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Introducing Catalizer: A Framework for Prototyping Models of Biological Systems
No full textModeling the light response system of Nannochloropsis oceanica brings
a set of challenges that make modeling difficult. Notably, potential models
may contain a large number of chemical species. A large number of
species creates a quadratic explosion in the number of potential pathways.
In addition, mathematically defining these pathways is error prone, yet
follows a surprising simple set of rules. We seek to create a domain specific
language which can precisely define these chemical reaction networks.
Once the networks have been defined, they can be exported as procedures
defined in popular programming languages for further analysis
Cellular trafficking of Fibroblast Growth Factor receptors via CDK1-dependent phosphorylation of Rab7 during cell division in mouse keratinocytes
No full textCellular trafficking of receptors and associated membrane proteins is crucial for regulating cell signaling. As previous research has suggested that endocytic trafficking is shut down during cell division, few studies have investigated the regulation of membrane trafficking during mitosis, leaving the assumption of mitotic trafficking untested. In the model chordate, Ciona robusta, active cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) inhibits the degradation of Fibroblast Growth Factor receptors (FGFRs), which are responsible for inducing cardiac cell fate during asymmetric pre-cardiac founder cell division. Our preliminary analysis in Ciona suggests that this CDK1-dependent inhibition may result from the phosphorylation of Rab7-GTPase, a protein necessary for delivering FGFRs to lysosomes for degradation. However, it is unclear whether this mechanism is unique to Ciona robusta. Here, I investigate whether cell cycle-dependent regulation of FGFR trafficking is conserved in mammalian systems. The results confirmed that the trafficking of human FGFR2 takes place during cell division and that active CDK1 inhibits FGFR2 degradation during this process in primary mouse keratinocytes. Motivated by our preliminary findings in Ciona, I used site-directed mutagenesis to mutate the putative CDK1 phosphorylation sites in the human Rab7a to generate phospho-deficient and phospho-mimetic Rab7a. To determine if CDK1 suppresses the degradation of FGFR during mitosis by phosphorylating Rab7a, I characterized the effects of mutant Rab7a proteins on mitotic FGFRs in cultured keratinocytes. Both phospho-deficient and phospho-mimetic Rab7a mutants impaired Rab7a function, altering its colocalization with FGFR2. These results support a model in which CDK1-mediated phosphorylation of Rab7a during mitosis inactivates Rab7a, leading to its dissociation from endosomal membranes and helping to promote FGFR2 storage by preventing the degradation of FGFR2. Our findings provide critical insight into the dynamics of mitotic FGFR2 trafficking in primary mouse keratinocytes and assess the role of Rab7a phosphorylation on mitotic FGFR2 degradation. Understanding how membrane trafficking dynamics are regulated during cell division is crucial to explore how dysregulation in trafficking through phosphorylation events might contribute to uncontrolled cell growth and cancer initiation
Overture: Journal of International Affairs
Full text linkFull issue of Overture: Journal of International Affairs vol. 5. Editor-in-Chief: Sydney Pascal \u2726. Sponsored by the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs
Tracing the Lines in Comics and Life: Genealogies and My Place Within Them
No full textMy thesis is a hybrid English Lit/Creative Writing project on comics. The English Lit half is an Artist’s Statement comprised of scholarly research and both analytical and personal writing, and this work will necessarily inform and be informed by the Creative Writing half, in which I create my own comics
When Choice Disappears: Voter Cynicism in the Absence of Competition
No full textThis thesis explores the democratic consequences of uncontested state legislature elections in the United States, focusing on how the absence of electoral competition influences both voter engagement and political attitudes. While state legislatures wield significant influence over public policy and resource allocation, an increasing number of these elections proceed without meaningful opposition. Drawing on an original survey of 2,775 respondents, this study tests two core hypotheses: first, that uncontested state legislature elections lead to decreased voter engagement, as reflected in voter attitude towards election participation and candidate qualities; and second, that uncontested state legislature elections increase negative attitudes towards government and distrust in government among voters.
Survey questions assessed respondents\u27 likelihood of voting under uncompetitive conditions, their perceptions of state government performance and representation, and their attitudes toward candidate quality and electoral fairness. The results reveal that individuals in uncontested districts are significantly more likely to question whether their participation matters and express lower confidence in their state government. Although some measures of engagement, such as stated likelihood of voting, did not decline as sharply as expected, indicators of attitudinal disengagement, particularly neutral or negative views toward government performance and care, were more pronounced among those in uncontested districts. Cross-tabulations with employment and regional controls further confirmed that the status of electoral competition is a strong predictor of political trust and perceived efficacy.
