Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Physics Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Physics

Toward Improving Understanding Of The Structure And Biophysics Of Glycosaminoglycans, Elizabeth K. Whitmore Apr 2021

Toward Improving Understanding Of The Structure And Biophysics Of Glycosaminoglycans, Elizabeth K. Whitmore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are the linear carbohydrate components of proteoglycans (PGs) that mediate PG bioactivities, including signal transduction, tissue morphogenesis, and matrix assembly. To understand GAG function, it is important to understand GAG structure and biophysics at atomic resolution. This is a challenge for existing experimental and computational methods because GAGs are heterogeneous, conformationally complex, and polydisperse, containing up to 200 monosaccharides. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations come close to overcoming this challenge but are only feasible for short GAG polymers. To address this problem, we developed an algorithm that applies conformations from unbiased all-atom explicit-solvent MD simulations of short GAG polymers …


Basic Vision Research With Clinical Applications And Science Education Assessments, Andrew Wilson Jun 2017

Basic Vision Research With Clinical Applications And Science Education Assessments, Andrew Wilson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Visual Acuity (VA) examinations are one of the most commonly conducted medical assessment throughout the world. Recent advances in computer technology allows for new forms of visual assessment to be conducted. In Part I of this thesis I demonstrate the capability of an automated computer program named VISION to assess human visual acuities. Different color combinations of an object against a background emitted from a computer screen are used to examine a variety of human color vision acuities. Results indicated a large difference in acuity scores between human subjects tested with these different color combinations. A single human subject exhibits …