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Kindergarten Is Not Child's Play: An Exploration Of Pedagogical Approaches Related To Learning In A Play-Based And A Contemporary Classroom At A Title I Elementary School, Karyn Allee-Herndon Jan 2019

Kindergarten Is Not Child's Play: An Exploration Of Pedagogical Approaches Related To Learning In A Play-Based And A Contemporary Classroom At A Title I Elementary School, Karyn Allee-Herndon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is divided into three separate, related, naturalistic, quasi-experimental research studies, all using data from two kindergarten classes at Gator Elementary, a public Title I elementary school in Sunshine District in Central Florida. Each of these studies tested hypotheses that kindergarten children, especially those from low socioeconomic backgrounds, will show greater gains in receptive vocabulary, executive function, and academic achievement when purposeful play is used as a pedagogical approach than similar children in typical, contemporary kindergarten classrooms. The first study explored the effects of play-based and contemporary pedagogical approaches on students' receptive vocabulary using the PPVT-4, the second explored …

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Modeling Disease Impact Of Vibrio-Phage Interactions, Christopher Botelho Jan 2019

Modeling Disease Impact Of Vibrio-Phage Interactions, Christopher Botelho

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the work of John Snow, scientists and medical professionals have understood that individuals develop cholera by means of consuming contaminated water. Despite the knowledge of cholera's route of infection, many countries have experienced and still experience endemic cholera. Cholera is caused by the Vibrio cholerae (V. cholerae) bacterium and presents with acute diarrhea and vomiting. If untreated, infected individuals may die due to dehydration. Cholera is a disease that most commonly affects countries with poor infrastructure and water sanitation. Despite efforts to control cholera in such countries, the disease persists. One such example is Haiti which has been experiencing …

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Hurricane Maria: A Qualitative Study Of Recently Displaced Students To The State Of Florida, Esmeralda Cabrera Jan 2019

Hurricane Maria: A Qualitative Study Of Recently Displaced Students To The State Of Florida, Esmeralda Cabrera

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the past ten years Puerto Rico has been experiencing a severe economic crisis that was worsened when Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 20, 2017. Maria hit Puerto Rico as a category 4 storm, devastating the whole island and its 3.4 million residents. Many students were left with minimal educational choices after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico. Research on Latino/a students shows that they are met with unique experiences and challenges as they pursue higher education. The current study uses qualitative data to investigate what are the unique challenges and needs of displaced students from Puerto Rico? and what …

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Hybrid Integration Of Second- And Third-Order Highly Nonlinear Waveguides On Silicon Substrates, Guillermo Fernando Camacho Gonzalez Jan 2019

Hybrid Integration Of Second- And Third-Order Highly Nonlinear Waveguides On Silicon Substrates, Guillermo Fernando Camacho Gonzalez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In order to extend the capabilities and applications of silicon photonics, other materials and compatible technologies have been developed and integrated on silicon substrates. A particular class of integrable materials are those with high second- and third-order nonlinear optical properties. This work presents contributions made to nonlinear integrated photonics on silicon substrates, including chalcogenide waveguides for over an octave supercontinuum generation, and rib-loaded thin-film lithium niobate waveguides for highly efficient second-harmonic generation. Through the pursuit of hybrid integration of the two types of waveguides for applications such as on-chip self-referenced optical frequency combs, we have experimentally demonstrated fabrication integrability of …

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Semi-Analytical Solutions Of Non-Linear Differential Equations Arising In Science And Engineering, Mangalagama Dewasurendra Jan 2019

Semi-Analytical Solutions Of Non-Linear Differential Equations Arising In Science And Engineering, Mangalagama Dewasurendra

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Systems of coupled non-linear differential equations arise in science and engineering are inherently nonlinear and difficult to find exact solutions. However, in the late nineties, Liao introduced Optimal Homotopy Analysis Method (OHAM), and it allows us to construct accurate approximations to the systems of coupled nonlinear differential equations. The drawback of OHAM is, we must first choose the proper auxiliary linear operator and then solve the linear higher-order deformation equation by spending lots of CPU time. However, in the latest innovation of Liao's "Method of Directly Defining inverse Mapping (MDDiM)" which he introduced to solve a single nonlinear ordinary differential …

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Preservice Teachers And Perceived Stress: A Comparative Study, Kelsey Evans Jan 2019

