Computational voting theory : game-theoretic and combinatorial aspects

Raymundo, Melissa M ProQuest UMI 2010 해외석사

Blocking transgelin(TAGLN) stimulates PLCγ1-Cofilin induced cytoskeletal remodeling and enhanced migration of MDA-MB-231

Raymundo, Bernardo R Greduate School, Korea University 2021 국내박사

Abstract The role of transgelin (TAGLN) in cancer has been discussed; however, the mechanisms underlying its regulation and correlation with MDA-MB-231 cell plasticity and migratory patterns remain unclear. I generated stable TAGLN-knockdown MDA-MB-231 cells and treated them with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) or transforming growth factor (TGF)-β. Chemotaxis, morphology, and invasion were assayed using three-dimensional matrices to evaluate cytoskeletal remodeling and migratory changes. Wound healing assays were conducted using cell inserts. TAGLN knockdown cells exhibited altered morphology due to cytoskeletal remodeling, yet only untreated and TGFβ1-treated cells exhibited enhanced migration. Untreated and TGFβ1-treated TAGLN knockdown cells showed increased N-WASP, ROCK1, and ROCK2 protein levels, which induce cytoskeletal remodeling. Evaluating phospholipase Cγ1 (PLCγ1)-cofilin signaling-related proteins revealed that only TGFβ1-treated TAGLN knockdown cells were influenced by PLCγ1-cofilin signaling. Taken together, TAGLN knockdown is necessary for the TGFβ1-mediated activation of PLCγ1-cofilin pathway-driven amoeboid morphology and enhanced migratory properties in MDA-MB-231 cells.

Coral reef rehabilitation in the Philippines: The role of biotic interactions in coral reestablishment

Raymundo, Laurie Jeanne Cornell University 2000 해외박사(DDOD)

The degradation of coral reefs worldwide is challenging reef workers to find innovative ways to rehabilitate coral reefs that do not recover naturally. The current approach to reef rehabilitation would benefit from applying ecological theory of reef structure to coral reintroduction attempts. This thesis reviews current knowledge of the biotic environment of coral reefs, focusing on interactions of particular relevance to colonial invertebrates and those which are most likely to impact coral, either positively or negatively, during its establishment. I present experimental results of three studies examining facilitative and inhibitory interactions mediating the reintroduction of coral on reefs in the Philippines, an area containing some of the most diverse, yet highly stressed, reefs. The first study addresses the relationship between size and mortality in cultured <italic>Pocillopora damicornis</italic> colonies grown from seeded larvae. Coral seeding is a viable alternative to using colony fragments, as larvae are abundant, genetically diverse, and can be collected with little damage to donor colonies. Size-related mortality significantly decreased as colony size at transplantation increased; laboratory rearing of colonies to ≥10 mm prior to outplanting greatly increased successful establishment. Fusion between juvenile colonies resulted in larger colony size, faster growth and lower mortality. In addition, larvae aggregatively settled, thereby increasing the probability of fusion. The second study examined interactions between neighboring fragments of <italic>Porites attenuata</italic>, reciprocally transplanted between two sites. Fragments were grown interspersed with either living or dead conspecifics. Living neighbors stimulated linear growth and surface area increase, but inhibited lateral branching. Colony morphology can, therefore, be affected by manipulating the spacing of transplants; the permanent placement of fragments at a recipient site should consider adult colony size and form. <italic>Porites attenuata</italic> transplants developed symptoms of a coral disease, resulting in an investigation of this new epizootic. <italic> Porites</italic> Ulcerative White Spot Disease (PUWS) affects species in the dominant genus <italic>Porites</italic>, and transfection studies show it is caused by an infectious agent. Symptoms are ovoid, bleached lesions, 3–5 mm in diameter. Significant tissue loss and colony death occurs when lesions coalesce. Of 11 reefs surveyed for disease prevalence, 82% were infected with PUWS.

