Meiosis is a specialized form of cell division that gives rise to haploid reproductive cells by replicating the genetic material once and undergoing two rounds of partitioning. While most forms of cell division require centrosomes to assemble a bipolar microtubule-based spindle that segregates chromosomes, female gametes (oocytes) are unique in...
The effective capture and detoxification of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) is a pressing need in the modern world. Materials are needed for both the destruction of weapon stockpiles and personal protection via fabric coatings or respirators. Attractive candidates for these applications include metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) – highly crystalline materials composed...
Throughout a synthetic organic chemist’s career, reaction planning, execution, and analysis will be repeated countless times. The objective of my thesis research was to expedite this workflow to more efficiently access to novel, complex, and biologically useful molecules and synthetic methods. Since the mid 20th century there have been several...
Thermoelectric devices utilize semiconducting n-type and p-type thermoelectric materials to convert heat into electricity. Despite their promise for deep space power generation or waste heat recovery, most high-performing thermoelectric materials reported in literature are absent in practical applications - partially due to inconsistent synthesis and poor mechanical performance. This work...
Although research has shown LGBTQ+ youth are overrepresented in counts of homeless youth, scholars have yet to investigate whether this trend exists among adults experiencing homelessness. This dissertation uses an organizational analysis of four Chicago homeless centers that cater to young adults to argue that most LGBTQ+ youth are not...
When first-year students begin college they are thrown into a new environment where they are expected to simultaneously perform academically, form new relationships, and become independent. Many students struggle with this transition; experiences of stress, anxiety, and depression are common. For the majority of residential college students this is their...
Throughout the second half of the twentieth century, the United States expanded the scale, funding, and technological sophistication of its defense resources, enabling its current standing as the dominant global military superpower. This dissertation examines the role that the popular narrative genre of science fiction played in shaping American cultural...
Nucleic acid therapeutics can be drug molecules with high programmability, minimal off-target effects, and the capability to address “undruggable” targets for diseases. In addition, each time a new drug is needed, one needs to only change the sequence as opposed to finding an entirely new structure. One nucleic acid type...
As much as half of the gas mass in our Galaxy's dark matter halo may reside not in the galaxy itself, but in the surrounding volume, the circumgalactic medium (CGM). The vast gas content of the CGM, loosely defined as the volume immediately outside the galaxy but inside the dark...
South Africa’s rates of mental, neurological, and substance use disorders are among the highest in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2016, the estimated 12-month prevalence for any psychiatric disorder was 16.2%, or approximately 9.1 million individuals. Despite these elevated rates of psychiatric morbidity, access to mental health treatment is poor: only 27%...
This dissertation project uses both quantitative and qualitative analytical approaches to examine the dynamics of responsible investing in financial markets. The first chapter investigates how the institutionalization of responsible investing as a business strategy affects category claims made by mutual funds. The study finds that as the divestment movement in...
This dissertation focuses on quantifying protein folding stability determinants and presenting initial experiments that can guide the development of a novel assay that identifies cell-penetrating miniproteins. First, despite over a century of scholarship on protein folding stability, applying this knowledge to design proteins computationally remains limited. Usually, protein designers generate...
While microbial competition during infection has most often been examined at the genus or species level [1, 2], the dissertation work described herein asked whether interstrain competition plays an important role in determining which bacterial lineages emerge to cause disease. The goal of this dissertation was to examine the strain...
When a collection of individual units behave synchronously, it is often useful to describe the actions of the group. Broadly speaking in Physics, individuals are described as particles and collective actions are described using waves. However, the dynamic symphony of life ordains that orchestral sections play in harmony for a...
Despite its demonstrated effectiveness, exposure therapy – repeatedly approaching a fear/anxiety trigger – is not widely used in the treatment of anxiety disorders. This may be due to its image as an aversive (and even harmful) approach to treatment and its reduced rates of compliance among patients. However, if exposure...
Molecular self-assembly is a process in which molecules spontaneously form ordered aggregates, the process of which is important in the natural world, considering those ordered systems and complex architectures contained in a living cell. The goal of chemists is to design simple molecules or chemical systems that can undergo molecular...
A significant portion of material science research is concerned with understanding theway that defects affect the properties materials. In the field of thermoelectrics introducingor removing point (0D), dislocation (1D), grain boundary (2D), or precipitate (3D) defectsare popular methods for altering a materials thermoelectric efficiency. Herein I discussdifferent studies conducted during...
