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The Impact of Consumer Disposal Habits on the Environment04/05/2018Fast Fashion has taken over the fashion industry, completely changing the process of garment design, delivery and disposal. This new way of delivery provides clothing to customers faster than ever with new styles arriving to stores as frequent as every two weeks. With the overwhelming popularity of fast fashion, consumers are buying more clothing at extremely low costs. This creates massive amounts of waste that our Earth cannot properly sustain. This raises the question of where our clothing will end up once donated. The purpose of this study is to educate retailers on how to properly educate consumers on disposing unwanted clothing and raise awareness about the effects it has on the environment. Multiple surveys will be given to residents and students in Kent, Ohio as well as an interview with Goodwill management and local donation centers. The results of the survey will show how consumers of Kent, Ohio view garment disposal. This information will help retailers educate their consumers on where their clothing is going opposed to where they believe it will go. This will in turn allow fashion companies to set the standard for healthy disposal habits. This information can lessen the negative impact the fashion industry has on our Earth. This will encourage retailers to implement new ways of disposing garments, ultimately to become more sustainable with their clothing. |
The Filter04/05/2018Social media is an extremely viable and important part of modern society. Devices like smartphones and the applications used on them have allowed people to interact with others in ways that were not possible just a few years ago. With the touch of a screen, almost any information can be shared and distributed, from photos, messages, links, polls, events, videos, and even safety updates in the case of a disaster. Sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and SnapChat allow for the distribution of information at unprecedented speeds and constant engagement with new content. Users are told they are more connected; they need to stay updated with what is happening in the world and to all the people around them. How does this overload of information and content affect the ways consumers interact with one another? How has social media affected the way people present themselves to others in these online interactions? Society has certainly adapted to the inception of social media. Certain tasks have gotten easier, like ordering a coffee, listening to music, or contacting elected leaders, but has human interaction suffered? This project explores the consequences of social media and how they apply to human interaction. The results of academic research on the topic including various studies, texts by anthropologists and leaders in the technological community are manifested in these three individual garments. The techniques involved in their creation represent both the positive and negative influences that social media have had in recent years. |
The Fight for Cotton in the Athleisure Market04/05/2018The progressive acceptance of a more casual dress code alongside a widespread acceptance of health and fitness have led to the current hybrid of athletic and leisure apparel known as “athleisure.” From track pants and trainers to sporty dresses Forbes estimated the rise of the trend globally, with sales climbing from $197 billion in 2007 to over $350 billion by 2020. With majority of this product presumably being created from synthetic fibers, the rise of this industry as a reflection, has created a problem with the impact it’s had in accompanying the declining cost of cotton. The effects of declining cotton prices are leading to less cotton production affecting the supply of other industries whose products have a large impact on everyone’s life, without which the global community would struggle. In order to address these problems, research will be conducted on how cotton can create a sustainable partnership with the increasing athleisure market. The research result of which, will have a large impact by creating growth of cotton in the athleisure market, resulting in further sustainability. |
The evolution of ADAR regulation within Metazoa genomes04/05/2018Dysregulation of RNA editing patterns has been linked with neurological disorders and some cancers. The most studied of these editing events occurs with adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADAR), which is a family of three RNA editing proteins, ADAR, ADARB1, and ADARB2. ADARs catalyze the hydraulic deamination of adenosine (A) in pre-mRNA to inosine (I), which is then read as a guanine (G). At least one family member of ADAR is found in nearly every species within Metazoa genomes. However, not much is currently known about the regulation of ADAR expression in these animals. There is evidence of activation by interferon stimulated response elements (ISRE) for ADAR1 expression linking it with the type 1 interferon antiviral response of the innate immune system. Using known ADAR DNA sequences, we investigate the evolutionary patterns observed within the promoter region for ADAR1, ADARB1, and ADARB2 to get insights into the complex regulation of RNA editing seen in the transcriptome. Genomic sequence alignments will be used to reconstruct phylogenetic trees to trace the evolutionary origin of the link between innate immunity and ADAR expression. We are using phylogenetic approaches and HMM signals to identify conserved putative regulatory elements within the promoter region as a way to find common promoter sequences for ADARB1 and ADARB2. |
