The Aquila Digital Community

Library Focus (Spring 2013)

University Libraries et al. — Wed, 08 May 2013 14:14:49 PDT

The spring 2013 issue of Library Focus, the newsletter of University Libraries, includes articles on the new Learning Commons at Gulf Coast Library; expanded library services for both campuses, including e-books; LibGuides, the research guides for students and faculty; announcement of this year’s Keats Book Awards for new authors and illustrators of children’s books; Mississippi Digital Library; Gulf Coast artist and Southern Miss graduate Linda Lang Ishee; and the 40^th Children’s Literature Association conference to be held in Biloxi in June. The Spotlight on… article features Jorge Brown, Access Services Librarian at Gulf Coast Library.

Kelly Price Photo Essay

Kelly Price — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:30:31 PDT

The Colonized Gelding: Marital Violence in The Joys of Motherhood

Matthew Craft — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:30:30 PDT

Death by Injustice: Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Laws, Christian Fundamentalism, and the Politics of Global Power

Dylan Harris — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:30:29 PDT

Across Africa, the persecution of gay people is gaining momentum. Gay people have been denied health care, detained, tortured, and killed. In 2009, the Ugandan parliament drafted The Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which has accrued significant attention, mostly negative, from the international community. However, it seems that any attention, positive or negative, only serves to fan the flames from which the laws were created. Anti-homosexuality laws, both formal and informal, have existed for decades within Uganda, but the current laws being drafted are by far the most formal and comprehensive. This paper will examine the political and religious context in which Uganda’s anti-homosexuality laws were created and discuss some of the present and potential implications of the bill.

Mythical Hero versus the Modern Heroine: The Female Hero in Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games

Dane Moreaux — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:30:28 PDT

College Students’ Perceptions of and Behaviors Regarding Facebook© Advertising: An Exploratory Study

Alexandra Bannister et al. — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:30:26 PDT

The recent boom of social media has given marketers new opportunities to advertise to a targeted demographic -- specifically, tech-savvy young adults and students. This study examines the perceptions of and attitudes toward advertisements on one of the most popular social networking sites today, Facebook^©. Results of an exploratory study show that while most college students are active Facebook© users, they are unlikely to click on Facebook© advertising or engage in purchase behaviors.

Howards End: Margaret, Henry, and the Situational Performance of Gender

Ashten Redell — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:30:25 PDT

Howards End by E.M. Forster is based in the year 1910 and is set in England. The novel portrays the expected traits of men and women. Using Gender Theory and, more specifically, Judith Butler’s idea of “performing gender”, one can better understand the actions of two of the main characters, Henry and Margaret, based on their performance of gender. For example, Margaret allows Henry to take over her affairs when they are engaged, and Henry suppresses all emotions, each performing gender specific attributes. However, the qualities performed by these characters are continuously changing and are not always specific to one gender. For example, when Margaret is head of her household, she performs masculine traits such as making decisions about houses. This continuous transition of repressed and displayed behaviors suggest that gender qualities are on a relative continuum that ranges from masculine to feminine qualities in each individual “performed” in different situations or when not in control, such as in the event of a major crisis. Using this relative continuum and the idea of situational gender performance, this essay attempts to better understand the personalities of these two characters and what implications their gender performance has on society.

The Tree of Life by Dawne Kennedy

Angela Dawne Kennedy — Tue, 07 May 2013 13:13:28 PDT

Winning student art submission for Volume 3, Issue 1 of the Catalyst. Click on the picture for more information.

Neutrophil in viral infections, friend or foe?

Brandon D. Drescher et al. — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:03:01 PDT

Polymorphonuclear leukocytes or neutrophils are the first immune cells to the site of injury and microbial infection. Neutrophils are crucial players in controlling bacterial and fungal infections, and in particular secondary infections, by phagocytosis, degranulation and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). While neutrophils have been shown to play important roles in viral pathogenesis, there is a lack of detailed investigation. In this article, we will review recent progresses toward understanding the role of neutrophils in viral pathogenesis. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

JELLYFISH LIFE HISTORIES: ROLE OF POLYPS IN FORMING AND MAINTAINING SCYPHOMEDUSA POPULATIONS

William M. Graham — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:03:01 PDT

