Digital Commons Network^™

Structural Evolution Of An Intracratonic Rift System; Mississippi Valley Graben, Rough Creek Graben, And Rome Trough Of Kentucky, Usa, John Bibb Hickman Jr.

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

As indicated by drilling and geophysical data, the Mississippi Valley Graben, the Rough Creek Graben, together with the Rome Trough of eastern Kentucky and West Virginia, are fault-bounded graben structures filled with as much as 27,000 feet of Early to Middle Cambrian sediments. Detailed regional mapping of Cambrian and younger strata within and surrounding these structures indicates that they formed contemporaneously. The proximity of these structures suggests they developed within the same regional stress fields and tectonic environments. These three structures are mechanically and kinematically connected, and formed part of a single continent-scale rift system produced during the breakup of …

Studies On Silicon Nmr Characterization And Kinetic Modeling Of The Structural Evolution Of Siloxane-Based Materials And Their Applications In Drug Delivery And Adsorption, Jyotrhirmai Ambati

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation presents studies of the synthetic processes and applications of siloxane-based materials. Kinetic investigations of bridged organoalkoxysilanes that are precursors to organic-inorganic hybrid polysilsesquioxanes are a primary focus. Quick gelation despite extensive cyclization is found during the polymerization of bridged silane precursors except for silanes with certain short bridges. This work is an attempt to characterize and understand some of the distinct features of bridged silanes using experimental characterization, kinetic modeling and simulation. In addition to this, the dissertation shows how the properties of siloxane- materials can be engineered for drug delivery and adsorption.

The phase behavior of polymerizing …

T-Phylloplanin And Cis-Abienol, Two Natural Products From Tobacco Have Broad Spectrum, Anti-Fungal Activities, Brian Christopher King

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Tobacco phylloplanins (T-phylloplanin) are a group of closely-related glycoproteins that are formed and disposed at the interface between the plant aerial surface (the phylloplane) and the atmosphere. They are synthesized in short procumbent trichomes and are secreted to aerial surfaces where they are thought to serve the plant as a first line of defense against fungal pathogens. Here it is shown using in vitro and in planta assays that tobacco and sunflower phylloplanins have broad-spectrum antifungal activities against spores - and also hyphae for two species - of several true fungi. Field tests show that T-phylloplanin reduces diseases caused by …

Synthesis And Energy Applications Of Oriented Metal Oxide Nanoporous Films, Qingliu Wu

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation mainly addresses the synthesis of well-ordered mesoporous titania thin films by dip coating with PEO-PPO-PEO triblock copolymer surfactant template P123. Because P123 is composed of poly(ethylene oxide) [PEO] and poly(propylene oxide) [PPO] blocks, concentrations of ingredients are adjusted to tune the films’ wall thickness, pore size and mesophase. Structural changes are consistent with partitioning of species among PEO blocks, PPO blocks, and the PEO/PPO interface. Titanates localize near PEO and increase wall thickness (by 5 nm to 7 nm). Depending on aging temperature, PPG either swells the PPO cores (when it is hydrophobic) or introduces large (>200 …

Novel Mechanisms In Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Razvan I. Arsenescu

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative colitis, are idiopathic chronic conditions with multifactorial determinants. In general, terms, intestinal inflammation results from abnormal host-microbe interactions. Alterations in homeostasis involve host genetic factors, environmental cues and unique luminal microbial niches. We have examined the coordinated expressions of several molecular targets relevant to the mucosal immune system and identified signature biomarkers of IBD. Qualitative and quantitative changes in the composition of microbiota can be related to unique immuno-phenotypes. This in turn can have more systemic effects that involve energy metabolism. Adiponectin, an adipose tissue derived adipokine, can restore cellular ATP levels and …

The Ecology Of Disturbances And Global Change In The Montane Grasslands Of The Nilgiris, South India, Madhusudan P. Srinivasan

