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Developing A Weibull Model Extension To Estimate Cancer Latency Times, Diana L. Nadler Jan 2015

Developing A Weibull Model Extension To Estimate Cancer Latency Times, Diana L. Nadler

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

More than one-third of all Americans will be diagnosed with cancer sometime in their lives. Though their illness may be invisible now, it presents a great, and largely unexamined, opportunity to find and treat their cancers early. Early detection represents one of the most promising approaches to reduce the growing cancer burden by identifying cancer while it is localized and curable, preventing not only mortality, but also reducing morbidity and costs.


Distributions And Formations Of Hono In The Troposphere, Dennis Pu Jan 2015

Distributions And Formations Of Hono In The Troposphere, Dennis Pu

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Nitrous acid (HONO) is an important reactive nitrogen species and a precursor to the hydroxyl radical. It plays important roles in reactive nitrogen recycling and in photo-oxidant formation in the troposphere. However, much is still unknown about its formation mechanisms and distributions in the troposphere. This research is part of NOMADSS (Nitrogen, Oxidants, Mercury, and Aerosol Distributions, Sources and Sinks) field study contributed by over 10 research groups in the United States to investigate the tropospheric chemistry of reactive nitrogen, mercury, oxidant and aerosols. One of the goals was to study the HONO distribution and formation mechanisms in the troposphere. …


Characterization Of Metallic And Semimetallic Oxide Nanoparticles In Industrial Wastewater And Associated Toxicity, Gary Roth Jan 2015

Characterization Of Metallic And Semimetallic Oxide Nanoparticles In Industrial Wastewater And Associated Toxicity, Gary Roth

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) play an increasing role in manufacturing and consumer products. Currently, there is no standard approach to studying ENM toxicity, and a growing body of literature suggests that ENMs may have toxicity differing from similar compounds in bulk or dissolved form. I examined ENMs used in the semiconductor manufacturing process called chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) for their properties, removal in the wastewater treatment system (WWT), in-vitro toxicity, and location post-inhalation in-vivo. It was found that ENMs in CMP slurries have morphology determined by their elemental composition, but assessment of size and concentration can differ substantially between accepted techniques. Particles …


Mass Spectrometry-Based Rnomics : Global Surveys Of Ribonucleotide Modifications As Possible Indicators Of Cell Identity, Epigenetic, Metabolic And Pathological State, Rebecca Erin Rose Jan 2015

Mass Spectrometry-Based Rnomics : Global Surveys Of Ribonucleotide Modifications As Possible Indicators Of Cell Identity, Epigenetic, Metabolic And Pathological State, Rebecca Erin Rose

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Discovery of the regulatory roles of non-protein coding RNAs (ncRNAs), once considered “junk” or “transcriptional noise”, has prompted a reassessment of the significance of the multifaceted activities of RNA in cellular response, which can result in cell transformation and diseased states. This reassessment, however, can only be accomplished if techniques are developed to capture, characterize and quantify the more than 100 covalent post-transcriptional modifications (PTMs) that adorn natural RNAs. Undoubtedly, the creation of high-throughput platforms such as next-generation sequencing and RNA-seq have provided unparalleled accuracy and sensitivity, however, they rely on strand amplification procedures that are blind to the known …


The Intensification Of Sheared Tropical Cyclones, Leon Nguyen Jan 2015

The Intensification Of Sheared Tropical Cyclones, Leon Nguyen

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Environmental vertical wind shear has been shown to have a generally detrimental impact on tropical cyclone (TC) intensity change. However, many cases of rapidly intensifying (RI) sheared TCs have been observed, and TCs in moderate (5-10 m s-1) shear often have the largest intensity forecast errors. Thus, advancing the understanding of TC-shear interactions is vital to improving TC intensity forecasts, which have not seen much improvement over the past few decades. This dissertation employs both observational and high-resolution numerical modeling approaches to investigate how some TCs are able to resist shear and intensify.


