Digital Commons Network^™

Feminist Pedagogy In Stem: The Intersection Of Stem Pedagogy And Feminist Theory, Lesley-Ann Giddings, Candice R. Price

Feminist Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

Tiny Machine Learning For Underwater Image Enhancement: Pruning And Quantizaition Approach, Dr Khaled Nagaty, The British University In Egypt, Andreas Pester Dr

Computer Science

Many people have expressed an interest in underwater image processing in a variety of fields, including underwater vehicle control, archaeology, marine biological studies, etc. Underwater exploration is becoming an increasingly important element of our lives, with applications ranging from underwater marine and creature research to pipeline and communication logistics, military use, touristic and entertainment use. Underwater images suffer from poor visibility, distortion, and poor quality for a variety of causes, including light propagation. The major issue arises when these images must be captured at depths greater than 500 feet and artificial lighting needs to be provided. Efficient algorithms and models …

Deep Learning For Microbiome-Based Integrative Modeling And Microbial Biomarkers Identification, Sen Yang

Statistical Science Theses and Dissertations

The human microbiome, comprising trillions of microorganisms, plays a pivotal role in modulating host physiology via molecular and metabolite exchanges. One of the major challenges in this field lies in the effective integration of microbiome and metabolomics data, an achievement that holds the promise of substantially enhancing the precision of disease prediction. However, many datasets prioritize microbiome data while neglecting paired metabolome information. Additionally, the prevalent analytical tools face challenges in effectively merging these intricate datasets, leading to possible misinterpretations and reduced prediction accuracies.

To address these challenges, the first part of this research introduces the Microbiome-based Supervised Contrastive Learning …

Interactive Effects Of Sublethal Concentrations Of Fracking Biocides And Abandoned Mine Drainage On Amphipod Behavior, Kelly Lenhart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examined the sublethal effects of three pollutants, namely glutaraldehyde, 4,4-dimethyloxazolidine (DMO), and abandoned mine drainage (AMD), on amphipods. The primary objective was to investigate their combined effects on amphipods. The three pollutants, despite having the potential to combine in the environment, have not been studied to determine their potential for detrimental interactive effects which could result in unexpected environmental damage.

The research employed a series of experimental setups involving controlled exposure of amphipods to varying, putatively sublethal, concentrations of the chemicals of interest. Subsequently, effects were assessed via both behavioral and feeding assessments. To facilitate this analysis, novel …

Investigating The Effects Of A Southward Flow In The Southeastern Florida Shelf Using Robotic Instruments, Alfredo Quezada

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

We deployed a Slocum G3 glider fitted with an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP), a Conductivity-Temperature-Depth sensor (CTD), optics sensor channels, and a propeller on the Southeastern Florida shelf. The ADCP and CTD provide continuous measurements of Northern and Eastern current velocity components, salinity, temperature, and density, throughout the water column in a high-current environment. The optics sensor channels are able to provide measurements of chlorophyll concentrations, colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), and backscatter particle counts. Additionally, for one of the glider deployments, we deployed a Wirewalker wave-powered profiling platform system also fitted with an ADCP and a CTD in …

Ru(Ii) Polypyridyl Photosensitizers For Phototherapy, Houston Cole

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation describes the design, synthesis, and photobiological characterization of key target molecules that modify the 1) length of the IP-nT “PDT” ligand, 2) electronic nature of the bipyridine or phenanthroline type ancillary ligands, and 3) chirality of the coordination complex. The targets and subsequent studies will test the hypothesis that molecules with low-lying and long-lived 3ILCT states are responsible for this unusually high photocytotoxic potency and seeks to further understand what structural features (aside from the IP-nT ligand) lead to more favorable photobiological properties.

