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Roberto and his family moved to the United States from his native El Salvador after his older brother drowned on a desolate beach. As an adult, he returns to that same beach to reconcile with what his brother’s death has meant to his life and what he missed out on by being raised as an American. On that beach, he encounters Laurencio, an old fisherman who seems to empathize with Roberto and shares with him the legend of Hugo el Maximo, also a fisherman who was dragged away by the ocean but resurfaces and endures a difficult journey as he returns to his village. Entranced by the legend, Roberto listens to Laurencio, and his own difficulties and unresolved issues about origin, immigration, and identity surface as Hugo’s story unfurls.

<p>      Chemical reactions in micron-sized droplets under ambient conditions are often orders of magnitude faster than the equivalent bulk reactions due to the large interfacial effects. The investigation of the underlying mechanisms driving the unique surface chemistry of droplets, as well as their applications and implications in synthesis, has garnered considerable interest. This dissertation delves into three key subtopics: (1) Exploring partial solvation as a mechanism for accelerating reactions in microdroplets, (2) Investigating the spontaneous oxidation and reduction of heteroatom double bonds induced by water radical cations and anions generated from water, and (3) Examining the role of oxazolone intermediates in prebiotic peptide synthesis and the emergence of homochirality in living systems.</p> <p>      Chemical reactions can be accelerated in microdroplets but with previously unclear mechanisms. Here we report a systematic study of organic reactions of common types in microvolumes and compare their rates with those in bulk solution. The observed interfacial area effect, molecularity effect and solvent effect provided experimental evidence for partial solvation at gas/liquid interface as one of the major contributors to the observed more than 10⁴-fold acceleration in microdroplets.</p> <p>      Recent spectroscopic results as well as computations demonstrate the existence of a strong electric field at aqueous droplet surfaces, which can result in microdroplet-specific reactions, especially their intrinsic redox properties. Spontaneous oxidation or reduction without external oxidants or reductants has been reported. One explanation for the existence of active species is dissociation of the radical cation/anion pair (H₂O^+∙/ H₂O^-∙), recently argued to occur in pure bulk water, to provide the free radical cation and radical anion. In this work, we reported spontaneous oxidation of heteroatom double bonds (e.g. sulfone to sulfonic acid, ketone to carboxylic acid) in non-aqueous microdroplets containing traces of water (<1%). Meanwhile, the simultaneous oxidation and reduction of several phosphonates was discovered, supporting the radical pair as the source of reactive species in water microdroplets.</p> <p>      One implication of microdroplet chemistry lies in its connection to prebiotic synthesis. Peptide formation from amino acids is thermodynamically unfavorable but a recent study provided evidence that the reaction occurs at the air/solution interfaces of aqueous microdroplets. Here we show that (i) the suggested amino acid complex in microdroplets undergoes dehydration to form oxazolone; (ii) addition of water to the oxazolone forms the dipeptide; and (iii) reaction of oxazolone with other amino acids forms tripeptides. Furthermore, the chirality of the reacting amino acids is preserved in the oxazolone, and strong chiral selectivity is observed when converting the oxazolone to tripeptide. This last fact ensures that optically impure amino acids will undergo chain extension to generate homochiral peptides. Peptide formation in bulk by wet-dry cycling shares a common pathway with the microdroplet reaction, both involving the oxazolone intermediate.</p>

It is apparent that what is characterized as Christian Apophatic Theology has been poorly related to its antecedents existing in Greco-Roman philosophy. This study proposed the following research hypothesis: Greco-Roman philosophy exerted a structural and terminological influence upon Christian apophatic theology. To prove or disprove this hypothesis, apophatic terminology and textual structures in Greco-Roman philosophical texts were compared to classic Christian apophatic texts, primarily from the Apostolic and Cappadocian Fathers. Throughout this process, Michael Sells' clasic definition of apophatic language, consisting of the apearance of the metaphor of emanation, dis-ontological language, and dialectical language of immanence and transcendence, was used as a benchmark for the occurrence of apophatic language in the texts examined. It was found that Greco-Roman pagan apophatic philosophy exerted significantly less structural than terminological influence. Thus, this research will strengthen claims that Platonic and Neo-Platonic terminology was simply overlaid atop a pre-existing Semitic-Christian apophatic framework.

