Digital Commons Network^™

Achievable Accuracy Of Radiation Dose Measurement For Linear Accelerators Using Different Protocols, Mariam Hamad Al Darmaki

Theses

The aim of radiotherapy treatment is to deliver a specified radiation dose throughout a definite target volume within predetermined levels of accuracy and homogeneity; at the same time ensuring adequate dose sparing of surrounding normal tissue. Radiotherapy is a complex process involving a number of steps and the accuracy of each stage has a direct impact on the treatment outcome. At each stage, comprehensive quality assurance procedures are required to ensure safe and accurate delivery of the prescribed dose.

This project will aim to determine the currently achievable accuracy and reproducibility of radiotherapy dosimetry and assess the current recommendations for …

Anticonvulsant And Procognitive Properties Of Novel Histamine H3 Receptor Antagonists In Male Adult Rats, Ali Kassem Saad

Theses

To determine the potential of histamine H3 receptor (H3R) ligands as new antiepileptic and procognitive drugs, aromatic ether derivatives (1-12) belonging to the nonimidazole class of ligands, with high in-vitro binding affinity at human H3R, were tested for their in-vivo anticonvulsive activity in maximal electroshock (MES)-, pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-, and strychnine (STR)-induced seizure models in male adult rats having phenytoin (PHT) and valproic acid (VPA) as the reference antiepileptic drugs, pitolisant (PIT) as the standard H3R antagonist/inverse agonist, and donepezil (DOZ) as a reference procognitive drug. Among the H3R ligands (1-12) tested in the current project, H3R …

Effects Of Aspirin On Metabolic Alterations In Type 2 Diabetic Rats, Layla Ishaq Hussain Rahmatalla Amiri

Theses

Background: Increased oxidative stress, inflammatory responses and mitochondrial dysfunction have been implicated in diabetes, obesity (diabesity) and cardiovascular diseases. Type 2 diabetes is the most common metabolic disorder, characterized by insulin resistance and pancreatic islet β-cell failure. The most common complications associated with type 2 diabetes are hyperinsulinemia, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia/dyslipidemia, increased inflammatory and reduced insulin response. Aspirin (ASA) and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been associated with the prevention of diabetes, obesity and related cardiovascular disorders. Aspirin has been used in many clinical and experimental trials for the prevention of diabetes and associated complications.

Aims and hypothesis: Since inflammation, …

Biometrics-Based Dynamic Authentication For Secure Services, Saif Mohammed Saeed Abdulla Al Aryani

Theses

This thesis proposes a secure authentication protocol against physical session hijacking attacks. In client/server technology, users establish sessions to access the services offered by the servers. However, using physical session hijacking attacks, malicious users may physically take control of ongoing sessions. Malicious users also can establish sessions with servers using stolen passwords. In both cases, the server will be communicating with the wrong user who pretends to be the real user. The goal of this authentication protocol is to continuously and dynamically ensure that during an ongoing session the current session’s user is himself the real person that is known …

Study Of The Seasonal And Interannual Variability Of Phytoplankton Bloom In Arabian Gulf Using Modisdata, Malik Mutasim Malik Gasim

Theses

The Arabian Gulf is a semi enclosed large water body that experiences seasonal

variations and reversal of it water currents flow circulation. The Gulf waters are characterized by having high primary productivity and strong phytoplankton blooms at particular seasons within the year. Phytoplankton is a base of the food chain for marine species, providing an essential food resource for aquatic life. Marine phytoplankton affects the diversity of any marine ecosystem and drives its functioning and is strongly correlated with fishery yields. The primary

objectives of this research study are to answer key research questions related to phytoplankton blooms in the …

Learning Robust And Discriminative Manifold Representations For Pattern Recognition, Sriram Kumar

Theses

Face and object recognition find applications in domains such as biometrics, surveillance and human computer interaction. An important component in any recognition pipeline is to learn pertinent image representations that will help the system to discriminate one image class from another. These representations enable the system to learn a discriminative function that can classify a wide range of images. In practical situations, the images acquired are often corrupted with occlusions and noise. Thus, a robust and discriminative learning is necessary for good classification performance.