Preservice Teachers And Perceived Stress: A Comparative Study, Kelsey Evans

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers are being pushed to the brink of burnout and leaving the profession, placing teachers' health and wellness in jeopardy (Daniels & Strauss, 2009; Maslach & Leiter, 2008; Stephenson, 2012; Vladut & Kallay, 2010; Wilkerson, 2009). Yet, it has become increasingly clear teacher stress may start prior to entering the profession (Brown & Ryan, 2003, Darling-Hammond, 2006). The researcher used a non-experimental design to evaluate the perceived stress among pre-service teachers enrolled in internship, and if the coping style of mindfulness had any correlation on self-reported stress levels. The quantitative study surveyed 332 student interns using the Perceived Stress Survey …

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Mathematical Investigation Of The Spatial Spread Of An Infectious Disease In A Heterogeneous Environment, Arielle Gaudiello Jan 2019

Mathematical Investigation Of The Spatial Spread Of An Infectious Disease In A Heterogeneous Environment, Arielle Gaudiello

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Outbreaks of infectious diseases can devastate a population. Researchers thus study the spread of an infection in a habitat to learn methods of control. In mathematical epidemiology, disease transmission is often assumed to adhere to the law of mass action, yet there are numerous other incidence terms existing in the literature. With recent global outbreaks and epidemics, spatial heterogeneity has been at the forefront of these epidemiological models. We formulate and analyze a model for humans in a homogeneous population with a nonlinear incidence function and demographics of birth and death. We allow for the combination of host immunity after …

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An Exploration Of The Relationship Between Work Climate, The Utilization Of Support Resources, And Compassion Fatigue Level In Child Protective Investigators, Shannon Holliker Jan 2019

An Exploration Of The Relationship Between Work Climate, The Utilization Of Support Resources, And Compassion Fatigue Level In Child Protective Investigators, Shannon Holliker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The impact of child maltreatment is far reaching, affecting the abused child, the family system, and the professionals tasked with providing support during the moments of crisis. As child protective investigators (CPIs) provide care and support to others, they are at high risk of experiencing secondary traumatic stress and/or burnout, both aspects of compassion fatigue. Researchers suggest that work climate, utilization of resources, and worker characteristics can impact CPI compassion-fatigue level. Drawing on extant literature, this study examined three research questions and seven hypotheses aiming to explore the relationship between work climate, resource utilization, CPI characteristics, and CPI compassion-fatigue level. …

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Atp Induced Molecular Disassembly Of Cytolethal Distending Toxin's B/C Heterodimer, George Huhn Jan 2019

Atp Induced Molecular Disassembly Of Cytolethal Distending Toxin's B/C Heterodimer, George Huhn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) is a virulence factor produced by many Gram-negative bacteria, including Haemophilus ducreyi. This fastidious pathogen is the causative agent of genital cancroid. CDT is a heterotrimeric toxin with an AB2 structure consisting of a cell-binding "B" domain (CdtA + CdtC) and a catalytic "A" domain (CdtB) that has DNase activity. This toxin assembles in the bacterial periplasm that lacks ATP and is secreted into the extracellular environment. After cell binding, CDT is internalized by endocytosis and travels through the endosomes and Golgi before arriving in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). CdtA is lost from the holotoxin before …

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It Takes Two To Tango: The Toxin-Chaperone Relationship, Alisha Kellner Jan 2019

It Takes Two To Tango: The Toxin-Chaperone Relationship, Alisha Kellner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cholera toxin (CT) enters the cell via receptor-mediated endocytosis and travels in a retrograde fashion to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The catalytic A1 subunit (CTA1) is then displaced from the rest of the holotoxin, unfolds, and is exported to the cytosol where it regains an active conformation for the ADP-ribosylation of its G-protein target. We have shown that the cytosolic chaperones Hsp90 and Hsc70 are required for CTA1 translocation to the cytosol. We have also shown that both are able to independently bind and refold CTA1. Using libraries of CTA1-derived peptides, we have identified a single Hsc70 binding site, YYIYVI …

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Science Occupational Images And Aspirations Of African American/ Black Elementary Students, Saron Lamothe Jan 2019

Science Occupational Images And Aspirations Of African American/ Black Elementary Students, Saron Lamothe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Within the United States, more than a million jobs in science and engineering (S&E) are projected over the next few years; yet, the Nation lacks the workforce to meet these demands. Despite the need for a more diverse, qualified workforce, African Americans/Blacks remain disproportionately underrepresented in science occupations, science degree attainment, and in science postsecondary majors. The lack of science participation is reflective of how minority secondary students view science and science occupations as many consider the pursuit of a science career as unfavorable. Moreover, minority secondary students, who do choose to pursue science occupations, seem to possess inaccurate (or …

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Ultrasound Measured Flexor Muscle Thickness In The Forearms Of Rock Climbers, Michael Marsala Jan 2019

Ultrasound Measured Flexor Muscle Thickness In The Forearms Of Rock Climbers, Michael Marsala

