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Classical Allusions and Imperial Desire: Problems of Identity in Georgian and Russian Literature
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2012This dissertation explores cultural and political aspects of the relationship between Russia and Georgia, through the lens of Classical allusions. Since ancient Greek and Roman times, Classical myths and tales have been re-written by successive generations to reflect on critical political and social issues, including questions of empire and national identity. In Russia and Georgia, such a use of the Classics has been perhaps even more marked than in Western Europe. Straddling Asia and the West, Russians appreciate access to the western Classics as a touchstone of their belonging to Europe. Georgia, on Russia's southern border, is actually home to several famous Classical mythological characters, including Prometheus, Medea, and her father Aeëtes, and its claim to these figures provokes a sense of cultural competition with Russia. In negotiating political and cultural control in the Caucasus, Russia, imagining itself as a neo-Roman Empire, may lay claim to ruling the physical space, imaging itself as a harbinger of civilization for the "uncultured barbarians" on its southern border. Georgia, however, has developed its own sense of nationhood, claiming a spiritual hegemony as an empire of humanism, embracing its ties to Hellenism. Applying a thread of post-colonial theory both to think about Empire from within the hegemonic empire itself, and to listen to voices from the margins, my dissertation is structured on the process of veiling, unveiling, and self-unveiling, and how the use and manipulation of Classical allusions aid in this process. From the common language of Classical references emerges an intellectual space in which the authors I study, the Russians Andrei Bitov, Liudmila Ulitskaia, the Georgian-Armenian, Bulat Okudzhava, and the Georgian, Otar Chiladze, articulate their hopes, passions and desires, a space for their various voices to be heard. Read together, they tell a larger story about the relationship between Russia and Georgia. Touching upon how empire is conceived, imagined and generated, they reflect their countries' shared and intertwined history that includes conflict, disappointment, the problem of dealing with Stalin's legacy, and a strong desire from both parties to be accepted as full and active members in the increasingly complex post-Soviet world
Continuation of Ordination Ceremony at B. Māē Tōp Nua - Čao Khana Amphoe’s Machine
No full textTyped index and transcript of tape recording of Ordination Ceremony continued at Māē Tōp Nua, Čao Khana Amphoe’s Machine; sermon by Čao Khana Amphoe to laity at end of ceremony, with some translation into Karen by Karen novice living at Wat Klttlwong; truat nām and haiphon.Typed index and transcript of tape recording of Ordination Ceremony continued at Māē Tōp Nua, Čao Khana Amphoe’s Machine; sermon by Čao Khana Amphoe to laity at end of ceremony, with some translation into Karen by Karen novice living at Wat Klttlwong; truat nām and haiphon
Historical sea level and accommodation zones along Baja California
No full textSenior thesis written for Oceanography 444[Author's Abstract] Change in sea level is an ongoing process which alters the coastal ecosystem on a continuous basis. The physical changes in the world’s coastal ecosystem due to sea level change have occurred many times over the course of Earth’s history. While there are a number of large scale processes which contribute to localized variation in the sea level, such as land subsidence changes in the rate of sedimentation from local rivers, and alteration in coastal circulation patterns, climate change remains the dominant process and control of sea level. Climate and sea level variability have left behind evidence in the structural formation of the seafloor that can be seen today in the form of a step-like pattern on the continental shelf. A high resolution multibeam sonar survey was used to gather evidence of historic sea level change from the sea floor along 4 transects of the Baja California peninsula and mainland Mexico continental shelf. Variation in the structural pattern along these transects is used to identify potential historical shorelines. Step-like structures were found at three locations at the lowest point of sea level, indicating a change in a global process for historic sea level, and intermediate step-like patterns are evident that a variety of distance along the transect until the present day shoreline. This research provides insight into the spatial variability of sea level rise and contributes to our understanding of the complexity associated with local scale planning for sea level rise
Potential for Unintended Consequences in an Ecuadorian Hook Exchange Program
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2012The central question of this case study asks if circle hook use in Ecuador is motivated by a desire to catch more sharks. Circle hooks are a conservation technology that limits the by-catch of sea turtles. In 2004, the World Wildlife Fund, the Inter American Tropical Tuna Commission, (IATTC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spearheaded a hook exchange project in the Ecuadorian pelagic longline fishery. Widely used j-hooks were voluntarily exchanged for circle hooks. Volunteers also accepted observers on board. During observation circle hooks were found to increase the capture of sharks. Trade in shark fins is highly lucrative. The promotion of a hook that can capture more sharks may lead to an unintended consequence - increases in the targeting and capturing of sharks. Ecuadorian law allows only the incidental capture of sharks. Qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with hook promoters, IATTC biologist, and Ecuadorian fishery leaders, indicate that hooks may be related to an increase in the landings of shark, especially to supply the market for fins. Survey work was conducted in 6 sites along the Ecuadorian coastline. A majority of boat owners, captains, and deckhands (71%) self-nominated sharks as a target catch. Those familiar with circle hooks indicated that the use of the hooks was not relegated to only the conservation of turtles - captains (41%) and owners (37%) preferred circle hooks for their ability to capture shark. There was no significant difference in self nominated shark capture between users of circle hooks (78%) and j hooks (74%). Further study is required: an assessment on the affects of harvesting sharks on shark populations, and an analysis of regulations meant to create a more sustainable shark fishery
An Education Panacea? Implementation of Navigation 101 in Washington State as a Provision for Public Education Retention
No full textThe impact of adherence and an intervention program on patient outcomes and costs in chronic hepatitis C infection
