Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection of host cells requires virus attachment to the cell surface and subsequent membrane fusion between the virus envelope and host cell membrane to deliver the nucleocapsid containing the viral genome into the host cell. A proposed mechanism for HSV glycoprotein-induced membrane fusion is gD binding...
A pyramidal neuron receives thousands of inputs spread throughout its dendritic tree, which it must integrate into a decision about whether or not to fire action-potential output. Since action potentials are the primary means by which these neurons communicate with their network partners, understanding this input-output relationship is critical for...
In the first part of the dissertation I study mechanism design under limited communication. Chapter 1 offers a detailed analysis of auctions with simultaneous limited communication. I solve for both welfare and revenue maximizing equilibria. The striking feature of optimal equilibria is that they are asymmetric even when the setup...
Gonadotropins LH and FSH are secreted by the pituitary in response to hypothalamic GnRH and act to stimulate ovarian follicle development, steroid production and ovulation. Gonadal steroids, including estrogen, enter the circulation and provide neuroendocrine feedback at the hypothalamus and/or pituitary. Estrogen provides negative feedback to suppress gonadotropin release throughout...
Loneliness, Stress, and Depression over the Transition to Adulthood: Interpersonal and Physiological Pathways Leah Darrah Doane During the transition into adulthood, youth experience substantial stressful changes as they navigate shifts in their interpersonal, familial, educational and economic domains of life. This dissertation aims to understand how the unique experiences of...
Stochastic programming models static or dynamic optimal decision making under uncertainty. In contrast to deterministic mathematical programming, stochastic programming generally uses expectation functionals in objective or constraints over known or partially known distributions of the problem data. Its features many decision variables under complicated constraints over discrete time periods. Its...
The overall objective of this thesis is to develop a package of high-resolution, non-invasive experimental and numerical approaches to observe in situ pore-scale geometry modification due to colloid deposition, and quantitatively predict its effects on the large-scale transport properties of the porous medium. High-energy synchrotron-based X-ray difference micro-tomography (XDMT) was...
The present thesis presents a new application of dynamic constructivism (Hong, Morris, Chui, & Benet-Martinez, 2000; Morris & Fu, 2001) to teamwork process in creativity in multicultural teams. With its roots in cognitive psychology, dynamic constructivist theory posits that varying values, social structures, and norms within cultures create different knowledge...
>"Surprising Metamorphoses: Transformations of Race in Early American Literatures," analyzes early American literary representations of race within the context of contemporaneous belief systems. Contrasting sharply with subsequent periods, much late eighteenth-century thought conceptualized race as an external, mutable bodily condition that could change over time. Identifying how this thinking informs...
Motivated by performance requirements of future medical stent applications, experimental research addresses the design of novel TiNi-based, superelastic shape-memory alloys employing nanoscale precipitation strengthening to minimize accommodation slip for cyclic stability and to increase output stress capability for smaller devices. Using a thermodynamic database describing the B2 and L21 phases...