Digital Commons Network^™

Development Of A Novel Wet Algal Lipid Extraction Technique, Chen Zhang

Theses

A novel procedure, ASAPALLE, for lipid extraction from wet algae, Nannochloropsis Salina, was developed and reported. This method does not require pre-dehydration of algal biomass and the total extraction time needed is under one minute. The ASAPALLE extraction was compared with hexane Soxhlet extraction to evaluate the lipid extraction efficiency and the lipid profile. Algal lipid yield of the ASAPALLE extraction was 14.3% of the total dry algal biomass weight, while the hexane Soxhlet extraction after 18 hours yielded 7.9% of algal lipid. The total lipid content was approximately 14.6%, determined by a modified Bligh-Dyer method. The quality of the …

Phytochemical Analysis Of Antileishmanial Plants : A Drug Discovery Approach, Samon Shrestha

Theses

Phytochemical analysis of three antileishmanial plants from Monteverde, Costa Rica and Abaco Island, Bahamas, has been carried out by use of column chromatography for phytoseparation, and NMR and IR spectroscopy for structural elucidation. Ruyschia phylladenia contained betulinic acid as major component, with significant amount of lupeol. Eugenia monteverdensis contained beta-Sitosterol, betulinic acid and barbinervic acid. Tabebuia bahamensis contained large amount of ursolic acid. Betulinic acid inhibited promastigotes of L. amazonensis significantly but was also toxic to mouse macrophages. Lupeol and betulinic acid did not show antimicrobial activity while beta-Sitosterol inhibited Aspergillus niger strongly. Barbinervic acid expressed good inhibition of Bacillus …

Efficient Spherical Parameterization For Feature Aligned Mesh Morphing, Sabin Timalsena

Theses

This study presents an approach for establishing surface correspondence between multiple genus zero triangle meshes and animating a morph between them. The concepts of mesh simplification and refinement are used to progressively parameterize meshes using a novel metric for measurement of distortion in parameterized triangles. The parameterization algorithm is quite efficient and can process tens of thousands of triangles per minute. Feature correspondence is established between meshes through a two-step feature alignment procedure that aligns user selected features in the parametric domain. The parameterizations are used to merge the shapes from input models in order to generate a single mesh …

Multispectral Remote Sensing Of Archaeological Features In The Chicama Valley, Peru, Claire Christine Herdy

Theses

Around 100 A.D. a regional culture emerged on the north coast of Peru in the Moche Valley that lasted for several centuries. Today called the Moche or Mochica, it is considered on of the earliest states to emerge in the valleys of the Andes. The environment the Moche flourished in is one of extremes, from high deserts in the Andes to lush river valleys and an unforgiving coastline that overlooks the pacific Ocean, In this harsh environment the Moche grew and succeeded partly because of their achievement in advanced irrigation technology. How did the ancient Moche adapt to a desert …

Proceedings Of The African Pathologists Summit; March 22-23, 2013; Dakar, Senegal: A Summary, Shahin Sayed

Pathology, East Africa

Context: This report presents the proceedings of the African Pathologists Summit, held under the auspices of the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer.

Objectives: To deliberate on the challenges and constraints of the practice of pathology in Sub-Saharan Africa and the avenues for addressing them.

Participants: Collaborating organizations included the American Society for Clinical Pathology; Association of Pathologists of Nigeria; British Division of the International Academy of Pathology; College of Pathologists of East, Central and Southern Africa; East African Division of the International Academy of Pathology; Friends of Africa-United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology Initiative; International Academy …

Cognitive Studies On A Mouse Model Of Tyrosinemia Type I, Sarah Bradham Coker

Theses

Hereditary Tyrosinemia Type 1 (TTI) is an autosomal recessive disorder that is characterized by the deficiency of the fumarylacetoacetase (FAH) enzyme in the tyrosine catabolic pathway, resulting in the elevation of tyrosine and its byproducts in the blood, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and tissues. The accumulation of the toxic metabolites succinylacetone and fumarylacetoacetate in the liver and kidneys leads to catastrophic effects and death if not treated. The current treatments available for TTI patients are pharmacotherapy with nitisinone (NTBC) with diet modification and/or a liver transplant, each with its own associated risks. Recently, data has been published showing that TTI patients …

