The nonlinear optical technique, second harmonic generation (SHG), is applied here for the first time to probe single and double strand DNA (ssDNA and dsDNA) chemically attached to fused quartz/water interfaces. DNA interfaces are often a critical functional component of biodetection, thus, the development of molecular biosensors requires a thorough...
The adoption of surfactant replacement therapy (SRT) for the treatment of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (nRDS) is one of the main contributors to the dramatic decline in infant mortality rates observed in the 1980s. Despite the significant efficacy of animal-derived surfactant preparations, there are still some concerns associated with their...
Short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) are both processed from longer, double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) presursors by a member of the Dicer (Dcr) family of proteins. siRNAs generally arise from perfectly base-paired dsRNAs, whereas miRNAs are excised from 60-70 nt pre-miRNA hairpins containing multiple bulges and mismatches within the duplexed...
Pain normally subserves a vital role in the survival of the organism by prompting the avoidance of situations associated with tissue damage. However, the sensation of pain can become dissociated from its normal physiological role when the pain-sensing nervous system becomes hypersensitive, a condition known as neuropathic pain. Currently available...
A practical challenge in wireless communication systems is acquisition of channel state information at the transmitter and the receiver. In this thesis, we address the problem of training and limited-rate feedback optimization for fading channels. In a wideband (multi-carrier) channel, given limited coherence time and power, only a finite number...
Step length is a common measurement taken during gait analyses. It allows one to determine asymmetries between the two legs, compare differences between subjects, and even compare intra-subject differences for changing parameters. Yet there has been little investigation of step length specifically and how it is modulated during walking. This...
Television's history has at numerous points been punctuated by pronouncements that technological innovations will improve its programming, empower its audiences, and heal the injuries it has inflicted on American society. This enduring faith in the inevitability and imminence of television's technological salvation is the subject of this dissertation. "TV Repair"...
The objective of this study was to investigate how brain plasticity can be expressed following injury to the nervous system. This plasticity can occur after either direct injury to the brain, such as in hemiparetic stroke, or injury to the peripheral nerves, such as in upper-limb amputation. In order to...
Many metal ions are of critical importance in many cellular functions. The very properties of these metal ions that make them useful also make them toxic to the cell. In the course of evolution, many metal ion homeostasis systems have developed to provide balance between the necessity and toxicity of...
The morphological evolution due to coarsening is analyzed for two distinctive types of microstructure. First, the feasibility of characterizing spatial correlations of interfacial curvature in topologically complex structures is demonstrated with the analysis of bicontinuous two-phase mixtures produced using phase field modeling. For structures produced with both conserved and nonconserved...
The actions of luteinizing hormone (LH) to induce ovulation and luteinization of preovulatory follicles are mediated principally by activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) in granulosa cells. PKA activity is targeted to specific cellular locations by A-kinase anchoring proteins (AKAPs). I previously showed that follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) induces expression of...
The formation of a primary endocytic vesicle bud is a dynamic process involving the transient organization of adaptor and scaffold proteins at the plasma membrane. The proteins involved in early endocytosis have modular protein interaction motifs and domains that are predicted to contribute to scaffold formation. These motifs are found...
The focus of this thesis is the design of non-natural molecules for use in biological applications. Chapter one details a strategy to use small molecules to reactivate mutated p53, an oncoprotein that is prevalent in several types of cancer, back to its wild-type function. Wild-type p53 has the ability to...
This thesis demonstrates the use of dual-beam focused ion beam - scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) for making complete three-dimensional reconstructions of SOFC electrodes in order to better understand the links between processing and performance with respect to microstructure. Sufficient compositional contrast, with nano-scale resolution, between Ni and LSM with respect...
Peptide Amphiphile (PA) molecules developed in the author's laboratory and others have shown great versatility in creating self-assembled nanostructures with built-in biological and/or chemical functionalities. Their applications in spinal cord injury repair, angiogenesis, promoting cell adhesion and templating inorganic materials have also been well studied. Complementing previous compositional studies, where...
