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Seurat & Suffering: Identification of Endoreduplication Using Computational Methods in Soybean Nodules
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/bc6b68dd-d6e0-402a-ae6c-02c1d3eb2dd2/thumb/128.jpgEndoreduplication is the process in which cells undergo whole genome duplication without dividing into two daughter cells, and can occur multiple times within the same cell. The resulting cell can grow from the standard diploid genome up to or past a sixteenploid genome with repeated rounds of replication. This process of endoreduplication is observed in many plant species, including in conjunction with rhizobial infection of root cells in Glycine max. A previous study by Fan et al. (2022) identified genes associated with ploidy level, or rounds of endoreduplication, in Glycine max nodule cells. Therefore, this thesis focuses predominantly on using those marker genes with program called Seurat developed by the Satija lab to cluster single nucleus RNA-seq datasets of Glycine max nodules by ploidy level. Despite clustering using sn-RNAseq data from three timepoints, 12, 20, and 28 days post infection (dpi), clusters could not be matched with ploidy level. This was verified through subsetting the 28 dpi dataset and clustering the data using marker genes where the resulting clusters also could not be matched with ploidy level. Finally the marker genes were found to perform the same as randomly selected genes when using the percent variance explained by the genes as a benchmark
That’s Hot! Heat Loss at the Reed Research Reactor
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/8ea2a3f3-88ab-4822-89ad-be90f7006935/thumb/128.jpgThe Reed Research Reactor’s power calibration procedure ensures the nuclear instrumentation of the facility reads as precisely as possible, with a maximum margin of error of 7.5 kW. This thesis explores ways heat may be going unaccounted for in the calorimetric method of power calibration used by Reed. A 100 kW operation was conducted for 6 hours while temperatures at 8 locations were tracked. Using this data, heat losses through the primary water system, convection to air, and conduction through pool walls were estimated. The impact of a more complete heat capacity calculation including not only water but graphite, was also explored. We find that there is no significant heat loss through the primary water system, and the heat capacity calculations currently used are adequate, with only a 0.5% change in heat capacity after attempting to improve the calculation. Heat loss through the surface of the pool is negligible, with a maximum of 51 ± 26 Watts lost throughout the operation. Heat loss through the pool’s sides was found to be significant. There was an average of 1.18 ± 0.47 kW lost to the sides throughout the operation, representing an error of over 15% from the allotted 7.5 kW, and 1 − 2% of the heating power. Heat loss through water evaporation could not be adequately determined and is an important topic for future study. These results confirm that the existing calibration procedure is adequate, and also suggest the most important steps to take for improved accuracy
The Causal Stories of Oregon's Homeless Policy in the 2020's
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/7fd8f14b-1ee4-41fa-b02e-6698fc8282a2/thumb/128.jpgDuring the late 2010s and early 2020s, Oregon has become symbolic on a national scale for the severity and visibility of its homelessness crisis. This thesis aims at shining a light onto this complex policy problem and the stories that fuel its surrounding debate. It focuses on two major pieces of policy: HB 3115, passed in 2021 by the Oregon State Legislature, and Ordinance 191311, Portland’s implementation of the former. HB 3115 requires that local laws regulating necessary activities such as sitting, sleeping, and keeping warm and dry on public property be objectively reasonable with regards to persons experiencing homelessness (Oregon State Legislature, 2021). I apply causal stories to public testimonies offered on HB 3115 and Ordinance 191311 through qualitative coding methods, finding that causal perceptions of homelessness and of government responses to it are significant influences on what is determined to be 'objectively reasonable’ in this context. This analysis provides a well-rounded view of how the stories we tell about homelessness operate and influence the responses of state and local governments, showing how divisive policy issues can be so tangled as to negate a shared standard of objectivity or reason
Kleos through the Oikos: Women as Household Managers in the Odyssey
