Black surrogacy: Refiguring myth, memory, and motherhood in Suzan-Lori Parks' "The America Play", "Topdog/Underdog", and "In the Blood"

Reese, La Tanya L Howard University 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, the First Black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama (2002), uses Black Surrogacy in her plays---The American Play, Topdog/Underdog, and In the Blood ---to unwrap the neat packaging of American history and identity while illustrating the social, political, and economic challenges facing contemporary African Americans. Black Surrogacy is the term I am using to explain Parks' technique of replacing white literary and historical characters in her plays with Black characters. In using surrogate Black characters the playwright scrutinizes an American identity that is based primarily on white notions of itself. Also, she exposes the flaws in the American historical memory about racism during Abraham Lincoln's presidency. Thus, Black Surrogacy counters the conventional narratives that have, as Toni Morrison suggests, traditionally ignored and deflated the shaping presence of Africans in America. In The America Play, for instance, Parks uses Black Surrogacy to critique postmodernist notions of "what is history" and "who or what is America(n)." She does so using a Black character called the Foundling Father or the Lesser Known. From his perspective as an Abraham Lincoln impersonator in "white-face" paint, a frock, and a top hat, he contemplates both the American historical identity and his own. In Topdog/Underdog, one of the two Black surrogate characters is an imitator of Abraham Lincoln. The other, his brother, is a would-be street card hustler. Satirically named Lincoln and Booth, these Black men reveal what becomes of African Americans who either submit to mimicking white identities or who self-destruct in efforts not to submit. In the Blood, which critics call a revision of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter (1850), utilizes a Black surrogate female character named Hester (and her five children) to complicate the tenets of the "Cult of True Womanhood" that are highlighted in Hawthorne's text. Although Suzan-Lori Parks critiques the myth, historical memory, and shaping of Black motherhood in the American Identity, I argue that the Black Surrogacy trope fails. It fails because Parks' use of Black people to deconstruct white identity reinforces widespread stereotypes and misconceptions about Black people and creates new-age minstrelsies.

The role of MBD1, a methyl-CpG binding protein, plays in methylation-mediated transcriptional silencing and DNA repair

Reese, Brian The Johns Hopkins University 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

DNA promoter hypermethylation has been shown to be a functional mechanism of transcriptional repression. This epigenetic gene silencing is thought to involve the recruitment of chromatin remodeling factors, such as histone deacetylaces (HDACs), to methylated DNA via a family of proteins termed methyl-CpG binding proteins (MBDs). MBD1, a member of this family had been shown to exhibit transcriptional repressive activity, but no interacting protein partners had been identified. Through the use of a yeast two-hybrid screen an interaction between MBD1 and the p150 subunit of CAF-1 was identified. This interaction was further characterized demonstrating that these two proteins also form a multi-protein complex with HP1alpha in co-immunoprecipitation assays. The MBD1/CAF-1 p150 interaction requires the methyl-CpG binding domain of MBD1 and the association occurs in the C-terminus of CAF-1 p150. Immunofluorescent confocal imaging revealed that both proteins co-localize to regions of dense heterochromatin in mouse cells, and over-expression of the C-terminus of CAF-1 p150 prevents the targeting of MBD1 in these cells without disrupting global heterochromatin structure. This interaction suggests a role for MBD1 and CAF-1 p150 in methylation-mediated transcriptional repression and the inheritance of epigenetically determined chromatin states. In another yeast two-hybrid screen, thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG) was discovered as an interacting partner with MBD1. Employing immunoprecipitation studies, MBD1 was shown to associate with TDG in the cell, and this interaction requires the methyl-CpG binding domain region of MBD1 in yeast two-hybrid assays. TDG fails to co-localize with MBD1 to regions of densely methylated heterochromatin in mouse cells. The results suggest that TDG does not exhibit significant transcriptional repressive activity in transient transcription assays but when partnered with MBD1 forms a potent repressive complex. The glycosylase may act to recruit MBD1 to regions of DNA damage to reestablish repressive heterochromatin at locations where higher order chromatin structure is required for the proper repair of the DNA lesion. This finding provides further evidence that the role of methyl-CpG binding proteins as transcriptional repressors may not be solely as silencers of hypermethylated genes.

