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Development Of Novel Efficient Organocatalytic Reactions For The Construction Of Complex Molecular Architectures, Aiguo Song Sep 2014

Development Of Novel Efficient Organocatalytic Reactions For The Construction Of Complex Molecular Architectures, Aiguo Song

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Facile construction of synthetically and medicinally significant optically active molecular architectures from simple and readily available materials via catalytic enantioselective cascade processes is the cental goal in organic synthesis. Toward this end, my Ph.D. work focuses on the development of novel organocatalytic asymmetric cascade reactions and their application in the synthesis of versatile molecular structures. A novel amine catalyzed decarboxylative enantioselective Diels—Alder reaction between aldehydes and readily available coumarin-3-carboxylic acids as dienophiles via dienamine catalysis has been realized. Notably, the decarboxylation facilitates the release of the catalyst in the Diels—Alder reaction adducts and achieves high reaction efficiency in terms of …

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High Temperature Znse:Mn/Zns Nanophosphors With Very High Quantum Efficiency For White Leds, Brian Akins Sep 2014

High Temperature Znse:Mn/Zns Nanophosphors With Very High Quantum Efficiency For White Leds, Brian Akins

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Efficient white LEDs are rapidly taking over many lighting and display applications, because of their improved color rendering and low power requirements. They are attractive replacements for traditional lighting from the point of view of both human perception and energy efficiency. Currently, the most efficient and common LED design consists of a blue LED and a yellow phosphor, which in conjunction produce white light. The LED phosphor is a yellow phosphor made of yttrium aluminum garnet doped with cerium (YAG:Ce). While it does strongly absorb blue light, its external quantum efficiency is only 75% under blue LED excitation at room …

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Since I Know Myself: A Cultural Examination Of Medicinal Plant Use In The Commonwealth Of Dominica, Maureen Meyer Sep 2014

Since I Know Myself: A Cultural Examination Of Medicinal Plant Use In The Commonwealth Of Dominica, Maureen Meyer

Geography ETDs

This research examines Dominican culture through exploring medicinal plant use on the island. Dominica, located in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean Archipelago, offers a distinctive setting because historically there has been an amalgamation of cultures that have participated in and influenced the formation of Dominican culture. This research sought to identify what plants were known and used on the island in order to assess cultural retention and syncretism that has evolved as a result of the comingling of these cultures. In so doing, it was evident that environmental knowledge gained through experience has been critical for survival throughout Dominican …

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Normative Beliefs About Drinking And Alcohol Use Among Native American And Non-Hispanic White College Students, Kylee Hagler Sep 2014

Normative Beliefs About Drinking And Alcohol Use Among Native American And Non-Hispanic White College Students, Kylee Hagler

Psychology ETDs

Excessive alcohol consumption among college students has been linked to many negative consequences (e.g. Chou et al., 2006). Normative beliefs about alcohol use have been associated with college alcohol use such that students who estimate higher drinking among peers and students who perceive higher approval for drinking from peers tend to drink more (e.g. Neighbors, Lee, Lewis, Fossos, & Larimer, 2007). However, many studies examining normative beliefs have been conducted with only non-Hispanic White (NHW) college students. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between normative beliefs about drinking and four alcohol variables in a sample …

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Measuring Disability In Chronic Pain: Factor Structure And Revision Of The Sickness Impact Profile, Mindy Mcentee Sep 2014

Measuring Disability In Chronic Pain: Factor Structure And Revision Of The Sickness Impact Profile, Mindy Mcentee

Psychology ETDs

Chronic pain is a complex condition that can adversely impact all areas of one's life. Despite a wealth of treatment options, complete pain relief is rare. Consequently, treatment goals often aim to improve functioning in physical, psychological, and social domains. Assessments play an important role in planning treatment and monitoring changes in functioning, but must balance comprehensiveness with patient burden. The Sickness Impact Profile (SIP; Bergner, Bobbitt, Carter, & Gilson, 1981) is a well-established general health measure that provides comprehensive clinical information across multiple domains, but remains limited due to its substantial length and questionable factor structure. While several short-form …

