Digital Commons Network^™

Silicon Doping Profile Measurement Using Terahertz Time Domain Spectroscopy, Chih-Yu Jen

Theses

Doping profiles in silicon greatly determine electrical performances of microelectronic devices and are frequently engineered to manipulate device properties. To support engineering studies afterward, essential information is usually required for physically characterized doping profiles.

Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), spreading resistance profiling (SRP) and electrochemical capacitance voltage (ECV) profiling are mainstream techniques for now to measure doping profiles destructively. SIMS produces a chemical doping profile through the ion sputtering process and owns a better characterization resolution. ECV and SPR, on the other hand, gauge an electrical doping profile from the free carrier detection in microelectronic devices. The major discrepancy between …

Biological And Physiological Condition Of Juvenile California Halibut (Paralichthys Californicus) Exposed To A Contamination Gradient In Mission Bay, Ca, Kevin Stolzenbach

Theses

Contaminated sediments in marine environments have been shown to be good indicators of ecological risk and a means to assess anthropogenic impacts on marine habitats and the animals that inhabit them (Long et al. 1995, Rattner 2009). Estuarine sediments are especially complex media with regard to physical, chemical, and biological characteristics that trap, store, modify and sometimes release contaminants to the biota (Long et al. 1995). Especially vulnerable are animals that are in constant contact with the sediments, such as flatfishes that partially bury themselves for camouflage (Costa et al. 2011). Impacts can be assessed in a number of ways, …

Assembling 3d Objects With Artificial Spatial Intelligence, Eugene Koon

Theses

The focus of this thesis is to provide an artificial intelligence (AI) system that can develop spatial intelligence. A MATLAB application of a genetic algorithm AI system has been implemented. The AI system will incorporate three dimensional (3D) objects that can learn to maneuver in 3D space so that they may be assembled with each other. As an example, two rectangles with holes and a nut will maneuver itself onto a screw. The performance of the AI system will then be recorded as video results.

Blast-Off: Determining Glioblastoma Goi Sequence Conservation Across Model Organisms, Joseph K. Kaplan

Theses

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) are aggressive brain tumors found in the nervous system of humans. Derived from glia such as astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and Schwannn cells, glioblastomas can develop throughout the nervous system, but are most commonly found in the brain. Prognosis following glioblastoma diagnosis is often very grim; only 3-5% of patients diagnosed with glioblastoma live beyond 36 months, therefore early detection and proper treatment are imperative. Scientists have studied the genetic factors linked to GBM development in humans and model organisms and determined a number of glioblastoma GOI. Many of the glioblastoma GOI have been previously identified as oncogenes such …

Study The Interactions Between Duplex And Quadruplex Dna And Some Transition Metal Ions, Masada Ahmed Al Briki

Theses

Nucleic acids control the machinery of living cells through coding different biochemical functions. Metal ions play a critical role in inducing and stabilizing different DNA structural conformations through interacting with various sites on nucleic acids. Interactions are controlled by the relative affinity of metal ions towards the negatively charged phosphate backbone and donor nitrogen or oxygen on nucleotide bases. Several studies have investigated the interactions of metal ions with duplex and higher orders DNA conformations. These interactions vary greatly, from monovalent alkali ions that are primarily delocalized in a diffuse cloud around duplex DNA to transition metals that are directly …

Nowhere: A Kinetic Typography Motion Graphic About The Pursuit Of Happiness, I-Cheng Lee

Theses

nowhere is a motion graphic project that expresses my personal journey of pursuing happiness. To be happy or not happy, people have the choices of their own lives and thoughts. This project shows that positive thinking could lead to better lives through my example.

A short poetic script on how I realized happiness in my life will be expressed in this project through visuals and composition. Every stylized sentence has a particular connection with the inspiring visuals and transitions. The intent of the piece is to install the viewer with the power of positive thinking by reading the poem with …

A Comparative Study Of Domestic And Hospital Environmental Microbial Populations In Al-Ain (Uae), Amna Ali Jaffal

Theses

This is the first attempt to estimate biological indoor pollution in the environment of AI-Ain city. The numbers and types of bacteria and fungi in the air and on the surfaces were measured in AI-Ain hospital and three different types of domestic environments.