The Variability Of Madden-Julian Oscillation Convection And The Role Of The Western Hemisphere Circulation, Naoko Sakaeda Jan 2015

The Variability Of Madden-Julian Oscillation Convection And The Role Of The Western Hemisphere Circulation, Naoko Sakaeda

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The convective initiation of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) over the Indian basin is often associated with eastward-propagating intraseasonal circulation approaching from the Western Hemisphere (WH), which is suggested to influence the onset of MJO convection. This dissertation first documents the event-to-event variability in the characteristics of MJO convection, which shows a geographical discrepancy in the relative roles of moist and dry dynamics on MJO convection. This dissertation then examines the structural evolution and dynamics of the intraseasonal upper-tropospheric circumnavigating circulation over the WH and its subsequent impact on MJO convection over the Indian basin, where MJO convective characteristics are highly …


Conditions For Deterministic Limits Of Markov Jump Processes : The Kurtz Theorem In Chemistry, Ada Anna Sedova Jan 2015

Conditions For Deterministic Limits Of Markov Jump Processes : The Kurtz Theorem In Chemistry, Ada Anna Sedova

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

A theorem by Kurtz on convergence of Markov jump processes is presented as it relates


Advanced Raman Spectroscopic Methods For Structural Characterization Of Amyloid Fibrils And Bionanotubes, Valentin Sereda Jan 2015

Advanced Raman Spectroscopic Methods For Structural Characterization Of Amyloid Fibrils And Bionanotubes, Valentin Sereda

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Amyloid aggregation is a specific form of protein misfolding and self-assembly related to several degenerative pathologies like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, type-II diabetes, etc. This association with deadly diseases has made amyloid fibrils the focus of intensive research for many decades. Most recently, a significant interest to protein fibrils was also due to the application of the remarkable self-assembling capabilities to form well-structured nano-biomaterials. Self-assembly of short peptide sequences into well-organized structures is another important strategy for bottom-up fabrications of nano-biomaterials. One of the most commonly used building blocks is diphenylalanine, a short dipeptide that has been identified as playing …


Molecular Dynamics Simulations Of Small Systems To Improve Base Pairing Parameters Of The Amber-99 Force Field, Angelo Christopher Setaro Jan 2015

Molecular Dynamics Simulations Of Small Systems To Improve Base Pairing Parameters Of The Amber-99 Force Field, Angelo Christopher Setaro

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Simulations of biochemical systems are being increasingly used to further our understanding of those systems. In broad strokes, chemical simulations can be broken into two categories, those that are rooted in a quantum mechanical approach and those that are classically rooted. Molecular dynamics is one such classical method, which propagates motion of a chemical system via repeatedly solving Newton’s Laws of motion. This approach is less computationally intensive than the quantum mechanical methods and allows for the simulation of systems of tens of thousands of atoms, if not more.


Preparation, Chemistry, And Characterization Of Hypervalent Organosulfur Fluorides, Paul R. Savoie Jan 2015

Preparation, Chemistry, And Characterization Of Hypervalent Organosulfur Fluorides, Paul R. Savoie

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Since the discovery of the pentafluorosulfanyl (SF5) group around the 1960s, progress in exploring the chemistry of aliphatic SF5-containing compounds stagnated because of a lack of efficient synthetic methods. More recent developments in the preparations of SF5-containing compounds afforded easier access to these compounds, and sparked great interest in exploring their chemistry. Chapter 1 discusses the development of efficient methods used to prepare SF5-containing aliphatic compounds.


