VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Who wants to get to the top? Class and lay theories about power [electronic resource]
Keywords: Business.

We investigate class-based differences in the propensity to seek positions of power. We first propose that people's lay theories suggest that acquiring power requires exercising political dominance — manipulating one's way through the social world, relying on a pragmatic and Machiavellian approach to impression management and social relationships to get ahead. Then, drawing on empirical work showing that individuals with low social class are oriented toward interdependence and community, we hypothesize that these individuals will show less interest in seeking positions of power than others, because they feel less comfortable engaging in political dominance. We test these ideas in seven studies. Our findings indicate that, even though individuals with lower class see political dominance as a necessary and effective strategy for acquiring positions of power, and report that they have the competence to execute this strategy, they are reluctant to do so; as a result, they have a weaker tendency to seek positions of power. Consistent with our theorizing, we also find that individuals with lower class have a stronger desire to seek positions of power in organizations that provide an alternative route to power -- power through prestige -- and when they reconstrue power as a superordinate goal that suits their interdependent self-construal. These findings suggest that current institutional norms that reward political dominance may help explain why class inequalities persist and why creating class-based diversity in upper-level positions poses a serious challenge.
Winning words [electronic resource] : the efficacy of literary discourse in politics during the French wars of religion (1562-1598)
Keywords: French and Italian.

The Renaissance was a moment of great creativity and promise in philosophy, history, and literature, but opportunity does not often come without crisis. The upheaval of the Renaissance resulted in a semiotic crisis by which traditional modes of meaning were no longer effective. Amid the optimism of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, this usually did not pose a problem, but in latter sixteenth century France, when divisions between Catholic and Protestant turned to violence and then to civil war, writers needed to recover meaning quickly in order to bring peace. They desired to create winning words that would convince one side or the other to lay down their arms, as well as their ideologies, to reunite a divided France. I explain how they tried to do it. For many reasons, success was elusive, but their experience tells us much about what constitutes effective discourse when literature intervenes in a political sphere where words are failing.
Wireless powering for bioelectronics [electronic resource]
Keywords: Electrical Engineering.

Miniaturized bioelectronic devices hold promise as a new class of medicine based on modulating neural signals that control functions in the body. With advances in semiconductor technology, bioelectronic devices at the scale of a millimeter or less are within reach, but no suitable method for powering them deep in the body has been demonstrated. This dissertation focuses on the development of wireless methods for powering small-scale electronic devices implanted in living systems. We describe the theoretical basis for wireless systems based on wave interactions with biological tissue, and demonstrate applications of these systems to powering small scale bioelectronic devices in both computational studies and animal experiments. The approaches developed here may enable new generations of bioelectronic devices for accessing and modulating the neural states underlying disease and health.
The workers' dilemma [electronic resource] : collective action and factory workers in China
Keywords: Political Science.

Which factors explain the patterns of labor protests in contemporary China? I explore the empirical puzzle of why foreign-invested and large-scale factories in China -- that are more likely to abide by labor laws than their domestic private counterparts -- nonetheless experience higher incidence of workers' collective action. Scholars have suggested that Chinese workers rely on law to legitimize their claims during collective action. Yet my research demonstrates that a growing number of migrant workers in China make interest-based demands that go beyond the legal minimum defined by the state. I argue that the changes in the socioeconomic conditions during the 1990s have created the incentives for the regime to move away from overt labor repression and to adopt more lenient attitudes towards labor protests. As a result of the change in the regime's approach in managing labor, workers in China have perceived a wider opening for contention since the mid-2000s. Instead of relying solely on law, contemporary workers seek to publicize their cause to gain support from the public. At foreign-invested and large-scale enterprises, workers have a stronger perception that they can attract the public's attention due to the firms' higher visibility and newsworthiness. My findings suggest that relevant outside actors' interests in workers' activism, rather than workers' legal knowledge per se, help mitigate workers' collective action problems.
Writing in time [electronic resource] : labor and work in English poetry, 1557-1674
Keywords: English.

