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Effects Of Livestock Antibiotics On Nitrification, Denitrification, And Microbial Community Compositon In Soils Along A Topographic Gradient, Sagarika Banerjee

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Several types of antibiotics (roxarsone, virginiamycin, and bacitracin) are widely included in poultry feed to improve animal growth yields. Most of the antibiotics are excreted in manure which is subsequently applied to soils. One concern with this practice is that antibiotics may affect several microbially-mediated nutrient cycling reactions in soils that influence crop productivity and water quality. The main objectives of this study were to determine the effects of livestock antibiotics on nitrification, denitrification, and microbial community composition in soils along a topographic gradient. These objectives were addressed in a series of lab experiments by monitoring changes in inorganic N …

Streamflow Prediction Using Gis For The Kentucky River Basin, Bakkiyalakshmi Palanisamy

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The study was aimed at developing a simple methodology for flow prediction in ungauged basins using existing data resources. For this purpose, the streamflow measurements across the Kentucky River Basin located in Kentucky, USA were obtained from United States Geological Survey (USGS) archive. The flow transferring characteristics of the subbasins of the Kentucky River Basin were obtained by combining downstream and upstream stream gauges. The flow transferring function thus derived were related to watershed, channel and flow characteristics of the subbasins by multiple regression analysis. The gauge pairs were divided into two classes of subbasins representing Upper and Lower Kentucky, …

The Role Of Abcg2 In Drug Active Transport In Milk, Lipeng Wang

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Drug active transport into milk is a major concern for breastfeeding mothers and healthcare providers. Studies from the literature indicated that breast cancer resistance protein (ABCG2) plays an important role in drug transfer into milk. There has been limited study on stereoselective interactions with ABCG2. A mechanistic analysis of flux across cell monolayer model is a critical first step toward extrapolating in vitro results for predicting in vivo disposition (including distribution into milk), drug disposition or drug-drug interactions.

The objectives of this thesis were (1) to establish a “Chemical knockout model” in rat for studying drug accumulation into milk, (2) …

Effect Of Low And High- Kinetic Energy Wetting On Quality Of Sediment Produced By Interrill Erosion, Eduardo Abel Rienzi

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Raindrop kinetic energy and sheet flow can disintegrate aggregates during interrill erosion, a process responsible for non point source pollution. Also, the dissolution process during aggregate wetting can affect interrill erosion. These factors can be responsible for changes in particle size distribution in the sediment, especially when different tillage systems are compared. The effect of soil tillage and management on soil properties is not uniform, which determine a wide range of runoff and sediment delivery rate. Variety in these rates can be associated with pore functions and their interactions with aggregate stability. One of the objectives of this study was …

High Accuracy Multiscale Multigrid Computation For Partial Differential Equations, Yin Wang

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Scientific computing and computer simulation play an increasingly important role in scientific investigation and engineering designs, supplementing traditional experiments, such as in automotive crash studies, global climate change, ocean modeling, medical imaging, and nuclear weapons. The numerical simulation is much cheaper than experimentation for these application areas and it can be used as the third way of science discovery beyond the experimental and theoretical analysis. However, the increasing demand of high resolution solutions of the Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) with less computational time has increased the importance for researchers and engineers to come up with efficient and scalable computational techniques …

Shelter Availability, Occupancy, And Residency In Size-Asymmetric Contests Between Rusty Crayfish, Orconectes Rusticus, Nathan M. Klar

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Contest outcomes are usually determined by differences in resource holding potential, the social histories of the combatants, and perceptions of resource value. One understudied aspect of gaining an advantage is the residency effect. Prior occupancy of a particular place can affect the knowledge and motivation of the resident. There could be a tactical advantage in knowing the terrain or an increased willingness to fight to maintain control of a familiar area. In this study we evaluated the importance of shelter residency effects relative to size differences between rusty crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) as potential competitors for access to shelter. …

Hydraulic Geometry Relationships And Regional Curves For The Inner And Outer Bluegrass Regions Of Kentucky, Ruth Roseann Brockman

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Hydraulic geometry relationships and regional curves are used in natural channel design to assist engineers, biologists, and fluvial geomorphologists in the efforts undertaken to ameliorate previous activities that have diminished, impaired or destroyed the structure and function of stream systems. Bankfull channel characteristics were assessed for 14 United States Geological Survey (USGS) gaged sites in the Inner Bluegrass and 15 USGS gaged sites in the Outer Bluegrass Regions of Kentucky. Hydraulic geometry relationships and regional curves were developed for the aforementioned regions.