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Consequences And Protective Factors For Sexual Victimization Among Ethnically Diverse Women: An Online Study, Rosa Muñoz Sep 2014

Consequences And Protective Factors For Sexual Victimization Among Ethnically Diverse Women: An Online Study, Rosa Muñoz

Psychology ETDs

This study examined the relationships among ethnicity, childhood abuse, adult sexual victimization, negative outcomes of victimization, and factors that protect women against negative outcomes after experiencing these events. Three hundred and fifty four women (n = 354) from New Mexico completed an online survey asking them about their victimization history, ethnic identity, religious beliefs, and perceptions of their physical and mental health. Multiple regression analyses were used to examine the relationships among variables. Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women did not report differential negative outcomes subsequent to trauma history and did not employ differential coping strategies in response to such a …

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Criteria For Evolution Of Successful Proteins: Fold Fitness And Domain Dynamics Explored, Tyrel Bryan Sep 2014

Criteria For Evolution Of Successful Proteins: Fold Fitness And Domain Dynamics Explored, Tyrel Bryan

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

The Haloacid Dehalogenase Superfamily (HADSF) is a ubiquitous family of enzyme with more than 32,000 members. A variety of reactions are catalyzed by HAD members, but a majority of HAD members are phosphatases. Dephosphorlyation of organophosphate metabolites are carried out in the conserved Rossmann-like core domain. The Rossman-like core domain houses the conserved active site residues necessary for catalysis and also supports domain inserts associated with substrate binding. This dissertation will focus primarily on investigating fold fitness and domain dynamics of HAD proteins more specifically three C2 capped proteins. The first part will focus on whether or not the prevailing …

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Functional Network Connectivity In Human Brain And Its Applications In Automatic Diagnosis Of Brain Disorders, Mohammad Arbabshirani Sep 2014

Functional Network Connectivity In Human Brain And Its Applications In Automatic Diagnosis Of Brain Disorders, Mohammad Arbabshirani

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The human brain is one of the most complex systems known to the mankind. Over the past 3500 years, mankind has constantly investigated this remarkable system in order to understand its structure and function. Emerging of neuroimaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have opened a non-invasive in-vivo window into brain function. Moreover, fMRI has made it possible to study brain disorders such as schizophrenia from a different angle unknown to researchers before. Human brain function can be divided into two categories: functional segregation and integration. It is well-understood that each region in the brain is specialized in …

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Examining The Influence Of Landscape On Natural Resource Management In The American West: A Geospatial Approach, Robert Fonner Sep 2014

Examining The Influence Of Landscape On Natural Resource Management In The American West: A Geospatial Approach, Robert Fonner

Economics ETDs

Landscapes can influence natural resource values and management in a variety of ways. These diverse influences can be generated by biophysical or social systems, or interactions between systems. This dissertation examines the landscape determinants of natural resource values and management. Chapter 2 examines moose habitat preferences with a spatial discrete-choice model. The study tests for spatial autocorrelation and compares the results to results from nonspatial models. The objective of this analysis is to explore the human-based and naturally occurring determinants of moose habitat selection while presenting a method and example for addressing spatial correlation between spatially positioned alternatives in a …

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Spectroscopic Studies Of Conjugated Polymer Nanostructures And Polymer/Acceptor Blends, Jian Gao Sep 2014

Spectroscopic Studies Of Conjugated Polymer Nanostructures And Polymer/Acceptor Blends, Jian Gao

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

This dissertation presents the results of investigations into organic semiconducting systems at the nano- to mesoscales through spectroscopic and electrical imaging techniques. Particular emphasis was put on capturing the role of conformation and morphology on electronic properties and processes. The combination of experimental methods and data analysis techniques used in this work reveals useful insights into the correlations between polymer structures and their photovoltaic device performance, and provide clues to developing better performing organic solar cells. The main approach of this work is using prototypical conjugated polymer systems, either ensemble or in their nanostructures, to study the solar cell active …

