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Sex and Traumatic Brain Injury: How does sex impact the transcriptomic profiles of X. laevis brains following glutamate-induced excitotoxicity?
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/778ae63a-a519-4f97-86ab-9c860dc1e4fa/thumb/128.jpgTraumatic brain injury (TBI) is a widespread condition, and sufferers often deal with long-term after-effects. There is a gap in medical knowledge as to how to mitigate the acquisition of long-term conditions following the injury. Clinical and biological research evidences a connection between sex and traumatic brain injury (TBI) outcomes. The explanation for this connection may have to do with sex hormones, as many researchers have provided evidence to support estrogens and progestogens attenuating the effects brain injury in laboratory models, using behavioral, immunological, immunohistochemical, and other biological assays. I modeled TBI in X. laevis and performed RNA-sequencing on their brain tissue to determine the transcriptomic effects of TBI in males and females. Differential gene expression and enrichment analyses allowed me to achieve insights about biological ontologies that may have been activated or suppressed following treatment and about the biological state of the tissue. Ultimately, my sequencing data quality was not high enough to yield conclusive evidence as to the biological states of samples of differing sex and treatment. Enrichment analysis indicated that glutamate-treated samples, regardless of sex, may have had suppression of metabolic activity, with the same effect seen in glutamate-treated females compared to female controls, but not in glutamate-treated males compared to male controls. If estrogen and progestogen do attenuate the effects of TBI by suppressing metabolic activity in the brain, further research into the mechanisms of this metabolic suppression may aid in the development of interventional drugs
Qualitativism
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/dd7a54b3-ab54-41f9-845a-24b13119d182/thumb/128.jpgThis thesis evaluates and rejects several versions of philosophical qualitativism. ‘Qualitativism’ broadly labels metaphysical views that privilege the role of properties like “brown” over particular individuals like “this dog.” The thesis is divided into three unequal parts. In the first section of the thesis, I reject three bundle theories that reduce individuals to bundles of properties. In the second section, I explore Shamik Dasgupta’s qualitative generalism, which characterizes the world generally in terms of properties. I develop some consequences of his theory and suggest a plausible doctrine that binds individuals to their own possible worlds. Finally, in the last section I sketch some ideas for a novel qualitativism in which individualistic matters are non-factual. I conclude that none of these qualitativist theories are successful and suggest that philosophers close the door to qualitativism
Linguistic Shifts and Emotion Regulation Across Languages: The Case of "Estar" in Spanish
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/290496d9-a91d-4780-98e8-4be2f678887e/thumb/128.jpgWhen using cognitive reappraisal to regulate their emotions, English speakers shift their language to be more psychologically distant (e.g., using “I” less often) and more abstract (e.g., using more words referring to stable qualities). For Spanish speakers, successful emotion regulation has been linked to linguistic distancing as well as increased use of estar, the temporary form of “to be.” There are two open questions regarding the role of estar in emotion regulation: (a) Does estar track psychological distance, abstractness, or some other perspective shift in perspective? (b) Is the role of estar a causal one? In Study 1, I reanalyzed published data from Spanish-English bilinguals who transcribed their thoughts while responding naturally to negative images or reappraising them. I found that (a) the use of estar was negatively correlated with linguistic measures of both distancing and abstractness, and (b) increased use of estar when reappraising predicted reappraisal success, even when controlling for shifts in distancing and abstractness. In Study 2, Spanish-English bilinguals completed an image description task similar to Study 1, but with explicit instructions to use or avoid certain language (e.g., estar or the present tense) when describing the images. I found no significant effect of estar on self-reported negative affect, but participants reported feeling better when avoiding the present tense in Spanish. Together, these findings suggest that estar reflects but does not necessarily facilitate emotion regulation
And I Came Out for What?: Sexual Identity Cultures at New Lesbian Bars