Superconducting hot electron bolometers for terahertz sensing

Reese, Matthew Owen Yale University 2006 해외박사(DDOD)

Superconducting Hot Electron Bolometers (HEBs) are good candidates for detecting weak signals in the submillimeter or terahertz range. In this thesis work, a novel fabrication method was developed to make two types of niobium HEBs for different applications. HEBs were designed, fabricated, and then characterized at dc, microwave, and THz frequencies. The first type is a diffusion-cooled HEB, made with a short bridge that determines its cooling time. In this thesis, bridges were typically 400 nm long with bandwidths of about 1 GHz. These diffusion-cooled HEBs were developed as part of a collaboration with the University of Arizona (UA), to develop a proof-of-concept heterodyne array submillimeter camera. Devices were fabricated on thin fused quartz and silica substrates for waveguide coupling in the UA system for the astrophysically interesting 345 and 810 GHz atmospheric windows. The goal of this collaboration is to provide a basis of comparison between Nb diffusion-cooled HEB mixers and superconductorinsulator-superconductor mixers at these frequencies. The second type is a phonon-cooled HEB, made with a ∼3 mum long bridge. Its thermal response is dictated by the electron-phonon relaxation time. These devices were developed in collaboration with Prof. C. Schmuttenmaer's lab in the Yale Chemistry department, Prof. G. Blake at Caltech, and Dr. J. Pearson at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. These devices were developed for use in quasi-optic systems to be used as fast (>100 MHz) direct detectors that can view room temperature sources without saturating. A variety of experimental applications are envisioned for these detectors including charge transport measurements of novel materials. A series of dc and microwave measurements were performed on the diffusion-cooled devices. A better understanding of the resistance vs. temperature profile was realized, including what design/fabrication parameters affect it and insight into how it affects device performance. This led to a do screening process that can identify good quality devices. The Nb phonon-cooled HEBs studied in this thesis were fully carried through the design, fabrication, and characterization process at dc, microwave and THz frequencies. The saturation power, responsivity, thermal response time, and noise performance were all measured to be within the expected range predicted by the initial design parameters.

Combustion characteristics of SMX and SMX based propellants

Reese, David A Purdue University 2014 해외박사(DDOD)

