Digital Commons Network^™

Grand Valley Magazine, Vol. 9, No. 3 Winter 2010, Grand Valley State University

Grand Valley Magazine

Grand Valley Magazine is a quarterly publication about Grand Valley State University produced by University Communications since 2001.

Drag Kinging In Amsterdam: Queer Identity Politics, Subcultural Spaces, And Transformative Potentials, Michael Korcek

Lawrence University Honors Projects

In this ethnography of the drag king subculture in Amsterdam I locate the transformative and subversive potential of drag king performances on the larger queer community. Based upon four months of fieldwork spent interviewing drag king performers and queer community members while also attending queer parties, I will show how the burgeoning community of drag kings in Amsterdam work to reconfigure structures of domination within and outside of the LGBTQ community. Despite the history of Dutch tolerance and the sexually liberal atmosphere of Amsterdam, many members of the queer community, including but not limited to lesbian, bisexual, trans, and queer …

Probable Cause From Probable Bonds: A Genetic Tattle Tale Based On Familial Dna, Jessica D. Gabel

UC Law SF Journal on Gender and Justice

DNA represents the "gold standard" of evidence that solves crimes and obtains convictions. Law enforcement agencies increasingly turn to national and local DNA databanks to generate possible suspects. These searches may "hit" upon databank samples that only partially match the DNA left at a crime scene. The value in a partial match is that it might identify a relative of the perpetrator. Some states have embraced this technique - called familial DNA testing - as a harmless additive to traditional or routine investigatory methods, but at least one state has explicitly banned its use. This Article examines the scientific, legal, …

Disrupting Sexual Categories Of Intimate Preference, Luke A. Boso

UC Law SF Journal on Gender and Justice

The Article first explores what "discrimination" in the intimate realm may mean, and it discusses the ineffective application of traditional legal antidiscrimination measures in favor of Professor Vicki Shultz's "disruption" model. The disruption model looks at institutional practices rather than individual intent, explaining that discrimination occurs when institutions create differential categories and apply hierarchical meanings to those categories. The Article then critically examines "sexual orientation" as an incoherent and oppressive social construct in need of disruption. Finally, the Article demonstrates the ways in which the law has created rigidly defined categories of sex, gender, and sexual identity (all inextricable components …

Still Pioneers: Special Social And Economic Hardships For Elderly Gays And Lesbians, Annick Persinger

UC Law SF Journal on Gender and Justice

This Note will first discuss the social factors that make accessing retirement and support services problematic for lesbian and gay elders, such as ageism in the gay and lesbian community and heterosexual-focused retirement institutions. Part II will investigate how federal law and policy affects lesbian and gay elders' ability to obtain health care benefits and save for retirement. Part III will examine state and municipal solutions for same-sex couples, in the face of federal discrimination. Part IV will illustrate the necessity of acquiring an attorney because of the challenges in preparing for a lesbian or gay elder's incompetence, and the …

Copy Number Variation Shapes Genome Diversity In Arabidopsis Over Immediate Family Generational Scales, Seth Debolt

Horticulture Faculty Publications

Arabidopsis thaliana is the model plant and is grown worldwide by plant biologists seeking to dissect the molecular underpinning of plant growth and development. Gene copy number variation (CNV) is a common form of genome natural diversity that is currently poorly studied in plants and may have broad implications for model organism research, evolutionary biology, and crop science. Herein, comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) was used to identify and interrogate regions of gene CNV across the A. thaliana genome. A common temperature condition used for growth of A. thaliana in our laboratory and many around the globe is 22 degrees C. …

Acceptable Deviance And Property Rights, Mark A. Edwards

Faculty Scholarship

Compliance with - or deviance from - law is often dependent upon the law’s convergence with - or divergence from - normative sensibilities. Where the legality and social acceptability of behavior diverge, some deviance is socially acceptable. Property rights evolve in response to changes in normative sensibilities. Constructing a model of acceptable deviance and applying it to property rights, we can predict and actually observe the evolution of property rights in response to changes in normative sensibilities in areas as diverse as file-sharing, foreclosures, the use of public space, and fishing rights. We can also predict and observe stresses in …

When Your Body Is Your Business, Mary P. Byrn, Morgan L. Holcomb

Faculty Scholarship

Surrogacy in the United States is a multi-million dollar industry in which well paid professionals seek out highly specialized women to fulfill the difficult job of being a surrogate. Surrogates enter lengthy contracts in which they agree, in intricate detail, to provide a service for significant compensation - surrogates are paid well over $22 million dollars a year. This article argues that surrogates are also professionals in this for-profit industry and are required to report surrogacy compensation as income. As a corollary, surrogates may deduct most of their surrogacy related expenses as business deductions. Being a surrogate is a highly …

