The fourier series of gegenbauer's function

Theoretical analysis of Fourier series of Gegenbauer function - methods for integration of Gegenbauer function and Fourier coefficient

BETWEEN HARSHA AND HARIRA: MOROCCAN WOMEN’S RELATIONSHIPS TO FOOD AND KITCHENSPACE

The research presented in this thesis grapples with questions concerning the gendered and spatial aspects of food culture and “kitchenspace” in Fez, Morocco. The everyday geographies of urban women in Fez, Morocco are closely connected to local food systems and food spaces. Food spaces like the kitchen are where women’s complex relationships to food and gender identity are revealed. Kitchens are spaces where women negotiate gender identity and where specialized knowledge (concerning food and gender) is applied, shared, and transferred from one generation to the next. Critical knowledge concerning gender and identity is communicated through food and food systems. This thesis explores key questions concerning the relationships the women of Fez have with food and kitchenspaces as well as the methodological approach needed to capture and convey women’s interactions within this space. How are food relationships and kitchenspaces in Morocco gendered, and what are the implications for broader gender relationships? How are these relationships affected by outside influences of globalization and social change? How does a researcher gain access to kitchenspaces in Morocco and what is the academic/outsider’s role and relationship with this space? And finally, what methods are best utilized for capturing the innerworkings of kitchenspace

Parasites Within Parasites: Transmission And Evolution Of Neorickettsia In Digeneans

Digeneans are endoparasitic flatworms with complex life cycles that involve two or more different animals as definitive and intermediate hosts. Some digenean species harbor bacterial endosymbionts belonging to the genus Neorickettsia (Order: Rickettsiales, Family: Anaplasmataceae). Neorickettsia occur in all life cycle stages of digeneans and are maintained by vertical transmission. Far from benign however, Neorickettsia may also be transmitted horizontally by digenean parasites to their vertebrate definitive hosts. Once inside, Neorickettsia can infect macrophages and other cell types. For some vertebrate species (e.g. dogs, horses and humans), neorickettsial infections cause severe disease. With a few exceptions, studies of Neorickettsia have been traditionally carried out by bacteriologists, medical, and veterinary researchers, while helminthologists have rarely participated in these research endeavors. Despite the in-depth research published on different aspects of molecular biology, immunology, diagnostics and treatment of neorickettsiae and neorickettsial diseases, the quantitative aspects of transmission of these bacteria and their ecological and evolutionary interrelationships with their invertebrate and vertebrate hosts have received little attention. Recent progress in molecular techniques, particularly the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing has made possible the efficient and reliable detection of Neorickettsia at every step of their circulation, whether in the digenean host of the neorickettsiae or in the invertebrate and vertebrate hosts of the digenean. The same technology also allows for reliable identification of the digeneans. Taken from a mostly parasitological, perspective, this study focused on the modes and quantitative aspects of Neorickettsia transmission and co-evolution with their digenean hosts through the use of molecular techniques. To understand the biology and evolution of Neorickettsia within the digenean host we focused on four specific aims: 1) screen for Neorickettsia DNA a large collection(s) of diverse Digenea taxa from a wide variety of hosts and a broad geographic range using molecular methods and conduct molecular phylogenetic analyses of neorickettsiae in order to estimate interrelationships among all available genotypes; 2) develop and maintain a laboratory life cycle of a digenean, Plagiorchis elegans, harboring Neorickettsia sp.; 3) assess and quantify Neorickettsia vertical transmission efficiency through all stages of a digenean life cycle; 4) localize the bacterial endosymbiont within all stages of the digenean life cycle using immunofluorescent microscopy. In this study (specific aim 1) we screened more than 3,000 digenean samples for Neorickettsia collected from various vertebrates and invertebrates in terrestrial, freshwater, brackish and marine habitats from multiple countries and continents. Neorickettsiae were detected using a real-time PCR protocol targeting the GroEL gene and verified with nested PCR and sequencing of a 1371 bp long region of 16S rRNA. Twenty isolates of Neorickettsia have been obtained. Bayesian phylogenetic analyses were conducted to estimate interrelationships among all known species/genotypes of Neorickettsia. We identified 14 new genotypes of Neorickettsia, more than doubling the number of known species level lineages. Additionally, we identified 14 new digenean species and 7 digenean families as hosts of Neorickettsia. Our findings suggest that further surveys from broader geographic regions and wider selection of digenean taxa are likely to reveal new Neorickettsia lineages as well as new digenean host associations and geographic records. To accomplish specific aims 3 and 4 we for the first time, have maintained Neorickettsia sp. through multiple generations in the laboratory life cycle of a digenean, Plagiorchis elegans (aim 2). The laboratory life cycle of P. elegans consists of a snail first intermediate host, Lymnaea stagnalis, an aquatic arthropod second intermediate host, Culex pipiens (mosquito larva), and a vertebrate definitive host, Mesocricetus auratus (Syrian hamster). Using the newly developed laboratory life cycle we were able to quantify the number of bacteria within individual parasites at all stages of the digenean life cycle. To accomplish this we developed a quantitative real-time PCR assay targeting a 152 bp fragment of the heat shock protein coding gene, GroEL, using a g-block synthetic quantitative positive control. Furthermore, the laboratory life cycle has allowed us to localize the bacterial endosymbiont within eggs, sporocysts, cercariae, metacercariae, and adults of the digenean P. elegans, using immunoflourescent microscopy. Interestingly, unlike other genera of bacteria within the family Anaplasmataceae, Neorickettsia is not localized within the ovarian cells. The bacteria, is instead maintained from one generation of the digenean to another by infecting the vitellarium

COMPARE and Complexity - When is COMPARE Not Enough?

