VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Unhousing in Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping

This thesis analyzes Marilynne Robinson's first novel, Housekeeping, as both a new American gothic novel and a feminist text. Through the function and trajectory of the house in the novel, Housekeeping borrows from the gothic tradition. However, through the ultimate destruction of the physical structure and the metaphysical sense of home, this novel's female characters achieve a level of freedom not granted in the gothic tradition. This thesis proposes that by destabilizing traditional understandings of domesticity, Robinson imagines a possible escape for the woman trapped in the house and breaks the societal bind between women and the domestic sphere.

Keywords:  Department of English
Stanford University
Department of English
English
Marilynne Robinson
Housekeeping
house
escape
American
gothic novel
second wave feminism
20th century
20th century literature
feminist literature
female author
house
domesticity
domestic sphere
cult of domesticity
Thesis
Advisor: Ngai Sianne
Staveley Alice
Universal dipolar scattering and spin-orbit coupling in ultracold gases of dysprosium [electronic resource]

Ultracold atomic gases are powerful systems for studying and simulating quantum phenomena, and the magnetic lanthanide atom dysprosium is a promising atom for new areas of quantum simulation owing in part to its large magnetic moment, large spin, and variety of optical transitions. This thesis presents several studies with ultracold dysprosium. We have charac- terized both elastic and inelastic scattering properties of dysprosium. In bosonic dys- prosium we measured the s-wave scattering lengths via cross-dimensional relaxation and directly imaged the dipolar differential cross section. In fermionic dysprosium we have cooled identical fermions to quantum degeneracy via elastic dipolar collisions. We have also measured inelastic dipolar collision rates in bosonic and fermionic dys- prosium with excellent agreement with rates predicted under the first Born approxi- mation, revealing universal scattering behavior. In particular, we demonstrated the fermionic suppression of inelastic dipolar collisions. Finally, we have shown dyspro- sium to be a promising candidate for fermionic spin-orbit coupling studies due to gas lifetimes as long as 400 ms.

Keywords: Applied Physics.
Advisor: Lev Benjamin L. primary advisor. Thesis advisor
Ganguli Surya
Suzuki Yuri (Applied physicist) advisor. Thesis advisor
Unleashing hardware potential through better operating system abstractions [electronic resource]

Datacenter workloads have demanding performance requirements, including the simultaneous need for high throughput, low tail latency, and high server utilization. While modern hardware is compatible with these goals, contemporary operating systems are not. The conventional wisdom is that aggressive networking requirements, such as high packet rates for small messages and microsecond-scale tail latency, are best addressed outside the kernel in a user-level networking stack. In this dissertation, I will first discuss IX, a dataplane operating system that provides high I/O performance while maintaining the key advantage of strong protection offered by existing kernels. IX separates the management and scheduling functions of the kernel (the control plane) from the network processing (the dataplane). The dataplane architecture builds upon a native, zero-copy API and optimizes for both bandwidth and latency by dedicating hardware threads and networking queues to dataplane instances. Each dataplane instance is designed to process bounded batches of packets to completion without depending on coherence traffic or multi-core synchronization. IX outperforms Linux significantly in both throughput and end-to-end latency. For example, IX can improve Memcached's TCP throughput by up to 3.6x. While IX demonstrates that better operating system abstractions can significantly improve performance, deploying these abstractions has become intractable given the size and complexity of today's systems. To address this second challenge, I will present Dune, a kernel extension that allows operating system developers to sidestep software and hardware complexity by running an operating system within an ordinary Linux process. With Dune, developers can build custom library operating systems that safely access the full capabilities of raw hardware while also falling back on the convenience and functionality of a Linux environment. Dune uses CPU virtualization extensions to expose access to privileged instructions without sacrificing existing process security and isolation properties.

