College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Chemistry

11260

Capitalists of the World, Unite? Locating an Imagined Community of Transnational Capitalists in Latin America’s Booming Relations with the Arab World

As the world has become increasingly globalized in recent years, numerous scholars have argued that we are witnessing the rise of a “transnational capitalist class” (Carroll 2010; Robinson 2004). What defines this class is that its members do not identify with “any real or imagined nation-state” (Sklair 2001). Instead, they have a transnational or cosmopolitan identity. In other words, instead of identifying as members of particular countries, they view themselves as belonging to a global community of economic elites. Almost all studies in the field of International Relations seek to confirm or disconfirm theories such as this by investigating cases from North America and Europe. This paper seeks to subvert that convention by utilizing Latin America’s growing ties with the Arab world to empirically analyze the extent to which the would-be transnational capitalist class actually has a transnational, cosmopolitan identity. Based on dozens of in-depth interviews with Latin American economic elites who have business dealings with the Arab world, this paper presents an in-depth analysis of their identities. My findings contradict most of the research in this area, which argues that economic elites have developed a transnational and cosmopolitan identity. Instead, as I argue in this paper, the rhetoric surrounding “transnational” classes is overblown as these actors think primarily in national terms. Nevertheless, these same actors often (insincerely) brag about how “transnational” they are. As I argue, they flaunt their transnational credentials not because they have genuinely transnational identities, but as a political strategy to present themselves as incapable of being contained – and thus regulated – by the state. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 15.6)

11259

“Becoming a Brazilianist: Gilberto Freyre’s Formative Years as a Foreign Student”

Gilberto Freyre is held by most Latin Americanists, whether fairly or not, as the man responsible for labeling Brazil a “racial democracy” in the 1930s. His 1933 masterpiece, Masters and Slaves, made him a household name among academics in the Americas. Many studies have been published on Freyre and his famous book, yet little attention has been given to the man himself and to his development as an intellectual. This paper looks at Gilberto Freyre’s academic years as a student in the United States in order to examine and understand his emergence as a Brazilianist. It traces his shift in discipline from British literature at Baylor University to Brazilian history and Latin American political science at Columbia University. The present work will show how young Gilberto’s pursuit for self-discovery as a foreigner in the United States marked the beginning of his quest to reconfigure his home country of Brazil. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 15.6)

11257

In-Vivo Three-Dimensional Kinematics of Cranial Cruciate Ligament-Deficient Stifles Treated with Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy

"The canine cranial cruciate ligament (CrCL) is analogous to the ACL in the human. Rupture of the ligament produces abnormal knee motion (kinematics) (as described in Phase I of this ongoing research). Abnormal kinematics are known to cause osteoarthritis; therefore, surgical therapies should strive to restore normal kinematics with hopes to slow progression of osteoarthritis. The ideal surgical intervention is unknown. The most common surgical intervention used in dogs is the ""Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy"" (TPLO). In this procedure the tibial joint surface is changed from having a slope of around 25 degrees to a slope of around 5 degrees. This negates the need for a CrCL. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of TPLO on 3-dimensional knee kinematics in clinical canine subjects.

For standardization, dogs had unilateral complete CrCL rupture of less than 6-months duration and were all treated with TPLO. Three-dimensional models of each dog's femur and tibia were created from CT scan data. These models were superimposed over 2-dimensional lateral fluoroscopic movies (x-rays taken in quick succession - 30 frames per second) collected during treadmill walking. This technique has been validated for use in the dog knee and is accurate to less than 2 millimeters for linear motions and 2 degrees for rotations. At the 6-month post-operative follow-up examination, flexion angle, axial rotation, abduction-adduction angle, and cranial-caudal translation were compared between the TPLO-treated and unaffected contralateral knee (control) to allow us to determine whether we successfully achieved normal kinematics with our surgical treatment in dogs with CrCL rupture. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 14.1)"

11245

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences - Chemistry

Cancers, as well as many other diseases, are originated from the mutations of human genes. Understanding of cancer signatures at the molecular level will be able to facilitate early diagnosis and effective treatment of cancers. Although great strides have been made in the development of cancer biomarkers, major challenges still persist, especially due to the rare amount and heterogeneous distribution of cancer biomarkers, including small molecules, proteins and RNAs. To achieve the goal of sensitive and accurate diagnosis combined with targeted drug delivery, DNA-based functional nanostructures, as the product of rational molecular engineering, can provide effective and safe drug delivery, and targeted therapy. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 17.5)

