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2011

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The Effect Of Untreated And Enzyme-Treated Commercial Dairy Powders On The Growth And Adhesion Of Streptococcus Mutans, Rachel Halpin, D.B. Brady, E.D. O’Riordan, M. O’Sullivan Jan 2011

The Effect Of Untreated And Enzyme-Treated Commercial Dairy Powders On The Growth And Adhesion Of Streptococcus Mutans, Rachel Halpin, D.B. Brady, E.D. O’Riordan, M. O’Sullivan

Articles

Dental caries is a common bacterial infection, but the progression of this disease can be delayed by preventing initial attachment of cariogenic bacteria such as Streptococcus mutans to tooth surfaces. This study firstly compares the effect of untreated (UT) and enzyme-treated (ET) dairy powders on the adherence of S. mutans to hydroxylapatite (HA), an analogue of tooth enamel. A fluorescence-based method was used to quantify adherence of S. mutans to HA both in the presence (S-HA) and absence (PBS-HA) of saliva. Secondly, binding of proteins present in the test materials to HA was quantified using bicinchonic acid assays and SDS-PAGE. …

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Efficacy Of Biocides Used In The Modern Food Industry To Control Salmonella Enterica, And Links Between Biocide Tolerance And Resistance To Clinically Relevant Antimicrobial Compounds, Orla Condell, Carol Iversen, Shane Cooney, Karen Power, Ciara Walsh, Catherine Burgess, Seamus Fanning Jan 2011

Efficacy Of Biocides Used In The Modern Food Industry To Control Salmonella Enterica, And Links Between Biocide Tolerance And Resistance To Clinically Relevant Antimicrobial Compounds, Orla Condell, Carol Iversen, Shane Cooney, Karen Power, Ciara Walsh, Catherine Burgess, Seamus Fanning

Articles

Biocides play an essential role in limiting the spread of infectious disease. The food industry is dependent on these agents, and their increasing use is a matter for concern. Specifically, the emergence of bacteria demonstrating increased tolerance to biocides, coupled with the potential for the development of a phenotype of cross-resistance to clinically important antimicrobial compounds, needs to be assessed. In this study, we investigated the tolerance of a collection of susceptible and multidrug-resistant (MDR) Salmonella enterica strains to a panel of seven commercially available food-grade biocide formulations. We explored their abilities to adapt to these formulations and their active …

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Comparison Of The Anticoagulant Response Of A Novel Fluorogenic Anti-Fxa Assay Wth Two Commercial Anti-Fxa Chromogenic Assays, Leanne F. Harris, Aoife O'Brien, Vanessa Castro-Lopez, James S. O'Donnell, Anthony J. Killard Jan 2011

Comparison Of The Anticoagulant Response Of A Novel Fluorogenic Anti-Fxa Assay Wth Two Commercial Anti-Fxa Chromogenic Assays, Leanne F. Harris, Aoife O'Brien, Vanessa Castro-Lopez, James S. O'Donnell, Anthony J. Killard

Articles

Introduction: Fast and accurate monitoring is crucial in the successful regulation of coagulation therapy. For the treatment of venous thromboembolism, both unfractionated heparin (UFH) and low molecular weight heparins (LMWH) are commonly administered. The chromogenic anti-factor Xa (FXa) assay is currently considered the ‘gold standard’ assay for monitoring LMWH. However different commercial chromogenic methods often differ when tested with the same samples. Fluorogenic anti-FXa assays have the potential to offer greater benefits over chromogenic assays in terms of greater specificity, sensitivity and they are not so influenced by sample opacity or turbidity. Materials and Methods: Commercial plasmas were spiked with …

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Examination Of The Diatom-Bound Nitrogen Isotope Proxy: Nitrate Consumption In The Polar Ocean, Matthew G. S. Horn Jan 2011

Examination Of The Diatom-Bound Nitrogen Isotope Proxy: Nitrate Consumption In The Polar Ocean, Matthew G. S. Horn

