Digital Commons Network^™

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Ptsd) In Children Following Acute Injuries Requiring Emergency Medical Care, Virginia Depp Cline

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Unfortunately, one rite of passage of childhood is often serious injury that carries psychological impact along with the obvious physical repercussions. Prior studies have found conflicting results for protective/risk factors, thus this study attempted to explore PTSD in a sample of children ages seven to thirteen years of age with moderate to severe injuries. In this study (N = 32), 31.3% of children experiencing such a sudden injury requiring hospitalization at the University of Kentucky Childrens Hospital demonstrated significant indications of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the injury. Several pre, peri, and post-trauma variables from during the childs hospitalization to …

Simulations-Guided Design Of Process Analytical Sensor Using Molecular Factor Computing, Bin Dai

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Many areas of science now generate huge volumes of data that present visualization, modeling, and interpretation challenges. Methods for effectively representing the original data in a reduced coordinate space are therefore receiving much attention. The purpose of this research is to test the hypothesis that molecular computing of vectors for transformation matrices enables spectra to be represented in any arbitrary coordinate system. New coordinate systems are selected to reduce the dimensionality of the spectral hyperspace and simplify the mechanical/electrical/computational construction of a spectrometer. A novel integrated sensing and processing system, termed Molecular Factor Computing (MFC) based near infrared (NIR) spectrometer, …

Diversity In A Japanese Transplant: The Effect Of Gender, Race, Age, And Employment Status On Teamwork, Elena Darina Lepadatu

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Diversity and Teamwork are currently some of the trendiest human resources strategies of boosting team performance and ultimately, organizational performance. This study analyzes the impact of gender, racial, age and employment status diversity on teamwork, and is one of the first studies on diversity and teamwork in the mature phase of Japanese transplants. The theoretical framework includes elements of the symbolic interactionist theory, Kanter.s theory on tokenism, revised contact hypothesis and perspectives on cultural diversity (Ely and Thomas, 2001). The data were collected from interviews with 87 workers from 16 production teams working on the assembly line at a top …

The Contextual Elements Of Political Tolerance: A Multilevel Analysis Of The Effects Of Threat Environment And Domestic Institutions On Political Tolerance Levels, Marc Lawrence Hutchison

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Although largely overlooked in much of the previous research on political tolerance, I argue that contextual factors, specifically state-level features, play a significant role in influencing individual tolerance judgments. Drawing from extant theories of public opinion, international conflict, and political institutions, I seek to further our understanding of the determinants of political tolerance by trying to answer the following question: What accounts for the significant differences in political tolerance levels across countries? While models using individual-level predictors account for some of the disparity in tolerance levels, a substantial amount remains unexplained. I assert that several macro-level theoretical frameworks offer compelling …

Applications Of Multiwall Carbon Nanotube Composites: Mechanical, Electrical And Thermal Properties, Matthew Collins Weisenberger

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Carbon nanotubes have now been a subject of intense research for approaching two decades. Although a short time relative to most conventional materials, much hype about the intrinsic properties of this material has now been substantiated by experiment. The results are conclusive that carbon nanotubes are truly phenomenal materials with highly desirable mechanical, electrical and thermal properties. Furthermore, multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) have emerged as the most economically viable and abundant form of carbon nanotubes, and therefore the most likely candidate for application. The key materials engineering challenge remains in effectively transferring their properties to macro-scale materials in the form …

Nitroreductase: Evidence For A Fluxional Low-Temperature State And Its Possible Role In Enzyme Activity, Peng Zhang

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The enzyme nitroreductase (NR) catalyzes two-electron reduction of high explosives such as trinitrotoluene (TNT), a wide variety of other toxic nitroaromatic compounds, as well as riboflavin derivatives, using a tightly-bound flavin mononucleotide (FMN) cofactor. It has important environmental and clinical implications. Previous studies have focused on elucidating NRs catalytic mechanism and solving its crystal structure.

