteins, these common features include a N-terminal hydrophobic signal peptide, followed by a region with a conserved amino acid sequence, a region containing several TxV (x is any amino acid) repeat units and a C-terminal BURP domain-containing the conserved X₅-CH-X₁₀-CH-X₂₃-₂₇-CH-X₂₃-₂₆-CH-X₈-W motif. The putative maize Rd22-like protein appears to be localized in the apoplast, similarly to AtRD22, GmRD22 and BnBDC1. Analysis of the gene's promotor regions reveals cis-acting elements suggestive of induction of gene expression by water deficit stress and abscisic acid (ABA). Semi-quantitative and quantitative real time PCR analysis of the putative maize RD22-like gene revealed that the genes are not expressed in the roots. Exposure to water deficit stress resulted in an increase of ZmRD22A transcript accumulation in the 2nd youngest leaves of maize seedlings. ZmRD22A was shown to be non-responsive to exogenous ABA application. ZmRD22B was highly responsive to exogenous ABA application and responded to water deficit stress to a lesser degree. Transcript accumulation studies in three regions of the 2nd youngest leaves in response to water deficit stress showed that ZmRd22A transcripts accumulate mainly at the base and tips of the leaves. A restricted increase in ZmRD22A transcript accumulation in the middle of the leaves was observed. ZmRD22B showed a similar, but weaker transcript accumulation pattern in response to water deficit stress. However, ZmRD22B showed increased transcript accumulation in the middle region of the leaves. In response to exogenous ABA application, ZmRd22B exhibited high transcript accumulation at the base of the 2nd youngest leaves, with the middle showing higher transcript accumulation than the tip of the leaves. It was concluded that ZmRD22A and ZmRD22B share the domain organisation of characterised RD22-like proteins as well as being responsive to water deficit stress, although only ZmRD22B was shown to be responsive to exogenous ABA application.National Research Foundation (NRF

Characterisation of a novel soybean candidate glutathione peroxidase/thioredoxin-dependent peroxidase in soybean exposed to osmotic/drought stress

>Magister Scientiae - MScDrought stress is a major contributor to reduced soybean crop yield and quality, this can however be mitigated by the plant’s antioxidant defence mechanisms. One group of antioxidant enzymes that are active in these defence mechanisms are glutathione peroxidases (GPXs). GPXs are antioxidant proteins which are able to reduce H2O2, a toxic reactive oxygen species which accumulates under stress conditions. This study aims at isolating the protein encoded by Glyma01g42840 and determining if it has Phospholipid hydroperoxidase glutathione peroxidase (PHGPX) and/or Thioredoxin dependent peroxidase (TRX-PX) activity as well as assaying the effect of Drought stress on the expression of this putative GPX . This will be accomplished by molecular cloning, sequencing as well as the expression of the isolated protein to assay it enzymatic activity. It was found that the enzyme encoded by Glyma01g42840 is able to use glutathione and thioredoxin as electron donors for the detoxification peroxides, however enzymatic activity is more efficient when using glutathione as an electron donor. In conclusion it was found that glyma01g42840 encodes an enzyme which is able to utilise more than one electron donor and as glutathione produces the greatest amount of enzymatic activity it can be said that glyma01g42840 encodes a GPX

Notes on Lung Development in South African Ghost Frogs (Anura: Heleophrynidae)

Lungs are a prototypical trait of most tetrapods, but some amphibians have become secondarily lungless over evolutionary time. Anuran (frog) tadpoles offer an opportunity to examine lung loss from an evolutionary perspective, because there are many independent instances where lungs are not inflated until adulthood, and so are functionally lost. Lung loss is typically associated with living in fast-flowing streams, and so we examined larval lung development in the stream specialist family Heleophrynidae. We find that one genus, Hadromophryne Van Dijk, 2008, has large lungs as tadpole, while the other genus, Heleophryne Sclater, 1898, has much smaller, stunted lung buds. We further speculate how this information changes our understanding of how the specialised torrent form has evolved in this specialised group

