Digital Commons Network^™

Non-Communicable Diseases And Preventive Health Behaviors: A Comparison Of Hispanics Nationally And Those Living Along The Us-Mexico Border, Belinda M. Reininger, Jing Wang, Susan P. Fisher-Hoch, Alycia Boutte, Kristina Vatcheva, Joseph B. Mccormick

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are rising among US Hispanics, but few studies have examined the preventive health behaviors for these NCDs among Hispanics. This study compared the preventive health behaviors of smoke-free living, physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption, and avoidance of heavy alcohol use in Hispanics in the United States and Hispanics living along the US-Mexico border.

Methods: Two weighted data sets with information on Hispanic populations were analyzed: 1) the national Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (n = 29,942) from 2009; and 2) the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort (n = 1,439) recruited from the US-Mexico border between 2008–2011. …

Internal Dynamics In The Molecular Complex Of Cf3cn And H2o, Wei Lin, Anan Wu, Xin Lu, Xiao Tang, Daniel A. Obenchain, Stewart E. Novick

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Chemistry)

The rotational spectrum of trifluoroacetonitrile–water complex has been studied by pulsed-nozzle, Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy. Both a-type and b-type transitions have been observed. The rotational constants, centrifugal distortion constants, and the 14N nuclear quadrupole coupling constants have been determined. The complex is T-shaped, with the oxygen atom from the water located 3.135 Å from the carbon atom of CF3 of the trifluoroacetonitrile molecule.

Restoring Semi-Arid Thornscrub Forests: Seeding Growth And Survival In Response To Shelter Tubes, Grass-Specific Herbicide, And Herbivore Exclosures, Krysten Noelle Dick

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This thesis is a compilation of two studies, which I have called ‘chapters.’ The first chapter, “Restoring Semi-Arid Thornscrub Forests: Seedling Growth and Survival in Response to Shelter Tubes, Grass-Specific Herbicide, and Herbivore Exclosures,” was a large study involving multiple techniques used to improve revegetation success, and the second chapter, “Shelter Tube Effects on Microclimate and Seedling Growth in Semi-arid Thornscrub Forests,” focused on the use of shelter tubes in semi-arid forest revegetation. These studies were concurrent evaluations of restoration efforts in thornscrub forests of South Texas. Revegetation is a common effort used to restore forest ecosystems that have been …

Multiblock Discriminant Analysis For Integrative Genomic Study, Mingon Kang, Dong-Chul Kim, Chunyu Liu, Jean Gao

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Human diseases are abnormal medical conditions in which multiple biological components are complicatedly involved. Nevertheless, most contributions of research have been made with a single type of genetic data such as Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) or Copy Number Variation (CNV). Furthermore, epigenetic modifications and transcriptional regulations have to be considered to fully exploit the knowledge of the complex human diseases as well as the genomic variants. We call the collection of the multiple heterogeneous data “multiblock data.” In this paper, we propose a novel Multiblock Discriminant Analysis (MultiDA) method that provides a new integrative genomic model for the multiblock analysis …

Magnetism Of Fept Nanoclusters In Polyimide, Mircea Chipara, Tom George, Yingfan Xu, Ralph Skomski, Lanping Yue, Nasar Ali, David J. Sellmyer

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

FePt nanoclusters have been implanted onto polyimide films and subjected to thermal annealing in order to obtain a special magnetic phase (L10) dispersed within the polymer. SQUID measurements quantified the magnetic features of the as-prepared and annealed hybrid films. As-implanted FePt nanoparticles in polyimide films exhibited a blocking temperature of 70 ± 5 K. Thermal annealing in zero and 10 kOe applied magnetic field increased the magnetic anisotropy and coercivity of the samples. Wide Angle X-Ray Scattering confirmed the presence of FePt and L10 phase. All samples (as deposited and annealed) exhibited electron spin resonance spectra consisting of two overlapping …

Analogs Of Ldl Receptor Ligand Motifs In Dengue Envelope And Capsid Proteins As Potential Codes For Cell Entry, Juan Guevara Jr., Jamie Romo Jr., Troy Mcwhorter, Natalia Valentinova Guevara

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

It is established that cell entry of low density lipoprotein particles (LLPs) containing Apo B100 and Apo E is mediated by receptors and GAGs. Receptor ligand motifs, XBBBXXBX, XBBXBX, and ΨBΨXB, and mono- and bipartite NLS sequences are abundant in Apo E and Apo B100 as well as in envelope and capsid proteins of Dengue viruses 1-4 (DENV1-4). Synthetic, fluorescence-labeled peptides of sequences in DENV2 envelope protein, and DENV3 capsid that include these motifs were used to conduct a qualitative assessment of cell binding and entry capacity using …