In this dissertation work, we first develop and implement new strategies for labeling NR with stable isotopes, and report a completely re-designed protocol for NRs purification. Then we report the successful assignment of over half of NRs backbone resonances using 3d-NMR methods. The most significant …

New Developments In Cyclized Arsenic And Antimony Thiolates, Taimur A. Shaikh

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

There is a continued interest in the properties of arsenic thiolate compounds for both industrial and biological uses. Recent discoveries in the medicinal properties of such compounds have resulted in a sustained need for the synthesis of new dithiarsolane compounds for research as anti-leukemic compounds. Close analogues of the 2-halo arsenic dithiolates, namely those with an arsenic-carbon bond instead of an arsenic-halide bond, have recently been shown to have some efficacy towards leukemia cells. Based on the hydrolytic character and the active role of glutathione with arsenic in vivo, the compounds reported here may also have such activity. Arsenic compounds …

Asymmetric Simple Exclusion Process In Two Dimensions, Dmytro Goykolov

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Asymmetric simple exclusion process (ASEP) is a driven stochastic lattice model of particles that move preferentially in one direction. If particles move only in one direction, the model is known as totally asymmetric process. Conventionally, preferred direction of motion is chosen to be to the right. Particles interact through the hard core exclusion rule, meaning that no more than one particle is allowed to occupy one lattice site. In this work following ASEP models are presented. First we study square diagonal lattice with particles that occupy one lattice site and move along the square diagonals. Mean-field theory was developed for …

Mentoring Matters: The Influence Of Social Support And Relational Maintenance Strategies On Critical Outcomes In Doctoral Education, Sarah Elizabeth Cavendish

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Utilizing social support as the theoretical foundation for this research, the study proposes and tests the Mentoring Relational Process Model (MRPM). The influence of support sought, relational maintenance strategies, and support obtained on the critical graduate outcomes of relational satisfaction, research self-efficacy, perceived time-todegree, and relational quality is examined. Data collected from 310 doctoral students through an online survey is used to test the MRPM. Over 50% of the variance in relational satisfaction and relational quality, respectively, is predicted by the MRPM. Research selfefficacy and perceived time-to-degree were not well-predicted by the current data.

Neonatal Immune Modulation To Improve Pneumocystis Clearance, Kerry Mcgarr Empey

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Pneumocystis carinii is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that causes lifethreatening pneumonia in immunocompromised individuals. Infants appear to be particularly susceptible to Pneumocystis (PC) pulmonary infections. The higher incidence of PC as well as other pulmonary infections among infants is likely due to an immature immune system. The neonatal lung environment is deficient immunologically in preterm as well as term infants (1, 2). Decreased phagocytic capacity of macrophages in newborns may increase the risk of infection from inhaled pathogens (1, 2). We have previously demonstrated that there is approximately a 3-week delay in the clearance of PC organisms from pup mouse …

A Controlled Comparison Of Emotional Reactivity And Physiological Response In Chronic Orofacial Pain Patients, John E. Schmidt

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the emotional and physiological differences between masticatory muscle pain patients and age, height, and weight matched pain-free controls. Physiological activation and emotional reactivity were assessed in the 22 muscle pain patients and 23 pain-free controls during a baseline rest period, while discussing a personally relevant stressor, and during a post-stressor recovery period. Physiological activity was assessed through the use of the frequency domain heart rate variability indices. Activity in the high frequency heart rate variability range is an index of parasympathetic activity while activity in the low frequency heart rate variability range is an index of both …

Virtual' Brides In The Post-Soviet Context, Michael Paul Begin

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This project offers a multifaceted, interdisciplinary approach to understanding the contemporary post-Soviet Internet bride phenomenon and the rationales, motives, and aspirations of the industry's participants. As international marriage services have incorporated information and communications technologies (ICTs) to assist in the marketing of women of post-communist nations for correspondence courtship with Western men, the industry has furthered the globalization of marriage markets and the opportunities for communicative exchange among disparate nations and cultures. By way of case study, the project takes a special focus on the Belarusian/American segment of the industry, turning to personal interviews with participants and employing qualitative techniques …

Characterization And Flow Physics Of Plasma Synthetic Jet Actuators, Arvind Santhanakrishnan

