Technique

This study evaluated two methods for the isolation and purification of anti-DNA antibodies. A two-step affinity purification with streptavidin (SA) biotinylated oligodeoxythymidine (dT) M-280 and protein G Dynabeadsª was compared to a two step method using Melon(TM) Gel and cellulose DNA. Although Melon gel allowed for faster antibody purification and a higher recovery rate it gave a product of less purity than the magnetic bead method. Further characterization of the antibodies was done by PhastGel(TM) non-reducing SDS-PAGE and isoelectric focusing in order to analyze purity and confirm the polyclonal nature of anti-DNA antibodies. Agilent 2100, with a higher resolution then SDS-PAGE, revealed possible subclasses of different MW not detected by SDS-PAGE. ELISA showed that all four IgG antibody subclasses were present, while Western blot confirmed the presence of human IgGs. Ultraviolet spectroscopy, Agilent, and fluorescence based assays were used to demonstrate DNA hydrolytic activity of purified anti-DNA antibody.

Out of the Ever After and Other Stories is a collection of language-driven stories set in different parts of the world and thematically linked, comprising realist narratives and magical realism. The trope that unifies this collection is that of the journey. The characters go on journeys, whether real or metaphorical. Many are lost at the beginning, but they find themselves in the end; others remain lost, but have a better understanding of their condition in the world. Although diverse in nationality, cultural background and gender, the characters in the eight stories share the need to find a lasting identity and a home-place to return to, whether physically or psychologically. The collection alternates magical and realist plots, male and female narrators, points of view, and diverse settings to create variety and a multicultural, hybrid and hyphenated experience. Some stories experiment with language; others have a more traditional mood, akin to fairytales.

Informed by my training in the physical sciences, my thesis show presents results of research on the elements of line and dramatic staging. My process is documented through the experimental grounds of my sketchbooks. Originating from observational drawings of organic forms, my fascination with line quality and my desire for theatrical settings propelled these drawings to acquire a three dimensional presence. Through constructed book formats, staged micro-scenes, and photographs, I test my extracted, abstract forms in varying intimate environments. I control these worlds through scale, space and lighting, and I observe and record how they behave. I gather data through a methodical process that is infused with the empirical instincts I developed as a scientist. I express the resulting distilled organic forms in the most theatrical way I can invent.

This study examines the development of German pipe organ culture and French classical pipe organ culture from a single common origin in the Duchy of Brabant, during 1450-1850, with respect to select major attributes of organ construction, organ music and organ technique. The respective music of Dieterich Buxtehude (1637-1707), Praeludium in G Minor, BuxWV 149, for the North German contrapuntalists, and of Câesar Franck (1822- 1890), Choral No. 3 in A Minor, for the classical French symphonic tradition, is highlighted and appended with suggested technique for each work.

This work of creative nonfiction is meant to explore the effects of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder in American war veterans and their families. As a work of blended literary journalism and memoir, the author interviewed afflicted veterans from World War II to the current Iraq and Afghanistan wars, included scholarly research, and reflected on how her father's dealings with the disorder have affected her family.

In the American creative nonfiction genre, the line between fact and fiction is ever-blurring. Two novels which strive for realness and are thematically related in their focus on a cause célèbre and the death penalty, Truman Capote's In cold blood and Norman Mailer's The executioner's song, offer clues that might help approach the question of what makes a specific work fall under the category of creative nonfiction. I analyze the creative techniques that the authors use in their novels, and I consider details from the texts about the activeness and reliability of the narrators in the two books, as well as consequent political implications. Additionally, I ground my examination of these novels in a discussion of the progress from the early novel's drive for realism to twentieth-century literary journalism.