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2013

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Road Networks, Social Disorganization And Lethality, An Exploration Of Theory And An Examination Of Covariates, Aaron Poole Jan 2013

Road Networks, Social Disorganization And Lethality, An Exploration Of Theory And An Examination Of Covariates, Aaron Poole

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing a Criminal Event Perspective, the analyses of this dissertation test a variety of relationships to the dependent variable: the Criminal Lethality Index. Data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System, the Census and American Community Survey, the American Trauma Society, and data derived from the Census’s mapping TIGER files are combined to create a database of 190 cities. This database is used to test road network connectivity (Gama Index), medical resources, criminal covariates and Social Disorganization variables in relation to a city’s Criminal Lethality Index. OLS regression demonstrates a significant and negative relationship between a city’s Gama Index and its …

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Do Changes In Muscle Architecture Effect Post- Activation Potentiation, Danielle Reardon Jan 2013

Do Changes In Muscle Architecture Effect Post- Activation Potentiation, Danielle Reardon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: To examine the effect of three muscle potentiation protocols on changes in muscle architecture and the subsequent effect on jump power performance. Methods: Maximal (1RM) squat strength (Mean SD=178.3 ± 36.6kg), vertical jump power, and muscle architecture were obtained in 12 resistance trained men (25.2±3.6y; 90.67±12.7kg). Participants randomly completed three squatting protocols at 75% (3 x 10 reps), 90% (3 x 3 reps) or 100% (1 x 1) of their 1RM, or no workout (CON), with each protocol being separated by one week. During each testing session ultrasound and vertical jump testing were assessed at baseline (BL), 8min post …

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The Red Scare And The Bi's Quest For Power: The Soviet Ark As Political Theater, Austin Smith Jan 2013

The Red Scare And The Bi's Quest For Power: The Soviet Ark As Political Theater, Austin Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Red Scare of 1919-1920 has been presented as a wave of anti-Radical hysteria that swept post WWI America; a hysteria to which the state reluctantly capitulated to by arresting Radicals and deporting those alien Radicals they deemed most threatening. This presentation, however, is ludicrous when the motivations of the state and its conservative allies are examined. The truth of the matter was that almost all of the people targeted by the Red Scare represented no significant threat to the institutions of the United States and were merely targeted for holding Leftwing ideas, or being connected to a group that …

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Re-Imaging A Career In Filmmaking, Jason Sutton Jan 2013

Re-Imaging A Career In Filmmaking, Jason Sutton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to learn every aspect of the film business, and to do so within the guidelines of an ultra-low budget digital format. This meant creating a project that could be written, produced, and directed all for fewer than fifty thousand dollars. All of the money had to be raised by me as well. The process began day one in the classroom, learning every step of the way. It began by turning an idea into a feature length film script. This was done over the course of a year. The next step began putting together every …

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From Skeptical Disinterest To Ideological Crusade: The Road To American Participation In The Greek Civil War, 1943-1949, Stephen Villiotis Jan 2013

From Skeptical Disinterest To Ideological Crusade: The Road To American Participation In The Greek Civil War, 1943-1949, Stephen Villiotis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the way in which the United States formulated its policy toward Greece during the Greek civil war (1943-1949). It asserts that U.S. intervention in Greece was based on circumstantial evidence and the assumption of Soviet global intentions, rather than on dispatches from the field which consistently reported from 1943-1946 that the Soviets were not involved in that country’s affairs. It also maintains that the post-Truman Doctrine American policy in Greece was in essence, a continuation of British policy there from 1943-1946, which meant to impose an unpopular government on the people of Greece, and tolerated unlawful violence …

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The Effects Of Diagnostic Aiding On Situation Awareness Under Robot Unreliability, David Schuster Jan 2013

The Effects Of Diagnostic Aiding On Situation Awareness Under Robot Unreliability, David Schuster

