Digital Commons Network^™

Natural Selectivity Of Nickel And Vanadium In Crude Oil, Olienka P. De La O Fernandez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Nickel and Vanadium have always been found in crude oil all around the world. The metal content is found mainly in porphyrin structures in the asphaltene fraction of the petroleum. In order to determine the reason for this natural preference, a set of experiments testing thermodynamics, kinetics, and other factors were performed. Candidate metalloporphyrins containing Vanadyl, Chromium, Iron, Nickel, Copper and Zinc were analyzed through chemical reactions characterized using Silica Column Chromatography, HPLC, MS and UV-Visible. Theoretical analysis of the stability of metalloporphyrins was conducted using DFT/NRLMOL for computational calculation. The analysis of all factors leads us to conclude that …

A Visualization And Simulation Tool That Will Generate Effective Patrolling Strategies To Protect The U.S. Borders From Illegal Intrusion Using Game Theoretic Methods And Models, Eric Gutierrez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In the recent decade, the United States Border Patrol has increased the presence of border security officers at points of entry along the U.S.- Mexico border. In response to this increased presence of border security officials at ports of entries, illegal intruders have rerouted their intrusions in between ports of entry, in harsher terrain areas of the U.S. (e.g., the Arizona desert). The U.S. Border Patrol could benefit from a tool that plans effective border patrolling routes, and helps border security officials to make risk-based decisions for resource allocation. We are currently developing a tool called Genetic Algorithm for a …

An Explanatory And Comparative Analysis Of Freight Transportation In Eu And U.S. Highways, Luis Alberto Hernandez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis provides resources for data collection regarding road freight transportation in the Unites States and the European Union, as well as an explanatory description of data available at each source. Afterwards, individual analysis of the current state of affairs of the highway freight transportation systems in U.S. and EU are performed. Thereafter, an explanatory and comparative analysis between the two land freight transportation systems is performed in terms of regulatory authorities and associations, trucks volume flow, freight weight and volume flow, major issues affecting the system, infrastructure funding sources, and major logistics hubs. Besides, a correlation analysis was performed …

Safety Measures For Trucks: A Comparison Between Eu And U.S., Jan Kapusta

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Road transportation is playing an important role in almost all of the freight movements and contributes to the economy. It has the highest share in the modal division of transported goods. This situation is not about to change in next years to come. Therefore, it is necessary to change the current situation and create rules and regulations that would lead to decrease in number of accidents either in EU or in U.S. The goal of this research is to analyze selected parameters related to the safety of truck transportation in EU and in U.S. This thesis also identifies and compares …

What Makes It Moral? Measuring Differences Between Moral And Non-Moral Attitudes, Ciara Katelyn Kidder

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Moral attitudes have unique behavioral consequences. Theory predicts that moral attitudes are uniquely different than non-moral attitudes on a variety of dimensions. Of particular interest to the current study are two cognitive characteristics: objectivity, the belief that one's moral attitudes are factual and universality, the belief that one's moral attitudes ought to apply to everyone. These constructs have only been informally examined by a handful of studies. The aim of the current research was to examine the associations of morality to objectivity and universality using idiographic Implicit Association Tests. There were two primary hypotheses. The first hypothesis was that there …

Isomerase Activity Of Candida Rugosa Lipase In Conversion Of Racemic Ibuprofen To (S)-Ibuprofen, Saideh Sadat Mortazavi

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Candida rugosa lipase-catalyzed Dynamic Kinetic Resolution of racemic ibuprofen methyl ester was optimal at pH 7.6 to produce (S)-ibuprofen in 72 hours. The concentration of various buffers for these reactions ranged from 0.2 to 0.5 M. The commercial lipase was found to be acidic altering the final pH of the reaction mixtures. Dimethylformamide co-solvent maintained the reaction pH better than dimethylsulfoxide, with evidence of the latter functioning as an oxidizing agent. Lower concentrations of ibuprofen methyl ester and higher stirring rates led to faster conversions. The minimal amount of lipase needed was 20 mg/mL buffer. Reaction of (R)-ibuprofen methyl …

