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Biochemistry of Biochemical recycling: exploring PETase EstB and putative MHETase NlhH
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/94e28246-b3ed-497e-a090-5d7730a1497b/thumb/128.jpgPlastic waste is one of the leading environmental issues of our time. With an increasing demand for plastic worldwide, carbon emissions and waste products are projected to skyrocket, leading to accumulations of plastic in landfills and oceans. Current recycling methods are limited, and even methods for highly "recyclable" plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate(PET) are far from achieving a circular plastics economy. This thesis addresses the emergence of bacteria capable of degrading PET waste, and aims to explore the biochemical mechanisms behind these degradation pathways. Pseudomonas sp. B10 has been shown to produce PETase EstB and putative MHETase NlhH, which are theorized to work in a two-step mechanism towards the degredation of PET into monomer components TPA and EG. With the right optimization of these enzymes, bacteria could be utilized to harvest and re-polymerize these monomers into recycled PET. Based on prior work in the Mellies lab, I sought to characterize putative MHETase NlhH and achieve a high-resolution structural model for EstB, with the ultimate goal of improving these enzyme's efficiency and thermal stability. NlhH was successfully expressed and purified as a soluble protein in this study, but MHETase activity was not shown, as incubation of NlhH with BHET failed to free TPA and EG. An EstB crystal was successfully reproduced in lab, indicating promise for future structural studies. Further analysis of the structure of these proteins and their interactions with subsequent substrates is essential towards the development of efficient and industry-level biochemical recycling methods, a model which may be essential to the future of plastic production and waste management
WARPing Environmental Preferences: Green Nudges and Rationality
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/fc893d9c-b6e8-4d22-8849-0747903e87fc/thumb/128.jpgOne of the first things any economics student is taught is the neoclassical theory of rational consumers with well-behaved preferences. In intermediate and advanced classes, this theory is complicated to better fit behavior seen in the real world. However, nonstandard preferences and policies that depend on the basic theory to function are often neglected. An example of one of these neglected areas is environmental preferences, which are studied in depth for their effects, but not how well they conform to the assumption of rationality. This thesis uses a survey to test the rationality of consumers before and after they include their environmental preferences in reported hypothetical behavior. The treatment given to respondents during the survey is in the form of a green nudge via transparent disclosure of the environmental externalities of their consumption choice. Analysis finds that while respondents do shift their behavior to better align with their environmental preferences after treatment, their internal environmental preferences are economically rational
Relativistic Hypercomputation or how to know the unknowable using black holes
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/353a7cae-192c-4b7b-a5c5-c277a1793910/thumb/128.jpgWhat mathematical truths can humans know? What forbidden truths can we never find out? If we are finite beings, 'human knowability' may correspond to being able to answer a question through a finite sequence of logical operations i.e., through a kind of \textit{algorithmic} process. The Physical Church-Turing Thesis is the assertion that the specific mathematical definition of \textit{Turing computability} is the correct formalization of the intuitive concept of algorithm, and any physical system which may be considered algorithmic can be simulated by Turing computability. With the advent of Einstein's relativistic physics, the long-standing Physical Church-Turing thesis has been challenged, with physical 'hypercomputers' that transcend Turing computability being put forth in \cite{PitowskyPhysicalChurchThesis}, \cite{HogarthNonTuringComputers1994}, and \cite{Nemeti_NonTuringComputationsviaMHSpacetimes}. This thesis explores computability theory and its interactions with relativity. The introduction expands on the historical and philosophical context of computability theory and the relativistic challenges to the Physical Church-Turing thesis. The first chapters explore the vast field of classical computability theory, primarily following \cite{Reccursivefunc}. Along the way, we study Cantor's transfinite ordinal numbers in order to explore the outer limits of computability. This background material culminates in multiple perspectives on the hyperarithmetical hierarchy. We then apply this background knowledge to discuss \textit{relativistic }computability theory, primarily following and building off of \cite{Welch_2008}. We consider the computational power of `Malament-Hogarth' (MH) spacetimes and the farthest possible extent of relativistic computability. We give the most complete overview of the capabilities of MH spacetimes yet, explicitly developing a connection between relativistic computability and oracle Turing machines and using it to expand previous hierarchies of MH spacetimes. In the final chapter, we experiment with some original ideas for transcending the previous bounds on the computational power of relativistic computers