The Impact of Algebra for All Policies on Tracking, Achievement, and Opportunity to Learn: A Longitudinal Study of California Middle Schools

Raymundo, Natalie Ann University of Southern California 2014 해외박사(DDOD)

Algebra for All policies in California were designed to open the barriers to the courses that correlate to college achievement and wage increases. Previous findings have so far been mixed, revealing both successes and work still to be done. It is important to determine whether these policies had the effects intended and to consider practical implications of the policy before the next big change in California mathematics---the implementation of Common Core State Standards in 2014--15. This study contains data from all California middle schools between 2003 through 2013 with a focus on the differences between high and low poverty schools' outcomes across student demographic subgroups. The focus of the study was on the impact of early algebra policies on California eighth-graders with regard to tracking, achievement, and placement practices. Kruskal-Wallis and two-way ANOVA were used to analyze results. The data studied revealed that between 2003 and 2013, enrollment into Algebra I at the eighth grade was increased for all students in all subgroups and proficiency rates in Algebra I went up for all students across all subgroups and school poverty levels.

Essays in labor economics

Campos Vazquez, Raymundo Miguel University of California, Berkeley 2009 해외박사(DDOD)

This dissertation utilizes different empirical methodologies to answer fundamental questions in labor economics. Chapter 2 analyzes how immigration affects native's employment outcomes, Chapter 3 analyzes the sources of change in wage inequality in Mexico after NAFTA was enacted, and Chapter 4 analyzes how workers respond to subsidized health insurance. In chapter 2, I use detailed establishment-level data from Germany to study the short- and longer-run displacement effects of increased immigrant hiring by firms after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. I compare employment trends at firms in the same local labor market that either hired or did not hire immigrants using both a matching approach and an instrumental variables strategy that exploits pre-existing immigrant job networks. Over a 1-2 year horizon, hiring one additional immigrant displaces roughly 0.3 native workers. I show that these results imply an elasticity of substitution between immigrants and natives of between 10 and 15. In chapter 3, I investigate the sources of the decrease in wage inequality in Mexico after NAFTA was enacted. Using a quartile decomposition. I show that the decline in wage inequality is driven by a decline in the returns to education and experience. Supply and demand are the main contributors for this change. The increase in supply of qualified workers was not met by an increase in demand for the highly educated. As a result, college educated workers put wage pressures in top qualified occupations. Mexico created Seguro Popular in 2002 with the goal of providing subsidized health insurance coverage to uninsured people. Only individuals lacking the security protections granted to all formal sector workers and their families are eligible. Hence, one unintended consequence of the program could be an increase in the size of the informal sector. The introduction of the program was conducted in stages, across municipalities and time. Chapter 4 exploits this variation and implement a differences-in-differences approach in order to identify the causal effect of the program in formal employment outcomes. There is little evidence of any correlation between Seguro Popular and the decision of workers to be employed in the informal sector.

"Die Zauberflote" and the Moral Law of Opposing Forces

Grant, Denice Raymundo University of Washington 2012 해외박사(DDOD)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Die Zauberflote, set to Schikaneder's libretto, brings to the forefront the Enlightenment models of light and darkness, good and evil. The traditional understanding of these concepts pits light against darkness, and good against evil. This thesis contends that Die Zauberflote is a work which portrays a system that contains both good and evil, rather than one that depicts the clash of good against evil. The ancient Pythagorean Monad and Dyad explain this concept. The Monad, a single number, represented an indivisible principle said to belong to the Olympian Creator Gods, while the Dyad, a dual, divisible law, represented a principle which contained two opposing forces. This principle was the property of the demiurges, who, according to the ancients, rule the earth. The main purpose of the law of contrary forces is to enforce order, and it accomplishes this goal through a system of merit and demerit, rewards and punishments. In this paradigm, Sarastro and the Queen of the Night are symbols of Osiris and Isis, the Egyptian gods who formed a unified godhead operating by the law of opposing forces. Part of this godhead is also Typho, Monostatos in the opera, the representation of pure evil. The significance of ancient Egyptian mysticism is stressed in this study for a better understanding of the opera. To that end, three of the main sources for the libretto, the fables of Dschinnistan, Ignaz von Born's Uber die Mysterien der Egyptiens, and Jean Terrasson's The Life of Sethos are explored. In addition, the writings of the Freemasons as well as eighteenth-century literature and philosophy are examined to ascertain the degree to which the system of contrary duality was relevant in Mozart's time.