Gene fusion is one of the hallmarks of cancer. Recent advances in RNA-seq of cancer transcriptomes have facilitated the discovery of fusion transcripts. In this study, we report identification of a surprisingly large number of fusion transcripts, including six KANSARL (KANSL1-ARL17A) transcripts that resulted from the fusion between the KANSL1 and ARL17A genes using a RNA splicingcode model. Five of these six KANSARL fusion transcripts are novel. By systematic analysis of RNA-seq data of glioblastoma, prostate cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, and lymphoma from different regions of the World, we have found that KANSARL fusion transcripts were rarely detected in the tumors of individuals from Asia or Africa. In contrast, they exist in 30 - 52% of the tumors from North Americans cancer patients. Analysis of CEPH/Utah Pedigree 1463 has revealed that KANSARL is a familially-inherited fusion gene. Further analysis of RNA-seq datasets of the 1000 Genome Project has indicated that KANSARL fusion gene is specific to 28.9% of the population of European ancestry origin. In summary, we demonstrated that KANSARL is the first cancer predisposition fusion gene associated with genetic backgrounds of European ancestry origin.

Book Summary: Swamp Souths: Literary and Cultural Ecologies expands the geographical scope of scholarship about southern swamps. Although the physical environments that form its central subjects are scattered throughout the southeastern United States―the Atchafalaya, the Okefenokee, the Mississippi River delta, the Everglades, and the Great Dismal Swamp―this evocative collection challenges fixed notions of place and foregrounds the ways in which ecosystems shape cultures and creations on both local and global scales. Across seventeen scholarly essays, along with a critical introduction and afterword, Swamp Souths introduces new frameworks for thinking about swamps in the South and beyond, with an emphasis on subjects including Indigenous studies, ecocriticism, intersectional feminism, and the tropical sublime. The volume analyzes canonical writers such as William Faulkner, Zora Neale Hurston, and Eudora Welty, but it also investigates contemporary literary works by Randall Kenan and Karen Russell, the films Beasts of the Southern Wild and My Louisiana Love, and music ranging from swamp rock and zydeco to Beyoncé’s visual album Lemonade. Navigating a complex assemblage of places and ecosystems, the contributors argue with passion and critical rigor for considering anew the literary and cultural work that swamps do. This dynamic collection of scholarship proves that swampy approaches to southern spaces possess increased relevance in an era of climate change and political crisis.

The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating effect of couple's attachment behavior on family-of-origin (FOO) issues and body mass index (BMI). Previous research has indicated that family and couple relational factors may influence BMI. The vulnerability and stress model provided a theoretical framework for understanding how attachment behaviors may give greater adaptability to managing vulnerabilities from family stress. 1214 couples between the ages of 18 and 70, who identified themselves as in a serious relationship were surveyed using the RELATE questionnaire; both partners responded. Results indicated that there was a significant association between FOO stress and adult BMI for both males and females. There was also an association between attachment behaviors and female BMI, but not male BMI. Finally attachment behavior did not moderate the relationship between FOO stressors and BMI. Clinical implications include using clinical models that focus on intergenerational problems when weight concerns are presented in therapy and, for women especially, focusing on couple attachment behaviors when there are weight concerns.

This study of married couples examined the relationship between perceptions of attachment related family-of-origin experiences and sexual satisfaction directly and when mediated by marital quality. The sample consisted of 3,953 married couples who responded to the RELATionship Evaluation (RELATE). The nested model showed that more positive overall family-of-origin experiences and parent-child relationships were related to higher sexual satisfaction. When adding marital quality as a mediator, overall family-of-origin experience and the parent-child relationship were predictive of higher sexual satisfaction when mediated by marital quality but removed most direct effects to sexual satisfaction. There was a strong positive relationship between marital quality and sexual satisfaction. No major gender differences emerged and more than 50% of the variance in sexual satisfaction was explained by the full model for both males and females. Results suggest that family-of-origin experiences play an important role in the sexual satisfaction of married couples, especially when mediated by marital quality, and should be considered in treatment, education, and research.

In emerging adulthood, distinctive groups have been found to exhibit "flourishing" (i.e., simultaneously experiencing positive, maturing relationships with parents, exploring identity in numerous positive areas, and striving to attain and subsequently achieving criteria deemed important for the successful transition to adulthood) and "floundering" (i.e., experiencing pitfalls such as heavy experimentation in the form of high levels of binge drinking and drug use, and instability reflected in high levels of depression and anxiety; Nelson & Padilla-Walker, 2011). While these groups have been found to differ with regards to factors of individual development, they had not been examined for variation with regards to familial development. Therefore, the purpose of this study was twofold: First, to examine how experiences in emerging adults' family of origin may be linked to their flourishing and floundering in emerging adulthood. Second, to explore how emerging adults' attitudes towards family of formation, specifically aspects of individuals' marital horizons and family formation values (Carroll et al., 2007), may be linked to flourishing and floundering in emerging adulthood. In general, results showed that flourishing and floundering subgroups differed with regards to their perceptions towards family of origin and attitudes towards family of formation. Flourishing subgroups were found to have more positive perceptions of family-of-origin factors than the floundering subgroups, as well as lower ideal ages for marriage, stronger feelings towards marital permanence, more family centeredness, and less endorsement of cohabitation.