Digital Commons Network^™

Numerical Analysis For Interface Problems, Lin Mu

Theses and Dissertations

A large number of partial differential equations in geoscience and engineering can be described as interface problems. Three interface models will be considered in this dissertation. They are elliptic interface problems, Stokes interface problems, and Brinkman problems. The purpose of the dissertation is to develop and analyze robust finite element methods and finite volume methods for solving these problems. Firstly, we report the a posteriori error estimate for interface problems by conforming finite volume methods, nonconforming finite volume methods, and discontinuous finite volume methods. Recovery-based and residual-based a posteriori error estimators are constructed by using computable quantities. Secondly, we develop …

Coordination Between Proteasome Impairment And Caspase Activation Leading To Tau Pathology: Neuroprotection By Camp, M. J. Metcalfe, Q. Huang, Maria E. Figueiredo-Pereira

Publications and Research

Neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) are hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The main component of NFTs is TAU, a highly soluble microtubule-associated protein. However, when TAU is cleaved at Asp421 by caspases it becomes prone to aggregation leading to NFTs. What triggers caspase activation resulting in TAU cleavage remains unclear. We investigated in rat cortical neurons a potential coordination between proteasome impairment and caspase activation. We demonstrate that upon proteasome inhibition, the early accumulation of detergent-soluble ubiquitinated (SUb) proteins paves the way to caspase activation and TAU pathology. This occurs with two drugs that inhibit the proteasome by different means: the product …

Oil-Sealed Femtoliter Fiber-Optic Arrays For Single Molecule Analysis, Huaibin Zhang, Shuai Nie, Candice M. Etson, Raymond M. Wang, David R. Walt

Physics: Faculty Publications

This paper describes a novel method for fabricating and sealing high-density arrays of femtoliter reaction chambers. We chemically etch one end of a 2.3 mm diameter glass optical fiber bundle to create an array of microwells. We then use a contact printing method to selectively modify the surface of the material between microwells with a hydrophobic silane. This modification makes it possible to fill the wells with aqueous solution and then seal them with a droplet of oil, forming an array of isolated reaction chambers. Individual β-galactosidase molecules trapped in these reaction chambers convert a substrate into a fluorescent product …

P300 Brain Computer Interface: Current Challenges And Emerging Trends, Reza Fazel-Rezai, Brendan Z. Allison, Christoph Guger, Eric W. Sellers, Sonja C. Kleih, Andrea Kübler

ETSU Faculty Works

A brain-computer interface (BCI) enables communication without movement based on brain signals measured with electroencephalography (EEG). BCIs usually rely on one of three types of signals: the P300 and other components of the event-related potential (ERP), steady state visual evoked potential (SSVEP), or event related desynchronization (ERD). Although P300 BCIs were introduced over twenty years ago, the past few years have seen a strong increase in P300 BCI research. This closed-loop BCI approach relies on the P300 and other components of the event-related potential (ERP), based on an oddball paradigm presented to the subject. In this paper, we overview the …

Analysis And Design Tools For Structured Feedback Systems, Anurag Rai

Theses and Dissertations

As we begin to analyze and construct extremely complex systems, a theory for understanding and designing the underlying architecture becomes very important. To move in the direction of a precise theory of architecture, this thesis will provide some concrete tools to analyze and design complex systems with a given network structure. The first main result of this thesis analyzes the vulnerability of a system and shows that a system's vulnerability depends on its network structure. We will consider destabilization attacks acting on a single link in a system's logical interconnection structure. The concept of a vulnerable link is characterized and …

Characterization Of Non-Host Resistance In Broad Bean To The Wheat Stripe Rust Pathogen., Yulin Cheng, Hongchang Zhang, Juanni Yao, Xiaojie Wang, Jin-Rong Xu, Qingmei Han, Guorong Wei, Lili Huang, Zhensheng Kang

Department of Botany and Plant Pathology Faculty Publications

Background

Non-host resistance (NHR) confers plant species immunity against the majority of microbial pathogens and represents the most robust and durable form of plant resistance in nature. As one of the main genera of rust fungi with economic and biological importance, Puccinia infects almost all cereals but is unable to cause diseases on legumes. Little is known about the mechanism of this kind of effective defense in legumes to these non-host pathogens.

