Why do the institutional outcomes of armed separatist conflicts vary? Separatist conflicts have diverse institutional effects. Though many separatists hope to create sovereign states, few achieve their aims. More often, their conflicts lead to forms of intra-state autonomy, independent but unrecognized de facto states, or territories under foreign occupation. These...
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">BaNa-Y is a catalyst for reduction of nitrogen oxides (NO and NO<sub>2</sub>) with added reductants at temperatures of ~200 °C. Studies were performed over BaNa-Y and related catalysts to unravel the roles that nitrates and nitrites play in determining the processes and pathways involved in NOx reduction. <o:p></o:p></span></p>...
Magnetic Resonance Imaging is a non-invasive modality that allows for deep-tissue imaging. Contrast agents decrease image acquisition time and increase the intrinsic contrast between different types of tissue. A new family of enzyme-activated contrast agents is emerging that has the ability to report on enzymatic processes in vivo. Towards this...
Although cementitious construction materials are mainly used in a large scale and in huge quantities, fundamental properties such as strength, ductility, creep, shrinkage, and fracture behavior depend, to a great extent, on structural elements and phenomena which are effective at the micro- and nanoscale. This research involves characterization of the...
An integral transform which reproduces a transformable input function after a finite number $N$ of successive applications is known as a {\it cyclic} transform. Of course, such a transform will reproduce an arbitrary transformable input after $N$ applications, but it also admits eigenfunction inputs which will be reproduced after a...
Modern-day middle school science textbooks are heavily populated with colorful images, technical diagrams, and other forms of visual representations. These representations are commonly perceived by educators to be useful aids to support student learning of unfamiliar scientific ideas. However, as the number of representations in science textbooks has seemingly increased...
This is a study of the conduct and consumption of statistical medical research HIV/AIDS clinics in the context of the expansion of domestic and international clinical research and evidence-based medicine. Evidence-based medicine is the most recent and most successful attempt at subjecting medical decisions to statistical measurement and control. The...
The advent of computers brought a profound change in the way the practical problems in the physics of materials are addressed. Within the last decade, a rapidly evolving area of research is oriented towards interfacing the existing numerical tools in an optimized way, by explicitly taking advantage of the specifics...
Sleep deprivation (Sd) preferentially impairs predictive and adaptive behaviors that shift responses based on the appropriate context. Behavioral studies implicate the frontal lobes as particularly susceptible to Sd. Aging also impairs frontal functioning, and alters the response to Sd. The interaction between age and Sd is poorly understood, and few...
To maintain polarity, epithelial cells continuously sort transmembrane proteins to the apical or basolateral membrane domains during biosynthetic delivery or after internalization. This thesis was designed to elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying protein trafficking. Our studies identified Rab13 as a critical GTPase regulator of biosynthetic cargos that are transported from...
In this work several self-assembling PA systems containing covalent-linking functionalities have been investigated. These covalently linkable PAs were designed to probe the supramolecular structure by covalent capture of the nanofibers and also improve the mechanical stiffness of the gel-material. The diacetylene motif was the main functional group investigated because of...
This dissertation is a comparative study of gezaixi (Taiwanese opera) in China and Taiwan. It foregrounds the different, at times conflicting, performance styles and aesthetics of gezaixi on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, which is primarily the result of a long closure (1949-1987) imposed by the two regimes, and...
Polyvalent oligonucleotide functionalized gold nanoparticle conjugates (DNA-AuNPs) possess unusual properties, which derive from their particle and oligonucleotide subunits as well as their three-dimensional architectures. This dissertation explores the role each chemical component plays in the conjugate's architecture and assembly and recognition capabilities. It also describes their application as probes in...
This dissertation examines how producers in the capital city of Burkina Faso manage to generate gains in producing utilitarian goods from scrap materials. Aluminum-smelting, tinsmithing, and tire-workings are three modern trades that have developed with the rising import of scrap supplies and consumer goods from Europe, the Middle East, and...
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary malignant liver tumor, with the highest incidence in Asia. Developed countries, including the United States, have had an 80% increase in HCC incidence over the last 15-20 years.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a promising imaging modality with superior soft tissue...
While self-consolidating concrete (SCC) may no longer be considered a "new concrete", there are still significant challenges to overcome before there is broader acceptance of SCC. One of these challenges concerns the formwork pressure exerted by SCC. A major advantage of SCC is the accelerated casting process due to the...
Legitimation is a fundamental social process that describes the solidification of disparate practices, meanings, and material structures into a coherent, stable institution.
In this dissertation, I study the legitimation of casino gambling as it expanded from 1976 to 2006. While scholars have tended to approach the legitimation process from one...
Early Growth Response genes (Egr1-4) are transcriptional mediators of signals governing growth and differentiation. In sympathetic neuron-derived cell lines, Egr1 is induced by NGF signaling, which is required for sympathetic neuron survival, differentiation and target organ innervation. In the absence of identifiable sympathetic defects in Egr1-deficient mice, we investigated the...
Risk measurement involves estimating some functional of a loss distribution. This calls for nested simulation, in which risk factors are sampled at an outer level of simulation, while the inner level of simulation provides estimates of loss given each realization of the risk factors. Assessing the statistical uncertainty of estimates...
This dissertation traces the influence of Botatwe farmers' hunting, fishing, and foraging activities on economic, political, and social life over the course of three millennia by weaving together evidence from historical linguistics, archaeology, and palaeoclimatology. While the spread and intensification of farming and trade are often used to explain political...