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Revisioning Reality: Normative Resistance In The Cultural Works Of The Lincoln Motion Picture Company, Nella Larsen, And Allan Rohan Crite, 1915-1945, Andrea Louise Mays Sep 2014

Revisioning Reality: Normative Resistance In The Cultural Works Of The Lincoln Motion Picture Company, Nella Larsen, And Allan Rohan Crite, 1915-1945, Andrea Louise Mays

American Studies ETDs

Despite the fact that nineteenth and twentieth century biologist and Social Darwinists theories of race have been dispelled, the social residue of white supremacist ideologies continue to have social and political implications throughout American society. America's racial hierarchy, and whiteness as a social and racial construct instantiated within it, against which every other group of people has been relationally situated, has helped not only to define non-white racial subjects in inferior terms, it has also guaranteed a perpetuation of race-based structural and social inequalities in United States of America. African American Studies, Critical Race Theory, Whiteness Studies, and most recently …

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Intimate Gestures: Race, Photography, And Spectatorship In Tijuanas Dumps And Irregular Settlements, George Luna-Peña Sep 2014

Intimate Gestures: Race, Photography, And Spectatorship In Tijuanas Dumps And Irregular Settlements, George Luna-Peña

American Studies ETDs

Through a sustained engagement with the theoretical work of Roland Barthes and Frantz Fanon, this thesis traces the complicated lines of connection linking photography, racial difference, spectatorship, and self-making in Tijuana's dumps and irregular settlements. Understanding photography as a space and form of life and social death, this thesis explores the photographic work of two photographers in Tijuana that pictures the lives of those living in poverty: John Leuders-Booth and Ingrid Hernandez. Of these photographic projects, the thesis asks: How does the spectatorial relationship that is triggered by a photograph also initiate a relationship of value, where one side of …

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Liberal Discourse And The Hegemons Dilemma: A Realist-Constructivist Approach To The Study Of U.S.-Latin American Relations, Justin Delacour Sep 2014

Liberal Discourse And The Hegemons Dilemma: A Realist-Constructivist Approach To The Study Of U.S.-Latin American Relations, Justin Delacour

Political Science ETDs

This dissertations approach starts from four basic premises. The first is that a Western power's interests in a liberal foreign policy course will exist alongside other interests of the state that casually conflict with its professed liberalism. The second premise is that, in order for the Western state to periodically pursue objectives that partially conflict with its professed principles, the state will present such objectives as liberal by understating the illiberal characteristics of foreign allies and overstating the undemocratic characteristics of rivals. The third premise is that, given the cultural authority of the state, its positions and narratives will have …

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Coping Strategies Mediate The Relationship Between Alexithymia And Health, Jennifer Bernard Sep 2014

Coping Strategies Mediate The Relationship Between Alexithymia And Health, Jennifer Bernard

Psychology ETDs

Alexithymia, a construct of impaired emotion processing, has been shown to negatively impact mental health and is associated with higher physical symptom reporting. This study examined the relationship between alexithymia, coping, and health in a large ethnically diverse sample of undergraduate university students (N = 605; 65% female; 45% Hispanic). Exploratory factor analyses were conducted to create a latent measurement model for emotional approach, active coping and avoidant coping. Structural equation modeling was used to test a hypothesized structural model for coping mediating the effects of alexithymia on mental and physical health. Results indicated the association between alexithymia and negative …

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White Matter Integrity And Alcohol Use Disorders, Mollie Monnig Sep 2014

White Matter Integrity And Alcohol Use Disorders, Mollie Monnig

Psychology ETDs

Injury to the brains white matter is a signature injury of alcohol use disorders (AUD), yet research on its causes and correlates has yielded mixed findings. This study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test associations between clinical and demographic factors and variability in white matter integrity in heavy drinkers (mean age = 30.86 ± 9.08 years; 30% female; 62% treatment-na\xefve). Magnetic resonance imaging scans, including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), were collected from 324 individuals who reported recent heavy drinking (at least 5 binge-drinking episodes in the past 30 days, or > 14 standard drinks/week for women and > 21 standard drinks/week …

