Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

The Multifaceted Nature Of Impulsive Sensation-Seeking: Differential Relationships With Personality, Deviance, And Laboratory Tasks, Drew J. Miller

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The current study examined divergences among impulsivity and sensation seeking items from the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire Impulsive Sensation Seeking scale in terms of their relations to other personality models, deviance, and laboratory task outcomes. A sample of 654 undergraduates was gathered across two studies and given a Five Factor Model of personality measure (e.g. NEO Five Factor Inventory, NEO Five Factor Report Form), deviance measures (e.g. Antisocial Behavior Inventory, Explicit Attitudes Towards Marijuana Questionnaire), and three laboratory tasks (e.g. Balloon Analogue Risk Task, Newmans Card-Playing Task). Results demonstrated the hypothesized divergences among impulsivity and sensation seeking items on measures of …

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 …

A Visualization Tool For Cross-Experiment Gene Expression Analysis Of C. Elegans, Lin Xue

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Forty-six genomic gene expression studies of free living soil nematode C. eleganshave been published. To facilitate exploratory analysis of those studies, we constructed adatabase containing all the published C. elegans expression datasets. A Perl CGIprogram, called Microarray Analysis Display (MAdisplay), allows gene expressionclustergrams of any combination of entered genes and datasets to be viewed(http://elegans.uky.edu/gl/madisplay). Perl programs were used to preprocess the rawdata from different sources into a common format and to transform the data to displaythe expression changes relative to each experiment's controls. Three hundred lists ofgenes from figures and tables were extracted from the publications and made available inthe …

An Approach To Inverse Modeling Through The Integration Of Artificial Neural Networks And Genetic Algorithms, Kirthi Bedida

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

A hybrid model integrating predictive capabilities of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and optimization feature of Genetic Algorithm (GA) is developed for the purpose of inverse modeling. The proposed approach is applied to Superplastic forming of materials to predict the material properties which characterize the performance of a material. The study is carried out on two problems. For the first problem, ANN is trained to predict the strain rate sensitivity index m given the temperature and the strain rate. The performance of different gradient search methods used in training the ANN model is demonstrated. Similar approach is used for the second …

Trophic Interactions Between Two Herbivorous Insects, Galerucella Calmariensis And Myzus Lythri, Feeding On Purple Loosestrife, Lythrum Salicaria, And Two Insect Predators, Harmonia Axyridis And Chrysoperla Carnea, Bethzayda Matos, John J. Obrycki

Entomology Faculty Publications

The effects of two herbivorous insects, Galerucella calmariensis Duftschmid and Myzus lythri L. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), feeding on purple loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria L. (Myrtiflorae: Lythraceae), were measured in the presence of two insect predators, Harmonia axyridis Pallas (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae). A greenhouse cage experiment examined the direct effects of these predators on these herbivores, and indirect effects of predation on aboveground biomass, defoliation, number of leaves, and internode length. Eight treatment combinations with G. calmariensis, M. lythri, H. axyridis and C. carnea were applied to caged L. salicaria. The experiment ended …

Testing The Role Of Anxiety As An Underlying Mechanism Of The Alcohol-Aggression Relation, Joshua Parker Phillips

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that acute alcohol consumption facilitates aggression through the reduction of adaptive anxiety/fear responses to danger/threat. Participants were 80 healthy male social drinkers between 21 and 33 years of age. They were randomly assigned to one of four groups: 1) Alcohol/anxiety induction (n=20), 2) Placebo/anxiety induction (n=20), 3) Alcohol only (n=20), and 4) Placebo only (n=20). Anxiety was induced by informing participants that they had to deliver a speech about what they liked and disliked about their body in front of a video camera. A modified version of the Taylor Aggression …

P53 And Reactive Oxygen Species: A Convoluted Story, Bin Liu

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The tumor suppressor p53 has a close relation with reactive oxygen species (ROS). As an indispensable component of the cellular redox system, ROS not only have been established to be involved in p53-dependent apoptosis, but also regulate p53 activity. Recent studies revealed several novel actions of p53, such as transactivation of antioxidative proteins, mitochondria translocation and inhibition of glycolysis. The fate of cells where p53 signaling pathways are initiated is either survival or death. In this review, we examine the hypothesis that ROS regulate cell fate through p53, in a way that physiological ROS levels trigger the protective pathways, while …

