Taking on a Superpower: A Salute to the Women of Vietnam

Explaining the outcome of the Vietnam War has challenged diplomats, strategists, and politicians for three decades. Searching for reasons that such a small nation pushed a superpower from its borders, some have criticized U.S. policy, found errors in American strategy, and commented on the overall effort of the United States. Most, however, have ignored the real strength of the enemy: the female warriors. This group of women, comprising a large part of the Vietnamese nationalist force, assumed many different combat roles. Thousands who actively defended their homeland earlier against the French were more than ready to rid the country of American invaders. Without their effort, the outcome of the war might have been completely different. Because little information has been published about these females in conflict, this report from primary sources such as the personal interviews stored at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, highlights individual women who assumed extraordinary roles. By examining their motives and viewing the women as real individuals, we can understand why their will to survive was stronger than all the bombs delivered by U.S. planes. Researching such an intriguing subject raises related questions of whether the women’s efforts actually contributed to improving their status in Vietnamese society today. Did the country they fought so valiantly to defend reward them for their efforts, or did their own countrymen overlook them, too? How many of these women are still alive today with their stories of combat still untold and unrecorded? And more importantly, will the spirit and commitment of these women teach us to make wise judgments before our country decides to invade another nation

Kalasiris and Charikleia: Mentorship and Intertext in Heliodorus\u27 Aithiopika

Heliodorus, the 4th century AD novelist, incorporated thematic elements from the Odyssey into his own work the Aithiopika or the Ethiopian Story. In doing so, he built upon a tradition already established by Second Sophistic authors, including Lucian, Philostratus, and Dio Chrysostom. Heliodorus’ work also engages innovatively with the conventions of the Greek novels, whose main thematic elements often involve travel and a love story. In the Aithiopika, Charikleia has a nostos to her home country of Ethiopia. During the course of her journey, Charikleia grows in confidence and learns to use deceit and intelligent plans to accomplish her goals and avoid danger. This paper argues that Heliodorus constructs the relationship of Kalasiris and Charikleia to mirror the relationship of Athena and Odysseus in the Odyssey. Just as Athena acts as mentor and patron to Odysseus, so Kalasiris guides and mentors Charikleia

Diversity, Challenges and Opportunities in the Greater Horn of Africa

Conference Paper No.

Strategic priorities for agricultural development in Eastern and Central Africa:

"Agricultural development strategies delineate priorities for actions to enhance agricultural and overall development. They are usually put forward by individual countries based on assessments of national needs. Seldom are attempts made to identify strategic priorities for agricultural development that cut across national boundaries. This gap is perhaps not surprising—organizations mandated to develop and implement regional agricultural development programs are rare. Although the gap may be understandable, it is also troubling. This report helps to fill that gap for eastern and central Africa (ECA), focusing on Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Recent trends and the current performance of agriculture in these countries expose a region progressively less able to meet the needs of its burgeoning population... The analysis... suggests that to avoid the bleak growth and poverty outcomes implied by business-as-usual in agriculture, ECA governments must invest in combinations of measures that (1) spur productivity growth, focusing on subsectors with high demand within ECA; (2) strengthen agricultural markets; (3) enhance linkages between agricultural and nonagricultural sectors; and (4) exploit opportunities for regional cooperation." from Authors' AbstractAgricultural development, Agriculture Economic aspects, Agricultural development projects, Eastern Africa,

Hypoxia Upregulates Estrogen Receptor β in Pulmonary Artery Endothelial Cells in a HIF-1α-Dependent Manner

17β-Estradiol (E2) attenuates hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension (HPH) through estrogen receptor (ER)-dependent effects, including inhibition of hypoxia-induced endothelial cell proliferation; however, the mechanisms responsible for this remain unknown. We hypothesized that the protective effects of E2 in HPH are mediated through hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α)-dependent increases in ERβ expression. Sprague-Dawley rats and ERα or ERβ knockout mice were exposed to hypobaric hypoxia for 2-3 weeks. The effects of hypoxia were also studied in primary rat or human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (PAECs). Hypoxia increased expression of ERβ, but not ERα, in lungs from HPH rats as well as in rat and human PAECs. ERβ mRNA time dependently increased in PAECs exposed to hypoxia. Normoxic HIF-1α/HIF-2α stabilization increased PAEC ERβ, whereas HIF-1α knockdown decreased ERβ abundance in hypoxic PAECs. In turn, ERβ knockdown in hypoxic PAECs increased HIF-2α expression, suggesting a hypoxia-sensitive feedback mechanism. ERβ knockdown in hypoxic PAECs also decreased expression of the HIF inhibitor prolyl hydroxylase 2 (PHD2), whereas ERβ activation increased PHD2 and decreased both HIF-1α and HIF-2α, suggesting that ERβ regulates the PHD2/HIF-1α/HIF-2α axis during hypoxia. Whereas hypoxic wild-type or ERα knockout mice treated with E2 demonstrated less pulmonary vascular remodeling and decreased HIF-1α after hypoxia compared with untreated hypoxic mice, ERβ knockout mice exhibited increased HIF-2α and an attenuated response to E2 during hypoxia. Taken together, our results demonstrate a novel and potentially therapeutically targetable mechanism whereby hypoxia, via HIF-1α, increases ERβ expression and the E2-ERβ axis targets PHD2, HIF-1α, and HIF-2α to attenuate HPH development