Which Came First The Parent Or The Child?, Mary P. Byrn, Jenni Vainik Ives

Faculty Scholarship

From the moment a child is born, she is a juridical person endowed with constitutional rights. A child’s parents, however, do not become legal parents until a state statute grants them the fundamental right to raise one’s child. The state, therefore, exercises considerable power and discretion when it drafts the parentage statutes that determine who becomes a legal parent. This article asserts that the state, through its parens patriae power, has a duty to act as an agent for children when it drafts its parentage statutes. In particular, the state must adopt parentage statutes that satisfy children’s fundamental right to …

If You Build It, They Will Come: Preserving Tribal Sovereignty In The Face Of Indian Casinos & The New Premium On Tribal Membership, Suzianne Painter-Thorne

Articles

This Article considers recent disputes over membership decisions made by American Indian tribal governments. Since Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988, Indian casinos have flourished on some tribal reservations. Some argue that the new wealth brought by casinos has increased fights over membership as tribes seek to expel current members or refuse to admit new members. It is difficult to discern whether there are more disputes over tribal enrollment as a consequence of gaming or whether such disputes are now more public because gaming has brought tribes to the forefront of U.S. culture. What is clear is …

Studies Of Bee Diversity In Indiana: The Influence Of Collection Methods On Species Captures, And A State Checklist Based On Museum Collection, Robert P. Jean

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bees are among the most important of pollinators, but little is known about their status. I expand the knowledge of the bees of the Midwest by updating the bees of Indiana, the first update in over fifty years, by adding two local bee species inventories, in the black oak savannas of northeastern Indiana and another reconstructed based on museum specimens, and by comparing two methods for sampling bees. Bees from six families, 52 genera, and 416 species are represented in Indiana, an addition of over 200 species from precious lists. Species ranged from common to rare with a median abundance …

Sexual Selection And Plumage In The Polymorphic White-Throated Sparrow, Nathan Rathbun

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Feather coloration has been known to be connected with sexual selection for many years. It also provides an opportunity to study evolution, focusing on sexual selection and natural selection. Plumage is affected by both of these forces and the equilibrium is where these forces balance. The white-throated sparrow gives us a unique opportunity to observe the effects of the different strengths of these forces within a species. First, I established that there were differences in plumage characteristics between the morphs and sexes. White males had the brightest white and darkest black feathers. White females and tan males were the next …

Comparing The Perceived Relevance Of Informal And Formal Learning In Skill Acquisition In A Leadership Development Program, William Kirk Smith

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Leadership development is at or near the top in importance to senior executives within organizations. In the criteria for the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award, leadership has the second highest weighting, behind only business results but ahead of customer focus, measurement, analysis, knowledge management, workforce focus, process management, and strategic planning. Corporations in the United States spend an estimated $20-30 billion per year in leadership training and there is a question of whether the learning that takes place outside the classroom, informal learning, is more relevant than formal learning. Learning within organizations is vital to success. It is the lifeblood …

Impact Of Leadership Program On Personality Characteristics Of At-Risk Youth, Aashia M. Bade

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The use of leadership programs as interventions for at-risk youths has recently gained attention in popular media andPsychology literature. This type of intervention presupposes that changes in personality style as well as developmental assets can be cultivated through leadership programming. Although current literature supports the benefits of mentoring and increased community involvement for at risk youths, there is limited research available about personality changes that may occur as a result of participation in leadership programs. The present study focuses on the C5 program, a five-year leadership program for at-risk youths from inner-city areas. A cross-sectional design sampling from participants in …

Introducing A Multi-Site Program For Early Diagnosis Of Hiv Infection Among Hiv-Exposed Infants In Tanzania, Harriet Nuwagaba-Biribonwoha, Bazghina Werq-Semo, Aziz Abdallah, Amy Cunningham, John G. Gamaliel, Sevestine Mtunga, Victoria Nankabirwa, Isaya Malisa, Luis F. Gonzalez, Charles Massambu, Denis Nash, Jessica Justman, Elaine J. Abrams

Publications and Research

Background: In Tanzania, less than a third of HIV infected children estimated to be in need of antiretroviral therapy (ART) are receiving it. In this setting where other infections and malnutrition mimic signs and symptoms of AIDS, early diagnosis of HIV among HIV-exposed infants without specialized virologic testing can be a complex process. We aimed to introduce an Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) pilot program using HIV DNA Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing with the intent of making EID nationally available based on lessons learned in the first 6 months of implementation.