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Plasma synthetic jet actuators are investigated experimentally, in which the geometrical design of single dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) plasma actuators is modified to produce zero-mass flux jets similar to those created by mechanical devices. The SDBD plasma actuator consists of two rectangular electrodes oriented asymmetrically and separated by a layer of dielectric material. Under an input of high voltage, high frequency AC or pulsed DC, a region of plasma is created in the interfacial air gap on account of electrical breakdown of the ambient air. A coupling between the electric field in the plasma and the neutral air near the …

Detoxification Of Selected Chloro-Organics By Oxidation Technique Using Chelate Modified Fenton Reaction, Yongchao Li

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The use of hydroxyl radical based reaction (Fenton reaction) for the destruction of organic pollutants has been widely reported in the literature. However, the low pH requirement and rapid hydrogen peroxide consumption rate make the application of conventional Fenton reaction difficult for in-situ treatment. In this study, we conducted a modified Fenton reaction by introducing a chelating agent into the reaction system that could prevent Fe(OH)3 (s) precipitation even at a neutral pH condition and reduce the H2O2 consumption rate by controlling the Fe2+ concentration. A chelating agent (mono-chelate or poly-chelate) combines with Fe2+ or Fe3+ to form stable metal-chelate …

Identification And Characterization Of Proteins That Interact With Agamous-Like 15 (Agl15), A Mads-Domain Transcription Factor That Preferentially Accumulates In The Plant Embryo, Kristine Hill

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

AGAMOUS-Like 15 (AGL15) encodes a MADS-domain transcription factor that is preferentially expressed in the plant embryo, and may function as a regulator in embryonic developmental programs. A number of direct downstream targets of AGL15 have been identified, and while some of these target genes are induced in response to AGL15, others are repressed. Additionally, direct target genes have been analyzed that exhibit strong association with AGL15 in vivo, yet in vitro, AGL15 binds only weakly. Taken together these data suggest that AGL15 may form heterodimers, or ternary complexes with other proteins, thus modulating the specificity and function of AGL15 in …

Interactions Between Structures In The Appalachian And Ouachita Foreland Beneath The Gulf Coastal Plain, Donald Matthew Surles

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

In Alabama, the Paleozoic Appalachian thrust belt plunges southwest beneath the Mesozoic-Cenozoic Gulf Coastal Plain. In Arkansas, the Paleozoic Ouachita thrust belt plunges southeast beneath the Coastal Plain. The strikes of the exposed thrust belts suggest an intersection beneath the Coastal Plain. Well data and seismic reflection profiles confirm the strike and intersection of the thrust belts, and provide information to determine the structure and general stratigraphy of each thrust belt. In east-central Mississippi, the Appalachian thrust belt curves from the regional northeast trace to westward at the intersection with the southeastern terminus of the Ouachita thrust belt, to northwest …

Influences Of Chromium (Iii) Picolinate On Pigs Under Thermal, Immune Or Dietary Stress, And On Adrenal Steroid Secretion, Beob Gyun Kim

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The objectives were to investigate the effects of chromium (III) picolinate (CrPic; up to 2,000 ppb of Cr) on growing pigs subjected to a variety of stressors including thermal, immune, or dietary stress and to examine the effects of CrPic on steroidogenesis from adrenocortical cells. In the thermal stress study, high ambient temperature caused reduced weight gain and feed consumption (P andlt; 0.01), and low ambient temperature caused increased feed intake and feed:gain (P andlt; 0.01). However, these effects were not moderated by CrPic, and respiratory rate, plasma cortisol, or plasma glucose were unaffected by CrPic. In the immune stress …

Numerical Investigation And Parallel Computing For Thermal Transport Mechanism During Nanomachining, Ravi R. Kumar

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Nano-scale machining, or Nanomachining is a hybrid process in which the total thermal energy necessary to remove atoms from a work-piece surface is applied from external sources. In the current study, the total thermal energy necessary to remove atoms from a work-piece surface is applied from two sources: (1) localized energy from a laser beam focused to a micron-scale spot to preheat the work-piece, and (2) a high-precision electron-beam emitted from the tips of carbon nano-tubes to remove material via evaporation/sublimation. Macro-to-nano scale heat transfer models are discussed for understanding their capability to capture and its application to predict the …

