Digital Commons Network^™

Bioinformatic Identification Of Small Rna (And Their Targets) In The Testis Of Clawed Frogs (Xenopus And Silurana): Implications For Male Fertility, M.J. Madison-Villar

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Chapter one sets the stage for this project, which lies somewhere near the intersection of speciation, genome, and reproductive biology. Chapter two identifies miRNA with shared expression profiles (Silurana and Xenopus). These miRNA are pulled from a subset that has retained testis expression despite a hybridization induced WGD event early in the Xenopus lineage (~21-41 MYA). Allopolyploidization is a revolutionary mechanism of genome evolution, and this event should have afforded an opportunity for diversification and changes in the expression of what are generally highly conserved transcript regulators. It is inferred that the miRNA identified in this study retained testis expression …

Toward A Theory Of Narrative Rhetoric, Edwardo Raul Perez

English Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation suggests that the question of whether or not America should employ torture as a means of fighting a post-9/11 War on Terror was not so much debated as it was asserted (in the affirmative) by the presidential administration of George W. Bush and the news media contemporary to his administration. Building on an observation by media researcher Sasha Torres, who recognized a representation of thinking on television that served to counter the Bush Administration and the media, this dissertation investigates how television functioned as an alternate forum for a debate on torture by examining the narratives of three …

Flexural Behavior Of Steel Fiber Reinforced Prestressed Concrete Beams And Double Punch Test For Fiber Reinforced Concrete, Netra Bahadur Karki

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Steel fibers have widely been used in the past to reinforce brittle materials in many nonstructural applications such as pavement, tunneling lining, etc. On the basis of numerous previous studies, ACI 318-11 [2011] has recently accepted steel fiber as a minimum shear reinforcement replacement with minimum 0.75% volume fraction for both reinforced concrete and prestressed concrete members. However, not much previous research has talked about the flexural behavior of fiber reinforced concrete (FRC). As per ACI 318-11 for tension-controlled sections, the net tensile strains in the outermost layer of steel, εt, should be greater than or equal to 0.005 and …

Evaluation Of Training Needs For Building Information Modeling (Bim), German Pena

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

The basic premise of Building Information Modeling (BIM) is to use and share the digital model of a project as a source of information for all participants, in order to simulate and analyze potential problems during the project's life-cycle, from conception to operation. BIM is a relatively new technology praised by all participants in the Architecture-Engineering-Construction (AEC) industry for its innovative tools, and the promise of a high return of investment and productivity increase. The construction industry experimented little growth in productivity in the last decades, and is heavily relying on technology rather than intense labor in order to boost …

Effect Of Pavement Type On Fuel Consumption In City Driving, Palinee Sumitsawan

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Vehicular fuel consumption and emissions are two increasingly important measures of effectiveness of sustainable transportation systems, particularly considering that mobile sources in the U.S. account for the largest consumption of energy and generation of air pollution. Improving the energy efficiency of the transportation sector including improving vehicle shape, weight, engine size, and tire quality could play a vital role in reducing fuel consumption and exhaust gas emissions. Pavement surface type and other surface characteristics such as skid resistance and roughness affect vehicular fuel consumption. The main objective of this study has been to investigate any differences that might exist in …

Development Of A Model Of Productivity For Horizontal Directional Drilling (Hdd), Mohmd Sarireh

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) is a growing method for installation of pipes in urban areas and where ever trenching is impossible or undesirable; such as in crossing rivers, lakes, and railways, and special areas such as airports. This technique utilizes downhole cutting heads to create a pilot borehole before it is enlarged with back reamers to allow pulling back of a product pipe. The utilization of HDD for the installation of underground infrastructure (i.e., water, oil and gas pipes, telecommunication, power conduits, in some cases gravity pipes, and so on), has shown a rapid growth compared to other trenchless technologies. …

Impact Of Transit-Oriented Infrastructure Investments On Property Valuations, Francis Amodu Smith

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The population explosion of the second half of the last century brought about increased human activity. Much of the attendant increased access to activities has been facilitated by the incredible technological advances in the automobile, which depends almost entirely on fossil fuels. Supplies of fossil fuel are limited and the automobile has led to urban sprawl, traffic congestion, and reduced quality to life in cities (1). This type of development is unsustainable. Transit-oriented development (TOD) is one of the neo-urbanism response instruments. The question is: "How well do these urban forms perform in North-Central Texas? In response, this study has …

Nano-Modified Cement Composites And Its Applicability As Concrete Repair Material, Tanvir Manzur

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Nanotechnology or Nano-science, considered the forth industrial revolution, has received considerable attention in the past decade. The physical properties of a nano-scaled material are entirely different than that of bulk materials. With the emerging nanotechnology, one can build material block atom by atom. Therefore, through nanotechnology it is possible to enhance and control the physical properties of materials to a great extent. Composites such as concrete materials have very high strength and Young's modulus but relatively low toughness and ductility due to their covalent bonding between atoms and lacking of slip systems in the crystal structures. However, the strength and …