The Effects of Upper- and Lower-Body Blood Flow Restriction Exercise on Vascular Function04/05/2018PROBLEM: The effects of acute upper-body (UB) and lower-body (LB) resistance exercise with blood flow restriction (BFR) on vascular function are unknown. METHODS: Vascular function was assessed in resistance-trained individuals (n=12) using venous occlusion plethysmography with five minutes of occlusion at 220mmHg to induce reactive hyperemia. Forearm blood flow (FBF) and area under the curve (AUC) were assessed at Rest, and during recovery at 15 (R15) and 45 (R45) minutes. BFR was applied at a pressure of 40% arterial occlusion pressure during each exercise, and released for 2 minutes between exercises. A 2x2x3 repeated measures ANOVA was used to examine the effects of condition (BFR, non-BFR) and group (UB, LB) across time (Rest, R15, R45) on vascular function. RESULTS: There were no 3-way interactions for any variable. There was a significant (p=0.001) group by time interaction for FBF (UB: Rest: 2.8±1.2ml/100ml/min; R15: 9.3±4.5ml/100ml/min; R45: 5.3±2.7ml/100ml/min; LB: Rest: 3.3±2.0ml/100ml/min, R15: 4.3±2.5ml/100ml/min, R45: 4.2±2.2ml/100ml/min) such that FBF was elevated at R15 compared to Rest, and was higher after UB than LB at R15. There was also a significant (p=0.02) group by time interaction for AUC (UB: Rest: 65.1±21.6ml/100ml/min, R15: 144.7±50.2ml/100ml/min; R45: 91.0±27.8ml/100ml/min; LB: Rest: 61.9±10.3ml/100ml/min; R15: 113.1±32.4ml/100ml/min, R45: 88.6±32.3ml/100ml/min) such that it was augmented at R15 and R45 compared to Rest, with greater augmentation at R15 after UB compared to LB. CONCLUSIONS: While there were no differences between BFR and non-BFR, our data demonstrate that acute upper-body resistance exercise has a greater effect than acute lower-body resistance exercise on vascular function. |
The effects of blocking amylin receptors on oxidative stress and neuroinflammation in APP/PS1 mice.04/05/2018Oxidative stress and neuroinflammation are key pathologies in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Amylin is a peptide hormone that has been previously shown in our lab to have therapeutic effects in patients with AD, specifically, reducing said pathologies. Pramlintide (PRAM) is the mouse analog of amylin that is non aggregating and is being used in this experiment. The mechanism of action of PRAM is unclear and is being investigated in this study. Our main question is whether the therapeutic effects of PRAM are a result of the regulation of PRAM centrally through its receptor in the brain, or if these benefits are due to increases in overall metabolic function, and these will be tested on APP/PS1 mice, a mouse model of AD. This was investigated by administering chronic PRAM peripherally, with and without the amylin receptor antagonist (AC187) via ICV. Brain tissue was collected from these mice and immunohistochemistry was carried out for different oxidative stress and inflammation markers present across treatment groups. Preliminary results show a decrease in oxidative stress and inflammation markers mainly when PRAM is administered without the inhibitor. Together this suggests that amylin’s therapeutic effects are dependent on the amylin receptor, and in turn, shows a central role of amylin’s normal functionality. |
The Effect of Defective Methionine Metabolism in Neurodegenerative Disorders04/05/2018The methionine cycle becomes disrupted in diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer’s due to increased reactive nitrogen species which block methionine synthase (MTR). In a defective methionine metabolism cycle, there is a decrease in methyl donors such as betaine and SAM which is linked to a decrease in H3K4me3 and mitochondrial gene expression. To counteract the defective methionine cycle, neuroblastoma cells (SH-SY5Y) were first treated with homocysteine to replicate neurodegenerative conditions and study the efficacy of betaine supplementation. Betaine homocysteine methyltransferase (BHMT) has previously only been known to be found in the cytoplasm of the liver and kidney cells, however our data has shown that BHMT is present in the nucleus of neurons where it interacts with chromatin which allows the conversion of homocysteine to methionine in the nucleus. The pathway mediated by BHMT is induced by betaine and inhibited by SAH, thus decreasing betaine concentration under inflammatory conditions. After treating cell cultures with betaine, it was discovered that H3K4me3 concentration increases, thereby increasing mitochondrial gene expression. By performing western blots, we found BHMT regulates genes in the nucleus. These data suggests that supplementing neuronal cells with betaine will serve as a neuroprotective therapy for neurodegenerative diseases. Looking in cell cultures provides an insight into the mechanisms and therapeutic targets that can rebalance the methionine cycle and help to develop potential neuroprotective therapies. |