Five different types of wards at AI-Ain hospital, medical, surgical, pediatrics, operating theater, and intensive care unit were studied. Their estimated indoor bioaerosols were compared to indoor bioaerosols in three types of dwelling houses, very good, average, and poor quality houses in AI-Ain city. A bacteriological mechanical air sampler, MK2 (Casella London) was used in this study. …

Optical Simulation Of Terahertz Antenna Using Finite Difference Time Domain Method, Chao Zhang

Theses

Terahertz science is a promising and rapidly developing research area. However, solid state terahertz detectors of high performance are still needed. An antenna within each pixel is needed in these detectors so as to couple more incident radiation into the detector. In this thesis, a software package called Lumerical FDTD Solutions is used to optimize the terahertz antenna design. The ultimate goal is to design broadband antennas that work efficiently over desired frequency bands.

The transmission/absorption characteristics of various bowtie antennas were modeled using the software. For absorption modeling, an equivalent resistor was added to load the antenna and absorb …

Unmentionable: Socio-Structural Discrimination Of Incontinence; Engendering Dignity By Design, Brendan Charles Gordon

Theses

Although present in medical and historical texts for millennia, urinary incontinence remains a somewhat taboo topic, with both affected individuals and remedies for the condition--such as adult diapers--subject to ridicule, embarrassment, status loss, discrimination, and even exile. Reinforcing this discriminatory behavior, the adult diaper--a spur from the baby diaper invention--tracks a parallel path to incontinence. With diapers and adult incontinence rooted in a misunderstood cross-pollination with infant incontinence, individuals must struggle against known stereotypes and stigmas liable to label them as incompetent, impotent, or unclean. The stigma of incontinence is thus aligned with the diaper, reinforcing social ignorance and discriminating …

Studies Toward The Synthesis Of A Novel Diastereomerically Pure Cyclopropyl N-Heterocyclic Carbene Ligand For Asymmetric Catalysis, Brandon T. Milliken

Theses

This M.S. Thesis research objective is designed towards the racemic synthesis of a novel diastereoselectively pure, sterically bulky, cyclopropyl-containing, N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligand. It is hypothesized that introduction of the sterically bulky cyclopropyl moiety at the N-substituent position of the imidazolium backbone will cause the self-assembly to develop a well defined C2-symmetric N-heterocyclic ligand, thereby limiting the free rotation about the C-N bond and creating a well-defined chiral pocket. It was discovered through utilizing classic synthetic methods that a diastereomeric imidazolium salt product was yielded, which can be attributed to the racemic synthesis of a diastereomeric cyclopropane starting material.

Omnidirectional Control Of The Hexapod Robot Tigerbug, Christopher B. Johnson

Theses

TigerBug is a six legged, hexapod robot built and designed by students in the Rochester Institute of Technology's (RIT) Multi Agent Bio-Robotics Laboratory (MABL). TigerBug is comprised of 18 servo motors, 3 degrees of freedom (DOF) per leg, supported by carbon fiber wrapped foam legs placed in a circular pattern around its hexagon shaped body. In order to control such a complex system, much research has been done in the field of kinematics. There exist two derivations of kinematic solutions, forward and inverse. The forward kinematic (FK) solution tends to be much simpler than its inverse kinematic (IK) counterpart. There …

Bilingualism, Executive Function, And Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Carina Ann Beck

Theses

In an era where the diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is as high as 7% in school-aged children, the search for causes and preventions has never been more important. Current research indicates a positive relationship between bilingualism, particularly native bilingualism, and executive function in normally developing individuals. This study served to examine the potential relationship between bilingual education in a public school setting and the presence of ADHD symptoms in that school's students. This was a comparative analysis of students in a South Florida School District's two-way immersion program with the national average in terms of frequency of ADHD …

Impact Of Guided Inquiry On Tenth Graders’ Understanding Of Chemical Bonds, Badreya Esmaeil Abdul Raheem Al Zarooni