Large population fluctuations of jellyfish occur over a variety of temporal scales, from weekly to seasonal, inter-annual and even decadal, with some regions of the world reported to be experiencing persistent seasonal bloom events. Recent jellyfish research has focussed on understanding the causes and consequences of these population changes, with the vast majority of studies considering the effect of changing environmental variables only on the pelagic medusa. But many of the bloom-forming species are members of the Scyphozoa with complex metagenic life cycles consisting of a sexually reproducing pelagic medusa and asexually reproducing benthic polyp. Recruitment success during the juvenile (planula, polyp and ephyrae) stages of the life cycle can have a major effect on the abundance of the adult (medusa) population, but until very recently, little was known about the ecology of the polyp or scyphistoma phase of the scyphozoan life cycle. The aim of this review is to synthesise the current state of knowledge of polyp ecology by examining (1) the recruitment and metamorphosis of planulae larvae into polyps, (2) survival and longevity of polyps, (3) expansion of polyp populations via asexual propagation and (4) strobilation and recruitment of ephyrae (juvenile medusae). Where possible, comparisons are made with the life histories of other bentho-pelagic marine invertebrates so that further inferences can be made. Differences between tropical and temperate species are highlighted and related to climate change, and populations of the same species (in particular Aurelia aurita) inhabiting different habitats within its geographic range are compared. The roles that polyps play in ensuring the long-term survival of jellyfish populations as well as in the formation of bloom populations are considered, and recommendations for future research are presented.

Intense ectoenzyme activities associated with Trichodesmium colonies in the Sargasso Sea

Karen M. Orcutt et al. — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:03:00 PDT

Ectoenzyme activities of alkaline phosphatase (APA) and leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) associated with Trichodesmium, a globally significant dinitrogen (N-2) fixer, were measured on cruises to the Bermuda Atlantic Time-Series (BATS) site. Rates associated with Trichodesmium were compared to microbial enzyme activities in natural seawater between August 1992 and November 1997. Colonies of Trichodesmium function as 'microsites' for ectoenzyme activity and express high rates of APA (4 to 66 nmol colony(-1) h(-1)) and LAP (53 to 389 nmol colony(-1) h(-1)). For Trichodesmium APA, substrate half-saturation constants (K-m) exceeded surrounding seawater APA by a factor of 20 to 40 times. Overall, the ectoenzyme activity measured in puff shaped colonies of Trichodesmium did not differ significantly from the rates associated with the tuft morphology. Ectoenzyme activites measured in the cyanobacterial consortium did not vary as strongly seasonally as was observed in natural seawater. Elemental ratios of Trichodesmium colonies showed a molar C:N ratio around the Redfield stoichiometry (mean = 6, range 4 to 7) while the C: P ratios were much higher (mean = 513, range 163 to 1044). Calculated per volume seawater, measured uptake of phosphate and leucine were 4 to 6 orders of magnitude lower in Trichodesmium (1 to 5 fmol P l(-1) h(-1) and 0.1 to 3 fmol Leu l(-1) h(-1)) than in microplankton (0.3 to 4 nmol P l(-1) h(-1) and 0.002 to 0.02 nmol Leu l(-1) h(-1)). At peak abundance, Trichodesmium contributed a major part of total ectoenzyme activity in surface waters (81% of APA, 64% of LAP) suggesting that the diazotrophic colonies are significant sites of net nutrient regeneration. We propose that the high rates of regeneration associated with Trichodesmium colonies may accumulate dissolved nutrients during the course of bottle incubations, which leads to isotope dilution and an underestimation of P and N uptake in radiotracer studies with these cyanobacteria.