Risk Assessment Of Waterborne Cryptosporidium, Victoria Norma Ochoa

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In an effort to update the risk assessment of waterborne Cryptosporidium an additional and more complete human dose-response dataset of the parasite was used to calculate the risk of infection. The complete data studied contains larger human outcomes than the initial prior risk assessment evaluated by Haas et. al. in 1999. Quantitative analysis of the complete dose-response indicates that it no longer follows the Exponential Model used to estimate the risk for the initial data. The complete dataset appears to provide a better fit with the Beta-Poisson Model and even a dose independent constant risk model, which shows a considerable …

Assessing U.S. High School Mathematics Students' Dependency On Calculators For Basic Arithmetic Operations Involving Integers From Single-Digit Fact Families, John Jeremy Sneed

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study was designed to investigate the extent to which high school students use calculators to perform basic operations, and how well they actually perform those same operations without using calculators. The investigation involved the testing of math classes of students--male and female, mixed ethnicities--in grades nine through twelve. Students were asked to perform all four basic math operations (add, subtract, multiply, divide) involving integers based on single-digit addition and multiplication fact families with and without calculators. The testing was in two environments--timed and untimed, with students recording their completion times--in order to investigate discrepancies in students' calculator use in …

Secondhand City: Stolen Stories From La Limonada, Byron José Sun

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Roboton, Jupa and Calicas have just been drafted by the city of La Limonada to petrol, to rob, to intimidate, to extort, to kill and when necessary to protect those citizens that need it; as their crime spree progresses their tactics and abilities improve shaping them into criminal machines. The three new criminals will be tasked with the reality of destroying people's lives in order to insure La Limonada maintains its dominion over every citizen by controlling every aspect of their past, present and future. Many of those citizens are clueless on how they are controlled; it isn't until their …

Development Of A Variable Stiffness Locally Adjustable And Repairable Low-Cost Energy Storage And Return Carbon Fiber Prosthetic Foot: A Feasibility Study, Joshua Scott Bowen

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: Energy storage and return (ESAR) prosthetic feet were developed to improve the mobility and function of lower-limb amputees. Amputees in the Developing World amputees lack this technology. Most current Developing World prosthetic solutions do not adequately address the needs of active amputees and were not designed to pass international standard tests. Developing a low-cost, repairable, adjustable, energy storage and return prosthetic foot would close this technological gap and improve the mobility and function of active amputees. The goal of this research is to determine the feasibility of fabricating a low-cost, adjustable, ESAR, repairable prosthetic foot manufactured from carbon fiber …

Two-Photon Microscopy For Biomedical Studies, Yassel Acosta

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Fluorescence optical microscopy is one of the most important tools to investigate biological samples and to observe structures in living cells. Based on the principle of the simultaneous absorption of two-photons and subsequent emission of fluorescent light we have developed a Two-Photon Laser Scanning Fluorescence Microscope that allow us to perform optical sectioning and three-dimensional reconstructions of structures in biological samples such as dopaminergic clusters of neurons and tracheal branches in Drosophila brain. The spatial confinement of the excitation light to the focal plane combined with the temporal compression of photons into short packets during femtosecond pulses make our system …

Thermal Ecology Of Urosaurus Ornatus (Ornate Tree Lizard), In The Northern Chihuahuan Desert On Indio Mountains Research Station, Texas, Julia Sandoval Alva

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The main goal of this study was to determine the thermal ecology of the small tree lizard Urosaurus ornatus in a Chihuahuan Desert landscape. The study site was located at Indio Mountains Research Station (IMRS), Hudspeth County, Texas. We obtained body temperature (Tb) data on 385 lizards collected from April 2007 to June 2014 during the active period using a cloacal thermometer. Additionally, we recorded air temperature (Ta) and substrate temperature (Ts) of lizard microhabitats at the time of capture, and the operative temperature of lizard models left in the sun and shade from May to September 2014. My results …