Open Access Dissertations

The ratio of stable nitrogen isotopes (δ15N) is used to infer nitrogen utilization in nutrient replete surface waters through time. Typically, the isotopic composition of bulk sedimentary nitrogen (δ15Nbulk) is measured. However the isotopic composition of this fraction is known to shift due to alteration during sinking and early burial. More recently, the nitrogen bound within silica microfossils (δ15NDB) has been targeted. This fraction is hypothesized to be protected from alteration during sinking and early burial by the biominerals encapsulating it, thus preserving the surface nitrate utilization signal through time. …

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What Comes After Gender?, Robert S. Chang Jan 2011

What Comes After Gender?, Robert S. Chang

Faculty Articles

A conference paper about postracialism and the end of gender as a social category in the U.S. as of June 2011 is presented. It discusses the management of diversity and the multiplicity of gender formations, as well as gender's role in social identity and the incorporation of masculine and feminine personal traits.

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A.W.A.R.E. The Assessment Of Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Resource Manual For Parents With Young Children (Ages 0-3 Years), Tiffany Lin Jan 2011

A.W.A.R.E. The Assessment Of Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Resource Manual For Parents With Young Children (Ages 0-3 Years), Tiffany Lin

Theses and Dissertations

Autism spectrum disorder is the most common pervasive developmental disorder affecting young children. It results in significant impairments in the acquisition of language, social, and adaptive behaviors. In recent years, participation in intensive early intervention has resulted in significant improvements in communication skills and a more positive prognosis. While the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder, such as impaired social reciprocal interactions, can be identified in the first months of a child's life, parents often encounter difficulty in obtaining appropriate diagnostic assessments. Delays in the assessment process result in a later involvement in critical early intervention and a poorer outcome. To …

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Evaluation Of The Youth Development Project: A School And Community Based Intervention Program For At-Risk Youth, Mike Sherman Jan 2011

Evaluation Of The Youth Development Project: A School And Community Based Intervention Program For At-Risk Youth, Mike Sherman

Theses and Dissertations

Attempts to meet the mental health needs of at-risk youth have led to the development of numerous prevention, intervention, and diversion programs. This study is the first to utilize statistical analyses to assess the treatment efficacy of the Saint John's Child and Family Development Center's Youth Development Project (CFDC-YDP), a school- and community-based treatment program for at-risk youth. The study involved analysis of data that were collected from 87 culturally diverse at-risk youth, ranging in age from 11-19 years old, who were treated by the Youth Development Project program within John Adams Middle School, Lincoln Middle School, Olympic Continuation High …

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Challenges Of Neuropsychological Testing With Asian American Adults: A Critical Review Of The Literature, Heejin Kim Jan 2011

Challenges Of Neuropsychological Testing With Asian American Adults: A Critical Review Of The Literature, Heejin Kim

Theses and Dissertations

The present study is a critical analysis of literature surrounding the challenges faced during neuropsychological testing with Asian American adults. This dissertation will provide a comprehensive overview and critically analyze what is known with regards to neuropsychological assessment of Asian individuals, challenges that psychologists face in conducting culturally competent neuropsychological assessment of this population, and recommendations for conducting such assessments. Current literature reveals how confounds such as culture, acculturation, language, and the inappropriate use of tests and normative data can impact scores and subsequent treatment recommendations. Given these confounds, recommendations will be made regarding the neuropsychological test selection, test administration, …

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Acceptance Promoting And Hindering Interactions In Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy, Laura D. Wiedeman Jan 2011

Acceptance Promoting And Hindering Interactions In Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy, Laura D. Wiedeman

Theses and Dissertations

Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT; Jacobson & Christensen, 1998) is an evidence-based couple therapy that facilitates the development of emotional acceptance to improve relational satisfaction. IBCT's efficacy has been demonstrated up to five years post-therapy (Christensen, Atkins, Baucom, & Yi, 2010), yet less is known about what couples actually do in therapy that alleviates distress. The current study expands upon previous investigations of the relationship between individual change processes and treatment outcome in IBCT in two main ways: first, through utilizing a dyadic lens (rather than an individual emphasis), and second, through a qualitative, discovery-oriented methodology that focuses on the …