Impact abrasion resistance quantification of protective motorcycle gloves

The hands are often the first contact point with the road surface in a motorcycle crash. Wearing well designed protective gloves has been proven to significantly reduce the occurrence and severity of injuries to the hand. The European Standard for motorcycle protective gloves requires testing of component materials separately and does not consider the impact of abrasive surfaces on seems. This work aimed to develop a new method of testing of fully constructed gloves as worn by a rider in impact abrasion situations. It used previously published fall mechanics to understand the areas that may undergo impact abrasion. It defines the important zones for abrasion resistance and details ideal impact/measurement geometry for measurement on a Cambridge type abrasion tester. It proposes a method for the impact abrasion resistance of the palm, knuckles, wrist, outer side of the little finger and the tops of fingers. This information may be used for the quantification of fully manufactured gloves for standard certification or use in a rating system

From Old Spice to the Texas Law Hawk: How Inbound Marketing, Content Leadership and Social Media Can Level the Playing Field for Solo Practitioners

The advent of technological tools such as social media present the legal industry with the potential for both perilous liability and unparalleled rainmaking. However, the full potential of social media remains untapped in the legal field because the topic has yet to be fully integrated into a broader understanding of inbound marketing and content leadership. The current treatment of social media in the legal literature is uneven-it tends to disproportionately emphasize the potential liabilities over the benefits, and it fails to provide a thorough framework to guide its optimal use. This article aims to rectify this uneven treatment by situating social media as but a single element within an inbound marketing scheme driven by content leadership. More precisely, this article presents a hub-and-spoke model of inbound marketing in which attorneys establish themselves as content leaders (the content hub) and then create and cultivate client relationships through the spokes of social media, blogging, and search engine optimization (SEO). To support this model, this article provides a brief history of marketing along with an introduction to foundational marketing theory augmented by recent technology. Those principles are then applied to law firms through the examination of case studies in both traditional businesses and law firms. Finally, this article concludes by arguing that utilizing this model provides solo practitioners with the ability to establish a more pronounced voice for themselves, which, in effect, puts them on equal footing with larger more established firms

Drought and exogenous abscisic acid alter hydrogen peroxide accumulation and diferentially regulate the expression of two maize RD22-like genes

Increased biosynthesis of abscisic acid (ABA) occurs in plants in response to water defcit, which is mediated by changes in the levels of reactive oxygen species such as H2O2. Water defcit and ABA induce expression of some RD22-like proteins. This study aimed to evaluate the efect of water defcit and exogenous ABA (50µM ABA applied every 24hours for a total of 72hours) on H2O2 content in Zea mays (maize) and to characterise genes encoding two putative maize RD22-like proteins (designated ZmRD22A and ZmRD22B). The expression profles of the two putative maize RD22-like genes in response to water defcit and treatment with ABA were examined in leaves. In silico analyses showed that the maize RD22-like proteins share domain organisation with previously characterized RD22-like proteins. Both water defcit and exogenous ABA resulted in increased H2O2 content in leaves but the increase was more pronounced in response to water defcit than to exogenous ABA. Lignin content was not afected by exogenous ABA, whereas it was decreased by water defcit. Expression of both RD22- like genes was up-regulated by drought but the ZmRD22A gene was not infuenced by exogenous ABA, whereas ZmRD22B was highly responsive to exogenous ABA

Thematic Dimensions of Grandparent Caregiving: A Focus Group Approach

The present study involved 75 grandparent caregivers (M age = 59) who participated in focus groups targeting their needs and concerns relevant to raising their grandchildren. Based upon a qualitative analysis of group session notes reliably cross referenced across 3 observers, the following themes emerged: 1) Isolation, disenfranchisement, and marginalization with regard to others, 2) Difficulty in dealing with and frustration with the adult child whose child one is raising, 3) The need to be able to cope with one’s own emotions and life situation, 4) Difficulties in coping with the emotional, interpersonal, or behavioral problems of the grandchild, 5) Getting competent, trustworthy, and affordable child (day) care/respite care, 6) Frustration with service providers, 7) Ignorance of what social, medical, psychological, and legal services are available or difficulty in affording or accessing such services, 8) Challenges in managing other life stresses that are superimposed upon or consequences of the demands of raising a grandchild, 9) A lack of legal standing as the grandchild’s caregiver, and 10) A lack of parenting skills and knowledge about child development. Discussed here is the fact that these thematic concerns expressed by grandparent caregivers have a number of implications for grandfamilies’ mental and physical health, access to services, the lessening of isolation and stigmatization among such persons, and the design and implementation of interventions for them