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In highly autonomous robotic systems, human operators are able to attend to their own, separate tasks, but robots still need occasional human intervention. In this scenario, it may be difficult for human operators to determine the status of the system and environment when called upon to aid the robot. The resulting lack of situation awareness (SA) is a problem common to other automated systems, and it can lead to poor performance and compromised safety. Existing research on this problem suggested that reliable automation of information processing, called diagnostic aiding, leads to better operator SA. The effects of unreliable diagnostic aiding, …

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Theoretical And Computational Studies Of Diffusion Of Adatom Islands And Reactions Of Molecules On Surfaces, Syed Islamuddin Shah Jan 2013

Theoretical And Computational Studies Of Diffusion Of Adatom Islands And Reactions Of Molecules On Surfaces, Syed Islamuddin Shah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The work presented in this dissertation focuses on the study of post deposition spatial and temporal evolution of adatom islands and molecules on surfaces using ab initio and semiemperical methods. It is a microscopic study of the phenomena of diffusion and reaction on nanostructured surfaces for which we have developed appropriate computational tools, as well as implemented others that are available. To map out the potential energy surface on which the adatom islands and molecules move, we have carried out ab initio electronic structure calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) for selected systems. For others, we have relied on …

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Optically Isotropic Liquid Crystals For Display And Photonic Applications, Jin Yan Jan 2013

Optically Isotropic Liquid Crystals For Display And Photonic Applications, Jin Yan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For the past few decades, tremendous progress has been made on liquid crystal display (LCD) technologies in terms of stability, resolution, contrast ratio, and viewing angle. The remaining challenge is response time. The state-of-the-art response time of a nematic liquid crystal is a few milliseconds. Faster response time is desirable in order to reduce motion blur and to realize color sequential display using RGB LEDs, which triples the optical efficiency and resolution density. Polymer-stabilized blue phase liquid crystal (PS-BPLC) is a strong candidate for achieving fast response time because its self-assembled cubic structure greatly reduces the coherence length. The response …

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Computational Approach To The Problems Of Electro- And Photo-Catalysis, Sebastian Zuluaga Jan 2013

Computational Approach To The Problems Of Electro- And Photo-Catalysis, Sebastian Zuluaga

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The main objective of this work is to gain basis for rational design of catalysts used in fuel cells for conversion of chemical energy stored in hydrogen molecules into electric energy, as well as photo-catalysts used for hydrogen production from water under solar irradiation. This objective is achieved by applying the first principles computational approach to reveal relationship among compositions of materials under consideration, their electronic structure and catalytic activity. A major part of the work is focused on electro-catalysts for hydrogen fuel cells. Platinum (Pt) is widely used in the electrodes of fuel cells due to its good catalytic …

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Inverse Problems In Multiple Light Scattering, John Broky Jan 2013

Inverse Problems In Multiple Light Scattering, John Broky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The interaction between coherent waves and material systems with complex optical properties is a complicated, deterministic process. Light that scatters from such media gives rise to random fields with intricate properties. It is common perception that the randomness of these complex fields is undesired and therefore is to be removed, usually through a process of ensemble averaging. However, random fields emerging from light matter interaction contain information about the properties of the medium and a thorough analysis of the scattered light allows solving specific inverse problems. Traditional attempts to solve these kinds of inverse problems tend to rely on statistical …

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Reduced Susceptibility Of Deformation Due To Vibrational And Gravitational Effects On A Focus Variable Adaptive Lens, Victoriya Relina Jan 2013

Reduced Susceptibility Of Deformation Due To Vibrational And Gravitational Effects On A Focus Variable Adaptive Lens, Victoriya Relina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Orthodox optical devices, such as lenses, mirrors, and prisms, are composed of solidstate materials, which although well studied and implemented ubiquitously are severely limited in their adaptable properties. An arguably new field of adaptive optics has emerged to further expand photonic manipulation competences of optical components. Fluid-based adaptive optical components were introduced as early as 1968 [1]; such components have the ability to change the shape of their interface surface, thus allowing for a variable curvature profile. The method of manipulation varies greatly, as does the range of surface deformations. A solid-state optical component is affected by system vibration variation …