Theses

Students' understandings of scientific conceptions have been of considerable interest to science education researchers and science teachers in recent years. Accordingly, many scholarly studies have been conducted on the students' understandings and misunderstandings, particularly, those concerned with chemistry. For the present study, the term misconception is used to encompass both alternative responses that arise from formal intervention; such as classroom study, as well as those resulted from the students own interactions with, and observations of their surrounding environment. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the understanding of the Grade-10 students about the concepts and misconception regarding the …

Developing A Tool For Site-Specific Gene Inactivation In Chlamydia, Cayla Marie Johnson

Theses

Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen that infects both humans and domestically important animals. Research in the field has until more recently been hindered by a lack of genetic tools. We have modified Sigma's TargeTron^TM Gene Knockout System, which utilizes a mobile group II intron for site-specific insertion and gene inactivation, for use in C. trachomatis. As proof of principle, we used the system to inactivate incA, creating mutant strains DFCT3 and DFCT4 (independent clones both carrying incA::GII[bla]). IncA is a chlamydial inclusion membrane protein involved in homotypic fusion of inclusions when cells are infected with more …

Computational Investigation Of Potential Failure Modes In Arterial Hemodynamic Flowpath, Praveen Kumar Koya

Theses

The formation of an arterial disease for large and medium size vessels is believed to be a multifactorial interplay of bio - mechanical - chemical processes in the arterial wall and the hemodynamic flow path. The present research presents the viewpoint of a mechanical engineer assuming that mechanical factors are of the key importance in the formation of aneurism, atherosclerotic plague and rupture. The repetitive pressure and shear stresses exerted by the blood flow on the weakened arterial wall may cause its progressive degrade, resulting in aneurism with the following potential rupture. Elevated blood pressure results in an elevated repetitive …

An Automatic Similarity Detection Engine Between Sacred Texts Using Text Mining And Similarity Measures, Salha Hassan Muhammed Qahl

Theses

Is there any similarity between the contexts of the Holy Bible and the Holy Quran, and can this be proven mathematically? The purpose of this research is using the Bible and the Quran as our corpus, we explore the performance of various feature extraction and machine learning techniques. The unstructured nature of text data adds an extra layer of complexity in the feature extraction task, and the inherently sparse nature of the corresponding data matrices makes text mining a distinctly difficult task. Among other things, We assess the difference between domain-based syntactic feature extraction and domain-free feature extraction, and then …

Study The Quality Of Groundwater Of Al-Zoroup Area In Mahdah State, The Sultanate Of Oman, Fahad Khalifa Rashid Al-Shidi

Theses

The groundwater is the most important source of water in the Sultanate of Oman. Accordingly, the Oman Government has paid great attention commensurate with the importance of water resource in terms of their sources, quality, and ways to rationalize consumption to remain under the term of sustainability and validity of present and future generations. This study was conducted in Al Buraymi at Mahdah State in Al-Zoroub area targete a groundwater quality for 20 wells in private farms. The water samples were taken from these wells and subjected to analysis for microbial and geochemical aspects. For this analysis, the assorted devices …

Toy Library: Nurturing Talent-Learning Through Play, Prachi Kapadia

Theses

The concept of the Toy Library originated during the Great Depression, when it was noticed that children were stealing toys, as they could not afford to buy them. Due to the concern of rising theft, a library was started where children could borrow a wide variety of toys. It also helped to encourage the values of honesty, responsibility and good citizenship. Since then, many toy libraries have sprouted across the United States. The concept, however, is not prevalent in other countries around the world. Hence, many people are, as yet unaware of its benefits, which include, providing an environment of …

Shear Inducing Device For The Testing Of Cell Fragility, Ramnath Raghunathan

Theses

Most blood pumps are designed to boost the pumping abilities of the heart by mechanical energy transfer using a rotor. Due to the nature of blood contacting devices, the various components of blood are subjected to shear stresses caused by the device. The accurate analysis and prediction of blood damage during the design phase of a device has been difficult to achieve. This has been complicated by both the inaccuracy of computer tools used to model the blood flow and the large uncertainty in the reported values of stress that damage blood components. Different components of blood, such as red …