Toward a Molecular Mechanism of Branching Microtubule Nucleation

Alfaro-Aco, Raymundo Princeton University ProQuest Dissertations & Thes 2020 해외박사(DDOD)

The microtubule cytoskeleton supports cell function by giving cells their shape, organizing their interior and segregating chromosomes. Microtubules are nucleated from specific locations at precise times in the cell cycle. However, the factors that constitute these microtubule nucleation pathways and their mode of action still need to be identified. Recently, it was uncovered that microtubules nucleate from pre-existing microtubules within the mitotic spindle, which requires the proteins TPX2, augmin and gamma-TuRC, but the molecular mechanism was unknown. Here, I investigate the role of TPX2 in branching microtubule nucleation, and via an in vitro reconstitution, demonstrate that the three factors TPX2, augmin and gamma-TuRC are sufficient to initiate this process.The C-terminal region of TPX2 is the minimal domain capable of stimulating branching microtubule nucleation in Xenopus egg extract. It contains newly identified gamma-TuRC nucleation activator motifs that are necessary for the function of the protein. While it is dispensable for branching microtubule nucleation, the N-terminal region of TPX2 enhances the efficiency of the reaction. Furthermore, TPX2 has the unexpected ability to directly recruit gamma-TuRC and augmin to pre-existing microtubules. In an in vitro reconstitution, TPX2 and augmin enable gamma-TuRC-dependent microtubule nucleation at preferred branching angles of less than 90 degrees from regularly spaced patches along microtubules. This work elucidates how the microtubule nucleator gamma-TuRC is localized and activated to cause branching microtubule nucleation, a process that is critical for spindle assembly. I anticipate these results will help explain how other microtubule nucleation pathways give rise to specific microtubule architectures in the cell.

Ethics in advertising and marketing in the Dominican Republic: Interrogating universal principles of truth, human dignity, and corporate social responsibility

Victor, Salvador Raymundo University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 2012 해외박사(DDOD)

This research project has explored and critically examined the intersections between the use of concepts, principles and codes of ethics by advertising practitioners and marketing executives and the standards of practice for mass mediated and integrated marketing communications in the Dominican Republic. A qualitative inquiry approach was considered appropriate for answering the investigation queries. The extensive literature review of the historical media and advertising developments in the country, in conjunction with universal ethics theory, facilitated the structuring of the research questions which addressed the factors affecting the forces that shaped the advertising discourse; the predominant philosophy and moral standard ruling the advertising industry; the ethical guidelines followed by the practitioners; and the compliance with the universal principles of truth, human dignity and social responsibility. A multi- methods research strategy was utilized. In this qualitative inquiry, data were gathered and triangulated using participant observation and in-depth, semi-structured interviews, supplemented by the review of documents and archival records. Twenty industry leaders were interviewed individually in two cities of the country, Santo Domingo and Santiago. These sites account for 98% of the nation-states' advertising industry. The interview process lasted six months. The data reduction and interpretation of the transcripts was reviewed and examined three times to guarantee accuracy. The analysis of document and archival records followed the same procedure as that of the interviews. The results are presented in terms of the most important findings, grouped in 6 major themes: 1) The advertising industry in the Dominican Republic has a rich and influential history; 2) Dominican advertising practitioners are skeptical about the value of academic literature concerning the field; 3) Although there is some government regulation, for the most part the advertising industry in the Dominican Republic practices self-regulations; 4) Advertising and marketing professionals in the Dominican Republic receive little formal education and training regarding ethics and how to apply it in their field and rely more on workplace rules and practices as well as formal and informal networks; 5) There is a widespread adherence to universal ethical values such as truth, human dignity and social responsibility among advertising practitioners in the Dominican Republic; and 6) The advertising industry in the Dominican Republic faces a precipitous future because of consolidation, digitalization, globalization, and a new generation of consumers who take an "anything goes" approach concerning what one may or may not write, express or post about an institution, organization, product or individual. The most relevant aspects of the findings are then discussed in the final chapter and some perspectives for future venues of research are analyzed.

