Seton Hill University is a private Catholic university in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Formerly a women's college, it became a coeducational university in 2002 and enrolls about 2,200 students.
We explore the problem of estimating the steady-state temperature in a two-dimensional domain at a point knowing the temperature to high order at another point. We find connections to the Bergman kernel of the domain, Runge’s theorem, and approximate null quadrature identities.
Upper airway dysfunction in motor neuron diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and progressive muscular atrophy, is largely attributed to degeneration of hypoglossal (XII) lower motor neurons (LMNs) which innervate the muscles of the tongue (including the genioglossus) and often results in swallowing and breathing dysfunction due to progressive tongue weakness. A barrier in studying the impact of XII LMN degeneration and developing therapies to improve swallowing and breathing function/coordination has been the lack of an appropriate model. Thus, we established a rodent model of targeted loss of XII LMNs and XII motor output using intralingual injections of cholera toxin B conjugated to saporin (CTB-SAP). Prior work with this model has revealed degenerative changes in the genioglossus (e.g., myofiber atrophy which is replaced by increased lipid expression leading to overall tongue hypertrophy) as well as decreased tongue motility and strength that are mitigated by a high-repetition/low-resistance tongue exercise paradigm. Our recent pilot studies have shown significant degenerative changes in genioglossus sarcomere and mitochondria morphology in rats with induced XII LMN death, which align with markers of degeneration found in previous literature; however, the impact of tongue exercise on these morphological changes remains unknown. In this study, we intralingually injected adult male rats with CTB-SAP or control (CTB unconjugated to SAP) and subjected them to either sham or tongue exercise (n=3-6/group). We then studied ultrastructural changes in genioglossus sarcomere and mitochondria morphology using transmission electron microscopy and computational analysis. Our preliminary data suggests that CTB-SAP + exercise rats demonstrate mitigation of degenerative mitochondrial morphology compared to CTB-SAP + sham exercise rats. Analysis of sarcomere structure and lipid droplet number within the same groups is currently underway. Identifying ultrastructural markers that capture genioglossus degeneration and exercise-induced attenuation will enable more efficient and comprehensive evaluation of future therapies for XII neurodegeneration. Sponsored by: NSF DBI 1950787 grant and NIH R01 HL153612 grant This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2026 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.
Abstract This chapter reads Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko (1688) as an account of how English imperial power racecrafted Africans into chattels by converting kinship and hereditary rights into claims of perpetual human property and alienable labor. Focusing on Imoinda, the chapter argues that Behn figures her rebellion against enslavement as an ancient constitutional claim grounded in parental authority and a child’s inherited right to liberty, opposed to English assertions of absolute ownership in persons. Imperial governors in Surinam, drawing on Stuart royalist theories of patriarchal sovereignty, adapt these political ideas into a form of imperial absolutism overseas, claiming the power to sever children from parents and to own, extract, and trade human labor in perpetuity. In this process, African lineage, rank, and contractual capacity are dissolved into racialized “Negro” status, leaving Oroonoko stripped of due process and subject to state violence. By situating slavocracy within the language of patriarchal authority, Behn exposes how English imperial actors claimed powers exceeding even the sovereign’s claims in a divine-right monarchy: to own human beings, alienate their labor, and violently dispose of their lives.
Abstract Supporting the development of social and emotional skills for our youngest learners has been a topic of interest in child development. Feeling positive and confident in the early years is critical for all young children. A pandemic combined with traumatic experiences for young children and adults have taken the awareness of teachers to fully understand more and move forward with early literacy strategies by establishing trusting relationships connecting with social-emotional learning. This chapter will draw attention on the significance of supporting families connecting to early literacy with social-emotional development. A section will address social-emotional literacy and provide families with a literacy-rich home environment to support social-emotional learning. A variety of strategies will be explored to investigate social-emotional learning including play and learning stories, floor play, snack time, and an early literacy program focusing on kindness and pro-social skills with children’s literature. Social-emotional literacy contributes to the development of young children’s emotional and social competence by promoting trusting relationships at home and school to increase family engagement and creates opportunities to encourage resiliency for young children’s healthy social and emotional wellbeing.