Cell Releasing System Using Light Responsive Photovoltaic Devices, Mohammod Khairul Kabir Bhuyan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Tissue and organ regeneration via transplantation of cell bodies in-situ has become an emerging strategy in regenerative medicine. Injected or implanted cells must be available in large enough numbers and suitable delivery methods must be found especially when implantation into the affected tissue is not possible. In addition, better understanding of how to mitigate the inflammatory reactions and how to degrade the cell carriers are needed. Current cell-based therapies are limited to injection or implantation of cell suspensions or implantation of cell sheets. Development of alternative systems to obtain cell sheets or other functional cellular structures are required. We are …

Effects Of Electrical Pulse Stimulation On In Vitro Measurement Of Mitochondrial Content And Lipid In Human Myotubes, Daniel Alberto Conde

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

It has been previously shown that human myotubes retain certain in vivo characteristics of the donors. Furthermore, we have shown that Electrical pulse stimulation (EPS), an in vitro exercise mimetic, increases mitochondrial and lipid content in cultured human myotubes after 24 hr. of stimulation. Purpose: We aimed to examine the EPS induced adaptations to lipid, mitochondrial, and Glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) content using human myotubes. Methods: EPS was applied to myotubes for 60 min (bipolar pulses of 100 Hz, 30V, every 5 seconds), 24 hr. or 48 hr. (single bipolar pulses of 1 Hz for 2 ms; 30V) and were …

Global Sphingolipid Profile Of Giardia Lamblia During Stage Differentiation: The Influence Of Sphingomyelin Abundance On Viable Cyst Production, Trevor Thomas Duarte

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Giardia lamblia is a protozoan parasite and a major cause of the waterborne-illness, giardiasis, worldwide. Giardiasis is endemic in developing countries and is a leading cause of non-viral- and non-bacterial-associated intestinal disorders. Acute symptoms of giardiasis include diarrhea, cramps, and malabsorption. The disease is often self-limiting, although the infection can result in long-term disorders such as chronic fatigue, stunted cognitive skills, and failure to thrive even after the parasite has been cleared.

This parasite exists in two morphologic forms--infective trophozoites and transmissible, water-resistant cyst, which is passed by the fecal-oral route and is likely to be spread by contaminated drinking …

Potential Influences Of Compliance For Short-Term Recovery From Sports-Related Concussion, Erin R. Ewing

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Currently, treatment of sports-related concussion dictates the prescription of physical and cognitive rest to allow the injured brain to recover and for concussion-related symptoms to subside. However, clinicians who prescribe rest are often met with resistance from athletes who do not recognize its therapeutic value in the recovery process. Research has shown that athletes often fail to comply with rest recommendations, resulting in protracted recovery and the persistence of symptoms. Method: This study employed a three-group pretest-posttest experimental design to compare the effects of three different concussion management protocols. Participants were recently concussed athletes ages 18-25 seen in the UTEP …

A Comparative Approach To Assessing The Functional And Structural Characteristics Of Human Fkbp52 In The Regulation Of Steroid Hormone Receptor Signaling Pathway, Diondra Crystal Harris

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The 52 kDa FK506 binding protein (h52) is a key positive regulator of Androgen Receptor (AR) in cellular and animal models and is an attractive target for the treatment of prostate cancer. Human FKBP52 is a known regulatory protein and co-chaperone that has been shown to play an important role in the regulation of the AR signaling pathway, and in the development of the male sexual phenotype. Cellular studies in mammalian and yeast cells reveal that FKBP52 is a positive regulator of AR, glucocorticoid receptor (GR), and progesterone receptor (PR), potentiating receptor-mediated gene expression up to 60-fold in some systems. …

Investigating Bilingual Non-Selective Lexical Access Within A Reading Comprehension Framework, Justin Gerald Lauro

