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The role of transcription factor, Ofi1 in the regulation of white-opaque switching and filamentation in Candida albicans
Get PDFCandida albicans is a major fungal pathogen capable of undergoing phenotypic transitions in response to environmental cues. These morphological changes are regulated by transcription factors that coordinate key developmental pathways. In this study, we investigate the role of Opaque and Filamentation Inducer 1 (Ofi1) in modulating white-opaque switching and filamentous growth. Overexpression of OFI1 under the ACT1 promoter induced white-to-opaque switching up to 28% in normally non-switching MTL a/α cells, while in MTL homozygous strains, it significantly enhanced white-to-opaque switching, reaching 100%. Our study demonstrates that Ofi1 is a dosage-dependent transcription factor regulating the white-to-opaque and yeast-tofilament transition in C. albicans. Conversely, the deletion of ofi1 greatly reduced the switching frequency, highlighting its essential role in both initiating and maintaining the opaque state. We propose that Ofi1 interacts with the transcription factors Wor2, Wor4, and Czf1, serving as a central regulator of white-opaque switching. Our results suggest that while Ofi1 and Wor2 independently regulate white-to-opaque switching, Wor2 does not contribute to filamentation. Also, the functional arrangement of Czf1 and Ofi1 is completely different in white-to-opaque switching and yeast-to-hyphae transition processes. The phenotype caused by the absence of czf1 is suppressed by overexpression of OFI1 in white-to-opaque switching but completely blocks the function of excess Ofi1 in filamentation. Moreover, deleting wor4 completely blocks white-toopaque switching, but OFI1 overexpression can partially bypass this defect. In filamentation, the ability of Ofi1 to compensate for wor4 deletion depends on the medium, fully restoring filamentation in BSA-supplemented YPD but not in GlcNAc-induced conditions, suggesting Wor4 and Ofi1 regulate filamentation through distinct pathways. Furthermore, our findings highlight a potential role for WOR4 in the Lee’s GlcNAc solid media to induction of hyphal growth
Language Use in Academic Contexts: A Multidimensional Analysis of Business and Engineering Student Writing
Get PDFThis dissertation investigated linguistic variation in student writing across Business and Engineering disciplines through Multidimensional Analysis (MDA). Analyzing a corpus of business case studies and engineering proposals, the study identified five dimensions of variation: Informational Density and Elaborated Discourse, Interactive and Situated Discourse, Narrative Focus, Interpersonal and Dialogic Discourse, and Descriptive and Stative Discourse. These dimensions revealed distinct communicative purposes and rhetorical strategies reflecting disciplinary conventions. Business case studies paid attention to clarity and situational relevance by employing interactive language to engage stakeholders and present actionable solutions. In contrast, Engineering proposals emphasized technical precision and informational density, relying on nominalizations, dense noun phrases, and explicit references to describe systems and processes. Both disciplines also demonstrated shared linguistic features that underline the importance of clarity and coherence. The findings have significant implications for writing pedagogy. Discipline-specific instruction should address the unique linguistic demands of each field while fostering foundational skills transferable across contexts. For Business education, this involves enhancing students’ ability to construct persuasive and audience-aware arguments. Engineering writing instruction should give focus to the technical language and precision. The study further raises questions for future research, including the integration of evolving technologies and the exploration of linguistic variation in interdisciplinary genres. By providing a comprehensive framework for analyzing linguistic variation, this research bridges the gap between academic instruction and professional communication, equipping students to meet the demands of their respective fields
Deconstructing Artistic Narratives of Asexuality: A Critical Exploration of Community Dynamics and Identity Formation in Contemporary Manga
Get PDFThis thesis critically examines how artistic narratives in contemporary manga represent asexuality, exploring their role in shaping community dynamics and influencing identity formation. Through an in-depth analysis of two selected works - Our Dreams at Dusk (March 6, 2015 – May 16, 2018) by Yuhki Kamatani and I Want to Be a Wall (May 17, 2022 – June 18, 2024) by Honami Shirono - this study investigates the ways in which these narratives contribute to the understanding and visibility of asexual identities. Through these texts, this research investigates the multifaceted representations of asexual identities within - and against their interactions - with allonormative constructs. This thesis employs a multidisciplinary approach, integrating asexual theory into visual analysis, with the aim of shedding light on the complexities of asexual identities as depicted through artistic, linguistic, and narrative expressions. The