Microfluidic devices are used to process fluids at a small scale. Some of these devices contain physicalobstacles that are used to manipulate the flow of fluid through the device. In our work, we implement a Python program for approximating the velocity of an incompressible fluid over a rectangular domain using the Navier-Stokes equations. Our strategy, which is built primarily on common finite difference methods, allows users to easily add obstacles into the domain and observe...

An examination of Counter-Reformation painting and politics in Florence and Munich, focusing particularly on the Bruges-born painter Peter Candid.

The language journalists use to describe politicians has the ability to influence the way voters perceive candidates, and this influence increases during moments of low information like the primaries of a campaign (Peacock et. al, 2021). The power of media framing coupled with language that is known to be harmful to political candidates serves as the jumping point for my research (Lay et. al, 2019). In this project I examine whether the presence of Black...

My project investigates the transnational advocacy network at the UN Security Council that worked hard to secure Security Council resolution 1820 (2008). UNSCR 1820 is a landmark resolution that condemns sexual violence in war-time as a crime against humanity. It was seen as a milestone for the newly emerging Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda in the international security world. Years prior to 1820’s passage, there was no indication that the Security Council would unanimously...

This project explores what it means to have personal autonomy that is of value in a relational world. I describe and depict what a 'life that is one's own' may look like, realistically, through describing the experience of personal autonomy. This project demonstrates the necessity of including the psychological element of agency and interpersonal relationships (including group identity) in an account of autonomy. Here, I explore autonomy as an experience which is supported by agential...

In today's political era, interest groups are infamous for their ability, both real and perceived, to affect political outcomes. Because interest groups are so influential, it is all the more important to understand how exactly they function and influence politics. One set of influence strategies deals in mobilizing their members to take political action, which is called outside lobbying. However, the existing literature does not have an answer as to what interest groups can do...

In this project, I explore how the US media represents the situation regarding MS-13 in El Salvador and within its own borders. I give a broad overview of Salvadoran history to re-contextualize the narratives shared by Salvadoran media and its government. Through a historical context, I revisit the blame placed on Salvadoran youth for the country's destabilization. I then explore similarities between US media’s portrayal of MS-13 and Salvadoran life to define common patterns of...

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) was a critical component of the Chinese government’s efforts to modernize the economy during the early reform period. Through a statistical analysis of infrastructure density and case studies of Jiangsu and Liaoning province, this thesis investigates the policy options available to provincial governments for promoting inward FDI, as well as their limitations and potential dependency on central and local government actions. I find that although provincial governments had many choices for...

Rajiv Mohabir is a dazzling poet of linguistics crossovers, who works in English, Bhojpuri, Hindi and more. He is as prolific as he is polyglot (three books in 2021!) and has undertaken a remarkable array of projects includes the prizewinning resurrection of a forgotten century-old memoir about mass involuntary migration. He joined John and first-time host Ulka Anjaria (English prof, Bollywood expert and Director of the Brandeis Mandel Center for the Humanities) in the old...

Proposed almost 60 years ago, the Turing mechanism has been rigorously studied as a potential basis for morphogenesis and the driving force behind multiple patterning behaviors found in biology, ecology, behavioral science, mathematics, and chemistry. Growth, which is ubiquitous in biology, has been shown to impact Turing pattern formation in a variety of simple model systems. In this Dissertation, the influence of domain growth on Turing patterns is studied using both experimental and simulated systems....

The issue of abortion is one that is contentious and polarizing in a number of countries. In response to the heated nature of these debates, there are strong pro-choice and pro-life movements that are active in various regions of the world. This thesis studies two such abortion rights movements in Argentina and the United States, and factors that have impacted the contexts in which the movements exist and what they have accomplished. Considerations such as...

Double strand breaks (DSBs) can occur in the genome from regular cellular processes and environmental, clastogenic agents. Failure and error in repairing DSBs results in genome instability, which can lead to cancer or cell death. Thus, our understanding of DNA repair is intertwined with our understanding of cancer, current therapeutic agents, and gene therapy. There are two major categories of DNA repair: homologous recombination (HR) and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ). The focus of the first...

Early childhood education has been shown to have long-term benefits on education, earnings, and social outcomes. The Head Start program is a free pre-school program that serves low-income children in the United States. I take advantage of sibling fixed effects to explore the effectiveness of the program using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Initially, I find positive effects on wealth accumulation for Black Head Start participants. After using a fixed effects reweighting...