This thesis explores two scenarios where robust and discriminative manifold representations help recognize face and object …

Sustainable Management Of Food Supply-Chain Resources In New York State, Jacqueline H. Ebner

Theses

A sustainable food supply chain (FSC) is at the nexus of several critical global challenges including hunger, resource scarcity, climate change, poverty, energy security and economic growth. However, managing FSC resources in a sustainable manner is complex and data to support this goal is lacking. This dissertation addressed four knowledge gaps by applying a variety of analytical and experimental tools to the New York State FSC.

First, a cradle-to-grave analysis of the New York State FSC was conducted. Resources leaving the FSC from primary production (post-harvest) through to consumption were defined and characterized. Surveys and literature were used to estimate …

Anti-Metastatic And Anti-Tumor Growth Effects Of Carnosol On Breast Cancer, Halima Ali Mohammed Salem Al Samri

Theses

Our lab has previously showed that carnosol, a naturally occurring polyphenol, exhibits anti-cancer activity by promoting cell cycle arrest at G2 phase, and induces reactive oxygen species (ROS) dependent apoptosis and beclin-1 independent autophagy in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell line (MDA-MB-231). Here, we extended our study by investigating the potential effect of carnosol on migration, invasion and tumor growth of these cells. Our findings demonstrated that carnosol, at non-cytotoxic concentrations, exerted a potent anti-metastatic and anti-tumor growth activity against the highly invasive TNBC cell line, MBA-MB-231. Carnosol inhibited the migration and invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells. Moreover, carnosol suppressed …

Killing Two Birds With One Stone: The Concurrent Development Of The Novel Alignment Free Tree Building Method, Scrawkov-Phy, And The Extensible Phyloinformatics Utility, Emu-Phy., J. Nick Fisk

Theses

Many components of phylogenetic inference belong to the most computationally challenging and complex domain of problems. To further escalate the challenge, the genomics revolution has exponentially increased the amount of data available for analysis. This, combined with the foundational nature of phylogenetic analysis, has prompted the development of novel methods for managing and analyzing phylogenomic data, as well as improving or intelligently utilizing current ones. In this study, a novel alignment tree building algorithm using Quasi-Hidden Markov Models (QHMMs), Scrawkov-Phy, is introduced. Additionally, exploratory work in the design and implementation of an extensible phyloinformatics tool, EMU-Phy, is described. Lastly, features …

A Metallomics Study On Protein Function Assignment Using Promol, Venkata Aditya Kovuri

Theses

Metal ions are an integral part in both the structural and functional stability of enzymes. The function of an enzyme is exhibited through its active site region, which carries out the reaction for that particular protein. When a metal ion is present in an active site, it not only acts as a structural support for the active site but is often plays a critical role in the functional behavior of the protein. An exhaustive screening for proposed metal ion active sites was performed through online resources including Metal MACiE, Metal PDB, the Catalytic site Atlas and Metal Mine. A total …

Coercion Negates Responsibility: A Case For Indirect Compelled Doxastic Coercion And Adaptive Preferences As Effects Of Practical Coercion, Rc Patterson

Theses

In part 1 of this project, I

1. define different forms of coercion;
2. outline adaptive preferences;
3. argue that indirect doxastic coercion is the unconscious element in adaptive preferences; and
4. contextualize these concepts in the black experience.

In part 2, I

1. demonstrate how certain segregation policies are a mix of direct practical coercion and indirect doxastic compelled coercion, or indoctrination;
2. In the final section I argue that, under desert theory, coercion negates responsibility.