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Biodiversity rich regions worldwide face threats from various global change agents. This research quantifies environmental influences on vegetation, and the impacts of exotic woody plant invasion and anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition in a global biodiversity hotspot. The study was conducted in the montane grasslands of the Nilgiris, Western Ghats, and outlines potential management options for this region. Specifically, I examined (1) the role of environmental factors in influencing native plant distribution and ecosystem properties, (2) the status and impact of exotic shrub (Scotch broom, henceforth broom) invasion, (3) the role of disturbances in the success of broom, (4) the role …

Lavapiés, Madrid As Twenty-First Century Urban Spectacle, Matthew Isaiah Feinberg

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Informed by the theories of Henri Lefebvre regarding the production of space and the theories of scale found in current scholarship in Cultural Geography, my methodology analyzes both dramatic texts and theater spaces to investigate how cultural production and capital converge in the “spectacle” of urban space. While employing this term “spectacle” to describe how dramatic texts, theater productions, and modern architecture transform the urban landscape into a metaphoric theater space for the production of local, national, and global identities, this project examines the relationship between theater and urban change in Lavapiés, an iconic, multicultural, and oftenunderserved neighborhood located in …

Analysis Of Differential Gene Expression And Alternative Splicing In The Liver And Gastrointestinal Tract In The Lactating Rat, Antony Thomas Athippozhy

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Rat exon microarrays were utilized to detect changes in mRNA expression and alternative splicing in the liver, duodenum, jejunum, and ileum of the lactating rat when compared to age-matched virgin controls. Analysis of data at the level of gene expression revealed differential expression of genes involved in cholesterol biosynthesis in each tissue examined, suggesting increased Sterol Response Element Binding Protein activity. We also detected decreased mRNA from components of the T-cell signaling pathway in the jejunum and ileum. We characterized expression of solute carrier and adenosine triphosphate binding cassette proteins. In addition to characterizing genes by pathway, we have also …

Central Neural And Behavioral Correlates Of Voice Secondary To Induced Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis, Ashwini Joshi

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Understanding the involvement of the central nervous system (CNS) in voice production is essential to incorporating principles of neuroplasticity into therapeutic practice for voice disorders. Early steps to attaining this goal require the identification of specific neural biomarkers of the changes occurring in the CNS from a voice disorder and its subsequent treatment. In the absence of an adequate animal vocalization model, the larynx has not been acutely and reversibly perturbed to concurrently examine the effect on both peripheral and central processing of the altered input/output.

Using a unique, reversible perturbation approach, it was the purpose of this study to …

Bayesian Semiparametric Generalizations Of Linear Models Using Polya Trees, Angela Schoergendorfer

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

In a Bayesian framework, prior distributions on a space of nonparametric continuous distributions may be defined using Polya trees. This dissertation addresses statistical problems for which the Polya tree idea can be utilized to provide efficient and practical methodological solutions.

One problem considered is the estimation of risks, odds ratios, or other similar measures that are derived by specifying a threshold for an observed continuous variable. It has been previously shown that fitting a linear model to the continuous outcome under the assumption of a logistic error distribution leads to more efficient odds ratio estimates. We will show that deviations …

Enhancements To The Modified Composite Pattern Method Of Structured Light 3d Capture, Charles Joseph Casey

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The use of structured light illumination techniques for three-dimensional data acquisition is, in many cases, limited to stationary subjects due to the multiple pattern projections needed for depth analysis. Traditional Composite Pattern (CP) multiplexing utilizes sinusoidal modulation of individual projection patterns to allow numerous patterns to be combined into a single image. However, due to demodulation artifacts, it is often difficult to accurately recover the subject surface contour information. On the other hand, if one were to project an image consisting of many thin, identical stripes onto the surface, one could, by isolating each stripe center, recreate a very accurate …

Universal Binding And Recoil Corrections To Bound State G-Factors, Timothy James Semple Martin

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The gyromagnetic ratio of bound particles is an active field of experimental and theoretical research. Early measurements of corrections to the bound g-factor came from experiments involving hydrogen-like ions. As the sensitivity of such experiments has increased, it has become possible to instead use them to measure the electron-ion mass ratio -- but only if the theoretical bound g-factor is known with sufficient precision for these systems. By constructing an effective nonrelativistic Lagrangian, we derive leading order binding and recoil corrections for systems comprised of particles with arbitrary spin.