Advisor: Kozyrakis Christoforos
Mazières David (David Folkman)
Levis Philip advisor. Thesis advisor
Unselfing interpreted [electronic resource] [electronic resource] : altered states and the ethics of insight from Valéry to Khatibi

Altered states of selfhood pervade French and Francophone literature in the twentieth century, from Henri Michaux's mescaline experiments in Paris, to Yolande Mukagasana's harrowing hallucinations during the Rwandan genocide, to Abdelkebir Khatibi's mystical union with the bilingual lover in Morocco. Both desirable experiences (sexual ecstasy, religious experience, and drug-induced visions) and undesirable ones (debilitating thirst, traumatic pain, and incapacitating fear) are recounted in the same phenomenological mode. This dissertation theorizes unselfing -- self-transcendence or self-loss -- in order to undertake the new work of analyzing these diverse accounts together under the same philosophical structure. If we think of Saul's transformation into Paul as a canonical example of the conversion model for unselfing, this project analyzes four other models that emerge in the twentieth century: disruption (Chapter One: Paul Valéry and Charlotte Delbo), mutation (Chapter Two: Henri Michaux and Yolande Mukagasana), fragmentation (Chapter Three: Hélène Cixous and Abdelkebir Khatibi), and destruction (Chapter Four: Georges Bataille and Simone Weil). Studying self-inflicted altered states alongside imposed ones exposes the unexpected convergences in the narrative strategies that writers use to testify to the extremes of the human experience. Moreover, this study offers a new perspective on the limits of empathy. It shows that there is more to altruism than reduced self-interest, and although unselfing may facilitate the sharing of mental states, it does not necessarily increase caring for others. What emerges is a constellation of French-speaking writers who attempt to think through ethics without the self at the center.

Keywords: French and Italian.
Advisor: Wittman Laura primary advisor. Thesis advisor
Edelstein Dan advisor. Thesis advisor
Eshel Amir advisor. Thesis advisor
Landy Joshua
"An unusual accommodation" [electronic resource] : affect, reason, and relationality in black humor

An Unusual Accommodation advances a theory of black political humor that deviates from established and under-contested interpretations of black comedic response to racial oppression. With attention to the affective, logical, and relational dimensions of humor, this study challenges the premise that black humor proceeding from and attending to conditions of racial subjugation must be enacted as a cathartic exercise in grief and rage; as a counter-narrative clarifying the utter absurdity and illogic of racism; or as a ritual of antagonistic counter-objectification. Looking to comedic film, literature, and stand-up performance, this dissertation instead proposes a "Humor of Unusual Accommodation" which finds black humorists approaching anti-blackness in subtle, riskily unusual ways. More specifically, the sense of humor observed among the black cultural producers of this study is animated by non-cathartic affects like curiosity, which conjures amusement toward and amidst the troubles of black social and political life, maintaining a critical emotive distance that stops just short of resigned and yielding apathy but avoids the presumed cathartic affects of black rage and grief. This sense of humor also derives from an agonistic pluralism whereby the legitimacy of white anti-black logics and ideological grammars are acknowledged alongside the legitimacy of directly opposing (pro-)black views, and the plurality of legitimacy is itself a rich source of comedy. In that the subjects/objects among and against whom racial ideologies are expressed or carried out are positioned in highly consequential, power-inflected relationships, the Humor of Unusual Accommodation also privileges an adversarial relation, a positionality that does not recuperate or reverse the subject/object positions of whiteness and blackness nor feigns a systemic leveling of the dynamics of racial power, but it does allow for shared oppositional laughter in an unironic "face-to-face" relation. Closely reading texts like Toni Morrison's Sula, the stand-up comedy of Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, and Dominique Witten, and the sly humor lacing jazz genius Sun Ra's Space is the Place, this dissertation and the comedic objects explored therein hazard a set of political lessons that, despite their precarious proximity to surrender, ultimately offer a viable method of comedic coping amid the inevitabilities of racial struggle.