11224

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences - Zoology

Crustaceans form many different symbiotic associations with other animals. Depending on the characteristics of the hosts, symbiotic crustaceans adopt a wide variety of different mating strategies. Some live on large, complex hosts in large, most promiscuous aggregations, while other live on small, simple hosts in socially monogamous male-female pairs. One unique and interesting example is the association between sea turtles and oceanic crabs. These crabs tend to hide in a small space just above the turtle's tail and are often found in male-female pairs. However, these crabs also live on inanimate flotsam, where they are often found in wide range of groupings. Therefore, we sought to test whether sea turtles (among all available 'hosts') are just the size and complexity for two crabs. We tested this by comparing the number of adult crabs found on flotsam of various sizes with the number of crabs found on turtles (typically 1 or 2). We found that the number of adult crabs per item/host was not significantly different when comparing refuge size between turtles and flotsam. These results suggest that refuge size is an important factor in determining the mating strategies of Planes crabs and that the refuge size provided by sea turtles facilitates social monogamy. More broadly, these results have important implications for our understanding of mating system evolution and the role that resource monopolization plays in adoption of different mating strategies. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 14.1)

11223

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences - Psychology

Perceptions of trustworthiness in others influence feelings and behavior during social interactions. Growing evidence suggests that intranasal administration of the neuropeptide oxytocin increases ratings of trustworthiness of unfamiliar faces and interpersonal trust in the context of economic decision making paradigms. This effect appears to be particularly pronounced for in-group compared to out-group faces. To date, prosocial effects of oxytocin have been exclusively investigated in young adults, and the majority of studies comprised men. In this study we are interested in how the administration of intranasal oxytocin affects individuals' trustworthiness evaluation on unfamiliar faces with the special interests in investigating how this effect varies between different age and gender of participants and different age and gender of faces. In addition, we investigated the underlying neural mechanism of this effect of oxytocin on trustworthiness evaluation by using neuro-imaging technique. In this study, young and older participants (evenly distributed in two gender groups) received either intranasal oxytocin or placebo. Then, they were asked to evaluated a set of unfamiliar faces in terms of trustworthiness while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI). Analysis of trust-related decisions suggested that female faces were generally rated as more trustworthy than male faces. This effect varied for young and older participants and by drug condition. In particular, older participants who administered oxytocin rated female faces as more trustworthy than male faces, while older participants who administered placebo did not differentiate female and male faces in terms of their trustworthiness. This pattern of results was reversed in young participants. In addition, older male participants who administered oxytocin were faster in their trust-related decision making than older male participants who administered placebo. This effect was reversed in older females and did not hold for young participants. Findings from this study emphasize the importance of considering age and sex of participants and faces when examining effects of oxytocin on facial trustworthiness ratings. Our findings suggest age-differential processing of facial cues and sex-based in-group biases. Analysis of the neuroimaging data is currently underway. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 17.7)

11216

College of Agricultural and Life Sciences - Agricultural Education and Communication

"Issues with invasive species have been reported internationally. These species break natural biogeographical boundaries and influence the ecology at the location of invasion, resulting adverse impacts to the native species, ecosystems, human and wildlife health, and local economy. Since the general public has limited awareness of the impacts of invasive species, understanding the general public’s knowledge levels and willingness to learn about invasive species is needed prior to designing the extension educational programs related to invasive species for an enhanced effectiveness and efficiency.

To explore public opinions of invasive species, an online survey was used to identify the general public’s (a) perceived level of knowledge about invasive species, (b) perceptions of prioritization efforts and management practices for invasive species, (c) perceived importance of management practices for invasive species, (d) interest in learning more about invasive species, and (e) preferred mode of learning about invasive species. A sample of 515 Florida residents were reached to answer the survey. The results indicated that the respondents generally had low knowledge levels of invasive species, while they believed invasive species are harmful to native species and humans and should be controlled only in areas that are most affected. Majority of the respondents considered prevention of future entering of the invasive species is needed and were willing to learn about invasive species. In addition, television, websites, and video were reported as the preferred learning channels by the respondents for learning invasive species information.

Overall, the results of this study revealed the need and public interest in invasive species educational program. According to this study, television, websites, and video should be used as the primary channels by extension for the educational programs. Future studies are recommended to explore more information about program participants, program evaluation, and different impact among various locations.

