Teachers Writing, Healing, and Resisting

For at least the past twenty years, writing education and writing teacher education have been carried out in more and more tightly managed, neoliberally influenced policy conditions as well as worsening conditions of inequality in educational resources based on both race and on income. The result is increasingly dehumanizing conditions for teaching and learning writing. This context intersects in interesting ways with the notion of the teacher-writer. This essay re-raises and reframes the idea of the teacher-writer to open up possibilities for both resilience, and resistance-- both in teachers’ individual lives, and for teachers in the collective sense

Floodplain Forest Regeneration Dynamics in the Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Valley

Floodplain forest species diversity is driven, in part, by variation in disturbance regime. Flood patterns create heterogeneity in microsite quality from small differences in elevation across a floodplain which, in turn, influence flood timing and duration. Differences in species’ regeneration niches in relation to hydrologic patterns can account for long-term coexistence of various species. In the past century floodplain forests have exhibited a wide range of changes in stand development and species composition as a result of altered hydrology in rivers and floodplains. I evaluated the role of regeneration in floodplain forest systems of the Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Valley to gain insight into the mechanisms behind compositional transitions. Specifically, I focused on how flood timing related to species-specific germination and first-year seedling survival patterns and processes. Through a controlled greenhouse experiment, I tested the effects of flood timing and duration on first-year seedlings of floodplain forest species. Results showed the effects of complete submergence on first-year seedling survival is affected by the age of the seedling at the time of flooding, and the duration of flooding. Moreover, species displayed specific responses to time of flood onset and flood duration that varied by their post-germination age. The onset of a spring flood event post-germination is therefore likely to have variable effects on woody seedling composition depending on its timing relative to germination. Through examining seedling dynamics at four floodplain locations in the Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Valley (LMAV), I found first-year seedling species composition was significantly influenced by floodplain hydrology through relationships between the timing of flooding and species-specific germination and first-year seedling survival processes. Species generally considered flood-tolerant at maturity tended to demonstrate later germination windows (May and beyond) while many (not all) species considered less-flood tolerant at maturity emerged early in the spring (March-May). Flood duration preceding a seed’s germination window inhibited germination when it fully overlapped with a species’ germination window. Flooding also benefited germination when it receded prior to the close of species’ germination windows, likely through improved soil moisture availability, but possibly through other mechanisms such as nutrient supplementation. Additionally, post-germination flood timing significantly influenced seedling composition through the event of a second flood which induced seedling mortality. Spatial and temporal variation in the timing of flood recession would diversify species’ opportunities to benefit from flooding in the LMAV because of the distinct emergence windows demonstrated by species in this study. This would ultimately lead to diversification in seedling species composition in both space and time. A temporally and spatially dynamic annual flood regime would likely promote greater diversity in seedling species composition through differentiation in species’ germination and seedling survival processes

Bartonella Clarridgeiae: Invasion of Human Microvascular Endothelial Cells and Role of Flagella in Virulence

B. henselae, B. bacilliformis and B. quintana are capable of causing vasoproliferative diseases in humans by modulating apoptosis and proliferation of endothelial cells. Bartonella clarridgeiae, a close relative of the pathogenic Bartonellae, has been implicated in human disease but has not yet been isolated from a human patient. Both B. bacilliformis and B. clarridgeiae have flagella and a flagellar type 3 secretion system, while B. henselae and B. quintana do not. We created 2 non-motile mutants of B. clarridgeiae by interrupting the flagellin gene, flaA, or the flagellar motor genes, motBC. We investigated whether B. clarridgeiae could invade human endothelial cells (HMECs) and if functional flagella were important for invasion. The non-motile mutants and the wild-type strain were capable of entering HMECs in vitro. The flaA mutant was deficient in attachment, but the HMECs in culture with the flaA mutant demonstrated increased proliferation. The motBC mutant showed enhanced invasion. Differential secretion of proteins was revealed by 2-D electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF analysis of secretomes from the co-cultures compared to uninfected HMECs. HMECS infected with wild-type B. clarridgeiae secreted proteins indicative of proliferation. The flaA mutant induced the secretion of proteins involved in cytoskeletal rearrangement, cell migration, and proliferation. The motBC-infected HMECs showed signs of hypoxia. The co-chaperonin GroES was found in higher concentration in the supernatant of the hyper-invasive motBC strain/HMEC co-culture than the wild-type co-culture and was found at a very low concentration in the flaA culture supernatant. Cross-talk between secretion systems is suggested