Formed through self-assembly of polynuclear node clusters and multitopic organic linkers, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of three-dimensional crystalline materials. Due to their exceptional porosity, high surface areas, amenability to construction, chemical diversity, uniformly arrayed metal-containing nodes, and highly modular nature, MOFs are an ideal class of materials for...
Pragmatic language refers to the use of language in social contexts and encompasses a broad range of verbal and nonverbal skills, which are critical to effective communication (Berko-Gleason & Bernstein-Ratner, 2009; Mey, 1993). Difficulties in pragmatic communication are a hallmark characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Similar deficits are also...
This dissertation describes modifications to the surface of colloidal semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) to improve their use as photocatalysts for charge transfer reactions. The surface atoms and ligands of these nanoparticles can interfere with direct charge transfer to a reagent by inhibiting binding, forming trap states, or acting as competitive...
Understanding the photophysical processes of organic materials is important for utilizing them as functional photonic materials. Typical photophysical processes include intersystem crossing, charge transfer (CT), symmetry-breaking charge separation (SB-CS), singlet fission (SF), etc. There are serval factors that can lead to different photophysical processes, such as the molecular energy levels,...
During influenza A virus (IAV) infection, severe lung injury and death result from an exuberant host inflammatory response, or “cytokine storm”, orchestrated by pulmonary epithelial cells. The linear ubiquitin assembly complex (LUBAC), composed of SHARPIN, HOIL-1L and HOIP, is a critical regulator of NF-κB-dependent inflammation. To determine the impact of...
Biochips and high-throughput screening methods are powerful tools for studying biological processes. The combination of peptide arrays and SAMDI mass spectrometry incorporates these tools to study a broad range of biochemical transformations, including enzyme activities, to provide valuable information on substrate recognition and guide the development of diagnostic and therapeutic...
Plant life history traits influence the extent and degree of gene flow across a species range. The resulting genetic neighborhood size can influence population differentiation and the scale of local adaptation, with implications for species response to environmental change and sourcing of plant materials for ecological restoration. To assess the...
This dissertation explores the design and evaluation of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) technologies for people with aphasia. Humans use speech and language to communicate their thoughts and opinions as well as express their individuality, autonomy and agency (George Armitage Miller 1951; Ahearn 2001). Speech and language are important tools...
This thesis focuses on two research topics: investigating dynamically generated seismic structures at the topmost outer core and studying dynamically triggered seismic events in the Earth’s crust. Earth’s liquid-iron outer core convects vigorously and contains buoyant light elements that accumulate at the top of the outer core. Modeling of seismic...
The eukaryotic genome is packaged into chromatin. The nucleosome, the basic unit of chromatin, is composed of DNA coiled around a histone octamer. Histones are among the longest-lived protein species in mammalian cells, due to their thermodynamic stability and their associations with DNA and histone chaperones. Histone metabolism plays an...
Circulating tumor cell (CTC) clusters mediate metastasis at a higher efficiency compared to single cells and are associated with lower overall survival in breast cancer. However, the cellular heterogeneity and molecular mechanisms underlying CTC cluster formation and metastasis have yet to be fully elucidated. Combining single-cell RNA sequencing and flow...
Uterine leiomyomas (fibroids) are a major source of gynaecologic morbidity in reproductive age women and are characterised by the excessive deposition of a disorganised extracellular matrix, resulting in rigid benign tumours. Clinically, leiomyoma patients usually present with pelvic pain, urinary incontinence, as well as heavy cyclic and non-cyclic bleeding. Curative...
This dissertation argues that network television was a vehicle for the promotion and enactment of female intellectualism in the US during the period directly following World War II. Beginning in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, network television included among its offerings programs that were designed to appeal to...
Industrial processes heavily rely on catalysts to control product selectivity and lower energy barriers required for chemical transformations. Catalysts are most commonly solid heterogeneous catalysts that facilitate separations from reaction mixtures and enhance recyclability. Heterogeneous catalysts used in industrial processes exhibit efficacious results, but in certain instances drawing structure-function relationships...
The importance of concern for others in the lives of emerging adults has been underestimated by emerging adult theory. In this set of studies, I explore emerging adults’ concern for others in the higher education context. I use three different samples, a group of 10 Latino emerging adults working to...
The Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act (or “GRH”), which unprecedentedly provided for “sequestration”, a doomsday device to enforce fiscal discipline upon Congress and the President, was passed with bipartisan support on December 12, 1985. How did GRH take place, and why did it assume its final form? Casting GRH’s enactment in functionalist and...