Keywords: Education.
Advisor: McDermott Ray (Raymond Patrick)
Anderson Patrick
Antonio Anthony Lising
Menon Jisha
The US health insurance market after the Affordable Care Act [electronic resource]

The recent nation-wide health reform --- Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or simply ACA --- drastically altered the functioning of the health insurance industry in the US, opening many questions about how the system should be designed and regulated. While previous literature largely focused on health insurance provided through public programs or employer-sponsored insurance, in this dissertation I study the health coverage provision for outsiders: the twenty-one percent of the US population who as of 2013 were not offered insurance through their job, were not covered by the government, and yet did not purchase coverage in the so-called individual market. After the ACA, market institutions were largely redesigned with attention to this group, and policymakers are still dealing with great uncertainty about the efficacy of the new system and its costs for taxpayers in future years. In this context, my research advances our knowledge in two directions. On the one hand I provide empirical results of immediate policy relevance; on the other, I develop economic and statistical models to be used in this novel institutional environment. I consider three of the main channels through which, since 2014, the government affects the individual market for health insurance. First, state authorities determine how the geography of the state is divided in the local geographic markets in which insurers can participate and compete. Second, the ACA limits premium adjustments based on age or other observable characteristics of buyers. Third, the Federal government provides a large premium subsidy for all buyers whose income is between 133 and 400% of the Federal povery level. My dissertation contains three chapters, each of them analyzing the interaction of these three policies with the incentives of private health insurers.

Keywords: Economics.
Advisor: Einav Liran primary advisor. Thesis advisor
Bresnahan Timothy F. advisor. Thesis advisor
Duggan Mark
Jackson Matthew O. advisor. Thesis advisor
Using CRISPR/Cas9 and human haploid genetic screens to identify host factors essential for dengue virus infection [electronic resource]

Dengue virus (DENV) is an emerging pathogen worldwide, causing an estimated 100 million symptomatic infections annually, yet recent large clinical trials for a DENV vaccine candidate have showed only partial protection. Additionally, no licensed antiviral drugs are available, motivating our approach to evaluate host functions to accelerate development of antiviral therapies. We applied tools for unbiased discovery of host functions exploited by DENV to replicate and spread by performing two genome-scale knockout screens in parallel: one using CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis and one using gene trap mutagenesis in haploid human cells. We identified distinct ER-associated multi-protein complexes, which are critically required for DENV infection involved in protein translocation, N-linked glycosylation, and ER associated degradation. We observed that DENV replication was almost completely eliminated in cells deficient in the oligosaccharyltransferase (OST) complex. Additionally, other Flaviviruses, particularly Yellow Fever Virus, West Nile Virus and Zika Virus, also showed partial dependence on the OST complex. Our studies of the interaction mechanism between these Flaviviruses and the OST complex revealed that viral RNA replication was the critical step dependent on the OST complex possibly through interactions with viral nonstructural proteins. Entry or translation of the virus did not require the OST complex. We created catalytic dead mutants and found that dengue virus replication was efficiently rescued in knockout cells. Thus, we reveal a function of the OST in viral replication that is independent from its cellular function in N-linked glycosylation. This striking feature of the OST complex establishes it as a host target for antiviral drug development and targeting the OST complex will result in a higher barrier of resistance compared to drugs targeting viral proteins.

Keywords: Microbiology and Immunology.
Advisor: Carette Jan
Kirkegaard Karla advisor. Thesis advisor
Schneider David (David Samuel)
Stearns Tim advisor. Thesis advisor
Using Growth Factors to Treat Chronic Tympanic Membrane Perforation in a Mouse Model

