Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) is an emerging form of liver disease associated with obesity, type II diabetes and dyslipidemia. As the prevalence of these metabolic conditions increases, so too has the occurrence of NASH in all sectors of the population. The pathology of this disease is similar to its alcoholic form,...
Farmers rely almost exclusively on the imported European honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) for fruit and vegetable crop pollination services. The recent decline in honeybee health has underscored the danger of relying on a single species to provide vital services. Increasing pollinator biodiversity with native bees may provide biological insurance against...
2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is a potent immunosuppressant and a prototypic ligand for the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). In a graft versus host (GvH) response, treatment with TCDD suppresses a cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response by Day 10, concurrent with a T-regulatory (Treg) like phenotype in the donor CD4+ T-cells, observed on Day...
DNA mismatch repair (MMR) plays an important role in preserving genomic stability and reducing cancer risk. Environmental exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are believed to contribute significantly to carcinogenesis. PAHs are found in food, air, water and soil and upon bioactivation can form diol epoxides which are electrophilic in...
This work is concerned with determining whether nicotine has a role in promoting oxidative damage in human tissue, particularly in lung tissue. This follows from recent reports of a novel lung disease found in some E-cigarette users, characterized by oxidative damage and elevated levels of neutrophils (termed “vaping disease”). It...
The Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) is a public key cryptosystem used for creation and verification of digital signatures in electronic documents. In this thesis, we created a Java applet that provides the functionality of the ECDSA using all of the NIST elliptic curves over GF(p). This applet was...
Hydrophobic titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) are prevalent in industry and manufacturing. They are known for their white pigmentation, are found in sunscreens, paints, cosmetics, and are frequently used in wastewater treatment. Understanding the physicochemical properties of TiO2 P-25 NPs, such as hydrophobicity, are essential when determining their fate, transport,...
Understanding the electrical transport properties of graphene provides a basis for determining its future as a potential semiconducting device that can be used for the next generation of transistors and photodetectors. Graphene p-n junctions can also function as field effect transistors, and thus are a logical starting point for I-V...
Intertidal herbivores, such as isopods, help regulate and contribute to nutrient cycling and organic carbon flow through the trophic levels in estuaries and coastal ecosystems. Though much is known about the microbiomes of macrophyte leaves that serve as the primary food source for isopods, and (to a lesser extent) the...
"Of all the different types of sail boats used for pleasure on western inland waters, the 'skip-jack' seems to be the general favorite. This style of boat is known by many names such as 'skip-jack', 'lark', 'skimming-dish', etc., and they are so called from the manner in which they ride...