The purpose of this case study research is to determine the utility of COMPARE, the DoD approved software for conducting A-76 competitions, in the more complex world of public-private competition. COMPARE serves as the baseline for establishing cost factors, while two Air Force Depots are used as a basis of comparison. Research questions answered are: 1. What are the baseline cost comparison factors established in COMPARE? 2. What are the common cost factors found in the Air Force Depot public-private competitions? 3. What are the similarities and differences between the cost factors established in COMPARE and those used in the Air Force Depot public-private competitions? 4. What explains the differences between the cost factors established in COMPARE and those used in the Air Force Depot competitions? 5. What changes can be made to make COMPARE more robust in the comparison of more complex public and private entities? Results show that the significant difference between competitions is that public-private comparisons explicitly integrate Best Value into the cost comparison. This is accomplished through the quantification of strengths, weaknesses, and Risk into dollar values. COMPARE, on the other hand, relies heavily on the assumptions of a competitive marketplace to minimize risk while achieving low cost

A Comparative Study of Stakeholder Engagement in the Dual Education System: A Case of Germany, the United States and Kazakhstan

Stakeholder engagement in the dual education system is one of the key factors in developing a sustainable educational system. In this study, the authors aim to explore the role and responsibilities of the key stakeholders and the level of their engagement in the dual education system. The authors aim to contribute to stakeholder engagement in dual education by identifying, assessing, and prioritizing project stakeholders’ interests and influence on the education system. The paper used a case study approach and conducted semi-structured interviews with representatives of vocational schools in Kazakhstan. The case study was conducted by comparing the results of the project stakeholder analysis in the dual education systems of Germany and the United States to Kazakhstan.  The semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 experienced educators from different vocational schools in Kazakhstan. The author's analysis reveals that significant changes are necessary to the legislation in Kazakhstan to improve the dual education system

Acidification increases abundances of Vibrionales and Planctomycetia associated to a seaweed-grazer system: potential consequences for disease and prey digestion efficiency

Ocean acidification significantly affects marine organisms in several ways, with complex interactions. Seaweeds might benefit from rising CO2 through increased photosynthesis and carbon acquisition, with subsequent higher growth rates. However, changes in seaweed chemistry due to increased CO2 may change the nutritional quality of tissue for grazers. In addition, organisms live in close association with a diverse microbiota, which can also be influenced by environmental changes, with feedback effects. As gut microbiomes are often linked to diet, changes in seaweed characteristics and associated microbiome can affect the gut microbiome of the grazer, with possible fitness consequences. In this study, we experimentally investigated the effects of acidification on the microbiome of the invasive brown seaweed Sargassum muticum and a native isopod consumer Synisoma nadejda. Both were exposed to ambient CO2 conditions (380 ppm, pH 8.16) and an acidification treatment (1,000 ppm, pH 7.86) for three weeks. Microbiome diversity and composition were determined using high-throughput sequencing of the variable regions V5-7 of 16S rRNA. We anticipated that as a result of acidification, the seaweed-associated bacterial community would change, leading to further changes in the gut microbiome of grazers. However, no significant effects of elevated CO2 on the overall bacterial community structure and composition were revealed in the seaweed. In contrast, significant changes were observed in the bacterial community of the grazer gut. Although the bacterial community of S. muticum as whole did not change, Oceanospirillales and Vibrionales (mainly Pseudoalteromonas) significantly increased their abundance in acidified conditions. The former, which uses organic matter compounds as its main source, may have opportunistically taken advantage of the possible increase of the C/N ratio in the seaweed under acidified conditions. Pseudoalteromonas, commonly associated to diseased seaweeds, suggesting that acidification may facilitate opportunistic/pathogenic bacteria. In the gut of S. nadejda, the bacterial genus Planctomycetia increased abundance under elevated CO2. This shift might be associated to changes in food (S. muticum) quality under acidification. Planctomycetia are slow-acting decomposers of algal polymers that could be providing the isopod with an elevated algal digestion and availability of inorganic compounds to compensate the shifted C/N ratio under acidification in their food. In conclusion, our results indicate that even after only three weeks of acidified conditions, bacterial communities associated to ungrazed seaweed and to an isopod grazer show specific, differential shifts in associated bacterial community. These have potential consequences for seaweed health (as shown in corals) and isopod food digestion. The observed changes in the gut microbiome of the grazer seem to reflect changes in the seaweed chemistry rather than its microbial composition.Erasmus Mundus Doctoral Programme MARES on Marine Ecosystem Health Conservation [MARES_13_08]; FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology, Portugal) [SFRH/BPD/63703/2009, SFRH/BPD/107878/2015, SFRH/BPD/116774/2016]; EU SEAS-ERA project INVASIVES [SEAS-ERA/0001/2012]; [CCMAR/Multi/04326/2013

Western Reserve Independent Living Center: Leaders in Disability Advocacy for Eastern Ohio

Western Reserve Independent Living Center (WRILC) is a Center for Independent Living (CIL) that provides services that promote independence, advocacy, and leadership among the people with disabilities they serve. WRILC\u27s approach is rooted in a deep commitment to empowering individuals through personalized support, peer connections, and skills development. RTC:Rural researchers explore WRILC\u27s relationship-based community advocacy approach through the Rural Community Living Development project