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Benzene-1,3-Diamidoethanethiol (Bdeth2) And Its Metal Compounds, Kamruz Md Zaman

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

There is a global need to find a permanent and readily implemented solution to the problem of heavy metal pollution in aqueous environments. A dithiol compound, benzene-1,3-diamidoethanethiol (BDETH₂), also known as N,N'-bis(2-mercaptoethyl) isophthalamide or N,N'-bis(2-mercaptoethyl)-1,3-benzenedicarboxamide, capable of binding divalent metal ions, has been synthesized and characterized. A broad range of BDET-metal compounds, spanning the periodic chart, has been prepared and characterized by IR, MS, EA, Raman, XAFS and TGA. The characteristics of the BDET-M compounds were determined through secondary reactions. In an effort to derivatize BDET-M compounds through alkylalumination a new cyclic compound, 1,3- bis(4,5-dihydrothiazolo)benzene, has …

Metabolite Analysis Of Clostridium Thermocellum Using Capillary Electrophoresis Based Techniques, Anup P. Thakur

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Clostridium thermocellum is a thermophilic bacterium that converts biomass to ethanol directly; however, high sensitivity of this bacterium toward ethanol limits its commercial utility. To elucidate the effect of ethanol on the growth of this bacterium a metabolite analysis of C. thermocellum was performed. The hypothesis of the project was that exogenous ethanol alters the metabolite profile of C. thermocellum. For metabolite analysis, capillary electrophoresis-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry method (CE-ESI-MS) was developed due to highly polar and charged nature of metabolites. To increase the sensitivity of CE-ESI-MS, several parameters at the ESI interface were optimized. The application of 50% isopropanol …

Accurate And Robust Preconditioning Techniques For Solving General Sparse Linear Systems, Eun-Joo Lee

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Please download this dissertation to see the abstract.

New Silks Roads: Promises And Perils Of The Internet In The Thai Silk Industry, Mark Graham

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The Internet is often touted as a panacea for perceived deficiencies in economic development. Its space-transcending abilities, which can instantly connect producers with consumers, have the potential to cut out intermediaries and to redistribute economic surplus in a more equitable manner. This dissertation asks whether the promises of the Internet are being realized in the Thai silk industry.

The project explores the following questions: (a) At which nodes in the commodity chain is the Internet being used?; (b) How has the introduction of the Internet altered production chains and the flows of capital in the Thai silk industry?; (c) How …

Regulation Of L-Type Voltage-Dependnet Calcium Channels By The Rem Gtpase, Chunyan Pang

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The Rem, Rem2, Rad, and Gem/Kir GTPases, comprise a novel subfamily of the small Ras-related GTP-binding proteins known as the RGK GTPases, and have been shown to function as potent negative regulators of high voltage-activated (HVA) Ca²⁺ channels upon overexpression. HVA Ca²⁺ channels modulate Ca²⁺ influx in response to membrane depolarization to regulate a wide variety of cellular functions and they minimally consist of a pore-forming α1 subunit, an intracellular β subunit, and a transmembrane complex α₂/δ subunit. While the mechanisms underlying RGK-mediated Ca²⁺ channel regulation remain poorly defined, it appears that both membrane …

A Systematic Study Of Thermodynamic And Transport Properties Of Layered CaN+1(Ru1-XCrX)NO3n+1, Vinobalan Durairaj

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Orbital degrees of freedom play vital role in prompting novel phenomena in ruthenium based Ruddlesden-Popper compounds through coupling of orbits to spin and lattice. Physical properties are then particularly susceptible to small perturbations by external magnetic fields and/or slight structural changes. Current study pertains to the impact when a more-extended 4d Ruthenium ion is replaced by a less-extended 3d Chromium ion.