Early Access: Elementary School Outcomes for Arkansas Better Chance Public Pre-Kindergarten Participants

Public pre-Kindergarten programs are frequently promoted as promising early interventions for at-risk students, as they can equip 3- and 4-year-olds with the cognitive, behavioral, and social skills necessary for success in Kindergarten and beyond. The Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) program provides low-income and at-risk Arkansas students with tuition-free pre-K opportunities in school districts across the state. The current analysis describes the 3rd and 5th grade outcomes of students who enroll in ABC pre-K programs in Arkansas public schools. In an attempt to understand how well these programs are serving students, we follow four cohorts of program participants through elementary school, and we compare their math and reading achievement test scores to those of similar peers who did not attend ABC programs. We find ABC pre-K participants are more likely to fall into demographic groups that are considered at-risk for low academic performance, and that ABC students outperform similar peers on math and reading achievement tests in 3rd grade in three of four cohorts. These findings suggest that this program has the potential to set students up for lasting academic success

That Creation is Incarnation in Maximus Confessor

Thesis advisor: Boyd T. CoolmanThis dissertation argues that Maximus Confessor conceives the logic of creation from nothing as the logic of the divine Word’s historical Incarnation. It first studies the peculiar features of Maximus’s Neochalcedonian christology in order to understand what he means by “Incarnation” (Chapter 1). It then discovers this same logic operative in Maximus’s protology (Chapter 2) and eschatology (Chapter 3). I therefore conclude that Maximus’s declaration, “The Word of God, very God, wills that the mystery of his Incarnation be actualized always and in all things” (Amb 7.22), ought to be interpreted literally.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Theology

Draws and Drawbacks of an Oxford Study Abroad Experience

Using qualitative research methodology, we interviewed 23 American students participating in a study abroad program at Oxford University in the U.K. Results showed four primary draws to participating in the study abroad program and two perceived drawbacks. Positively, Oxford’s first appealing dynamic related to the tutorial system and students’ expanded range of options for specialized topics as well as in-depth study. Next, participants highly valued Oxford’s academic rigor, which accompanied the university’s unique approach to education. Third, Oxford’s location in England appealed to our participants. Finally, students reported hopes that future benefits would result from their decisions to attend Oxford and perceived associations with Oxford’s prestige. As participants weighed these benefits of studying at OU, they contrasted the positive dynamics with two major drawbacks: finances and missed U.S. experiences. Nevertheless, our participants unanimously affirmed their respective decisions to study at Oxford and highly recommended the experience to future potential applicants

Secondary Electron Yield Measurements of Carbon Nanotube Forests: Dependence on Morphology and Substrate

Total, secondary, and backscatter electron yield data were taken with beam energies between 15 eV and 30 keV, in conjunction with energy emission data, to determine the extent of suppression of yield caused by carbon nanotube (CNT) forest coatings on substrates. CNT forests can potentially lower substrate yield due to both its inherently low-yield, low-atomic number (Z) carbon composition, and its bundled, high-aspect ratio structure. Rough surfaces, and in particular, surfaces with deep high-aspect-ratio voids, can suppress yields, as the electrons emitted from lower lying surfaces are recaptured by surface protrusions rather than escaping the near-surface region. Yields of multilayered materials can be modeled essentially serially as a combination of the constituents. However, it is shown that suppression of yields due to CNT forest morphology is more significant than simple predicted contributions of homogeneous layered components. This effect is found to be most pronounced at low energies, where the incident electrons interact preferentially with the CNTs. CNT forests between 20 and 50 μm tall were grown on a thick silicon substrate capped with a 3-nm diffusion barrier of evaporated aluminum using a wet injection chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. Yields of an annealed substrate and constituent bulk materials were also investigated. At incident electron energies above ~1200 eV, the substrate secondary yield dominated those of the CNT forests, as incident electrons penetrated through the low-density, low-Z CNT forests, and backscattered from the higher-Z substrate. At lower energies \u3c1200 \u3eeV, the CNT forests substantially reduced the overall yields of the substrate, and for \u3c500 eV CNT forest yields were \u3c1, well below the already low yields of bulk graphite. This suppressed yield at low energies is attributed to the porosity and preferred vertical alignment of the CNT forest. The yield’s dependence on the height and density of the CNT forest is also discussed