Lagrangians for spin one-half and spin one-theories are developed, …

Evaluation Of The Physicochemical Properties And Stability Of Solid Lipid Nanoparticles Designed For The Delivery Of Dexamethasone To Tumors, Melissa Howard

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Pre-clinical and clinical trials suggest that pre-treatment with dexamethasone (Dex) may facilitate enhanced uptake of subsequently administered chemotherapeutic agents. To reduce the side effects associated with systemic administration of Dex, solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) containing dexamethasone palmitate (Dex-P) were prepared as a means of achieving tumor-targeted drug delivery. These studies were aimed at evaluating the physicochemical properties and both the physiological and storage stability of the SLNs.

SLNs were prepared using nanotemplate engineering technology. Stearyl alcohol (SA) was used as the lipid phase with Brij^® 78 and Polysorbate 60 as surfactants and PEG6000 monostearate as a long-chain PEGylating agent. …

Depositional And Stratigraphic Significance Of Marine, Green-Clay, Mineral Facies In The Lower-Middle Mississippian Borden And Fort Payne Formations, Western Appalachian And Eastern Illinois Basins, Kentucky, Devi Bhagabati Prasad Udgata

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Detailed study of strata associated with the glauconite-rich Floyds Knob Bed in the western Appalachian and eastern Illinois basins have corroborated previous interpretations that the unit is a widespread, largely synchronous marker horizon. However, in some areas there are multiple glauconite beds; in others a distinct bed is lacking, but the glauconite is dispersed throughout many beds, forming an interval rather than a distinct bed. In Kentucky and adjacent states, the Floyds Knob interval, in upper parts of the Lower-Middle Mississippian Borden-Grainger delta sequence and in lower parts of the Fort Payne carbonate sequence, was deposited at the end of …

Computer Simulation Of A Hollow-Fiber Bioreactor: Heparan Regulated Growth Factors-Receptors Binding And Dissociation Analysis, Changjiang Zhang

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis demonstrates the use of numerical simulation in predicting the behavior of proteins in a flow environment.

A novel convection-diffusion-reaction computational model is first introduced to simulate fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) binding to its receptor (FGFR) on cell surfaces and regulated by heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) under flow in a bioreactor. The model includes three parts: (1) the flow of medium using incompressible Navier-Stokes equations; (2) the mass transport of FGF-2 using convection-diffusion equations; and (3) the cell surface binding using chemical kinetics. The model consists of a set of coupled nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) for flow and …

Mechanical Characterizations Of Environmentally Conditioned Shape Memory Polymers For Reconfigurable Aerospace Structures, Jared T. Fulcher

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) have been candidate materials for morphing applications. However, the SMPs have not been fully tested to work in relevant environments required for Air Force missions. In this study, an epoxy-based SMP was separately exposed to moisture, lubricating oil and UV radiation, which are simulated service environments designed to be reflective of anticipated performance requirements. The thermomechanical properties and shape memory effects were studied by using novel high-temperature nanoindentation technique. Results show that environmental conditions have affected the glass transition temperature and mechanical properties of the SMPs. In most cases, the conditioned SMPs exhibited higher elastic moduli …

“All Must Combine In The Struggle Against The Microbes” Global Biopolitics And Twentieth-Century Health Organizations, Patrick Kothe

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The following paper explores the rise of global biopolitics by focusing on the League of Nations Health Organization (LNHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) as pivot points around which an international system transitioned into a global system. The central thesis of the paper is that the LNHO served as the first true site of deployment for global discourses on health and hygiene, not as recent scholarship has suggested, the WHO. The purpose of the paper, however, is to provide an overview of the larger transformation of public health in the twentieth century, beginning with the proliferation of nineteenth-­‐century international …

Modeling And Quantitative Analysis Of White Matter Fiber Tracts In Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Xuwei Liang