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/1089aa3b-00b4-46b3-b014-c9e284b64126/thumb/128.jpgCalypso, Helen, and Penelope, as they appear in the Odyssey, may all be managing oikoi, but they do so in very different ways and to varying degrees of success. The oikos, defined in my thesis as both the residents of a household and all of their socio-economic connections, contributes greatly to the generation and maintenance of kleos, heroic renown, throughout the epic. However, just as an oikos can aid in the preservation of kleos, the household, or, more accurately, the woman responsible for managing it, is also capable of destroying kleos, creating bad reputations, and giving individuals renown for all the wrong reasons. The manager of the oikos, therefore, has a tremendous amount of control over the kleos of her entire household, indicating that the actions taken by a wife or wife figure have major import for those around her. Calypso, for example, is deeply taken with Odysseus, but lacks many of the social connections to truly form a full oikos. Helen is all too aware of the social damages that can result from a bad reputation and will do anything to prevent further damage to her kleos, even at a risk of harming her oikos. Penelope, the proclaimed good wife of the text, struggles to maintain her oikos, and therefore the kleos of her husband and son, as her suitors attempt to take her from her household. In all, this thesis aims to consider how the concepts of the oikos and kleos are intertwined, as well as how the role of various women in their oikoi impacts the generation of reputation and kleos throughout the epic
Disorders at Odds: Examining the Comorbidity of OCD and ADHD Using an Animal Model
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/245dd1ea-8cad-4075-9482-c49e8eafb524/thumb/128.jpgObsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) co-occur at a rate of 11.5%--greater than either disorder's prevalence in the general population. However, some researchers contend that these rates reflect misdiagnosis more than genuine comorbidity. These concerns are part of an ongoing debate on the neurological and behavioral compatibility of the seemingly incompatible yet parallel symptoms of compulsivity and impulsivity. The present study aims to introduce a new angle to this debate by combining two separately valid rodent models as a definitive example of "true" comorbidity: the ADHD-like Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat (SHR) and the Quinpirole Sensitization Model of OCD. SHRs (n = 8) and control Wistar Kyoto rats (n = 8) received 10 total subcutaneous injections of the D2/D3 receptor agonist quinpirole over the course of six weeks to induce compulsive-checking-like behavior and locomotor sensitization. Behavior on an open field apparatus was recorded and analyzed offline via a combination of hand-scoring and analysis with video tracking software. SHR and WKY rats showed comparable progression of sensitization despite the lower overall scores of the SHR animals. Furthermore, the locomotor activity patterns of both animals aligned with previous studies using the Quinpirole Sensitization Model, suggesting that the ADHD-like phenotype of the SHR animals did not overrule the induction of OCD-like compulsive checking behavior
Split Ergativity and Case Assignment in Yucatecan Mayan Languages
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/01ce4273-6e14-4fff-8558-f4ae5b601f55/thumb/128.jpgThis study investigates a typological distinction between the Yucatecan branch of the Mayan languages, and the rest of the family. The rest of the Mayan family shows both aspect based and matrix dependent split ergativity, while the Yucatecan branch shows only an aspect based split. Previous syntactic proposals which seek to explain aspect based split ergativity (and other phenomena) in Mayan languages are predicated on the presence of matrix dependent split ergativity. The lack of this split in Yucatecan presents a problem for these proposals. In order to reconcile this typological fact of Yucatecan with this body of Mayan syntax research, I propose a novel method of argument licensing in which a complement to a noun is assigned case inside of a DP, from D. This allows examples which do not follow the expected split ergative pattern to be reanalyzed as nominalizations. I connect this proposal to broader syntactic discussion of symmetry between DP and InflP, and between nouns and verbs
Financial Inclusion in Brazil: The Role of Individual Characteristics and Socioeconomic Backgrounds