This work investigates the combustion of the new solid nitrate ester 2,3-hydroxymethyl-2,3-dinitro-1,4-butanediol tetranitrate (SMX, C6H 8N6O16). SMX was synthesized for the first time in 2008. It has a melting point of 85 °C and oxygen balance of 0% to CO 2, allowing it to be used as an energetic additive or oxidizer in solid propellants. In addition to its neat combustion characteristics, this work also explores the use of SMX as a potential replacement for nitroglycerin (NG) in double base gun propellants and as a replacement for ammonium perchlorate in composite rocket propellants. The physical properties, sensitivity characteristics, and combustion behaviors of neat SMX were investigated. Its combustion is stable at pressures of up to at least 27.5 MPa (n = 0.81). The observed flame structure is nearly identical to that of other double base propellant ingredients, with a primary flame attached at the surface, a thick isothermal dark zone, and a luminous secondary flame wherein final recombination reactions occur. As a result, the burning rate and primary flame structure can be modeled using existing one-dimensional steady state techniques. A zero gas-phase activation energy approximation results in a good fit between modeled and observed behavior. Additionally, SMX was considered as a replacement for nitroglycerin in a double base propellant. Thermochemical calculations indicate improved performance when compared with the common double base propellant JA2 at SMX loadings above 40 wt-%. Also, since SMX is a room temperature solid, migration may be avoided. Like other nitrate esters, SMX is susceptible to decomposition over long-term storage due to the presence of excess acid in the crystals; the addition of stabilizers (e.g., derivatives of urea) during synthesis should be sufficient to prevent this. the addition of Both unplasticized and plasticized propellants were formulated. Thermal analysis of unplasticized propellant showed a distinct melt-recrystallization curve, which indicates that a solid phase solution is being formed between SMX and NC, and that SMX would not act as plasticizer. Analysis of propellant prepared with diethyleneglycol dinitrate (DEGDN) plasticizer indicates that the SMX is likely dissolved in the DEGDN. The plasticized material also showed similar hardness and modulus to JA2. However, both plasticized and unplasticized propellants exhibited deconsolidated burning at elevated pressures due to the high modulus of the propellant. Increased amounts of plasticizer or improved processing of the nitrocellulose should be investigated to remedy this issue. Safety characterization showed that sensitivity of the plasticized propellant is similar to JA2. In short, replacing NG with SMX results in a new family of propellants with acceptable safety characteristics and which may also offer improved theoretical performance. Finally, composite propellants based on SMX were theoretically and experimentally examined and compared to formulations based on ammonium perchlorate (AP). Thermochemical equilibrium calculations show that aluminized SMX-based formulations can achieve theoretical sea level specific impulse values upwards of 260 s-- slightly lower than an AP-based composite. Both ignition sensitivity (tested via drop weight impact, electro-static discharge, and BAM friction) and physical properties (hardness and thermal properties) are comparable to those of the AP-based formulations. However, the SMX-based formulation could be detonated using a high explosive donor charge in contact with the propellant, as do other low smoke propellants. Differential scanning calorimetry of the SMX-based propellant indicated an exotherm onset of 140 °C, which corresponds to the known decomposition temperature of SMX. The propellant has a high burning rate of 1.57 cm/s at 6.89 MPa, with a pressure exponent of 0.85. This high pressure sensitivity might be addressed using various energetic and/or stabilizing additives. With high density and performance, smokeless combustion products, and stable combustion, SMX appears to be a viable replacement for existing energetic ingredients in a wide variety of propellant, explosive, and pyrotechnic applications.

Profiles of Volatile Compounds as Microbial Markers in Applications of Biosecurity and Bioenergy

Reese, Kristen Leigh Michigan State University ProQuest Dissertations & 2020 해외박사(DDOD)