PRC is a PGC-1 coactivator family member responsive to serum growth factors and up regulated in proliferating cells. Unlike PGC-1α and PGC-1β, PRC has not been studied extensively and and its function or regulation remains largely unknown. Both PGC-1α and PGC-1β have been shown to be important regulators of mitochondrial...
Previous research has shown that creative insight problem-solving is distinct from systematic analytical problem-solving. Behaviorally, a positive mood has shown to facilitate insights but without knowing the processes that are fundamental to insight, the mechanisms as to how a positive mood facilitates insights have remained unspecified. Here, we investigate the...
This thesis discusses the synthesis, self-assembly, and conductivity properties of novel oligothiophene derivatives with an emphasis on how molecular structure effects the assembly. In order to facilitate self-assembly in conjugated molecules, specific non-covenant forces were included into the molecular design of several derivatives. First, an amphiphilic oligothiophene derivative consisting of...
The work described in this dissertation focuses on the development of a general approach to create nanoscale transition metal chalcogenide materials and new methods for controlling architecture of gold pyramidal structures. In the former, we used chemical nanofabrication, a combination of top-down patterning and bottom-up solid-state synthesis, to achieve control...
Predictive modeling has emerged as a new research subject that studies a broad range of modeling techniques to provide confident prediction of the phenomenon of interest by integrating scientific principles together with both computer models and observed physical experiments. Motivated by overcoming the existing challenges, the objective in this dissertation...
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...
In this thesis we study minimal measures for Lagrangian systems on compact manifolds. This thesis consists of three parts which are closely related.
The first part is Chapter 3 and Chapter 4. In Chapter 3 and 4, we consider geodesic flows on compact surfaces with higher genus. We show that...
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...
Evidence suggests both that teacher quality matters for students' outcomes and that principals might not hire the "best" teachers. However, relatively little is known about what characteristics principals value in teachers or how they make hiring decisions. In my dissertation, I use a diverse array of data sources to examine...
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...
This dissertation examines growth of platinum nanoparticles from vapor deposition on SrTiO3 using a characterization approach that combines imaging techniques and X-ray methods. The primary suite of characterization probes includes atomic force microscopy (AFM), grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray absorption spectroscopy...
Beginning in the 1960s, U.S. federal law required ongoing and systematic planning as a condition of federal transportation funding. An ad-hoc system for forecasting future travel, which has come to be referred to as the "four-step" procedure, quickly became established as the ubiquitous analytic tool for transportation planning. The four-step...
In a 1980 campaign speech to veterans, Ronald Reagan declared that the United States suffered from a "Vietnam syndrome." The war in Vietnam, Reagan said, had harmed American political life and made the public wary of the aggressive foreign policies Reagan believed were necessary to win the Cold War. I...
This dissertation reviews the contexts and conditions for the appearance of monuments in the upper and middle St. Johns basins of peninsular during the Mt. Taylor period. Beginning with an attempt to determine if mortuary monuments built of shell could be distinguished from shell middens, the archaeology of four preceramic...
Classifying patients to diagnose and treat disease, ensure access to medical care, adhere to standards of quality, contain costs, and fulfill contractual obligations is critical to the delivery of healthcare. While classification is a fundamental standardizing process in healthcare, as a social process it is the product of negotiations, organizational...
ZnO is a member of the unique class of materials known as transparent conducting oxides (TCOs). TCOs are currently used for many applications including flat panel displays, solar cells, and energy efficient windows. Of particular interest is the possibility of developing materials that have high electron mobilities, such that conductivities...
Fusion of biological membranes is dictated by the interaction between specialized membrane proteins and the lipid bilayer. Parainfluenza virus 5 (PIV5) mediates fusion using two surface glycoproteins: the fusion protein (F) and the attachment protein hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN). Activation of membrane fusion of PIV5 typically occurs at neutral pH, and involves...
The overarching goal of this work is to understand nanometer scale junctions and electron transport through molecules in these junctions. Calculations detailing quantum interference in the electron transport through molecules, and the control of these features, show great potential for use as discrete electronic elements. Concurrent work on the fabrication...