Digital Commons Network^™

A Distributed Scheduling Mechanism To Improve Voip Traffic Carrying Capacity In Ieee 802.11 Ad Hoc Networks, Munther Mohammad Hammouri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Physics For Future Physicians And Life Scientists: A Moment Of Opportunity, Catherine H. Crouch, Robert Hilborn, Suzanne Amador Kane, Timothy Mckay

Physics Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Transitional Museum As Urban Parasitism, Jorge Capetillo-Ponce

Sociology Faculty Publication Series

In a recent talk at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, I presented to the public an initial approach to the concept of the Transitional Museum, one that I have developed over time in collaboration with Mauricio Rodriguez-Anza and Vivianne Falco. This concept grew out of our efforts at defining the main features and goals of the new Anza Falco Museum of Art and Design, and particularly out of our struggle with the word "alternative" as an all-embracing, defining category with the necessary components to project to the world a unique and interdisciplinary style both in its architectural form …

Apoptosis Initiation And Angiogenesis Inhibition: Melanoma Targets For Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Fields, Xinhua Chen, Juergen F. Kolb, R. James Swanson, Karl H. Schoenbach, Stephen J. Beebe

Bioelectrics Publications

Many effective anti-cancer strategies target apoptosis and angiogenesis mechanisms. Applications of non-ionizing, nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) induce apoptosis in vitro and eliminate cancer in vivo; however in vivo mechanisms require closer analysis. These studies investigate nsPEF-induced apoptosis and anti-angiogenesis examined by fluorescent microscopy, immunoblots, and morphology. Six hours after treatment with one hundred 300 ns pulses at 40 kV/cm, cells transiently expressed active caspases indicating that caspase-mediated mechanisms. Three hours after treatment transient peaks in Histone 2AX phosphorylation coincided with terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling positive cells and pyknotic nuclei, suggesting caspase-independent mechanisms on nuclei/DNA. Large …

Protecting Water Resources And Managing Stormwater: A Bird's Eye View For New Hampshire Communities, Julia Peterson, Amanda Stone, James J. Houle

UNH Stormwater Center

No abstract provided.

Fungi-Derived Natural Products With Binding Affinities For Human Opioid Or Cannabinoid Receptors, Jiangtao Gao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Both opioid and cannabinoid receptors belong to the large superfamily of GPCRs and play an important role in a variety of processes including pain, craving, neurodegeneration, metabolic regulation, anxiety and immune function. Therefore, recent advances and discoveries in opioid and cannabinoid receptors have paved the way for a very exciting future for opioid and cannabinoid receptors-based therapies to potentially treat a variety of conditions. However, the growing realizations of the complexity of these two receptors regulation in physiological and pathological conditions have discouraged the development of new therapeutics. So, it is important for us to identify new chemical scaffolds which …

A Three-Dimensional Computer Simulation Model Reveals The Mechanisms For Self-Organization Of Plant Cortical Microtubules Into Oblique Arrays, Ezgi Can Eren, Ram Dixit, Natarajan Gautam

Biology Faculty Research

The noncentrosomal cortical microtubules (CMTs) of plant cells self-organize into a parallel three-dimensional (3D) array that is oriented transverse to the cell elongation axis in wild-type plants and is oblique in some of the mutants that show twisted growth. To study the mechanisms of CMT array organization, we developed a 3D computer simulation model based on experimentally observed properties of CMTs. Our computer model accurately mimics transverse array organization and other fundamental properties of CMTs observed in rapidly elongating wild-type cells as well as the defective CMT phenotypes observed in the Arabidopsis mor1-1 and fra2 mutants. We found that CMT …

Chapter 26 – Multiple Color Single Molecule Tirf Imaging And Tracking Of Maps And Motors, Jennifer L. Ross, Ram Dixit

Biology Faculty Research

Microtubules are part of a complex mechano-chemical network inside cells. In order to understand how the components of these systems work together, careful in vitro experiments must be performed with added complexity. These experiments can ideally image all the interacting species. In order to image these molecules, multiple-color fluorescence imaging can be performed. In this chapter, we describe some methods for performing multiple-color single molecule fluorescence imaging using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy. We give several specific examples of species of microtubule-associate proteins and motors that can be examined with detailed protocols for labeling, purification, and imaging.

Historical Function Of The Fictional Work Of H. J. C Von Grimmelshausen And Essad Bey, Sarah Griesbach

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

In an historical analysis of Grimmelshausen and BeyΓÇÖs work the disinhibition created by the authorsΓÇÖ hidden identities and writing styles becomes an historical asset. The medium of fiction gave Grimmelshausen and Bey the freedom to shape their narratives as best fit their purposes. The historical usefulness of their texts is buried in their choices for deliveryΓÇöliterary device, character perspective, atmosphere, toneΓÇöand in the messages the authors deliver, intentionally or not.