All organisms emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and profiling of volatiles (volatilomics) is finding diverse applications. Some VOCs are consistently present throughout the lifecycles of organisms, while other VOCs are biomarkers, quantifiable indicators of changes in physiological state or reflective of environmental stresses. This dissertation describes research into volatile biomarkers of different microorganisms in the context of biosecurity and bioenergy. Untargeted analyses of microbial biomarkers were accomplished using solid phase microextraction (SPME) coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).In the context of biosecurity, pathogenic bacteria can be used as the basis for a bio-terrorism attack. There is a need for deeper understanding of the chemical signatures of organisms, in particular when they infect individuals, and a need for methods for detecting these pathogens in the context of infections of humans. Current research has performed metabolite profiling of VOCs emitted in culture by surrogates for potential bacterial bioterrorism agents, Bacillus anthracis Sterne and Francisella tularensis novicida in conjunction with measurements of VOCs released by their fully virulent counterparts, F. tularensis SCHU S4 and B. anthracis Ames, both on the CDC category A bioterrorism and disease agent list. Methyl ketones, alcohols, esters, carboxylic acids, and nitrogen- and sulfur-containing compounds were attributed to the bacteria. The two genera showed distinct VOC profiles whereas the taxa within each genus showed subtler differences in VOC profiles. Growth phase influenced absolute and relative VOC abundances, indicating the potential for markers to discriminate growth phases. This in vitro determination of VOC profiles laid groundwork for non-invasive probing of bacterial metabolism.Towards bioenergy efforts, microalgae present a renewable alternative to producing biofuels. However, biofuels are more costly per gallon compared to non-renewable fossil fuels due to production and harvesting costs. Therefore, research driving increases in biomass production are of interest, specifically (1) better early-warning tools to anticipate and/or diagnose the presence of predators and (2) understanding algae-bacteria interactions, as they are challenging to manage and may help or harm algal productivity. Research towards part (1) aimed to better define the physiological state of algae ponds. A biofuel-relevant alga, Microchloropsis salina, was infected with a predator, the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis. SPME-GC-MS aided discovery of seven putative culture crash biomarkers, including carotenoid degradation products trans-β-ionone and β-cyclocitral, over several timepoints during active crashing of algal ponds that were not observed in healthy controls. These biomarkers offer potential as diagnostic tools to signal the need for crash mitigation strategies, as signals were detected before observed losses in algal cell density. Research towards part (2) aimed to detect and identify VOC biomarkers related to the micro-scale interactions of a model system of alga P. tricornutum and bacterium Marinobacter spp. 3-2. The presence of Marinobacter spp. 3-2, either in the form of live bacterial cells or sterile exudates, caused modest inhibition in growth rates of P. tricornutum. Substantial differences in VOC biomarker profiles were observed between 1) co-cultures of both organisms, 2) P. tricornutum exposed to Marinobacter spp. 3-2 exudates, and 3) Marinobacter spp. 3-2 exposed to P. tricornutum exudates, all relative to the VOC biomarker profiles of corresponding monocultures. Increasing the knowledge base of algae-bacterial interactions will enable a deeper understanding of the basic science of microorganism signaling.

The relationship between spirituality and adaptation to disability in older adults

Reese, Theresa Catherine The Florida State University 2004 해외박사(DDOD)

Healthcare in 2003 is making more demands of the professional's resources of time and money with fewer services offered to their consumers. This study examined an important, yet overlooked, resource available and affordable to all. The resource is spirituality. This research reviewed the literature on two aspects of spirituality, (a) beliefs and practices and (b) social support that one derives from their spiritual community. Moreover, it reviewed aspects of adaptation to disability among older adults. The research available poses varying and confusing definitions of spirituality. However, this research identified an operational definition for both spirituality and religion, in addition to adaptation to disability, and chronic and static states of disability. The goal of this research was to determine if there is a positive relationship between spirituality and adaptation to disability among older adults. As the results indicated, there were no statistically significant findings in regard to the four hypotheses: (a) There is a significant positive relationship between high and medium spiritual beliefs and practices, as measured by the SBI-15R, and successful adaptation to disability in older adults. (b) There is a significant positive relationship between high and medium social support, as measured by the SBI-15R, and successful adaptation to disability in older adults. (c) There is a significant positive relationship between high to medium levels of spirituality, measured by participants' Likert scale position, and successful adaptation to disability in older adults. (d) There is a significant positive relationship between high to medium social support, measured by the participants' Likert scale position, and successful adaptation to disability in older adults. However, the information is valuable for rehabilitation counselors and healthcare professionals who are researching these variables of interest. Instrumentation is addressed in Chapter Five as well as significant supplemental findings. Of particular interest is the subjective spirituality Likert score and the relationship to the Systems of Belief Inventory subscale of beliefs and practices. Spirituality is a subjective concept, which many instruments try to measure. In view of the fact that spirituality is subjective, this author proposed to use a 10-point Likert scale and ask the participants how spiritual would they rate themselves in addition to the Systems of Belief Inventory and try to determine if there was a relationship between the two measures. Statistical analysis determined that a moderate relationship does exist between the subjective spirituality Likert scale and the Systems of Belief Inventory. This finding could potentially represent a cost effective and accurate report of a person's perception of their level of spirituality that could be used in an initial intake interview. This was, in fact, a serendipitous finding that showed a statistically significant moderate relationship between subjective and objective measures of spirituality. Future studies will be done to determine the reliability of this instrument.

