Digital Commons Network^™

Modeling The Interplay Between Photosynthesis, Co2 Fixation, And The Quinone Pool In A Purple Non-Sulfur Bacterium, Adil Alsiyabi

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Rhodopseudomonas palustris CGA009 is a purple non-sulfur bacterium (PNSB) that can fix CO₂ and nitrogen or break down organic compounds for its carbon and nitrogen requirements. Light, inorganic, and organic compounds can all be used for its source of energy. Excess electrons produced during its metabolic processes can be exploited to produce hydrogen gas or biodegradable polyesters (polyhydroxybutyrate). A genome-scale metabolic model of the bacterium was reconstructed to study the interactions between photosynthesis, carbon dioxide fixation, and the redox state of the quinone pool. A comparison of model-predicted flux values with published in vivo MFA fluxes resulted in predicted …

Engineered Porous Media For Groundwater Contaminant Remediation: Applications Of Nano-Tio2, Sheng Yin

Theses and Dissertations

Nonmetallic Arsenic and hydrocarbon BTEX are the most common and harmful contaminants in groundwater. Many oxide, biological and metal based adsorbent materials have been investigated in the laboratory and in the field environment. These materials, especially for nano-TiO2, have been extensively studied in the laboratory due to its high efficiency and remediation outcomes. This research compared two different synthetic nano-TiO2, aggregated dendritic nano-scale anatase TiO2 and the polymorphed rutile nano-TiO2 attached to the surface of SiO2, to study the feasibility of nano-TiO2 in geoenvironmental engineering applications. Characterization of crystal structure, purity, and morphologic, microscopic features of the materials were examed …

Considering Leadership Style, Trust, And Uncertainty Avoidance On Leader Member Exchange, Alexander Michael Dechurch

Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to further research the impact of leadership style on leader-member exchange (LMX), and to investigate the role of individual uncertainty avoidance and trust on LMX when paired with the two leadership styles (transactional and transformational leadership). Three samples were collected. Sample 1 included 32 dyadic undergraduate student and leader pairs from a midsize southern private university; Sample 2 included 118 leaders recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (Mturk); Sample 3 included 141 followers recruited through Mturk. Results indicated positive relationships between follower and leader perceptions of transactional and transformational leadership style and leadermember exchange. Moreover, there are …

Effects Of Progressive Ratio Schedules On Responding Following Exposure To Varying Economies, Laura Perry Senn

Theses and Dissertations

In the field of behavior analysis, access to reinforcement is generally referred to as being either an open or a closed economy. However, little research exists on the varying degrees of reinforcer exposure that may occur between the parameters of “open” and “closed.” The current study compares varying degrees of economies utilizing closed, 33% open, 66% open, and open economy conditions with three participants diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Prior to analysis, all participants completed an evaluation to determine whether their preferences remained stable over multiple sessions and whether they were sensitive to a satiation operation. Results are evaluated in …

Inbreeding Alters Context‐Dependent Reproductive Effort And Immunity In Male Crickets, Kristin R. Duffield, Kylie J. Hampton, Thomas M. Houslay, John Hunt, Ben Sadd, Scott K. Sakaluk

Faculty Publications – Biological Sciences

Infection can cause hosts to drastically alter their investment in key life‐history traits of reproduction and defence. Infected individuals are expected to increase investment in defence (e.g., by increasing immune function) and, due to trade‐offs, investment in other traits (e.g., current reproduction) should decrease. However, the terminal investment hypothesis postulates that decreased lifespan due to infection and the associated reduction in the expectation for future offspring will favour increased investment towards current reproduction. Variation in intrinsic condition will likely influence shifts in reproductive investment post‐infection, but this is often not considered in such assessments. For example, the extent of inbreeding …