Experimental Study On Thermal Treatment Of Used Printed Wiring Boards (Pwbs), Xiangjun Zuo

Masters Theses

The availability of cheaper and better electronic products as a result of the rapid innovation in technology in past decades has driven the production of e-waste forward. Printed wiring board (PWB) is a component made of one or more layers of insulating material with electrical conductors. The existing processes of recycling PWBs use pyrometallurgical or hydrometallurgical methods, which generate atmospheric pollution. Green recycling has obvious benefits to decrease the amount of PWBs. Green recycling includes two features, 1) little or zero pollution of toxic gases and heavy metals, and 2) efficient (quick and economical) recycling.

The aim of this work …

Characterizing The Interaction Of P. Falciparum Eba-175 With Its Receptor Glycophorin A, Nichole Salinas

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

No abstract provided.

Split And Merge Functions For Supporting Multiple Processing Pipelines In Mercury Blastn, Jwalant Ahir, Jeremy Buhler, Roger D. Chamberlain

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Biosequence similarity search is an important application in computational biology. Mercury BLASTN, an FPGA-based implementation of BLAST for DNA, is one of the alternatives for fast DNA sequence comparison. The re-design of BLAST into a streaming application combined with a high-throughput hardware pipeline have enabled Mercury BLAST to emerge as one of the fastest implementations of bio-sequence similarity search. This performance can be further enhanced by exploiting the data-level parallelism present within the application. Here we present a multiple FPGA-based Mercury BLASTN design in order to double the speed and throughput of DNA sequence computation. This paper describes a dual …

Global Constructive Optimization Of Vascular Systems, Manfred Georg, Tobias Preusser, Horst K. Hahn

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

We present a framework for the construction of vascular systems based on optimality principles of theoretical physiology. Given the position and flow distribution of end points of a vascular system, we construct the topology and positions of internal nodes to complete the vascular system in a realistic manner. Optimization is driven by intravascular volume minimization with constraints derived from physiological principles. Direct optimization of a vascular system, including topological changes, is used instead of simulating vessel growth. A good initial topology is found by extracting key information from a previously optimized model with less detail. This technique is used iteratively …

A Survey Of The Vascular Flora Of Beaufort County, South Carolina, Daniel Payne

All Theses

Beaufort County has historically been one of the most poorly botanized counties in the state. Geographically, it lies farther from the major research institutions than most other counties and has therefore received little attention from modern botanists. Major waterways, numerous private communities and an oppressive summer climate further complicate botanical research. Beaufort has one of the fastest growing human populations in the state. Natural areas are rapidly being converted into residential and commercial developments. An understanding of the county's flora is necessary to focus conservation efforts to preserve critical habitat and develop management plans for maintaining biodiversity. This project was …

Racial Disparities In Hiv Seroprevalence Among Male Street Sex Workers, Larry Morton

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

This dissertation examined whether racial disparities in HIV/AIDS between African American and Caucasian male street sex workers: MSSWs) existed and, if so, what were the possible reasons for these disparities. African American MSSWs were significantly more likely to report being HIV/AIDS-positive. However, when included in binary logistic models, the relationship between HIV risk factors: of syphilis and sexual assault) and HIV status did not significantly vary between African American and Caucasian MSSWs. Mediation of sexual assault and/or syphilis between race and HIV/AIDS could not be tested due to not meeting the assumptions for mediation. African American MSSWs are over twice …

The Function And Regulation Of Senescent Stromal-Derived Osteopontin, Ermira Pazolli

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Our understanding of tumors as complex organs has increased our appreciation for each component of the tumor microenvironment and its respective contribution to tumorigenesis. Fibroblasts found within a tumor actively participate in the growth, progression and metastasis of cancer cells. Senescent fibroblasts, which are permanently arrested yet metabolically active, accumulate in tissue over time where they may promote the proliferation and malignant conversion of preneoplastic cells in older individuals. I have examined the relationship between senescent fibroblasts and preneoplastic keratinocytes and identified the secreted multifunctional protein osteopontin: OPN) as a critical stromal mediating factor. RNAi-directed reduction of stromal OPN leads …

Characterization Of The Role For Nmnat, Kinase Cascades, And Purines In Axonal Degeneration, Craig Press