Perovskite CaRuO₃ (n=∞) is characterized by borderline magnetism and non- Fermi liquid behavior – common occurrences in quantum critical compounds. Remarkably, Cr substitution as low as x=0.05 abruptly drives CaRu_1−xCr_xO₃ from a paramagnetic …

Optimizing Learning Through Teacher-Student Relationships: A Test Of The Causal Process Student Understanding Model, Nicole Denise Dobransky

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

In many ways, higher educational systems in the United States are the most extraordinary in the world. Students come from all over to study in our institutes of higher learning. As our search for an explanation of how to facilitate student learning continues, the goal of this dissertation was to examine the heavily under-researched area of teacherstudent relationships as they relate to student understanding. Using the existing body of instructional communication research, the Student Understanding Model (SUM) is proposed and tested. Data collected from 302 undergraduate students was used to test the SUM. Results provide empirical support that relational messages …

Carbon Nanotube Supported Metal Catalysts For NoX Reduction Using Hydrocarbon Reductants, Eduardo Santillan-Jimenez

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Nitrogen oxides (NO_x) are atmospheric pollutants that pose a serious threat to both the environment and human health. Although catalytic deNO_x technologies for engines working under stoichiometric air-to-fuel ratios (i.e., most gasoline engines) are already available, their performance is unsatisfactory under excess air conditions like those under which diesel engines operate.

The selective catalytic reduction of NO_x with hydrocarbon reductants (HC-SCR) is a potential deNO_xsolution for diesel engines, whose operating temperatures are 150-500 ºC. Given that is unlikely for a single catalyst to show acceptable activity throughout this entire temperature span, the use of …

Matrix Decomposition For Data Disclosure Control And Data Mining Applications, Jie Wang

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Access to huge amounts of various data with private information brings out a dual demand for preservation of data privacy and correctness of knowledge discovery, which are two apparently contradictory tasks. Low-rank approximations generated by matrix decompositions are a fundamental element in this dissertation for the privacy preserving data mining (PPDM) applications. Two categories of PPDM are studied: data value hiding (DVH) and data pattern hiding (DPH). A matrix-decomposition-based framework is designed to incorporate matrix decomposition techniques into data preprocessing to distort original data sets. With respect to the challenge in the DVH, how to protect sensitive/confidential attribute values without …

Paleogene Mirelands Of The Upper Mississippi Embayment, Western Kentucky, Jennifer Marie Klein O'Keefe

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Detailed petrography, geochemistry, and palynology together describe the depositional environments and paleoecology of an abandoned meander-fill system in western Kentucky. Oriented block petrography reveals alternating clay-rich and attrinite-rich zones of variable thickness. Woody tissues, where present, do not show dessication features and deflation layers could not be identified. Overall, petrography is indicative of a topogenous mire. Mire palyno-assemblages are less diverse than assemblages reported from clays in the region. Castanea-Cupuliferoidaepollenites assemblages dominate the entire system and other tree pollen are common; fungal spores are relatively uncommon. Weighted statistical analyses reveal ecological groupings beyond this dominance and define botanical succession within …

Methods Development In Qualitative And Quantitative Proteomics, Ting Liu

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Proteomics based on liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry has developed rapidly in the last decade and become a powerful tool for protein mixtures analysis. LC-MS based proteomics involves four steps, sample preparation, liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and bioinformatics. Improvements in each step have extended its applications to new biological research areas. This dissertation mainly focuses on method developments in both qualitative and quantitative proteomics.

The first part of this dissertation focuses on qualitative analysis of T. gondii Parasitophorous Vacuole Membrane (PVM) proteins, which is very important for T. gondii’s survival. The hypothesis of this study is that proteomic …

The Effects Of Fluency-Building Strategies On The Oral Reading Rates Of First-Grade Students, Holly Walker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of explicit fluency-building strategies on the oral reading rates of first-grade students. According to the National Reading Panel (2000) there are five essential components of reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. All components are needed to achieve the complex skill of reading. Due to the reciprocal nature of these skills pertaining to reading, a deficit in any reading component can cause difficulties in learning to read (O'Connor, 2007). Therefore, reading fluency is critical to proficiency in reading. Specifically, this study investigated whether explicit instruction in fluency-building strategies …