Data Mining In Financial Markets, Stephen Evans

Information Systems & Operations Management Theses - Archive

Momentum in financial markets can cause securities prices to continue trending upward/downward based on the recent performance. This paper reviews a study that attempts to discover how much daily returns in the stock market can be explained by financial momentum. This study uses classification data mining to attempt to predict the direction of daily returns of randomly selected stocks from the Russell 1000 and Russell 2000 stock indexes. The study uses moving averages of historical daily stock prices as attributes, along with different data mining classifiers, to attempt to make these predictions. A secondary goal of this study is to …

Multivariate Adaptive Regression Spline Based Framework For Statistically Parsimonious Adaptive Dynamic Programming, Subrat Sahu

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Central to Dynamic Programming (DP) is the `cost-to-go' or `future value' function, which is obtained via actually solving the Bellman's equation and central to Approximate Dynamic Programming (ADP) is the use of an approximation of the future value function. The exact DP algorithm seeks to compute and store a table consisting of one cost-to-go value for each point in the state space and its usefulness is limited by the curse of dimensionality, which renders the methodology computationally intractable in the face of real life problems with high dimensional state space and in the face of continuous state variables. ADP methodology …

Matlab Function For F-Test, James A. Conder

Computer Programs and Code

A supplemental Matlab function “ftest” is included with the manuscript

Anderson and Conder, 2011, Discussion of Multicyclic Hubbert modeling as a method for forecasting future petroleum production, Energy and Fuels, dx.doi.org/10.1021/ef1012648.

This function uses a statistical F-test to determine the likelihood that an observed improvement of a fit to data warrants the use of additional parameters. The function was written in Matlab ver. R2010b (Mac). The “.txt” extension is for ease of distribution and should be removed for use.

Usage:

>> [ p ] = ftest(n,np1,np2,chi1,chi2)

The function requires five inputs: n is the number of data to be fit. np1 …

Parametric Analysis Of A Detonation-Type Turbofan, Yashwanth M. Swamy

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

A new type of turbofan which detonates a fuel-air mixture was theoretically found to perform better than a conventional turbofan. A continuous detonation process is described and considered inside the core of the turbofan. The detonation-type turbofan needs certain modifications to detonate the fuel-air mixture at the core of the turbofan, namely, an annular detonation chamber to achieve continuous detonation. A parametric analysis of the new detonation-type turbofan was developed and used to calculate the performance parameters.

The Simms Initiatives - University Of South Carolina, Todd Hagstette

Digital Projects

In the mid-nineteenth century, William Gilmore Simms did more than any other writer and editor to frame white southern self-identity, nationalism, and historical consciousness. He also did more to foster the South’s literary life and place in America’s imagination.

The Simms Initiatives, generously funded by the Watson-Brown Foundation and the University of South Carolina Libraries, offers full access to this prolific author’s work. That comes through both digital and Print-on-Demand editions. Our digital holdings represent three categories of works: Printed Materials, Scrapbooks, and Scholarship.

We strive to enhance the value of these materials and grow the study of Simms and …

New Gc Separation Approaches And Analysis Of Antioxidants From Rosemary (Rosmarinus Officinalis L.) And Their Stabilities By Hplc, Ying Zhang

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

Enantiomeric separations are of great interest in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and agrochemical industries due to the different therapeutic effects of enantiomers. Because of the high efficiency, sensitivity and simplicity, chiral gas chromatography has been widely applied to separate enantiomers that are volatile and thermally stable. In this dissertation, a group of novel chiral selectors based on cyclofructans for gas chromatography is developed and their enantioselective properties are evaluated.Room temperature ionic liquids (ILs) have been used as gas chromatographic stationary phase due to their unique physical properties in achiral separations. A series of trigonal tricationic ILs are synthesized, characterized and used …

Capillary Scale Reagent Introduction And Optical Detectors For Capillary Scale Analysis, Santosh K. Mishra

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

Atmospheric aerosols are of great interest as they have the potential to perturb the earth's radiative energy balance, influence the climate, reduce visibility, and adversely affect human health. The composition of atmospheric particulate matter, especially the concentrations of metals and their ratios, provide insights into sources of the aerosol. Capillary scale ion chromatography systems have several advantages over conventional chromatographic analysis systems like low reagent consumption, small sample requirement, higher efficiencies and better absolute mass detection limits. Hence, to achieve source identification and source apportionment, optical detector based capillary ion chromatography systems are proposed to perform qualitative and quantitative analysis …

Total Synthesis Of Marine Derived Natural Products: Kealiiquinone And Ageliferin, Heather Marie Lima

