13594 research outputs found
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O(n) First-Order Queries on Graph Classes with Bounded Expansion
No full textWe collect the proofs and lemmas which enable linear time algorithms for first-order sentences on graph classes with bounded expansion. Bounded expansion is a property limiting the edge to vertex ratio of a graph and its minors by a function on the permitted amount of edge contraction. The linear runtime is achieved by evaluating quantifier-free first-order sentences on each node after a linear time preprocessing phase. We also demonstrate original linear time solutions developed for interesting non-trivial problems over certain bounded expansion graph classes. We conclude after discussing the implications and potential future applications of this line of research
Factors Affecting Stencil Code Performance
No full textIn the field of scientific computation, loop tiling is an indispensable technique for improving cache performance, and thereby the overall performance of the code. Research so far has predominantly been focusing on optimizing the code of a particular tiling choice, under a specific problem setting. In this thesis, I wish to both statistically explore the most important factors in different tiling scenarios, as well as the role the problem parameters may play when making tiling decisions
Neurobiology of Sexual Behavior
No full textThis seminar will explore the neurobiology of sexual behavior and will focus on systems-level understanding of the neural regulation of both pre-copulatory and copulatory behavior. Although this course will draw heavily from the large literature on rodent sexual behavior, data from other models, ranging from invertebrates to humans, will also be evaluated. Topics covered will include: central and peripheral nervous system control of sexual behavior, hormonal and neurochemical modulation of sex behavior, sensory modulation of sex behavior, sexual differentiation of the brain, puberty and the development of sexual behaviors, the neural regulation of sexual attraction/motivation, and brain plasticity associated with sexual experiences. Students are also able (and encouraged) to choose papers to present that are related to their particular areas of interest within the broader topic
The Quran
No full textThis course seeks to introduce students to the Qur’ān. Emphasis will be placed on the rhetoric and literary dimensions of the Qur’ān, such as form, content, and structure, as understood by Muslims, past and present, particularly through the doctrine of divine inimitability. We will contextualize \ud
our readings from the Qur’ān by exploring the various branches of Qur’ānic studies (‘ulūm al-Qur’ān) as they developed over time. Topics include: the collection and transmission of the Qur’ān; the relationship to Jewish and Christian traditions; the nature of divine speech; the d e b a t e s c o n c e r n i n g t h e translation of the Qur’ān; ritual interse ctions with scripture; material culture; the development of exegetical traditions; gender and the Qur’ān; and contemporary approaches by both Muslims and non-Muslims to the study of the Qur’ān. In addition to primary and secondary literature, this course will also explore various artistic means of venerating the Qur’ān through such forms as recitation and calligraphy
Punishment and Social Order
No full textWith over two million Americans behind bars, and over seven million under some form of state supervision, the United States leads the world in incarceration. From an interdisciplinary perspective, this course will examine the causes, consequences, and lived experiences that are derivatives of our society’s punitive arrangement. Drawing from social science studies, the course interrogates the various organizations and actors within criminal justice such as jails, prisons, incarcerated people, judges, family members of inmates, formerly incarcerated people, correctional officers, and legislators. We will investigate important penal issues including: juvenile criminal justice, \ud
conditions within prisons, solitary confinement, history of U.S. punishment, the prison boom since the late 1970s, white supremacy and the racial disparity of the inmate population, the privatization of prisons, alternative sentencing, prisoner health issues, the punishment of immigrants, and women in prisons. Additionally, students will attend a field trip to a correctional facility to see a first-hand example of the “corrections” system
Introduction to the New Testament
No full textThis course offers an introduction to the scholarly study of the New Testament and early Christian literature. Our primary focus throughout the course will be literary and historical analysis of the 27 writings of the New Testament and selected noncanonical sources, such as The Gospel of Thomas and The Gospel of Mary Magdalene. Topics include: the Jewish origins of the "Jesus movement"; the development of oral and written traditions about Jesus; various images of Jesus (Christologies); the relation of texts to their communities; and the formation of the "New Testament" canon
La revolución en Prisión verde: La representación de la familia como metáfora del cambio social
No full textEsta tesis analiza la novela escrita por el hondureño Ramón Amaya Amador, Prisión verde. Utilizando la teorías propuestas por Steven J. Stern acerca de la función de la memoria histórica y las ideas de Hayden White acerca de las relaciones entre la narrativa de ficción y narrativa histórica, he explorado la forma en que Prisión verde incorpora la función documental como trabajo de memoria y su uso de la ficción como forma de representar la realidad política y social de la época. Por medio del estudio del género literario y de la importancia de la mujer y la familia en esta novela, propongo que Amaya Amador hace en ella un llamado a una revolución social y cultural, como alternativa a la revolución armada
Why does a mutation in bli-5 cause blisters specifically localized to the head of C. elegans?