A Gas Chromatographic/Mass Spectral Analysis Of Aromatic Medicinal Plants From Yemen, Bhuwan Khatri Chhetri

Theses

Yemen is a small country located in the southwestern part of the Arabian Peninsula. Yemen’s coastal lowlands, eastern plateau and deserts give it a diverse topography, which along with climatic factors make it opulent in flora. Despite the introduction of western medicinal system during the middle of the twentieth century, herbal medicine still plays an important role in Yemen. However, little has been done on the study of the aromatic medicinal plants that have been used through ages to cure and heal diseases. To this end, in collaboration with Deparment of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Sana’a University, Yemen the essential …

Conversion Of Neural Network Models To State-Space Models For Model-Based Control Design, Sai Susheel Praneeth Kode

Theses

The objective of this research is to implement an artificial neural network into a closed-loop model based control law that requires a state space model. Model based control laws are strongly preferred due to the existence of mathematical proofs for their performance. With mathematical proof of performance, the controller is guaranteed to work correctly within a designed domain of operation. However, deriving physics based mathematical models and accurately identifying the parameters of such models are cumbersome, or sometimes impossible, for complex nonlinear systems. This limits the application domain of model based controllers. Neural networks are a great tool for modeling …

Comte’S Positivist Doctrine And Reform Of Secondary Science Education In Nineteenth-Century Brazil, Karl M. Lorenz

Education Faculty Publications

This paper discusses the influence of the Positivist Philosophy on the teaching of science in the National Gymnasium, formerly the College Pedro II, in Brazil. With the proclamation of the Republic in 1889 and the subsequent educational reform of Minister Benjamin Constant in 1890, the curriculum of the college, and in particular the teaching of the sciences, was profoundly affected by the positivist ideas of Comte. An analysis of the programs of scientific studies adopted in the Gymnasium from 1890 to 1900 demonstrates that these were organized in accordance with the hierarchy of abstraction of human knowledge proposed by Comtean …

Mechanisms Of Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Field (Nspef)-Induced Cell Death In Cells And Tumors, Stephen J. Beebe

Bioelectrics Publications

The evolution of pulse power technology from high power physics to biology and medicine places nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) in positions for in vitro and in vivo applications as non-ligand agonists that not only bypass plasma membrane receptors for induction of intracellular signaling pathways, but also bypass intracellular oncogenic impasses to induce cell death by regulated mechanisms. Based on work reviewed here, a likely scenario for cell and tumor demise includes nsPEF-induced permeabilization of the plasma membrane, Ca2+ influx, dissipation of the mitochondrial membrane potential, which is likely due to events beyond permeabilization of the inner mitochondrial membrane, cytochrome …

Electroporation Of Mammalian Cells By Nanosecond Electric Field Oscillations And It's Inhibition By The Electric Field Reversal, Elena C. Gianulis, Jimo Lee, Chunqi Jiang, Shu Xiao, Bennet L. Ibey, Andrei G. Pakhomov

Bioelectrics Publications

The present study compared electroporation efficiency of bipolar and unipolar nanosecond electric field oscillations (NEFO). Bipolar NEFO was a damped sine wave with 140 ns first phase duration at 50% height; the peak amplitude of phases 2-4 decreased to 35%, 12%, and 7% of the first phase. This waveform was rectified to produce unipolar NEFO by cutting off phases 2 and 4. Membrane permeabilization was quantified in CHO and GH₃ cells by uptake of a membrane integrity marker dye YO-PRO-1 (YP) and by the membrane conductance increase measured by patch clamp. For treatments with 1-20 unipolar NEFO, at 9.6-24 …