Electrodeposition Studies Of Gold Nanoparticles And Alginate Hydrogel Films., Harikrishnan Nambiathan Nambiar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the electrochemical deposition (ECD) and electrophoretic deposition (EPD) processes involving citrate (cit)-stabilized Au nanoparticles (NPs) and calcium alginate (Ca-Alg-Au NP) hydrogel films. The first part of the dissertation investigates the influence of NP size, surface area (SA) coverage, and ligand stabilizers on the electrochemical growth of Au on Au NPs, aiming to enhance our understanding of the growth process during the nucleation and growth of metal NPs. The growth kinetics depend on Au NP size (4 nm > 15 nm > 50 nm) for a constant SA coverage, as determined by the overpotentials for ECD. The growth rate increases …

Single-Cell Analysis Of Chromatin Accessibility In The Adult Mouse Brain, Songpeng Zu, Yang Eric Li, Kangli Wang, Ethan J Armand, Sainath Mamde, Maria Luisa Amaral, Yuelai Wang, Andre Chu, Yang Xie, Michael Miller, Jie Xu, Zhaoning Wang, Kai Zhang, Bojing Jia, Xiaomeng Hou, Lin Lin, Qian Yang, Seoyeon Lee, Bin Li, Samantha Kuan, Hanqing Liu, Jingtian Zhou, Antonio Pinto-Duarte, Jacinta Lucero, Julia Osteen, Michael Nunn, Kimberly A Smith, Bosiljka Tasic, Zizhen Yao, Hongkui Zeng, Zihan Wang, Jingbo Shang, M Margarita Behrens, Joseph R Ecker, Allen Wang, Sebastian Preissl, Bing Ren

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Recent advances in single-cell technologies have led to the discovery of thousands of brain cell types; however, our understanding of the gene regulatory programs in these cell types is far from complete1-4. Here we report a comprehensive atlas of candidate cis-regulatory DNA elements (cCREs) in the adult mouse brain, generated by analysing chromatin accessibility in 2.3 million individual brain cells from 117 anatomical dissections. The atlas includes approximately 1 million cCREs and their chromatin accessibility across 1,482 distinct brain cell populations, adding over 446,000 cCREs to the most recent such annotation in the mouse genome. The mouse brain cCREs are …

Brain-Wide Correspondence Of Neuronal Epigenomics And Distant Projections, Jingtian Zhou, Zhuzhu Zhang, May Wu, Hanqing Liu, Yan Pang, Anna Bartlett, Zihao Peng, Wubin Ding, Angeline Rivkin, Will N Lagos, Elora Williams, Cheng-Ta Lee, Paula Assakura Miyazaki, Andrew Aldridge, Qiurui Zeng, J L Angelo Salinda, Naomi Claffey, Michelle Liem, Conor Fitzpatrick, Lara Boggeman, Zizhen Yao, Kimberly A Smith, Bosiljka Tasic, Jordan Altshul, Mia A Kenworthy, Cynthia Valadon, Joseph R Nery, Rosa G Castanon, Neelakshi S Patne, Minh Vu, Mohammad Rashid, Matthew Jacobs, Tony Ito, Julia Osteen, Nora Emerson, Jasper Lee, Silvia Cho, Jon Rink, Hsiang-Hsuan Huang, António Pinto-Duartec, Bertha Dominguez, Jared B Smith, Carolyn O'Connor, Hongkui Zeng, Shengbo Chen, Kuo-Fen Lee, Eran A Mukamel, Xin Jin, M Margarita Behrens, Joseph R Ecker, Edward M Callaway

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Single-cell analyses parse the brain’s billions of neurons into thousands of ‘cell-type’ clusters residing in different brain structures1. Many cell types mediate their functions through targeted long-distance projections allowing interactions between specific cell types. Here we used epi-retro-seq2 to link single-cell epigenomes and cell types to long-distance projections for 33,034 neurons dissected from 32 different regions projecting to 24 different targets (225 source-to-target combinations) across the whole mouse brain. We highlight uses of these data for interrogating principles relating projection types to transcriptomics and epigenomics, and for addressing hypotheses about cell types and connections related to genetics. …