The Effects Of The Toyota Production System On Student Academic Performance, Danny Ray Webb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Can schools use relevant data to enhance student test scores and teacher efficacy by using the Toyota Production System model? Components of this study evaluated fifth-grade student math Pennsylvania System of School Assessment scores, 4Sight Benchmark Assessment scores, and changes in teacher efficacy, as indicated by the Ohio State Teacher Efficacy Scale. The independent variables used to stimulate change are the Toyota Production System design for instruction and teacher training using Toyota Production System principles. Results did not indicate significant statistical changes in the Toyota Production System group's Pennsylvania Systems of School Assessment scores, or 4Sight scores, as compared to …

Design And Synthesis Of Small-Molecule Inhibitors As Anti-Malarial And Anti-Serpin Agents, Maria Mirela Puscau

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This work describe the design, synthesis and evaluation of small-molecule inhibitors of two different biological targets: Plasmodium falciparium, the most virulent malarial parasite in humans, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), an endogenous serine proteases inhibitor implicated in a wide range of biological processes. Malaria is one of the top global health threats, and there is a great need for developing effective new chemotherapies. PAI-1 is a major component in the regulation of the plasminogen activation system, and the overexpression of this protein has been implicated in a number of conditions, such as thrombosis, atherosclerosis, and myocardial infarction. The research …

Riding A Broomstick Out Of Plato’S Cave: Elements Of Plato Found In J.K. Rowling’S Harry Potter Series, Camille Winegar Parker

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series has become a cultural phenomenon. An analysis of the Harry Potter series reveals that underneath the phenomenon status there is great depth. This paper looks at aspects of the novels that mirror elements found in Plato’s The Republic, specifically his allegory of the cave in Book Seven. Plato’s allegory of the cave can be broken down into “four stages,” and in the Harry Potter novels there are characters who fall in each of these four stages. Through the characters in the four stages we see that the “highest form of knowledge” (Plato 246) to …

Laser Surface Thermal Lensing (Stl): An Optical Method For Surface Analysis Of Glass Transition Effects In Transparent Polymers, Nandita Prasad

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Absorption of energy from a modulated laser beam by a transparent substrate leads to cyclic thermal expansion and contraction of the surface at the pump beam focus. This minute distortion of the surface forms a transient optical lens structure, which can be monitored by the changes it induces in a second laser beam reflected at an angle off the same focal point. The Surface Thermal Lensing (STL) technique is based on detecting the modulated interference pattern that results from interaction of the probe beam wavefront as it reflects from both the flat surface surrounding the transient lens and the curved …

Application Of Surface Thermal Lens Technology Combined With Polarization To The Study Of Polymers, Daeha Joung

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

A new approach was attempted to investigate the characteristics of polymers by using photothermal technology. The Surface Thermal Lens (STL) technique was employed to study polymers because of its higher spatial resolution and greater sensitivity than the classical photothermal detection techniques (PDT). Zeonex [Cyclo-Olefin-Polymer] and acrylic [Poly–Methyl- Meth-Acrylate] were used as the samples. Polarization was applied to the STL technique. The signals of Zeonex were different from those of acrylic when the STL probe beam was polarized. Two different polarizer orientations for the probe beam, crossed and parallel, were used to observe the STL signal response to the samples. No …

Synthesis And Dye Leakage Assay Of Human And Rat Islet Amyloid Polypeptide 10-19 And Insulin 14-18, Andrew William Gray

