Bilkent University Institutional Repository (BUIR)
Bilkent University Institutional Repository (BUIR), a service of Bilkent University Libraries, collects, preserves, and distributes the intellectual output of Bilkent University. Faculty, staff, and students are invited to deposit their research and scholarship. Departments, administrative units, programs, and centers are invited to use the Institutional Repository to distribute their working papers, technical reports, conference proceedings, and other research material. For assistance in depositing documents. For more information, please contact us.
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Longevity and circadian rhythm in Caenorhabditis elegans: the impact of lithium chloride
(Bilkent University, 2024-06) Temirci, Elif Sena
Lithium chloride (LiCl) is a popular treatment for various neurological disorders, especially bipolar disorders. While its complete mechanism of action remains partially elucidated, LiCl has been found to support new memory formation by triggering the construction of new neurons, reducing senescence, and regulating the circadian rhythm, particularly in bipolar patients, where it counteracts their abnormally fast biological clock. The circadian rhythm is vital in determining efficiency, understanding energy consumption, and biochemical balance for all organisms. This
rhythm includes regulating body functions by the day/night cycle. Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is one of the most robust organisms for modeling circadian rhythm, although it lives in the soil. Therefore, by employing C. elegans as a model system, valuable insights could be gained for these complex processes. This study aims to elucidate the complex relationship between LiCl, circadian rhythms, and longevity, as disruptions in these pathways are implicated in neurodegenerative diseases and age-related cognitive and motor decline. In this project, white light was employed to manipulate the circadian rhythm in C. elegans, with one group additionally receiving LiCl treatment in addition to light exposure. The study focused on longevity, response to environmental factors, and circadian rhythm. To elucidate the effect on longevity, lifespan measurements showed that LiCl treatment extended the lifespan of C. elegans under both light and dark conditions, with a shorter lifespan observed in the light. Additionally, when comparing the effect of specific developmental time points, the signs of aging appeared later in the dark compared to the light. The differential gene expression of longevity genes suggested that LiCl treatment could impact gene expression, particularly the age-1 gene, but not the daf-16 gene. Furthermore, the response to environmental changes was examined imilarly and it was observed that C. elegans responded to the circadian rhythm disruption caused by light and LiCl administration. In conclusion, this study suggests that LiCl treatment has the potential to mitigate the adverse effects of circadian rhythm disruptions and reverse the aging process of C. elegans.
Dare to share? how anti-disinformation policies affect online news-sharing behavior in Türkiye
(Bilkent University, 2024-05) Küçükoruç, Selin
For the past decades, governments and social media companies have attempted to combat the spread of misinformation online by developing new regulations around online technologies. While these attempts have successfully curbed the spread of misinformation in many instances, there have also been cases where such regulations have violated the freedom of expression due to the uncertainty surrounding the definition of misinformation (Cipers et al., 2023). This thesis aims to explore how these strategies to combat misinformation affect the way ordinary citizens engage with news online in an authoritarian-leaning context. In doing so, it investigates the impact of recent counter-misinformation regulation in Turkiye, publicly known as the disinformation or censorship law, on news-sharing behavior. Employing a 2x2 between-subjects online survey experiment among 228 Turkish college student, the study seeks to understand whether exposure to information about the law and the mode of online identity (anonymous vs. real) affects individuals’ news-sharing tendencies. Although the salience of the law and the different modes of online identity does not significantly affect news-sharing attitudes as a model, the salience of the law alone has a significant negative relationship with sharing likelihood when all control variables were included in the analysis. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of striking a balance between countering misinformation and protecting freedom of expression online.
Generating tree method and applications to pattern-avoiding inversion sequences
(Bilkent University, 2024-05) Gezer, Melis
An inversion sequence of length n is an integer sequence e = e1 · · · en such that 0 ≤ ei < i for each 0 ≤ i ≤ n. We use In to denote the set of inversion sequences of length n. Let [k] := {0, 1, · · · , k − 1} denote the alphabet and τ be a word of length k over this alphabet. A pattern of length k is simply a word over the alphabet [k]. We say an inversion sequence e ∈ In contains the pattern τ of length k if it contains a sub-sequence of length k that is order isomorphic to τ; otherwise, e avoids the pattern τ . For a given pattern τ , we use In(τ ) to denote the set of all τ -avoiding inversion sequences of length n. Firstly, we review the enumeration of inversion sequences that avoid patterns of length three. We then study an enumeration method
based on generating trees and the kernel method to enumerate pattern-avoiding inversion sequences for general patterns. Then, we provide sampling
algorithms for pattern-avoiding inversion sequences and apply them to some specific patterns. Based on extensive simulations, we study some statistics such as the number of zeros, the number of distinct elements, the number of repeated elements, and the maximum elements. Finally, we present a bijection between In(0312) and In(0321) that preserves these statistics.
How can bundle cosmopsychism solve the subject-derivation problem
(Bilkent University, 2024-05) Celayir, Berk
Cosmopsychism is the view that the universe as a whole is conscious and metaphysi-
cally grounds all conscious subjects. While this position has the important advantage
of avoiding the fundamental problems of physicalism, dualism and micropsychism,
it faces a challenge called the subject-derivation problem, that is, it must explain
how all the different conscious subjects derive from a singular cosmic subject. In this
thesis, I will argue that the subject-derivation problem cannot be solved as long as a
singular cosmic subject is assumed, and I will propose a new model for solving this
problem, which I call Bundle Cosmopsychism. The main idea of my thesis is that a
bundle of cosmic subjects subsuming the entire phenomenal statespace can ground
all subjects in an irreducibly collective way.
Mary Wollstonecraft’s revolution in manners and the kickback of constructed femininity
(Bilkent University, 2024-05) Çiftci, Sena
In my thesis, by using Simone De Beauvoir's concept of ‘the other’ from her book
Second Sex, I attempt to solve the issue of how some features of produced
femininity, such as submission, caretaking, sentimentality, and so forth, increase
women's oppression. I argue that discriminatory practices that are explicitly gendered
and imposed on a single gender have been producing negative outcomes, regarding
the problem explained. Also, it should be acknowledged that adhering to these
practices should not be promoted as necessary to be identified as a woman. I propose
to follow the revolution in female manners advocated by Mary Wollstonecraft in A
Vindication of the Rights of Women as a plausible and effective answer to ‘the
otherness’ of women in society. Here I argue that the main reason for the plausibility
is the said revolution’s inclusivity. Since Wollstonecraft argues that the revolution in
female manners can be attained only by equal distribution of knowledge of the right
kind of virtues and national education to all genders, inclusivity should be a given.