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Thesis examines the role of bilingual non-selective lexical access on sentence comprehension. According to the BIA+ model of lexical access, bilinguals have an integrated lexicon with, and activation flows automatically across both languages. This model assumes that the bilingual lexicon is fundamentally non-selective. Previous research shows that cognates, words that share form and meaning across languages, are processed faster relative to non-cognates, even in sentence contexts. However, previous research focuses primarily on processing of single lexical items. The structure building framework of reading comprehension states that readers initially lay a foundation for subsequent information to be mapped on to. …

Glycine Transporter 2: Expression And Interactions In The Central Nervous System., Shweta Lavania

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Glycine is an important inhibitory neurotransmitter that is localized in the caudal areas of the nervous system and plays an important role in mediating many important functions related to breathing, spinal reflexes, nociception etc. Termination of neurotransmission is achieved by the re-uptake of glycine back into the pre- synaptic neuron and neighboring glial cells by the two glycine transporters namely Glycine transporter 1 (GlyT1) and Glycine transporter 2 (GlyT2). These transporters play an essential role in regulating glycinergic inhibition in the central nervous system by controlling the duration and intensity of neurotransmission and therefore the efficacy of synaptic inhibition as …

Sedimentologic, Stratigraphic, And Diagenetic Analysis Of Microbialite-Bearing Lacustrine Rift Sequence Within The Lower Cretaceous Yucca Formation, Indio Mountains, West Texas, Xiaowei Li

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study sedimentologically, stratigraphically, and diagenetically analyzed strata of the upper member of the Lower Cretaceous Yucca Formation in the Indio Mountains, West Texas in order to develop an outcrop-based analog model for similar facies that form major hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Pre-salt rift basins of the South Atlantic margin. The lower Cretaceous strata of the Indio Mountains were deposited in rift basins that formed along the eastern margin of the Chihuahua Trough under similar greenhouse climate conditions as the South Atlantic basins.

Eleven lithofacies are recognized from the upper member of the Yucca Formation to the base of the …

Art And Hyperreality, Alfredo Martin-Perez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

My Thesis pertains to philosophy of art. Its main purpose is a reconsideration of the notion of art as a response to claims stating the end of art, as in the case of the writings on hyperreality, stating that the transformation of reality, has resulted in a world that is permeated with a virtual reality that replaces traditional schemas for ways of living in the world, that valued the originality of art.

In the setting up of the subject, I will briefly mention descriptions of both reality and hyperreality, and the developments in art throughout the modern, and post modern …

Finally The Moon: Poems, Kimberly Kathryn Mathes

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A collection of poems about the place, angels, baseball, family and the self.

Characterization Of Ns1 Sumoylation And Its Effect On Influenza A Viral Infection, Katherine Anne Meraz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Influenza virus is a contagious respiratory virus responsible for seasonal epidemics and several catastrophic pandemics in the last century. Its genome is comprised of negative sense, single-stranded RNA and, after entering the cell, it is capable of hijacking the host cellular machinery for reproducing its own genetic material. The activation of cellular defenses against influenza viral infection are triggered upon viral entry and help regulate the course of viral infection. This study focused on the interplay between the influenza A virus and the cellular SUMOylation system during viral infection. The first part of this Dissertation deals with the relevance of …

Impact Of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles On Green Pea Plant & Seed Quality And Effects On Physiological Traits Of Green Peas, Corn, And Zucchini By Silver Nanoparticles, Arnab Mukherjee

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The production and use of numerous engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) have increased exponentially over the past decade. Nanoparticles (NPs), ENMs possessing diameter between 1-100 nm, (NPs), are widely used in many applications. Worldwide consumption of NPs has increased their possible release into the environment. This, in turn, has elevated the extent of the potential impacts of NP exposure to living and non-living organisms. This is why the assessment of the impact of NPs on different environmental components, especially on plants, the producer in the food web, has become a very important aspect of nano-ecotoxicology. However, studies focusing on phytotoxicity and effects …

Effects Of The Cellular Sumoylation System On The Influenza Nuclear Export Protein (Nep), Karla Prieto