Results

In this study, the basis of NHR in broad bean (Vicia faba L.) against the wheat stripe rust pathogen,Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst …

The Role Of A And B Vitamins During Orofacial Development Of Xenopus Laevis, Allyson Kennedy

Theses and Dissertations

Orofacial anomalies make up about a third of the 120,000 birth defects each year in the United States. Children born with these abnormalities must undergo immense physical and emotional strain in order to correct the defects. In fact, about $697 million is spent every year surgically treating children with cleft lip and/or cleft palate (2011). In countries where surgery is not an option, this abnormality causes immense difficulties in eating, hearing, speech, and psychosocial development. The causes of cleft lip/palate are extremely complex. Genetics play a role in the anomaly; however, 95% of cleft palate cases are non-syndromic and likely …

How Orthodontics Can Facilitate Restorative Dentistry, Chimène Chalala

International Arab Journal of Dentistry

Full comprehensive orthodontic treatment is often a requisite in the rehabilitation of oral form and function specifically when anterior restoration(s) is (are) needed. Patients with missing, abraded or fractured teeth, peg-shaped lateral incisors, or other restorative needs may require tooth movement for optimal treatment outcomes. Such treatment necessitate collaboration between the orthodontist and others specialties, such as the restorative dentist and / or the periodontist. The major indication for adjunctive orthodontic treatment is to facilitate and improve the dental restorative conditions at the level of the arch (space management), roots (parallel abutments) and bone height (periodontal considerations) for the placement …

Diabetes: A Risk Factor For Periodontitis, Shaju Jacob, Sonia Nath, Muthu Arunchalam

International Arab Journal of Dentistry

Severe periodontitis is the major reason for tooth loss in adults. Diabetes is one of the major risk factor for progression of periodontitis. Over 200 articles have been published in the English literature in the past 50 years examining the relationship between these two chronic diseases. The purpose of this review is to provide the reader with practical knowledge concerning the relationship between diabetes mellitus and periodontal diseases. Pubmed and medInd were searched and suitable publications were reviewed. Data interpretation is often confounded by varying definitions of diabetes and periodontitis and different clinical criteria applied to prevalence, extent, and severity …

Maxillary Sinus Augmentation By The Crestal Approach: Radiographic Changes In Graft Height. A 1-Year Retrospective Study, Nareg Bananian, Georges Tawil, Nada Bou-Abboud Naaman

International Arab Journal of Dentistry

The purpose of this study is to evaluate, radiographically, the change in intra-sinus graft height after implant placement using inorganic mineral bovine bone and the osteotome technique. Thirty-one implants were placed in twenty-five patients with simultaneous sinus lift using the crestal approach and deproteinized bovine bone ((Bio-Oss®). Periapical radiographs were taken immediately after implant placement, after six months (healing period), and after a minimum of six months of loading. Changes of the graft height were evaluated using image analysis software (Image Tool for Windows, version 3, UTHSCA). The distance between the implant apex and the graft summit was measured along …

Design And Synthesis Of Protein-Protein Interaction Inhibitor Scaffolds, David B. Badger

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many currently relevant diseases such as cancer arise from altered biological pathways that rely on protein-protein interactions. The proteins involved in these interactions contain certain functional domains that are responsible for the protein's biological activities. These domains consist of secondary structural elements such as α-helices and Β-sheets which are at the heart of the protein's biological activity. Therefore, designing drugs that inhibit protein-protein interactions by binding to these key secondary structural elements should provide an effective treatment for many diseases. Presented in this dissertation are the designs, syntheses, and biological evaluations for both novel α-helix and novel Β-sheet mimics.