Oxidation Of Dibenzothiophene To Dibenzothiophene-Sulfone Using Molybdenum (Vi) Oxide, Tungsten (Vi) Oxide, And Ratios Of Molybdenum (Vi) Oxide And Tungsten (Vi) Oxide At Atomspheric Pressure, Sean M. Pelfrey

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This is a study of the catalytic oxidation of dibenzothiophene to dibenzothiophene sulfone using molybdenum (VI) oxide, tungsten (VI) oxide, and mixtures of molybdenum (VI) oxide and tungsten (VI) oxide at atmospheric pressure. The oxidative desulfurization reaction is studied with respect to the kinetics and thermodynamics of the process. Five catalysts were synthesized using a precipitation reaction. The five catalysts were 100% MoO3, 75/25% MoO3/WO3, 50/50% MoO3/WO3, 25/75% MoO3/WO3, and 100% WO3. Each catalyst was calcinated at three different temperatures 250oC, 500oC, 750oC and characterized using X-Ray Diffraction. Reactions of DBT-catalyst were held, under reflux, at temperatures from 140 oC …

Effect Of Crimping, Multilayering, And Twisting On Polymer Fibers For Acl Replacement, Mariana Ocampo

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) is the most common knee injury in the United States; roughly 150,000 ACL surgeries are performed annually. The ACL lacks self-healing properties due to its location inside the knee’s intra – articular environment (IA). Treatments for ACL ruptures involve the use of autogenous grafts or allografts. More suitable treatments can be found in new bio engineered tissue scaffolds, composed of natural and synthetic polymers. The polymers provide stronger mechanical properties and the ability to promote cell adhesion. It is believed that mimicking the crimping pattern of human ligaments will enhance polymer properties. Four polymers were …

Use Of A Simulated Directional Social Network To Compare Measures Of User Influence, Jose G. Villarreal Jr.

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This paper proposes a new method for measuring user influence in directional social networks, derived from the works of Reilly et al. and Cha et al. The method being proposed in this paper considers an element from each of the two works. The first is the ratio of ‘messages forwarded’ over ‘messages posted’. The second element is the size of the audience. The second part of this study entails modeling and simulating an online social network. Using a data sample from the Twitter network to implement the simulation, it is going to allow us to compare the methods that are …

Ethanol Energy Futures: Identifying Hedge Ratios, Cointegration Equations And Price Bubbles, Sergio Garcia

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Ethanol has been the subject of intense debate following the adoption of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) which established that the gasoline supply in the United States (U.S.) must contain 10% ethanol. The subsequent increase in the production of ethanol since 2005 has had an effect on the prices of corn, ethanol, and gasoline. This work seeks to identify hedging ratios using dynamic multivariate GARCH to best identify hedging opportunities in a newly developed futures market. In addition, Cointegration and Vector Error Models are used to identify relationships in price movements between ethanol futures, spot prices and related …

Distributed Coordinate Tracking Control Of Multiple Wheeled Mobile Robots, Yifan Xing

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

In this thesis, distributed coordinate tracking control of multiple wheeled-mobile robots is studied. Control algorithms are proposed for both kinematic and dynamic models. All vehicle agents share the same mechanical structure. The communication topology is leader-follower topology and the reference signal is generated by the virtual leader. We will introduce two common kinematic models of WMR and control algorithms are proposed for both kinematic models with the aid of graph theory. Since it is more realistic that the control inputs are torques so dynamic extension is studied following by the kinematics. Torque controllers are designed with the aid of backstepping …

Tio 2 Fibers: Tunable Polymorphic Phase Transformation And Electrochemical Properties, Edna Garcia, Qiang Li, Xing Sun, Karen Lozano, Yuanbing Mao

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Chemistry)

A series of one-dimensional (1D) nanoparticle-assembled TiO2 fibers with tunable polymorphs were prepared via a novel and large scale ForceSpinning® process of titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP)/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) precursor fibers followed with a thermal treatment at various calcinations temperatures. The thermal and structural transformations were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis/differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The influence of polymorphic phase of the TiO2 fibers on the electrochemical performance in neutral aqueous 1 M Na2SO4 electrolyte was investigated. The polymorphic amorphous/anatase/rutile TiO2 fibers prepared at 450 °C achieved a highest capacitance of 21.2 F g−1 (6.61 mF cm−2) at a current …

The Requisite Electronic Structure Theory To Describe Photoexcited Nonadiabatic Dynamics: Nonadiabatic Derivative Couplings And Diabatic Electronic Couplings, Joseph E. Subotnik, Ethan Alguire, Qi Ou, Brian R. Landry, Shervin Fatehi

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Chemistry)

Conspectus

Electronically photoexcited dynamics are complicated because there are so many different relaxation pathways: fluorescence, phosphorescence, radiationless decay, electon transfer, etc. In practice, to model photoexcited systems is a very difficult enterprise, requiring accurate and very efficient tools in both electronic structure theory and nonadiabatic chemical dynamics. Moreover, these theoretical tools are not traditional tools. On the one hand, the electronic structure tools involve couplings between electonic states (rather than typical single state energies and gradients). On the other hand, the dynamics tools involve propagating nuclei on multiple potential energy surfaces (rather than the usual ground state dynamics).