Ultimately, the findings offer strong support for the second hypothesis: that uncontested state legislature elections increase negative attitudes towards government and distrust in government among voters. While evidence for decreased engagement is more suggestive than conclusive, the data indicate that voters without meaningful electoral choice are more likely to feel politically powerless and detached from the democratic process. These results have significant implications for the health of American democracy, highlighting the need to reinvigorate electoral competition at the state level to restore trust, accountability, and voter agency in government
Bread and Roses: Collectively Redistributing Work Tasks for Personal Growth through Gamification
No full textDeconstructing the Greenium: Exploring Mispricing in the Green Bond Market
No full textThis paper investigates the sources and conditions under which the greenium – a yield discount observed for green bonds relative to comparable conventional bonds – appears in global fixed income markets. Using a dataset of over 26,000 bonds issued between 2012 and 2024 across 37 countries and 5,400 firms, I find that the existence of the greenium is highly context-dependent, shaped by factors such as issuer reputation, institutional trust, and green capital allocation across sectors. Repeat green issuers receive yield discounts of up to 57 basis points, particularly in the EU and Nordic countries, where strong climate policies and disclosure frameworks have deepened investor confidence. In contrast, green bonds in North America are penalized by nearly 100 basis points, potentially due to regulatory fragmentation and concerns about greenwashing. Finally, the greenium is strongest in the Industrials and Financials sectors, but only when regional credibility supports investor trust. As a robustness exercise, I use the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) as a proxy for the strength of the country’s climate policies, and hence, institutional trust by investors. I find that companies in countries that increase their CCPI score by one standard deviation are rewarded with a 50 basis point deeper greenium. These findings highlight that investor willingness to accept lower returns depends on credible climate commitment—at both the firm and country level
Understanding Perspectives of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Central Maine
No full textThe present study investigates perspectives of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Rural Central Maine and the support measures needed to optimize students’ inclusive education experiences. The research examines views of three primary stakeholders: parents/guardians, teachers (general education and special education), and clinicians. By utilizing Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Model, I explore the complexity of inclusive education by analyzing how macrosystem beliefs (operationalized through logics) and mesosystem interactions across microsystems influence the educational experience for students with ASD (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Part one of the research consists of a systematic literature review for each stakeholder, incorporating 45 sources across three prominent education databases. Part two involves stakeholders in Central Maine Elementary Schools; each participant answered an online anonymous survey, with an optional semi-structured interview. Logics were compiled in the literature review process and identified in the Central Maine participants’ surveys and interviews. The findings indicate that a truly inclusive education experience requires congruence among all stakeholders, something that, as demonstrated in the research, is challenging to achieve. This congruence would manifest in situations, such as Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, where each stakeholder, with their own set of underlying logics, must compromise and reach a consensus. The study’s findings contribute to a deeper understanding of ASD perspectives and highlight how stakeholders’ different underlying perspectives complicate the implementation of inclusive education practices within rural Central Maine public elementary school communities
From Living With the Land to Vacation Timeshares: The Impact of Outdoor Recreation on the United States’s Recognition of Shoshone, Timpanogos, and Havasupai Ancestral Homelands
No full textThe romantic view of the Western United States from the perspective of a US resident is fueled by the thought of adventure and expansion. The phenomena of the Wild West, frontier ideology, and manifest destiny have kindled a love of being outside and pursuing new and unexplored territory. Long before those ideologies came into play, people already inhabited these landscapes. As colonists moved West, many of those inhabitants were forcefully moved onto reservations. Those people include the Shoshone people of Wyoming, the Timpanogos people of Utah, and the Havasupai people of Arizona. Alongside this history of displacement, the United States saw a boom in the outdoor industry with the invention of public protected lands in the late nineteenth century. President Roosevelt spearheaded a movement to create massive allotments of public lands. But where did that land come from? Karl Jacoby calls it a complicated reality that the prevailing narrative about conservation has long obscured. The government previously removed people from their ancestral homeland only to encourage visitors to that location, which directly overshadows the current United States recognition of any ancestral territory. This paper outlines that story, the impact of outdoor recreation on the histories of the displacement of the Shoshone, Timpanogos, and Havasupai people
The Role of Mms21 SUMOylation in Responding to Oncogenic Cln2 Overexpression-induced Replication Stress in Budding Yeast
No full textSUMOylation is a post-translational modification process that is vital in regulating cellular response to replication stress. Particularly, the E3 SUMO ligases are important for conferring substrate specificity. The budding yeast E3 SUMO ligase Mms21 and its human homolog Nsmce2 are well understood to promote repair of DNA damage and prevent genomic instability in response to replication stress induced by genotoxic chemicals. However, the role and mechanism of Mms21 in responding to replication stress caused by oncogenes is not well understood. Oncogenic overexpression of G1/S cyclins disrupts G1 phase origin licensing and leads to replication stress, genomic instability, and tumour development. Here, we investigated the role of Mms21’s SUMO ligase activity in mitigating oncogenic G1/S Cln2 cyclin overexpression-induced replication stress in budding yeast. We show that Mms21 ligase activity reduces the growth defect resulting from overexpression of Cln2. Our finding suggests that Mms21 can potentially reduce oncogenic replication stress. Our study highlights the utility of yeast as a genetic model for human cancers and the necessity to further study how Mms21 SUMOylation defends cells against cancer