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Mechanochemistry For Solid-State Syntheses And Catalysis, David Restrepo Jan 2013

Mechanochemistry For Solid-State Syntheses And Catalysis, David Restrepo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Traditional methods of synthesizing inorganic materials, such as hydrothermal, sol-gel, calcination and grinding steps, can typically require use of high temperatures, expensive precursors or use of solvents. Because of the energy-intensive nature or environmental impact these techniques, there is a push, especially from an industrial perspective, to move towards greener approaches. Mechanochemistry is a solvent-free alternative technique that can be used to synthesize a variety of materials under ambient conditions. Due to this, there is an increase in attention towards the use of this approach in both solid-state inorganic and organic chemistry. This dissertation reports the mechanochemical synthesis of a …

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Biogeography And Systematics Of The Nerodia Clarkii/Nerodia Fasciata Clade In Florida, Gregory Territo Jan 2013

Biogeography And Systematics Of The Nerodia Clarkii/Nerodia Fasciata Clade In Florida, Gregory Territo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biogeography provides a window into the evolutionary history of populations, and helps explain the diversity and distribution of life through time. Viewed from a systematic perspective, biogeographic studies generate convincing arguments to explain the relationships among organisms and categorize them into useful taxonomies. When taxonomies do not reflect evolutionary histories, inaccurate representations of biodiversity confound future studies and conservation efforts. Two thamnophiine snakes, Nerodia clarkii and Nerodia fasciata, harbor unique morphological and ecological adaptations that obscured natural groupings, leading to controversial taxonomic delimitations. Additionally, population declines documented in N. clarkii compressicauda and N. clarkii taeniata led managers to list N. …

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An Exploratory Study Of Customer Vulnerability: A Cross-Segment Approach, Taryn Aiello Jan 2013

An Exploratory Study Of Customer Vulnerability: A Cross-Segment Approach, Taryn Aiello

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore the concept of customer vulnerability across varying service industries. While the concept of customer vulnerability has been debated in business, marketing, sociology, and psychology scholarly literature, there has been little research conducted that specifically investigates consumers’ perceptions of vulnerability during the service exchange. Specific to this research, customer vulnerability is defined as experiences in which consumers participate in a service exchange with a firm during a time of individual or shared medical, physical, emotional, or spiritual necessity, whether the vulnerability is experienced during the course of the transaction or whether consumers arrive …

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An Event-Related Potential Investigation Of Error Monitoring In Adults With A History Of Psychosis, Chi Chan Jan 2013

An Event-Related Potential Investigation Of Error Monitoring In Adults With A History Of Psychosis, Chi Chan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Metacognition, which involves monitoring and controlling of one’s thoughts and actions, is essential for guiding behavior and organization of information. Deficits in self-monitoring have been suggested to lead to psychosis and poor functional outcome. Abnormalities in eventrelated potentials originating from the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a brain region associated with error detection, have been consistently reported in individuals with schizophrenia during error monitoring tasks. This study sought to examine whether these abnormalities are present in individuals with a history of psychosis across diagnostic categories and whether they are associated with subjective appraisal of self-performance and personality traits related to psychosis. …

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A Comparison Of Students' And Parents' Mathematics Attitudes And Achievement At A Private Historically Black University, Kristopher Childs Jan 2013

A Comparison Of Students' And Parents' Mathematics Attitudes And Achievement At A Private Historically Black University, Kristopher Childs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research was to compare students’ and their parents’ mathematical attitudes using the Attitudes Towards Mathematics Instrument (ATMI). The sample consisted of 476 newly-enrolled students and 263 parents attending the New Student Orientation and Leadership program at a private historically black university. The sample was predominantly African American, with 96% of the students and 95% of the parents identifying themselves as African American. The ATMI total score and subscale scores of self-confidence, value, enjoyment, and motivation were explored to determine if there was a relationship between the mathematics attitudes of students enrolled at a private historically black …