Single-Cell Dna Methylome And 3d Multi-Omic Atlas Of The Adult Mouse Brain, Hanqing Liu, Qiurui Zeng, Jingtian Zhou, Anna Bartlett, Bang-An Wang, Peter Berube, Wei Tian, Mia Kenworthy, Jordan Altshul, Joseph R Nery, Huaming Chen, Rosa G Castanon, Songpeng Zu, Yang Eric Li, Jacinta Lucero, Julia K Osteen, Antonio Pinto-Duarte, Jasper Lee, Jon Rink, Silvia Cho, Nora Emerson, Michael Nunn, Carolyn O'Connor, Zhanghao Wu, Ion Stoica, Zizhen Yao, Kimberly A Smith, Bosiljka Tasic, Chongyuan Luo, Jesse R Dixon, Hongkui Zeng, Bing Ren, M Margarita Behrens, Joseph R Ecker

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cytosine DNA methylation is essential in brain development and is implicated in various neurological disorders. Understanding DNA methylation diversity across the entire brain in a spatial context is fundamental for a complete molecular atlas of brain cell types and their gene regulatory landscapes. Here we used single-nucleus methylome sequencing (snmC-seq3) and multi-omic sequencing (snm3C-seq)1 technologies to generate 301,626 methylomes and 176,003 chromatin conformation–methylome joint profiles from 117 dissected regions throughout the adult mouse brain. Using iterative clustering and integrating with companion whole-brain transcriptome and chromatin accessibility datasets, we constructed a methylation-based cell taxonomy with 4,673 cell groups and 274 …

Biodiversity And The Ecological Role Of Grasslands Environment And Territory, Elimane Lo, Makhmutov Serguei, Badim Almazov

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Biodiversity is all the living species that inhabit the planet: plants, animals, microorganisms, but also their genetic diversity and all the ecosystems in which they live. The preservation of biodiversity is vital, because the organisms that constitute it participate in the major ecological cycles of air, soil and water It is today recognized for its intrinsic value and for the functions it provides in ecosystems. The grassland and the hedges that surround them play a key role in carbon storage, water purification, biodiversity and the typicity of landscapes. They partly provide the plants necessary for feeding herds of herbivores (cattle, …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Zirconium Oxide Nanoparticles Using Z. Officinale And S. Aromaticum Plant Extracts For Antibacterial Application, M. J. Tuama, M. F. A. Alias

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Abstract The dramatic rise in bacterial infections and increased resistance to conventional antibiotics has led to the exploration of biologically derived nanomaterials to counteract bacterial activity. Nanotechnology, which deals with materials at the atomic or molecular level, is a promising way to achieve this goal. Zirconium oxide nanoparticles (ZrO2NPs) have shown strong antibacterial effects due to the increased surface-to-volume ratio at the nanoscale. This study focused on the production of ZrO2NPs in an environmentally friendly manner, which included extracts from Zingiber officinale (ginger), where G-ZrO2NPs were produced, and Syzygium aromaticum (clove), which produced S-ZrO2NPs. Various techniques were used, such as …

Combination Of Smartphone Digital Image Colorimetry And Uv-Vis Spectrophotometry As Detection Systems With Solidified Floating Organic Drop Microextraction As Preconcentration Method For The Quantification Of Methyl Red In Wastewater Samples, Mi̇ray Bombom, Ayça Gi̇rgi̇n, Buse Tuğba Zaman, Fatma Turak, Sezgi̇n Bakirdere

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

In this study, a portable smartphone-based digital image colorimetric system (SDIC) was designed and integrated with a solidified floating organic drop microextraction method (SFODME) for the quantification of methyl red in textile wastewater samples. The RGB (red, green, and blue) data were evaluated for each captured image, and the green channel was selected for quantification due to its linear response for the analyte. Under optimal conditions, an acceptable linear range was recorded for the analyte. The proposed method recorded a limit of detection (LOD) value of 0.046 mg/L. The developed microextraction method was also combined with UVVis spectrophotometry, which recorded …

