This essay dives into three key stories: the myth of Pygmalion and his statue from Ovid's Latin epic Metamorphoses, the story of Acis, Galatea, and Polyphemus also from Metamorphoses, and Madeline Miller's novella Galatea. The major factor that these stories have in common is the overlying theme of male desire, and the consequences of not being able to attain that desire, typically in the form of control or violence. I analyze the literary choices made by both Ovid and Miller, and how they characterize their male characters in juxtaposition with their female characters. I take these analyses and connect them to the modern phenomenon of the Internet "Incel", which is a colloquial term for "involuntary celibate"— an online community of avid misogynists. My main methodology is utilizing critical sources by feminist classicists such as Donna Zuckerberg in conjunction with research studies done on male-dominated online forums to understand how misogynistic rhetoric is formed out of male desire. My essay focuses on Pygmalion and Polyphemus as prototypical Incels, and how this sort of misogyny and desire for control over women has a long history in popular media, and emphasizes the role that the classics play in modern day sexism.

Family businesses are some of the most important economic contributors in the United States, accounting for approximately 64% of the U.S. GDP. The family business model, which refers to any business with two or more family members on the board or in ownership, is a crucial and enduring part of business in the Seattle area and abroad. Historians have often pointed out that the family business model seems to be the base model for business and has thus been present since the beginning of organized business, often in the form of farms, merchant companies, banks, and other small businesses. Despite its prevalence, the family business model is far from perfect because of its numerous commonly encountered limitations. One of the limitations family businesses face is the challenge of succession, as only about 30% are able to succeed from the first generation to the second. Other limitations relate to growth, sustainability, and qualification problems. This study, conducted as a literature review, uses a combination of peer-reviewed articles and popular sources (chosen based on criteria of relevancy and prominence) as quantitative data to examine the consensus of family businesses in Seattle and the solutions that have been proposed to address these limitations. Interviews with family business owners in the Seattle area were also conducted to provide qualitative data and to highlight specific opinions. The economic and historical implications of Seattle family business are also discussed. This research aims to provide insight into otherwise costly financial, succession, and leadership difficulties in order to ensure that the family business model is an enduring contributor to the Seattle economy. Having the proper knowledge on how to approach these difficulties and reconcile with their seemingly conflicting nature can help family businesses in the Seattle area thrive while working through complicated business situations.

This paper examines several ancient sources for instances in which figures exhibit disconnection, aversion, or repulsion towards the erotic sphere that is so valued in societies. The paper will mainly focus on two myths: those of Narcissus (as illustrated in Ovid’s Metamorphoses) and Hippolytus (as shown in Euripides’s Hippolytus, Seneca’s Phaedra, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and Ovid’s Heroides). In this essay, I argue that these figures can be read as asexual and that their untimely ends were brought about by their refusal to conform to the societal expectations placed on men–often characterized by vigorous sexual appetite, which would eventually lead to a man passing down his bloodline and fulfilling his duty to his oikos. Since myth often reflects real life, and works as a tool people can use to think about themselves, it can be argued that the inclusion of asexual-coded figures supports the contention that the asexual identity has always existed, even if the words to describe it are a more recent development.Therefore, the Narcissus and Hippolytus episodes are valuable pieces of evidence for both ancient and modern discourses of sexuality stepping outside the bounds of allonormativity. From a methodical standpoint, I first analyze the ancient texts, including secondary sources on them, then look at studies and papers on modern-day asexuality and examine the myths through this lens.