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/6600a661-e8e6-41c3-b750-484c18ebb3ec/thumb/128.jpgThis thesis studies the issue of financial inclusion in Brazil by quantifying the association between individual characteristics and socioeconomic backgrounds and (1) indicators of financial inclusion, (2) cited reasons for remaining unbanked, and (3) formal account ownership over time. It estimates three series of Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regressions using The World Bank’s microdata on financial inclusion in Brazil, a nationally representative data. Three main findings are presented. First, while certain individual characteristics and socioeconomic backgrounds, such as being male, high-income, and high levels of education, have historically influenced access to financial services in Brazil, their impact appears to be diminishing over time. Second, factors positively associated with formal institution usage, such as high income and tertiary education, are inversely associated with mobile money account ownership in Brazil. Third, high account-operating fees and geographic proximity are increasingly cited as reasons for remaining unbanked in Brazil, particularly among low-income communities. Despite lingering disparities, I've observed that access to financial services at formal institutions has become more democratized, with the gap between different demographic groups narrowing
The Effect of Partial Probabilistic Reinforcement on Transitive Inference and the Symbolic Distance Effect
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/19057c9d-807a-4a24-b8ee-d3f0608d29d2/thumb/128.jpgTransitive inference (TI) is the ability to take two overlapping but separate pieces of information (e.g. A>B and B>C) and come to a new conclusion without having to experience it firsthand (e.g. A>C). This experiment investigated how partial probabilistic reinforcement affects TI as well as the Serial Position Effect and Symbolic Distance Effect. Across three different conditions of varying levels of unreliability, we tested the impact of the unreliable feedback as centered on the middlemost pair (CD) of a 6-item list (ABCDEF). Unreliable feedback for even just the single pair interrupted the TI across all critical pairs and, unexpectedly, increased the SDE
"What say the citizens?": Media, People, and Publics in Shakespeare's Richard III
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/98245cc6-96e7-42e0-abb4-90b72e9d451b/thumb/128.jpg"Since the end of the Second World War, Shakespeare’s Richard III (1593) has often been seen as a play about not just tyranny, but dictatorship: a reading in which Richard emerges as a fascist dictator manipulating the media for his own villainous ends. This thesis argues that the reason for this common staging is that media and its manipulation is a major theme of the play – and would have been even during the early modern period. By building on work analyzing the early modern media sphere and analyzing primary and secondary sources, I seek first to explain and describe the complex and diffuse media ecosystem of early modern London and use this understanding to describe how Richard (mis)uses it in the play proper. Having done this, I discuss how Richard III is a media commodity itself, reading it both as a text which understands its character through pre-existing media, but also is itself made up of (“remediates”) different early modern media forms. Ultimately, I will argue that Shakespeare’s understanding of the media is such that his play can also be seen to shape and be shaped by the broader societal meme it depicts, the meme of the evil “crookback” Richard III – the meme that inspires modern Nazified Richards. By communicating this meme through a uniquely intermedial format, blurring the line between history, reality, and polemic, Shakespeare’s play becomes, in performance, a vehicle for the memetic Richard. It is ultimately through performance that Shakespeare’s Richard III replaced and continues to replace the real Richard III. It is performing Shakespeare’s tragedy of history, then, that makes it history.
Juvenile Neurogenesis: Probing Xenopus laevis Vocal Hindbrain Circuit for Evidence of Neurogenesis
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/6d063bb3-de02-4c49-8191-caa84699ae7b/thumb/128.jpgThe processes behind developmental neurogenesis have been well documented, however the role neurogenesis has in juvenile and adult animals has yet to be fully answered. During the post metamorphic stages of development in Xenopus laevis there are significant behavioral and morphological changes in vocalization circuits. It is unknown if the hormones responsible for the changes only alter the connections of the circuit or if new neurons are proliferating to facilitate the behavioral changes. To research this question, BrdU was injected into frogs during their PM2 stage, then subsequently sacrificed and obtaining signs of neurogenesis and myogenesis was performed through an immunohistochemical assay by sections on the brains and larynges of injected frogs. The results obtained revealed inconclusive evidence for the presence of neurogenesis of treated frogs due to mechanical error during the immunohistochemistry process. Because of the role of hormones on the developmental processes for sexual differentiation, revisions to the labeling of brain and muscle proliferation are a promising system to study the hormonal regulation of brain and muscle development in juvenile animals