Catalytic Growth Of Structured Carbon Via The Decomposition Of Halogenated Reactants Over Supported Nickel, Laxmi Deepshika Cherukuri

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The synthesis of highly ordered carbonaceous materials, including carbon nanofibers, has been the subject of a disparate and burgeoning literature over the past decade. Growth of carbon nanotubes via an atypical catalytic route, the decomposition of halogenated reactants as chlorobenzene (CB) over 10% (w/w) Ni/SiO2 is investigated. The C (carbon) yield and structural order are a function of reaction time and temperature. Greater degree of structural order and C yield is observed from CB relative to benzene, suggesting Cl/catalyst interaction(s) and metal site restructuring. Evaluation of the effect of H2 on C growth from CB reveals that C yield is …

The Function Of Socs Genes In Drosophila Development And Signaling Pathways, Qian Guo

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The duration and intensity of the JAK/stat signaling must be tightly regulated to prevent excessive transcriptional response and to reset the pathway to receive additional signals. Socs are the largest class of these regulators in mammals. Eight Socs genes have been found in mammals. CIS, and SOCS1-3, the canonical Socs, are transcriptionally activated by and down-regulate the JAK signaling. Socs4-7, the non-canonical Socs, are less studied and their relationship with the JAK/STAT pathway has not been well established. The Drosophila genome encodes three non-canonical Socs homologues, Socs16D, Socs36E, and Socs44A. Expression of Socs36E is controlled by the JAK pathway and …

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 …

Tracing The Origin Of The Recent Rise In Neuropathogenic Ehv-1, Kathryn Laura Smith

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Equine herpesvirus type-1(EHV-1) is a complex virus known for inducing various forms of disease in horses. In recent years, the number of cases of neurological disease caused by this virus has increased. While there are a number of possible sources for this recent surge, this project set out to determine if a genotypic shift in the latent population of the virus in favor of the neuropathogenic form of EHV-1 is the basis for the recent increase in frequency of EHV-1 neurologic disease. To ascertain if such a shift has in fact occurred, 450 EHV-1 isolates were obtained from fetal tissues …

Prevention Of Hormonal Mammary Carcinogenesis In Rats By Dietary Berries And Ellagic Acid, Harini Sankaran Aiyer

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women around the world. The hormone 17-estradiol (E2) is strongly implicated as a causative agent in this cancer. Since estrogen acts as a complete carcinogen, agents that interfere with the carcinogenic actions of E2 are required. Most agents effective against experimental mammary carcinogenesis have been employed as pure compounds disregarding the synergy that exists between several phytonutrients in a whole food. In these studies we have taken a unified approach, by employing a pure phytonutrient ellagic acid and whole foods that contain the phytonutrient at various levels berries, in the prevention …

Implications For The Interaction Between The Heat Shock Transcription Factors And The Translocated Promoter Region Protein, Hollie Suzanne Skaggs

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The heat-shock response is one of the many complex physiological systems that organisms have developed in order to protect their cells against stress. This response is initiated by the binding of heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) to the promoters of genes containing heat-shock elements (HSEs,) which results in the expression of several proteins, among them the proteo-protective inducible heat-shock protein (hsp70i). Due to HSF1s critical role in this process, an active area of research is trying to understand of how HSF1 executes its function. Considering the rapidity with which the field of cell biology is expanding, in particular the sub-field …

The Development And Test Of An Exchange-Based Model Of Interpersonal Workplace Exclusion, Kristin Damato Scott

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The vast majority of social exclusion research has taken place outside of the workplace (i.e., in social settings). In addition, researchers often use a myriad of terms (i.e., ostracism, exclusion, rejection) when describing and investigating exclusion-related phenomena thus contributing to widespread conceptual confusion with respect to this construct. Moreover, past studies have failed to consider the role of social exchange in determining how individuals may react to being excluded by others particularly in a work setting. I sought to address these issues by conducting three multi-wave studies which develop and test a social-exchange based model of interpersonal workplace exclusion (IWE). …

Computer Simulation And Modeling Of Physical And Biological Processes Using Partial Differential Equations, Wensheng Shen

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Scientific research in areas of physics, chemistry, and biology traditionally depends purely on experimental and theoretical methods. Recently numerical simulation is emerging as the third way of science discovery beyond the experimental and theoretical approaches. This work describes some general procedures in numerical computation, and presents several applications of numerical modeling in bioheat transfer and biomechanics, jet diffusion flame, and bio-molecular interactions of proteins in blood circulation.