first section offers detailed case studies of the selected manga, beginning with Kamatani’s Our Dreams at Dusk. Here, linguistic performativity, spatial metaphors, and visual distance are analyzed as mechanisms for addressing themes of self-discovery and community. In contrast, Shirono’s I Want to Be a Wall explores asexuality within relational contexts, highlighting the impact of allonormativity, visual and emotional alienation, and essentialist societal pressures; while also presenting queerplatonic relationships as transformative kinship models, offering alternative ways to conceptualize intimacy and connection. In the second section, the focus shifts to audience reception. This part examines reader reviews and interpretations sourced from independent blogs and other platforms, revealing how audiences engage with and respond to asexual representations in these works. By analyzing both positive and critical feedback, the study considers whether these narratives empower or alienate readers, particularly those with limited prior exposure to asexuality. Such responses provide insight into how artistic portrayals contribute to public discourse on intimacy and sexuality, challenging conventional norms and expanding perspectives. Ultimately, this thesis bridges the gap between creative representation and cultural understanding. It argues that manga has the potential to function as a form of narrative activism, reshaping perceptions of identity and fostering inclusive conversations. By offering nuanced and authentic portrayals of asexuality, these works not only combat misconceptions but also amplify marginalized voices, positioning manga as a vital medium in the global discourse on identity, intimacy, community, and asexuality
Identifying and Analyzing False Information Discourses: A Text Mining Study of COVID-19 Related Tweets in 2020
Get PDFFalse information is an ongoing challenge to global health crises that influences public perception and weakens emergency response efforts. This study investigates how false information is structured and framed during pandemics by using COVID-19 pandemic as a case study. Focusing on COVID-19 related Twitter posts, our study filters tweets that possibly contain false information and groups them into conversations that are analyzed through two of the main topic modeling techniques: Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) and Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF). The results of NMF, which was found to discover more coherent and interpretable topics, were considered for theme identification and framing analysis. We were able to identify eight dominant themes that shaped the entire COVID-19 narratives. These narratives were highly politicized, but also included themes like severity, virus origin, potential treatments, health measures and global responses. The framing analysis showed that linguistic characteristics across false information often included emotionally charged words and evolved through different political and social contexts. Frames like blaming, resistance and conspiracy were recurring across the identified themes, indicating mixed feelings that amplified the spread of false information and challenged public health efforts in combating the pandemic. By combining topic modeling with manual interpretation, this research presents a novel approach to understanding the context of false information and its dynamics during times of health crises. Our findings contribute to the studies of false information and crisis communication research by showing how narratives are framed and how they evolve over time.
Keywords: False information, topic modeling, framing, COVID-1
Impact of Financial Planners, Software, and Specialists on Clients’ Financial Outcomes
Get PDFPersonal financial planning (PFP) is a multidisciplinary activity that involves several dimensions and actors including financial institutions, financial advisors, certified financial planners, technology, specialists (e.g., tax, legal) as well as clients. Within two essays, this thesis addresses the following three research questions: 1) What is the impact of the financial advisor on clients’ financial outcomes? 2) How do certified financial planners perceive themselves in the PFP environment? 3) How does the mobilization of two resources, i.e., financial planning software and specialists, by a certified financial planner affects clients’ financial outcomes?
While the evidence suggests that financial advisors have an impact on their clients’ financial outcomes, there is disagreement as to the scope and nature of this impact. Relying on three complementary theoretical lenses (agency theory, trust theory and concept of knowledge) and the six steps of the financial advisory process, the first essay addresses the first research question by proposing a multi-theory model that reconciles findings from previous studies and bridges the gap between research and practice. The model illustrates how the financial advisor impacts each step of the financial advisory process. Furthermore, by being practice-grounded, our model highlights the opacity and complexity of the services offered by the financial advisor and helps to determine whether the advisor’s impact will be positive or negative for their clients.