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Islet amylin polypeptide (IAPP) is co-secreted along with insulin in the pancreatic islets of Langerhans. During type 2 diabetes mellitus, human IAPP (hIAPP) fibrilizes to form amyloid deposits that are found post-mortem in more than 95% of people with the disease. Rodents do not suffer from type 2 diabetes mellitus as their IAPP (rIAPP) does not undergo self-aggregation. Although the amyloid deposit is found in those with the disease, the actual cause of the disease is the cytotoxicity of the mechanism that forms those amyloid deposits. The self-aggregation of IAPP to form amyloid deposits is inhibited by insulin due to …

Why Do Students With Hearing Impairment Resist Wearing Fm Amplification?, Jennifer Lynn Franks

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The benefits of Frequency Modulation (FM) amplification usage among school-aged children is widely researched and established. The benefits provided from FM systems for students with a hearing impairment (HI) would suggest that consistent usage among these students would be high. However, interactions with various-aged HI students and their teachers have shown the opposite: there appears to be a lack of consistent usage. Previous research has looked at what influences people with a hearing loss not to wear their hearing aids. Research investigating reasons why FM systems are not used is limited. There are well-known benefits of FM usage among those …

The Development Of A Novel And Potentially Nondestructive Pretreatment For The Radiocarbon Dating Of Archaeological Artifacts, Mary Ellen Ellis

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Because the traditional acid-alkali-acid method for pretreating archaeological artifacts prior to radiocarbon dating is destructive to most materials, the possibility of developing an alternative pretreatment is important to preserving culturally- and historically-significant artifacts. The alkali step usually involves a 1M or higher concentration NaOH wash to remove humic acid contamination. The purpose of this work is to replace the alkali step with an equally effective, yet less harsh treatment. Charcoal soaked in a humic acid standard was used to mimic a contaminated artifact. Residues from treatments with NaOH, phosphate buffer (pH 8), and deionized water were characterized using THM-GC-MS. Preliminary …

The Examination Of Control Entropy (Ce) Of Triaxial Accelerometry And Lactate Threshold In Runners During Treadmill Exercise, Michael A. Busa

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the blood lactate threshold could be identified through the visual examination of the control entropy of high-resolution accelerometry in intercollegiate endurance runners (n=7).

In procedures approved by the Eastern Michigan University College of Health and Human Services Human Subject Review Board, runners performed two lactate threshold tests to determine the relationship between the pace of running and the blood lactate concentration. High-resolution accelerometry (HRA) data as well as the metabolic cost of exercise was also collected during these trials.

Control entropy (CE) analysis was conducted on the HRA of each individual …

A Comparison Of Bayesian Regression Models Applied In Knot Theory, Sevcan Bilir

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores variations on a Bayesian regression model used to estimate the mean box length of a random knot as a function of the number of edges of that knot. Specifically, this research recognizes uncertainty in box length variance and compares the resulting inference with that based on an approach that does not recognize such uncertainty. The Bayesian model is then shown to allow straightforward inference on the crossing location of two population regression lines.

An Appraisal Of The Criticisms Of Educational Research In Recent Years, Sherwin Rodrigues

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

According to Hodkinson (2001) educational research in the UK has been passing through "a crisis of confidence" in the last decade as a result of several attacks upon its quality. The scope of this paper is to briefly highlight these „attacks‟ on educational research and then focus on one of its primary criticisms for an in-depth analysis. I mainly draw upon the work of Hargreaves (1996), Hammersley (1997) and Hillage, Pearson, Anderson and Tamkin (1998) but allude to other sources as well.

Lateral Reservoir Compartmentalization Of The Woodford Shale In The Arkoma Basin, Southeastern Oklahoma, Adedapo Omotunde Ajibade

Masters Theses

"Analysis of geochemistry, mineralogy, total organic content (TOC) and rock evaluation pyrolysis on Woodford Shale well cuttings taken from a horizontal well (Quaid 13-30H) drilled in the Arkoma Basin (Pittsburg County), Oklahoma shows no significant variation in the thermal maturity, type, and/or quantity of organic matter. This is interpreted to mean that the organic matter of the Woodford Shale is relatively homogeneous and has all undergone similar thermal history. In addition, the analysis shows that there are lateral variations in the gas geochemistry in which the shale appears to be broken up into sections, some of which are more enhanced …