A three-dimensional (3D) multilayer model based on the skin physical structure is developed to investigate the transient thermal response of human skin subject to external heating. The temperature distribution of the skin is …

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 …

Polymorphism Of Four Enantiotropic Crystalline Systems Containing Ni(Ii), H2O, 15-Crown-5 And No3-, Maxime Andre Siegler

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The series of compounds [M(H₂O)₂(15-crown-5)](NO₃)₂, M = Mg, Mn, Co, Cu and Zn, has been extended to include two new phases for M = Fe and two new phases for M = Ni. The system [M(H₂O)₂(15-crown-5)](NO₃)₂ is remarkable for having many high-Z’ phases (Z’ > 1) with similar packing and for having solid-solid phase transitions through which there is no significant loss of crystallinity. The synthesis of the analogous Ni complex was carried out. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction showed …

Modulation Of Endothelial Cell Activation By Omega-6 And Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Lei Wang

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Endothelial activation is considered to be an early and critical event in the pathology of atherogenesis which can be modified by environmental factors such as diet, pollutants, and lifestyle habits. Dietary andamp;ugrave;-6 and andamp;ugrave;-3 fatty acids have been reported to either amplify or diminish inflammatory responses related to atherosclerosis development. However, the interactions of andamp;ugrave;-6 and andamp;ugrave;-3 fatty acids with inflammatory cytokines or organic pollutants on endothelial cell activation are not well understood. The studies presented in this dissertation tested the hypothesis that andamp;ugrave;-6 and andamp;ugrave;-3 fatty acids alone, or in varying ratios can differently modulate pro-atherogenic mediators and inflammatory …

Economic Analysis Of Cellulase Production Methods For Bio-Ethanol, Jun Zhuang, Mary A. Marchant, Sue E. Nokes, Herbert J. Strobel

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The cost of cellulase enzymes has limited the feasibility of producing ethanol from fibrous biomass. Traditional submerged fermentation (SmF) was compared to an alternative method of producing cellulase, solid state cultivation (SSC). Results from an economic analysis indicated that the unit costs for cellulase enzyme production were $15.67 (The prices are all 2004 prices in this article, except otherwise stated. We deflated newer prices to 2004 prices using a deflation factor 0.9 per year and inflated older prices to 2004 prices using an inflation factor 1.1.) per kilogram ($/kg) and $40.36/kg, for the SSC and SmF methods, respectively, while the …

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 …

Aging And The Dynorphinergic System: Evaluation Of Memory And Motor Systems In Prodynorphin Knockout Mice, Xuan V. Nguyen

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Dynorphins, endogenous peptide neurotransmitters expressed in the central nervous system, have been implicated in diverse pathophysiological processes, including excitotoxicity, chronic inflammation, traumatic injury, cognitive impairment, and motor dysfunction, with significant changes with aging or age-related disease processes. This has led to the hypothesis that the suppression of dynorphin expression would produce beneficial effects on learning and memory and motor function. To assess the phenotypic manifestations of chronic suppression of endogenous dynorphin, knockout (KO) mice lacking the coding exons of the gene encoding the prodynorphin (Pdyn) precursor protein, were tested in a series of behavioral, biochemical, and molecular biological studies. Moderately …

Determining Factors That Contribute To Nonpoint Source Pollution In The Lower Kentucky Watershed, James A. Wermuth

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The water quality in the United States has greatly improved since the implementation of the Clean Water Act (CWA) in the early 1970s. Unfortunately, the Clean Water Act only addresses one kind of water pollution, point source pollution. The major problem that is present in the degradation of todays water quality has to deal with nonpoint source pollution. Agriculture is commonly regarded as the leading contributor to nonpoint source pollution in the United States. This study uses two analytical tools to try to determine the significant factors in the transport of pollutants in the Lower Kentucky Watershed, located in central …

An Assessment Of Teacher Self-Efficacy And Job Satisfaction Of Early Career Kentucky Agriculture Teachers, John Joseph Blackburn

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The United States is currently facing a shortage of qualified teachers; specifically, agricultural education has recorded shortages for several years. Many agriculture teachers will leave the profession well before retirement. Those teachers who leave the profession are often dissatisfied with their chosen career and exhibit low levels of teacher self-efficacy and job satisfaction. The purpose of this census study was to describe the current level of teacher self-efficacy and job satisfaction among all early career Kentucky agriculture teachers (N = 80). The study also sought to determine if a relationship existed between teacher self-efficacy and job satisfaction among early career …