"Writing in Time: Labor And Work In English Poetry, 1557-1674" proposes a new literary historical and theoretical lens for understanding poetry written in English during the early modern period, based on the temporal situation of writing, or what I term "compositional temporality." I argue that the time and rate of writing form a key aspect of poets' self-conceptions and their view of literary writing as a vocation. I argue that poets represented their own circumstances of composition largely in response to two influencing factors: his or her socioeconomic situation, and self-conceptualized place within the literary tradition. I identify two major self-representational modes in this period: one of dedicated writing exemplified by temporal commitment, and the other a casual image of writing quickly and with ease associated with sprezzatura. This dissertation draws upon authorial self-representations of writing, with the understanding that this evidence is often fictional. I argue that placing such fictions of composition next to each other reveals the values motivating these statements. The Introduction provides a theoretical foundation and linguistic context for analyzing how early modern poets articulated their temporal investment in their writing, and what values these self-representations expressed. Chapter One argues that Elizabethan poets, notably Edmund Spenser, refer to the temporal circumstances of writing as a tool to bolster their economic control over their writing and promote the legitimacy of the poetic profession. Chapter Two posits that Ben Jonson distinguishes between literary "work" and "labor" to promote slow, dedicated writing, and to elevate his role as a poet. Chapter Three argues that John Milton's concern with the temporal circumstances of writing is a fundamental part of his negotiation with his literary forebears.
Yndios bàrbaros [electronic resource] : nomadic archaeologies of Spanish New Mexico
Keywords: Anthropology.

This dissertation investigates the encampment practices of the Ute, Comanche, and Apache in New Mexico during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This research draws on archaeological data, archival research, and collaboration with tribal representatives, in order to analyze spatial and material patterns across nomadic communities. Through a comparative analysis of Ute, Comanche, and Apache material culture I demonstrate that New Mexico was a strategic space in the formation of new mobile life-ways during the Spanish colonial period. This research offers one of the first systematic investigations of nomadic material culture in a region dominated by scholarship on Pueblo archaeology and cosmology.
You are only as old as you feel [electronic resource] : the influence of subjective age on consumer behavior
Keywords: Business.

This dissertation explores the impact of subjective age (how old people feel) on consumer behavior. First, I develop the construct of subjective age by exploring what it means to people, and find that it is possible to experimentally manipulate subjective age. In the first chapter of the dissertation, I find that when people are made to feel older, rather than younger, they act in more pro-social ways. In the second chapter of my dissertation, I find that when people are made to feel older, rather than younger, they display a positivity effect, which leads them to feel less regret about negative outcomes, and increases their willingness to take risks.
β-catenin Stabilization Promotes Proliferation and Fate Change of Cochlear Axin2+ Cells
Keywords:  Department of Biology
Biology
cochlea
development
Wnt signaling
beta-catenin
Axin2
Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery School of Medicine
Thesis

As sensory hair cells of the mammalian ear lack regenerative capacity, improper development or the loss of these cells can lead to permanent hearing loss. The Wnt pathway plays an important role in the proliferation and differentiation of sensory cells during cochlear development. As a feedback inhibitor of the Wnt pathway, Axin2 reliably reports Wnt-responsive cells. Prior to hair cell differentiation, Axin2-expressing cells are mainly found in the periotic mesenchyme. Although the function of these cells is not well understood, we have shown in in vitro experiments that Wnt agonists and antagonists can regulate the proliferative capacity of Axin2-expressing cells from the late embryonic period. Furthermore, lineage tracing experiments suggest that Axin2-expressing cells can act as precursors to sensory hair cells and adjacent supporting cells. Currently, the biological relevance of these cells and the mechanisms through which they may contribute to cochlear development are unknown. We used transgenic mice to stabilize beta-catenin by deleting exon3, which codes the region important for its degradation, thus augmenting Wnt signaling in Axin2-expressing cells prior to hair cell differentiation. The effects of this manipulation were characterized using markers of proliferation, epithelial cells, mesenchymal cells, hair cells, and supporting cells on whole mounts and cryosections of cochlear tissues obtained one week after activation. Beta-catenin stabilization leads to the formation of proliferative foci in the cochlear duct, with a low but significant percentage of cells displaying markers of cochlear sensory epithelial cells.
These results demonstrate that Axin2-expressing cells can proliferate in response to beta-catenin stabilization and may act as precursors to cochlear ductal cells during cochlear development. This work increases our understanding of the roles of Wnt signaling during cochlear development and will be important in progress towards hair cell regeneration.
A Functional Investigation of the Frequently Mutated Splicing Factor U2AF1 in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Keywords: Bioengineering
U2AF1
NSCLC
lung
cancer
splicing
spliceosome
U2AF35
Thesis