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique to record incoherent motion of water molecules and has been used to detect micro structural white matter alterations in clinical studies to explore certain brain disorders. A variety of DTI based techniques for detecting brain disorders and facilitating clinical group analysis have been developed in the past few years. However, there are two crucial issues that have great impacts on the performance of those algorithms. One is that brain neural pathways appear in complicated 3D structures which are inappropriate and inaccurate to be approximated by simple 2D structures, …

Advanced Studies On Series Impedance In Waveguides With An Emphasis On Source And Transfer Impedance, Jinghao Liu

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Series impedances, including source and transfer impedances, are commonly used to model a variety of noise sources and noise treatment elements in duct systems. Particle velocity is assumed to be constant on the plane where the series impedances are defined. The research reported herein details investigations into measuring source and transfer impedance. Especially, the measurement and prediction of the transfer impedance of micro-perforated panel (MPP) absorbers is considered.

A wave decomposition method for measuring source impedance and source strength was developed that was purely based on acoustic concepts instead of the equivalent circuit analysis. The method developed is a two-load …

Beef Cattle Grazing Preference Of Tall Fescue As Affected By Endophyte, Herbert Troye Owens Iii

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Many factors control, contribute to, stimulate and limit forage selection. It is apparent that cattle prefer certain cultivars compared to others. This study sought to test if cattle displayed preferences for certain cultivars over a two-year period in 2008 and 2009. Determining the effect of endophyte status on preference was another objective. Previous research showed rapid increase in the selection of preferred cultivars, i.e., diet learning. We attempted to replicate those results. Forty cultivars (34 tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) Darbysh.) cultivars), two festuloliums (Festuca pratensis x Lolium perenne), two meadow fescue (Lolium pratense) and one meadow …

Petrologic, Geochemical, And Geochronologic Constraints On The Tectonic Evolution Of The Southern Appalachian Orogen, Blue Ridge Province Of Western North Carolina, Eric Douglas Anderson

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The Blue Ridge Province of western North Carolina contains a wide variety of metamorphosed igneous and sedimentary rocks that record the tectonic effects of Precambrian and Paleozoic orogenic cycles. Tectonic interpretations of the events that led to the present configuration are varied and often conflicting. This investigation examines metamorphosed mafic rocks that are widely interpreted to have formed during the closure of ocean basins. Metabasites, and specifically eclogites, have a tendency to mark tectonic sutures and frequently preserve pressure (P), temperature (T), and age data (t) that can be gleaned from mineral equilibria and U-Pb isotopic compositions. As such, the …

Fabrication And Characterization Of Mesoscale Protein Patterns Using Atomic Force Microscopy (Afm), Pei Gao

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

A versatile AFM local oxidation lithography was developed for fabricating clean protein patterns ranging from nanometer to sub-millimeter scale on octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) layer of Si (100) wafer. This protein patterning method can generate bio-active protein pattern with a clean background without the need of the anti-fouling the surface or repetitive rinsing.

As a model system, lysozyme protein patterns were investigated through their binding reactions with antibodies and aptamers by AFM. Polyclonal anti-lysozyme antibodies and anti-lysozyme aptamer are found to preferentially bind to the lysozyme molecules on the edge of a protein pattern before their binding to the interior ones. It …

New Photovoltaic Acceptors: Synthesis And Characterization Of Functionalized C-Fused Anthradithiophene Quinones, Kerri Shelton

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Stable organic semiconductors are critical to produce inexpensive, efficient and flexible thin film organic solar cells. A current chemical focus is the synthesis of stable, electron-accepting materials to be utilized as an acceptor layer in photovoltaics.¹ The Anthony group has shown that the functionalization of pentacene with suitable electron withdrawing groups provides a catalog of suitable acceptors for this purpose.² These pentacenes can be further modified to pack in a unique 1-dimensional "sandwich herringbone" crystal packing, leading to improved device current.³ To improve the stability of acene acceptors, we have taken two hetero-atom themed approaches. First, we …

Distal Radioulnar Joint Biomechanics And Forearm Muscle Activity, Joseph Scott Bader

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Optimal management of fractures, post-traumatic arthritis and instability of the distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) requires an understanding of the forces existing across this joint as a function of the activities of daily living. However, such knowledge is currently incomplete. The goal of this research was to quantify the loads that occur at the DRUJ during forearm rotation and to determine the effect that individual muscles have on those loads.

