Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are crystalline porous material distinguished for high free empty volume and pore tunability. MOF-74(Ni) was previously shown to be effective in adsorbing carbon dioxide, methane, and hydrogen. Microwave-assisted synthesis of MOF-74(Ni) was shown to lower reaction time from days to hours. In this thesis, experimental conditions of...
Copper antimony sulfide (CAS) is a ternary material that is of research interest for thin film photovoltaic applications due to its high absorption coefficient and tunable bandgap. The material is also ideal for sustainable manufacturing due the constituent elements being earth-abundant and less toxic than solar cell absorbers like gallium...
Marijuana (MJ) is a widely used illicit substance among adolescents and young adults. Frequent MJ use has been associated with impairments in cognitive flexibility and inhibition, both of which play important roles in decision-making. However, the impact of frequent MJ on decision-making performance is mixed and not well understood. The...
This thesis explores interrelationships between the geographical impact of recent hurricanes, rates of giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis in impacted communities, and effects of hurricanes on local water infrastructure systems. I obtained quantitative data on geographical hurricane attributes, demographic characteristics of populations struck by hurricanes, and confirmed cases of giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis...
Profile Hidden Markov Models utilize the information stored in a multiple sequence alignment such as its residues and conserved regions to assign probabilities at each column. This indicates areas in the sequences where similar functionality is observed. These probability weights are then combined to assign a sequence score, which is...
Wearable electronic devices are becoming increasingly widespread and are being used to fulfill a variety of needs. These devices range from purely infotainment type systems such as smartwatches and fitness oriented devices to specialized medical devices such as insulin pumps and heart-rate monitors. A challenge faced with all of these...
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a particularly aggressive molecular subtype of malignant cells that tends to proliferate quickly and is commonly resistant to traditional chemotherapy leading to relapses in prognosis more frequently than other forms of breast cancer (BCa) [1][2][3]. Current treatment options include surgical resection of cancerous tissue and...
The scientific method applies hypothesis testing to material samples through experimentation, measurement, and data analysis, which produce representations—or features—that describe phenomena of interest. Biomolecular features come in numerous forms such as values, matrices, graphs, three-dimensional structures, trajectories, and molecular surfaces. Researchers have tested thousands of features related to protein molecules...
Artificial collectives are useful for accomplishing tasks that require teamwork from multiple simple robots. Multiple robot and collective testbeds have been developed, yet none stay committed to leverage the local interactions, group size, and imperfect information assumptions that strengthen biological collectives. A review of the collective and multiple robot literature,...
Rice (Oryza sativa) is a common crop found in various regions worldwide where it is considered a staple food. Though widespread, O. sativa plants' growth, development, and yield are affected by environmental/abiotic stresses including drought, salinity, flooding, cold, heat, etc. Particularly, salinity stress leads to dehydration, overwhelms potassium pumps, and...