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/1d536bc7-19e0-4cbe-8a52-174888b6e574/thumb/128.jpgThe number of lesbian bars decreased from over 200 in 1987 to only 15 in the year 2019. However, beginning in 2022, the number of lesbian bars doubled. Looking at the phenomenon of the recent increase in the number of lesbian bars after thirty-seven years of decline, this paper attempts to understand the internal cultural factors that have influenced this sudden increase. Ultimately, using the framework of sexual identity cultures, this paper finds that LBTQ+ communities that base their community on identity-politics sexual identity cultures can facilitate an increased need for specifically LBTQ+ spaces, with the types of spaces that can occur being dependent on the sexual identity community's needs. This paper situates the conversation on LBQT+ culture and bars historically, however, it only analyzes current trends of sexual identity cultures at a new lesbian bar in Portland, Oregon
Metafiction (And Its Many Uses)
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/51bedbc2-6137-4e4e-bfb3-b8b6a85814f4/thumb/128.jpgMy thesis is a series of creative stories that explore what metafiction has to offer to my understanding of the roles of narrators, authors, characters, readers, and storie
Not So Far To Fall
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/98cc1876-d35d-42f6-8203-0ec00f0e2a9a/thumb/128.jpgThis thesis is a self-exploration guided by the language of nostalgia. In three distinct parts, it breaks down my understanding of nostalgia in terms of its relation to self-construction, time, and subjectivity. I discuss the concept of becoming, focusing on Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s rhizomatic theory to establish a theoretical framework important for reading the artwork. I then begin to construct a loose definition of nostalgia as a returning moment within the becoming process, shifting focus onto indigenous cosmology, cyclical time theory, and Adventure Time as artistic and conceptual inspirations. Finally, I inquire about the phenomenology of nostalgia and decode my artistic interpretation of ineffable experience into material. I take inspiration from Nadia Seremetakis’s essay “The Memory of the Senses,” weaving in the works of several artists that inform my art practice to describe its affective qualities that exist as subjects in my work
A New Age of Technology and Flexible Intellectual Property Protections: An Economic Analysis of the Developing Discord Between Generative AI and Copyright Law
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/09e318aa-24a3-4c27-91e7-8bd31727b8fb/thumb/128.jpgThis thesis aims to tackle the issues that exist in the current intersection between the generative AI market and copyright laws. It focuses on fair use, a doctrine of copyright law that allows for certain unauthorized uses of copyrighted material, and whether or not the use of copyrighted material for training generative AI models constitutes fair use. It addresses the economic objectives of copyright law, and how the allowed or restricted use of copyrighted material for generative AI training either conflict with or enforce these objectives. It does so by outlining the economics of intellectual property and copyrights in depth, as well as detailing a brief history on generative AI, its scope of content, and how it’s models function before synthesizing the aforementioned information and tying in current legal cases. It then argues why the unconsented use of copyrighted material for generative AI training should not constitute fair use due to conflicts with the fundamental economic motivations for copyright protections. It also briefly addresses market failures associated with generative AI
Walkability in Portland Oregon
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/3d868a5b-29d8-4a33-82ba-55241e284ade/thumb/128.jpgThis thesis focuses on creating a walkability index and map of Portland, Oregon. The data used was sourced from OpenStreetMap and Metro. The data was then imputed into QGIS to perform spatial analysis of three metrics for the chosen walkability index. These metrics are street connectivity, residential density and proximity to amenities. Each metric was calculated using specific procedures and then ultimately combined to create the final large walkability map of Portland. The final large walkability map yielded an in-depth map of the walkability levels of Portlan
More Than Adornment: Tattoos as a process of ritual, resistance and self-formation
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/97fb73f8-0278-4ebc-9896-76478c0f7e7f/thumb/128.jpgIn my paper I formalistically explore tattoos, and their intersectionality of culture, body and identity. I then turn this research inward, looking back out at the world and within myself through a lens of Blackness . In the process, I turn to my personal heritage and cultural histories, communicating the pain, blood, and embodiment of tattoos. In doing so, I become radically vulnerable, daring to imagine, futures for myself and my body that are capable of both rest and resistance
A Topological Analysis of Neurodegeneration in MR Images
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/c99cc101-bfcb-4356-a0b3-73f208ac7418/thumb/128.jpgCurrent Alzheimer's research is particularly concerned with early identification. This thesis explores the efficacy of homology, a topological invariant, to predict and identify Alzheimer's using MRI data. We provide exposition on cubical persistent homology, its various representations, and its application to image analysis. Then, we utilize these concepts to identify Alzheimer's disease and predict its onset using MR imaging data