Digital Commons Network^™

Titer-Plate Formatted Continuous Flow Thermal Reactors: Design And Performance Of A Nanoliter Reactor, Pin Chuan Chen, Daniel S. Park, Byoung Hee You, Namwon Kim, Taehyun Park, Steven A. Soper, Dimitris E. Nikitopoulos, Michael C. Murphy

Faculty Publications

Arrays of continuous flow thermal reactors were designed, configured, and fabricated in a 96-device (12 × 8) titer-plate format with overall dimensions of 120 mm × 96 mm, with each reactor confined to a 8 mm × 8 mm footprint. To demonstrate the potential, individual 20-cycle (740 nl) and 25-cycle (990 nl) reactors were used to perform the continuous flow polymerase chain reaction (CFPCR) for amplification of DNA fragments of different lengths. Since thermal isolation of the required temperature zones was essential for optimal biochemical reactions, three finite element models, executed with ANSYS (v. 11.0, Canonsburg, PA), were used to …

An Adaptive Grid-Based All Hexahedral Meshing Algorithm Based On 2-Refinement, Jared D. Edgel

Theses and Dissertations

Adaptive all-hexahedral meshing algorithms have many desirable features. These algorithms provide a mesh that is efficient for analysis by providing a high element density in specific locations, such as areas of high stress gradient or high curvature and reduced mesh density in other areas of less importance. In addition, inside-out hexahedral grid based schemes, using Cartesian structured grids for the base mesh, have shown great promise in accommodating automatic all-hexahedral algorithms. In these algorithms mesh refinement is generally used to capture geometric features. Unfortunately, most adaptive mesh generation algorithms employ a 3-refinement method. This method, although easy to employ, provides …

Development Of Pyrf-Based Genetic System For Targeted Gene Deletion In Clostridium Thermocellum And Creation Of A Pta Mutant, Shital A. Tripathi, Daniel G. Olson, D. Aaron Argyros, Bethany B. Miller, Trisha F. Barrett, Daniel M. Murphy, Jesse D. Mccool, Anne K. Warner, Vineet B. Rajgarhia, Lee R. Lynd, David A. Hogsett, Nicky C. Caiazza

Dartmouth Scholarship

We report development of a genetic system for making targeted gene knockouts in Clostridium thermocellum, a thermophilic anaerobic bacterium that rapidly solubilizes cellulose. A toxic uracil analog, 5-fluoroorotic acid (5-FOA), was used to select for deletion of the pyrF gene. The ΔpyrF strain is a uracil auxotroph that could be restored to a prototroph via ectopic expression of pyrF from a plasmid, providing a positive genetic selection. Furthermore, 5-FOA was used to select against plasmid-expressed pyrF, creating a negative selection for plasmid loss. This technology was used to delete a gene involved in organic acid production, namely pta, which encodes …

Variation In Sound Production Of The Blue Catfish, Ictalurus Furcatus., Zachary Ghahramani

Theses and Dissertations

The blue catfish, Ictalurus furcatus, is an invasive species introduced to Virginia in 1974 and is the largest catfish in the United States. Like other Ictalurids, they are capable of producing disturbance calls via stridulation of the pectoral spine. These sounds can be made in air and water, and catfish can be preyed upon by both aerial and underwater predators. I characterized these putative distress calls by recording them in air and in the fish’s natural habitat. Sounds exhibited a wide variation in acoustic parameters relative to fish ontogeny: larger fish produced higher amplitude sounds with lower frequency bands. Sweep …

Effect Of Ph On The Transcriptional Profile Of Porphyromonas Gingivalis W83, Nathan Maietta

Theses and Dissertations

Porphyromonas gingivalis, a gram-negative, anaerobic bacterium, is widely recognized as a causative agent for periodontal disease. Despite sequencing of the complete genome, no research exists examining gene regulation response in P. gingivalis to shifts in pH. Previous studies have shown that P. gingivalis is capable of surviving in the variety of micro- environmental niches found within the oral cavity, including basic and acidic pH conditions. However, the underlying mechanisms of this survival are not well understood. This study examined P. gingivalis by comparing bacteria shocked at three acidic to neutral pH conditions (5.5, 6.5 and 7.0) to bacteria vii shocked …

