Harbor seal whiskers exhibit a tapering elliptical geometry uniquely suited to detect wakes (trails of water produced by upstream bodies) in ways a regular, tapering, or elliptical cylinder cannot. Previous studies into the matter have relied on idealized representations of the geometry the whiskers seem to take on and have...
Importance: Despite its efficacy, low tidal volume ventilation (LTVV) remains severely underutilized for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Physician under-recognition of ARDS is a significant barrier to LTVV use. We propose a computational method that addresses some of the limitations of the current approaches to automated measurement of...
Free space optical communication (FSO) offers a promising solution to the “last mile” bottleneck of high-speed telecommunications. Data is encoded using a modulated laser and optically sent through the air to a receiving photodetector. Although this requires FSO systems to have direct line-of-sight between the emitter and receiver, this is...
Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are proteinaceous organelles contained within prokaryotes used to facilitate reactions with increased efficiency, or to carry out reactions with intermediates that are harmful to the cell if released into the cytoplasm. Oftentimes, compartments are used to metabolize unique carbon sources, such as 1,2-propanediol (1,2-PD), whose metabolic pathway...
The basal layer of human epidermis is composed of progenitor cells that both self-renew and differentiate to form stratified epidermal tissue; this process requires strict, dynamic regulation of gene expression. The Super Elongation Complex (SEC) regulates gene expression at the level of transcription elongation by releasing RNA Polymerase II from...
In the past few years, educators have been pushing for an integration of the arts into science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning in order to promote innovation and creativity in these fields. The present study explores the relation between creativity and STEM learning among young children in digital and...
This dissertation explores topics in information economics. A particular focus in this dissertation is how competition affects incentives for information acquisition and information sharing between competitors. The first chapter studies a principal-agent setting where two principals compete for the services of one agent. The second chapter studies how competition in...