An Assessment Of Critical Dimension Small Angle X-Ray Scattering Metrology For Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, Charles Michael Settens Jan 2015

An Assessment Of Critical Dimension Small Angle X-Ray Scattering Metrology For Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, Charles Michael Settens

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Simultaneous migration of planar transistors to FinFET architectures, the introduction of a plurality of materials to ensure suitable electrical characteristics, and the establishment of reliable multiple patterning lithography schemes to pattern sub-10 nm feature sizes imposes formidable challenges to current in-line dimensional metrologies. Because the shape of a FinFET channel cross-section immediately influences the electrical characteristics, the evaluation of 3D device structures requires measurement of parameters beyond traditional critical dimension (CD), including their sidewall angles, top corner rounding and footing, roughness, recesses and undercuts at single nanometer dimensions; thus, metrologies require sub-nm and approaching atomic level measurement uncertainty.


Modulation Of East African Precipitation By The Indian Ocean Dipole (Iod) And Enso, Ahmed Shaaban Jan 2015

Modulation Of East African Precipitation By The Indian Ocean Dipole (Iod) And Enso, Ahmed Shaaban

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Tropical East Africa is influenced by two main rainy seasons, during autumn and spring. During autumn, tropical East African precipitation is clearly influenced by Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and/or ENSO. During spring, there is no clear SST pattern in the Indian Ocean. The association between El Niño and positive IOD phases is much stronger than the association between La Niña and negative IOD during October and November. During October, the association between El Niño and wet condition over tropical eastern Africa is stronger than association between La Niña and dry conditions. During November, the association between positive IOD and eastern …


Interpolation And Sampling On The Fock Space, Daniel F. Stevenson Jan 2015

Interpolation And Sampling On The Fock Space, Daniel F. Stevenson

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The theory interpolating and sampling sequences on spaces of analytic functions is one that has been widely studied and continues to produce open problems. In this dissertation we seek to further the study of these sequences in the Fock space setting.


Extreme Hydrometeorological Events In The Peruvian Central Andes During Austral Summer And Their Relationship With The Large-Scale Circulation, Juan Carlos Sulca Jan 2015

Extreme Hydrometeorological Events In The Peruvian Central Andes During Austral Summer And Their Relationship With The Large-Scale Circulation, Juan Carlos Sulca

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In this Master's dissertation, atmospheric circulation patterns associated with extreme hydrometeorological events in the Mantaro Basin, Peruvian Central Andes, and their teleconnections during the austral summer (December-January-February-March) are addressed. Extreme rainfall events in the Mantaro basin are related to variations of the large-scale circulation as indicated by the changing strength of the Bolivian High-Nordeste Low (BH-NL) system. Dry (wet) spells are associated with a weakening (strengthening) of the BH-NL system and reduced (enhanced) influx of moist air from the lowlands to the east due to strengthened westerly (easterly) wind anomalies at mid- and upper-tropospheric levels. At the same time extreme …


Grid-Based Fourier Transform Phase Contrast Imaging, Sajjad Tahir Jan 2015

Grid-Based Fourier Transform Phase Contrast Imaging, Sajjad Tahir

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Low contrast in x-ray attenuation imaging between different materials of low electron density is a limitation of traditional x-ray radiography. Phase contrast imaging offers the potential to improve the contrast between such materials, but due to the requirements on the spatial coherence of the x-ray beam, practical implementation of such systems with tabletop (i.e. non-synchrotron) sources has been limited. One recently developed phase imaging technique employs multiple fine-pitched gratings. However, the strict manufacturing tolerances and precise alignment requirements have limited the widespread adoption of grating-based techniques. In this work, we have investigated a technique recently demonstrated by Bennett et al.1 …


Fluorinated Hypervalent Sulfur Compounds In Synthesis, Cortney Von Hahmann Jan 2015

Fluorinated Hypervalent Sulfur Compounds In Synthesis, Cortney Von Hahmann

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The polar and steric effects of pentafluorosulfanyl (SF5) substitution on selectivity and reactivity were investigated in the ketene imine [2+2] cycloaddition reaction. The kinetic resolution of racemic aldimines rely on the stereocontrol of cyclization by dipolar substituent effects. Functionalized SF5-bearing β-lactams are used in the preparation of conformationally constrained SF5-containing β-amino acids and peptides, in the study of novel antibacterial agents and in the design of new β-lactamase inhibitors.