Structural Measurements For Enhanced Mav Flight, John R. Singler, Gregg Abate, Benjamin T. Dickinson

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Our sense of touch allows us to feel the forces in our limbs when we walk, swim, or hold our arms out the window of a moving car. We anticipate this sense is key in the locomotion of natural flyers. Inspired by the sense of touch, the overall goal of this research is to develop techniques for the estimation of aerodynamic loads from structural measurements for flight control applications. We submit a general algorithm for the direct estimation of distributed steady loads over bodies from embedded noisy deformation-based measurements. The estimation algorithm is applied to a linearly elastic membrane test …

Cinderella Of Modern Genetics

News Releases

No abstract provided.

Emotional Response Patterns And Emotional Numbing In Adult Female Victims Of Sexual Assault With Ptsd, Tristan A. Robinson

Dissertations

DSM symptoms of emotional numbing appear to have a major impact on the course and outcome of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), yet the construct definition of emotional numbing itself has not been clearly established. Two opposing conceptualizations of this construct have been proposed in the traumatic stress literature. One holds numbing to be a form of non-effortful emotional avoidance, akin to dissociation, that results in diminished responsiveness to emotional stimuli in general (Foa, Zinbarg, & Rothbaum, 1992; Foa & Hearst-Ikeda, 1996). The other suggests that numbing entails a deficit in responsiveness to positive emotional stimuli but not to negative emotional …

Sleep, Bmi, And Work-Family Conflict: A Gender Comparison Of U.S. Workers, Blake Lee Jones

Theses and Dissertations

This study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine how sleep problems, Body Mass Index (BMI), and poverty were related to several work, personal, and family variables in a sample of married male and female workers in the United States. The data for this study came from the National Study of the Changing Workforce (NSCW) 2008. This large, nationally representative dataset provided a resource for examining potential gender differences in variables that have been linked to sleep problems and increases in BMI, as well as how each of these variables relate to several work, personal, and family life outcomes, including …

The Daily Egyptian, August 05. 2010, Daily Egyptian Staff

August 2010

No abstract provided.

Interview With Nicole Stein, Umpqua Bank, 2010 (Audio), Nicole Stein

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Nicole Stein by Shivon Van Allen at SW Portland, Oregon on August 5th, 2010.

The interview index is available for download.

The Weekly Challenger, August 5, 2010, The Weekly Challenger, Et Al

Weekly Challenger Newspaper Collection

The August 5, 2010, issue of The Weekly Challenger.

Investigation Of Patient Perception Of Hospital Noise And Sound Level Measurements: Before, During, And After Renovations Of A Hospital Wing, Cassandra H. Wiese

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Acoustic conditions in hospitals have been shown to influence a patient’s physical and psychological health. Noise levels in an Omaha, Nebraska, hospital were measured and compared between various times: before, during, and after renovations of a hospital wing. The renovations included cosmetic changes and the installation of new in-room patient audio-visual systems. Sound pressure levels were logged every 10-seconds over a four-day period in three different locations: at the nurses' station, in the hallway, and in a nearby patient’s room. The resulting data were analyzed in terms of the hourly A-weighted equivalent sound pressure levels (��_��eq) as …

Harnessing The Effect Of Adoptively Transferred Tumor-Reactive T Cells On Endogenous (Host-Derived) Antitumor Immunity, Yolanda Nesbeth, Jose R. Conejo-Garcia

Dartmouth Scholarship

Adoptive T cell transfer therapy, the ex vivo activation, expansion, and subsequent administration of tumor-reactive T cells, is already the most effective therapy against certain types of cancer. However, recent evidence in animal models and clinical trials suggests that host conditioning interventions tailored for some of the most aggressive and frequent epithelial cancers will be needed to maximize the benefit of this approach. Similarly, the subsets, stage of differentiation, and ex vivo expansion procedure of tumor-reactive T cells to be adoptively transferred influence their in vivo effectiveness and may need to be adapted for different types of cancer and host …

Cannabinoid Receptors In The 3d Reconstructed Mouse Brain: Function And Regulation, Peter Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations

CB1 receptors (CB1R) mediate the psychoactive and therapeutic effects of cannabinoids including ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive constituent in marijuana. However, therapeutic use is limited by side effects and tolerance and dependence with chronic administration. Tolerance to cannabinoid-mediated effects is associated with CB1R adaptations, including desensitization (receptor-G-protein uncoupling) and downregulation (receptor degradation). The objectives of this thesis are to investigate the regional-specificity in CB1R function and regulation. Previous studies have investigated CB1Rs in a subset of regions involved in cannabinoid effects, but an inclusive regional comparison of the relative efficacies of different classes of cannabinoids to activate G-proteins has not …

Gender Inequality And Terrorism: An Analysis Of The Effects Of Socioeconomic Gender Inequality On Terrorism, Jennifer Dumas

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Studies of terrorism have explored a number of factors thought to drive the phenomenon. Authors often tie socioeconomic development to reducing terrorism. Among structural explanations of terrorism, however, authors generally neglect the effect of gender inequality, though studies show that gender inequality increases the risk of international and civil conflict. Therefore I explore the impact of gender inequality in important socioeconomic issues on terrorism for 143 countries from 1998-2009. I argue that socioeconomic gender inequality reflects poor state capacity, resulting in grievances that contribute to domestic non-suicide and suicide terrorism. I study gender inequality in the areas of education, labor …

"The Conceit Of This Inconstant Stay": Shakespeare's Philosophical Conquest Of Time Through Personification, Triche Roberson

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the procreation sonnets and those numerous sonnets that promise immortality through verse for Shakespeare's beloved young man, the poet personifies time as an agent of relentlessly destructive change. Yet Shakespeare's approach to the personification of time, as well as his reactions to time, changes over the course of the sequence. He transforms his fear of and obsession with time as a destroyer typical of most sonnets to an attitude of mastery over the once ominous force. The act of contemplating time's power by personification provides the speaker with a deeper awareness of time, love, and mutability that allows him …

Use Of Environmental Variables To Infer Gene Flow And Population Structure In The Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus Polyphemus) And Predict The Seroprevalence Of An Emerging Infectious Disease, Rachel Wallace Clostio

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Understanding worldwide declines in reptiles due to factors such as habitat loss and emerging infectious disease has become an increasingly important focus in conservation biology. Here, I use novel approaches from the field of landscape genetics to combine spatial genetic data with landscape data at both regional and local spatial scales to explore natural and anthropogenic landscape features that shape population structure and gene flow in a federally threatened reptile, Gopherus polyphemus. I also utilize approaches from the field of spatial epidemiology to examine the extent to which environmental variables can be used to predict the seroprevalence of an associated …

Petrology And Geochemical Evolution Of The East Hill Suite Of The Mont Saint-Hilaire Alkaline Plutonic Complex, Peter Tice

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The Mont Saint-Hilaire alkaline complex, Québec, is a Cretaceous rift-related intrusion comprising two gabbroic suites and the East Hill suite, an assemblage of several distinct nepheline syenites and evolved syenitic rocks. Whole-rock analysis of the East Hill suite reveals two fractionation trends, one which is described by the syenitic lithologies and one by the evolved syenites and syenoids. A lamprophyric unit stands on its own, geochemically, consistent with typical lamprophyre petrogenesis. Whole-rock geochemistry of the East Hill suite shows moderate silica content but highly alkaline rocks, enriched in Mn, Zn, Zr, Y, and Ce. Chlorine and sulfur are important and …

Hell On Earth: A Modern Day Inferno In Cormac Mccarthy's The Road, Emily Lane

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Cormac McCarthy's The Road and Dante's the Inferno contain textual and thematic comparisons. While the Inferno creates a world that exhibits the worst fears of the medieval Catholic subconscious of Dante's time, The Road paints a world of the darkest fears of the current American subconscious. Both texts reflect a critical dystopia that speculates on human spirituality and offers a critique of society through a tour of sin and suffering in a desolate setting.