Stochastic Resonance Enables Bpp/Log∗ Complexity And Universal Approximation In Analog Recurrent Neural Networks, Emmett Redd, A. Steven Younger, Tayo Obafemi-Ajayi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Stochastic resonance (SR) is a natural process that without limit increases the precision of signal measurements in biological and physical sciences. Most artificial neural networks (NNs) are implemented on digital computers of fixed precision. A NN accessing universal approximation and a computational complexity class more powerful that of a Turing machine needs analog signals utilizing SR's limitless precision increase. This paper links an analog recurrent (AR) NN theorem, SR, BPP/log∗ (a physically realizable, super-Turing computation class), and universal approximation so NNs following them can be made computationally more powerful. An optical neural network mimicking chaos indicates super-Turing computation has been …

Multi-Objective Optimization Approach To Find Biclusters In Gene Expression Data, Jeffrey Dale, Junya Zhao, Tayo Obafemi-Ajayi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Gene expression levels of organisms are measured by DNA microarrays. Finding biclusters in gene expression matrices provides invaluable information about effects of disease at the genetic level. These biclusters could identify which genes are up-regulated/down-regulated under certain conditions. This paper investigates a methodology for evolutionary-based biclustering using the NSGA-II algorithm. It also presents an improvement to the recovery and relevance external validation metrics as well as a new method for synthetic data generation for biclustering. Results obtained demonstrate its effectiveness in discovering useful biclusters on varied synthetic data when applied with the average Spearman's rho measure as the fitness function.

Genotype Combinations Linked To Phenotype Subgroups In Autism Spectrum Disorders, Junya Zhao, Thy Nguyen, Jonathan Kopel, Perry B. Koob, Donald A. Adieroh, Tayo Obafemi-Ajayi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper investigates a computational model that allows for systematic comparison of phenotype data with genotype (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs)) data based on machine learning techniques to identify discriminant genotype markers associated with the phenotypic subgroups. The proposed discriminant SNP identifier model is empirically evaluated using Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) simplex sample. Six phenotype markers were selected to cluster the sample in a hexagonal lattice format yielding five multidimensional subgroups based on extremities of the phenotype markers. The SNP selection model includes random subspace selection of SNPs in conjunction with feature selection algorithms to determine which set of SNPs were …

Comparative Analysis Of Feature Selection Methods To Identify Biomarkers In A Stroke-Related Dataset, Thomas Clifford, Justin Bruce, Tayo Obafemi-Ajayi, John Matta

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper applies machine learning feature selection techniques to the REGARDS stroke-related dataset to identify health-related biomarkers. A data-driven methodological framework is presented to evaluate multiple feature selection methods. In applying the framework, three classifiers are chosen in conjunction with two wrappers, and their performance with diverse classification targets such as Current Smoker, Current Alcohol Use, and Deceased is evaluated. The performance across logistic regression, random forest and naïve Bayes classifier methods, as quantified by the ROC Area Under Curve metric and selected features, was similar. However, significant differences were observed in running time. Performance of the selected features was …

Simulation Of A Continuum Tumor Model Using Distributed Computing., Dylan A Goodin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mathematical modeling aims to provide a theoretical framework for understanding tissue dynamics and for establishing treatment response for diseased tissues, such as tumors. Previously published continuum models have successfully represented idealized two-dimensional and three-dimensional tissue for short periods of time. A recently published continuum model of cancer increases model complexity and describes three-dimensional tissue that, due to the required complexity of the geometric multigrid solver, can only be feasibly applied to millimeter-scale simulations. Furthermore, the computational cost for such models has hindered their application in the laboratory and in the clinic. With computational demands greatly outpacing current openMP-based approaches on …

In Hot Water: Thermal Acclimation Is Insufficient To Save Corals In The Anthropocene, Harmony Alise Martell

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Scleractinian corals are animal partners in exquisite symbioses with a suite of algal, microbial, fungal and viral associates comprising miniature ecosystems collectively referred to as a holobiont. In recent decades, ocean warming has jeopardized the delicate balance of the very symbioses that have enabled coral survival. Thermal stress causes a reduction of algal symbionts, a phenomenon referred to as ‘coral bleaching’ that represents dysbiosis in the holobiont and often leads to mortality. Current thermal acclimation theory states variation and gradual increases in temperature can ameliorate thermal stress. Indeed, there is evidence some coral species have some capacity to acclimatize to …