An Analysis Of High-Impact, Low-Predictive Skill Severe Weather Events In The Northeast U.S, Matthew Thomas Vaughan Jan 2015

An Analysis Of High-Impact, Low-Predictive Skill Severe Weather Events In The Northeast U.S, Matthew Thomas Vaughan

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

An objective evaluation of Storm Prediction Center slight risk convective outlooks, as well as a method to identify high-impact severe weather events with poor-predictive skill are presented in this study. The objectives are to assess severe weather forecast skill over the northeast U.S. relative to the continental U.S., build a climatology of high-impact, low-predictive skill events between 1980–2013, and investigate the dynamic and thermodynamic differences between severe weather events with low-predictive skill and high-predictive skill over the northeast U.S. Severe storm reports of hail, wind, and tornadoes are used to calculate skill scores including probability of detection (POD), false alarm …


Topic Analysis And Application Using Nonnegative Matrix Factorizations (Nmf), Xin Wang Jan 2015

Topic Analysis And Application Using Nonnegative Matrix Factorizations (Nmf), Xin Wang

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Managing large and growing amount of information is a central goal of modern computer science. Data repositories of texts, images and videos have become widely accessible, thus necessitating good methods of retrieval, organization and exploration.


Single-Source Precursors For The Low-Temperature Preparation Of Rechargeable Battery Electrode Materials, Zheng Wei Jan 2015

Single-Source Precursors For The Low-Temperature Preparation Of Rechargeable Battery Electrode Materials, Zheng Wei

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Lithium ion batteries have revolutionized the portable electronics market and are being intensively pursued now for transportation and for stationary storage of renewable energies. As one of the most promising alternatives, sodium ion batteries are also being actively studied owing to the high abundance and low cost of sodium sources. Electrodes play a critical role in defining the overall performance of secondary batteries, while the morphologies of electrode materials greatly determine their properties. Different synthetic methods afford electrode materials with specific morphology. Compared to traditional electrode preparation techniques, the single-source precursor approach can produce materials at significantly lower temperatures, with …


What We Can Learn From Small Units Of Analysis, Andrew Palmer Wheeler Jan 2015

What We Can Learn From Small Units Of Analysis, Andrew Palmer Wheeler

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The dissertation is aimed at advancing knowledge of the correlates of crime at small geographic units of analysis. I begin by detailing what motivates examining crime at small places, and show how aggregation creates confounds that limit causal inference. Local and spatial effects are confounded when using aggregate units, so when the researcher wishes to distinguish between these two types of effects it should guide what unit of analysis is chosen. To illustrate these differences, I generate simulations of what happens to effect estimates when you aggregate a micro level spatial effects model or presume a neighborhood effects model.


Lorentz Group Of Submodules In H²(D²), Yue Wu Jan 2015

Lorentz Group Of Submodules In H²(D²), Yue Wu

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Submodules of the Hardy space have connections with many areas in operator


On Numerical Invariants Of Submodules In H²(D²), Yixin Yang Jan 2015

On Numerical Invariants Of Submodules In H²(D²), Yixin Yang

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This thesis studies the submodules of $H^2(\mathbb{D}^2)$ by using operator theoretic approaches. The first part focus on the two pairs of operators (R_z,R_w) and (S_z,S_w) on a submodule. The second part studies the two-inner-sequences-based submodules from the point view of operator model theory. Lastly, using inner-sequence-based submodules, we show that the multivariable Berger-Shaw theorem may not exist.


Ion Implantation In Zno : Defect Interaction And Impurity Diffusion, Faisal Yaqoob Jan 2015

Ion Implantation In Zno : Defect Interaction And Impurity Diffusion, Faisal Yaqoob

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In the first part of this research we studied the entropy changes in diffusion prefactor and its