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Axonal degeneration is a prominent feature of many neurological disorders including Parkinson's disease: PD), motor neuron disease, inherited, diabetic, and drug-induced peripheral neuropathies. It is now thought that axonal degeneration is an active process, due in large part to studies of the Wlds mutant mouse, which undergoes delayed Wallerian degeneration in response to axonal injury. Wlds mice have slower disease progression in numerous models of neurodegenerative diseases. The Wlds mutation results in the production of a chimeric protein that containing nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyltransferase 1: Nmnat1). Increased expression of Nmnat isoforms are sufficient for axonal protection in vitro and in vivo. …

Phylogenetics And Phylogeography Of Moray Eels (Muraenidae), Joshua Reece

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

This dissertation describes the evolutionary history of Moray eels: Muraenidae). Moray eels are apex predators on coral reefs around the world, but they are not well studied because of their cryptic habitats and occasionally aggressive behaviors. I provide the first molecular phylogeny of moray eels with widespread taxonomic and geographic coverage, including 44 species representing two subfamilies, eight genera, and all tropical ocean basins. Phylogenetic relationships among these taxa are estimated from portions of mitochondrial loci cytochrome b and cytochrome oxidase subunit 1, and portions of the nuclear loci RAG-1 and RAG-2. I test four sets of contrasting phylogenetic hypotheses …

The Ethics Of Forcible Democratization, David Speetzen

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Recent wars have led many to believe that the promotion of democracy cannot justify foreign intervention, but this is rash. A government's right to non-intervention should hinge on whether it adequately: 1) protects its subjects' human rights and: 2) represents their collective political will. I argue that when and where the international legal system's ability to enforce human rights matures and the social conditions for better representation emerge, the standards for adequate protection and representation should rise. Since democracy significantly augments both functions of government, eventually the right to non-intervention should depend on maintaining democratic institutions. Failure to do so …

Accounting For Mysteries: Narratives Of Intuition And Empiricism In The Victorian Novel, Brooke Taylor

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

This dissertation explores the tensions between an empirical epistemology and an intuitive method of knowing the world as depicted in popular Victorian novels. These narratives attempt to assimilate alternate modes of understanding; however, the uneasiness of the relationship between empiricism and intuition speaks to larger cultural tensions about the possibility of reconciling fact and feeling in the mid- to late-nineteenth century. I argue that intuitive and imaginative modes of cognition are continually privileged in novels that explicitly claim to adhere to empirical forms of knowledge. As I examine the work of Charles Dickens, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Wilkie Collins, and George …

Role Of Fibroblast Growth Factor Signaling In Epicardial Development And Function, Mónica Vega-Hernández

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

In this thesis I examined the function of Fibroblast Growth Factor: FGF) signaling in epicardial cells. Epicardial cells serve as the outer layer of the heart and as a signaling center for the growing myocardium. In addition, during development, epicardial cells differentiate into vascular smooth muscle cells: vsmc) and interstitial fibroblasts. Epicardial cells undergo an epicardial to mesenchymal transition: EMT) to give rise to these various cell types, which are termed epicardial derived cells: EPDCs). Epicardial-derived vsmc are an essential component of the arterial network in the myocardium, and the interstitial fibroblasts become part of the fibrous skeleton of the …

The Small Animals Of Maasai Settlements: Ethnoarchaeological Investigations Of The Commensalism Model, Lior Weissbrod

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

This research was designed to test Tchernov's model of commensalism and the idea that remains of commensal species that today coexist with humans in settlement environments could be used to detect early sedentism in the archaeological record. The validity of the model has been questioned due to the lack of empirical knowledge on commensalism in a wide range of settlement environments including sedentary and more mobile ones. This study examined the commensalism model by focusing on seasonally occupied settlements of Maasai pastoralists in East Africa. Methods from ecology, ethnography, and archaeology were used to document the impact of Maasai settlements …

The Legal Ecology Of Resistance: The Role Of Antibiotic Resistance In Pharmaceutical Innovation, Kevin Outterson

Cardozo Law Review

Antibiotic effectiveness is a common pool resource that can be prematurely depleted through resistance. Some experts warn that we may face a global ecological collapse in antibiotic effectiveness.

Conventional wisdom argues for more intellectual property rights to speed the creation of new antibiotics. Recent theoretical literature suggests that conservation-based approaches may yield superior results. This Article describes a novel typology for organizing these emerging theories and provides an early empirical test of these models using proprietary data on the sales of vancomycin, an important hospital antibiotic for the last three decades.