Staphylococcus aureus is an important human pathogen that has increasingly developed resistance to antibiotics and antimicrobials. It is important to understand how genetic mutations influence antibiotic resistance to anticipate how the organism is able to evolve and combat emerging resistance. My project aims to fully characterize the impact of variants in the norA gene, which is associated with efflux-mediated resistance. The Salipante lab has developed a system for precision genome engineering in S. aureus by constructing a vector that is able to conduct recombineering while suppressing DNA repair, and a separate vector for killing unmodified bacteria using programmed CRISPR/Cas9. Using this system, I will construct a library of genetic mutations in the S. aureus genome that will encompass all possible single mutations in norA and to subsequently test the fitness costs of those mutations in the presence and absence of antibiotics.We will recombineer into S. aureus randomly mutagenized oligonucleotides that encode a silent mutation that renders transgenic bacteria immune to targeted CRISPR/Cas9 cutting. After killing off unmodified bacteria, the transformed population will be composed entirely of different mutants, so that with a large population size, we can statistically ensure that all possible random mutations are represented. We will analyze the gene sequence from the initial population, after the population has expanded in the absence of drugs, and after exposure to different concentrations of drugs, to compare the relative representation of each specific mutation. Changes that are detrimental under a condition will be underrepresented relative to the starting population, while those that are beneficial will be overrepresented. Mutations that are lethal will not be recovered in the first place. Our project has the potential to fully and comprehensively address clinically important questions regarding antibiotic resistance evolution in this gene.

Marine cyanobacteria have developed many genetic defenses in response to viral infection. Similar defense genes have been found in diverse groups of cyanobacteria, suggesting different modes of evolution for defense genes. Berube et. al (2018) identified novel cyanobacterial clusters of orthologous genes (CyCOGs), families of genes with similar genetic sequences. However many of these CyCOGs remain uncharacterized. The goal of my study was to characterize an uncharacterized CyCOG called 60001830, which is expressed in the marine cyanobacteria Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus, and when expressed is correlated with the genes of viruses that infect cyanobacteria (cyanophages). This suggests CyCOG 60001830 has an adaptive response to the presence of cyanophages, which would make it a family of defense genes. Using phylogenetic analysis, I resolved the evolutionary history of CyCOG 60001830 by comparing it to the evolutionary history of a key gene in host genomes. I compared the phylogeny of CyCOG 60001830 to the phylogeny of RecA, a highly conserved and essential gene present in all Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus species because of its key role in DNA repair and/or maintenance. CyCOG 60001830 does not share the same evolutionary pattern as RecA, which suggests that it does not follow a pattern of vertical gene transfer but rather horizontal gene transfer, genes being exchanged between neighboring bacteria. Viral defense genes evolve rapidly in an evolutionary arms race between bacteria and phages, so CyCOG 60001830’s evolutionary pattern makes sense as horizontal gene transfer operates faster than vertical gene transfer.

While discussing as a group what types of experimentation we could potentially do, we had a variety of different ideas. We thought that with the DC plasma source available to us, it would be interesting to compare how the cleanliness of the vacuum chamber impacted when breakdown would occur. For our research, we are using a DC Plasma Discharge device, which creates a plasma between two electrodes inside of a vacuum chamber. A high DC (direct current) voltage is applied across the two electrodes and a current flows between them. Plasma, the 4th state of matter, is a gas where electrons have been stripped from atoms or molecules in a gas. What results is an electrically charged gas consisting of negative electrons and positive ions. The point at which a gas becomes a plasma is called breakdown. Breakdown depends on the pressure in the vacuum vessel, the distance between the electrodes, the type of gas and the voltage applied. A Paschen curve relates the breakdown voltage to the product of the distance between the electrodes and the pressure in the vacuum vessel. Our goal was to see how a dirty vacuum chamber would impact the Paschen curve. We expected that breakdown would happen at lower voltages with the clean vacuum chamber. We obtained data for creating the curve by running the plasma tube and measuring the pressure as the voltage increased while the vacuum chamber was contaminated with oil. We recorded pressure and voltage values for when breakdown occured and repeated this process with different distances. We then gathered the same data after the vacuum was cleaned. The implication of our research is that it will add to information on how the cleanliness of a vacuum chamber determines when breakdown happens in a plasma tube. In the future, more trials could be run and different gases could be tested. 