The …

Long-Term Retrospective Analysis Of Mackerel Spawning In The North Sea: A New Time Series And Modeling Approach To Cpr Data, T Jansen, K Kristensen, M Payne, Et Al

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

We present a unique view of mackerel (Scomber scombrus) in the North Sea based on a new time series of larvae caught by the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey from 1948-2005, covering the period both before and after the collapse of the North Sea stock. Hydrographic backtrack modelling suggested that the effect of advection is very limited between spawning and larvae capture in the CPR survey. Using a statistical technique not previously applied to CPR data, we then generated a larval index that accounts for both catchability as well as spatial and temporal autocorrelation. The resulting time series documents the …

Wednesday Communiqué, 6/20/2012, Chaouki Abdallah

Publications of the Provost's Office

Let us in education dream of an aristocracy of achievement arising out of a democracy of opportunity.' Thomas Jefferson'

The Effects Of Nicotine On Mesenchymal Stem Cell Function, Carlos M. Carballosa

Open Access Theses

This research focuses on the effects nicotine exposure has on Human, Bone Marrow Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell (MSC) proliferation, migration and differentiation potential. Nicotine, the quintessential compound responsible for a smoker’s addiction to cigarettes, is an organic compound, whose effects are either positive or negative depending on the dose of nicotine metabolized. In low concentrations, nicotine has been shown to induce angiogenesis and improve diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. In high doses, however, nicotine has been shown to have detrimental effects including hindering both embryonic stem cell development and skeletal healing. Although much has been discovered about the effects …

Petrophysical Characterization Of Pliocene - Pleistocene Reefal Carbonates, Southern Dominican Republic, Albertus Ditya

Open Access Theses

Laboratory measurements of petrophysical properties, including porosity, permeability, acoustic velocity, and electrical resistivity, were performed on over 150 plugs of Pliocene-Pleistocene reefal successions in the southern Dominican Republic. These reefal successions are intensively altered by multiple episodes of meteoric diagenesis. The petrophysical measurements can be related to their diagenetic overprint and the pore structure, which is quantified by digital image analysis. The inherent depositional heterogeneity in reefs combined with the dynamic meteoric diagenesis processes (cementation and dissolution) produce abundant heterogeneity in the petrophysical properties. Reservoir properties such as porosity and permeability range from 0.07 to 0.54 (porosity) and up to …

Comprehensive Solution To Scattering By Bianisotropic Objects Of Arbitrary Shape, Chong Mei, Moamer Hasanovic, Jay K. Lee, Ercument Arvas

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - All Scholarship

This paper presents a method of moments (MoM) solution for the problems of electromagnetic scattering by inhomogeneous three- dimensional bianisotropic scatterers of any shape. The electromagnetic response of bianisotropy has been described by the constitutive relations of the most general form composed of four 3 X 3 matrices or tensors. The volume equivalence principle is used to obtain a set of mixed potential formulations for a proper description of the original scattering problem. Here, the total fields are separated into the incident fields and the scattered fields. The scattered fields are related to the electric and magnetic potentials which are …

Speciation And Removal Mechanisms Of Rhenium In Anoxic Waters: Roles Of Zero-Valent Sulfur, Mineral Oxide Catalysis, And Pyrite Surfaces, Trent P. Vorlicek

All Private Grants

Global warming is expected to intensify the effects of coastal anoxia. Knowledge of the causes of geohistorical anoxic episodes may prove critical in developing strategies for the mitigation of or adaptation to the consequences of climate change upon the global aquatic environment. The geochemistry of Re provides the means to acquiring this knowledge. Within oxic waters, Re exists as geochemically-inert ReO4-. Under reducing conditions, Re is removed from the aqueous phase and deposited in sediments. Unfortunately, an incomplete understanding of Re geochemistry hampers exploitation of Re as a paleoredox indicator. Authors purport Re sequestration begins in suboxic environments; others produce …

