Genetic Factors Contributing to the Susceptibility of Development of Prion Diseases

This paper won an honorable mention writing flag award in the research category. Claire Culbertson, writing for Katherine Bruner’s BIO 325L class, “Lab Experience in Genetics”.Bruner, KatherineUndergraduate Studie

Sandy Symbionts: How Tree Identity Shapes Ectomycorrhizal Fungus in Sand Pine

ABSTRACT Sandy Symbionts: How Tree Identity Shapes Ectomycorrhizal Fungus in Sand Pine The purpose of my thesis was to investigate the structure and composition of the ectomycorrhizal (EMC) fungal communities of sand pine (Pinus clausa var. immuginata). Root tips were sampled from four trees located within Eglin Air Force Base. Colonization was shown to differ significantly based on tree identity. Abundance, species diversity, and the ratio of ECM fungi to pathogenic fungi did not differ significantly based on tree identity. A total of 35 ECM operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were shown to colonize the four trees. Helotiales4, Lactarius2, and Cenococcum geophilum were found to be the most abundant OTUs, while Lactarius1 was found to be the least abundant. The results of my research suggest that difference in the ECM communities of sand pine is determined by variation in ECM fungal activity at the microscale of individual trees

Race and Poverty

With the right solutions and enough hard work, there is a chance that inner cities can become revitalized. It cannot happen overnight, but if the government and the people cooperate—it will happen

The Best Way to Locate a Purpose in Sport: In Defence of a Distinction for Aesthetics?

The paper highlights the centrality of some concepts from philosophy of sport for philosophical aesthetics. Once Best (BJA, 1974) conclusively answered negatively the fundamental question, ‘Can any sport form be an artform’, what further issues remained at the intersection of these parts of philosophy? Recent work revitalizing this interface, especially Mumford’s Watching Sport (2012), contested Best’s fundamental distinction between purposive and aesthetic sports, and insisted that purist viewers are taking an aesthetic interest in sporting events. Here, we defend Best’s conception against considerations Mumford hoped would bring the aesthetics of art and sport closer together, thereby elaborating the aesthetics of sport. But, against Mumford’s resolutely psychological conception of an aim, we follow Best to defend the centrality, for purposive sports, of the means/ends contrast remains, even when taking an aesthetic interest in such sports. We conclude with general speculations about the potential future of the discussions originated here

Synthesis of Large-Area WS2 monolayers with Exceptional Photoluminescence

Monolayer WS2 offers great promise for use in optical devices due to its direct bandgap and high photoluminescence intensity. While fundamental investigations can be performed on exfoliated material, large-area and high quality materials are essential for implementation of technological applications. In this work, we synthesize monolayer WS2 under various controlled conditions and characterize the films using photoluminescence, Raman and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopies. We demonstrate that the introduction of hydrogen to the argon carrier gas dramatically improves the optical quality and increases the growth area of WS2, resulting in films exhibiting mm2 coverage. The addition of hydrogen more effectively reduces the WO3 precursor and protects against oxidative etching of the synthesized monolayers. The stoichiometric WS2 monolayers synthesized using Ar+H2 carrier gas exhibit superior optical characteristics, with photoluminescence emission full width half maximum values below 40 meV and emission intensities nearly an order of magnitude higher than films synthesized in a pure Ar environment.Comment: recently accepted at Scientific Report

Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) Analyses Of Superelastic And Nonsuperelastic Nickel-Titanium Orthodontic Wires

The purpose of this study was to determine the transformation temperatures for the austenitic, martensitic, and rhombohedral (R) structure phases in representative as-received commercial nitinol (NiTi) orthodontic wire alloys, to reconcile discrepancies among recent publications. Specimens were examined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) over a temperature range from approximately −170° C to 100° C, with a scanning rate of 10° C per minute. Two different pathways, with the intermediate R structure either absent or present, were observed for the transformation from martensitic to austenitic NiTi, whereas the reverse transformation from austenitic to martensitic NiTi always included the R structure. The enthalpy (ΔH) for the transformation from martensite to austenite ranged from 0.3 to 35 calories per gram. The lowest ΔH value for the nonsuperelastic Nitinol wire is consistent with a largely work-hardened, stable, martensitic microstructure in this product. The DSC results indicate that the transformation processes are broadly similar in superelastic, body-temperature shape-memory, and nonsuperelastic NiTi wires. Differences in bending properties for the NiTi orthodontic wires at room temperature and 37° C are due to the relative proportions of the metallurgical phases in the microstructures