In this …

Restoration Strategies To Migrate Shrub Encroachment Into Coastal Prairies, Erick Mark Verderber

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Shrub encroachment into grasslands is a phenomenon facilitated by fire suppression, climate warming, and overgrazing of grasses by cattle, and if left unmanaged, can alter ecosystem structure and function. In this study, I compare the effectiveness and cost/benefit of various restoration strategies (prescribed fire, mechanical, and chemical) used singly and in different combinations at decreasing two shrubs, honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa Torr.) and huisache (Acacia farnesiana (L.) Willd.), and promoting growth and survival of gulf cordgrass (Spartina spartinae (Trin.) Merr. ex Hitchc.), the dominant coastal prairie grass within the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge-Bahia Grande Unit in deep south Texas. …

Future Memory: Ray Bradbury And The Aesthetics Of Nostalgia, Billy J. Cryer

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Upon the publication of The Martian Chronicles in 1950, Ray Bradbury quickly emerged as the nation’s leading science fiction writer. Bradbury’s novel figured among the most prominent tales of Mars—eclipsing even the highly popular Mars novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs, who first popularized the Mars adventure novel with the appearance of A Princess of Mars in 1912.

While many critics praised The Martian Chronicles for its inventiveness, its acute treatment of social injustices, and its lyrical prose, other critics were quick with complaints. Prime among these was a plangent criticism of Bradbury’s attitude toward science and technology: critics alleged that …

Complex Short Pulse Equation And Its Integrable Discretizations, Raul M. Guajardo

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

In this thesis, we are mainly concerned with the complex short pulse (CSP) equation which was proposed in Physica D [1]. We present the Lax pair of the CSP equation and show the compatibility condition gives the CSP equation. Therefore, the integrability is confirmed. Then, a set of bilinear equations is proposed which yields the CSP equation through the hodograph transformation. Based on the bilinear form, general N-soliton solution is given in determinant form. Regarding two-soliton solution, a bound state can be formed if the velocities of two solitons are equal. Furthermore, a semi- and fully discrete analogues are constructed …

Efficient Query Processing Over Uncertain Road Networks, Bamikole A. Ogundele

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

One of the fundamental problems on spatial road networks has been the shortest traveling time query, with applications such as location-based services (LBS) and trip planning. Algorithms have been made for the shortest time queries in deterministic road networks, in which vertices and edges are known with certainty. Emerging technologies are available and make it easier to acquire information about the traffic. In this paper, we consider uncertain road networks, in which speeds of vehicles are imprecise and probabilistic. We will focus on one important query type, continuous probabilistic shortest traveling time query (CPSTTQ), which retrieves sets of objects that …

Proper Orthogonal Decomposition For Incompressible And Compressible Flows, Seyed Milad Rafieinaini

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

In this project, reduced order modelling technique has been used to investigate incompressible and compressible flows. At first, Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD), Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) have been used to analyze pulsed jet flow as an incompressible flow and supersonic impinging jet as a compressible flow. Then, two flows have been investigated from physics point of view and finally the link between physics of flows and modes have been studied. All investigations have been done based on the given data from Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). These data have been analyzed by using MATLAB®. Finally, the …

Removal Of Cobalt And Nickel From Water Using Mno2 And Mn3o4 Nanomaterials, Maria Dolores Pacheco

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Nanomaterials MnO2 and Mn3O4 were synthesized using a titration/precipitation technique and characterized with powder XRD. A pH assay determined the optimum binding for cobalt and nickel occurred at pH 5 for both nanomaterials. A time dependency study determined that cobalt and nickel required more time with MnO2 for maximum adsorption than Mn3O4. The binding capacity study showed cobalt and nickel have good binding capacity with both nanomaterials. Interfering ion assay in the presence of Na+ , Ca2+ and Mg2+ showed minimal difference in the adsorption of cobalt and nickel to MnO2 or Mn3O4. Cobalt and nickel showed a reduction in …

High Throughput Screen Identifies Natural Product Inhibitor Of Phenylalanyl-Trna Synthetase From Pseudomonas Aeruginosa And Streptococcus Pneumoniae, Yanmei Hu, Stephanie O. Palmer, Hector Munoz, James M. Bullard