A Communication Link Reliability Study For Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Alicia K. Mylin

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Dependable communication links for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are crucial to operational reliability and mission success. This study is focused on evaluating the probability of successful communication links for small UAVs. A program based on the Friis Transmission Equation was developed to calculate the power received in a line-of-sight communication link. The program was used to evaluate the probability of success for a variety of flight pa

Nanocontroller Program Optimization Using Ite Dags, Sarojini Priyadarshini Rajachidambaram

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Kentucky Architecture nanocontrollers employ a bit-serial SIMD-parallel hardware design to execute MIMD control programs. A MIMD program is transformed into equivalent SIMD code by a process called Meta-State Conversion (MSC), which makes heavy use of enable masking to distinguish which code should be executed by each processing element. Both the bit-serial operations and the enable masking imposed on them are expressed in terms of if-then-else (ITE) operations implemented by a 1-of-2 multiplexor, greatly simplifying the hardware. However, it takes a lot of ITEs to implement even a small program fragment. Traditionally, bit-serial SIMD machines had been programmed by expanding a …

Experimental Investigation Of Pcd Compact Core Drill Performance On Basalt Simulating Sustainable Dry Drilling On Mars, Sandeep Manthri

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Missions to Mars aim to characterize rock and subsurface soil samples and possibly bring some back to Earth for more thorough and sophisticated examination. The Martian surface is covered with basalt which has high compressive strength (andamp;gt;130 MPa), and is more difficult to drill than the much softer sedimentary formations that are presently being drilled using diamond core drills. The main objective of this thesis work is to provide the requisite groundwork towards the development of improved and sustainable drills for subsurface drilling applications on Mars, when their goals are obtaining samples. Since progressive drill-wear is substantial in sustained drilling, …

Controlled Release Of Osteotropic Molecules Stimulates In Vitro Cellular Activity And In Vivo Local Bone Regeneration, Ju Hyeong Jeon

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Bone defects treatment and reconstructive surgery continues to increase at a significant rate. Current bone defect treatments are autotransplantation, allograft, and xenografts create many problems such as, inflammation, infection and chronic pain. Moreover, allografts and xenografts arouse immune rejection. These problems have led to development of controlled release system for use as alternatives to autografts, allografts and xenografts in bone repair. There have been many approaches for sustained drug delivery in local bone regeneration using biodegradable polymers and osteotropic biomolecules. This dissertation presents new approaches that apply intermittent drug delivery for local bone regeneration. In the first, the osteotropic molecules …

Functionalization Of Fluorinated Surfactant Templated Silica, Gifty Osei-Prempeh

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Surfactant templating provides for the synthesis of ordered mesoporous silica and the opportunity to tailor the pore size, pore structure, particle morphology and surface functionality of the silica through the selection of synthesis conditions and surfactant template. This work extends the synthesis of nanostructured silica using fluorinated surfactant templates to the synthesis of organic/inorganic composites. The effect of fluorinated surfactant templates (C6F13C2H4NC5H5Cl, C8F17C2H4NC5H5Cl and C10F21C2H4NC5H5Cl), which have highly hydrophobic fluorocarbon tails, on functional group incorporation, accessibility, and silica textural properties is examined and compared to properties of hydrocarbon surfactant (C16H33N(CH3)3Br, CTAB) templated silica. Hydrocarbon (vinyl, n-decyl and 3-aminopropyl) and fluorocarbon …

Use Of In-Situ Fish Populations For Biomonitoring Polychlorinated Biphenyl And Metal Pollution In Moderately Impacted Freshwater Streams, David John Price

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Water, sediments, floodplain soils, and fish from Big and Little Bayou creeks were assessed for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and metals in 1987-2005. The streams were impacted by effluents from the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP). PCBs were rarely detected in water samples. Aroclor 1248 detections in sediments and floodplains were sporadic, but 1254 and 1260 were consistent. Seasonal variations were only observed for Aroclor 1248. Detection of PCBs in floodplains indicated recent influx of contaminated sediments. Species-specific PCB residues patterns were studied for Lepomis cyanellus, L. megalotis, L. macrochirus, and Campostoma anomalum. Highest PCB concentrations were found in stoneroller minnows. …