Synapse formation is a critical process in our brain which determines how proper circuit formation and function is regulated. Investigating the role of synaptic molecules involved in both types of synapse formation is crucial for establishing a signaling model for how synapses are formed. The Paradis lab has previously established that Class 4 Semaphorin ligands and their transmembrane receptors, the Plexin-Bs, are involved in regulating both inhibitory and excitatory synapse formation. Our lab has previously...

The superior cervical ganglia (SCG) contains satellite glia (SG) and postganglionic neurons, which innervate the heart. These cell types contribute to sympathetic drive, integrating neuronal activity from the CNS to drive peripheral function. There is evidence that these neurons contribute to neurogenic hypertension development, however, the contributions of satellite glia are not understood. By studying the relationship of the satellite glia on postnatal neuron development, our understanding of the sympathetic circuit can improve along with...

This thesis examines the Japanese language poetry written by Kibei Nisei in Tessaku, a literary magazine published within the Tule Lake Relocation Center during the World War II Incarceration of Japanese Americans. By translating and studying this work, I hope to contribute a better understanding of the experiences of the Kibei, the generation of Japanese Americans born in the United States but educated partially in Japan.The Kibei-produced poetry in Tessaku is incredibly varied in its...

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a progressive neuromuscular condition that primarily affects males. A diagnosis of DMD affects not only the diagnosed boy, but also the entire family. Due to the progressive nature of the condition and dire prognosis for the affected child, parents often shy away from this difficult conversation with their unaffected children and reported they are not given any tools to aid them through these conversations. Using semi structured interviews, this study...

Depression is a common syndrome that has a strong negative impact on people’s quality of life. Women, especially in middle age, are facing a greater risk for depressive disorders. Increasing one’s physical activity level has shown great effects on reducing depression symptoms. The study evaluated the effect of a 12-week goal-directed walking intervention on walking engagement and depression symptoms among middle-aged women. A total of 55 middle to older age female participants (age range: 50–74)...

Hormone fluctuation has been associated with depressive symptoms. Previous research has demonstrated that the efficacy of emotion regulation differs by menstrual cycle phase. Inconsistency in the efficacy of emotion regulation could decrease emotion regulation self-efficacy, which could lead to depressive symptoms. To investigate if poor emotion regulation and poor emotion regulation self-efficacy link the relationship between hormone fluctuation and depressive symptoms, we had subjects (18-25 years old) complete measures of depressive symptoms and emotion regulation...

Neurons in the ferret primary visual cortex (V1) exhibit direction selectivity when they respond to properly oriented black and white gratings moving in a preferred direction. Visual experience is required for the emergence of direction selectivity, but it can also be induced with 6 hours of early visual training (Li et al., 2006). Since V1 cells receive input from LGN cells, it is possible that LGN cells undergo some sort of change that allows V1...

Sleep is a widely conserved behavior, known to influence many cognitive and physiological functions. Studies have implicated microRNAs in the regulation of gene expression changes that control sleep behavior. The Griffith lab screened a library of 143 microRNA sponges using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, in order to find microRNAs involved in sleep regulation (Goodwin et al., 2018). This screen showed miR-190 to be involved in the regulation of sleep. Flies expressing the miR-190-sponge (miR-190-SP)...

Octopus month has morphed seamlessly into Multispecies month here at RtB, bringing with it not only last week's piece on chimpanzees, but also this sparkling conversation about all sorts of multi-species communities. Recorded live in front of an audience of writing students and introduced by Brandeis physicist Matthew Headrick, it features Patricia Alvarez Astacio, an anthropologist and filmmaker. She has made a film about her work in the Peruvian highlands, where people live with, respect,...

Our second January Novel Dialogue conversation is with Caryl Phillips, professor of English at Yale and world-renowned for novels ranging from The Final Passage to 2018's A View of the Empire at Sunset. He shares his thoughts on transplantation, on performance, on race, even on sports. Joining him here are John and the wonderful comparatist Corina Stan, author of The Art of Distances: Ethical Thinking in 20th century Literature. If you enjoy this conversation, range...

Parents with disabilities are no more likely than

Women with intellectual and developmental disabilities, or IDD, face significant health