Uncertainty Analysis And Sensitivity Analysis For Multidisciplinary Systems Design, Jia Guo

Doctoral Dissertations

"The objective of this research is to quantify the impact of both aleatory and epistemic uncertainties on performances of multidisciplinary systems. Aleatory uncertainty comes from the inherent uncertain nature and epistemic uncertainty comes from the lack of knowledge. Although intensive research has been conducted on aleatory uncertainty, few studies on epistemic uncertainty have been reported. In this work, the two types of uncertainty are analyzed. Aleatory uncertainty is modeled by probability distributions while epistemic uncertainty is modeled by intervals. Probabilistic analysis (PA) and interval analysis (IA) are integrated to capture the effect of the two types of uncertainty. The First …

Characterization And Synthesis Of Nanoscale Materials, Jinfeng Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

"This dissertation focuses on the systematic study of techniques for characterization and synthesis of nanoscale materials. We have achieved several goals. Firstly, high number density uniform zinc oxide nanostructure growth has been achieved using thermal evaporation, through control of experimental parameters that include source material temperature, substrate temperature, substrate material, gas flow rate, and choice of catalyst. Aligned zinc oxide nanowires, randomly oriented zinc oxide nanowires, zinc oxide container-shaped structures, and zinc oxide nanobelts have been synthesized with high yield. Secondly, using a one parameter family of lattice fringe geometry curves, we show how to examine the epitaxial relationship between …

Energy Efficient Clustering And Secure Data Aggregation In Wireless Sensor Networks, Julia Albath

Doctoral Dissertations

"Communication consumes the majority of a wireless sensor network's limited energy. There are several ways to reduce the communication cost. Two approaches used in this work are clustering and in-network aggregation. The choice of a cluster head within each cluster is important because cluster heads use additional energy for their responsibilities and that burden needs to be carefully distributed. We introduce the energy constrained minimum dominating set (ECDS) to model the problem of optimally choosing cluster heads in the presence of energy constraints. We show its applicability to sensor networks and give an approximation algorithm of O(log n) for solving …

Integrated Process Planning For A Hybrid Manufacturing System, Lan Ren

Doctoral Dissertations

"A hybrid manufacturing system integrated CNC machining and laser-aided layered deposition and achieves the benefits of both processes. In this dissertation, an integrated process planning framework which aims to automate the hybrid manufacturing process is investigated. Critical components of the process planning, including 3D spatial decomposition of the CAD model, improvement of the toolpath generation pattern, repairing strategies using a hybrid manufacturing system, etc., are discussed"--Abstract, page iv.

Modeling And Rendering For Development Of A Virtual Bone Surgery System, Qiang Niu

Doctoral Dissertations

"A virtual bone surgery system is developed to provide the potential of a realistic, safe, and controllable environment for surgical education. It can be used for training in orthopedic surgery, as well as for planning and rehearsal of bone surgery procedures...Using the developed system, the user can perform virtual bone surgery by simultaneously "seeing" bone material removal through a graphic display device, "feeling" the force via a haptic deice, and "hearing" the sound of tool-bone interaction"--Abstract, page iii.

Stochastic Dynamic Equations, Suman Sanyal

Doctoral Dissertations

"We propose a new area of mathematics, namely stochastic dynamic equations, which unifies and extends the theories of stochastic differential equations and stochastic difference equations. After giving a brief introduction to the theory of dynamic equations on time scales, we construct Brownian motion on isolated time scales and prove some of its properties. Then we define stochastic integrals on isolated time scales. The main contribution of this dissertation is to give explicit solutions of linear stochastic dynamic equations on isolated time scales. We illustrate the theoretical results for dynamic stock prices and Ornstein-Uhlenbeck dynamic equations. Finally we study almost sure …