RNA splicing is a critical step in manufacturing most human proteins. Regulating the splicing machinery is crucial for normal development, and aberrant splicing can result in diseases such as cancer. Recent studies have uncovered a recurrent mutation of the splicing factor U2AF1 in several human cancers including lung cancer. The lung cancer cell line HCC78 is the only cancer cell line known to harbor this mutation, and it also has a gene fusion involving the ROS1 gene that genetically separates it from other types of lung cancer. This study sets out to both examine splicing effects of the mutated U2AF1 in lung cancer and to clarify the relationship between mutant U2AF1 and the ROS1-fusion, two rare genetic alterations that have been observed to occur together in lung cancers at a significantly higher than expected frequency. Specifically, by genomically editing the HCC78 cell line and repairing the U2AF1 point mutation, an appropriate point of comparison has been created using transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs). Use of TALENs allows for targeting sequence-specific locations in the genome for double-stranded breaks. Taking advantage of endogenous DNA repair machinery, a designed sequence has been inserted into the genome of these HCC78 cells to repair the U2AF1 point mutation.
A genetic screen to identify novel regulators of adult stem cell maintenance
Keywords:  Department of Biology
Adult Stem Cells
DREF
Biology
Genetics
Developmental Biology
Stem Cells
Stanford University
Genetic Screen
Thesis

Adult stem cells are an important class of cells responsible for the maintenance and regeneration of the body’s many tissues. These cells are under heavy investigation for potential therapeutic roles. However, one of the rate limiting steps is an understanding of the exact mechanisms and genes that regulate this class of cells. To better understand the genetic program regulating adult stem cells, a forward genetic screen was utilized involving a two-stage screening process comprising a Flp/FRT primary screen and an EGUF/hid secondary screen . Out of 3,118 mutant males produced, 1,041 were recovered, of which 412 showed loss of germ line clones and one showed overproliferation of germline clones in the primary screen. Of the 412 germ cell loss mutations, 59 passed through a secondary screen for cell lethality (EGUF/hid). 6 mutant strains have been partially or completely mapped, uncovering germ cell loss mutations in DNA Replication-Related Element Factor (DREF), Apoptosis Inducing Factor (AIF), Guanylyl Cyclase 32E (Gyc32E) and two other loci, as well as a germ cell overproliferation mutation in Star. Further research on DREF has shown that the allele we uncovered genetically separates DREF’s role in cell division and DNA-replication from its role in adult stem cell maintenance. Furthermore, I have uncovered a novel antagonistic interaction between DREF and members of the NuRD complex that is essential for the regulation of germline stem cell maintenance. These results suggest that our understanding of the genetic program of adult stem cells can still be enriched by well-designed, classic genetic screens.
A Rapid and Simple Method for DNA Engineering using Cycled Ligation Assembly
Keywords:  Department of Biology
Biology
Synthetic Biology
Genetic Engineering
Cycled Ligation
DNA Assembly
Thesis

DNA assembly techniques have developed rapidly, enabling efficient construction of complex constructs that would be prohibitively difficult using traditional restriction-digest based methods. Most of the recent methods for assembling multiple DNA fragments in vitro suffer from high costs, complex set-ups, and diminishing efficiency when used for more than a few DNA segments. Here I present a cycled ligation-based DNA assembly protocol that is simple, cheap, efficient, and powerful. The method employs a thermostable ligase and short Scaffold Oligonucleotide Connectors (SOCs) that are homologous to the ends and beginnings of two adjacent DNA sequences. These SOCs direct an exponential increase in the amount of correctly assembled product during a reaction that cycles between denaturing and annealing/ligating temperatures. Products of early cycles serve as templates for later cycles, allowing the assembly of many sequences in a single reaction. In tests I directed the assembly of twelve inserts, in one reaction, into a transformable plasmid. All the joints were precise, and assembly was scarless in the sense that no nucleotides were added or missing at junctions. I applied cycled ligation assembly to construct chimeric proteins, revealing functional roles for individual domains of the Hedgehog signaling pathway protein PTCH1. Simple, efficient, and low-cost cycled ligation assemblies will facilitate wider use of complex genetic constructs in biomedical research.
A Survey for Hα Pulsar Bow Shocks
Keywords:  Department of Physics
Hα wind nebulae
Fermi pulsars
J1509-5850
J0742-2822
J2030+4415
J1741-2054
H-alpha wind nebulae
H alpha wind nebulae
Thesis

