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Arizona Border Recon (AZBR) is a paramilitary organization that operates at the Southern U.S. border of Arizona. Led by leader Tim Foley his goals are to disrupt the flow of drug smuggling and reconnaissance of migrants crossing the border. They display propaganda about protecting the identity of the U.S. and

Arizona Border Recon (AZBR) is a paramilitary organization that operates at the Southern U.S. border of Arizona. Led by leader Tim Foley his goals are to disrupt the flow of drug smuggling and reconnaissance of migrants crossing the border. They display propaganda about protecting the identity of the U.S. and how it has been invaded by migrant travelers crossing the border. However, still being a paramilitary organization, AZBR's mission became quite unclear and received backlash from humanitarian groups, local townspeople, etc. Members can become hostile and treat migrants harshly as paramilitary organizations have had past incidences of extreme government overthrow. In coordination with this thesis, scholarships such as Greg Grandin's End of Myth showcased how the frontier expansion was only a myth when people started to be concerned with national identity. Grandin's scholarship helps picture the evolutions of how groups such as AZBR came about. Harel Shapira's Waiting for Jose covers the personalities and explores the motivations behind the volunteers in the Minutemen which is a civilian-led border patrol organization. Shapira had taken the time to witness these patrols document the experiences and help get a deep dive into what makes volunteers take a role in these types of operations. Parson's Patrolling the Homeland is another piece of scholarship that accounts to the multifaceted challenges and motivations of members patrolling the border. Parsons seems to reason that there may be a sign of societal unease within these groups which prompts them to fear the "cultural other." These backgrounds of previous scholarships and early beginnings of what is known to be paramilitary organizations underlie the sequence of events that shape AZBR today. Foley claims to be filling a void left by federal agencies trying to manage the border situation and that his services are duly needed. The problem is that AZBR's actions operate in a major gray area where members can lash out at migrants and may be conveying a message meant to harm migrants. Stories about townspeople having run-ins with militia activists and displaying their hostility create a poor example of Foley's operations on the border. The idea that migrants who are just lost and are trying to seek asylum or work seems to be the norm across the border. Rarely do drug traffickers seem to show up most of the time as Foley claims to be fighting off. As a result, AZBR fits into the product of national identity and right-wing political movement.

ContributorsChaudhry, Sean (Author) / Young, Alexander (Thesis director) / Ostling, Michael (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
The various muscle fiber types as they are determined by their composition of the myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoform, whether it is pure type I (slow twitch) or pure type II (fast twitch), or a hybrid fiber type, are known to impact the overall metabolic function in humans (Serrano et

The various muscle fiber types as they are determined by their composition of the myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoform, whether it is pure type I (slow twitch) or pure type II (fast twitch), or a hybrid fiber type, are known to impact the overall metabolic function in humans (Serrano et al., 2019). While it is recognized that active high performing individuals (such as strength athletes) have a larger distribution of type IIa muscle fibers, the distribution of hybrid fibers in muscle of lean and physically inactive human fibers remains unknown (Serrano el. Al., 2019). Hybrid fibers are thought to be fibers in the transitional phase of muscle adaptation (Williamson et al. 2001). Previous studies have shown that resistance exercise training increases specialized fiber composition as compared to hybrid variants. Given the relationship between reduced metabolic activity and quantity of transitional fibers, it is possible that sedentary individuals may have a less effective metabolic profile. This study examines the composition of MHC content in muscle fibers, with a special emphasis on describing hybrid fibers in lean, physically-inactive individuals, to improve our understanding of muscle adaptation and metabolic health. The study provides a directed analysis of hybrid fibers into I/IIa and IIa/IIx groups in physically inactive humans, which adds to our knowledge of muscle fiber specialization in response to physical activity. This research proposes to test the hypothesis that an individual's distribution of muscle fiber types is influenced by the prevalence of hybrid fiber types, when categorized using single fiber SDS-PAGE, with a specific focus on lean individuals. Through single muscle fiber SDS PAGE analysis of 1821 fibers from 11 participants, 293 were identified as hybrid fibers, with a greater prevalence of IIa/IIx hybrids compared to lean-active healthy adults. Through this investigation, we aim to contribute valuable insights into the complex interplay between muscle fiber types, potentially informing future therapeutic strategies targeting muscle function and metabolic health.
ContributorsSodhi, Sukhleen (Author) / Katsanos, Christos (Thesis director) / Serrano, Nathan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor)
Created2024-05