The Effects Of Cannabidiol On The Electrical And Contractile Properties Of Cardiomyocytes, Ramez Ali Mansour

Theses

In earlier studies, cannabidiol (CBD), a major nonpsychotropic cannabinoid found in cannabis plant, has been shown to influence cardiovascular functions under various physiological and pathological conditions. In the present study, the effects of CBD on contractility and electrical properties of rat ventricular myocytes were investigated. Video edge detection was used to measure myocyte shortening. Intracellular Ca2+ was measured in cells loaded with the fluorescent indicator fura-2 AM. CBD (1 μM) caused a significant decrease in the amplitudes of electrically-evoked myocyte shortening and Ca2+ transients. However, the amplitudes of caffeine-evoked Ca2+ transients and the rate of recovery of electrically-evoked Ca2+ transients …

Characterization Of The Ren4 Resistance Locus Through The Integration Of De Novo Assembly, Expression Analysis, And Genotyping-By-Sequencing Data, Jacquelyn A. Lillis

Theses

Internationally, grape breeders have been using traditional breeding approaches to introgress Ren4 resistance against powdery mildew (Erysiphe necator) from a wild Asian grapevine (Vitis romanetii) into cultivated grapevines (V. vinifera). The goal of this work was to use genomic tools to identify candidate genes underlying the Ren4 resistance phenotype. Full- and half-sib families segregating for Ren4 resistance were analyzed using Genotyping-by-Sequencing (GBS), and 70 GBS tags were identified as specifically tagging the Ren4 locus. These tags were used to identify BAC clones at the locus, and a scaffolded BAC assembly was generated using Velvet and SSPACE. This assembly spanned 13.7Mb, …

Translation And Transcription Are Required For Endogenous Bursting After Long Term Removal Of Neuromodulators, Stefanie Eisenbach

Theses

Motor pattern-generating networks depend on neuromodulatory inputs to regulate the network activity. The pyloric network of the Cancer borealis stomatogastric ganglion (STG), a rhythmic motor pattern-generating network, requires modulatory inputs to generate this activity. When neuromodulatory inputs are removed, the pyloric network falls silent. However, patterned pyloric activity recovers spontaneously in about 24 hours in organ culture. To determine if synthesis of new proteins are involved in the recovery of pyloric activity after prolonged elimination of neuromodulators, translation inhibitors are tested on the recovery process of pyloric activity in C. borealis. In vitro experiments are conducted; the STG is …

The Photophysics Properties Of Lanthanide Luminescent Probes, Ke Li

Theses

A detailed study of the luminescence quantum yield, lifetimes and the number of water molecules coordinated to lanthanide luminescent probes based on biphenylyl-7-amino-4- methyl-2(1H)-quinolinon (Bi-cs124) derivatives have been carried out using a time- resolved fluorescence assay (TRFA). Bi-cs124 was conbined with different chelating agents, specifically diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA), ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), ethylene glycol tetraacetic acid (EGTA), and 3,6,9,12-Tetrakis carboxymethyl)-3,6,9,12-tetraazatetradecane-1,14-dioic acid (TTHA). The results indicate that Bi-cs 124-TTHA has a longest lifetime and smallest number of coordinated water molecules because TTHA has larger number of chelating groups. The dependence of the luminescence lifetimes on the probes concentrations …

Preparation And Characterization Of Fast Dissolving Pullulan Films Containing Griseofulvin Nanoparticles For Bioavailability Enhancement, Zhelun Ma

Theses

The aim of this study is to enhance the bioavailability of griseofulvin, a model poorly water-soluble drug, via increasing drug dissolution rate through preparation of drug nanoparticle-laden, pullulan-based strip films. The work entails (i) wet-milling griseofulvin in a stirred media mill using pullulan (polymer) along with sodium dodecyl sulfate (surfactant) as stabilizers, (i i) preparing strip films by casting-drying a precursor suspension consisting of the mixture of the milled drug suspension and a film-forming pul l ul an–xanthan gum-glycerin solution, (iii) characterizing the suspensions and the films, and (iv) exploring the effects of film thickness, drug and xanthan gum loadings, …

