SUNY Fredonia

Trans and gender diverse (TGD) college students experience discrimination on college campuses at rates much higher than their cisgender peers. Social support may serve as a protective factor against the effects of discrimination, particularly among TGD students who have experienced family rejection. However, most of the current research has combined TGD individuals with cisgender sexual minorities (e.g., lesbian, gay, and bisexual [LGB]) which reduces the ability to understand how discrimination is experienced differently among these populations. The present study examines differences in discrimination and social support among trans, gender diverse, and cisgender LGB college students. Participants completed an online anonymous survey assessing levels of heterosexist discrimination, family social support, and friend social support. Contrast codes revealed that LGB students reported significantly less heterosexist discrimination than TGD students. In addition, LGB students reported significantly more family support than TGD students. These findings underscore the prevalence of discrimination faced by TGD college students and the increased likelihood of lower family social support. Recommendations to eradicate discrimination and reform policies and practices to promote the inclusion of TGD students on campus are considered.

Vertebrate inner ear mechanosensory hair cells detect sound and gravitational forces. Additionally, fishes have homologous lateral line hair cells in the skin that detect water vibrations for orientation and predator avoidance. Hair cells in the lateral line and ear of fishes and other non-mammalian vertebrates regenerate readily after damage, but mammalians lack this ability, causing deafness and vestibular defects. As yet, experimental attempts at hair cell regeneration in mice result in incompletely differentiated and immature hair cells. Despite differences in regeneration capabilities, the gene regulatory networks (GRNs) driving hair cell maturation during development are highly similar across vertebrates. Here, we show that the transcription factor prdm1a plays a key role in the hair cell fate GRN in the zebrafish lateral line. Mutating prdm1a respecifies lateral line hair cells into ear hair cells, altering morphology and transcriptome. Understanding how transcription factors control diverse hair cell fates in zebrafish is crucial for understanding the yet unsolved regeneration of diverse hair cells in mammalian ears to restore hearing and balance.

Both theory and observations suggest that tree intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE)-the ratio of photosynthetic carbon assimilation to stomatal conductance to water-increases with atmospheric CO2. However, the strength of this relationship varies across sites and species, prompting questions about additional physiological constraints and environmental controls on iWUE. In this study, we analyzed tree core carbon isotope ratios to examine trends in, and drivers of, iWUE in 12 tree species common to the temperate forests of eastern North America, where forests have experienced changes in CO2, climate, and atmospheric pollution in recent decades. Across all site-species combinations, we found that tree iWUE increased 22.3% between 1950 and 2011, coinciding with a 25.2% increase in atmospheric CO2. iWUE trajectories varied markedly among tree functional groups and within species across sites. Needleleaf evergreen iWUE increased until circa 2002 before declining in recent years, while iWUE of broadleaf deciduous species continued to increase. The analysis of environmental controls on iWUE trends revealed smaller increases in iWUE in trees subjected to higher atmospheric pollution loads. Our results suggest that tree functional characteristics and atmospheric pollution history influence tree response to atmospheric CO2, with implications for forest carbon and water balance in temperate regions.

ABSTRACT Organizing out of mutual interest is a powerful anchor for rigorous, principled white antiracist struggle. The mutual interest approach emphasizes that everyone, including white people, has a stake in ending white supremacy. Yet there is much to learn about how grassroots activists understand and relate to mutual interest. To address this gap, the current study asks: How do white antiracists express their personal journeys of exploring and relating to their mutual interest? Using a participatory action research approach, interviews were conducted with 26 white antiracist organizers, and thematic analysis was used to create 5 themes presented in this paper. The themes reveal that: white antiracists do not first arrive to antiracist organizing space because of mutual interest; there are challenges that stand in the way of people identifying their mutual interest; disconnection from others and self is a steep cost of racism for white people; experiences and identities across class, ability, gender, and other salient identities are anchoring points for mutual interest; imagination and visioning a transformed world are intimately connected to shared stake. This study’s contributions include: the key role of organizations in fostering mutual interest, the importance of critical consciousness, and the holistic entry points to mutual interest.

ABSTRACT US authorities defend their use of aggressive sting operations in which informants pressure suspects to commit terrorism offences, arguing that anyone who can be persuaded by informants to commit such crimes must be dangerous. Yet if willingness to engage in political violence under certain conditions is widespread in the general population, this would undermine the government’s arguments. We therefore conducted an experiment on political violence using questions inspired by sting operations. A sample of US participants (n = 792) responded to scenarios featuring plots with various ideological motivations. Among these participants, 56.7% would not turn in at least one arson or assassination plotter, and 18.6% would loan money to at least one plotter. Moreover, 17% said they would press a button to kill then-President Trump, and 6% endorsed violent revolution. These findings suggest that a substantial proportion of Americans would be willing to support political violence under the right circumstances. Realistically, the vast majority of such individuals will never engage in political violence, yet they are potentially vulnerable to being manipulated by informants in sting operations. To avoid targeting those who would be unlikely to act on their own, counterterrorism sting operations should be limited to suspects with specific, pre-existing plans for violence.