Browsing FAS Theses and Dissertations by Issue Date
Now showing items 1-20 of 6097
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New methods to study blood-brain barrier permeability
(2024-03-12)The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is essential for brain health, yet the biological mechanisms that impart and maintain BBB integrity remain incompletely understood. It has long been appreciated that BBB function is compromised ... -
Engineering the Epigenetic Regulatory Networks of T Cell Exhaustion and Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation with Transcription Factor Perturbations
(2024-03-12)The complex interplay of epigenetic factors including chromatin remodeling, histone modifications, and transcription factor binding regulate gene expression and therefore give rise to the diversity of cells within the human ... -
Identification of a privileged scaffold to accelerate DUB drug discovery
(2024-03-12)The ubiquitin/proteasome (UPS) is a highly regulated protein modification pathway, where the covalent attachment of one or more ubiquitin proteins promotes proteolysis, or other non-proteolytic fates, of substrate proteins. ... -
Wiring and connectivity enabling CO2 sensitization in the Aedes aegypti mosquito
(2024-03-12)The mosquito Aedes aegypti’s human host-seeking behavior depends upon the integration of multiple sensory cues. One of these cues, carbon dioxide (CO2), primes and activates host-seeking behavior, but the neuronal circuits ... -
The Evolutionary Significance of Chromosomal Inversions in Deer Mice
(2024-03-12)Understanding the genomic basis of organismal adaptation remains a central goal of evolutionary biology. Chromosomal inversions – large segments of DNA in reverse orientation – can be major players in natural diversity ... -
TMEDs are differential regulators of mutant membrane proteins
(2024-03-12)Over one-third of the human proteome is produced and processed in the secretory pathway, necessitating extensive protein handling and quality control mechanisms to maintain proteostasis. Aberrant handling of mutant secretory ... -
Controlling the Supramolecular Assembly and Photophysical Properties of Atomically Precise Metal Chalcogenide and Noble Metal Nanoclusters
(2024-03-12)Noble metals such as gold and silver—when confined to the nanoscale (1–100 nm)—enable control of electromagnetic fields in the sub-wavelength size regime. This property has pioneered state-of-the-art technologies spanning ... -
Examining the role of succinate signaling in tissue remodeling
(2024-03-12)While the benefits of exercise on systemic health are undeniable, vigorous muscle contraction, like the ones associated with exercise, puts considerable mechanical and energetic strain on muscle fibers. To meet these ... -
Experimental and Analytical Methods for Understanding User Gait Biomechanics in Response to Soft Ankle Exosuits
(2024-03-12)The field of lower-limb exoskeletons and exosuits for gait augmentation and restoration has developed several devices that apply torques in parallel with the biological joint. These systems have seen promising responses ... -
Early Pregnancy Plasma Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and Maternal Cardiometabolic Health
(2024-03-12)Cardiovascular disease, a condition significantly impacted by overall cardiometabolic health, is the leading cause of death for women in the United States. Studying environmental exposures during windows of elevated ... -
Viral Escape from Antibodies Targeting Conserved Sites
(2024-03-12)Influenza A virus (IAV) escape from antibody-mediated immunity causes repeated epidemics, requiring continuous monitoring and vaccine updates. The identification of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting conserved sites ... -
A Modular and Standardized Pipeline for the Design and Fabrication of Dielectric Elastomer Actuator Multilayers
(2024-03-12)The development and deployment of DEAs has been severely limited by the slow and laborious design and manufacturing pipeline used to produce them. I have developed several elements of a pipeline that accelerates design and ... -
Hydrodynamics and Viscous Flow in Graphene Measured with Johnson Noise Thermometry
(2024-03-12)In this dissertation, we investigate thermal transport phenomena in 2-dimensional monolayer and bilayer graphene, both of which are candidates for strongly interacting, correlated electronic systems. The interactions between ... -
A Novel Olfactory Circuit Promotes Social Learning
(2024-03-12)To acquire resources and avoid predation, wild animals must be capable of fast learning. One form of fast learning, the Social Transmission of Food Preferences (STFP), enables mice to trust unfamiliar food odors after ... -
Order by Disorder in Topological Quantum Materials
(2024-03-12)Topological materials are a promising platform for next-generation devices, ranging from optoelectronics to interconnects. In these materials, the interplay between magnetic, electronic, and lattice degrees of freedom ... -
Wide meanings across narrow contexts: Sakha particles and the grammar of alternatives
(2024-03-12)A central empirical observation that this thesis considers is OBSERVABLE HOMOPHONY IN QUANTIFICATIONAL MORPHOLOGY — namely, in many languages there are morphemes which, depending on context, can perform two or more of the ... -
The Pre-Production of Space: Location Scouting and Location Management Practices in Postwar Cinema
(2024-03-12)This dissertation examines location scouting and location management practices for feature films made in the years following World War II. The thesis understands these aesthetic practices as a form of land use, and relates ... -
Concentrating Alkalinity for Direct Air Capture of Carbon Dioxide: Using Osmotic Pressure for Concentration and Separation
(2024-03-12)Climate change has resulted in the pressing need to globally manage carbon sources and sinks. Reducing emissions as much and as fast as possible must be prioritized to avoid the worst harms from global warming, which will ... -
Using Capacitive Deionization for Direct Air Capture of Carbon Dioxide: Theory and Demonstration of the Bicarbonate-Enriched Alkalinity Concentration Swing
(2024-03-12)To respond to the climate crisis and avoid its harms to vulnerable communities across the world, humans' collective priority must be to aggressively reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Because some emissions associated with ... -
The functional effects and fitness consequences of GWAS loci
(2024-03-12)In the past 20 years, genome-wide association studies have identified hundreds of thousands of genetic loci linked to human traits. Examining these genetic associations can reveal both the molecular mechanisms contributing ...