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Effects Of Intimate Partner Violence On Maternal Reflective Functioning And Attachment Relationship In Hispanic/Latina Women And Their Preschool-Age Children: A Qualitative Study, Patricia Martinez Burr Sep 2014

Effects Of Intimate Partner Violence On Maternal Reflective Functioning And Attachment Relationship In Hispanic/Latina Women And Their Preschool-Age Children: A Qualitative Study, Patricia Martinez Burr

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

Research indicates that thousands of women across the world suffer intimate partner violence (IPV) under the hands of their partner on a daily basis. Understanding the effects of intimate partner violence on their psychological functioning and maternal response to very young children is crucial to our understanding and provision of appropriate treatment. This qualitative study used a transcendental phenomenological approach designed to analyze the in-depth interview responses of ten Hispanic/Latina mothers of preschool-age children, who had been victims of IPV within the last year to examine these effects. Given the researchers desire to better understand the effects of IPV on …

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Crime And Immigration In Albuquerque, Nm — Real Or Misperception?, Saundra D. Daras Sep 2014

Crime And Immigration In Albuquerque, Nm — Real Or Misperception?, Saundra D. Daras

Geography ETDs

The decade between 2000 and 2010 marked the largest increase of immigrant populations in U.S. history, however crime rates have seen a decrease during this same period. Recent research suggests that immigrant groups may actually be associated with this phenomenon. As immigration rates are expected to continue to grow in Albuquerque and the U.S., further research into the relationship between immigration and crime rates within historical destination cities (i.e. Los Angeles, New York) and new destination gateway cities, such as Albuquerque, is necessary. This study examines how violent and non-violent crime rates in immigrant neighborhoods compare to those of non-immigrant …

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Effect Of Acute Dietary Nitrate Consumption On Submaximal Oxygen Consumption And Oxidative Stress In Hypoxia, Colin Carriker Sep 2014

Effect Of Acute Dietary Nitrate Consumption On Submaximal Oxygen Consumption And Oxidative Stress In Hypoxia, Colin Carriker

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

Reduced partial pressure of oxygen impairs exercise performance at altitude. Acute nitrate supplementation, at sea level may reduce oxygen cost during submaximal exercise in hypoxia. Therefore, we investigated the metabolic response during exercise at altitude following acute nitrate consumption. Ten well-trained (61.01±7.37 ml/kg/min) males (age 28±7 yr) completed 3 experimental trials (T1, T2, T3). T1 included baseline demographics, a maximal aerobic capacity test (VO2max) and five submaximal intensity cycling determination bouts at an elevation of 1600m. A 4-day dietary washout, minimizing consumption of nitrate rich foods, preceded T2 and T3. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover fashion, subjects consumed a …

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Facility-Specific Radiation Exposure Risks And Their Implications For Radiation Workers At Department Of Energy Laboratories, Adam Davis Sep 2014

Facility-Specific Radiation Exposure Risks And Their Implications For Radiation Workers At Department Of Energy Laboratories, Adam Davis

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

This research develops a new framework for evaluating the occupational risks of exposure to hazardous substances in any setting where As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) practices are mandated or used. The evaluation is performed by developing a hypothesis-test-based procedure for evaluating the homogeneity of various epidemiological cohorts, and thus the appropriateness of the application of aggregate data-pooling techniques to those cohorts. A statistical methodology is then developed as an alternative to aggregate pooling for situations in which individual cohorts show heterogeneity between them and are thus unsuitable for pooled analysis. These methods are then applied to estimate the all-cancer …

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Material Embodiments, Queer Visualities: Presenting Disability In American Public History, Andrew B. Marcum Sep 2014

Material Embodiments, Queer Visualities: Presenting Disability In American Public History, Andrew B. Marcum