Analysis of the regression relationships showed that bankfull discharge is a good explanatory variable for bankfull parameters such …

Single View Reconstruction For Human Face And Motion With Priors, Xianwang Wang

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Single view reconstruction is fundamentally an under-constrained problem. We aim to develop new approaches to model human face and motion with model priors that restrict the space of possible solutions. First, we develop a novel approach to recover the 3D shape from a single view image under challenging conditions, such as large variations in illumination and pose. The problem is addressed by employing the techniques of non-linear manifold embedding and alignment. Specifically, the local image models for each patch of facial images and the local surface models for each patch of 3D shape are learned using a non-linear dimensionality reduction …

Near-Field Radiative Transfer: Thermal Radiation, Thermophotovoltaic Power Generation And Optical Characterization, Mathieu Francoeur

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on near-field radiative transfer, which can be defined as the discipline concerned with energy transfer via electromagnetic waves at sub-wavelength distances. Three specific subjects related to this discipline are investigated, namely nearfield thermal radiation, nanoscale-gap thermophotovoltaic (nano-TPV) power generation and optical characterization. An algorithm for the solution of near-field thermal radiation problems in one-dimensional layered media is developed, and several tests are performed showing the accuracy, consistency and versatility of the procedure. The possibility of tuning near-field radiative heat transfer via thin films supporting surface phononpolaritons (SPhPs) in the infrared is afterwards investigated via the computation of …

Chemical Modification And Characterization Of Carbon Nanotubes, Kelby Brandan Cassity

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are a relatively new allotrope of carbon that possess very unique and exciting physical characteristics. However, much is still unknown regarding their physical structure and chemical reactivity. The focus of this dissertation is to utilize the chemical modification of these filamentous carbon structures as a probe to investigate the structure and reactivity of carbon nanotubes. Also discussed is the ability of CNTs, once chemically modified, to interact with specific polymer matrices and how the addition of modified and unmodified CNTs affects the physical properties of these matrices.

Explorations In Homeoviscous Adaptation And Mass Spectral Analysis Of Membrane Lipids, Michael Douglas Timmons

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The focus of this dissertation is centered on the mass spectral analysis of lipids and changes occurring in keeping with the concept of homeoviscous adaptation [1]. Homeoviscous adaptation is the process of modification of membrane lipids in response to environmental stimuli [1]. Dissertation investigations applied this concept to prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms, and expanded the perception of environmental factors from exogenous organic solvents to intracellular environment.

The field of lipidomics deals with the analysis of phospholipid and fatty acid components of membranes the changes that occur due to environmental stimuli and their biological significance [2-6]. The high sensitivity of mass …

Detection Of Roof Boundaries Using Lidar Data And Aerial Photography, Andrew David Gombos

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The recent growth in inexpensive laser scanning sensors has created entire fields of research aimed at processing this data. One application is determining the polygonal boundaries of roofs, as seen from an overhead view. The resulting building outlines have many commercial as well as military applications. My work in this area has created a segmentation algorithm where the descriptive features are computationally and theoretically simpler than previous methods. A support vector machine is used to segment data points using these features, and their use is not common for roof detection to date. Despite the simplicity of the feature calculations, the …

Provenance Of The Neoproterozoic Ocoee Supergroup, Eastern Great Smoky Mountains, Suvankar Chakraborty