Agronomy & Horticulture Newsletter, June 20, 2012, Kathy Schindler

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Monthly Newsletters

Mark Your Calendars!.....................1

Uncommon Parasitic Plant Found.....................1

Weed Field Day set on July 11–12 .....................1

Employees complete Life Health Challenge.....................2

Guretzkys Welcome New Baby Boy!.....................3

Sympathy Extended to Employees.....................3

News from the HAPPI Business Center.....................3

Newsletter Details.....................3

Information from the Office Pros.....................3

Il-6 Signaling Blockade Increases Inflammation But Does Not Affect Muscle Function In The Mdx Mouse, Mathew A. Kostek, Kanneboyina Nagaraju, Emidio E. Pistilli, Arpana Sali, San-Huei Lai, Brad Gordon, Yi-Wen Chen

Genomics and Precision Medicine Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

How Nursing Impacts Nursing: Using Metaphor To Understand The Perinatal Nurse's Role, Kathleen Guinee Holman

Theses and Graduate Projects

In the United States, nearly all women choose to give birth in a hospital and a large majority of women intend to nourish their baby with breast milk. In the hospital setting, the perinatal nurse is vital in supporting, educating, and caring for new mothers as they learn to breastfeed their baby. Yet, everyday women give up on their goal to initiate or continue breastfeeding, often citing variables relating to inpatient nursing care as the reason. An exploration into current research and literature uncovers how the nurse's role impacts a new mother's breastfeeding experience and ability to achieve her goal …

Automated Tongue Feature Extraction For Zheng Classification In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ratchadaporn Kanawong, Tayo Obafemi-Ajayi, Tao Ma, Dong Xu, Shao Li, Ye Duan

College of Natural and Applied Sciences

ZHENG, Traditional Chinese Medicine syndrome, is an integral and essential part of Traditional Chinese Medicine theory. It defines the theoretical abstraction of the symptom profiles of individual patients and thus, used as a guideline in disease classification in Chinese medicine. For example, patients suffering from gastritis may be classified as Cold or Hot ZHENG, whereas patients with different diseases may be classified under the same ZHENG. Tongue appearance is a valuable diagnostic tool for determining ZHENG in patients. In this paper, we explore new modalities for the clinical characterization of ZHENG using various supervised machine learning algorithms. We propose a …

Frequent Arousal From Hibernation Linked To Severity Of Infection And Mortality In Bats With White-Nose Syndrome, Deeann M. Reeder, Craig L. Frank, Gregory G. Turner

KIP Articles

White-nose syndrome (WNS), an emerging infectious disease that has killed over 5.5 million hibernating bats, is named for the causative agent, a white fungus (Geomyces destructans (Gd)) that invades the skin of torpid bats. During hibernation, arousals to warm (euthermic) body temperatures are normal but deplete fat stores. Temperature-sensitive dataloggers were attached to the backs of 504 free-ranging little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) in hibernacula located throughout the northeastern USA. Dataloggers were retrieved at the end of the hibernation season and complete profiles of skin temperature data were available from 83 bats, which were categorized as: (1) unaffected, (2) WNS-affected …

The Lived Experiences Of Faculty Who Use Instructional Technology: A Phenomenological Study, Heath V. Tuttle

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative phenomenological study was designed to gain an in-depth understanding of the lived experiences of university faculty who adopt technology for teaching and learning purposes and to determine if adoption affected the way a person taught, worked, and lived. A review of the literature found a gap in the understanding of the lived experiences of faculty who teach with technology, and this study was designed to help fill that gap.

Using a purposeful sampling method with a reputational technique, I targeted 20 faculty members who used technology to teach. The phenomenological method provided an understanding of their experiences as …

Volume 49, Number 44: June 20, 2012, University Of North Dakota

University Letter Archive

No abstract provided.