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Theoretical Studies Of Nanostructure Formation And Transport On Surfaces, Maral Aminpour Jan 2013

Theoretical Studies Of Nanostructure Formation And Transport On Surfaces, Maral Aminpour

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation undertakes theoretical and computational research to characterize and understand in detail atomic configurations and electronic structural properties of surfaces and interfaces at the nano-scale, with particular emphasis on identifying the factors that control atomic-scale diffusion and transport properties. The overarching goal is to outline, with examples, a predictive modeling procedure of stable structures of novel materials that, on the one hand, facilitates a better understanding of experimental results, and on the other hand, provide guidelines for future experimental work. The results of this dissertation are useful in future miniaturization of electronic devices, predicting and engineering functional novel nanostructures. …

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Estimated Diets, Diet Overlap, And Winter Habitat Associations Of Four Grassland Sparrows In Florida Dry Prairie, Marianne Korosy Jan 2013

Estimated Diets, Diet Overlap, And Winter Habitat Associations Of Four Grassland Sparrows In Florida Dry Prairie, Marianne Korosy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

North American grassland birds show long-term population declines that generally exceed the declines of other bird groups. Efforts to conserve grassland birds require knowledge of diet and habitat requirements during both the breeding and nonbreeding periods of annual life cycles. This dissertation investigated sparrow habitat associations within two defined plant communities of the dry prairie ecosystem, the dry-mesic and wet-mesic prairie, for four prescribed fire treatments over two consecutive winters. Grasshopper and Henslow’s sparrows showed higher relative abundance in wet-mesic prairie and Bachman’s Sparrows were more abundant in dry-mesic prairie across all fire treatments. Abundances of Grasshopper and Bachman’s sparrows …

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The Role Of Mitochondrial Omi/Htra2 Protease In Protein Quality Control And Mitophagy, Camilla Ambivero Jan 2013

The Role Of Mitochondrial Omi/Htra2 Protease In Protein Quality Control And Mitophagy, Camilla Ambivero

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Omi/HtrA2 is a mitochondrial serine protease with a dual and opposite function depending on its subcellular localization. Most of the previous studies focused on Omi/HtrA2’s pro-apoptotic function when the protein is released to the cytoplasm. It is becoming apparent that the main function of Omi/HtrA2 is within the mitochondria, where it has a pro-survival role. However, its mechanism is still poorly understood. To this end, we used the yeast two-hybrid system to dissect the Omi/HtrA2 pathway by identifying novel interactors and substrates. Our studies revealed a novel function of Omi/HtrA2 in the regulation of a deubiquitinating (DUB) complex. In addition …

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The Cytopathic Activity Of Cholera Toxin Requires A Threshold Quantity Of Cytosolic Toxin., Carly Bader Jan 2013

The Cytopathic Activity Of Cholera Toxin Requires A Threshold Quantity Of Cytosolic Toxin., Carly Bader

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cholera toxin (CT), secreted from Vibrio cholerae, causes a massive fluid and electrolyte efflux in the small intestine that results in life-threatening diarrhea and dehydration which impacts 3-5 million people per year. CT is secreted into the intestinal lumen but acts within the cytosol of intestinal epithelial cells. CT is an AB5 toxin that has a catalytic A1 subunit and a cell binding B subunit. CT moves from the cell surface to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by retrograde transport. Much of the toxin is transported to the lysosomes for degradation, but a secondary pool of toxin is diverted to the …

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The Latina/O Student's Experience In Social Studies: A Phenomenological Study Of Eighth Grade Students, Christopher Busey Jan 2013

The Latina/O Student's Experience In Social Studies: A Phenomenological Study Of Eighth Grade Students, Christopher Busey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research investigation was to explore the experiences of eighth-grade Latina/o students in a large, urban school in the Southeastern United States. Overall, the study uncovered the essence of the Latino/a student experience in social studies and furthermore revealed that social studies is not meeting the needs of Latino students. Using phenomenology as a method of research, two interviews were conducted with twelve research participants who were selected through purposive sampling. In addition to the interviews, students wrote narratives and drew images as a form of data triangulation. The goal was to give students various methods for …