Self-Replicating Amyloid-Beta Oligomers Open Doors to New Molecular Mechanisms in Alzheimer Disease

Vijayaraghavan Rangachari et al. — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:02:59 PDT

Mathematical Modeling of Amyloid Beta Fibril Formation: Equilibria & Stability

Vijayaraghavan Rangachari — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:02:59 PDT

The Impact of a 1-Week Residential Program on Anxiety in Adolescents With Incontinence A Quasi-experimental Study

Hollie G. Filce et al. — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:02:58 PDT

PURPOSE: To determine the effect of a 1-week residential program on anxiety in adolescents with bowel and/or bladder dysfunction. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: Participants were 89 adolescents (mean age = 14.56 years, range 11-18 years) attending a 1-week residential program for individuals with bowel and/or bladder dysfunction. The program is both educational and social in nature and is held at 1 of 3 rotating university campuses. METHODS: A quasi-experimental study design that included 3 administrations of the Multi-dimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) was employed for data collection. The MASC was administered immediately before the program, immediately after the program, and 2 to 4 months after conclusion of the program. INTERVENTION: The 1-week program includes structured and unstructured sessions facilitated by young adults with these conditions and/or WOC nurses. Topics are physiological and psychological in nature, focusing on strategies for home, school, and medical settings. There are also social activities designed to facilitate development of social relationships among peers. RESULTS: A positive, statistically significant impact on total MASC scores was found (F-1.679,F- 80.587 = 3.587; P = .404) as well as on the Social Anxiety scale (F-2,F-96 = 5.299; P = .007) and its 2 subscales, Humiliation/Rejection Fears (F-2,F-96 = 3.876; P = .024) and Performance Fears (F-2,F-96 = 6.453; P = .002). CONCLUSIONS: This 1-week residential summer program was found to exert a positive impact on anxiety symptoms, particularly social anxiety, and benefits persisted for 2 to 4 months. This suggests the psychological benefits of even relatively brief experiences for individuals with bowel and/or bladder dysfunction.

The Oriental Obscene: Violence and Racial Fantasies in the Vietnam Era

Heather Stur — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:02:58 PDT

Feeding performance of juvenile hatchery-reared spotted seatrout Cynoscion nebulosus

L. A. Jackson et al. — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:02:57 PDT

The feeding performance of individual hatchery-reared (HR) and wild juvenile spotted seatrout Cynoscion nebulosus was compared across a series of six 1 center dot 5h feeding exposures over a 3day period in a controlled experiment. The predation cycle served as a context for discerning feeding performance elements. The experimental design facilitated assessments of the effects of experience, motivation due to hunger or satiation and prey density and encounter frequency. Although feeding success improved significantly across successive trials for both groups of C. nebulosus, wild C. nebulosus successfully captured and consumed significantly more Palaemonetes spp. prey and completed most performance metrics more efficiently than HR C. nebulosus. Total exposure time decreased with experience for both groups of C. nebulosus; however, HR C. nebulosus took longer to complete feeding exposures. Underpinning this difference was the time spent by HR C. nebulosus in non-search mode and for completing various foraging behaviours. Nevertheless, juvenile HR C. nebulosus exhibited sufficient foraging plasticity to switch from a pelleted diet to live novel prey.

Do Charity Sport Events Function as "Brandfests" in the Development of Brand Community?

Matthew B. Walker — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:02:56 PDT

Given the ubiquity of charitable organizations and the events used to solicit donations for a cause, many charity-based organizations are continually looking for ways to expand their fundraising efforts. In this quest, many have added endurance sport events to their fundraising portfolios. Anecdotally, we know that building long-term and meaningful relationships with current (and potential) donors is critical for a nonprofit organization's success. However, there is a paucity of research regarding whether these charity sport events serve as relationship-building mechanisms (i.e., 'brandfests') to assist in developing attachments to the charity. The purpose of this mixed-methods investigation was to explore to what extent a charity sport event served as a brandfest to foster a sense of identity with the charity. For this particular case study, the charity event had little effect on participants' relationship with the charity.

Relational Aggression and Victimization in College Students

Eric R. Dahlen et al. — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:02:56 PDT

For this study we explored relational aggression and victimization in a college sample (N = 307), examining potential gender and race differences, correlates, and the link between relational aggression and common emotional and behavioral problems, independent of relational victimization. Gender and race differences were observed on relational aggression and victimization. Relational aggression in peer and intimate relationships was positively correlated with depression, anxiety, stress, anger, and alcohol problems. Independent of gender, race, and relational victimization, peer relational aggression was predicted by anxiety, trait anger, and personal problems related to alcohol use.

America's public schools: from the common school to 'No Child Left Behind'

Thomas V. O'Brien — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:02:55 PDT