Addressing the other two research questions, the second essay focuses on certified financial planners and on the resources they can mobilize to serve their clients. Toward that end, we interview 25 certified financial planners. Regarding their self-perception, consistent with existing literature, planners see themselves primarily as generalists. However, we add an important nuance by proposing three different profiles: the true generalist, the generalist focusing on one of the seven PFP areas of expertise, and the generalist focusing on one type of client. These three profiles are represented on a generalist-specialist continuum to illustrate their positioning in relation to the other profiles. As for the PFP software, we show that it features all the characteristics of a decision support system (DSS). Regarding specialists, we again draw on agency theory, trust theory and the concept of knowledge to illustrate, through the six steps of the PFP process, that the involvement of specialists, in-house or external to the financial institution for which the planner works, will have a positive or negative impact on clients’ financial outcomes. Finally, we develop a model explaining how financial planners, the help they receive from resources (PFP software and specialists), and the limited access to these resources imposed by financial institutions, enable or prevent planners from meeting their clients’ needs
Cyber-Physical Resilience Assessment of the Smart Grid
No full textCritical National Infrastructure (CNI) provides essential services to society; therefore, any dis-
ruption can have catastrophic consequences for the public and pose significant threats to national
security. Among the various elements of CNI, the power grid serves as the backbone of the en-
ergy infrastructure and holds critical importance, as the functionality of other CNIs heavily depends
on its reliable and secure operation. In this regard, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have been widely integrated into power grids to enable more rigorous monitoring and expedite essential responses to disturbances. This incorporation results in improved service quality, increased reliability, and enhanced resilience. Extensive utilization of ICTs, however, can increase
the risk of cyberattacks against the smart grid. Such attacks can adversely affect the operation of the power delivery system and noticeably degrade its resilience, as evidenced by real-life cyberattacks. To strengthen the resilience of the smart grid against cyberattacks, it is essential to first evaluate its resilience posture. Accordingly, this research aims to develop a quantitative framework for assessing the resilience of the smart grid as a cyber-physical system. The most common resilience paradigm defines resilience through five key phases: preparation, survival, sustainment, recovery, and adaptation. Through this thesis, we provide several innovative solutions across four distinct contributions for assessing the resilience of the smart grid in various phases. In the first contribution, we assess resilience during the preparation phase and explore ways to enhance it. Specifically, we assess the resilience of an islanded microgrid and enhance it through the optimal allocation
of distributed energy resources and diversification of Intelligent Electronic Device (IED) vendors during the design stage. In the operational phase, prior to any cyberattacks, we implement power
system reconfiguration to strengthen preparedness. In the second contribution, we propose a metric for quantifying the resilience of the smart grid during the survival phase within the transmission
domain. This approach is applied to cyberattacks targeting IEC 61850-based substations, focusing on attacks detected in the Industrial Control System (ICS) environment. The proposed solution addresses untrusted data from compromised substations and provides confidence in the results. For the third contribution, we investigate the resilience of substations with a focus on attacks detected in the Regional Control Centre (RCC) environment. We derive three metrics to provide the system’s resilience level, the probability of attack success, and the remaining time before the attack’s final execution. Finally, as the fourth contribution, we introduce a quantitative approach for assessing and enhancing the resilience of the smart grid during the recovery phase within the transmission domain
Platform Power and Libraries
Get PDFBuilding on research in critical library systems studies, Platform Power and Libraries traverses the divide between library, communication, and cultural policy research in the realm of platform studies. Organized through the model of what Nielsen and Ganter (2022) call “the five most important aspects of platform power” this book dissects the power dynamics inherently embedded to platforms that library practitioners and patrons must navigate. From information asymmetry to the power of making and breaking connections and beyond, this book brings light to the often overlooked and under explored power that platforms can hold in libraries
Deep Transformational Calibration of Soft Embedded Sensors for Soft Surgical Robots