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

PURPOSE: To examine differences in the forearms of rock climbers using ultrasound to measure the muscle thickness of the finger flexors. METHODS: A total of 33 participants were recruited, 22 climbers (22.23 years; 68% male) and 11 controls (21.8; 55% male). Climbers provided self-reported ratings of their climbing ability, skill level, and preferred mode of climbing (e.g. sport climbing vs. bouldering). Anthropometric measures, including body fat percentage, were measured in all participants. Ultrasound measurements were taken with the participant lying on their back on a padded table with their dominant hand supinated. Muscle thickness measurements were taken at the forearm …

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If A Virtual Tree Falls In A Simulated Forest, Is The Sound Restorative? An Examination Of The Role Of Level Of Immersion In The Restorative Capacity Of Virtual Nature Environments, Jessica Michaelis Jan 2019

If A Virtual Tree Falls In A Simulated Forest, Is The Sound Restorative? An Examination Of The Role Of Level Of Immersion In The Restorative Capacity Of Virtual Nature Environments, Jessica Michaelis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Stress and cognitive fatigue have become a pervasive problem, especially in Western society. Stress and cognitive fatigue can have deleterious effects not only on performance, but also on one's physical and mental health. This dissertation presents a study in which the aim is to investigate the effects of virtual nature on stress reduction and cognitive restoration. Specifically, this study assessed the effects of Immersion (Non-immersive, Semi-immersive, Fully-immersive) and Exploration (Passive vs Active) on stress reduction and cognitive restoration. Additionally, restoration from the most effective virtual nature environment was compared to that of taking an active coloring break. Eighty-three university students …

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Protective Behavioral Strategies And Alcohol-Related Sex Among College Students, Roselyn Peterson Jan 2019

Protective Behavioral Strategies And Alcohol-Related Sex Among College Students, Roselyn Peterson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Adverse sexual outcomes (e.g., sexual regret, sexual risk, and sexual assault) are a common experience among college students. In particular, regretted sex is reported by a third of college students and may result in psychological harm. Previous literature has found that alcohol is involved in approximately one third of regretted sex experienced by college students. A gap exists in the literature identifying who is more susceptible to experiencing a regretted sexual experience. Previous research has shown that students who implement protective behavioral strategies (PBS) while drinking are able to reduce alcohol-related negative consequences, including regretted sexual experiences. Three sub-types of …

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The Life Experiences Of Women With An Intellectual Disability Who Were Sexually Assaulted, Jillian Schreffler Jan 2019

The Life Experiences Of Women With An Intellectual Disability Who Were Sexually Assaulted, Jillian Schreffler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The views of those with an intellectual disability (ID) on sexuality is not a topic many are willing to broach. Many challenges exist for those identified with ID when it comes to sexual education, including a lack of appropriate curricula; a lack of trained school personnel; the inability of school, state, and national stakeholders to agree on policy or curriculum content; and the generalizability of the content. These challenges are heightened by an increase in sexual assault of women with ID. To improve sexual assault prevention skills, the researcher conducted a phenomenological study to identify the current status of sexual …

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Electing Or Appointing School District Superintendents In The State Of Florida: A Comparison Of Characteristics And Performance Of Districts Led By Elected Superintendents Versus Districts Led By Appointed Superintendents, Timothy Smith Jan 2019

Electing Or Appointing School District Superintendents In The State Of Florida: A Comparison Of Characteristics And Performance Of Districts Led By Elected Superintendents Versus Districts Led By Appointed Superintendents, Timothy Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Florida and Alabama are the only two states in the United States of America with school districts led by either elected superintendents or appointed superintendents. The other 48 states only have appointed superintendent-led school districts. The current study was conducted to examine the impact of the superintendent governance structure on student learning by analyzing differences in student achievement between Florida school districts led by elected superintendents and Florida school districts led by appointed superintendents. The conceptual framework of the study was the tension between democratic localism and professionalism. Dynamics associated with the conceptual framework are relevant to the current debate. …

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Biochemical Characterization Of Rv2633c From Mycobacterium Tuberculosis And The Effects Of Mutagenesis On Iron Binding, Kyle Strickland Jan 2019

Biochemical Characterization Of Rv2633c From Mycobacterium Tuberculosis And The Effects Of Mutagenesis On Iron Binding, Kyle Strickland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is a pathogenic bacterium that is the causative agent of the disease Tuberculosis (TB). TB kills an estimated 1.8 million people annually and roughly one third of the world's population carries Mtb in a dormant state. Drug resistant Mtb strains are on the rise, thus a new method of combating this disease is paramount. Mtb survival inside of macrophages requires overcoming various stressors such as; iron restriction, reactive oxygen species, and hypoxic conditions. Mtb employs the use of catalases, nitric oxide reductase, superoxide dismutase, and siderophores to aid in survival. These functions have also been found in …