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The Ocoee Supergroup is a sequence of Neoproterozoic, immature, continental rift facies clastic sediments. Potential source rocks were tested by analyzing modes of detrital framework minerals, detrital mineral chemistry, whole rock geochemistry and detrital zircon U/Pb geochronology by LA-ICP-MS for Ocoee siltstone-sandstone dominated formations. Ocoee units are arkosic to subarkosic siltstones/sandstones, and ternary tectonic discrimination diagrams confirm a continental basement uplift source. Alkali feldspar predominates over plagioclase feldspar. Detrital feldspar compositions of Ocoee sediments as a group are similar to feldspar in local basement granitic rocks except for high-Ca plagioclase grains present locally in basement granitic rocks. The high alkali …

Studies Toward The Total Synthesis Of (±)-Α-Yohimbine By Double Annulation, Raghu Ram Chamala

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The indole alkaloids, a class of natural products, have received much synthetic attention for years due to their diverse structures and interesting biological properties. We are particularly interested in synthesizing some of the yohimbine alkaloids extracted from the bark of a tall evergreen African tree (Corynanthe yohimbe, commonly known as fringe tree). Yohimbine and its stereoisomers have been tempting targets for synthetic organic chemists for more than fifty years. These compounds feature a pentacyclic ring system with two heteroatoms and five stereogenic centers.

Broadly, the fifteen different synthetic approaches that led to the successful completion of yohimbine alkaloids …

Chromium, Copper, And Arsenic Concentration And Speciation In Soil Adjacent To Chromated Copper Arsenate (Cca) Treated Lumber Along A Topohydrosequence, Donald Roy Schwer Iii

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Arsenic (As), Chromium (Cr), and Copper (Cu) are ubiquitous in soils as a result of anthropogenic and geogenic processes. The fate of As, Cr, and Cu in the environment is largely governed by their speciation, which is influenced by soil physiochemical properties. This study investigated the influence of soil physiochemical properties and landscape position on As, Cr, and Cu concentration and speciation in soils adjacent to Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) treated lumber fence posts. Concentration gradients showed elevated total As and Cu adjacent to the three fence posts, which decreased with increasing distance from the posts. In addition, As and …

Physical Conditions Including Magnetic Fields In Several Star Forming Regions Of The Galaxy, Matt Lykins

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This document describes studies of two independent regions of the interstellar medium (ISM). These studies have the common element that both pertain to regions in our Galaxy that are known to be associated with present-day star formation. These studies aim to help us understand the ISM, star formation, and ultimately where we came from, since, after all, our star, the Sun, is itself the product of star formation 4.5 billion years ago. The first project measured the Zeeman Effect on the 21 cm H I absorption line in order to create a map of the line of sight magnetic fields …

Comparison Of Two Samples By A Nonparametric Likelihood-Ratio Test, William H. Barton

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation we present a novel computational method, as well as its software implementation, to compare two samples by a nonparametric likelihood-ratio test. The basis of the comparison is a mean-type hypothesis. The software is written in the R-language [4]. The two samples are assumed to be independent. Their distributions, which are assumed to be unknown, may be discrete or continuous. The samples may be uncensored, right-censored, left-censored, or doubly-censored. Two software programs are offered. The first program covers the case of a single mean-type hypothesis. The second program covers the case of multiple mean-type hypotheses. For the first …

Opioid-Cannabinoid Codrugs With Enhanced Analgesic And Pharmacokinetic Profile, Harpreet Kaur Dhooper

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The central hypothesis of the dissertation is that “the design and synthesis of a codrug of an opiate and a cannabinoid can be achieved which is stable in the gastrointestinal tract and shows a superior pharmacological and pharmacokinetic profile when compared to a physical mixture of the two parent drugs.” To prove the hypothesis, a series of novel codrugs were prepared by conjugation of the opiate drug codeine with Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ⁹-THC), cannabidiol, abn-cannabidiol and an opiate prodrug 3-O-acetylmorphine with Δ⁹-THC. Codeine-cannabinoid codrugs were evaluated for analgesic activity in the rat after oral administration. The …