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The high genetic compatibility between the 2009 H1N1 pandemic "swine flu" and the highly pathogenic H5N1 "bird flu" viruses indicates that the odds of a deadly bird flu strain mingling its genetic material with a human virus and becoming easily transmissible among humans are at an all-time high. This fact stresses the urgent need for new treatment and prevention methods to combat influenza. Our current anti-influenza weapons include vaccination and two type of antivirals that

target specific viral components (the so-called M2 ion channel inhibitors and the neuraminidase inhibitors). However, the high genetic variability of the virus enables it to …

Inkjet Bioprinting Of Solid Peroxides For Constructing Oxygen Generating Scaffolds To Improve Cells Viability And Growth Under Hypoxic Environment, Daniel Reyna Soriano

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Tissue engineering has emerged as an interdisciplinary field to overcome current challenges for tissue repair or replacement in the human body. In essence, it proposes new medical therapies customized to match the biology of specific patients. The potential benefits offered by tissue engineering have driven scientific inquiry to make it a clinical reality.

One of the current challenges in tissue engineering is to provide oxygen supply to thick tissues as oxygen diffusion is limited to 100 - 200 µm layer of viable tissue. Engineered vascular conduits are applied in vitro, providing pre-vascularization to tissues; however, host anastomosis is still a …

Il-2rβ T450 Phosphorylation Is A Positive Regulator For Receptor Complex Stability And Activation Of Signaling Molecules, Blanca Estela Ruiz-Medina

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Homeostasis of the immune system is required for proper defense against pathogenic insult. Cells of the innate and adaptive compartments provide a strictly regulated response to clear infections while allowing for self-tolerance. Dysregulation of the components of the immune system can lead to immunodeficiency, autoimmunity, and cancer. Key players of the immune response are T, B, and NK cells, which become strongly activated by IL2 through its receptor. The β subunit of the receptor becomes tyrosine, serine, and threonine phosphorylated upon induction with IL2. Phosphorylation of tyrosine residues has been extensively studied, however, the putative regulatory role of serine and …

La Vida Es Truco, Luis Eduardo Álvarez Marí­N

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

La colección de historias La vida es truco, se centra en la historia de Eliseo, un niño de ocho años que espera a que su padre, un mago callejero y ladrón, regrese a casa. Durante la espera, el niño va contando a un narratario enigmático cada una de las aventuras que ha vivido con su padre, y a su vez va reconstruyendo la imagen que tiene sobre él: una figura mítica, un superhéroe que nunca se equivoca en nada. El volumén plantea temas como el engaño, la supervivencia, la paternidad y la infancia, en una familia disfuncional que intenta salir …

Capture Of Fixation By Rotational Flow; A Deterministic Hypothesis Regarding Scaling And Stochasticity In Fixational Eye Movements, Nm Wilkinson, G Metta

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Visual scan paths exhibit complex, stochastic dynamics. Even during visual fixation, the eye is in constant motion. Fixational drift and tremor are thought to reflect fluctuations in the persistent neural activity of neural integrators in the oculomotor brainstem, which integrate sequences of transient saccadic velocity signals into a short term memory of eye position. Despite intensive research and much progress, the precise mechanisms by which oculomotor posture is maintained remain elusive. Drift exhibits a stochastic statistical profile which has been modeled using random walk formalisms. Tremor is widely dismissed as noise. Here we focus on the dynamical profile of fixational …

The Influences Of Poultry Litter Biochar And Water Source On Radish Growth And Nutrition, Julia Allen, David E. Longer, Edward E. Gbur, Lichen Hao

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Many row-crop fields today have declined in soil fertility due to poor management practices and overuse of pesticides. Under these conditions, plant nutrient uptake can be sub-optimal. There are several soil amendments that can be used to improve soil quality and plant growth. This study focused on the addition of biochar to the soil and the use of structured water to enhance plant growth. Biochar is produced by pyrolysis of organic feedstocks. Previous studies which focused on biochar have shown an increase in plant yield, nutrient availability in the soil, and soil water holding capacity. Structured water is the liquid …