Chromaticity

Chromaticity is an objective specification of the quality of a color regardless of its luminance consisting of two independent parameters. These are often specified as hue and colorfulness, where the latter is alternatively called saturation, chroma, intensity, or excitation purity. These parameters follow how the human eye perceives color, giving us visual cues when navigating the world. In abstract art, where form is not bound by the constraints of representation, color becomes the primary tool for communication. Creating harmony, tension, emotion, and balance, the color relationships in this collection of work communicates to the viewer in a visual language that transcends the need for words. The works of art have no inherent narrative, meaning that when I created them I did not have a certain story or context that I was trying to get across. This encourages the viewer to bring their own experiences, emotions and perceptions to the artwork, creating a more dynamic and thought-evoking experience. One does not need a certain set of skills, language, education or culture in order to look at the work and gather meaning or feeling from it. In my work abstraction creates a universality, allowing the viewer to create their own narrative (or not), the freedom is theirs. I am not interested in making decisions for you. I am not interested in telling you what to think. I am interested in the intricacies of color and form, and how you choose to perceive them given how I have chosen to present them

Investigating the Recovery of Phosphate from Anaerobic Digester Liquor using Ion Exchange, and its subsequent Application as a Liquid Fertilizer

Currently, practices of mining phosphate rock are not sustainable and will likely lead to the depletion of global phosphate reserves in 50-100 years. One potential option to recycle phosphorus is through ion exchange. In this research, two anion exchange resins were used in jar tests to adsorb phosphate from anaerobic digester liquor. The loaded resins were then used in column regeneration experiments in which the phosphate anions were desorbed by a regenerant solution high in concentrations of chloride, hydroxide, or a combination of the two. The result was a phosphate solution that could potentially be used as a fertilizer, eliminating the issue of brine disposal. A life cycle analysis (LCA) was also performed for two local New Hampshire farms to assess the environmental repercussions of this phosphate recovery process. The FO36 phosphate selective resin was identified as a potential option for use in ion exchange due to its advantageous recovery of phosphate. The results of the LCA showed that the production of potassium hydroxide used for the regenerant had the most significant environmental impacts. The LCA also indicated that human toxicity and fossil fuel depletion were the categories of main concern for environmental repercussions. If implemented at full scale, this process would have the ability to capture phosphate before it is released into receiving waters, having the added benefit of preventing eutrophication of drinking water sources. In addition, this process would enable local farmers to buy less commercial fertilizers thus minimizing the global impacts from that industry. This system would be ideal for small communities and small local farms

Revision of the Genus Monatractides (Parasitengona, Torrenticolidae) of the United States and Canada: New Species, Re-descriptions, Phylogenetics, and a Key to Species

The full suite of known Monatractides (Parasitengona, Torrenticolidae) taxa of North America (north of Mexico) are investigated herein using integrative methods. Species hypotheses are supported with morphology, geography, and phylogenetic analysis of the barcoding region of COI for 154 individuals from over 100 localities. Relationships between species are examined with a combined analysis of COI and 28S rDNA for 55 specimens. Previously described species are examined and re-described with color images and updated information, where possible. Our results indicate the need to synonymize two species: M. californica (Marshall, 1943) is a junior synonym of M. geographica (Marshall, 1943). We describe 21 new species and re-describe all previously described species. Overall, diversity of Monatractides in the United States and Canada is represented by 27 species, 14 from the east and 13 from the west. These species have been organized into 4 species groups that include 3 smaller groups, separated by morphology for convenience of identification. A key is provided to all described species in the US and Canada

Can Teachers Tell Which Students are at Risk? Comparing Teacher Reading Risk Determinations with STAR Reading Risk Determinations

The theoretical framework for this study was Michael Polanyi’s concept of tacit knowing, that a professional’s knowledge is composed of both the things he or she can describe explicitly and a tacit component that is difficult, if not impossible, to define or describe. In the national context of an increasing emphasis on accountability, the use of data, and standardized testing, teachers’ judgments, composed as they are of a tacit component that can be difficult to express, are not always valued. A review of the literature revealed a gap in the research related to teachers’ abilities to identify individual student risk in reading. The purpose of this research was to determine if, in the context of a Response to Intervention framework, teachers’ professional judgments were equally predictive at determining risk level as the results provided by the screening tools in common use in school districts to identify students who would benefit from a reading intervention. This study examined two research questions: (a) what is the relationship between teacher judgment of student reading risk levels and the screening tool risk levels, and (b) are there variations in the relationships related to student characteristics? Using a tracking tool, 31 3rd and 4th grade teachers in a suburban school district in the Pacific Northwest recorded their determinations of their students’ reading risk. Those results were then compared with the fall universal screening reading risk determinations from STAR Reading. Percent exact agreement tests were used to determine the concurrent validity of the two measures. Overall there was an 83% match between STAR Reading and the teacher evaluations of each student’s reading risk. When the results were disaggregated, most groups had percent exact agreement rates above 80%. This study might suggest that a teacher’s professional judgment could be used as a screening tool, eliminating the need to purchase and maintain a commercially published assessment for the purposes of universal screening