11213

INTEGRATING METABOLOMICS AND GENOMICS REVEALS NOVEL BIOMARKERS OF HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE RESPONSE IN PHARMACOGENOMIC EVALUATION OF ANTIHYPERTENSIVE RESPONSES (PEAR) STUDY

Hypertension is a devastating health threat affecting about one third of the American adults and more than one billion individuals worldwide. Thiazide diuretics, including hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), are considered first line anti hypertensive medications in the US with more than 100 million prescription annually. Despite the wide spread use of HCTZ, studies revealed that only about half of those patients treated with HCTZ achieve blood pressure (BP) control. This reveals that the current approach for therapy selection and blood pressure control is sub-optimal. We hypothesize that identifying bio-markers that can be used for optimizing the use of HCTZ therapy will improve blood pressure control, and reduce morbidity and mortality in hypertensive patients. The aim of my PhD work is to utilize different innovative approaches that integrate genomics (DNA), transcriptomics (RNA), and metabolomics (metabolites) to identify novel biomarkers that can be used for better selection of anti-hypertensive medications and blood pressure control. Additionally, the long term goal of this work is to give more insights in the mechanism underlying blood pressure control which can help in identifying novel molecular targets that can be used in designing new antihypertensive medications and improving blood pressure control. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 18.8)

11207

Temperature-driven band inversion in Pb0.77Sn0.23Se: Optical and Hall-effect studies

This research is intended to find a suitable candidate for topological crystalline insulator, a newly classified category of materials, in class IV-VI mixed chalcogenide group of compounds. Our study also characterizes the given sample through optical infrared spectroscopic technique along with some transport technique. These materials are widely used for the purpose of infrared detectors, thermoelectric devices and photoelectric diode on commercial scale from past many decades. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 17)

11203

It Just Gets Better and Better: The Development of Sensitization for Food Consumption

A fundamental finding in the nutrition literature is that sustained food consumption leads to habituation and satiation. Habituation is the reduction in a response to food that occurs as a consequence of each additional taste. Satiation is the point at which there is no additional value associated with another taste, so that consumption ceases. Food marketers are inherently interested in how to slow the rate of habituation, and delay the onset of satiation to increase consumption. There is another source of increased consumption that is much less studied. Sensitization is the positive response to a food that occurs with each taste. Sensitization is initially experienced as an increased liking of a food (beverage) with each additional bite (sip), followed by a return to neutral. This research provides insight into the development of sensitization to food. We hypothesize that food sensitization is more likely to develop when a food consists of a complex combination of flavors and when a consumption context facilitates appreciation of this complexity. People that have learned how to appreciate different flavor dimensions or food characteristics can experience each additional consumption episode in a different way (e.g., when tasting sour cream and onion potato chips, each taste provides a unique combination of salt, sour, onion, and potato flavors). (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 13.9)

11186

The personality profile and personal network structure of health information avoiders

"Although many people endorse the statement “knowledge is power,” people sometimes opt not to learn information. From not opening a credit card bill to avoiding disease screening, people may actively avoid information in a variety of domains. My research focuses on information avoidance, the “motivated avoidance of available but potentially unwanted information” (Sweeny et al., 2010). Broadly, research suggests that people avoid information that might threaten their desired feelings, thoughts, or behaviors. Nevertheless, very little research has investigated whether, regardless of the content of the information, some people may simply be more likely to avoid information.

I will present two studies investigating whether personality traits and the structure of people’s social networks (i.e., their connections to others) are associated with their likelihood of avoiding information. In the first study I found that a variety of personality traits such as optimism (i.e., expecting the best out of situations) and extraversion (i.e., thriving off of social connection) are associated with less information avoidance, whereas other traits such as need for closure (i.e., the need for the world to be predictable) and neuroticism (i.e., emotional instability) are associated with greater information avoidance. In the second study I found that people with highly-connected social networks (i.e., one’s closest friends know each other) are less likely to avoid information about their risk for a disease, suggesting that individual differences in the construction of one’s social world may have downstream health consequences. Together these two studies suggest that individual differences may influence whether people choose to learn information about themselves and the world around them.