Screening Of Synthetic Chemical Agents “Chromenes” With Potent Anti-Breast Cancer Activity, Aysha Hamad Zaher Saeed Al Meqbali

Theses

Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Conventional therapies cause serious side effects and, at best, merely extend the patient’s lifespan by a few years. Cancer control may therefore benefit from the potential that resides in alternative therapies. There is thus an increasing demand to utilize alternative concepts or approaches to the prevention of cancer. The principal aim of this research is to screen and identify new synthetic compounds “chromenes”, with high efficiency, for breast cancer therapy. In this study, we have screened four newly designed and synthesized chromenes (C1, C15, C28 and C29) for their potential anticancer …

Opto-Mechanical Design Of Synchrotron Radiation-Based Far-Infrared Spectroscopic Ellipsometer With Strong Magnetic-Field, Ahmad Abbas Chaudhry

Theses

The objective of this dissertation is to present opto-mechanical design of a synchrotron radiation based far-infrared spectroscopic ellipsometer with a strong external magnetic-field capability. Since high magnetic field has enabled major breakthrough in science such instrument will be highly important to the field of condensed matter physics and characterization of advanced electronic materials. This instrument will be installed at the multi-User facility with the most advanced synchrotron light source: Natonal Synchrotron Source (NSLS-II) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL).The proposed here instrument is capable to measure full Mueller matrix spectroscopic ellipsometry spectra in high magnetic fields of up to 9 Tesla. …

Effects Of Human Development On Aeolian Sediment Transport Rates Within An Adjacent Undeveloped Backshore Enclave, Kayla L. Kaplan

Theses

Sandy backshore enclaves are created where shorefront buildings are lost during high magnitude storms. Subsequent foredune growth in these enclaves is critical to providing protection to landward development. Conditions for foredune growth and sediment flux within an enclave can be influenced by the presence of adjacent buildings. The objectives of this research are to assess the following questions: what is the nature of sediment flux on a beach within an enclave, what are the potential constraints to transport on a beach within an enclave and, are natural processes alone able to sustain a foredune in an enclave. A field investigation …

Triplex Dna Receptor-Gold Nanoparticle Conjugates For Detection Of Oxidized Dna Base, Qingyu Xing

Theses

Oxidations of DNA nucleobases are believed to be one of the sources of aging and some age-dependent disease, such as cancer. Human body have various mechanisms to repair damaged DNA and base-excision-repair is one mechanism for removing those oxidized nucleobases. This mechanism processes in the cells by cutting the oxidized nucleobases from deoxyribose and letting them excrete though urine. Detection of those abnormal nucleobases in urine has been suggested as a convenient way of early cancer diagnosis. 5-OHU (5-hydroxyuracil), the oxidation product of cytosine, is one of those abnormal nucleobases and it potentially forms base pairs with all four DNA …

Moths Fight Back: Arms Race In The Cloud Forest, Diana Pamela Rivera

Theses

Moths and bats engage in a coevolutionary arm race, where the same signals bats use to find moths are being used by moths to avoid bats. Moths evolve not only behavioral but acoustic responses to avoid predation by bats. This research examines one small component of a complex, multispecies arm race between moths and bats. In this study we found that the moth Amastus hyalina displayed both flight and acoustic responses to ultrasonic stimuli.

In tethered flight the tiger moth Amastus hyalina (Arctiinae) exhibits a complex array of reactions to ultrasonic tones that includes changes in flight and production of …

Synthesis Of A Renewable Sourced Thermotropic Polyester With 2,5-Furandicarboxylic Acid, Alicia Marie Marguerite Hurst

Theses

With the rapid depletion of non-renewable sourced materials, unpredictable fluctuations in the prices of fossil fuels, and increased environmental awareness the need to develop biobased materials grows ever more desperate. Furan derivatives sourced from hexoses provide a promising solution for replacing petrochemical based materials. One furan derivative in particular, 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), is especially promising due to its structural similarity to terephthalic acid and potential for use in the production of polyesters similar to PET, PPT, and PBT. This study investigated the synthesis, thermal and liquid crystalline properties of a totally renewable sourced thermotropic polyester based on FDCA. Fructose was …

Computational And Experimental Determination Of The Hydrodynamics In A Stirred Unbaffled Vessel Provided With Angle-Mounted Axial Impellers, Ji Ma

Theses

In most industrial applications, stirred tanks and reactors are typically provided with baffles to improve their mixing characteristics. However, in a number of pharmaceutical production facilities unbaffled vessels are commonly used. The absence of baffles is preferred in such cases because it reduces the potential for contamination and makes cleaning the vessel between batches easier. However, the lack of baffles also has a negative impact on the system’s hydrodynamics since it often results in poor mixing of the batch, especially if the impeller is centrally placed, since the liquid in such a system is subject to a strong tangential flow, …