The purpose of this experiment was to visualize and record the different rates of expansion for multiple gases as they are launched into the higher parts of Earth’s atmosphere with a High-Altitude Balloon (HAB). The ideal gas law models the behavior of a gas that of which its molecules occupy no volume and have no intermolecular forces (IMF). It is a simple equation; however, it cannot model gases accurately. On the other hand, Van der Waals equation for non-ideal gases better resembles the behavior of a real gas as it includes what the ideal gas law lacks. To test this, we filled three syringes with three different gases to the same volume. We chose to test argon, helium, and nitrogen. We secured the syringes to a container, which served as the payload for the HAB. We also placed an altimeter, thermometer, and a barometric pressure sensor inside the container. Then, we connected the sensors to an Arduino to record each piece of data synced to a stopwatch that is displayed in the container on a screen. Finally, we secured a camera to the container facing the stopwatch and syringes to record the gasses’ volume. Because helium has the weakest IMFs out of the three gases, we believed helium would expand at a higher rate as atmospheric pressure decreases compared to the other gases. The results from our experiment serve as a good example of how far the behavior of real gases deviate from ideal gases modeled by the ideal gas law. Depending on how close our measured values reach the calculated values from the ideal gas law, we can predict which situations the ideal gas law can model the behavior of a particular gas relatively accurately.

We collected and compared the spectra of air plasma and argon plasma in a dirty and clean direct current (DC) plasma discharge device. After cleaning the plasma tube we hypothesize the measured plasma spectrum will have fewer lines because it wont have as many impurities. The fourth state of matter, plasma, is matter that has been superheated, causing the electrons to be ripped from the atoms. This forms an electrically charged gas that consists of negative electrons and positive ions. Our plasma was created using a DC plasma discharge device. This device creates a plasma between two electrodes inside of a vacuum chamber. A high DC voltage is applied across the two electrodes and a current flows between them. DC plasmas can be utilized as sputter sources to deposit thin films for solar panels and the purity of the plasma can affect performance. Our vacuum vessel was accidentally contaminated with oil and dirt. To evaluate the effectiveness of our cleaning practices, spectra was measured for plasmas in the vessel contaminated with oil and other dirt and then again after the vessel was cleaned. Spectra, the range of wavelength produced when light is dispersed, emitted by air plasma and argon plasma were measured between 645 nm and 1050 nm with an Ocean Optics ST-NIR spectrometer. Spectra before and after cleaning were compared to measure the effectiveness of the cleaning. Our research provides evidence for the best way to clean DC plasma discharge devices in order to remove impurities. The conclusion of this analysis is imperative for efficient thin film plating using DC plasma.

El Niño is an atmospheric-oceanic phenomenon characterized by the periodic warming of the sea surface in the eastern equatorial Pacific. Profiling data from Argo floats in the eastern equatorial Pacific is used for this research. An Argo float is an underwater profiling technology that can record and transmit real-time data of various ocean parameters at different depths. This technology supports the analysis of temperature, salinity anomalies, and other nutrients. In addition, a numerical model will be developed to simulate the progression of El Niño and evaluate its regional oceanic impacts. With both observational data and modeling output, this research aims to enhance the understanding of the dynamics of El Niño-induced impacts on oceanic parameters at a broader global scale. Based on the current data, I have discovered a clear variation in temperature and salinity according to the annual average. The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) indicator also suggests that the 2023-2024 El Niño is very strong and still in its development phase.
 

This video essay focuses on the use of scientific-based meteorological information as a means of shaping political unity in Taiwan as a turbulent state. After providing a brief overview of the history of informed weather announcements through electronic media-based reports from the 20th century - with an emphasis on East Asian regions - and their evolution in relation to ideals of nationality, I contend that governments strategize the publication of weather events such as smog to form public consensus during seasons of political turmoils and antagonize border nations. In addition, they utilize isolated weather satellite imagery during online weather castings to strengthen ideas of nationality by consciously selecting regions and borders to present on screen. For smaller governments that lack the technology, the representational choices of what and how to display their territory in weather segments indicate the mood of how the government wants to be perceived by its own people. Techniques of producing and circulating weather information morphs alongside instruments, networks, and political climates. For example, commercialized television stations and other forms of media enhance the spread of ideals by the spectacular influence of severe weather events. Therefore, information promoted by national weather services is used for sustaining political orders rather than a service for public welfare.