Phytochemical Analysis And Molecular Docking Studies Of Two Endemic Varieties Of Salvia Sericeotomentosa, Gülbahar Özge Ali̇m Toraman, Halil Şenol, Seçi̇l Yazici Tütüni̇ş, Nur Tan, Gülaçti Topçu

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

The use of medicinal plants for treating various diseases dates back thousands of years and has been a part of many cultures around the world. Various parts of plants, including roots, leaves, and flowers, and their extracts have been used to develop remedies to cure different ailments like fever, pain, inflammation, infections, among others. In this research, the aerial parts of both Salvia varieties were extracted with ethanol and water to obtain infusion and decoction, separately. S. sericeotomentosa var. hatayica Celep & Doğan (SH) and Salvia sericeotomentosa Rech. f. var. sericeotomentosa (ST) plants were chemically analyzed for polar compounds using …

Separation Of Zr From Complex Matrices For Isotope Harvesting Applications, Jake A. Bence

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Zr isotopes have various applications in nuclear science, such as ⁸⁶Zr and ⁸⁹Zr in nuclear medicine, ⁸⁸Zr as a diagnostic isotope relevant to stockpile stewardship, and the fission product ⁹⁵Zr useful as an s-process branch nucleus for study in astrophysics. To access these isotopes of interest, dedicated production methods and subsequent processing chemistry are required. Direct production routes can be technically challenging and difficult to obtain enough activity to meet demand. The processing chemistry of Zr isotopes is tedious due to the tendency for Zr to hydrolyze in solution without highly acidic conditions or a strong …

Site-Specific Glyco-Engineering Of Recombinant Thrombomodulin, Joseph M. Keil

ETD Archive

Thrombomodulin (TM), a membrane glycoprotein predominately expressed on endothelium, plays essential roles in regulating local hemostatic balance. Particularly, TM modulates the activity of thrombin from a procoagulant to an anticoagulant protease. When bound to TM, thrombin activates plasma protein C, which selectively inactivates coagulation factors Va and VIIIa. At the same time, TM-bound thrombin is unable to cleave fibrinogen or to activate platelets diminishing its procoagulant activity. recombinant TM456 is a promising anticoagulant candidate, but it has a very short half-life. TM is a proteoglycan and its O-linked glycosaminoglycan (GAG), chondroitin sulfate (CS), on the D3 domain contributes to TM’s …

Contributions To Robust Statistical Learning And Its Applications In Biological Spectral Imaging, Ruogu Wang

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This thesis investigates robust statistical learning and its applications in biological spectral imaging. The first part of this thesis addresses the challenges raised in the statistical learning of robust expectile regression. Expectiles can be obtained through empirical risk minimization (\acrshort{erm}), which minimizes the sum of asymmetrically weighted squared deviations. However, this \acrshort{erm} scheme lacks robustness to abnormal observations and flexibility. To overcome these limitations, we adopt the empirical gain maximization (\acrshort{egm}) scheme that learns expectiles using an asymmetric Gaussian \acrshort{egm} approach. The corresponding \acrshort{erm} can be formulated with a robust expectile loss, which is bounded and nonconvex. Through a learning …

Synthesis And Reactivity Of Heteroatom Embedded Cycloalkynes In Spaac, Nickel Catalyzed Alkylarylation Of Alkenes, And Carbofluorination Of Alkynes, Namrata Khanal

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Part I covers Chapters 1, 2, and 3

cycloaddition reactions, that is utilized in biorthogonal chemistry. This metal free version The strain promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC) reaction is one of the popular 1,3-dipolar of click reaction offers advantage over copper catalyzed click reaction. Since it eliminates the use of copper that is toxic to cells, it is considered favorable for biocompatible reaction. Due to the increased reactivity with dipoles without the use of metal catalyst, cycloalkynes, in particular cyclooctynes, have been employed as the biorthogonal reagent in biorthogonal chemical reaction for the study of a biological processes in vivo. The …