Especifismo and its Antecedents: The Persistence and Evolution of Classical and Neoclassical Anarchism in the Southern Cone and Beyond
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/2d9fa610-c145-419c-84fc-00a715ffe62a/thumb/128.jpgThe Golden Age of Classical Anarchism from the 1880s to 1939 marked the height of anarchism’s power as a social movement. During the Cold War, anarchism was around the world bereft of social force and relegated to the sidelines of the new campist geopolitics. Uruguay however bucks this trend- the anarchist movement there persisted throughout the cold war to a far greater degree than it did elsewhere in the form of the Federación Anarquista Uruguaya or FAU, into the post-cold-war anarchist renaissance of the present day. This thesis serves to examine both the continuity of classical anarchism in the Southern Cone from its Golden Age through the Cold War, the social and ideological changes it underwent to arrive at the neoclassical anarchist theory of especifismo, as well as the continuing spread and development of especifismo amidst the post-cold-war anarchist renaissance
Inference on the Mean Function of Time Series using the Sieve Bootstrap
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/e55cc7b9-9313-4fb6-b89a-66cdb3af42e9/thumb/128.jpgWe first provide a review of time series notation, types of stationarity, a few relevant models, and bootstrap methods for stationary time series. We then suggest, based on work by Ding & Zhou (2023) and others, that the method of sieves can be applied to time-varying location-scale time series in order to perform inference on the mean function of said series, performing a simulation study to demonstrate its effectiveness. In simulation our method of bootstrapping data seems to be effective for some models, but many of the desirable theoretical results have been left unproven. In particular, what is left is to establish the TVAR sieve bootstrap approximation result. That is, This would allow us to us to compare the distributions of and , which would tell us if is a reasonable statistic to use for our confidence band
Progress Towards a Solid Supported Total Synthesis of 6-Deoxyerthronolide B
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/3278efcb-a899-4156-976d-9ea13f36dab3/thumb/128.jpgNew ways to produce antibiotics that prioritize derivatization potential are highly sought after. Macrolides like erythromycin are of specific interest, but the size of the macrolactone moieties make late-stage derivatization difficult. A proposed 28 step (longest linear: 21 steps), solid-supported, convergent total synthesis of 6-deoxyerythronolide B (6-dEB), the macrolactone precursor to erythromycin, can be easily modified at several synthetic points and can be easily converted into erythromycin through biosynthetic hydroxylation and glycosylation. As a proof of the concept, iterative asymmetric boron-enolate facilitated Evans aldols were used to synthesize a diketide intermediate of 6-dEB on a solid support with a benzyl ether linker attachment
There is no future here : drug war violence and depeasantization in Cold War Mexico
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/27296ffa-ce7e-422f-8612-d8754bee643f/thumb/128.jpgThis thesis synthesizes the history of military drug enforcement in rural Mexico with that of land reform and communal agriculture. Through studies of the 1930s, 1970s, and 1980s, I identify connections between state violence in the context of “drug warfare” and the longstanding tension between the post-revolutionary Mexican statemaking project and the lifestyles of free peasant cultivators. I argue that the militarized opium poppy and cannabis eradication campaigns that began in the 1970s and continued through the end of the twentieth century have political valences obscured by hegemonic media and national security discourse. In effect, these campaigns serve to forcibly depopulate isolated rural areas, eliminating any threat of political subversion from radical peasants and making these regions available for modern economic development. By examining the Cold War origins of Mexican drug warfare, I also interrogate the disproportionate influence of US security policy on Latin America and the political machinations of the PRI’s involvement with drug trafficking. I identify the displacement and dispossession of campesinos through drug war policy as symptomatic of a global process of depeasantization taking place throughout the last century