A greater number of strategies in one’s coping repertoire (i.e., the number of diverse strategies used across stressors or use habitually across several situations) may be beneficial and a precursor to coping flexibly across situations (Bonnano & Burton, 2013). Indeed, previous studies have demonstrated a benefit of having larger number...
To combat the rise of antibiotic-resistant pathogens in clinical settings, it is necessary to understand which environments and conditions select for antibiotic resistance. Analysis of environments hypothesized to select for antibiotic resistance has been revolutionized by metagenomic sequencing. The metagenomic pool of DNA sequences can be probed in silico using...
The invention of GdIII-based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) probes substantially expanded the capability of MRI in visualizing details in tissue. Building upon the achievement of GdIII-based complexes, more ideal probes should feature contrast that is responsive to biomarkers, such as redox status and ion concentrations. The abnormality of these biomarkers...
In response to exponentially increasing demand for digital media, today's Internet landscape has evolved into a multitude of diverse and interdependent distribution systems designed to move content as efficiently as possible. While many of these systems have \emph{individually} been explored in depth by both academic and industrial communities, a cross-sectional...
In recent decades, mass loss from glaciers and ice caps (GICs) worldwide has accelerated, contributing significantly to the observed sea–level rise. Their continued melt is also expected to alter local hydrological systems, affecting freshwater availability and quality. Despite these problematic impacts, little is known about GIC variations prior to the...
To relate the mechanical responses of hard-soft copolymer systems with their microstructures, a coarse-grained molecular dynamics (CGMD) approach is employed. With the generic bead-spring polymer model mapped from atomistic simulations, this dissertation first studies the morphology of structures with various hard-soft compositions and interactions between hard beads. Following that, this...
The start of the 21st century brought the sweeping proliferation of portable electronics such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones. These technologies were largely enabled by advances in energy storage methods – lithium ion batteries in particular. Society's push for more advanced energy storage applications, such as electric vehicles, stresses the...
The prevalence of obesity within the US continues to rise, and many individuals elect to involve supportive others in their weight loss. Social support is generally helpful in weight management, but its mechanisms are less understood. One construct that deserves further attention is homophily, or the notion that “birds of...
Facts are not enough! The more recent wave of science communication practices have been advocating for the death of the deficit model of science communication. This model notes that by possessing sufficient information, individuals will change their attitude and behavior to align with scientific facts. However, recent research has shown...
This dissertation explores Holocene climate change along the west coast of Greenland and late Holocene climate variability in the subpolar North Atlantic region using paleolimnology. Lake sediment archives and the climate proxies contained within them provide a valuable window into past temperature change on Greenland, home to one of Earth’s...
There is more responsibility on heaven and earth than dreamt of in most philosophy. This dissertation explores three debates in three sub-fields of philosophy, highlighting in each responsibilities agents find themselves with whether they like it or not. In the chapter Trust Logic, Not Tortoises, I propose an answer to...
All animals purposefully navigate feature-rich environments: while exploring, in search of vital resources of food and water, finding mates, and patrolling and marking habitats. During these complex behaviors, continuous analogue input information from peripheral sensory organs guides discrete and digital sequential motor output; accordingly, each action is informed, modulated, or...
ABSTRACT Variation of stateness across the territory and population of sovereign states is a notorious, but understudied phenomenon with important implications for issues such as global security, environmental sustainability, and political stability. This dissertation engages in theory-building research to explain subnational variation of stateness in the contemporary world, focusing on...
Despite the overall decline in the prevalence of cigarette use in the United States, the prevalence of menthol cigarette use is rising. Menthol cigarette use has been associated with greater difficulty in quitting smoking and increased dependence, which can be due to the cognitive enhancing and rewarding effects of nicotine....
This dissertation consists of three chapters on topics in economic theory. In Chapter 1, "Subjective Complexity Under Uncertainty", I propose and axiomatize a model of choice under uncertainty in which the size of the partition with respect to which an act is measurable arises endogenously as a measure of subjective...
Due to the unprecedented sensitivity of the Advanced LIGO--Virgo network, in less than ~5 years the field of gravitational-wave astrophysics has evolved from speculating about the properties of compact binary mergers to having an observed population that facilitates astrophysical inference. These observations encode information about their progenitor stellar systems ---...
This project explores how the variation in language experiences and attitudes that Mexican American Spanish heritage speaker bilinguals in the United States have affects their speech perception in both their languages. Heritage language bilinguals speak as a first language a minority language that they have cultural ties to (e.g., Spanish...