Electron-Transfer Mediated Photo-Switching In Nanoparticles, Liaoran Cao

All Dissertations

Previous publications from our lab demonstrated viable approaches to design a photo-switching nanoparticle with arguably superior brightness and photostability resulting in an improved resolution in localization-based microscopy, as compared to other photo-switching dyes or particles. As a follow-up, this dissertation is focused on two major tasks: first, developing nanoparticles with better photo-switching properties for super-resolution imaging; second, trying to achieve a better physical picture of the mechanisms involved in photo-switching, including polaron dynamics, charge transfer, and energy transfer. A new class of photo-switchable nanoparticles was developed by blending conjugated polymer semiconductor with fullerene-based electron acceptors, and further blending with polystyrene …

Symbiotic Ucyn-A Strains Co-Occurred With El Niño, Relaxed Upwelling, And Varied Eukaryotes Over 10 Years Off Southern California, Colette Fletcher-Hoppe, Yi-Chun Yeh, Yubin Raut, J. L. Weissman, Jed A. Fuhrman

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Biological nitrogen fixation, the conversion of N₂ gas into a bioavailable form, is vital to sustaining marine primary production. Studies have shifted beyond traditionally studied tropical diazotrophs. Candidatus Atelocyanobacterium thalassa (or UCYN-A) has emerged as a focal point due to its streamlined metabolism, intimate partnership with a haptophyte host, and broad distribution. Here, we explore the environmental parameters that govern UCYN-A’s presence at the San Pedro Ocean Time-series (SPOT), its host specificity, and statistically significant interactions with non-host eukaryotes from 2008-2018. 16S and 18S rRNA gene sequences were amplified by “universal primers” from monthly samples and resolved into Amplicon …

Developing Microfluidic Devices For Biomolecule Analysis, Jacob Brent Nielsen

Theses and Dissertations

Microfluidics can take laboratory processes and miniaturize them, which led to the term lab-on-a-chip. Microfluidic devices are fabricated with a variety of materials and methods, each offering distinct advantages for bioanalysis. This dissertation describes two methods to create these devices, with the use of four different materials to achieve different assay needs. In the first application in this dissertation, hot-embossed cyclic olefin copolymer was used to create microdevices to electrophoretically separate seven preterm birth biomarkers. One biomarker, thrombin-antithrombin III, cannot be purchased commercially so I developed methods for its assembly in the lab. Dot blots and mass spectrometry were used …

A Guide To The Brain Initiative Cell Census Network Data Ecosystem, Michael Hawrylycz, Maryann E Martone, Giorgio A Ascoli, Jan G Bjaalie, Hong-Wei Dong, Satrajit S Ghosh, Jesse Gillis, Ronna Hertzano, David R Haynor, Patrick R Hof, Yongsoo Kim, Ed Lein, Yufeng Liu, Jeremy A Miller, Partha P Mitra, Eran Mukamel, Lydia Ng, David Osumi-Sutherland, Hanchuan Peng, Patrick L Ray, Raymond Sanchez, Aviv Regev, Alex Ropelewski, Richard H Scheuermann, Shawn Zheng Kai Tan, Carol L Thompson, Timothy Tickle, Hagen Tilgner, Merina Varghese, Brock Wester, Owen White, Hongkui Zeng, Brian Aevermann, David Allemang, Seth Ament, Thomas L Athey, Cody Baker, Katherine S Baker, Pamela M Baker, Anita Bandrowski, Samik Banerjee, Prajal Bishwakarma, Ambrose Carr, Min Chen, Roni Choudhury, Jonah Cool, Heather Creasy, Florence D'Orazi, Kylee Degatano, Benjamin Dichter, Song-Lin Ding, Tim Dolbeare, Joseph R Ecker, Rongxin Fang, Jean-Christophe Fillion-Robin, Timothy P Fliss, James Gee, Tom Gillespie, Nathan Gouwens, Guo-Qiang Zhang, Yaroslav O Halchenko, Nomi L Harris, Brian R Herb, Houri Hintiryan, Gregory Hood, Sam Horvath, Bingxing Huo, Dorota Jarecka, Shengdian Jiang, Farzaneh Khajouei, Elizabeth A Kiernan, Huseyin Kir, Lauren Kruse, Changkyu Lee, Boudewijn Lelieveldt, Yang Li, Hanqing Liu, Lijuan Liu, Anup Markuhar, James Mathews, Kaylee L Mathews, Chris Mezias, Michael I Miller, Tyler Mollenkopf, Shoaib Mufti, Christopher J Mungall, Joshua Orvis, Maja A Puchades, Lei Qu, Joseph P Receveur, Bing Ren, Nathan Sjoquist, Brian Staats, Daniel Tward, Cindy T J Van Velthoven, Quanxin Wang, Fangming Xie, Hua Xu, Zizhen Yao, Zhixi Yun, Yun Renee Zhang, W Jim Zheng, Brian Zingg