Methods: In September 2006, a molecular biology laboratory at …

Synaptically Activated Burst-Generating Conductances May Underlie A Group-Pacemaker Mechanism For Respiratory Rhythm Generation In Mammals, Christopher A. Del Negro, John A. Hayes, Ryland W. Pace, Benjamin R. Brush, Ryoichi Teruyama, Jack L. Feldman

Faculty Publications

Breathing, chewing, and walking are critical life-sustaining behaviors in mammals that consist essentially of simple rhythmic movements. Breathing movements in particular involve the diaphragm, thorax, and airways but emanate from a network in the lower brain stem. This network can be studied in reduced preparations in vitro and using simplified mathematical models that make testable predictions. An iterative approach that employs both in vitro and in silico models argues against canonical mechanisms for respiratory rhythm in neonatal rodents that involve reciprocal inhibition and pacemaker properties. We present an alternative model in which emergent network properties play a rhythmogenic role. Specifically, …

Histone H2a.Z Regulates The Expression Of Several Classes Of Phosphate Starvation Response Genes But Not As A Transcriptional Activator, Aaron P. Smith, Ajay Jain, Roger B. Deal, Vinay K. Nagarajan, Michael D. Poling, Kashchandra G. Raghothama, Richard B. Meagher

Faculty Publications

Phosphate (Pi) availability is a major constraint to plant growth. Consequently, plants have evolved complex adaptations to tolerate low Pi conditions. Numerous genes implicated in these adaptations have been identified, but their chromatin-level regulation has not been investigated. The nuclear actin-related protein ARP6 is conserved among all eukaryotes and is an essential component of the SWR1 chromatin remodeling complex, which regulates transcription via deposition of the H2A.Z histone variant into chromatin. Here, we demonstrate that ARP6 is required for proper H2A.Z deposition at a number of Pi starvation response (PSR) genes in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). The loss of H2A.Z at …

Intracellular Ph Regulation In Isolated Trout Gill Mitochondrion-Rich (Mr) Cell Subtypes: Evidence For Na+/H+ Activity, Scott K. Parks, Martin Tresguerres, Fernando Galvez, Greg G. Goss

Faculty Publications

We have studied intracellular pH (pHi) recovery in isolated trout gill mitochondrion-rich (MR) cells following acidification by the NH4Cl pre-pulse technique. Within a mixed MR cell population, one cell type displayed Na+-independent pHi recovery while the other cell type lacked a Na+-independent pHi recovery. Cells displaying Na+ independent recovery exhibited a significantly higher buffering capacity compared to cells lacking Na+-independent pHi recovery. Cells displaying Na+ independent recovery were identified as PNA+ (peanut lectin agluttinin binding) MR cells while those unable to recover were identified as PNA- (non-peanut lectin agluttinin binding) MR cells. Therefore, recovery from acidification in the absence of …

Social Status Regulates Kisspeptin Receptor Mrna In The Brain Of Astatotilapia Burtoni, Brian P. Grone, Karen P. Maruska, Wayne J. Korzan, Russell D. Fernald

Faculty Publications

The brain controls reproduction in response to relevant external and internal cues. Central to this process in vertebrates is gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH1) produced in neurons of the hypothalamic-preoptic area (POA). GnRH1 released from the POA stimulates pituitary release of gonadotropins, which in males causes sperm production and concomitant steroid hormone release from the testes. Kisspeptin, a neuropeptide acting via the kisspeptin receptor (Kiss1r), increases GnRH1 release and is linked to development of the reproductive system in mammals and other vertebrates. In both fish and mammals, kiss1r mRNA levels increase in the brain around the time of puberty but the environmental …

Expression, Localization And Interaction Of Snare Proteins In Arabidopsis Are Selectively Altered By The Dark, Naohiro Kato, Huancan Bai

Faculty Publications

A method to detect binary interactions among SNAREs, membrane proteins mediating vesicle fusion, in Arabidopsis cells was established. In this method, a pair of recombinant SNAREs is first expressed within Arabidopsis protoplasts at levels similar to their endogenous proteins in 96-well plates. Changes of the interaction are then detected by luminescence. Here, we report that the interaction of SYP122 and VAMP721, a SNARE pair mediating exocytosis, is enhanced when Arabidopsis protoplasts are incubated in the dark. Microscopic observation of plants expressing GFPSYP122 by the syp122 promoter suggests SYP122 is expressed in the root tip when the seedlings are grown in …

Gumbo Yearbook, Class Of 2010, Louisiana State University And Agricultural And Mechanical College

Gumbo Yearbook

The Gumbo yearbook chronicles the entire academic year at LSU. In words and especially photos, the Gumbo shows the people, places, and events that make each year unique. In addition to formal portraits of schools and departments, the book contains hundreds of snapshots of students with their friends and dozens of pages showcasing organizations.

The 2010 Gumbo was published with a DVD containing a video yearbook, as well as a PDF. Those files are linked below.