Discovering The Chinese Mining Child: The Archaeology Of Children And Childhood In Multicultural American Mining Communities, Nicole A. Lane

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Children made up roughly one-quarter of the population of industrial boomtowns in the

North American West, underscoring the connections of family to places commonly

thought to be bachelor communities. By comparing artifacts and historical contexts from

three mining communities (Butte, Montana; Deadwood, South Dakota; and Sandpoint,

Idaho) established in the late 19th century, this thesis will contribute to archaeologies of

children, childhood, and socialization, examining material remains as a line of evidence

to study the ways in which relationships, gender, race, and class pervaded the lives of

children in these industrial settings. The methods employed here integrate information

from historical …

Ablation Of Myocardial Tissue With Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Fields, Fei Xie, Frency Varghese, Andrei G. Pakhomov, Iurii Semenov, Shu Xiao, Jonathan Philpott, Christian Zemlin

Bioelectrics Publications

Background

Ablation of cardiac tissue is an essential tool for the treatment of arrhythmias, particularly of atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and ventricular tachycardia. Current ablation technologies suffer from substantial recurrence rates, thermal side effects, and long procedure times. We demonstrate that ablation with nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) can potentially overcome these limitations.

Methods

We used optical mapping to monitor electrical activity in Langendorff-perfused New Zealand rabbit hearts (n = 12). We repeatedly inserted two shock electrodes, spaced 2–4 mm apart, into the ventricles (through the entire wall) and applied nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEF) (5–20 kV/cm, 350 ns duration, …

Our Green Story, University Of Minnesota, Morris

Miscellaneous Campus Publications

No abstract provided.

Development And Validation Of Children's Environmental Affect (Attitude, Sensitivity And Willingness To Take Action) Scale, Mehmet Erdoǧan, Tom Marcinkowski

Mathematics and System Engineering Faculty Publications

This study focuses on the design, development, validation, and psychometric properties of the Children's Environmental Affect Scale (CEAS). Te following steps were taken in developing the CEAS. A substantial review of literature on environmental affect and EL helped the researchers identify several scales and questionnaires that, in turn, help establish the item pool. The initial scale derived from this item pool was reviewed by the selected experts (n=17) and then pilot tested with 673 students in 4 th -5 th grades. These pilot data were subjected to Explanatory Factor Analysis (EFA) to reveal the dimensions underlying these pilot items. Later, …

Gait Intervention For Improvements In Human Top Speed Running, Michelle Buechner

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Between individuals faster sprinting speeds are achieved by applying greater stance average forces against the running surface. Recent evidence further indicates that elite level performers also strike the ground with leg kinematics that differ from those of non-elites and that these leg movements act to enhance the force transients occurring in the milliseconds following foot-ground impact. I investigated whether sprint performance could be enhanced through a short term gait intervention, consisting of 3 laboratory training sessions wherein subjects (n = 6) completed 5 high-speed runs on an instrumented force treadmill at 90% of their measured top sprint. The subjects received …

Honors @ Georgia Southern, University Honors Program Students And Staff, Georgia Southern University

Honors College: News & Publications (2008-2020)

• Honors Inquiry in Ireland
• Alternative Breaks
• Pura Vida! Costa Rica
• Congrats to our grads!

Microbubble Generation By Piezotransducer For Biological Studies, W. Zhu, M. Alkhazal, M. Cho, S. Xiao

Bioelectrics Publications

Bubbles induced by blast waves or shocks are speculated to be the major cause of damages in biological cells in mild traumatic brain injuries. Microbubble collapse was found to induce noticeable cell detachment from the cell substrate, changes in focal adhesion and biomechanics. To better understand the bubble mechanism, we would like to construct a system, which allows us to clearly differentiate the impact of bubbles from that of shocks. Such a generator needs to be low profile in order to place under a microscope. A piezoelectric transducer system was designed to meet the need. The system uses either a …

