This dissertation addresses inter alia the problem of certain intertextual discontinuities across Thomas Hobbes’s oeuvre regarding the issue of ecclesiology. I find that these disparities did not result from a change in Hobbes’s private opinions, but from the regicide of 1649 as an event that liberated Hobbes to unveil his...
The BV Laplacian Δ, first introduced by Batalin and Vilkovisky, is a second-order differential operator that appears in the quantum master equation for quantizing gauge theories. The geometric framework for the BV formalism was later recognized by Schwarz as the setting of odd symplectic geometry and Khudaverdian showed that Δ...
Mitochondria-lysosome contacts are recently identified sites for mediating crosstalk between both organelles, but their role in normal and diseased human neurons remains unknown. We used super-resolution and live-cell microscopy in human iPSC-derived neurons to demonstrate that mitochondria-lysosome contacts can dynamically form in the soma, axons, and dendrites of human neurons,...
In this dissertation we consider how simple operational levers affect a firm's revenue and consumer surplus. In particular, we focus on information disclosure as an useful control for omnichannel services.In the first chapter we consider a revenue-maximizing service firm that caters to price and delay-sensitive customers. The firm offers a...
Theoretical and empirical inquiries into queer geographies have focused primarily on how white gay subjects navigate urban landscapes. Consequently, there has been little empirical work that examines (1) queer placemaking within Black and brown urban spaces; (2) placemaking among queer women of color; and (3) the relationship and interplay between...
Two-dimensional (2D) hybrid halide perovskites have been the response to their exciting but woefully unstable 3D counterparts. These 2D perovskites have been shown to have respectable stabilities as photovoltaic absorbers, yet they lag behind the 3D perovskites in terms of efficiency. With the need to catch up to the efficiencies...
Symbiotic relationships involve a life-long interaction between host and bacteria, and there is much we do not understand about how these interactions are developed and maintained. During the horizontal recruitment of beneficial bacteria by hosts, a complex set of molecular signals and communication ensures specificity. On the bacterial side, these...
This dissertation argues that silence played a fundamental role in the Victorian novel and in Victorian novel writing, operating as a productive force in service of sympathetic exchange and creative labor. It examines Charles Lamb's and Thomas Carlyle’s foundational roles in detaching silence from its traditional Romantic associations with solitude,...
Nucleic acids such as DNA or RNA of various lengths and structures have a wide scope of functions as therapeutic entities compared to conventional drugs. For instance, native and modified forms of nucleic acids can be used for gene silencing, genome editing, gene replacement, immune system modulation, and theranostics. While...
This dissertation proposes a theory that views beats as probabilistic domains that I term “pockets,” taking a vernacular term commonly used by jazz, funk, and popular music performers to describe the state of being in a good groove and making it concrete through empirical methods. Pockets have three key properties:...