The Color of the Kit: Football Supporters and the Politics of Identity in Late 20th and Early 21st Century Europe
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/0d2db75e-5742-4f4e-a02a-92780efe7a6d/thumb/128.jpgThis thesis examines the role of football as a site of identity formation, memory, and political expression in late 20th century and early 21st century Europe, through case studies in Glasgow, Rome, and Hamburg. It examines how football clubs—Celtic and Rangers, AS Roma and SS Lazio, and FC St. Pauli—have become symbolic arenas where local, ethnic, religious, and political identities are constructed, performed, and contested. I argue that football functions not merely as a mirror of societal divisions but as a dynamic space where historical memory and ideological affiliations are actively negotiated. As globalization and commercialization increasingly reshape the sport, traditional forms of local identity and cultural resistance are commodified, sanitized, or challenged. Supporters respond to these pressures in divergent ways, from the embrace of antifascist activism to the resurgence of neofascist symbolism, revealing the stadium as both a battleground and refuge. By situating football clubs as lieux de mémoire, this study contributes to broader discussions on the intersections of sports, memory, and globalization, highlighting how fandom becomes a potent vehicle for political expression and cultural continuity in an era of transformation
Creativity Entangled: A Posthumanist Perspective on AI Art
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/54f931bc-fa3e-4528-83a2-f62e626724e0/thumb/128.jpgThis paper investigates AI art as a posthumanist strategy challenging liberal humanist conceptions of agency, authorship, and subjectivity. Through historical analysis of 1960s-70s conceptual art movements, the study traces how artists like Yoko Ono and John Cage pioneered process-oriented practices that dissolved traditional artist-audience hierarchies through dematerialized art objects and information systems. The research examines the human-machine dichotomy through posthumanist theory, analyzing contrasting approaches in contemporary AI art. Martin Zeilinger's concept of "posthuman agential assemblages" provides a framework to critique anthropocentric authorial paradigms, while comparing Adam Basanta's disembodied systems with Sougwen Chung's embodiment-focused performances reveals divergent posthumanist strategies. The author's practice-based research culminates in an interactive installation that creates feedback loops between human expression and machine response, demonstrating a posthumanist approach to collaborative human-AI creation. Through both theoretical analysis and artistic praxis, the paper argues that AI art provides new insights for art beyond humanist subject- object divides
Degenerate Generations: A Comparative Study of the Bildungsroman between Flaubert and Joyce
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/ffbd41dd-749a-4817-b177-5ac3f99a2307/thumb/128.jpgThis thesis adopts a deconstructive approach to two widely acknowledged European Bildungsromane: Gustave Flaubert’s Sentimental Education and James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. I take inspiration from the idea of the "protracted youth" Franco Moretti identifies in Sentimental Education, and pair this with the discussion of Peter Brooks in his book Reading for the Plot to observe a basic problem of the Bildungsroman, questioning how is it possible to narrate youth. Through extensive close reading of both texts, I call to question the category of the Bildungsroman in both novels in developing two problems for the narrative of the Bildungsroman: the beginning and the conclusion. In the first chapter, I consider the problem of the conclusion of the narrative by analyzing Sentimental Education from three aspects: as under the constant threat of a premature conclusion, as learning to capture the infinite in the finite narrative, and as struggling to conclude itself. In the second chapter, I consider the problem of the beginning of the narrative by illustrating A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man also in three steps: as seeking to begin without falling into a plot, as noticing its own difficulty to begin due to its incompatibility with a plot, and as playing to have a plot despite all the difficulties to begin. Through the study of both novels, I argue that youth is inherently an illusory concept we develop through the genre of the Bildungsroman, and both Flaubert and Joyce provide cases where the late examples of this novelistic form do not present youth unquestioningly, but instead cast doubt on this concept. They struggle to disentangle themselves both from youth as an actual period of life, and youth as the reflection of historical movements, to present not youth, but the very fictional quality of youth