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Stress, Coping, And Quality Of Life Among Parental Caregivers Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Dawn Turnage Jan 2019

Stress, Coping, And Quality Of Life Among Parental Caregivers Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Dawn Turnage

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: Parental caregivers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are exposed to stressors associated with the daily care of raising a child with a developmental disability, which may negatively impact parental quality of life (QOL). The specific aim of this study was to examine the relationships between demographic factors, stress, and coping among parental caregivers of children with ASD to determine whether predictors of QOL exist. Methodology: This study was descriptive, and an electronic survey was distributed to Florida parents of children, age 3-21 years old, diagnosed with ASD. The survey measured parent reported demographic factors, severity of the …

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Magnesium-Based Treatment For The Degradation Of Octachlorodibenzofuran And Trinitrotoluene, Amal Mogharbel Jan 2019

Magnesium-Based Treatment For The Degradation Of Octachlorodibenzofuran And Trinitrotoluene, Amal Mogharbel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The aim of the present research is to investigate the efficacy of using ball-milled zero-valent magnesium (ZVMg) with and without activated carbon (AC) for the dechlorination of polychlorinated dibenzofurans. Three different solvent systems are presented here which are ethanol, ethanol/ethyl lactate (90:10), and 2-butoxyethanol. These solvents in combination with ZVMg with and without activated carbon were tested towards the degradation of octachlorodibenzofuran (OCDF, the most highly chlorinated PCDF congener). All the tested systems were very powerful and reductively dechlorinated OCDF to less chlorinated congeners. However, the system of ball-milled ZVMg and ethanol was the only system which converted OCDF and …

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Living Shoreline Stabilization To Increase Resiliency At De Soto National Memorial, Linda Walters, Melinda Donnelly, Christian Pilato, Suzanne Connor Dec 2018

Living Shoreline Stabilization To Increase Resiliency At De Soto National Memorial, Linda Walters, Melinda Donnelly, Christian Pilato, Suzanne Connor

CEELAB Research Data

De Soto National Memorial (Bradenton, FL) is an important location where both Native Americans and De Soto's army of soldiers once lived. We have been working closely with the National Park Service and the University of Central Florida to understand how to best stabilize this shoreline using living shoreline techniques combined with long-term natural recruitment. Stabilizing De Soto's shoreline is essential to decrease erosion and shoreline loss to protect the Park's cultural and natural resources, especially the numerous historically significant shell middens. Through pre-restoration monitoring, we determined that high-energy boat wakes were limiting natural mangrove recruitment. Lack of retention of …

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Ucf Libraries Application For The 2019 Acrl Excellence In Academic Libraries Award, Ucf Libraries Dec 2018

Ucf Libraries Application For The 2019 Acrl Excellence In Academic Libraries Award, Ucf Libraries

Libraries' Documents

No abstract provided.

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Shoreline Characterization In The Northern Indian River Lagoon, Melinda Donnelly, Michelle Shaffer, Suzanne Connor, Linda Walters Nov 2018

Shoreline Characterization In The Northern Indian River Lagoon, Melinda Donnelly, Michelle Shaffer, Suzanne Connor, Linda Walters

CEELAB Research Data

The purpose of this project was to evaluate current conditions of estuarine shorelines in the northern section of the Indian River Lagoon system, including Mosquito Lagoon, north Indian River, and Banana River. From January 2016 through June 2018, we evaluated structural and functional characteristics of 374 miles of shoreline, from Ponce Inlet in Volusia County to Sebastian Inlet in Brevard County (11,000+ data points). Hard-armoring accounted for approximately 50% of total shoreline, evenly divided between shoreline with bulkheads (25%) and hardened slopes (25%). Forty-five percent of shoreline without hard-armoring had anthropogenic alterations (i.e. mosquito impoundments, railroads and roadways, residential and …

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Teaming Up Against Rising Textbook Costs: Harnessing The Librarian/Faculty Collaboration To Locate Affordable Course Materials, Christina Wray, Sandy Avila Oct 2018

Teaming Up Against Rising Textbook Costs: Harnessing The Librarian/Faculty Collaboration To Locate Affordable Course Materials, Christina Wray, Sandy Avila

Open Access Week

Does the idea of the soaring price of textbooks and the lack of your student’s ability to purchase them keep you up at night? If so, then please join our Digital Learning & Engagement Librarian, Christina Wray and Research and Information Services’ Science Librarian, Sandy Avila for a presentation about partnering with your subject librarian to explore quality library-sourced or open access/online resources for your next class.