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When Social Allergies Flare Up In Close Relationships: A Relational Turbulence Model Explanation, Naomi Hochstadt Jan 2013

When Social Allergies Flare Up In Close Relationships: A Relational Turbulence Model Explanation, Naomi Hochstadt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Romantic relationships commonly endure rough patches. The relational turbulence model and the social allergy phenomenon may account for such rough transitions. A social allergy is an idiosyncratic social behavior that involuntarily stirs up irritation in an individual, either with or without the intention of the transgressor. As the behavior is repeated, tolerance for the bothersome allergen dwindles. This paper investigates the connections between relational turbulence and social allergies. The relational turbulence model describes individuals’ severe reactions to various turning points in an interpersonal relationship, and combines the effects of increased intimacy, relational uncertainty, and partner interference. Based on the turbulence …

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Characterization Of Motility Alterations Caused By The Impairment Of Dynein/Dynactin Motor Protein Complex, Swaran Nandini Jan 2013

Characterization Of Motility Alterations Caused By The Impairment Of Dynein/Dynactin Motor Protein Complex, Swaran Nandini

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Transport of intracellular cargo is an important and dynamic process required for cell maintenance and survival. Dynein is the motor protein that carries organelles and vesicles from the cell periphery to the cell center along the microtubule network. Dynactin is a protein that activates dynein for this transport process. Together, dynein and dynactin forms a motor protein complex that is essential for transport processes in all the vertebrate cells. Using fluorescent microscope based live cell imaging techniques and kymograph analyses, I studied dynein/dynactin disruptions on the intracellular transport in two different cell systems. In one set of experiments, effects of …

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Too Few Voices, Too Many Distractions, Too Little Concern, Too Little Understanding: The American Media During The Rwandan Genocide Of 1994, Skip-Thomas Parrish Jan 2013

Too Few Voices, Too Many Distractions, Too Little Concern, Too Little Understanding: The American Media During The Rwandan Genocide Of 1994, Skip-Thomas Parrish

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Upwards of one million people died during the Genocide, Civil War, and Refugee Crisis in Rwanda and surrounding nations, during one of the fastest Genocides to occur in modern history. Even though the United Nations and its member states had a legal mandate to intervene in cases of Genocide due to the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, the world chose not to. While there were a myriad of reasons for this the media played a part in this situation. Using the coverage of US print magazine articles, this thesis argues that the media missed the …

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Examining Facebook As A Digitally Immersive Language Environment For French Language Learners, Shelly Wyatt Jan 2013

Examining Facebook As A Digitally Immersive Language Environment For French Language Learners, Shelly Wyatt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quasi-experimental study examined the impact of interactions with native French language Facebook posts on beginning French language learners’ willingness to communicate (WTC) and their attitudes towards the target language and culture in a university setting. In addition, the degree of interaction, by participants, with the French language Facebook posts was recorded and analyzed. This study was conducted during the Spring 2013 semester at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. Participants in this study were recruited from two sections of FRE 1120, Elementary French Language and Civilization I. Native French language Facebook posts were “pushed” to participants’ personal …

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Solid Phase Extraction Room Temperature Fluorescence Spectroscopy For The Direct Quantification Of Monohydroxy Metabolites Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons In Urine Samples, Korina Jesusa Calimag Jan 2013

Solid Phase Extraction Room Temperature Fluorescence Spectroscopy For The Direct Quantification Of Monohydroxy Metabolites Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons In Urine Samples, Korina Jesusa Calimag