The results challenge the assumptions in several models and …

Fcs Analysis Of Pore Formation By The Human Protein Bax In Lipid Membranes, Olena Ivashyna

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Bax is a pro-apoptotic member of the BCL-2 protein family and its paramount function during apoptosis is to form pores in the mitochondrial outer membrane: MOM). In a simplified apoptosis model, upon apoptotic stimulation, Bax is activated via an unresolved mechanism, translocates to the MOM, where it changes conformation, inserts into the membrane as a monomer, and finally undergoes in-membrane oligomerization to form a pore. Once the Bax pore is formed, cytochrome c and other mitochondria-resident proteins escape into the cytoplasm where they activate the cascade of caspases, which dismantle the cell. To date, the structure of the inactive cytoplasmic …

The Role Of Mda5 And Tlr3 In Response To Dsrna And Viral Infection, Stephen Mccartney

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The innate immune system consists of a number of genetically encoded receptors that detect the products of viral replication and initiate signaling cascades leading to activation of the antiviral response. During the course of infection, many viruses produce dsRNA that can be recognized by two major arms of the innate immune system: the toll-like receptors: TLR) and the Rig-I-like receptors: RLR). Among the TLRs, TLR3 binds dsRNA within the endosomal compartment and initiates signaling through its downstream adapter TRIF. Melanoma differentiation-induced gene 5: MDA5) is a member of the RLR family that recognizes dsRNA within the cytosolic compartment and signals …

An Examination Of Oxysterol Effects On Membrane Bilayers Using Molecular Dynamics Simulations, Brett Olsen

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

My thesis work focuses on understanding the role of biological membranes in cellular processes. I am particularly interested in how small molecules perturb membrane structure and regulate membrane function. Membranes are primarily responsible for segregating different compartments of biological cells from each other. However, they have other roles as well, including influencing signal transduction in the cell, both through associated membrane proteins and directly through alterations in membrane organization. In order to understand how small molecules change membranes, I use molecular dynamics simulations of small simplified membranes to examine, at an atomic-level detail, how the addition of small molecules to …

Regulation Of Peripheral Nerve Regeneration By The Mtor Pathway, Namiko Abe

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

While neurons in the central nervous system: CNS) have limited capacity for regrowth after damage, neurons in the peripheral nervous system: PNS) have a robust ability to regenerate their axons following injury. Successful regeneration depends upon both extrinsic cues in the environment and the activation of intrinsic mechanisms to promote regrowth. A number of inhibitory molecules in the CNS environment that prevent axonal regrowth have been identified, but less is known regarding the signaling mechanisms that regulate regenerative ability in PNS neurons. Here, we explored multiple components of injury signaling in the PNS, including the retrograde transport of local axonal …

A Geometric Approach For Deciphering Protein Structure From Cryo-Em Volumes, Sasakthi Abeysinghe

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Electron Cryo-Microscopy or cryo-EM is an area that has received much attention in the recent past. Compared to the traditional methods of X-Ray Crystallography and NMR Spectroscopy, cryo-EM can be used to image much larger complexes, in many different conformations, and under a wide range of biochemical conditions. This is because it does not require the complex to be crystallisable. However, cryo-EM reconstructions are limited to intermediate resolutions, with the state-of-the-art being 3.6A, where secondary structure elements can be visually identified but not individual amino acid residues. This lack of atomic level resolution creates new computational challenges for protein structure …

Studies Toward The Synthesis Of Lomaiviticins A And B And Englerin A, Srinivas Achanta

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Part I: Studies toward the central core of lomaiviticins A and B Lomaiviticins A and B are novel C2-symmetric dimeric molecules with profound cytotoxic activity. The most challenging feature of these molecules is the densely functionalized central core. Despite the effort by several research groups, the total synthesis of lomaiviticins has not been reported so far. We envisioned the synthesis of the lomaiviticin core by an unprecedented Diels-Alder dimerization of ortho-quinols and masked ortho-benzoquinones, followed by the fragmentation of the extra carbon-carbon bond. This chapter describes the stereoselective elaboration of the ortho-quinol and masked ortho-benzoquinone dimers to the fragmentation precursors …

Physics Of Ultrasonic Wave Propagation In Bone And Heart Characterized Using Bayesian Parameter Estimation, Christian Anderson

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

This Dissertation explores the physics underlying the propagation of ultrasonic waves in bone and in heart tissue through the use of Bayesian probability theory. Quantitative ultrasound is a noninvasive modality used for clinical detection, characterization, and evaluation of bone quality and cardiovascular disease. Approaches that extend the state of knowledge of the physics underpinning the interaction of ultrasound with inherently inhomogeneous and isotropic tissue have the potential to enhance its clinical utility. Simulations of fast and slow compressional wave propagation in cancellous bone were carried out to demonstrate the plausibility of a proposed explanation for the widely reported anomalous negative …