Formation Of Branching Angles At Bifurcations Of Ant Trail Networks, Subash Kusum Ray

Theses

Ants form dendritic trail networks around the nest to search for and exploit food sources located at the periphery of the network. Studies found these trail networks to be very efficient for the ants in terms of time and energy, which later was found stored in the bifurcation angle (θ) of the branches of these trail networks. It has been observed, that bifurcations are symmetrical when moving from the nest to the food source, while are asymmetrical when moving back towards the nest. The mean bifurcation angles have been found to be 50° - 80° for networks radiating out from …

Electrospinning Of Ceria And Nickel Oxide Nanofibers, Jyothi Swaroop Reddy Yerasi

Theses

Electrospinning uses an electrical charge to draw very fine fibers from a liquid. It has very high potential for industrial processing. Electrospinning is cost effective, repeatable and it can produce long, continuous nanofibers. Polymers such as polyalcohol, polyamides, and PLLA can be easily electrospun. The increase in demand for clean energy combined with the research work in progress and the potential advantages of electrospun electrodes over conventionally fabricated SOFCs makes electrospinning a strong candidate. In this thesis, ceramic nanofibers (ceria and nickel oxide) that can potentially be used in SOFCs are fabricated.

A three-phase approach is implemented in the fabrication …

A Study Of Nucleosome Sequence And Relative Position To Gene Transcription Start Sites In Yeast And Human Genomes, Greg Wright

Theses

The positions of nucleosomes were studied to determine the relationship between sequence and relative position to transcription start sites. Five sets of nucleosome data were analyzed from yeast and human cell lines; the nucleosomes were categorized based on the weak and strong dinucleotide frequency within the major and minor grooves of the nucleosomal DNA. The relative positions and density of nucleosomes were determined around transcription start sites and compared to gene expression data. The yeast data sets consisted of different collection techniques and cell environments to confirm that the nucleosome tendencies were not a factor of a particular data set. …

Evaluation Of Mosfets For Terahertz Detector Arrays, Gregory J. Fertig

Theses

The terahertz (THz) region of the electromagnetic spectrum is one of the last remaining regions that has yet to be fully characterized. THz imaging is one of the foremost drivers of this technology gap and has the potential to push development in the near term to a similar capability level as infrared (IR). Properties of THz radiation are introduced, along with promising current applications. Interest in array based imaging of THz radiation (T-Rays) has gained traction lately, specifically using a CMOS process due to its ease of manufacturability and the use of MOSFETs as a detection mechanism. The theory outlined …

Toward Image-Based Three-Dimensional Reconstruction From Cubesats: Impacts Of Spatial Resolution And Snr On Point Cloud Quality, Jordyn Stoddard

Theses

The adoption of cube-satellites (cubesats) by the space community has drastically lowered the cost of access to space and reduced the development lifecycle from the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on traditional decade-long programs. Rapid deployment and low cost are attractive features of cubesat-based imaging that are conducive to applications such as disaster response and monitoring. One proposed application is 3D surface modeling through a high revisit rate constellation of cubesat imagers. This work begins with the characterization of an existing design for a cubesat imager based on ground sampled distance (GSD), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and smear. From this …

Y-Chromosome Polymorphism In United Arab Emirates, Safa Yaqoub Yousif Alkhayyat Al Hammadi

Theses

Human Y chromosome is a specific male marker and it consists of the largest non-recombining segment in human genome that is the hallmark of Y chromosome population-based studies.This stud establishes an extensive Y poly-morph ism profile of the U A E Population and to our knowledge, this is the largest study carried out in the UAE.

DNA samples were for 1 7 polymorphic STR from 345 unrelated Emirate male. In UAE population, the analysis of the allele frequency clearly shows that each u ha a predominant allele. It is also apparent that alleles for most loci are clustered over a …