Marine microbes produce over half of the world’s oxygen and are major greenhouse gas processors. These tiny organisms are vital to life on Earth as they cycle nutrients through marine microbial communities via metabolic pathways that are not yet fully characterized. We gain insight into how key compounds are cycled throughout different environments and microbial communities by studying transporter proteins as they mediate nutrient uptake and export in microbes. We aim to compare the abundance of transporters between marine microbial communities by translating and processing sequence data obtained from sequencing the RNA in water samples from multiple locations, capturing a diverse range of organism's genetic information. Currently, there is no standard methodology for identifying genes of transporter proteins from environmental sequence data. We developed a bioinformatic pipeline that identifies transporter genes and allows them to be characterized according to a standardized transporter classification system. This pipeline annotates amino acid sequences from oceanic samples with mathematical models to identify transporters and then annotates these results with taxonomic information. The pipeline enables us to compare transporter abundances between different marine microbial communities, which can be used to infer and map nutrient flow through marine microbial communities.

A direct current (DC) discharge is one method for producing plasma. Plasma, the 4th state of matter, is defined as the separation of positive ions and electrons in a gas. A gas transforms into a plasma in an isolated low-pressure area between two electrodes, a cathode and an anode. The DC discharge, particularly the DC glow discharge, has historically been significant for both investigating plasma characteristics and providing a weakly ionized plasma for various uses. This project explores the utilization of Faraday’s Law as a fundamental principle for quantifying plasma currents. A fundamental principle of electromagnetism that I have been exploring on this project is Faraday’s Law, this law is especially useful in plasma physics when figuring out the current flowing through a plasma column or confinement device. The device I am building is called a B-dot probe which will be used to measure the current when the discharge turns on. The B-dot probe is essentially a coil made of conducting wire with a “tail” (twisted pair). Through a series of tests, I have procured the average magnetic field produced by the plasma current. From this average magnetic field and geometric measurements the average plasma current is deduced. Plasma is used everywhere now a days like in your TV and neon lights as well as in nature like the aurora borealis. With this research I hope to make the understanding behind the physics of plasma as well as it's magnetic fields easier to comprehend.

B-cell lymphoma-extra large (Bcl-xl) is a mitochondrial transmembrane protein that acts as an anti-apoptotic protein by sequestering the apoptosis-inducing proteins Bim, Bak, and Bad. This prevents the release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria, preventing activation of apoptosis pathways. Higher levels of Bcl-xl expression are commonly found in cancer cells. This contributes to the prevention of apoptosis in cancer cells, allowing them to proliferate uncontrollably. Bcl-xl is an incredibly important target for cancer therapeutics. A Bcl-xl binder would inhibit the interaction between Bcl-xl and apoptosis inducing proteins, allowing cancer cells to undergo apoptosis. In my research, I am using deep learning methods to design cyclic peptides that bind to Bcl-xl. To design the binders, I used RFDiffusion - a generative diffusion model - to produce thousands of cyclic peptide binder scaffolds bound to Bcl-xl. I then used a sequence-based deep learning tool to generate multiple sequences for each backbone design. The resulting binders were computationally validated with the highly accurate, machine-learning-based structure prediction tools AlphaFold and RoseTTAFold. Of the 40000 generated cyclic peptides, 2052 were predicted to bind to Bcl-xl based on standard metrics. Along with their excellent metrics, these designs show a high structural similarity and binding location to the known Bcl-xl binders Bim, Bak, and Bad. The designs were clustered by backbone into 350 unique clusters. We synthesized the top designs and identified which peptides display binding to Bcl-xl through a Homogeneous Time-Resolved Fluorescence (HTRF) assay. A successful Bcl-xl binder has the potential to serve as the basis for an effective and affordable cancer therapy.