Novel Corn Hybrids For Silage Production, Warren Whitaker

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Four corn (Zea mays) hybrid types at three plant densities and two nitrogen rates were evaluated for forage yield, forage quality and ensilage quality. The four hybrid types over the first two year of the study included nutri-dense, waxy, leafy, and dualpurpose, the third year a second dual purpose hybrid was added; while the three target plant densities were 54 000, 68 000, and 81 000 plants per hectare; and the nitrogen rates were 134 and 224 kilograms per hectare. The dual-purpose hybrid consistently had high forage yields compared with the other types. When averaged over nitrogen rate and hybrid …

Kentucky's Adapter For Parallel Execution And Rapid Synchronization, Swetha Mitta

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

As network hardware has become faster, inefficient communication and synchronization mechanisms often have proven to be fast enough but better models are needed in order to support future systems. The aggregate function communication model, and the KAPERS design and implementation presented in this thesis, provide more efficient ways to implement a wide range of higher-level communication and synchronization operations. The main contributions of this work center on a new way to use FPGA-based memory in an aggregate function network (AFN). The basic functions were designed and implemented with modal encoding to create a global memory that allows variable length objects …

Nanoporous Alumina On Molybdenum And Ito Substrates For Nano-Heterojunction Solar Cell Applications, Karen E. Sampson

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Indium tin oxide (ITO) and molybdenum are substrates of choice in the manufacture of the CdS-CIS photovoltaic cell, which is the base for the leading thin-film solar cell technology. Substantial advancement in this technology is expected if these devices can be made in nanoporous alumina (AAO) templates. The first step to this endeavor is to learn to form AAO templates on molybdenum and ITO substrates. This was accomplished, and the results are reported in this thesis. Starting substrates were glass, coated with either a thin molybdenum layer or a thin ITO layer. Aluminum was deposited on top of this conducting …

Relationship Of Nitrogen Metabolism Capacity, Carcass Quality, And Expression Of Glutamate Transporters And Metabolizing Enzymes In Polypay And Percentage White Dorper Lambs, Andrea K. Lunsford

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Two studies were conducted to compare nitrogen (N) and glutamate metabolism in Polypay and percentage White Dorper lambs.First, a two-phase digestion/N metabolism trial was conducted with 18 wether lambs of three genetic types: Polypay (PP), 1/2 White Dorper 1/2 Polypay (1/2 D), and 3/4 White Dorper 1/4 Polypay (3/4 D). Six lambs of each genetic type were fed a high roughage diet (HR; Phase 1) or high concentrate diet (HC; Phase 2). DM and N digestion was higher for 1/2 D than PP or 3/4 D fed HC. N retention was highest for 1/2 D regardless of diet.The second study …

From Exception To Norm: Deaccessioning In Late Twentieth Century American Art Museums, Julianna Shubinski

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Throughout their history in America, museums, including those of art, have adapted according to their environment. One result of this adaptability is that objects in art museum collections are not as permanent as those outside the museum field tend to believe. As scholarship, funding, and audiences change, objects which at one time were considered pertinent to a museum collection may be deaccessioned, the term used for when a museum removes an accessioned object from its permanent collection. Yet deaccessioning in America tended to remain the exception, rather than the rule, until the last three decades of the twentieth century. How …

Semi-Empirical Method For Designing Excavation Support Systems Based On Deformation Control, David G. Zapata-Medina

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Due to space limitations in urban areas, underground construction has become a common practice worldwide. When using deep excavations, excessive lateral movements are a major concern because they can lead to significant displacements and rotations in adjacent structures. Therefore, accurate predictions of lateral wall deflections and surface settlements are important design criteria in the analysis and design of excavation support systems. This research shows that the current design methods, based on plane strain analyses, are not accurate for designing excavation support systems and that fully three-dimensional (3D) analyses including wall installation effects are needed. A complete 3D finite element simulation …