11146

Multi-Method Resolution of Small-Scale Commingling

This study highlights the use of multiple methods in forensic anthropology for resolving a case of commingled human remains. Human remains were located as a surface scatter in a rural marijuana field in northern California by law enforcement. Although initially buried in shallow graves, the remains of two decedents were disturbed by large carnivores, most likely black bears, and scattered over a wide area. The remains were recovered by law enforcement and submitted for forensic anthropological analysis and resolution of commingling. To accurately segregate the two individuals, a number of methods were employed. The analysis included: 1) reconstruction of fragmented remains through physical matching; 3) articulation to evaluate joint congruence; 2) visual pair matching of bilateral elements; 4) osteometric pair-matching; 5) evaluation of taphonomic patterns; 6) DNA analysis; and 7) use of portable X-ray spectrometry. The use of a multi-method approach resulted in accurate resolution of the commingling, and facilitated reconstruction of the biological profiles, taphonomic patterns, and trauma analysis for each individual. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 17.3)

11145

A Utilitarian Tricopper Cyclophane Complex: Tunability and Reactivity Via Simple Modifications

The goal of this research is to understand the underlying details of copper's reactivity with small molecules such as oxygen and nitrous oxide. These types of reactions are very important to understanding fundamental biological processes and catalysis towards green energy sources. This reactivity is being pursued through the synthesis and characterization of discrete organometallic complexes that contain three copper centers. Small variations in synthesis have generated a suite of copper complexes that display different physical properties and reactivity. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 17.1)

11131

Functional Model Clusters of FeMo Cofactor: Reduction of Dinitrogen and Carbon Dioxide and Synthesis of a [3Fe–3S] Cluster

Multielectron redox transformations of small molecules such as CO2 and N2 are carried out under ambient conditions in biological systems (e.g., carbon monoxide dehydrogenase and nitrogenase), and replicating this reactivity in synthetic systems is of importance to renewable energy technologies and green chemical synthesis. Performing these reactions in abiological systems is challenging due to the remarkable energy barriers, but nature overcomes the limitation by carrying out the reactions at transition metal clusters housed within protein active sites in which multiple metal ions are strategically oriented in close proximity by pre-organized ligation sites of the proteins. Inspired by this feature in biology, my research aimed to design and synthesize trimetallic complexes by employing a ligand that pre-organizes and controls the spatial arrangement of three metal-binding sites, with the goal of harnessing metal ion cooperativity by design together with utilizing an internal cavity in the ligand to enforce a size-constraint on potential substrates. The designed trimetallic clusters have been tested and demonstrated to successfully reduce CO2 to formate and N2 to ammonia. My ongoing research focuses on mechanistic studies of those reactions to obtain deeper insights into reactivity patterns and mechanisms carried out in many industrial chemical processes and metalloenzymes in nature. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 20.7)

11101

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles: Optimal All-Electric Driving Range for Minimum Societal Cost

In this paper we are looking into maximizing the social benefits of using plug in hybrid electric vehicles technology. We are focusing on minimizing the social cost of purchasing the electric battery, the fuel and environmental costs of operating this type of vehicles. We come up with crucial recommendations regarding the optimal battery size for this vehicle type, we underline the importance of workplace charging in minimizing those costs and we investigate cases of market segmentation to show that this also benefits the society, while assuming universal adoption of plug in hybrid electric vehicles. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 20.6)

11080

Subjective with a Capital S? Issues of Objectivity in Forensic Anthropology

"This presentation is part of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences ""Application of Theory to Forensic Anthropology"" symposium, organized by Drs. Cliff and Donna Boyd. Participating in this symposium is a particularly exciting opportunity, as the subdiscipline of forensic anthropology has often faced criticism for not engaging with the rich body of theory developed by the broader field of anthropology. This symposium is a chance for forensic anthropologists to answer this charge, to explore the ways that our work may already utilize anthropological theory, and to brainstorm new paths for incorporating theory into our practice.

My presentation (see below abstract) tackles the idea of subjectivity in forensic anthropology – a field tasked with presenting defensible, presumably objective scientific analyses that are unassailable on the witness stand. I argue that by presenting an image of objective, unbiased science, we are selling ourselves short: yes, we are scientists, but we’re social scientists, as well; and social science is not necessarily bad science. Some of our most valuable scientific conclusions about the human body are observation-based, informed by each practitioner’s subjective experience. We may not be able to eliminate that subjectivity in our analyses, but we can strive for a sort of mitigated objectivity, by understanding the sources of our biases, quantifying resulting error, and constraining our subjectivity with standardized methods, accumulated scientific knowledge, and sound anthropological theory. If we do so, we will portray our analyses and their capabilities realistically, rather than pursuing a pure objectivity that may not exist. (Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level: 19.5)"