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

An intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction of vinylimidazoles has been developed and applied towards the total synthesis of benzimidazole and tetrahydrobenzimidazole natural products, namely kealiiquinone and ageliferin. A common feature of many imidazole-containing natural products including those of interest in this dissertation is the presence of a 2-amino or 2-imidazolone substituent. A novel method for achieving C2 substitutions has been developed employing chloro-containing reagents. N-Chlorosuccinimide in conjunction with a base has been used to give 2-imidazolones directly from imidazolium salts. This method was then optimized through the use of sodium hypochlorite. This chemistry provides the desired 2-imidazolones in yields ranging from 46-88% …

When Are Super Bowl Advertisings Super? An Empirical Analysis Of The Economic Impact Of Super Bowl Advertising, Jin-Woo Kim

Marketing Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation investigates the relationship between Super Bowl advertising and advertisers' market valuation. The first essay identifies several factors that influence the financial rewards of this media-placement strategy. Specifically, I examine the impact of each ad's featured characters and appeals, and the product benefits promoted, on abnormal stock returns for sponsoring companies that appear in Super Bowl ads. Event study results show that Super Bowl advertising from 2004 to 2008 is positively related to abnormal stock returns for advertisers. Cross-sectional regression analyses indicate that market value of Super Bowl advertisers is positively related to likeable characters, emotional appeals, and approach …

Is Latin American Taxation Policy Appropriate For Promoting Foreign Direct Investment In The Region?, Hugo A. Hurtado

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The purpose of this article is to analyze whether the international tax policy adopted by different Latin American countries is the most appropriate for promoting foreign direct investment and what measures can be adopted by these countries in order to improve such policy. I conclude that an integrated international tax policy would promote greater FDI in the region. To achieve this goal, an analysis of the appropriate tax policy must be delivered to a multidisciplinary body with a presence in the whole region that is able to interact with scholars, private practitioners, and treasury ministries to exchange ideas and adapt …

“Say On Pay”: The Movement To Reform Executive Compensation In The United States And European Union, Marisa Anne Pagnattaro, Stephanie Greene

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

In the aftermath of an array of economic failures, there is a growing movement to reform executive compensation. Concerned that executive compensation structures reward inappropriate risk taking and create a short-term perspective, the United States and the European Union are taking steps to reform the ways executives are compensated. Part I analyzes governmental and regulatory action in the United States, including SEC disclosure rules and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Part II details new initiatives in the European Union that recommend changes to remuneration for directors of listed companies and remuneration in the financial services sector, …

Spider Cognition, Robert R. Jackson, Fiona R. Cross

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Spiders, having minute brains, were once considered simple, instinct-driven automatons, but research on spider biology is revealing increasing evidence of their cognitive abilities. In this review, we discuss the complex, flexible behaviour of spiders, especially salticids, and highlight how sometimes the cognitive character of spider behaviour closely parallels that of much bigger animals. This includes the use of selective attention (both visual and olfactory) and the use of planned detours. The implications of these findings, and how they relate to bigger issues traditionally associated with big-brain animals, such as 'representation' and 'mind', are discussed. Also discussed are issues relating to …

Construction Of A Ssr-Based Genetic Map And Identification Of Qtl For Domestication Traits Using Recombinant Inbred Lines From A Cross Between Wild And Cultivated Cowpea (V. Unguiculata (L.) Walp.), Mebeaselassie Andargie, Remy S. Pasquet, Bhavani S. Gowda, Geoffrey M. Muluvi, Michael P. Timko

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) is a grain legume commonly grown and consumed in many parts of the tropics and subtropics. A genetic linkage map was constructed using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and a recombinant inbred (RI) population of159 individuals derived from a cross between the breeding line 524B, a California Blackeye, and 219-01, a perennial wild cowpea from Kenya. Out of 912 primer combinations predicted to amplify SSRs in cowpea, 639 reliably produced amplification products in PCR assays and 202 (31.6%) were polymorphic between the two parents. These polymorphic SSRs were used to construct a genetic map consisting …

Sex Pheromone Composition And Reproductive Isolation In Two Busseola Species (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) In Kenya, A. E. Félix, P. A. Calatayud, B. Le Ru, J. F. Silvain, B. Frérot

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Closely related species provide an interesting and useful model to understand mate communication diversification. Pre-mating isolation is the result of selection processes and is achieved by utilization of different sex pheromones, but also by different ecological and life traits such as geographic distribution, host-plant specialization and allochrony of sexual behavior. Here, we report sex pheromone identifications and pre-mating isolation of two closely related species of stemborers: Busseola segeta and the yet undescribed Busseola nov. sp., developing on different host-plants and in different geographical locations in Kenya. GC-MS analyses showed that the two species produced the same pheromone components, but in …