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A Cohort-Based Program To Help Students Prepare A Conference Research Presentation, Alanna Lecher Oct 2018

A Cohort-Based Program To Help Students Prepare A Conference Research Presentation, Alanna Lecher

Florida Statewide Symposium: Best Practices in Undergraduate Research

Students move through many first time experiences when navigating their undergraduate and graduate education. Such experiences include the first time students submit an article to a peer-reviewed scientific journal, attend a conference, and conduct fieldwork. The cohort model has been shown to be effective in increasing success in undergraduate education, and it can be adapted to helping students succeed in these novel experiences as well. This presentation will explore one program where the cohort model was implemented to aid undergraduate students preparing their first conference presentation on a scientific research project. Program structure and implementation will be described.

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11th Annual Florida Statewide Symposium: Best Practices In Undergraduate Research, Florida Statewide Symposium Oct 2018

11th Annual Florida Statewide Symposium: Best Practices In Undergraduate Research, Florida Statewide Symposium

Florida Statewide Symposium: Best Practices in Undergraduate Research

Program for the Symposium

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Personal Librarian Programs In Medical And Academic Health Sciences Libraries: A Preliminary Study - Data, Natasha Williams Oct 2018

Personal Librarian Programs In Medical And Academic Health Sciences Libraries: A Preliminary Study - Data, Natasha Williams

Research Data and Datasets

This preliminary study examined how personal librarian programs are implemented within medical and academic health sciences libraries. Increasing awareness of these programs and how they are implemented could create a larger and more accessible knowledge-base for establishing best practices that similar libraries can look to when creating their own programs. This document contains the raw data from the survey used to characterize existing programs.

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Central Florida Future, Vol. 40 No. 72, September 3, 2008 Sep 2018

Central Florida Future, Vol. 40 No. 72, September 3, 2008

Central Florida Future

Senator's ordeal ends with removal; Hands-only dining; Bush signs green act; College presidents could re-opens drinking age debate.

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Serial Murder Mysteries: Revisiting Definitional Issues, Data Challenges, Archaic Theories, And Myths Using Empirical Evidence, Jolene Vincent Aug 2018

Serial Murder Mysteries: Revisiting Definitional Issues, Data Challenges, Archaic Theories, And Myths Using Empirical Evidence, Jolene Vincent

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While serial killings have been the focus of much scholarly research, the definition of what it means to be a serial killer has been debated by law enforcement agencies and academics for decades. This overall lack of understanding about serial killers and the murders they commit has contributed to the numerous limitations concerning the general knowledge about this unique form of homicide. Furthermore, serial killers have typically been examined using psychological models, psychiatric approaches, or the external drives/motives of the offenders, while the development of a sociological perspective has received less attention. This current research uses arguably the most complete …

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Electrochemical Microsensors For In Situ Monitoring Of Chemical Compounds In Engineered And Natural Aquatic Systems, Jared Church Aug 2018

Electrochemical Microsensors For In Situ Monitoring Of Chemical Compounds In Engineered And Natural Aquatic Systems, Jared Church

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The adaption of needle-type electrochemical microsensor (or microelectrode) techniques to environmental science and engineering systems has transformed how we understand mass transport in biotic and abiotic processes. Their small tip diameter (5-20μm) makes them a unique experimental tool for direct measurements of analytes with high spatial and temporal resolutions, providing a quantitative analysis of flux, diffusion, and reaction rate at a microscale that cannot be obtained using conventional analytical tools. However, their applications have been primarily limited to understanding mass transport dynamics and kinetics in biofilms. With the advancement of sensor fabrication and utilization techniques, their potential applications can surpass …

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Room Temperature Operation Of Quantum Cascade Lasers Monolithically Integrated Onto A Lattice-Mismatched Substrate, Rowel Go Aug 2018

Room Temperature Operation Of Quantum Cascade Lasers Monolithically Integrated Onto A Lattice-Mismatched Substrate, Rowel Go

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCLs) are semiconductor devices that, currently, have been observed to emit radiation from ~ 2.6 μm to 250 μm (1 to 100 terahertz range of frequencies.) They have established themselves as the laser of choice for spectroscopic gas sensing in the mid-wavelength infrared (3-8 μm) and long-wavelength infrared (8-15 μm) region. In the 4-12 μm wavelength region, the highest performing QCL devices, in terms of wall-plug efficiency and continuous wave operation, are indium phosphide (InP) based. The ultimate goal is to incorporate this InP-based QCL technology to silicon (Si) substrate since most opto-electronics are Si-based. The main …

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