American Studies ETDs

This dissertation examines the presentation of disability at three of the most popular sites for the consumption of public history in the United States including the U.S. Capitol, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. I de-construct the cultural and historical narratives and discourses of disability circulating at these sites and offer a visual culture analysis of the images, artifacts, and statuary found at each of them. My study is informed principally by the theories and methods of queer disability studies, visual culture studies, and cultural studies critiques of neoliberalism. I consider how …

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Development Of Novel Small Molecules For Imaging And Drug Release, Yanting Cao Sep 2014

Development Of Novel Small Molecules For Imaging And Drug Release, Yanting Cao

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Small organic molecules, including small molecule based fluorescent probes, small molecule based drugs or prodrugs, and smart multifunctional fluorescent drug delivery systems play important roles in biological research, drug discovery, and clinical practices. Despite the significant progress made in these fields, the development of novel and diverse small molecules is needed to meet various demands for research and clinical applications. My Ph.D study focuses on the development of novel functional molecules for recognition, imaging and drug release. In the first part, a turn-on fluorescent probe is developed for the detection of intracellular adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) levels based on multiplexing recognitions. Considering …

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Stable Solar Cells Through Controlled Block Copolymer Self-Assembly And Cooperative Hydrogen Bonding Interactions, Fei Li Sep 2014

Stable Solar Cells Through Controlled Block Copolymer Self-Assembly And Cooperative Hydrogen Bonding Interactions, Fei Li

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Current state-of-the-art polymer solar cells adopt the bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) morphologies where the electron donors (i.e. conjugated polymer) and electron acceptors (i.e. fullerenes) as active layers are mixed in an intimate way. The phase separation that modulates the exciton diffusion and charge transport in the current BHJ morphology is an uncontrolled process and thus results in random domain sizes of the polymer/fullerene blend. In addition, the polymer and fullerenes in the blend are intrinsically two immiscible materials and they tend to undergo macrophase separation eventually, which leads to deteriorated device performance. One way to address the abovementioned issues is to attach …

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Community Analysis Of A Unique Full-Scale Wastewater Treatment Plant As Revealed By 454-Pyrosequencing, Meghan Preut Sep 2014

Community Analysis Of A Unique Full-Scale Wastewater Treatment Plant As Revealed By 454-Pyrosequencing, Meghan Preut

Civil Engineering ETDs

Activated sludge is one of the most commonly applied biological treatment processes for wastewater treatment. The microorganisms grown in activated sludge systems are responsible for the removal and transformation of wastewater contaminants. These bacterial populations are sensitive to wastewater characteristics, plant design and operational parameters. Because the effectiveness of activated sludge relies on microbial activity, a better understanding of the microbial communities and how they respond to constraints may be useful for improving plant performance. Environmental conditions in the activated sludge process are complex and the identification and classification of the communities present has proven a challenge for engineers as …

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Evolution And Characterization Of A New Reversibly Photoswitchable Chromoprotein, Patricia Langan Sep 2014

Evolution And Characterization Of A New Reversibly Photoswitchable Chromoprotein, Patricia Langan

Nanoscience and Microsystems ETDs

We report the molecular engineering and spectral characterization of a new reversibly photoswitchable chromoprotein, B11 a variant of thermostable green protein (TGP) that has been evolved for favorable solubility, thermostability, and enhanced crystallization properties. Its 2.5 \xc5 joint X-ray and neutron structure shows the location of critical hydrogen atoms, and reveals the position, orientation, and protonation states of solvent molecules in the chromophore and surrounding amino acids, which have not been ascertained to date from current X-ray structures. We report 1.65 \xc5 ground state and light-induced state X-ray crystal structures of B11, which differs from TGP by four amino acids …

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Bayesian Estimators, Error Bounds, And Applications To Imaging, Srikanth Narravula Sep 2014

Bayesian Estimators, Error Bounds, And Applications To Imaging, Srikanth Narravula

Optical Science and Engineering ETDs

In a communication system, a signal carrying information about a physical variable, or parameter, is fed into the front end of a channel and noisy or corrupted data are obtained at its back end, data from which one attempts to estimate the physical parameter. The error that accompanies such an estimate is usually characterized by mean squared error (MSE). In a Bayesian setting, the minimum value of the MSE is obtained by the so-called MMSE estimator (MMSEE), which in this sense is the best possible estimator. In general, the MMSE as well as the MMSEE are difficult to compute, which …

