Our Eternal Hearts

Andrew Ruegsegger is a sophomore at the University of Arkansas majoring in Philosophy and Anthropology. He is the drummer for the band Ted Hammig & the Campaign. Poetry should make you feel something

Invisible, yet Criminal: Best Practices for Supporting Student Sex Workers throughout Higher Education

While it is not new information that college students may engage in sex work throughout their academic careers, it still remains a somewhat taboo topic throughout academia and higher education in the United States. Student sex workers face institutional and societal barriers typically associated with minoritized identities, and post-secondary institutions rarely have resources in place to support these students. This project aims to help bridge this gap by utilizing the polymorphous paradigm and an anti-savior lens to create a list of best practices for higher education faculty, staff, and administrators to better support students that are engaging in sex work. The project identified five key learning areas for higher education employees to engage in these best practices: general knowledge building, campus climate considerations, physical and mental health resources, financial support, and social support

Domain specific software architectures: Command and control

GTE is the Command and Control contractor for the Domain Specific Software Architectures program. The objective of this program is to develop and demonstrate an architecture-driven, component-based capability for the automated generation of command and control (C2) applications. Such a capability will significantly reduce the cost of C2 applications development and will lead to improved system quality and reliability through the use of proven architectures and components. A major focus of GTE's approach is the automated generation of application components in particular subdomains. Our initial work in this area has concentrated in the message handling subdomain; we have defined and prototyped an approach that can automate one of the most software-intensive parts of C2 systems development. This paper provides an overview of the GTE team's DSSA approach and then presents our work on automated support for message processing

Establishment of polarized microglial cells derived from mouse embryonic stem cells

Microglia are the resident immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS). Microglia undergo rapid activation in response to even minor pathological changes in the CNS. The activation state of microglia and tissue macrophages is characterized by two extremes that are known as M1 and M2. M1 is triggered upon pro-inflammatory stimuli and lead to the secretion of molecules involved in brain defense but also in neurotoxicity. M2 arises upon anti-inflammatory stimuli and is hallmarked by the secretion of molecules that mediate tolerance and neuroprotection. The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro polarization capacity of microglia into M1 and M2 subtypes. Primary microglia are hard to obtain in sufficient number and therefore a recently developed protocol was applied to differentiate microglial precursors from mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. The obtained ES cell derived microglial precursors (ESdM) were shown to be an appropriate substitute to primary microglia. Here we showed that ESdM stimulated with interferon-γ (IFN-gamma) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) display typical M1 characteristics like higher transcription levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines as well as an increase in the expression level of M1 surface markers. They also secreted significantly higher levels of the chemokine CXCL10 and nitric oxide than untreated or interleukin-4 (IL-4) treated cells. These results indicate that ESdM can be polarized into a cytotoxic subtype in vitro using IFN-gamma and LPS. However, no evidence indicating that ESdM were polarized into a neuroprotective M2 subtype by IL-4 treatment has been found. Even though an increase in the transcription level of anti-inflammatory cytokines was observed upon IL-4 treatment, this increase was not significant. In addition, no increase in the expression levels of M2 markers or in the secretion of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 were found upon IL-4 treatment indicating that IL-4 might be insufficient to polarize ESdM into M2 subtype in vitro. Further experiments are required to better understand the mechanisms of microglial sub-differentiation and to determine the stability of the acquired M1 and M2 phenotypes over tim

Optimal feedforward recipe adjustment for CD control in semiconductor patterning

Acceptable yields for nanofabrication will require significant improvement in CD control. One method to achieve better run-to-run CD control is through inter-process feedforward control. The potential benefits of feedforward control include reduced run-to-run post-etch CD variance, rework, and scrap. However, measurement noise poses a significant threat to the success of feedforward control. Since the stakes are high, an incorrect control action is unacceptable. To answer this concern, this paper will focus on how to properly use the available sensor measurement in a run-to-run feedforward recipe adjustment controller. We have developed a methodology based in probability theory that detunes the controller based on the confidence in the sensor’s accuracy. Properly detuning the controller has the effect of filtering out the noise from the SEM. We will simulate this control strategy on industrial gate-etch data. © 1998 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87557/2/573_1.pd

NQSI: Quality Schools Come From Quality People

Since the time of the now fabled one room schoolhouse, American schools have undergone tremendous change socially, structurally, and instructionally. Our public schools are under the microscope like never before. Charter schools and tuition vouchers circle above public education like vultures. New special education regulations loom menacingly on the horizon. Prophets of doom are on every street comer and in every Internet chat room. The Virginia General Assembly has mandated higher standards and tougher discipline. Innumerable publications document both technology\u27s explosion and the American family\u27s implosion. Against this seemingly foreboding backdrop, a school district in Southeastern Virginia researched, designed, and implemented the Norfolk Quality Schools Initiative (NQSI). Ever since the days of the old one room school house with its slate chalkboards and pot-bellied stove there have been scores and scores of movements to improve American education. Some have stressed the product while others have emphasized the process. The NQSI is not just another attempt at educational reform; it is a focused, inclusive and comprehensive plan for school revitalization and renewal. NQSI is unique in the fact that it employs a very specific process designed to develop a very specific product. Simply put, it is a systematic, outcome-based process