A Design Of Inductive Coupling Wireless Power Transfer System For Electric Vehicle Applications, Sarika Reddy Daida

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This research focuses on the study of using an inductive-coupled Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) system for electric vehicle charging applications in Medium Voltage DC (MVDC) power networks. Implementing WPT in Electric Vehicles (EVs) can provide a convenient alternative charging option, versus static charging in a station that would take hours. Also, it can prevent the potential of electrocution hazards that might occur due to the usage of physical medium like wires in EV charging. Even though inductive coupling has been applied in some applications of WPT, it is still not efficient enough to transfer high power at the kilowatts level …

Assessing The Relationship Between Flood Risk Perceptions And Adaptive Behaviors Of Households, Dontá Council

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation research is to examine the multiple relationships that explain household adaptive behaviors to flooding, and if risk perceptions play a mediating role in these relationships. Given the shift in transferring risks from public flood risk governance structures to households, there is a renewed interest in promoting private adaptive behavior amongst households that are vulnerable to flood impacts. Currently, the literature purports that flood risk perceptions rarely account for the variance explained in statistical models that examine household adaptive behaviors. This study analyzed an integrated conceptual framework that explored the mediating role of risk perceptions. The …

Numerical Model To Predict Hemolysis And Transport In A Membrane-Based Microfluidic Device, Matthew D. Poskus

Theses

Microfluidics has become an increasingly popular tool in the design and development of medical devices and artificial organs. Two promising applications of microfluidics are dialyzers and oxygenators. As a step toward portable dialysis treatment, continuous microfluidic dialysis may resolve many clinical issues with current dialysis treatments. Additionally, commercially available oxygenators exceed the blood volume of neonatal patients; low-volume microfluidic devices may safely deliver oxygen to these patients. Two critical parameters in the development of these devices is mechanical hemolysis and membrane diffusion, which are intricately connected to the geometry, flow rate, properties of the membrane, and each other. A computational …

Persistence Of A Geographically-Stable Hybrid Zone In Puerto Rican Dwarf Geckos, Brendan J. Pinto, James Titus-Mcquillan, Juan D. Daza, Tony Gamble

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Determining the mechanisms that create and maintain biodiversity is a central question in ecology and evolution. Speciation is the process that creates biodiversity. Speciation is mediated by incompatibilities that lead to reproductive isolation between divergent populations and these incompatibilities can be observed in hybrid zones. Gecko lizards are a speciose clade possessing an impressive diversity of behavioral and morphological traits. In geckos, however, our understanding of the speciation process is negligible. To address this gap, we used genetic sequence data (both mitochondrial and nuclear markers) to revisit a putative hybrid zone between Sphaerodactylus nicholsi and Sphaerodactylus townsendi in Puerto Rico, …

Pharmaceutical Industry Funding To Patient-Advocacy Organization: A Cross-National Comparison Of Disclosure Codes And Regulation, Laura Karas, Robin Feldman, Bai Ge, So Yeon Kang, Gerard F. Anderson

Articles

Transparency has become one of the primary themes in health care reform efforts in the United States and across the world. In the face of exorbitant drug prices, high levels of patient cost-sharing, and pharmaceutical expenditures that consume a growing proportion of public sector budgets, much attention has been drawn to the pharmaceutical industry. Congressional investigations, academic publications, and news articles have endeavored to reveal the extent of drug and device industry influence on health care actors. In response, several nations, including the United States, have passed legislation mandating disclosure of drug company payments to physicians. In the United States, …

Differences In Career Engagement Scores Among Mid-Atlantic High School Seniors Within Career Readiness Programs Of Study, Glenn R. Mathias Iii

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Employers are having problems filling vacancies with qualified workers. While secondary education has placed an emphasis on students being college ready, a majority of Career Technology Education students indicate they are not getting career knowledge as a part of their career technology education experience. Currently, the prevailing idea is that some educational systematic shortfall exists. In this quantitative causal comparative study, the researcher sought to determine if there was a difference between the levels of career engagement among career readiness pathways of schools located in the Mid-Atlantic region. Recent high school graduates from a Mid-Atlantic school district were administered the …

Melusine's Footprint: Tracing The Legacy Of A Medieval Myth, S. C. Kaplan

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

In This Issuereview Articleoriginal Articlescase Report

Saudi Medical Journal

No abstract provided.