Development Of Novel Ahr Antagonists, Hyosung Lee

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a sensor protein, activated by aromatic chemical species for transcriptionally regulating xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes. AHR is also known to be involved in a variety of pathogenesis such as cancer, diabetes mellitus, cirrhosis, asthma, etc. The AHR signaling induced by xenobiotics has been intensively studied whereas its physiological role in the absence of xenobiotics is poorly understood. Despite a number of ligands of AHR have been reported thus far, further applications are still hampered by the lack of specificity and/or the partially agonistic activity. Thus, a pure AHR antagonist is needed for deciphering the AHR cryptic …

Algorithms For Upper Bounds Of Low Dimensional Group Homology, Joshua D. Roberts

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

A motivational problem for group homology is a conjecture of Quillen that states, as reformulated by Anton, that the second homology of the general linear group over R = Z[1/p; ζ_p], for p an odd prime, is isomorphic to the second homology of the group of units of R, where the homology calculations are over the field of order p. By considering the group extension spectral sequence applied to the short exact sequence 1 → SL₂ → GL₂ → GL₁ → 1 we show that the calculation of the homology …

Characterization Of Soil Carbon Stabilization In Long-Term Row-Cropped Agro-Ecosystems, Soraya Patricia Alvarado-Ochoa

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Soil organic matter (SOM) is a dynamic soil property, sensitive and responsive to many factors. The possibility of increasing soil carbon (C) sequestration by changing land use and management practices has been of great interest recently due to concerns with global changes in the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) balance. Nonetheless, as a result of the complex dynamics of SOM, there is still the need for SOM characterization procedures capable of monitoring SOM stabilization, taking into account all the factors involved.

This study characterized SOM stabilization as affected by management practices in three long-term field experiments, considering physical, chemical …

Evolution And The End Of A World, David Edward Long

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines college student understanding and attitudes toward biological evolution. In ethnographic work, I followed a cohort of 31 students through their required introductory biology class. In interviews, students discuss their life history with the concept - in school, at home, at church, and in their communities. For some Creationist students, confronting evolution in class has meant confronting existential issues regarding both the basis of science and the basis of faith. For other Creationist students, claims of evolution's theoretical strength are eschewed for its direct challenge to their worldview. For most students, science holds minimal interest against other values …

Progress Towards The Synthesis Of Type B Polycyclic Polyprenylated Acylphloroglucinol 7-Epi-Clusianone, Pushpa Suresh Jayasekara Mudiyanselage

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Plants of the family Guttiferae produce polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (PPAPs), which have interesting biological activities including anticancer and antibacterial properties. The main structural features of PPAPs comprise of bicyclo[3.3.1]nonane-2,4,9-triketone with one acyl group together with prenyl, geranyl, or other C₁₀H₁₇ groups. 7-epi-Clusianone, a type B PPAP with C-7 endo stereochemistry, is being approached by establishing the cis relationship with C(4) allyl group and C(2) methyl ester in the early stage of the synthesis. Then C(2) methyl ester is converted to alkyne aldehyde and syn reduction followed by intramolecular aldol reaction to give bicyclo[3.3.1]nonane structure with …

A Continuous Mathematical Model Of The One-Dimensional Sedimentation Process Of Flocculated Sediment Particles, Sebastian Fernando Torrealba

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

A new continuous one-dimensional sedimentation model incorporating a new continuous flocculation model that considers aggregation and fragmentation processes was derived and tested. Additionally, a new procedure to model sediment particle size distribution (PSD) was derived. Basic to this development were three different parametric models: Jaky, Fredlund and the Gamma probability distribution (GPD) were chosen to fit three different glass micro-spheres PSDs having average particle sizes of 7, 25 and 35 microns. The GPD provided the best fit with the least parameters. The bimodal GPD was used to fit ten sediment samples with excellent results (< 5% average error). A continuous flocculation model was derived using the method of moments for solving the continuous Smoluchowski coagulation equation with fragmentation. The initial sediment PSD was modeled using a bimodal GPD. This new flocculation model resulted in a new general moments’ equation that considers aggregation and fragmentation processes, which is represented by a system of ordinary differential equations. The model was calibrated using a genetic algorithm with initial and flocculated PSDs of four sediment samples and four anionic polyacrylamides flocculants. The results show excellent correlation between predicted and observed values (R² > 0.9878). A new continuous …