No full textThe genome of C. elegans contains six different blisters genes, which, when mutated, cause the formation of blisters throughout the body of the nematode. However, only one of these blister genes, bli-5, causes the formation of blisters specifically localized to the head of the worm. The focus of this research is to determine why exactly the fluid filled sacs that result from the bli-5 mutation only form on the head of C. elegans. I hypothesized that the blisters that result from a bli-5 mutation are localized to the head of the worm because the hyp4/hyp5 junction resides in this region. The barrier between these two hypodermal cells marks the end of the body wall muscle where the cuticle is unsupported and therefore the weakest. I explored this hypothesis by comparing mutant bli-5 worms both with and without blisters to N2 worms via Differential Interference Contrast imaging. I did not observe any structural differences between the mutant and wild-type C. elegans, thereby disproving my hypothesis that blister localization as a result of the bli-5 mutation can be explained by the structure of the worm cuticle in relation to the body wall muscle. Further research on this topic could provide insight on many human skin diseases that cause blister formation as well as pesticide reduction strategies
Examining Intracellular Localization of Wolbachia across Species of Drosophila
No full textIn recent years, the importance of bacteria that live within our bodies, called our “microbiome”, has come to light. While it has been suggested that these bacteria may be important to our health, we are only just beginning to understand how bacteria interact with higher organisms. I have been studying one such bacterium, Wolbachia, and how it interacts with its hosts, fruit flies. These bacteria have previously been shown to have very different localizations in fly embryos as the Wolbachia become incorporated into the forming germ line cells, based on the species of fly and bacteria involved, but little has been done to see if these bacteria localize to different parts of individual cells within different fly species. I have stained fly embryos for Wolbachia, DNA, and α-tubulin, a component of the cell that is important for cell division and movement of supplies through the cell, to determine if this bacterium localizes near and interacts with α-tubulin, as has been reported previously for one case. If we can determine with what parts of the cell Wolbachia are interacting with in different species of fruit flies and if some of these interactions are conserved, we can better understand how this bacterium is interacting with its hosts, and how it moves within the fly embryo
Embodying Tibet: Negotiating Tibetan-American Youth Identities at the Tibetan Children's Village Summer School Program
No full textMy research illuminates the ways that the Tibetan Children’s Village Summer School\ud
program, despite its positive intentions, does in fact reinforce a fixed Tibetan identity by \ud
intertwining authenticity with a specific set of embodied experiences that do not match \ud
that of Tibetan youth living in the United States. Drawing on MacPherson’s (2011) \ud
“Fallacies About Language Sustainability” and recommendations for cultural \ud
preservation education, I evaluate the summer program’s curriculum as insufficient for \ud
promoting new articulations of Tibetan identity that reflects participants’ lived \ud
experiences in the United States, and argue that the current system in fact is exacerbating the difficulties that these youth experience in formulating their identities while while also keeping them from developing relationships across diasporic divides, a “lost opportunity to forge connections between exile and homeland” (Yeh 2007, p. 666)