Characterization Of Polyphenol Oxidase And Antioxidants From Pawpaw (Asimina Tribola) Fruit, Caodi Fang

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The latest generation of fighter aircraft utilizes a 270Vdc power system [1]. Such high voltage DC power systems are difficult to protect with conventional circuit breakers because the current does not automatically go to zero twice per cycle during a fault like it does in an AC power system and thus arcing of the contacts is a problem. Solid state power controllers (SSPCs) are the solid state equivalent of a circuit breaker that do not arc and which can respond more rapidly to a fault than a mechanical breaker [2]. Present SSPCs are limited to lower voltages and currents by …

Influence Of Surface Roughness Of Copper Substrate On Wetting Behavior Of Molten Solder Alloys, Dinesh Reddy Nalagatla

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The objective of this study is to understand the effect of surface roughness of the Cu substrate on the wetting of molten solder alloys. Eutectic Sn-Pb, pure Sn and eutectic Sn-Cu solder alloys and Cu substrates with different surface finish viz., highly polished surface, polished surface and unpolished surface were used in this work. Highly polished surface was prepared in Metallography lab, University of Kentucky while other two substrates were obtained from a vendor. Surface roughness properties of each substrate were measured using an optical profilometer. Highly polished surface was found to be of least surface roughness, while unpolished surface …

Instructional Communication Matters: A Test Of Knowledge Acqusition Theory (Kat) From A Message-Oriented Receiver Perspective, Robert Joseph Trader

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation encourages adoption of a message-oriented receiver perspective when developing new instructional communication theories and proposes a causal-process model derived from Knowledge Acquisition Theory to demonstrate how this perspective can be used to predict student cognitive learning outcomes. Three hypotheses are generated to test the propositions of the derived model. The first hypothesis seeks to determine which dimensions of instructional message clarity and course content relevance best predict student interactions with instructional content. The second hypothesis predicts that student self-reported knowledge gains are a function of student interactions with content. The third hypothesis predicts that a significant proportion of …

Influence Of The Serotonergic System On Physiology, Development, And Behavior Of Drosophila Melanogaster, Sameera Dasari

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The regulation and modulation of the serotonergic system is clinically significant in humans. Abnormally low levels of serotonin can result in depression and conditions like panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder, sudden infant death syndrome, and eating disorders. The mechanistic role of serotonin (5-HT) on the neural circuits related with these diseases is not definitively known. Drosophila is a simple model system that provides an advantage over vertebrates to modify genetically and for electrophysiological studies on identifiable cells. In this organism the sensory-CNS-motor circuit is modulated by 5-HT, octopamine (OA), and dopamine (DA), which gives one insight that these …

The Design And Synthesis Of Novel Chelates For The Precipitation Of Mercury, Aaron Robert Hutchison

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Mercury has been an element of great industrial importance since early times.This wide utilization of the element has led to pervasive mercury contamination in theglobal environment. Due to mercury's high toxicity, this is a matter of great concern. Anumber of methods, includ ing phytoremediation, filtration, and precipitation/chelation,have been investigated to remove mercury from the environment. Unfortunately, thesemethods are not entirely satisfactory for the in-situ remediation of mercury from aqueousenvironments.The hypothesis of this dissertation is that this can best be accomplished by theaddition of a large and flexible sulfur-based chelate, that will bind mercury in atetracoordinate and presumably tetrahedral environment, to …

Anisotropic Polarized Light Scatter And Molecular Factor Computing In Pharmaceutical Cleaning Validation And Biomedical Spectroscopy, Aaron Andrew Urbas

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Spectroscopy and other optical methods can often be employed with limited or no sample preparation, making them well suited for in situ and in vivo analysis. This dissertation focuses on the use of a near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and polarized light scatter for two such applications: the assessment of cardiovascular disease, and the validation of cleaning processes for pharmaceutical equipment.There is a need for more effective in vivo techniques for assessing intravascular disorders, such as aortic aneurysms and vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques. These, and other cardiovascular disorders, are often associated with structural remodeling of vascular walls. NIRS has previously been demonstrated as …