Socially Disadvantaged Sudents In Socially Disadvantaged Schools: Double Jeopardy In Mathematics Achievement In The G8 Countries, Traci Lynne Dundas

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Using the G8 countries’ (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States) samples from the 2003 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), this study aimed to explore the phenomenon of double jeopardy in mathematics achievement for socially disadvantaged students. Double jeopardy is a situation of dual penalties where coming from low socioeconomic status (SES) families and attending low SES schools results in concurrent penalties at both the student level and school level in mathematics achievement.

This study examined the phenomenon of double jeopardy in the G8 countries across four school locations: rural regions, …

Tunneling Spectroscopy Study Of Calcium Ruthenate, Anthony Bautista

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The ruthenates are perhaps one of the most diverse group of materials known up to date. These compounds exhibit a wide array of behaviors ranging from the exotic pwave superconductivity in Sr₂RuO₄, to the itinerant ferromagnetism in SrRuO₃, and the Mott-insulating behavior in Ca₂RuO₄. One of the most intriguing compounds belonging to this group is Ca₃Ru₂O₇ which is known to undergo an antiferromagnetic ordering at 56K and an insulating transition at 48K. Most intriguing, however, is the behavior displayed by this compound in the presence …

Soil Water And Crop Growth Processes In A Farmer's Field, Susmitha Surendran Nambuthiri

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The study was aimed to provide information on local biomass development during crop growth using ground based optical sensors and to incorporate the local crop status to a crop growth simulation model to improve understanding on inherent variability of crop field. The experiment was conducted in a farmer’s field located near Princeton in Caldwell County, Western Kentucky. Data collection on soil, crop and weather variables was carried out in the farm from 2006 December to 2008 October. During this period corn (Zea mays L.) and winter wheat (Triticum sp) were grown in the field. A 450 m …

Integration Of The Regression-Based Land Use Model And The Combined Trip Distribution-Assignment Transportation Model, Meiwu An

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Regional growth caused the emergence of traffic congestion and pollution in the past few decades, which have started to affect small urban areas. These problems are not only related to transportation system design but also to land use planning. There has been growing recognition that the relationship between land use and transportation needs to be understood and analyzed in a consistent and systematic way. Integrated urban models have recently been introduced and implemented in several metropolitan areas to systematically examine the relationship between land use and transportation. The general consensus in the field of integrated urban models is that each …

Nonparametric Estimation Of Derivatives With Applications, Benjamin Hall

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

We review several nonparametric regression techniques and discuss their various strengths and weaknesses with an emphasis on derivative estimation and confidence band creation. We develop a generalized C(p) criterion for tuning parameter selection when interest lies in estimating one or more derivatives and the estimator is both linear in the observed responses and self-consistent. We propose a method for constructing simultaneous confidence bands for the mean response and one or more derivatives, where simultaneous now refers both to values of the covariate and to all derivatives under consideration. In addition we generalize the simultaneous confidence bands to account for heteroscedastic …

Novel Approaches In Structured Light Illumination, Yongchang Wang

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Among the various approaches to 3-D imaging, structured light illumination (SLI) is widely spread. SLI employs a pair of digital projector and digital camera such that the correspondences can be found based upon the projecting and capturing of a group of designed light patterns. As an active sensing method, SLI is known for its robustness and high accuracy. In this dissertation, I study the phase shifting method (PSM), which is one of the most employed strategy in SLI. And, three novel approaches in PSM have been proposed in this dissertation. First, by regarding the design of patterns as placing points …