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Characterizing cellular diversity at different levels of biological organization and across data modalities is a prerequisite to understanding the function of cell types in the brain. Classification of neurons is also essential to manipulate cell types in controlled ways and to understand their variation and vulnerability in brain disorders. The BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network (BICCN) is an integrated network of data-generating centers, data archives, and data standards developers, with the goal of systematic multimodal brain cell type profiling and characterization. Emphasis of the BICCN is on the whole mouse brain with demonstration of prototype feasibility for human and nonhuman …

Microcalorimeter As A Biologic Activity Monitor For The Study Of Brachiaria Brizantha Seed Germination Process, M. A. Barboza, P. L. O. Volpe, R. Usberti, J. F. G. Faigle, R. H. Aguiar

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Calorimetry helps better understanding of biological processes (Calvet & Prat, 1963). Very sensitive thermal sensors and microcalorimeters allow real time investigation and monitoring heat production of seed germination but few experiments have been performed in this area (Sigstad & Prado, 1999). Moreover, experimental procedures correlating germination phenomena and chemical thermodynamics are exceptional (Barboza, 2002). One can detect calorimetrically the heat flow produced during seed germination and compare the results with data recorded using standard germination methodology (ISTA, 1985). Seed germination and the biomass increase respiration and determination of the energy involved aids understanding of the energetic cycle involved. This work …

Synthesis Of An Acinetobacter Baumannii Lipooligosaccharide Subunit, James M. Armstrong Ii

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Acinetobacter baumannii is a Gram-negative, multi drug-resistant bacterium that was placed on the World Health Organization’s watchlist of drug-resistant bacteria. A. baumannii is an ESKAPE pathogen, one of six increasingly antimicrobial-resistant bacteria that are responsible for nosocomial infections. Alternative therapies, such as vaccines, are required to decrease the world’s reliance on antimicrobial agents. Specifically, glycoconjugate vaccines such as those used against Haemophilus influenzae B, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Neisseria meningitidis are used globally and are highly effective. These vaccines consist of an antigenic bacterial glycan bound to a carrier protein. The glycan is usually a capsular polysaccharide (CPS), however, the notion …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Porphyrin-Encapsulated Nanoparticles: Investigations With Scanning Probe Microscopy, Olajumoke Helen Olubowale

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) encompasses a family of surface measurements that use a sharp probe to “feel” a surface. The tip is scanned point-by-point to build a map of the sample topography, which can be correlated with local measurements of surface properties. This dissertation outlines the history of SPM and describes techniques, operational modes, and applications. A review of force volume mapping (FVM), a 3D characterization mode of SPM used to map material properties detailed. Force volume mapping can be achieved by measuring multiple force measurements point-by-point in a grid pattern. Local properties such as chemical forces, dielectric properties, nanomechanical …