NQSI: Quality Schools Come From Quality People

Since the time of the now fabled one room schoolhouse, American schools have undergone tremendous change socially, structurally, and instructionally. Our public schools are under the microscope like never before. Charter schools and tuition vouchers circle above public education like vultures. New special education regulations loom menacingly on the horizon. Prophets of doom are on every street comer and in every Internet chat room. The Virginia General Assembly has mandated higher standards and tougher discipline. Innumerable publications document both technology\u27s explosion and the American family\u27s implosion. Against this seemingly foreboding backdrop, a school district in Southeastern Virginia researched, designed, and implemented the Norfolk Quality Schools Initiative (NQSI). Ever since the days of the old one room school house with its slate chalkboards and pot-bellied stove there have been scores and scores of movements to improve American education. Some have stressed the product while others have emphasized the process. The NQSI is not just another attempt at educational reform; it is a focused, inclusive and comprehensive plan for school revitalization and renewal. NQSI is unique in the fact that it employs a very specific process designed to develop a very specific product. Simply put, it is a systematic, outcome-based process

Examination of nucleus accumbens mechanisms underlying the motivation for physical activity

Physical inactivity, a primary contributor to numerous diseases including obesity, type 2 diabetes, depression, and dementia, has reached pandemic levels worldwide. Alarmingly, the percentage of individuals engaging in physical activity is low and decreasing. Accelerometry data shows that > 90% of adults fail to meet the U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines despite the excess of knowledge suggesting exercise improves health. Therefore, beginning to understand the molecular mechanisms which influence physical activity levels is imperative for the development of therapies to reduce sedentary behavior. The work presented in this dissertation made use of three independent experimental paradigms in rats to test the hypothesis that differences in the mesolimbic dopamine system associate with/cause changes in voluntary physical activity. In the first study, rats selectively bred for high (HVR) or low (LVR) voluntary wheel running distance were used to assess inherent differences in opioidergic signaling between HVR and LVR, as well as the influence of dopamine on opioid-induced changes in voluntary wheel running. Mu-opioid receptor expression and function was increased in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) of HVR compared to LVR. Likewise, naltrexone injection decreased dopamine-related mRNA expression in mesolimbic brain regions and reduced wheel running in HVR, but not LVR. Finally, lesion of dopaminergic neurons in the NAc prevented the decrease in running following naltrexone administration in HVR, suggesting opioidergic signaling requires downstream dopaminergic activity to influence voluntary running. In the second study, the transgenerational effect of maternal Western diet (WD) on offspring voluntary wheel running was assessed. Wheel running was increased in female WD offspring from 4-7 weeks of age, but decreased running from 16-19 weeks of age, compared to offspring from chow fed dams. These age-specific changes in wheel running are associated with the up- and down-regulation of dopamine receptor 1 in the NAc at 6 and 18 weeks of age, respectively, in WD female offspring, which in turn was negatively associated with leptin receptor mRNA in the ventral tegmental area. In the third study, age-related influences on wheel running were assessed in 8 and 14 week-old rats. In addition to a [about]60% reduction in running, RNA-sequencing revealed down-regulations in networks related to cAMP-mediated signaling and synaptic plasticity in the NAc from 8 to 14 weeks-old. The down-regulations of these networks was mirrored by reductions in dendritic spine density in the NAc from 8 to 14 weeks-old. Additionally, intra-NAc injection of the Cdk5 inhibitor roscovitine, a known modulator of dendritic density and dopamine signaling, dose-dependently decreased wheel running. Despite the varying experimental models used in this dissertation, these findings collectively suggest that alterations in dopaminergic signaling in the NAc associate with, and influence, voluntary physical activity.Includes biblographical reference

Localization of [gamma]-Glutamylcysteine Synthetase and Glutathione Synthetase Activity in Maize Seedlings

Fresh weight, protein, cysteine, [gamma]-glutamylcysteine, glutathione, and the extractable activity of the enzymes of glutathione biosynthesis, [gamma]-glutamylcysteine synthetase (EC 6.3.2.2) and glutathione synthetase (EC 6.3.2.3), were measured in roots, scutella, endosperms, and shoots of 3-, 7-, and 11-d-old maize (Zea mays L. cv LG 9) seedlings. In 3-d-old seedlings, the scutella represented 14% of the seedling fresh weight, containing 43% of total protein and 63 and 55% of the activity of [gamma]-glutamylcysteine synthetase and glutathione synthetase, respectively; in 11-d-old seedlings, the corresponding values were 4.5% for fresh weight, 8.0% for protein content, and 14 and 20% for the enzyme activities. The highest concentrations of thiols were found for cysteine (0.27 mM) in the roots, for glutathione (4.4 mM) in the shoots, and for [gamma]-glutamylcysteine (13 [mu]M) in the scutella of 3-d-old seedlings. The enzyme activities of roots were localized in subcellular fractions after sucrose density gradient centrifugation. Nearly half of the [gamma]-glutamylcysteine synthetase activity was detected in the root proplastids of 4-d-old seedlings, whereas <10% of the glutathione synthetase activity was localized in this organelle. Our results demonstrate the importance of scutella in glutathione synthesis in the early stage of seedling development. Unlike chloroplasts, root plastids show only a small proportion of glutathione synthetase activity