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Enhancing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Childhood Anxiety Disorders: A Parent Manual, Anna L. Lock Jan 2011

Enhancing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Childhood Anxiety Disorders: A Parent Manual, Anna L. Lock

Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychiatric disorders affecting children and adolescents. In the past several decades, great advances have been made in the treatment of these disorders. While many psychopharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatments exist, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is currently the treatment approach with the most empirical support. Based on a large evidence-base, several CBT manuals have been developed for the treatment of anxiety disorders in children. While research on incorporating parents into these treatments is mixed, parent involvement is widely recommended in these treatments as well as in unmanualized CBT treatment. Although some self-help books and manual-specific …

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A Systemic Perspective Of Stress In Emergency Medical Personnel: Emergency Medical Technicians And Firefighters, Rob W. Wennerberg Jan 2011

A Systemic Perspective Of Stress In Emergency Medical Personnel: Emergency Medical Technicians And Firefighters, Rob W. Wennerberg

Theses and Dissertations

Emergency medical personnel (firefighters and ambulance personnel) have higher levels of lifetime PTSD symptoms than the general population. Historically this has been attributed to the number of exposures to traumatic incidents, called the dose effect, but recent literature has suggested that there is a complex web of variables that affect an individual's experience of trauma. Through an interpretive review of the literature this dissertation takes the concepts supported by empirical research and organizes them into an integrated theoretical structure. With ecological psychology at the core, the integration uses Living Systems theory as a structure with which to organize and explore …

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Positive Emotions: An Informational Workshop, Rebecca M. Kessler Jan 2011

Positive Emotions: An Informational Workshop, Rebecca M. Kessler

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was to design and evaluate an educational intervention focusing on the role of positive emotions in the workplace. An informational workshop was delivered to the full staff of 18 teachers and 2 directors at Circle of Children Preschool in Santa Monica, California, and emphasized positive emotions and their implications in the workplace in an effort to enhance awareness of emotions and inspire increased levels of positive emotions. A sample set of the staff evaluated the workshop and its effectiveness. The sample was surveyed and interviewed for levels of positive emotions prior to the workshop and, …

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Culturally Competent Care In Parkinson's Disease, Melinda Hermanns Jan 2011

Culturally Competent Care In Parkinson's Disease, Melinda Hermanns

Nursing Faculty Publications and Presentations

Findings from a qualitative ethnographic study that examined the experiences of a group of persons with Parkinson disease are presented in this article. Culturally competent care for persons who share a common illness, such as Parkinson disease, is facilitated when the findings are incorporated into the Clinically Relevant Continuum Model. Use of this model allows providers to evaluate and use appropriate published evidence in addition to provider expertise and patient preferences and values.

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Simulation And Emulation Of Massively Parallel Processor For Solving Constraint Satisfaction Problems Based On Oracles, Gunavant Dinkar Chaudhari Jan 2011

Simulation And Emulation Of Massively Parallel Processor For Solving Constraint Satisfaction Problems Based On Oracles, Gunavant Dinkar Chaudhari

Dissertations and Theses

Most part of my thesis is devoted to efficient automated logic synthesis of oracle processors. These Oracle Processors are of interest to several modern technologies, including Scheduling and Allocation, Image Processing and Robot Vision, Computer Aided Design, Games and Puzzles, and Cellular Automata, but so far the most important practical application is to build logic circuits to solve various practical Constraint Satisfaction Problems in Intelligent Robotics. For instance, robot path planning can be reduced to Satisfiability. In short, an oracle is a circuit that has some proposition of solution on the inputs and answers yes/no to this proposition. In other …

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Pedagogical Catalysts Of Civic Competence: The Development Of A Critical Epistemological Model For Community-Based Learning, Stephanie Taylor Stokamer Jan 2011

Pedagogical Catalysts Of Civic Competence: The Development Of A Critical Epistemological Model For Community-Based Learning, Stephanie Taylor Stokamer