Syntheses Of Protoporphyrin-Ix Derivatives Bearing Extended Propionate Side-Chains, Robert T. Holmes, Jianming Lu, Celinah Mwakwari, Kevin M. Smith

Faculty Publications

In order to investigate the relationship between depth within membranes of singlet oxygen generation and effectiveness of photodynamic therapy of tumors, analogs of protoporphyrin-IX 1 bearing five 4 and seven 5 carbon atoms (in place of the 3-carbon atom chain in 1) were synthesized from monopyrrole precursors.

The Experiential Future Of The Law, Adam J. Kolber

Emory Law Journal

Pain, suffering, anxiety, and other experiences are fundamentally important to civil and criminal law. Despite their importance, we have limited ability to measure experiences, even though legal proceedings turn on such measurements every day. Fortunately, technological advances in neuroscience are improving our ability to measure experiences and will do so more dramatically in what I call ¿the experiential future.¿ In this Article, I describe how new technologies will improve our assessments of physical pain, emotional distress, and a variety of psychiatric disorders. I argue that as new technologies emerge to better reveal people¿s experiences, virtually every area of the law …

Local Energy, Garrick B. Pursley, Hannah J. Wiseman

Emory Law Journal

At a point in the future that is no longer remote, renewable energy will be a necessity. The construction of large renewable energy farms is central to a transition away from fossil fuels, but distributed renewable energy technologies¿wind turbines in backyards and solar panels on roofs¿are immediately essential as well. Widespread deployment of distributed renewable technologies requires rapid innovation led by renewable energy pioneers¿individuals who act as market leaders and prove to their neighbors that these new energy devices are safe and worthy of use. This Article assesses the relative institutional capacities of different levels of government to determine which …

Epigenetics: Blurring The Line Between Nature And Nurture, Elizabeth H. Rose

CMC Senior Theses

This long-standing nature versus nurture debate is cited in behavioral and physical expressions of disease dysfunctions, resiliencies, and recovery. Their purposes are noted both in scientific pursuits as well as literature. This discourse has been particularly intense in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, and biology where there is a long history of scientists’ attempts to disprove or discredit others’ intellectual and professional measures. Interestingly, recent advances in the neurosciences and genetic technologies have brought these fields closer together with a new focus – the interactional relationship between nature and nurture – epigenetics.

Moral Agency And Advancements In Artificial Intelligence, Arielle L. Zuckerberg

CMC Senior Theses

The main trends underlying advancements in AI technology are increased autonomy, increased functionality, higher level social interaction and integration, and, many suggest, hard-wired ethical codes of conduct. These trends, along with the promises of engineers and scientists, give us ample reason to evaluate the agency of future AI machines.

Effective Environmental Management Of The National Park Service: A Case Study Of Channel Islands National Park, Daniel T. Olmsted

CMC Senior Theses

The topic of protected area management serves as the focal point of my thesis. The fundamental question I seek to answer is; what constitutes effective environmental management and how is it exemplified in the National Park Service (NPS)? How exactly does the NPS continually earn the trust and confidence of the American people when so many other government agencies are viewed in a negative light? How does the Channel Islands National Park, in particular, shape the economic and political framework in which it operates to achieve its goals? How does this agency effectively manage such a complex ecosystem spanning across …

Children In Jeopardy: An Evaluation Of Interventions For Orphans Of Hiv/Aids In Sub-Saharan Africa, Molly E. Murtaugh

CMC Senior Theses

Sub-Saharan Africa is a region plagued by the spread of HIV/AIDS. While many individuals have devoted their careers to preventing new diagnoses of the disease, one crucial population is often neglected. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the degree to which the psychological needs of those orphaned by HIV/AIDS are addressed in three prominent interventions. After evaluating institutionalization, foster care, and community-based care in Sub-Saharan Africa, a model for effective intervention is proposed.

Innocence After Death, Samuel Wiseman

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Improved Peak Capacity For Ce Separations Of Enzyme Inhibitors With Activity-Based Detection Using Magnetic Bead Microreactors, Xiaoyan Yan, S. Douglass Gilman

Faculty Publications

A technique for separating and detecting enzyme inhibitors was developed using CE with an enzyme microreactor. The on-column enzyme microreactor was constructed using NdFeB magnet(s) to immobilize alkaline phosphatase-coated superparamagnetic beads (2.8 mm diameter) inside a capillary before the detection window. Enzyme inhibition assays were performed by injecting a plug of inhibitor into a capillary filled with the substrate, AttoPhos. Product generated in the enzyme microreactor was detected by LIF. Inhibitor zones electrophoresed through the capillary, passed through the enzyme microreactor, and were observed as negative peaks due to decreased product formation. The goal of this study was to improve …