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2012Background and aims: Both observational studies and randomized trials have shown that higher medication adherence is associated with improved outcomes in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection (CHC). Little evidence exists on the association between adherence and health care costs. We sought to evaluate the impact of adherence on long-term outcomes and costs in a population of patients with CHC genotype 1 receiving peginterferon and ribavirin (PEG-RBV). We also evaluated the impact of a potential intervention to improve adherence on long-term costs and patient outcomes. Methods: We utilized a cohort Markov model describing the natural history of hepatitis C infection in a population of 50 year-old treatment-experienced adults to evaluate the following health states: CHC, compensated cirrhosis, decompensated cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, liver transplant, liver transplant survivor, and death. Using previously published data from the HALT-C trial, we modeled four levels of medication receipt: >80% PEG-RBV, >80% PEG/Results: Over a lifetime horizon, we compared patients with the highest adherence versus lowest adherence, and found the following reductions in liver-related events: 9.9% compensated cirrhosis, 4.7% decompensated cirrhosis, 1.4% hepatocellular carcinoma, and 0.5% liver transplant. The potential cost savings over a lifetime as patients move from a cohort of lower SVR to greater SVR ranged from 62,690, with a 1% increase in SVR associated with savings of 3284. Conclusion: Interventions that increase patient adherence should improve outcomes in this population and have the potential to reduce costs
Raze-or-Retrofit: Evaluation of Seattle's Commercial Building Stock for Energy Efficiency
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2012Both my Architecture (M.Arch) and Planning (MUP) theses work around the rubric of the Architecture 2030 Challenge and the efforts of the Seattle 2030 District to meet it (2030DC - see http://www.2030district.org/seattle/ ). In taking up this challenge, the City of Seattle and the 2030DC have teamed up with major property owners, property managers, developers, architects and the Integrated Design Lab at UW to target and benchmark existing opportunities in Seattle's commercial building stock for potential deep retrofits and redesign. The goal of both theses is to provide the 2030DC with tools and intelligence that will assist in targeting its program and outreach efforts. Both the M.Arch thesis and MUP theses examine the behavior of commercial property owners - and their propensity to either retrofit their buildings for energy efficiency or raze them in favor of redevelopment. To determine this, in the M.Arch thesis I developed a scoring system that utilizes various algorithms to process publicly available data combined with other data developed locally to derive a score that permits an apples-to-apples comparison of that propensity. The M.Arch thesis reviews these conditions at the building level; cites several case studies, and presents in-depth analysis of a selected commercial building in the Pike-Pine corridor, serving as an example of a "typical" Seattle property. The MUP thesis scales the building owner propensity up to the neighborhood and district levels, and investigates the potential impact of development in Major Institutional Overlay (MIO) districts upon properties immediately adjacent to those districts. It applies the scoring system developed in the M.Arch thesis to demonstrate a correlation between proximity to an MIO district and the presence of predictive indicators of redevelopment. Thus, the scoring system can be used to indicate the likelihood of redevelopment in districts adjacent to an MIO district. The MUP thesis concludes with suggested policy changes to MIO districts to reduce the abrupt spatial transitions that are currently evident
Molecular tagging to overcome limitations of massively parallel sequencing
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2012Massively parallel technologies have dramatically reduced the cost and increased the throughput of DNA sequencing, transforming the study of patterns of genetic variation in human and model organisms, the genetic basis of disease, and the organization, regulation, and function of genomes. However, the cost and throughput gains of the most widely used massively parallel sequencing platforms are offset by substantial drawbacks with respect to read length and base-calling accuracy, limiting their utility for many exciting and potentially important research and clinical applications. These include de novo assembly of genomes and metagenomes, diversity profiling of metagenomic communities and viral populations, synthetic functional assays to interrogate long genetic elements, and sensitive and highly multiplexed cancer-related gene sequencing. This dissertation describes a paradigm, "molecular tagging," which I developed to overcome the read length and error rate limitations of massively parallel sequencing, in the context of its use for three distinct applications. I first describe the development of a molecular tagging-based method called "Subassembly" and its application to de novo genome and metagenome assembly. Complexity-bottlenecked libraries of DNA fragments at least ~350 nucleotides in length were amplified, re-fragmented, and subjected to massively parallel sequencing such that we could identify groups of reads derived from the same longer progenitor fragment. Groups of reads were then locally assembled to generate highly accurate haploid consensus sequences that effectively corresponded to single input molecules, and these long consensus sequences were used to improve de novo genome assembly for single bacterial and metagenomic samples. Next, I describe the development and application of a massively parallel assay to dissect transcriptional enhancer elements with single nucleotide resolution. We applied this method to determine the functional consequences of all possible single nucleotide changes in three mammalian enhancers; this assay involved an optimized version of the Subassembly experimental protocol and analytical strategy. Finally, I describe the characterization and application of a multiplex assay for ultra-sensitive targeted sequencing of cancer-related genes in clinical tumor samples. I integrated the molecular tagging paradigm with the molecular inversion probe multiplex capture strategy to develop a method that is simultaneously simple, rapid, cost-effective, and ultra-sensitive for sub-clonal variation in genetically heterogeneous tissue samples. Molecular tagging is therefore a broadly applicable strategy to overcome key limitations of massively parallel sequencing that is expanding the utility of this already transformative group of technologies to a number of important research and clinical applications
Vertical migration patterns of two marine snails: Nucella lamellosa and Nucella ostrina
No full textNucella ostrina and Nucella lamellosa are two species of predatory marine intertidal snail. They are common along the coast from California to Alaska, US and prey upon barnacles. We studied vertical migration and feeding patterns of each species and the best method for tagging them. We found that there was not much fluctuation in vertical movement, nor any significant peaks in feeding over our study period; however we did verify that N. lamellosa move up the shore a bit to feed. We also found that radio tagged N. lamellosa were more abundant lower on shore than their typical zone. These studies will help future studies on Nucella spp as well as further advance our efforts in predicting effects of climate change of behavior