Dissertations and Theses

Civic competence is critical to the successful functioning of pluralistic democracies. Developing the knowledge, skills, and motivations for effective democratic participation is a national and global imperative that many higher education institutions have embraced through the teaching strategies of community-based learning and service-learning. Yet, scant research literature has focused on the relationship between pedagogical approaches and civic competence outcomes. This five-year longitudinal study of 11,000 students in 700 senior-level capstone courses at an urban research university empirically tested a new theoretically constructed model of civic competence development in order to identify epistemological and pedagogical elements that enhance civic competence. Eight …

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Propagule Pressure And Disturbance Drive The Spread Of An Invasive Grass, Brachypodium Sylvaticum, Laura Alayna Vician Taylor Jan 2011

Propagule Pressure And Disturbance Drive The Spread Of An Invasive Grass, Brachypodium Sylvaticum, Laura Alayna Vician Taylor

Dissertations and Theses

The invasibility, or susceptibility of an ecosystem to biological invasion is influenced by changes in biotic and abiotic resistance often due to shifts in disturbance regime. The magnitude of invasive propagule pressure interacts with an ecosystem's invasibility to determine the extent of a biological invasion. I examined how propagule pressure, forest community structure and disturbance interact to influence the invasibility of temperate Pacific Northwest forests by the newly-invasive grass, Brachypodium sylvaticum. My goal was to identify which of these factors is most instrumental in enabling the shift from establishment to population growth in B. sylvaticum at the edge of …

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Feedbacks Of Methane And Nitrous Oxide Emissions From Rice Agriculture, Alec Sithole Jan 2011

Feedbacks Of Methane And Nitrous Oxide Emissions From Rice Agriculture, Alec Sithole

Dissertations and Theses

The effect of global warming on methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions from agriculture was investigated and simulated from a soil warming experiment. Experiments were designed and installed in a temperature controlled greenhouse. The relationships between elevated temperatures and CH₄ and N₂O emissions were determined and calculated as the Q₁₀s of production, emission and oxidation. A study of the populations of methanogens and methanotrophs at a range of soil temperatures was performed based on soil molecular DNA analysis. This study showed that global warming would increase CH₄ emissions from rice agriculture and that the resultant emissions will be potentially …

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Black/White Health Disparities In The U.S. The Effect Of Education Over The Life-Course, Elizabeth Melissa Withers Jan 2011

Black/White Health Disparities In The U.S. The Effect Of Education Over The Life-Course, Elizabeth Melissa Withers

Dissertations and Theses

In the United States there exists a clear and disconcerting racial disparity in the distribution of good health, which can be seen in differential levels of morbidity and mortality affecting blacks and whites. Previous research has examined the role of SES in shaping racial health disparities and recent studies have looked specifically at the effect of education on health to explain the racial disparity in health. Higher levels of education are robustly associated with good overall health for both blacks and whites and this association has been examined over the life-course. This research explores racial differences in the effect of …

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Gendering The Body: Exploring The Construction Of The Sexually Dimorphic Body, Sarah Kaye Lewis Jan 2011

Gendering The Body: Exploring The Construction Of The Sexually Dimorphic Body, Sarah Kaye Lewis

Dissertations and Theses

Gender is a pervasive and regulating social institution that is operationalized in mainstream Western culture as a natural extension of the ontological difference perceived to exist between the binarily sexed bodies of male and female. Feminist theory has widely established, however, that gender is done - i.e., gender is not a naturally occurring phenomenon, but is an ongoing construction engaged and replicated by individual actors and which, while compulsory, is nevertheless optional. Within this canon is a small number of feminist theorists, notably Judith Lorber, Judith Bulter, and Nancy Tuana, who argue that the constructive manifestations of gender performativity (that …

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The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks: How A Best-Seller Diffused Online, Melissa Ann Shavlik Jan 2011

The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks: How A Best-Seller Diffused Online, Melissa Ann Shavlik

Dissertations and Theses

This study describes how information spread on the internet by examining diffusion, framing and source use surrounding coverage of the 2010 best-selling book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The book presented a rare opportunity to view how a story about science, discovery and race became a best-seller within weeks after its publication. Through a mixed-methods and case study approach, the author examines patterns of coverage using Google Alerts that traced the book's online coverage in the first six months of its release. The author found that online information clustered around several themes with the most prominent describing aspects of …