Cell Stimulation And Calcium Mobilization By Picosecond Electric Pulses, Iurii Semenov, Shu Xiao, Dongkoo Kang, Karl H. Schoenbach, Andrei G. Pakhomov

Bioelectrics Publications

We tested if picosecond electric pulses (psEP; 190 kV/cm, 500 ps at 50% height), which are much shorter than channel activation time, can activate voltage-gated (VG) channels. Cytosolic Ca²⁺ was monitored by Fura-2 ratiometric imaging in GH3 and NG108 cells (which express multiple types of VG calcium channels, VGCC), and in CHO cells (which express no VGCC). Trains of up to 100 psEP at 1 kHz elicited no response in CHO cells. However, even a single psEP significantly increased Ca²⁺ in both GH3 (by 114 +/- 48 nM) and NG108 cells (by 6 +/- 1.1 nM). Trains of …

Picosecond To Terahertz Perturbation Of Interfacial Water And Electropermeabilization Of Biological Membranes, P. Thomas Vernier, Zachary A. Levine, Ming-Chak Ho, Shu Xiao, Iurii Semenov, Andrei G. Pakhomov

Bioelectrics Publications

Non-thermal probing and stimulation with subnanosecond electric pulses and terahertz electromagnetic radiation may lead to new, minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and to methods for remote monitoring and analysis of biological systems, including plants, animals, and humans. To effectively engineer these still-emerging tools, we need an understanding of the biophysical mechanisms underlying the responses that have been reported to these novel stimuli. We show here that subnanosecond (≤500 ps) electric pulses induce action potentials in neurons and cause calcium transients in neuroblastoma-glioma hybrid cells, and we report complementary molecular dynamics simulations of phospholipid bilayers in electric fields in which …

Embedded Power Active Contact Lens, Benny Ng

Master's Theses

This thesis designed and fabricated an active contact lens that notifies the user during the detection of an external wireless signal. The lens contained a printed antenna to communicate with a 2.4GHz system and provide inductive charging operating at 13.56 MHz. The lens utilizes a CBC005 5µAh thin film battery by Cymbet as a power source. A custom IC was designed using the On Semiconductor CMOS C5 0.6 µm process to manage the battery and drive the display. A printed single element display using electrochromic ink was chosen as it is able to indicate the user when activated while staying …

Patent Law: Cases & Materials ~ Version 2.0, Joseph S. Miller

Books

The book contains edited cases, patent figures, and excerpts, along with brief introductions on patent law. This book is designed for use in close conjunction with a specific softcover hornbook published by Wolters Kluwer, Janice Mueller’s, Patent Law, Fourth Edition (Aspen Student Treatise Series 2013). If you decide to use this case collection to teach a course of your own — as I hope people will — please check back to ensure that you have the most up-to-date version. This version, which is 2.0, was posted in June 2015.

Reproduced and linked with permission of the author.

Exclusion And Equality: How Exclusion From The Political Process Renders Religious Liberty Unequal, Philip A. Hamburger

Faculty Scholarship

Exclusion from the political process is a central question in American law. Thus far, however, it has not been recognized how religious Americans are excluded from the political process and what this means for religious equality.

Put simply, both administrative lawmaking and § 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code substantially exclude religious Americans from the political process that produces laws. As a result, apparently equal laws are apt, in reality, to be unequal for religious Americans. Political exclusion threatens religious equality.