A Preliminary Investigation Of The Sterile-Filterability Of Bcs Class Ii Drug Nanosuspensions Prepared Via Wet Stirred Media Milling, Parul Ohri

Theses

Drug nanoparticles can achieve targeting capabilities, enhanced dissolution rates and improved bioavailability when injected intravenously. Sterile filtration of drug nanoparticle suspensions (nanosuspensions) is critically needed for administration by intravenous delivery route. Avoiding gamma irradiation and high temperatures, sterile filtration could be an effective process to sterilize drug nanosuspensions. On the other hand, two major challenges must be tackled: drug particles must at least be smaller than the filter pore size and minimum amount of non-toxic stabilizers must be used to prevent side effects like pain on the injection site. The aim of this study is to prepare naproxen (NPX) nanosuspensions …

Visualization Of Hiv-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders, Tim Fitzgerald

Theses

It is widely known that human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) can cause acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), but treatments to prevent the virus from escalating to that severity have come a long way since the virus was first described in the 1980s. The medications, combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), keep the virus from replicating, thus stopping its progression to AIDS. However, this treatment does not seem to ultimately benefit the brain, in part because cART does not uniformly penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and in part because HIV-1 seems to permanently turn on the part of the immune system that causes …

Analyses Of Amber Mutants Of Salmonella Phage Spn3us, Andrea Denisse Benítez Quintana

Theses

The giant Salmonella enterica phage SPN3US belongs to the ϕKZ-related phages which are amongst the most complex virions of prokaryotic viruses, even more complex than most eukaryotic viruses. SPN3US for example assigns 46% of its 240kbp genome to code for virion proteins. We have limited knowledge about these giant phages as they encode extremely diverged genes, from other phages and even to one another. The ϕKZ-related phages possess large genomes and correspondingly large and complex capsids, two sets of fragmented RNAP β and β’-like proteins and they also exhibit an unusual replication having a DNA polymerase split into two polypeptides. …

Respecting Anatomically Rigid Regions In Nonrigid Registration, Eric J. Spangler

Theses

Medical image registration has received considerable attention in the medical imaging and computer vision communities because of the variety of ways in which it can potentially improve patient care. This application of image registration aligns images of regions of the human body for comparing images of the same patient at different times, for example, when assessing differences in a disease over time; comparing images of the same anatomical structure across different patients, for example, to understand patient variability; and comparing images of the same patient from different modalities that provide complementary information, for example, CT and PET to assess cancer. …

Vascular Endothelial Cell Markers And Serum Ferritin In Platelet And Blood Donors, Frances Duggan

Theses

Background and Objectives. The effects of anti-coagulated extracorporeal circulation on plasma levels of haemostatic proteins in plateletpheresis donors, using whole blood donors as a control group was investigated. Also, a prospective analysis of iron status in plateletpheresis donors, using whole blood donors as a control group, was investigated to assess the haematinic effects of regular anti-coagulated extracorporeal circulation and platelet collection. Materials and Methods. Blood samples from 31 regular male plateletpheresis donors and from 14 first time male whole blood donors were taken immediately before and immediately after donation, and also immediately prior to the next donation. These samples were …

An Investigation Of The Use Of Natural Agents To Control Mycobacteria, Olga Lesniak

Theses

Economic losses that are caused by Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP) infections represent a major obstacle for farmers and also for the dairy industry. In order to control the population of MAP, alternative control agents must be investigated. One of the studies described in this thesis focused on using a bacteriophage therapy based approach to assess its efficacy on simulated industrial environments and food models. Another study described in this thesis investigated the antimicrobial effects of parsley and garlic on a range of mycobacteria species. Both studies used conventional microbiological methods such as plaque assays, AlamarBlue assay (MABA) and growth curves, …

Development And Validation Of Gas Chromatographic Methods For Free Fatty Acid Determination In Dairy Products, David Mannion