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Theoretical Studies Of Transition Metal Catalysis, Ryan S. Johnson Sep 2014

Theoretical Studies Of Transition Metal Catalysis, Ryan S. Johnson

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Transition metal catalysis, being critical to nearly all aspects of the modern industrial world, is the focus of a series of theoretical studies which seek to elucidate the fundamental and electronic origins of enhanced chemical activity and selectivity. The application of density functional theory on extended single metal and alloyed surfaces, supported single metal atoms, and gas phase cationic species illuminate various aspects of transition metal catalysis in a wide range of enviornments. Adsorption, reactivity, and other mechanistic details developed here suggest possible mechanisms used to aid interpretation of experimental results and guide developement of future catalysts.

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Stigmatization And The Re-Articulation Of Eugenic Ideology: A Study Of Coded Racism In Family Planning Policy From The 1920s To The 1990s, Michael Muhammad Sep 2014

Stigmatization And The Re-Articulation Of Eugenic Ideology: A Study Of Coded Racism In Family Planning Policy From The 1920s To The 1990s, Michael Muhammad

Sociology ETDs

This study investigates the use of coded racism in the evolution of fertility control policies from the 1920s to the 1990s. I propose a theory of welfare eugenics that explains stigmatization of the fertility of poor, racial and ethnic minorities through a re-articulation of overtly racist language in terms of cultural symbols, stereotypes, and labels referred to as coded racism. I conduct a discourse analysis of scientific papers presented at the Third International Congress of Eugenics in 1932, and witness testimony from congressional hearings held in the 1920s, 1965 — 1966, and 1995 — 1996 for evidence of eugenic ideology …

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Animal People, Sabrina Golmassian Sep 2014

Animal People, Sabrina Golmassian

English Language and Literature ETDs

Billions of animals are killed every year based on this ethical premise: Animals are lower than humans on some abstract moral scale, and they can therefore be considered property. However, a growing percentage of compassionate and educated animal lovers and advocates reject that premise. Its now possible to live comfortably and happily without subjecting animals to fear, pain, and stress for non-essential products. Whether it be food, clothing, scientific experiment, or entertainment, alternatives now exist to take their place. A broad range of investigative journalism and scholarship have exposed the detrimental effects of the use of animals for industry. An …

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How Do Peer Mentors Impact College Students In Undergraduate Gateway Courses At A Large Public University?, Jennifer Gomez-Chavez Sep 2014

How Do Peer Mentors Impact College Students In Undergraduate Gateway Courses At A Large Public University?, Jennifer Gomez-Chavez

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

Peer mentoring is a growing trend utilized to improve graduation and retention rates of college students across campuses. It is a strategy being used either outside or inside the classroom to assist students with learning, connecting to resources, and increasing student success in gateway courses. Southwest State University is an example of an institution, initially funded through a Title V grant, using peer mentoring in gateway courses. Peer mentors are placed in high failing gateway courses such as the ones chosen for this study to include Earth and Planetary Science 101, Chemistry 121, and Math 121. Gateway courses are defined …

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Integration Of Cdse/Zns Quantum Dots Into As-Induced Etched Nanovoids On Gasb, Shayla Nahar Bhuiya Sep 2014

Integration Of Cdse/Zns Quantum Dots Into As-Induced Etched Nanovoids On Gasb, Shayla Nahar Bhuiya

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Quantum dots, due to their small size, portray unique optical properties that are different compared to those of the bulk material. The most apparent of these properties is the excitation of these dots, resulting in emission of photons, which are visible to the human eye as light. More interestingly, the wavelength of these photon emissions does not solely depend on the type of material from which the quantum dot is made; in addition, it depends on the size of the quantum dots. The dots can also be tuned accordingly to emit into the UV or into the infra-red. The colloidal …

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