The primary practical conclusion concerns administrative law. It will be seen that this sort of "law" is made …

The Future Of Direct Finance: The Diverging Paths Of Peer-To-Peer Lending And Kickstarter, Kathryn Judge

Faculty Scholarship

For centuries, the trend has been toward longer and more complex intermediation chains in a wide array of contexts. The growing length and complexity of intermediation chains were both the by-products and drivers of ever-greater globalization and specialization. In recent years, however, there has been a shift in the opposite direction. In a variety of markets, suppliers and consumers increasingly transact directly with one another. Many of these developments have arisen from technological innovations that reduce search costs and other hurdles to transacting, like verifying information and negotiating the terms of a transaction. Airbnb, Etsy, and their kin, for example, …

Using Interpersonal Process Recall (Ipr) To Examine The Effects Of Equine Assisted Activities On The Personal And Professional Development Of Student Therapists, Dianna Isabel Giraldez

Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects

The Introduction to Equine Assisted Family Therapy course offered at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) provides Master’s and Doctoral level student therapists the opportunity to learn how to conduct an equine session and how to utilize horses as part of the therapeutic process. Students learn about the underlying theories and framework behind the equine activities and methodology, as well as participate in the equine activities themselves. For the purpose of this study, classroom discussions centered around processing the students’ experiences and were further enriched by viewing photographs and videos that had been taken of the students conducting the equine activities. The …

Antibodies To Pseudogymnoascus Destructans Are Not Sufficient For Protection Against White-Nose Syndrome, Joseph S. Johnson, Deeann M. Reeder, Thomas M. Lilley, Ken Field

Faculty Journal Articles

White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a fungal disease caused by Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) that affects bats during hibernation. Although millions of bats have died from WNS in North America, mass mortality has not been observed among European bats infected by the fungus, leading to the suggestion that bats in Europe are immune. We tested the hypothesis that an antibody-mediated immune response can provide protection against WNS by quantifying antibod- ies reactive to Pd in blood samples from seven species of free-ranging bats in North America and two free-ranging species in Europe. We also quantified antibodies in blood samples from little brown …

Administrative Law, Public Administration, And The Administrative Conference Of The United States, Gillian E. Metzger

Faculty Scholarship

From its birth, administrative law has claimed a close connection to governmental practice. Yet as administrative law has grown and matured it has moved further away from how agencies actually function. The causes of administrative law’s disconnect from actual administration are complex and the divide is now longstanding, but it is also a source of concern given the increasing importance of internal administration for ensuring accountable government. This Article analyzes the contemporary manifestations and historical origins of administrative law’s divide from public administration, as well as the growing costs of this disconnect. It also describes the Administrative Conference of the …

Children's Health In A Legal Framework, Elizabeth S. Scott, Clare Huntington

Faculty Scholarship

The interdisciplinary periodical Future of Children has dedicated an issue to children’s health policy. This contribution to the issue maps the legal landscape influencing policy choices. The authors demonstrate that in the U.S. legal system, parents have robust rights, grounded in the Constitution, to make decisions concerning their children’s health and medical treatment. Following from its commitment to parental rights, the system typically assumes the interests of parents and children are aligned, even when that assumption seems questionable. Thus, for example, parents who would limit their children’s access to health care on the basis of the parents’ religious belief have …

Licensing Commercial Value: From Copyright To Trademarks And Back, Jane C. Ginsburg

Faculty Scholarship

Copyright and trademarks often overlap, particularly in visual characters. The same figure may qualify as a pictorial, graphic or sculptural work on the one hand, and as a registered (or at least used) trademark on the other. The two rights, though resting on distinct foundations, tend to be licensed together. Trademarks symbolize the goodwill of the producer, and are protected insofar as copying that symbol is likely to confuse consumers as to the source or approval of the goods or services in connection with which the mark is used. For famous marks, the dilution action grants a right against uses …

The ’73 Graft: Punishment, Political Economy, And The Genealogy Of Morals, Bernard E. Harcourt

Faculty Scholarship

In this essay, I explore the place of a genealogy of morals within the context of a history of political economy. More specifically, I investigate the types of moralization – of criminals and delinquents, of the disorderly, but also of political economic systems, of workers and managers, of rules and rule-breaking – that are necessary and integral to making a population accept new styles of political and economic governance, especially the punitive institutions that accompany modern political economies in the contemporary period.

The marriage of political economy and a genealogy of morals: this essay explores how the moralization of certain …