Developing Genotypic And Phenotypic Systems For Early Analysis Of Drug-Resistant Bacteria, Yesman Akuoko

Theses and Dissertations

Antimicrobial resistance in bacteria is a global health challenge with a projected fallout of 10 million deaths annually and cumulative costs of over 1 trillion dollars by 2050. The currently available tools exploited in the detection of bacteria or their DNA can be expensive, time inefficient, or lack multiplex capabilities among others. The research work highlighted in this dissertation advances techniques employed in the phenotypic or genotypic detection of bacteria and their DNA. In this dissertation, I present polymethyl methacrylate-pressure sensitive adhesive microfluidic platforms developed using a time-efficient, inexpensive fabrication technique. Microfluidic devices were then equipped with functionalized monoliths and …

Non-Destructive Imaging Of Phytosulfokine Trafficking In Plants Using Fiber-Optic Fluorescence Microscopy, Bernard Abakah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Plants secrete peptide ligands and use receptor signaling to respond to stress and control development. Understanding these phenomena is key to improving plant health and productivity for food, fiber, and energy applications. Phytosulfokine (PSK), a sulfated peptide hormone, regulates plant cell division, growth, and stress tolerance via specific phytosulfokine receptors (PSKRs). This study uses fiber-optic fluorescence microscopy to elucidate trafficking of PSK in live plants. The microscope features two-color optics and an objective lens connected to a 1-m coherent imaging fiber mounted on either a conventional upright microscope body or 5-axis positioning system (X–Y–Z plus pitch and yaw). PSK and …

Detection Of A Diverse Endophyte Assemblage Within Fungal Communities Associated With The Arundo Leaf Miner, Lasioptera Donacis (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), Marie-Claude Bon, John A. Goolsby, Guy Mercadier, Fatiha Guermache, Javid Kashef, Massimo Cristofaro, Ann T. Vacek, Alan Kirk

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The larvae of Lasioptera donacis Coutin feed on fungal communities lining galleries within the mesophyll of leaf sheaths of Arundo donax in an aggregative manner. It has been stated that L. donacis could have established a fundamental symbiotic relationship with one fungus, although the fungal composition of these communities remains unsettled. Using a culture-dependent approach and ITS sequencing, the present work characterizes and compares the fungal communities associated with L. donacis in Eurasia with the endophytes of A. donax in Texas where L. donacis is absent. The 65 cultivable isolates obtained from L. donacis fungal communities were sorted into 15 …

Coordination Environment And Thermodynamics Of Colloidal Quantum Dots In Polar Solvents, Nuwanthaka Prasad Jayaweera Millaniyage

Theses and Dissertations

Colloidal semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have been extensively investigated due to their attractive properties such as size-tunable absorption and emission spectra, large molar extinction coefficients, and significant photostability. These properties make them promising candidates for optoelectronic, photocatalytic, and biomedical applications. Common synthetic procedures of QDs produce nanocrystals capped with long-chain fatty acid derivatives which are stabilized in high boiling point solvents. Especially for bioimaging applications, the exchange of these native hydrophobic ligands with hydrophilic ligands should be performed, while preserving the smaller hydrodynamic radius. The coordination environment and thermodynamic parameters of the ligand exchanges should be carefully investigated to engineer …

Pyrrolopyrrole-Based Materials For High-Contrast Electrochromics, Allison Marie Hawks

Master of Science in Chemical Sciences Theses

Understanding structure-property relationships of underutilized p-conjugated chromophores is an important task for the continued discovery of materials that will find utility in organic electronic applications. Dihydropyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrroles (DHPPs) are synthetically simple and highly tailorable chromophores that can be decorated with diverse functionalities that readily manipulate optoelectronic properties useful for a variety of applications. However, a thorough understanding of how these functionalities influence properties of DHPPs that will be useful in applications such as electrochromism is unknown. Motivated to exploit the synthetic simplicity and tailorability of DHPPs, a family of DHPP chromophores was synthesized to probe how functionality and connectivity …