In Uncharted Waters, Margaret Day

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Interaction Of Pain And Morphine On Analgesia, Locomotion, And Cognitive Functioning, Brandon Baiamonte

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Opioid medications are medicine's best weapon against severe intractable pain, but prolonged use of these medications can be complicated by side effects like tolerance and mental clouding which, themselves, can be disabling. The present study examined the independent and combined effects of inflammatory pain and opioid medication on spatial memory for a well learned task in Sprague-Dawley rats. The Hargreaves method was used to verify the pain state of the animals after complete Freund's adjuvant injection and morphine treatment. Whereas pain had little effect on spatial memory, morphine had profound detrimental effects that persisted beyond the analgesic effectiveness of the …

Indicators For Minimizing Energy Consumption And Ghg Emissions At Wastewater Treatment Facilities, Naveen Kumar Devata

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Wastewater treatment facilities around the world use significant amount of energy which contributes to large quantities of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. According to the U.S.EPA, nearly 3% of the USA's energy is used to treat wastewater. This consumption is increasing at faster rates with increase in population and regulations. Wastewater facilities use large number of pumps in their transfer stations, treatment plants, and effluent pump stations. All these pumps consume considerable amounts of energy. This study presents a preliminary energy inspection of two facilities from Louisiana. This audit provides an inventory of the energy consumed for various activities like pumping, …

Toward A Theory Of Female Subjectivity, Dimitra Cupo

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Poststructuralist accounts of gender provide a useful theoretical space to unpack the workings of power and domination as they structure the organization of our language, representations, concepts, and discourse in general. One significant flaw of this theory is a failure to adequately account for the social realm of embodied individuals, social interactions, and interpretive moments. In this paper, I offer conventional femininity as a particular type of gendered habitus that highlights this theoretical flaw as it necessarily links what is promising and useful about poststructuralist accounts of gender with the physical, social, interactive, and interpretive everyday lives of women.

A Strategy Utilizing Simple Clinical And Laboratory Tests To Identify Fallers Among Healthy Independently-Living Older Persons, Abigail M. Bedient

Open Access Dissertations

Background and Purpose: Falls are the leading cause of accidental death among older adults. Reducing falls risk is one of the major safety concerns for older persons. More than one-third of people 65 years and older will experience one or more falls per year and nearly half of the people over 80 years of age will fall at least once each year. A key initial step in reducing falls is identifying those persons at highest risk so that they can be assessed and prescribed appropriate interventions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the capacity of a number …

Oil And Gas Impacts In The Big Cypress Ecosystem: An Analysis Of Impacts Associated With Proposed Activities In The Nobles Grade Area, William Conner, Stephen E. Davis Iii, Kirsten N. Hines, John J. Cox, Dale E. Gawlik, Jerome A. Jackson, James O. Jones, Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm, Jennifer H. Richards

Publications

No abstract provided.

Equilibrium Studies For The Removal Of Basic Dye By Sunflower Seed Husk (Helianthus Annuus), Siew-Teng Ong, Pei-Sin Keng, Siew-Ling Lee, Ming-How Leong, Yung-Tse Hung

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The sorption characteristics of sunflower (Helianthus annuus) seed husk (SSH) to remove Methylene Blue (MB) from aqueous solution under batch conditions have been investigated. Sorption of MB was found to be pH, concentration and agitation dependent. The kinetics of sorption was rapid with 80% sorption taking place within the first 60 min regardless of its initial concentration. The fast attainment of equilibrium implying the biosorbent could be suitable for continuous flow system. Using the pseudosecond order kinetics model, the predictive model for MB sorbed at time t (qt) with the initial concentration of (Co) is given by qt = Cot/[0.0607Co …

High Schoolers Launch Unique Balloon Experiment During Unh Summer Institute, David Sims

Media Relations

No abstract provided.

The Daily Egyptian, August 04, 2010, Daily Egyptian Staff

August 2010

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Cooperation In Pre-Tumor Progression: A Cellular Population Dynamics Model, Konstantin Krepkin

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Competition among cells has long been recognized as an important part of the evolutionary process of tissue leading up to the development of cancer. However, the role of cellular cooperation in cancer has been largely ignored. In this work, we investigated the role of cooperation in early tumor progression using a mathematical and agent-based modeling approach. We hoped to learn whether cooperation between cells in spatially organized tissue has a significant role in hastening tumor development, and to uncover general principles governing such cooperation. We focused on the early stages of tumor development given the critical importance of this time …