Isolation, Phylogeny And Evolution Of The Symrk Gene In The Legume Genus Lupinus L., Frédéric Mahé, Dragomira Markova, Rémy Pasquet, Marie Thérèse Misset, Abdelkader Aïnouche

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

SymRK is one of the key genes involved in initial steps of legume symbiotic association with fungi (mycorrhization) and nitrogen-fixing bacteria (nodulation). A large portion of the sequence encoding the extracellular domain of SYMRK was obtained for 38 lupine accessions and 2 outgroups in order to characterize this region, to evaluate its phylogenetic utility, and to examine whether its molecular evolutionary pattern is correlated with rhizobial diversity and specificity in Lupinus. The data suggested that, in Lupinus, SymRK is a single copy gene that shows good phylogenetic potential. Accordingly, SymRK provided additional support to previous molecular phylogenies, and shed additional …

Woman's Building Library, U.S. Titles (Access Database), Sarah Wadsworth, Wayne A. Wiegand, Melodie Fox

English Faculty Research and Publications

Long recognized as a cultural watershed and touchstone of modernity, the World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 was also the site of the first large-scale international library of writing by women, the result of years of planning and cooperation by women's organizations in twenty-four countries around the world. This database contains bibliographic records for all of the items submitted to the Woman's Building Library by committees of women in the United States. The foundation of the database is a shelf-list of titles that was prepared onsite in 1893 and preserved long after the original collection was disbanded. With support …

Incorporating Millennium Catalog Records Into Serials Solutions’ Summon, Jeffrey D. Daniels, Patrick J. Roth

Presentations

No abstract provided.

Measurement Of The Spectral Distribution Of The Low Energy Electrons Emitted As A Result Of M₃Vv Auger Transitions In Cu(100), Suman Satyal

Physics Theses - Archive

Auger Photoelectron Coincidence Spectroscopy (APECS) was used to investigate the physics of the Low Energy Tail (LET) region of the Auger spectrum of a Cu(100) sample. Two Cylindrical Mirror Analyzers (CMAs) were used to select the energy of electrons emitted from the sample as a result of irradiation by 200eV photons. The APECS technique was used to obtain an Auger spectrum taken in coincidence with electrons in the core photoemission peak. The background due to coincidences between pairs of valence electrons emitted as a result of multi-electron photoemission processes was estimated by taking a series of APECS spectra in coincidence …

The Equivalence And Generalization Of Optimization Criteria, Surachai Charoensri

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering Dissertations - Archive

In this dissertation we first show that existing optimization criteria are equivalent to the maximization of a real-valued function in a one-dimensional Euclidean space. The criteria are said to be scalar equivalent. All solutions and only solutions to an optimization problem involving the original criterion can be obtained by scalarization without the typical convexity or concavity assumptions on the original objective functions and feasible region. Examples include Pareto (including the scalar case), satisficing, maximin, and cone-ordered optimization, as well as the more general notion of set-valued optimization in abstract spaces. Moreover, equivalences between various different optimization criteria are also established …

Adaptive High Level Context Reasoning In Pervasive Environments, Bridget B. Beamon

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

It is hard to believe that the Internet is now in its adolescent stage. This information age is replete with communication capable, intelligent, sensor equipped devices. Social networks, web services, and global information repositories make a wealth of information available instantly. There exist endless possibilities for creating useable knowledge. Much of what is considered useable knowledge is not directly observable from low level sensory devices. Abstract situations, relationships and activities must be inferred using a variety of techniques that fuse information from multivariate data sources. We refer to this useable knowledge as high level context. Social, physiological, environmental, computational, activity, …

Numerical Study Of Drop Formation From Dripping To Jetting, Allouah Kadjo

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

The formation of liquid droplet from a capillary tube has been examined using numerical simulations. The dimensions of the capillary tube and the flow velocity have been varied to observe the regimes of drop formation. There are three main regimes of drop formation, which are the periodic dripping, the dripping faucet and the jetting regimes. The mechanism of drop formation changes from one regime to another and involves different parameters. A particular emphasis has been placed on the velocity limits between the different regimes and the critical role played by instabilities in the generation of satellite drops. The algorithm used …

Numerical Modeling Of A Parallel Plate Electrowetting-On-Dielectric (Ewod) Device, Kevin Tully

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Numerical modeling and simulations have been performed in this study that focuses on modeling the fluid dynamics of an Electrowetting-on-Dielectric (EWOD) device. The case to be modeled in the present study is a droplet cutting problem where a droplet is sandwiched between two plates of Teflon and an electrical actuation will cause the droplet to cut or split into two smaller droplets. A finite difference method has been used to solve the Navier-Stokes equations, along with the continuity equation. An algorithm used for tracking the free surface is the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method. Along with using the VOF method …