The Effect of Cx43 on the Motility of Prostate Cancer Cells04/05/2018Prostate cancer (PC) is a very common type of cancer in males and metastatic growth often leads to death. Connexins (Cx) are important to intercellular communication and may also play a role in metastasis. Cultured PC3 metastatic prostate cancer cells have high levels of Cx43 and readily migrate in Boyden chambers, a model for metastasis. We previously silenced Cx43 in PC3 cells and tested their migration in Boyden chamber assays. Silencing Cx34 reduced the motility of the migratory PC3 cells. Conversely, LNCaP prostate cancer cells are not migratory and express very little Cx43. We hypothesized that over-expressing Cx43 in LNCaP cells would enhance their motility. To test this, we transfected LNCaP cells with a Cx43 expression plasmid and used Boyden chamber migration to analyze their motility. Transfection of the LNCaP cells with the Cx43 expression plasmid increased migration 2-fold compared to the control empty expression plasmid. Knowing the role that Cx43 plays in cell motility can lead to new ways to target and treat metastatic prostate cancer. |
The Drag Nuclear Family; How Theatre Challenges the Heteronormative Nuclear Family04/05/2018Fictive kinship is a concept by Kath Weston used to describe how LGBTQ+ individuals form alternative families among friends and relationships. Using this as the basis for exploring how drag culture has a similar model to the contemporary nuclear family. The musical La Cage Aux Folles has excellent examples of both fictive and drag families and we can use this to compare to the play Hosanna and contrast how drag and fictive families are portrayed in theatre. Using sources like RuPaul’s Drag Race and Paris is Burning as representations of drag queens and using these to compare representations of drag culture on the stage we can dissect how the concept of a nuclear family crosses boundaries to apply to drag families and fictive families in LGBTQ+ culture. La Cage Aux Folles’s comedic approach to familial ties and fictive kinship is a stark contrast to Hosanna’s dark yet realistic feel. The LGBTQ+ families featured in both shows can be translated to the nuclear family concept and then using both scripts and media as examples to show how this concept can be applied to drag and fictive families. Weston’s fictive family concept can be extended beyond just a family and child relationship; with drag families you also see sibling rivalry and other familial relationships. The conflicts that are created from familial ties within both scripts can translate to any audience; these kinds of tensions arise in any family, and the resolutions found within both shows are plausible conclusions to the problems presented. |
The Cost of Modernity: Resisting the Logic of Human Disposability in the Victorian Radical Press04/05/2018This project tackles an entrenched belief in Victorian economics and social policy: that “less valuable” human lives could be justifiably disposed of in the name of social stability and free market capitalism. This theory had material consequences in the nineteenth century as Britain embraced an increasingly laissez-faire version of capitalism. The government repealed the former welfare system, forcing the unemployed to choose between the humiliation of the workhouse, the risks of emigration, or starvation. However, the working-class people these policies sought to discard were not passive victims. Risking imprisonment, they utilized an illegal, “unstamped” newspaper culture to highlight the cruelty of these policies and argue for the value of their own lives. In these newspapers, the affected population characterized the New Poor Law as a form of murder, described emigration as forced “transportation” or “disposal,” and argued that their lives were more valuable than the “idle” wealthy who grew rich off of the products of their labor. The recent digitization of these unauthorized newspapers enables us to uncover these voices. Examining early Chartist resistors to later Socialist writers, we investigate the rhetorical strategies of Victorians who stood against this logic of disposability. The questions this research raises remain vital in our current political climate. As we continue to debate who belongs in the nation and the value of different human lives, this research illuminates the historical roots of those debates and the strategies that our predecessors used to argue against the disposal of human life. |