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are important environmental pollutants generally formed during incomplete combustion of organic matter containing carbon and hydrogen. Introduced into the human body by adsorption through the skin, ingestion or inhalation, the biotransformation processes of PAH lead to the formation of multiple metabolites. Due to the short elimination lifetime from the body, the quantitative determination of monohydroxy-PAH (OH-PAH) in urine samples provides accurate information on recent exposure to environmental PAH. Urine analysis of OH-PAH with established methodology relies on sample clean-up and pre-concentration followed by chromatographic separation and quantification. Although chromatographic techniques provide reliable results in the analysis …

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Remediation Of Polychlorinated Biphenyl (Pcb) Contaminated Building Materials Using Non-Metal And Activated Metal Treatment Systems, Tamra Legron-Rodriguez Jan 2013

Remediation Of Polychlorinated Biphenyl (Pcb) Contaminated Building Materials Using Non-Metal And Activated Metal Treatment Systems, Tamra Legron-Rodriguez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

PCBs are recalcitrant compounds of no known natural origin that persist in the environment despite their ban by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 1979 due to negative health effects. Transport of PCBs from elastic sealants into concrete, brick, and granite structures has resulted in the need for a technology capable of removing these PCBs from the materials. This research investigated the use of a nonmetal treatment system (NMTS) and an activated metal treatment system (AMTS) for the remediation and degradation of PCBs from concrete, brick, and granite affixed with PCB-laden caulking. The adsorption of PCBs onto the components …

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Enhanced Two-Photon Absorption In A Squaraine-Fluorene-Squaraine Dye: Design, Synthesis, Photophysical Properties, And Solvatochromic Behavior, William Moreshead Jan 2013

Enhanced Two-Photon Absorption In A Squaraine-Fluorene-Squaraine Dye: Design, Synthesis, Photophysical Properties, And Solvatochromic Behavior, William Moreshead

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The discovery of any new technology is usually accompanied by a need for new or improved materials which make that technology useful in practical applications. In the case of two-photon absorption (2PA) this has truly been the case. Since its first demonstration in 1961, there has been an ever increasing quest to understand the relationships between two-photon absorption and the structure of two-photon absorbing materials. This quest has been motivated by the many applications for 2PA which have been reported, including fluorescence bioimaging, 3D microfabrication, 3D optical data storage, upconverted lasing, and photodynamic therapy. The work presented in this dissertation …

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Development Of Micro Volume Dna And Rna Profiling Assays To Identify The Donor And Tissue Source Of Origin Of Trace Forensic Biological Evidence, Brittany Morgan Jan 2013

Development Of Micro Volume Dna And Rna Profiling Assays To Identify The Donor And Tissue Source Of Origin Of Trace Forensic Biological Evidence, Brittany Morgan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In forensic casework analysis it is necessary to obtain genetic profiles from increasingly smaller amounts of biological material left behind by perpetrators of crime. The ability to obtain profiles from trace biological evidence is demonstrated with so-called ‘touch DNA evidence’ which is perceived to be the result of DNA obtained from shed skin cells transferred from donor to an object or person during physical contact. However, the current method of recovery of trace DNA involves cotton swabs or adhesive tape to sample an area of interest. This "blindswabbing" approach may result in the recovery of biological material from different individuals …

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Squaraine Dyes, Design And Synthesis For Various Functional Materials Applications, Yuanwei Zhang Jan 2013

Squaraine Dyes, Design And Synthesis For Various Functional Materials Applications, Yuanwei Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation contains the synthesis and characterization of squaraine based new functional materials. In the first part of this thesis work, a water soluble benzothiazolium squaraine dye was synthesized with pyridium pendents, and controlled aggregation properties were achieved. After formation of partially reversible J-aggregation on a polyelectrolyte (poly(acryl acid) sodium salt) template, the nonlinear, two-photon absorption cross section per repeat unit was found to be above 30-fold enhanced compared with nonaggregate and/or low aggregates. Using a similar strategy, sulfonate anions were introduced into the squaraine structure, and the resulting compounds exhibited good water solubilities. A ‘turn on’ fluorescence was discovered …

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