Cataclysm of the natural form in the literary work of Mary Shelley and Heinrich von Kleist

Reese, Diana Kati Columbia University 2002 해외박사(DDOD)

In my dissertation, “Cataclysm of the Natural Form in the Literary Work of Mary Shelley and Heinrich von Kleist,” I read works by these two authors comparatively and against the background of philosophical problems associated with the late-Enlightenment. The dissertation traces the emergence of a model of teleological immanence, the “life-form,” around 1800, and explores the way it is both undermined and set to work in the fictions of these two Anti-Classicist authors. I begin by following the figure of the <italic>Naturzweck</italic> (organism) and <italic>Bildungstrieb</italic> (formative drive) from their appearance in mid-eighteenth century naturalist writings to their critical articulation at the end of Kant's <italic>Critique of Judgment</italic>. I go on to chart the recurrence of these particular forms in Moritz's concept of the beautiful and Humboldt's historiographical concept of the “idea.” The chapter demonstrates that figures of teleological immanence in cultural history are introduced in the late-Enlightenment under the aegis of the self-determining organic whole. Shelley responds to the paradigm of life with what she calls the “machinery of a story.” Read here as an irreducible, open-ended allegory, Shelley's narrative mimics the unstoppable sequencing of the life-form. The monster it presents for us, however, interrupts the transparent mirroring of the self-determining and self-(re)producing life-form and embodies the return of those differences in social life which remain incalculable in the logic of the self-determining: the political status of women and laborers—the members of society who assure its reproduction but are excluded from citizenship in the period. Thematically connected to <italic>Frankenstein</italic>, Kleist's <italic> Penthesilea: Ein Trauerpsiel</italic> takes up the question of an alternate social organization of reproduction and connects it to a crisis of legibility attributable to cultural difference. The body on Kleist's stage, I argue, is both empathically mediated and utterly opaque. Divergent discourses collide in the “selfsame” body, while interpretation and its failure constitute the action of the play. <italic>Penthesilea</italic> thus presents a radical critique of the nascent discipline of anthropology and of the relativism of Kant's practical ethics precisely by disrupting the logic of self-evidence with his approach to theatrical representation.

Structure and Dynamics of H2 Motifs in Exotic Geometric Configurations: Two Electrons, Two Nuclei, and (Thanks to DFT) Only Six Years of My Life

Reese, Diana Lee The University of Utah ProQuest Dissertations & Th 2020 해외박사(DDOD)

Catalytic hydrogenation is a rapidly expanding field, which has application to the food industry, petrochemical industry, and synthetic organic chemistry. This process can be applied to transform various organic functional groups, stabilize fuels, and even improve the texture of baked goods. Catalysts utilized for this process take many forms, including Frustrated Lewis Pairs (FLPs), zeolites, metal organic frameworks (MOFs), and traditional metal-hydride complexes. Molecular motion in this catalytic process is not currently well-understood, and this document outlines a research program dedicated to understanding molecular motion in hydrogen-containing species. Three unique hydrogen bonding regimes were investigated, including a dihydrogen bond (DHB), a nonclassical σ H2 motif and a metal-hydride motif. The degree to which these motifs stay intact and the impacts of surrounding ligands and/or metal centers was investigated here. Specific emphasis was placed on understanding the electronic effects that govern the underlying potential energy surface since these effects ultimately drive the molecular dynamics. Molecular dynamics simulations provided both quantitative and qualitative means to analyze the inherent motions of these complexes. The presence of a DHB motif in an amino-borane complex (NH3 BH2 NH2 BH3), was shown to foster terminal amine rotation but significantly hindered rotation of the terminal borane. This surprising motion was determined to be controlled dominantly by electrostatic and geometrical factors. A σ H2 to hydride interconverting regime, represented by the Mo(PH3 )5 (H2) complex, indicated that the molecular motions present are tied largely to the σ H2 moiety, and excursions to the dihydride regime were fleeting. However, in addition to the fleeting excursions to the dihydride regime, this molecule exhibited significantly more conformational flexibility than originally reported. Finally, an ion containing both σ H2 and traditional hydride ligands, PdH3. -, was shown to undergo rapid conversion (albeit at high simulation energies) among its hydridic ligands. In contrast, the neutral analogue of this ion, which is inherently probed in experimental photoelectron spectra, exhibited qualitatively different motions, with conversion between hydridic ligands not seen but did include significant excursions of the H2 unit from the metal center.