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pneumoniae are causative agents in a wide range of infections. Genes encoding proteins corresponding to phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase (PheRS) were cloned from both bacteria. The two forms of PheRS were kinetically evaluated and the Km's for P. aeruginosa PheRS with its three substrates, phenylalanine, ATP and tRNA^Phe were determined to be 48, 200, and 1.2 μM, respectively, while the Km's for S. pneumoniae PheRS with respect to phenylalanine, ATP and tRNA^Phe were 21, 225 and 0.94 μM, respectively. P. aeruginosa and S. pneumoniae PheRS were used to screen a natural compound library and a single …

The Collegian (2015-04-27), Jesus Sanchez, University Of Texas At Brownsville And Texas Southmost College. Student Affairs

UTB/TSC Archives - The Collegian [Newspaper]

Vol. 67, No. 28

The Pan American (2015-04-23), Andrew Vera, May Ortega

UTPA Archives - The Pan American Newspaper

Vol. 71, No. 26

Modelling Climate Change Responses In Tropical Forests: Similar Productivity Estimates Across Five Models, But Different Mechanisms And Responses, L. Rowland, A. Harper, Bradley O. Christoffersen, D. R. Galbraith, H. M.A. Imbuzeiro, T. L. Powell, C. Doughty, N. M. Levine, Y. Malhi, S. R. Saleska

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

Accurately predicting the response of Amazonia to climate change is important for predicting climate change across the globe. Changes in multiple climatic factors simultaneously result in complex non-linear ecosystem responses, which are difficult to predict using vegetation models. Using leaf- and canopy-scale observations, this study evaluated the capability of five vegetation models (Community Land Model version 3.5 coupled to the Dynamic Global Vegetation model - CLM3.5-DGVM; Ecosystem Demography model version 2 - ED2; the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator version 2.1 - JULES; Simple Biosphere model version 3 - SiB3; and the soil-plant-atmosphere model - SPA) to simulate the responses …

The Collegian (2015-04-06), Jesus Sanchez

UTB/TSC Archives - The Collegian [Newspaper]

Vol. 67, No. 26

Enzymatic Synthesis Of Magnetic Nanoparticles, Arati G. Kolhatkar, Chamath Dannongoda, Katerina Kourentzi, Andrew C. Jamison, Ivan Nekrashevich, Archana Kar, Eliedonna Cacao, Ulrich Strych, Irene Rusakova, Karen S. Martirosyan, Dmitri Litvinov, T. Randall Lee, Richard C. Willson

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We report the first in vitro enzymatic synthesis of paramagnetic and antiferromagnetic nanoparticles toward magnetic ELISA reporting. With our procedure, alkaline phosphatase catalyzes the dephosphorylation of L-ascorbic-2-phosphate, which then serves as a reducing agent for salts of iron, gadolinium, and holmium, forming magnetic precipitates of Fe45±14Gd5±2O50±15 and Fe42±4Ho6±4O52±5. The nanoparticles were found to be paramagnetic at 300 K and antiferromagnetic under 25 K. Although weakly magnetic at 300 K, the room-temperature magnetization of the nanoparticles found here is considerably greater than that of analogous chemically-synthesized LnxFeyOz (Ln = Gd, Ho) samples reported previously. At 5 K, the nanoparticles showed a …

Utpa Commencement – Spring 2015, University Of Texas-Pan American

Edinburg Archives - Legacy Commencement Programs

2015 Spring Commencement - UTPA - A&H, BA, E&CS

2015 Spring Commencement - UTPA - Education & SBS

2015 Spring Commencement - UTPA - HSHS and S&M

Utb/Tsc Commencement – Spring 2015, University Of Texas At Brownsville

Brownsville Archives - Legacy Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Animal Habitat Utilization And The Impacts Of Small-Scale Disturbances On Vegetation Within Larch Forests In Northeastern Siberia, Aaron Phillip White

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Boreal forests support a variety of animals distributed across a matrix of habitat patches including forests of different ages and stand densities. These forests occur at high latitudes where cold and moist conditions favor ground layer dominance by mosses and slow decomposition rates, resulting in a thick soil organic layer (SOL) comprised primarily of decomposing mosses and roots. However, limited information is available on how animal use varies across habitat types in northeastern Siberia. Boreal forests of this region are unique because they are comprised of a single deciduous conifer, Cajander larch (Larix cajanderi). These forests also occur on a …

The Collegian (2015-03-30), Jesus Sanchez

UTB/TSC Archives - The Collegian [Newspaper]

Vol. 67, No. 25

The Pan American (2015-03-26), Andrew Vera, May Ortega

UTPA Archives - The Pan American Newspaper

Vol. 71, No. 23