Nature often uses reaction-diffusion(RD) as a means of making structures and materials of unique properties or morphologies on scales from macro- (e.g., stripes in zebras, tigers, and seashells, and formations in trees, agates, and rocks) to microscopic (e.g., cellular growth, chemotaxis and biological waves). However, reaction-diffusion phenomena have not yet...
The ready-mix concrete industry is a fascinating laboratory for the study of industry dynamics. Concrete plants produce a single homogeneous product with technology and equipment that has changed little over the last 50 years. Building a plant entails substantial sunk costs since the machinery used to produce ready-mix cannot easily...
This thesis concerns the development of robust algorithms for large-scale nonlinear programming. Despite recent advancements in high-performance computing power, classes of problems exist that continue to challenge the practical limits of contemporary optimization methods. The focus of this dissertation is the design and analysis of algorithms intended to achieve economy...
This dissertation studies two long-standing asset pricing anomalies: "Value and Growth Effects" and "Momentum Effects" via the channel of market imperfections. These market imperfections stem from basic information asymmetry problem, and take forms of contracting problems and less than perfectly competitive information intermediaries.
The first essay (joint with Zhi Da)...
This dissertation addresses the process-pathways running between immigrant adolescents' life experiences and their engagement in school by providing an ecocultural perspective on self-regulation. While the role of social context, such as stress and resources, has been identified as critical in its influence on different dimensions of adolescent development, research on...
Hypoxia is a reduction in the normal level of oxygen tension and occurs during acute and chronic vascular disease, pulmonary disease, and cancer. The key transcription factor that regulates the cellular responses to hypoxia is hypoxia-inducible-factor-1 (HIF-1). Understanding how HIF-1 is regulated is fundamental for understanding the biology of tumor...
The emergence of antimicrobial resistance and the growing concern to produce new drugs have influenced an increase in the amount of research directed towards the engineering of novel polyketides. The polyketide carbon backbone is synthesized by a set of enzymes known as polyketide synthases (PKSs). These catalyze the formation of...
Downsizings are now so pervasive that millions of Americans are laid off each year with the stated purpose of improving their organizations' financial outcomes. However, one of the unforeseen negative consequences of downsizings is high attrition by employees who "survive" the layoffs. This dissertation seeks to extend our understanding of...
Frictionless Information Systems (FIS) are a class of software systems that automatically bring users information and services related to what they are doing. These systems bridge the gap between the information a user wants and the repositories that contain the information - making the user more effective and informed. By...
The porphyrazines (pzs), a class of porphyrin derivatives, have shown potential as therapeutic and imaging agents due to a combination of their near-IR absorbance/fluorescence and their enhanced chemical flexibility. Cell viability/proliferation assays and fluorescence microscopy were carried out in both tumor and normal cells to characterize the biological activity of...