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An Investigation Of The Relationships Between Violence Exposure, Internalizing And Externalizing Problems, And Adolescent Alcohol Use, Gregory Lloyd Forehand Jan 2011

An Investigation Of The Relationships Between Violence Exposure, Internalizing And Externalizing Problems, And Adolescent Alcohol Use, Gregory Lloyd Forehand

Dissertations and Theses

Adolescent Alcohol Use (AAU) is widespread and potentially harmful to the health of youth. Substantial research and theoretical development suggest that both violence exposure and internalizing and externalizing problems of adolescents are associated with AAU. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the roles of internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescents to determine if the two types of symptoms are differential mediators of the link between violence exposure and AAU for females and males. Using Developmental Systems Theory as a framework, three primary hypotheses were examined: 1) Increased violence exposure at home and in the community are associated …

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Developing And Calibrating The Hydrodynamic And Water Quality Model Ce-Qual-W2 For Banks Lake Washington, Andrew John Mcculloch Jan 2011

Developing And Calibrating The Hydrodynamic And Water Quality Model Ce-Qual-W2 For Banks Lake Washington, Andrew John Mcculloch

Dissertations and Theses

Located in central Washington State, Banks Lake serves as an irrigation storage reservoir for the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project and is home to a diverse fisheries population. The current hydrologic management strategies used for Banks Lake have been chosen to serve two purposes: to adequately store and provide irrigation water for the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project and to maintain a healthy aquatic environment suitable for the growth and habitation of local flora and fauna. Increased needs for irrigation water within arid central Washington poses additional challenges to reservoir managers so that irrigation needs are met without damaging the present aquatic …

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On The Effect Of Topology On Learning And Generalization In Random Automata Networks, Alireza Goudarzi Jan 2011

On The Effect Of Topology On Learning And Generalization In Random Automata Networks, Alireza Goudarzi

Dissertations and Theses

We extend the study of learning and generalization in feed forward Boolean networks to random Boolean networks (RBNs). We explore the relationship between the learning capability and the network topology, the system size, the training sample size, and the complexity of the computational tasks. We show experimentally that there exists a critical connectivity Kc that improves the generalization and adaptation in networks. In addition, we show that in finite size networks, the critical K is a power-law function of the system size N and the fraction of inputs used during the training. We explain why adaptation improves at this critical …

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Hierarchical Temporal Memory Cortical Learning Algorithm For Pattern Recognition On Multi-Core Architectures, Ryan William Price Jan 2011

Hierarchical Temporal Memory Cortical Learning Algorithm For Pattern Recognition On Multi-Core Architectures, Ryan William Price

Dissertations and Theses

Strongly inspired by an understanding of mammalian cortical structure and function, the Hierarchical Temporal Memory Cortical Learning Algorithm (HTM CLA) is a promising new approach to problems of recognition and inference in space and time. Only a subset of the theoretical framework of this algorithm has been studied, but it is already clear that there is a need for more information about the performance of HTM CLA with real data and the associated computational costs. For the work presented here, a complete implementation of Numenta's current algorithm was done in C++. In validating the implementation, first and higher order sequence …

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Emotion Language And Emotion Narratives Of Turkish-English Late Bilinguals, Melike Yücel Koç Jan 2011

Emotion Language And Emotion Narratives Of Turkish-English Late Bilinguals, Melike Yücel Koç

Dissertations and Theses

The primary focus of this research was to investigate the emotion language and emotion narratives of Turkish-English late bilinguals who have been living in the U.S. Previous research has shown that the emotion language and narratives of second language learners and native speakers of English are different. This study focused on late bilinguals who had learnt English in instructed settings in their home country, and came to the U.S. for M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. The study consisted of two parts. In the first part, the elicited personal narratives of Turkish-English late bilinguals in English were compared to those elicited from …