Heterosis for forage production and quality in Pennisetum interspecific hybrids

Quero-Carrillo, Adrian Raymundo Texas A&M University 2000 해외박사(DDOD)

Twenty <italic>Pennisetum flaccidum</italic> x <italic>P. mezianum</italic> interspecific hybrids were evaluated and contrasted with the parental lines [Carostan (PI 220606) and PI 315868 (females) and PI 214061 (male)] for forage production, quality, and seed production. Hybrids evaluated had either reduced (n+n) or unreduced (2n+n) origin. The study was conducted at Texas A&M University research farm near College Station, TX and yearly forage production was evaluated from 1996 to 1998. A significant (P < 0.05) genotype x year interaction was observed for forage yield. In the first year, Carostan hybrids had a higher dry matter production than the PI 315868 hybrids. In the second year, there were no significant differences (P > 0.05) between the hybrids and the highest yielding parent. During the third year, the 2n+n hybrids from PI 315868 had a higher yield than the parental lines and were similar to the other hybrids. Forage samples were collected and analyzed for crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), cellulose (CELL), hemicellulose (HEMI), and lignin (L) concentration. No genotype x year interaction was observed for CP, NDF, HEMI, and CELL. For CP concentration, hybrids were intermediate to the parents. Neutral detergent fiber concentration in hybrids was lower when Carostan (P < 0.05) was the maternal parent. The HEMI concentration of all F₁ hybrids was lower than the maternal lines (P < 0.05) but similar to PI 214061 (P > 0.05). Cellulose concentration of the PI 315868 hybrids was higher (P < 0.05) than those from Carostan and similar (P > 0.05) to those from PI 214061 and the n+n hybrids of Carostan. Heterosis was not observed for the n+n hybrids from PI 315868. In 1997 and 1998, the highest mean heterosis was observed in the 2n+n hybrids from the maternal parent PI 315868. Heterosis was not observed for CP, NDF, HEMI and CELL as most hybrids were intermediate to their parents. Seed-set was low in both <italic>P. flaccidum </italic> parents and in all hybrids between <italic>P. flaccidum</italic> x <italic>P. mezianum</italic>. Even though good forage production and quality was observed in the hybrids, the lack of good seed production limits their future use as commercial cultivars.

Molecular and biological characterization of bean golden mosaic geminivirus from Chiapas, Mexico and identification of a geminiviral avirulence determinant

Garrido Ramirez, Eduardo Raymundo University of California, Davis 1999 해외박사(DDOD)

The complete nucleotide sequences of the infectious cloned components of bean golden mosaic geminivirus from Chiapas, Mexico (BGMV-MX) were determined. DNA-A and DNA-B consisted of 2644 and 2609 nucleotides, respectively, and the genome organization of BGMV-MX was similar to that of other bipartite geminiviruses. Particle bombardment and agroinoculation were used to demonstrate the infectivity of the cloned BGMV-MX components, and infected plants developed symptoms indistinguishable from those in field-infected plants. BGMV-MX also was readily sap-transmissible to beans. Sequence and phylogenetic analyses revealed that BGMV-MX is closely related to BGMV from Guatemala (BGMV-GA), the Dominican Republic (BGMV-DR), and Puerto Rico (BGMV-PR). Pseudorecombinants (PRs) formed between cloned components of BGMV-MX and BGMV-GA were infectious and symmetric in nature; PRs between BGMV-MX and BGMV-DR were infectious but asymmetric. In both cases, the symptom phenotype mapped to DNA-B. The tomato leaf crumple geminivirus (TLCrV) DNA-A and BGMV-MX DNA-B PR was infectious in common bean, whereas the reciprocal combination was not. Infectious PRs were not obtained with BGMV-MX and bean dwarf mosaic geminivirus (BDMV), or BDMV and TLCrV. Seventeen bean accessions were screened using three inoculation methods. Responses were similar for all methods, although particle bombardment resulted in higher infection rates. Mesoamerican gene pool materials were more resistant than Andean materials. Bean cultivars (cvs.) Othello and Black Turtle Soup T-39 (BTS) are resistant to systemic infection by BDMV. In cv. Othello, resistance is also associated with a hypersensitive response (HR). In contrast, BGMV-MX does not elicit HR in cv. Othello and systemically infects cvs. Othello and BTS. To identify the BDMV avirulence determinant, hybrid DNA-B components were constructed and coinoculated, with BDMV DNA-A or BDMVA-GFP, into bean seedlings. A DNA-B hybrid, with the BDMV BV1 and BGMV BC1 ORFs was infectious in cv. Topcrop, induced the HR in cv. Othello, and was not infectious in cvs. Othello or BTS; in contrast, the hybrid with BGMV BV1 and BDMV BC1 ORFs was infectious in cvs. Topcrop, Othello, and BTS and did not elicit the HR in cv. Othello. These results indicate that the BDMV BV1 protein is the avirulence determinant in cvs. Othello and BTS.