Hα emitting pulsar wind bow shock nebulae are rare and beautiful objects whose study has the potential to provide insights into the nature of relativistic shocks, pulsar emission, and the composition of the ISM. We report the results of a large Hα survey of 100 Fermi pulsars to characterize the distribution of Hα pulsar bow shocks, constituting the largest and most sensitive such survey yet undertaken. By reobserving previously known Balmer shocks, we confirm the excellent sensitive of our observations and reveal additional Hα structure not previously documented around PSRs J0742-2822 and J2124-3358. Our survey discovered three additional Hα shocks of interesting morphology around PSRs J1741-2054 (already discussed in a previous publication), J2030+4415, and J1509-5850. Despite our excellent sensitivity, fully 94 of our targets have no convincing evidence of an Hα shock. We develop a novel method to characterize the sensitivity of our imaging for all frames as a function of bow shock angular size that accounts for the essential role played by the characteristic bow shock shape in aiding detections. Combining these measurements with a standard model of the ISM and the expected Hα flux of a bow shock apex, we conclude that the number of confirmed detections around all Fermi pulsars is in reasonable agreement with our model. Our results are inconsistent with a model of the ISM that predicts a significantly larger fraction of neutral material in the ISM, and our data may provide a spot-sample constraint of HI.
Ablation of Quiescent Neural Stem Cells for Evaluation of Subsequent Repopulation
Keywords:  Department of Biology
biology
neurosurgery
stem cells
quiescent
ablation
Thesis

Recent work has established disruption of neurogenesis as a key cause of cognitive decline after use of brain irradiation to treat primary and metastatic tumors in children. Yet though this is widely accepted, little is known about the possibilities of restoration of normal neural stem cell (NSC) function after such a treatment, either through stem cell transplant or by promoting endogenous recovery by enhancing trophic effects. It is yet to be discovered whether endogenous quiescent neural stem cells (qNSCs) that are present in the irradiated brain have the potential to repopulate an injured neurogenic niche or whether resident stem cells are themselves damaged and are unable to repopulate the niche. It is also possible that a niche occupied by defective stem cells may simply block undamaged cells from occupying the niche. In this case, it may be necessary to ablate cells to create space for engraftment. Whereas most prior research has focused on solely anti-mitotic methods that spare rarely dividing quiescent NSCs, this research analyzes effective ablation of neural stem cells, including quiescent NSCs, in the dentate gyrus of the subgranular zone through the use of diphtheria toxin receptor-mediated cell death. My hypothesis was that partial ablation would show that qNSCs could repopulate the affected niche over time. After ablation treatment, it was observed that the number of nestin+ cells in the dentate gyrus (DG) was drastically reduced, and remained that way following a two-month recovery period. Along with this lack of renewal was partial ablation of neurogenesis in the olfactory bulb, evaluated by quantification of IdU+/CldU+ cells two months after ablation treatment. The data shown here provide new insight into the response of the neurogenic niche and surviving cells to effective ablation of local NSCs. This will potentially have a great impact on further research to be done regarding recovery procedures for irradiation-treated children.
Acquisition of 3D knee morphology under weight-bearing conditions using a C-arm CT scanner for the assessment of knee disorders [electronic resource]
Keywords: Mechanical Engineering.

A C-arm-based cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scanner with a digital flat-panel detector represents a promising imaging system for the evaluation of static 3D joint positions and orientations and cartilage bone stress in vivo under weight-bearing conditions. The C-arm system provides high-resolution (150 [mu] m isotropic) 3D volume images (i.e., a stack of slices) with superior bone contrast and highly flexible trajectories for image acquisition, and has short image acquisition times. With the use of contrast agents in CBCT imaging, accurate visualization of soft tissue structures, including the meniscus and articular cartilage, is possible. In the first part of this dissertation, new technologies that enable weight-bearing imaging using a C-arm CT system are described. First, verification of system trajectory reproducibility in the new horizontal gantry trajectory (i.e., with the axis of rotation perpendicular to the floor) is demonstrated. Image quality of static objects imaged using the new geometry is presented. Second, the impact of limited dynamic range of the detector on image quality is discussed, and a solution to overcome the limitation is provided. Finally, during imaging of a human subject in vivo in weight-bearing positions, involuntary and non-reproducible motion is significant over the 10-20s scan. This motion renders the 3D images non-diagnostic. Three new approaches to correct for knee motion have been developed, and final image quality in in vivo images of volunteers is presented. In the second part of this dissertation, the use of C-arm CT as a diagnostic tool for joint disorders such as patellofemoral pain syndrome, and knee osteoarthritis is described. Workflow for image acquisition and analysis for successful measurement of 3D patellofemoral tracking and for in vivo time-dependent cartilage deformation under full weight-bearing conditions is demonstrated.