Live-Cell Monitoring Of Periodic Gene Expression In Synchronous Human Cells Identifies Forkhead Genes Involved In Cell Cycle Control, Gavin D. Grant, Joshua Gamsby, Viktor Martyanov, Lionel Brooks, Lacy K. George, J. Matthew Mahoney, Jennifer J. Loros, Jay C. Dunlap, Michael L. Whitfield

Dartmouth Scholarship

We developed a system to monitor periodic luciferase activity from cell cycle-regulated promoters in synchronous cells. Reporters were driven by a minimal human E2F1 promoter with peak expression in G1/S or a basal promoter with six Forkhead DNA-binding sites with peak expression at G2/M. After cell cycle synchronization, luciferase activity was measured in live cells at 10-min intervals across three to four synchronous cell cycles, allowing unprecedented resolution of cell cycle-regulated gene expression. We used this assay to screen Forkhead transcription factors for control of periodic gene expression. We confirmed a role for FOXM1 and identified two novel cell cycle …

Young Kuria Of Tanzania: What Drives Them To Choose Army Careers, Hezron Zacharia Onditi

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Although there are many career opportunities in the world of work, some groups have been historically inclined to particular professions. Young males of Tanzania’s Kuria tribe have long been known to have preference for a career in the armed forces. This paper examines what drives them to choose an army career. The field work for the paper was conducted in Tarime district of the Mara region where Tanzania’s Kuria population is largely concentrated. The analysis is based on the theoretical framework developed by the theory of planned behaviour in terms of which the intention of the individual human actor is …

The Quality Of Education In Tanzania: An Exploration Into Its Determinants, Sam Maghimbi

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Recent rapid expansion in school enrolment at all levels represents a profound challenge to parents and the government in Tanzania. There has been a very high increase in the number of school-going-age children from year to year due to high fertility. Government resources are thinly spread in very many schools, and there is fear that quality of education may be compromised. The paper presents the argument that there is in evidence a government-will-pay (gwp) attitude in the parents’ values. The parents’ contribution to secure improvement in quality of education is not forthcoming because of this belief, which is traced to …

Case Studies: Developing Critical Thinking In New Teachers, Mark A. Hamilton

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Critical thinking is increasingly depicted as a crucial component of teaching and learning programmes worldwide, including teacher education. Reflecting the trend toward inquiry-based, constructivist teacher professional development of the past twenty years, definitions and approaches to teaching critical thinking nevertheless vary quite widely. The present article thus discusses the use of case studies as an adaptable, flexible tool for developing critical thinking in student teachers, in ways that reflect their experiences and needs. The article includes sample cases of ‘real world’ situations of practice to show how case-study method can be employed to simulate the kinds of problems, issues and …

Nanoherbals In Human Healthcare: A Proposed Research And Development Roadmap I, Ahmad S, Hashim U

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Bioactive secondary metabolites derived from herbs are examined for their suitability of conversion into nanoforms having flexible morphological controls, surface stabilizations and surface functionalization. This can lead to stable chemical conjugations based on molecular recognition for their possible applications in the form of smart pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, cosmaceuticals and many other related areas of human healthcare using green chemistry routes. Using the principles of nanoscience and technology in association with genomics and proteomics, an attempt has been made to decipher whether a suitable form of drug discovery and targeted drug delivery like schemes arefeasible in case of such nano phytochemicals using …

Nanoherbals In Human Healthcare: A Proposed Research And Development Roadmap Ii, Ahmad S, Hashim U

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Bioactive secondary metabolites derived from herbs are examined for their suitability of conversion into nanoforms having flexible morphological controls, surface stabilizations and surface functionalization. This can lead to stable chemical conjugations based on molecular recognition for their possible applications in the form of smart pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, cosmaceuticals and many other related areas of human healthcare using green chemistry routes. Using the principles of nanoscience and technology in association with genomics and proteomics, an attempt has been made to decipher whether a suitable form of drug discovery and targeted drug delivery like schemes are feasible in case of such nano phytochemicals …