The Evaluation Of Leukocyte-Platelet Rich Fibrin As An Anti-Inflammatory Autologous Biological Additive: A Novel In Vitro Study, Mahmoud Mudalal, Xiaolin Sun, Xue Li, Yanmin Zhou

Saudi Medical Journal

Objectives: To investigate the use of leukocyte-platelet rich fibrin on suppressing the porphyromonas gingivalis (PG-LPS)-induced secretion of proinflammatory cytokines. Methods: This quantitative experimental study was conducted at the School and Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University, Changchun, China, between September 2017 and January 2019. A modified technique was used to obtain human gingival fibroblast cells (HGFCs). 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and Cell Counting Kit-8 tests were established to determine the proliferation rate. Human gingival fibroblast cells were treated by PG-LPS at different periods and the isolated mRNA was subjected to reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. …

Clinical Characteristics And Phenotype-Genotype Review Of 25 Omani Children With Congenital Hyperinsulinism In Infancy: A One-Decade Single-Center Experience, Maryam K. Al-Badi, Hanan S. Al-Azkawi, Mouza S. Al-Yahyaei, Waad A. Mula-Abed, Aisha M. Al-Senani

Saudi Medical Journal

Objectives: To report the genotype-phenotype characteristics, demographic features and clinical outcome of Omani patients with congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical, biochemical, genotypical, phenotypical characteristics and outcomes of children with CHI who were presented to the pediatric endocrine team in the Royal Hospital, Muscat, Oman between January 2007 and December 2016. Results: Analysis of 25 patients with CHI genetically revealed homozygous mutation in ABCC8 in 23 (92%) patients and 2 patients (8%) with compound heterozygous mutation in ABCC8. Fifteen (60%) patients underwent subtotal pancreatectomy as medical therapy failed and 2 (8%) patients showed response to medical therapy. …

Peroxidasin Is A Novel Target Of Autoantibodies In Lupus Nephritis, Pallavi Manral, Selene Colon, Gautam Bhave, Ming-Hui Zhao, Sanjay Jain, Dorin-Bogdan Borza

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

A Multimodality Approach To Assessing Factor I Genetic Variants In Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, Anuja Java, Nicola Pozzi, Latisha D Love-Gregory, Jonathan W Heusel, Yun Ju Sung, Zheng Hu, Paula Bertram, M Kathryn Liszewski, Laura M Cline, Zhen Ren, John P Atkinson

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Classification Of Cyber Capabilities And Operations As Weapons, Means, Or Methods Of Warfare, Jeffrey T. Biller, Michael N. Schmitt

International Law Studies

Despite several persistent controversies regarding how international law applies to cyber operations during an armed conflict, general understanding of the law in this domain is maturing. Reasoning by analogy to non-cyber application and interpretation of international law underlies much of the progress. Yet, although preexisting normative structures and legal terminology enable legal advisors and scholars to usefully draw upon previously acquired experience and understanding, there are obstacles to definitive analogizing that result from fundamental differences between cyber and kinetic operations. The number of imperfect analogies that underlie some of the normative uncertainty in the field underscores this point.

One key …

A Numerical Solution Of Fredholm Integral Equations Of The Second Kind Based On Tight Framelets Generated By The Oblique Extension Principle, Mutaz Mohammad

All Works

© 2019 by the authors. In this paper, we present a new computational method for solving linear Fredholm integral equations of the second kind, which is based on the use of B-spline quasi-affine tight framelet systems generated by the unitary and oblique extension principles. We convert the integral equation to a system of linear equations. We provide an example of the construction of quasi-affine tight framelet systems. We also give some numerical evidence to illustrate our method. The numerical results confirm that the method is efficient, very effective and accurate.