Get PDFIn this thesis, a novel soft sensor calibration method is proposed for minimally invasive surgery (MIS), based on a gelatin-graphite sensor with high compliance and adaptability developed in previous studies. This approach uses convolutional deep learning that accounts for a sensor’s non-linear behavior and reduces noise amplification. This technique offers a smaller minimum detectable force than other approaches and is particularly useful in sensitive surgical scenarios. The sensor’s performance is characterized by its fine resolution (≤1mN) and accurate force estimation, especially for forces below 400 mN of amplitude. The best calibration (Morse) scheme provides high performance, with a Mean Absolute Error of ≤7.9 mN. This work was validated through comparison among other representative studies and offered a path toward future directions for optimizing and implementing soft robotic sensors in minimally invasive surgeries. The application of this sensor can revolutionize surgical procedures and capitalize on the benefits of soft robotics, potentially enhancing precision and reducing trauma in surgeries. Building on the established capabilities of this calibration method, the thesis further explores its integration with the surgical applications. This integration aims to provide surgeons with a tactile sense that mimics natural touch, thereby improving the control and safety of surgeries. Future studies will aim to enhance the sensor’s performance in minimally invasive surgeries by extending the force sensing range through optimization of material properties and structural design, implementing precise micro-fabrication techniques, developing advanced real-time calibration methods, and integrating the sensor into surgical robotics to evaluate its performance in controlled, simulated MIS scenarios where sensor’s accuracy is validated using physical phantoms to mimic endoluminal procedures
Influence of hydrogen on the electrical resistivity of 4340 and 300M high-strength steels
Get PDFHydrogen embrittlement of steel components is a significant technological challenge, especially in the aerospace industry. Hydrogen is introduced into the steel during production and post-treatment. Trace quantities of hydrogen, as small as one-hundredth of parts per million, have the potential to induce embrittlement. Detection of hydrogen is not feasible by many conventional methods used to detect other elements as a result of its low atomic weight. Implementing a non-destructive method to measure hydrogen levels would greatly enhance the precision of quality control procedures. This study attempts to develop an approach for assessing hydrogen content in 4340 and 300M steel using electrical resistivity measurements. Specimens were charged with hydrogen using the electrochemical method and their hydrogen content was measured using thermal desorption spectroscopy. The change in resistivity was measured before and after hydrogen charging using the four-probe method. The findings reveal that the presence of hydrogen can be detected by the rise in electrical resistivity. To distinguish the impact of hydrogen on electrical resistivity from its effect on steel structure, the recovery of resistivity was measured after hydrogen desorption. The recovery of resistivity showed that hydrogen has an effect on electrical resistivity that is independent of microstructural damage seen in the absence of mechanical loading. This study illustrates that electrical resistivity measurement can potentially serve as the foundation for a novel, rapid, and non-destructive analytical technique for determining hydrogen content in high-strength steel components
Producing and Valorizing Industrial Animal Waste: Climate Change Related Disasters and Waste-to-Energy Projects
No full textAs consensus sharpens regarding the socioecological and climate harms perpetuated by industrial capitalist animal agriculture, corporate-driven,
government-subsidized efforts intensify. In this dissertation, I examine the role of industrial animal wastes in these efforts, analyzing how waste management practices function as accumulation strategies. I draw from interviews and fieldwork conducted in North Carolina and British Columbia and insights from political ecology, agrarian studies, waste studies, and animal geographies. This manuscript-based dissertation centers industrial animal waste management practices in the context of the agricultural industry framed as both a victim of and contributor to the climate crisis. I examine how waste-to-energy projects convert biowaste into contested renewable energy through anaerobic digesters. In North
Carolina, unwavering government support enables the pig industry to capitalize on the energy transition. By tracing the political developments that fostered the alliance between “Big Agriculture” and “Big Energy,” this research argues that biogas projects perpetuate patterns of uneven racialized development. These patterns are evident in the legacies of the sprayfield lagoon system and the Smithfield Agreement, where efforts to phase-out these waste systems were undermined in favour of extracting value. Central to this process is the systemic devaluation of the bodies, environments, and futures of racialized, Indigenous, and low-income
communities. In addition, I explore the production and management of industrial animal waste during climate change-related disasters. I argue that waste management logic, informed by confinement practices, shapes disaster governance. Institutional policies disincentivize mitigation, rewarding inaction through disaster relief mechanisms. Specifically, I engage with the emergence of post-disaster waste economies and processes, where value is derived from the decomposing bodies of farmed animals through the recovery of energy and nutrients. Together,
these findings highlight the persistence of agricultural exceptionalism, which entrenches industrial practices and delays the adoption of socially just, sustainable practices, particularly by situating it as an emerging key player in the energy transition. This dissertation demonstrates how industrial animal agriculture's waste management strategies intersect with environmental injustice, energy transitions, and climate-induced disasters, underscoring the need for interdisciplinary research and cross-movement organizing to resist the entrenchment and expansion of industrial animal agriculture through waste frontiers