Determining the cosmic distance scale from interferometric measurements of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect

Reese, Erik Darryl The University of Chicago 2001 해외박사(DDOD)

We determine the distances to 18 galaxy clusters ranging from <italic> z</italic> ∼ 0.14 to <italic>z</italic> ∼ 0.78 from a maximum likelihood joint analysis of 30 GHz interferometric Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect (SZE) and X-ray observations. We model the intracluster medium (ICM) using a spherical isothermal β model. We quantify the statistical and systematic uncertainties inherent to these direct distance measurements, and we determine constraints on the Hubble parameter for three different cosmologies. These distances imply a Hubble constant of <math> <f> 60^{+4<hsp sp="0.265">+14<hsp sp="0.167">}<inf>-4<hsp sp="0.265"> -19</inf></f> </math> km s<super>−1</super> Mpc<super>−1</super> for an Ω<italic>_M</italic> = 0.3, Ω_Λ = 0.7 cosmology, where the uncertainties correspond to statistical followed by systematic at 68% confidence. The best fit <italic>H</italic>₀ is 56 km s<super> −1</super> Mpc<super>−1</super> for an open Ω<italic>_M</italic> = 0.3 universe and 54 km s<super>−1</super> Mpc<super> −1</super> for a flat Ω<italic>_M</italic> = 1 universe. With a sample of 18 clusters, systematic uncertainties clearly dominate. The systematics are observationally approachable and will be addressed in the coming years through the current generation of X-ray satellites (Chandra & XMM-Newton) and available radio observatories (OVRO, BIMA, & VLA). Analysis of high redshift clusters detected in future SZE and X-ray surveys will allow a determination of the geometry of the universe from SZE determined distances, providing a distance ladder independent check on recent constraints on the cosmology of the universe.

Adipocyte lipid binding protein mutations: In search of binding specificity determinants

Reese, Amy Jean University of Minnesota 2001 해외박사(DDOD)

The β-barrel intracellular lipid binding proteins (iLBPs) have been the focus of much research to understand the roles of ligand acquisition, affinity, specificity, and cavity location in ligand transport. The adipocyte lipid binding protein (ALBP) is a broadly studied member of this family. It is likely that a set of specific amino acids from the mouth and pocket of the binding cavity play a role in directing ligand binding. To test this hypothesis, a series of ALBP mutations were designed to assess the importance of specific residues in ligand binding. A mutation in the binding cavity (E72K) was made to disrupt the internal ordered water molecule structure. Crystal structures of this mutation were solved with and without bound oleic acid at 2.2Å and 2.3Å respectively. Current refinement of this mutation is inconclusive as to the affect on the water network. A mutation (I73E/A77V/D77G) was made to test the βE-βD loop region near the mouth of the binding pocket. Crystal structures of this mutation were solved with and without bound oleic acid bound at 1.5Å and 1.7Å respectively. Stability, isothermal titration calorimetry, and fluorescent probe binding and displacement assays show that this mutant protein has a different thermodynamic profile and bound cavity position than the native form. A mutation (insertion of A and S after A36) was made to test the region where a helix-turn-helix motif hinges to the β-barrel at the mouth of the pocket. Binding characterization of this mutation supports weaker ligand binding than the native form. Crystals of this mutation are being pursued. Four additional mutations (M20L, C117F, 1104W, and F27A/A28M/T29L) have been made to test their roles in ALBP binding and are ready for further study.