Stable gene transformation in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) using particle gun method

We investigated the possibility of transforming and obtaining transgenic cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L Walp) plants using the particle bombardment process. Meristematic explants that could give rise to whole fertile plants were used in transformation experiments with reporter and selectable marker genes driven by a 35S CaMV promoter. Conditions for optimal delivery of DNA to explants were established based on transient gus expression assays two days after bombardment. The size of microcarriers, microflight distance and helium pressure significantly affected transient expression of reporter genes. A total of 1692 explants were bombarded with DNA-coated particles and placed on 3 mg/l bialaphos selective medium. Only 12 regenerated shoots produced seeds eventually, and all were Gus negative even though 7 gave positive PCR signals with the bar primer. Eight out of 1400 seeds from To plants were GUS positive. DNA from eight of the GUS positive seedlings were amplified with both the gus and bar primers in PCR analysis but only two gave a positive Southern signal. Only two of the 3557 T2 seedlings obtained were GUS positive. However, 3 seedlings survived Basta spray. The two GUS positive and 3 Basta surviving seedlings gave positive Southern hybridisation signals. Twelve T3 seedlings from these were GUS positive and also gave positive Southern hybridisation signals. The positive reaction of T1, T2 and T3 seedlings under Southern analysis confirms the stable integration of introduced genes and the transfer of such genes to progenies. However, the level of expression of introduced genes in cowpea cells is very low and this accounted for the high mortality rate of progenies under Basta spray

The Rushed Chapter: The Accelerated Development of Black Girlhood

The Adultification of Black Girls. Black youths seem to be dealing with the issue of having their childhood cut off much sooner than their white counterparts. Just to give one example, black children are 5 times more likely to be arrested for a crime compared to their white peers who commit the same crime. For the sake of this paper, I'm focusing on the adultification of black girls. There are a number of stereotypical labels that are thrown on black women, and I'll be focusing on the main 3; The Mammy, the Jezebel, and the Sapphire. The first section of this paper discusses the stereotypes individually. Next, the paper goes into the creative aspect of story writing. Each chapter is focused on a stereotype manifested as a child, and then the story shows how their lives intertwine. It is my hope that my paper successfully communicates the issue of adultification of black girls and what they eventually lead to.Purchase College SUNYCommunicationBachelor of Fine ArtsKeteku, Georg

Designing with the more-than-human:Temporalities of thinking with care

This one-day workshop brings together HCI researchers, designers, and practitioners to engage with more-than-human temporalities in the context of designing with care. We invite participants to experiment and think with more-than-human time experiences as a starting point to integrate emergent methodologies and practices for more-than-human discourses in design. By using living and once-living media (e.g., fungi, plant and insect specimens, biodesigned artefacts) as starting points for investigating more-than-human temporalities, participants will discuss how a pluralistic temporal approach can offer to the discourse of designing-with nonhuman entities, and how this aligns with emerging HCI research trajectories and concerns