Hearing loss can occur at any age, and is caused by a multitude of factors. One common source of conductive hearing loss is due to the rupture or perforation of the eardrum. Such perforations of the eardrum [or tympanic membrane (TM)] are caused by trauma or disease and can be classified as either acute or chronic. Acute perforations are temporary and can heal spontaneously, whereas chronic perforations may require surgical intervention (usually a grafting procedure called a tympanoplasty) to repair. A non-surgical treatment for chronic TM perforation would benefit those unable to access surgery and would reduce the cost. Previous work using nonsurgical growth factor treatments has involved the use of epidermal growth factor (EGF) or fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) to reinitiate wound healing in the TM. However, results from these studies are difficult to interpret since the experiments used acute TM perforations, which tend to heal spontaneously. Here, we explore whether heparin binding epidermal growth factor like growth factor (HB-EGF) heals chronic TM perforations with greater efficacy than FGF-2 and EGF in a validated mouse model of chronic tympanic membrane perforation. To test this, we surgically created chronic perforations in the mouse tympanic membrane and administered the above growth factors via an injectable hydrogel polymer. Relative TM closure was observed macroscopically and histologically over a three-month period. HB-EGF showed to be significantly more effective in closing chronic TM perforations over EGF and FGF-2. The healing rates of the TMs after treatment compared to control were 83.3% with HB-EGF, 15.8% with EGF, 31.6% with FGF-2 and 27.8% with control (no growth factor). An effective nonsurgical treatment, such as use of applied growth factors for chronic TM perforations, would provide a safer and cost-effective alternative for those unable to have surgery.

Keywords:  Department of Biology
Biology
Growth Factors
Hb-EGF
EGF
FGF-2
Tympanic Membrane Perforation
Thesis
Advisor: Yang Yunzhi
Shen Kang
utx-1 and ash-2 deficiency in old Caenorhabditis elegans extends lifespan and healthspan

Aging is accompanied by functional decline and an increase in many diseases, including neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases. As the demographics shift towards older populations world-wide, a better understanding of the aging process is crucial to develop therapeutics that could extend the healthy portion of life. A host of mechanisms contribute to the complex process of aging, including epigenetic modifications, nutrient signaling pathways, and protein homeostasis pathways. Epigenetic modifications that affect chromatin state, including histone modifications, are of particular interest as age-related changes to chromatin state often occur later in life. Thus, targeting the conserved enzymes that add or remove histone modifications has the potential to impact a wide range of processes. One of these enzymes, UTX-1, is a demethylase that acts on trimethylated lysine 27 on Histone H3 (H3K27me3). Consistent with an important link between chromatin and longevity, deficiency in UTX-1 extends the lifespan of the worm Caenorhabditis elegans. Another enzymatic complex involved in longevity is COMPASS, the methyltransferase complex that trimethylates lysine 4 on Histone H3 (H3K4me3). When members of this H3K4me3 complex, such as the methyltransferase ASH-2, are knocked down, the lifespan of C. elegans is increased. However, the mechanism of action, precise tissues of relevance, effects on healthspan, and relevant initiation times are unknown for these lifespan-extending modifications. Here I show that knockdown of utx-1 and ash-2 via RNAi can still extend lifespan in C. elegans when initiated in old adults compared to young adults. Furthermore, knockdown of utx-1 or ash-2, either at young adulthood or late-adulthood, increases thermotolerance (resistance to heat stress) and improves mobility throughout life. I next sought to gain a greater understanding of the molecular mechanism of UTX-1 mediated longevity regulation. I find that contrary to its role in development, the lifespan-extending phenotype of utx-1 deficiency is dependent on UTX-1 demethylase activity. In addition, I have found that UTX-1 acts in several tissues to mediate lifespan extension, but that full lifespan extension can only be obtained when UTX-1 is deficient in more than one tissue. Together, these results indicate the feasibility of impacting healthspan and lifespan in already old individuals through knockdown of evolutionarily conserved chromatin modifiers.