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Microbial Ecology Of Active Marine Hydrothermal Vent Deposits: The Influence Of Geologic Setting On Microbial Communities, Gilberto Eugene Flores Jan 2011

Microbial Ecology Of Active Marine Hydrothermal Vent Deposits: The Influence Of Geologic Setting On Microbial Communities, Gilberto Eugene Flores

Dissertations and Theses

The discovery of deep-sea hydrothermal vents in 1977 revealed an ecosystem supported by chemosynthesis with a rich diversity of invertebrates, Archaea and Bacteria. While the invertebrate vent communities are largely composed of endemic species and exist in different biogeographical provinces, the possible factors influencing the distribution patterns of free-living Archaea and Bacteria are still being explored. In particular, how differences in the geologic setting of vent fields influence microbial communities and populations associated with active vent deposits remains largely unknown. The overall goal of the studies presented in this dissertation was to examine the links between the geologic setting of …

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Faculty Of Color And Scholarship Redefined: Teaching And Learning For Intercultural Competence, Peng Fu Jan 2011

Faculty Of Color And Scholarship Redefined: Teaching And Learning For Intercultural Competence, Peng Fu

Dissertations and Theses

Utilizing Boyer's (1990) four scholarship functions of professorial engagement and Wilber's (1998) four frames of organizational context, this inquiry examined faculty of color's experiences at a primarily White urban research university in their pursuit of facilitating students' intercultural competence. Specifically, through narrative inquiry, the study examined institutional factors associated with faculty of color's ability to integrate an intercultural competence focus in their scholarship of discovery, scholarship of integration, scholarship of engagement, and scholarship of teaching. Results indicate that research participants are strongly committed to the teaching, learning, community engagement, and scholarship of intercultural competence. However, institutional emphasis on the scholarship …

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Transforming The Soul Of Education: Sustainability At The Center Of Teaching And Learning In Secondary Schools, Thomas Eugene Kane Jan 2011

Transforming The Soul Of Education: Sustainability At The Center Of Teaching And Learning In Secondary Schools, Thomas Eugene Kane

Dissertations and Theses

Humanity is facing problems on a scale never before encountered. This dissertation traces the roots of modern culture's destructive relationship to the planet with its habits of over-consumption and exceeding the limits of the planet's ecological systems. Educational institutions are embedded in and replicate an unsustainable culture. As educational leaders, we need to challenge a system that is morally and ecologically bankrupt while providing a path toward sustainability at the center of teaching and learning. Using a narrative scholarship approach and theoretical frameworks drawn from ecological thinking and place-based learning, this dissertation provides models for transforming secondary education. While critiquing …

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3d Interdigitated Electrode Array (Idea) Biosensor For Detection Of Serum Biomarker, Dheeraj Kumar Bhura Jan 2011

3d Interdigitated Electrode Array (Idea) Biosensor For Detection Of Serum Biomarker, Dheeraj Kumar Bhura

Dissertations and Theses

Miniaturization, integration and intelligence are the developing trends for sensor, especially for biosensors. The development of microelectronics technology is a powerful engine to full this objective. It is well known that the microelectronic fabrication process in proven technology for fabrication of integrated circuits. Advances in the field of micro-electronics and micro-mechanical devices combined with medical science have led to the development of numerous analytical devices in monitoring of a wide range of analytes. The unique properties of nanoscale materials offer excellent prospects for interfacing biological recognition events with electronic signal transduction and for designing a new generation of bio-electronic devices …

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Information Processing In Two-Dimensional Cellular Automata, Martin Cenek Jan 2011

Information Processing In Two-Dimensional Cellular Automata, Martin Cenek

Dissertations and Theses

Cellular automata (CA) have been widely used as idealized models of spatially-extended dynamical systems and as models of massively parallel distributed computation devices. Despite their wide range of applications and the fact that CA are capable of universal computation (under particular constraints), the full potential of these models is unrealized to-date. This is for two reasons: (1) the absence of a programming paradigm to control these models to solve a given problem and (2) the lack of understanding of how these models compute a given task. This work addresses the notion of computation in two-dimensional cellular automata. Solutions using a …

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