Splenectomy In Trauma And Complications After Splenectomy, Amonpon Kanlerd, Piyapong Boonyasatid

Asian Medical Journal and Alternative Medicine

Splenic injury is the second most common abdominal organ injury caused by both blunt and penetrating mechanisms. In the past, all of the splenic injuries required splenectomy for treatment, but during the past 50 years, there has been increasingly interested that not all splenic injuries required splenectomy. The evolution of non-operative management for splenic injuries made us away from an aggressive operation to the spleen. Although, splenectomy still plays a significant role in life-saving for extremis injured patients. Surgeons should be familiar with this procedure and knowing complications that may occur after the procedure.

Factors Associated With The Discontinuation Of Modern Methods Of Contraception In The Low Income Areas Of Sukh Initiative Karachi: A Community-Based Case Control Study, Rozina Thobani, Saleem Jessani, Iqbal Azam Syed, Sayyeda Reza, Neelofar Sami, Shafquat Rozi, Farina Abrejo, Sarah Saleem

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Introduction:
Discontinuation of a contraceptive method soon after its initiation is becoming a public health problem in Low middle income countries and may result in unintended pregnancy and related unwanted consequences. A better understanding of factors behind discontinuation of a modern method would help in designing interventions to continue its use till desired spacing goals are achieved. |
Objective:
To determine factors associated with the discontinuation of modern contraceptive methods within six months of its use compared to continued use of modern method for at least six months in low-income areas of Karachi, Pakistan.
Method:
Community-based case-control study was …

Sexual Behaviors Among Health Sciences Undergraduate Students In One Of The Universities, Eastern Part, Thailand, Kitti Krungkraipetch

Asian Medical Journal and Alternative Medicine

Introduction: Sexual behavior is one of human activities that varies in different social and cultural contexts.Such behavior is not only human reproduction, but also social.
Objectives: To find out the sexual orientation, sexual behaviors which were divided by gender, STDs prevention and contraceptive use behaviors among the 3rd year students of a group of health science program faculties, one of the universities, Eastern part, Thailand.
Methods: During 2013-2014, we surveyed self-reported questionnaires among the 3rd year undergraduate students in the Health Sciences Faculties Group, one of the universities in the Eastern part of Thailand.
Results: This study included 372 females …

Sex Ed. Cai Creation For Young Teen In Thailand, Kitti Krungkraipetch

Asian Medical Journal and Alternative Medicine

Introduction: Studies on difficult subjects and inexperienced instructors have made curriculum outcomes unsatisfactory. One of the samples was sex education. Educational tools were therefore essential for learning. Computer Aid Instruction (CAI) was one of the study tools for these supplements.
Methods: The aim of this study was to generate sex education-CAI for Thai teenagers. We selected three sex-education topics according to the student's preferences and created the first CAI prototype. Efficient scores and indexes were used to test the efficacy of CAI. Then, in the large population, we did the knowledge retention test. At the end of the study, a …

A Preliminary Study On Efficacy Of Prapchompoothaweep Remedy For Treatment Of Allergic Rhinitis Patients And Their Quality Of Life After The Treatment, Supasuta Leangpanich, Arunporn Itharat, Waipoj Chanvimalueng, Nichamon Mukkasombat

Asian Medical Journal and Alternative Medicine

Introduction: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is an inflammatory disease of the nasal mucosa which affects patient’s quality of life. Prapchompoothaweep (PRW) remedy, listed in National List of Essential Medicine (NLEM), was used as a drug to relieve the common cold and hay fever.

Objective: This study aimed to determine its efficacy and impact on quality of life in patients with AR.
Methods: In this preliminary study, 24 patients with AR were enrolled in this study and received PRW remedy of 3,000 mg per day for 6 weeks. The main outcome assessments were the Total Nasal
Symptom Score (TNSS) and the Rhinoconjuctivitis …