Human and cadaver studies were used to analyze the shear (A-P), transverse (M-L) and resultant forces at the DRUJ and to determine the role that 15 individual muscles had on those …

The Return Of The Black Bear To Eastern Kentucky: Conflict And Tolerance Between People And Wildlife, Hannah B. Harris

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The black bear (Ursus americanus) has returned to Kentucky and is now part of a reproducing population in the southeastern Cumberland Mountain region. The broad objective of this project was to examine the interactions between people and bears, with the ultimate goal of improving bear management in a way that addresses stakeholder concerns. Using interviews of regional stakeholders, participant observation, and media reports collected between summer 2003 and fall 2006, I investigated how the presence of black bears in Harlan and Letcher counties in Kentucky has had an impact on area residents. I complemented this information with observations …

Interactions And Effects Of Biomolecules On Au Nanomaterial Surfaces, Manish Sethi

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Au nanoparticles are increasingly being used in biological applications. Their use is of interest based upon their unique properties that are achieved at the nanoscale, which includes strong optical absorbances that are size and aggregation state dependent. Such absorbances can be used in sensitive chemical/biological detection schemes where bioligands can be directly attached to the nanoparticle surface using facile methods. Unfortunately, a number of complications persist that prevent their wide-scale use. These limitations include minimal nanoparticle stability in biological-based media of high ionic strength, unknown surface functionalization effects using simple biomolecules, and determining the binding motifs of the ligands to …

Resource Allocation And Efficient Routing In Wireless Networks, Jianjun Yang

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

In wireless networks, devices (nodes) are connected by wireless links. An important issue is to set up high quality (high bandwidth) and efficient routing paths when one node wants to send packets to other nodes. Resource allocation is the foundation to guarantee high quality connections. In addition, it is critical to handle void areas in order to set up detour-free paths. Moreover, fast message broadcasting is essential in mobile wireless networks. Thus, my research includes dynamic channel allocation in wireless mesh networks, geographic routing in Ad Hoc networks, and message broadcasting in vehicular networks.

The quality of connections in a …

Development And Characterization Of Novel Monoclonal Antibodies For Studying Prion Pathogenesis, Chu-Chun Weng

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) recognizing different regions of PrP are potential tools in the study of prion diseases and immunotherapy. We used shuffled recombinant prion protein containing elk and mouse PrP as antigen to produce monoclonal antibodies in mice. We found that mAb 5C6 mapped to a discontinuous epitope comprised of amino acid 132 and 158 (mouse numbering). Monoclonal anibody 9E9 which maps to a unique N-terminal epitope at amino acid preferentially recognized cervid PrP. In contrast, the epitope of mAb 9H9 is located in the C-terminus and only reacted with mouse and hamster. The epitope for mAb 7H11 appears to …

Pragmatic Modernism: Project [Projekt] And Polish Design, 1956-1970, Mikolaj Czerwinski

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Recently Scholars of design history began to recognize the phenomenon of Socialist Modernism, the return to modernist aesthetics to Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union during the thaw, the disavowal of Stalinist policies by Nikita Khrushchev after the 20^th Party Congress of the Communist Party in February of 1956 and the resulting turn away from Socialist Realism, a historicist method in architecture that expressed socialist values, which the Stalinist favored. Scholars of art and design argued that Socialist Modernism in Poland constituted an affirmation of the party’s authority and that of the political system because designers who practiced it …

Constructing The Real: The New Photography Of Crewdson, Gursky And Wall, Melissa A. Schwartz

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

A new class of photographs that relies on digital processes, best exemplified by the works of Gregory Crewdson, Andreas Gursky and Jeff Wall all exhibit a ‘not quite right’ quality that calls into question some of the most closely held truisms of photographic thought. Through novel technological processes combined with the elements of the new photography—new scale, fabulist imagery, and implied narrative—these images challenge the nature of photography as a documentary process and, beyond that, the nature of what we understand to be ‘the real’ that is supposedly documented. A visual analysis of these images through the lens of Roland …