Keywords:  Department of Biology
utx-1
aging
chromatin
stanford
genetics
stanford genetics
biology
epigenetics
preteins
RNAi
knockdown
ash-2
healthspan
lifespan
Thesis
Advisor: Brunet Anne
Gozani Or
Valence asymmetries in attitude ambivalence [electronic resource]

Existing models of ambivalence suggest that as the number of conflicting attitude components increases, so too does the experience of ambivalence. Interestingly, though, these models overwhelmingly assume that this relationship is independent of valence. Across three studies we observe that this effect is in fact heavily influenced by two established valence asymmetries: negativity bias (greater impact of negative reactions than positive reactions) and positivity offset (baseline positive reactions even in the absence of positive information). Consistent with a negativity bias, we observe that subjective ambivalence is greater when conflicting reactions are negative rather than positive. However, we also document an opposing effect of positivity offset as attitudes become less mixed (i.e., more univalent) that counteracts the valence asymmetry due to negativity bias. This is the first work to describe the opposing roles of these valence asymmetries in attitude ambivalence. Our investigation also uncovers an interesting consequence of these asymmetries: when reactions conflict, people do not experience maximum ambivalence at equal levels of positivity and negativity, as is suggested by canonical ambivalence theory. Rather, subjective ambivalence peaks when positive reactions outnumber negative reactions.

Keywords: Business.
Advisor: Shiv Baba
Tormala Zakary L. primary advisor. Thesis advisor
Wheeler S. Christian advisor. Thesis advisor
Validation of Novel Host Targets and Drugs Predicted using Bioinformatics Approaches to Combat Dengue Virus Infection

Dengue virus (DENV) is a human pathogen that represents a major global health threat, yet there are no approved antivirals or vaccines available. The traditional approach in antiviral development has been to utilize small molecules to inhibit specific viral enzymatic functions. However, the concept of inhibiting the virus by targeting host proteins involved in the viral life cycle has not been fully explored. As such, there is a need to identify and characterize host proteins that may be involved in processes such as viral RNA replication and assembly. To this end, we pursued two parallel bioinformatics approaches developed by the Khatri lab to identify, upregulated genes in DENV infection and candidate drugs targeting host factors with predicted antiviral effects against DENV. GOSR2, a host cell golgi SNAP receptor, was identified using the first approach, however, we were unable to achieve a robust defect in DENV infection upon knockdown of this gene or overexpression of a dominant negative mutant. Using the second approach, we identified two drugs, obatoclax and perphenazine, which exhibited potent antiviral effects against DENV. We specifically demonstrate that obatoclax inhibits DENV entry and RNA replication, while perphenazine inhibits DENV RNA replication and release. More selective inhibitors against the known molecular targets of obatoclax, the pro-survival members of the Bcl2 family, were also effective in inhibiting DENV infection. This suggests that these members of the Bcl2 family are essential to the DENV life cycle and could serve as potential DENV antiviral targets. Furthermore, since multiple viruses may hijack these host proteins, such host targets could form the basis of broad-spectrum antiviral strategies to be employed against a variety of viruses, beyond DENV.

Keywords:  Department of Biology
Dengue virus
Stanford School of Medicine
Infectious Diseases
Molecular Virology
Bioinformatics
Biology
Thesis
Advisor: Einav Shirit
Cyert Martha
Value distribution of automorphic forms in a family [electronic resource]

Consider the modular surface $X = SL_2(\BZ) \backslash \BH$. One would like to know how the values of holomorphic modular forms/non-holomorphic Maass forms would distribute in the limit. Hejhal and Rackner \cite{HejRac} was the first people to study this problem. They conjectured that (suitably normalized) Maass forms suitably normalized would distribute like the Gaussian with mean 0 and variance $\frac{3}{\pi}$ in the limit. This is known as the random wave conjecture. They also gave a heuristic argument on why the conjecture should hold. This thesis tries to address two questions centered around the random wave conjecture and related problems, such as Quantum Unique Ergodicity. The first part of the thesis (Chapter 3) addresses the discrepancy of predictions by physicists and by mathematicians. For a fixed test function on $X$, Quantum Unique Ergodicity asserts that $$\mu_j (\psi) := \int_X \psi(z) ^kf(z)

Keywords: Mathematics.
Advisor: Soundararajan Kannan
Bump Daniel
Venkatesh Akshay