Theses

Quantification of free fatty acids (FFA) in dairy products by gas chromatography flame ion'^ation detection is an important requirement for qua'ity, research, nutritional, authenticity and legislative purposes. Common procedures are typically variants of either the fatty acid methyl esterification (FAME) or direct on-column injection methods developed more than two decades ago. This study involved the development of an alternative novel derivatization method using butylation, incorporating automation, reducing solvent usage that is applicable for a wide range of dairy products. The accuracy, precision, linearity, limits of detection and limits of quantification of all three methods were assessed for the quantification of …

Discovery Of Novel Compound From Cytotoxic Active Plants, Suraj Kumar Pokharel

Theses

The phytochemical study of extracts of cytotoxic active plant species Drypetes lasiogyna and Tabebuia bahamensis species from Paluma rainforest, Northern Queensland, Australia and Abaco Island, Bahamas, respectively, has been carried out where separation, identification and characterization of chemical components were done by applying chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. The pharmacologically active components isolated from Drypetes lasiogyna include novel compound 5α-dammar-20-ene-24,25-diol-3-yl caffeate along with 5α-dammar-20-ene-3β,24,25-triol and friedelin whereas taraxeryl acetate was extracted from Tabebuia bahamensis. 5α-Dammar-20-ene-3β,24,25-triol was shown to have good cytotoxic activity against cancer cell lines 5637, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 with % kill of 100%, 89.65% and 69.98%, respectively. On the …

Genscreen : A Genetic Algorithm For Protein Crystallization Screening, Samyam Acharya

Theses

Protein crystallization screening focuses on determining the factors crucial for successful protein crystallization. Protein crystallization may require large number of parameters to be considered for setting up cocktails that would yield suitable large crystals for X-ray data collection. These parameters include types of reagents, ionic strengths, types of salts, pH value of buffers, temperature, etc. GenScreen is a genetic algorithm which identifies combinations of reagents and concentrations that have a higher degree of synergy and potentially offer better crystalline outcome. The advantage of using genetic algorithm for protein crystallization screening lies in its ability to handle large number of parameters …

Fabrication And Characterization Of Nano/Micro-Sized Cathodes For Li-Ion Batteries, Piyush D. Jibhakate

Theses

Li-ion batteries have emerged as a leading energy storage technology for several applications including portable electronics devices and electric vehicles. Rigorous efforts are made to develop these batteries with higher energy density, higher power density, and better cycling stability while reducing cost and environmental impact. To better understand how electrode morphology and process parameters contribute to the electrode performance, spinel LiMn2O4 (LMO) cathode material was prepared using sol-gel synthesis method. Simultaneously, nanostructured LMO electrodes were prepared using the template-assisted sol-gel method, which involves soaking of polycarbonate template membranes in the precursor solution followed by drying, to remove the solvent. The …

Investigation Of The Natural Bacteriocin Nisin And Bioengineered Nisin Derivatives For The Prevention And Control Fo Staphylococcus Biofilms On Medical Device Materials, Leanne Kearney

Theses

Antimicrobial resistance has evolved into being one the major threats facing clinical environments worldwide. It has led to the deerease in effective prevention and treatment of pathogenic bacteria. One such bacterium is Staphylococcus epidermidis. Once considered a relatively harmless and commensal baeterium, it has recently evolved into being one the leading eauses of nosocomial infections. S. epidermidis has proven hamiful due to its ability to fonn detrimental biofilms. Biofilms are structured eonsortia of bacteria embedded in a self-produced polymer matrix that allows adherence to biotic or abiotic surfaces. These biofilms have played a leading role in healthcare-acquired infections with particular …

Beneficial Reuse Of Marine Sediment, Sinead Tangney

Theses

Dredging is essential for ports and harbours to maintain navigational access. In Ireland approximately 1.2 million m^ is dredged annually and the management of this dredged sediment is an ongoing issue. This thesis investigates the management options available for marine dredged sediment and examines the technical, environmental and economic feasibility and social acceptability of a range of specific beneficial uses of marine sediment.

A literature review is presented on the international dredging industry and outlines why dredging is an essential infrastructural activity. Current dredged marine sediment management techniques are presented and discussed.

An overview of the Irish dredging industry is …