The Machine Learning (ML) algorithms are increasingly explored in varies of fields including designing and optimizing computer systems. Recent research, such as optimizing memory/cache prefetching by ML training or predicting traffic pattern in throughput processors, also exhibits a promising future of introducing ML into computer system design and optimization. Throughput...
Fungi in the genus Tolypocladium are diverse in their host associations, but the predominant ecologies include parasites of the ectomycorrhizal genus Elaphomyces and pathogens of insects. The aim of this dissertation research is to examine the evolution of these fungi and their host associations. To accomplish this several lines of...
microRNAs (miRNAs), ~21-24 nucleotide-long RNAs that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression, have rapidly become one of the most extensively studied mechanisms of the past decade. Since their discovery as temporal regulators of post-embryonic development in C. elegans, miRNAs have been functionally implicated in almost every cellular process investigated to date. miRNAs...
There are more than 87,000 chemicals in current use with little to no toxicity information available. Assessing such a large number of chemicals using traditional methods would take an unreasonable amount of time and money, and require the use a large number of animals. The incorporation of high-throughput in vivo...
Advancements in molecular biology and computer science have enabled researchers the ability to investigate the transcriptome – the quantification of an organism’s RNA transcripts in response to its environment on a system wide scale. The collective chapters of this thesis utilize high-throughput RNA sequencing, which produces hundreds of millions of...
Bark beetle outbreaks have left a legacy of tree mortality across fire-prone landscapes of western North America that could influence how these forests will burn and regenerate. While research has been focused on forests in the western United States, the potential interactions between mountain pine beetle (MPB) outbreaks and wildfires...
The viral family Herpesviridae consists of large double stranded DNA viruses including eight species that infect humans with varying pathology from benign rashes to cancerous cell transformation. From three subfamilies, alpha-, beta- and gammaherpes, the alphaherpes contains the genera iltovirus, mardivirus, varicellovirus and simplex, two of which, the human simplex...
One post-transcriptional mechanism that regulates the progression of cancer and other diseases involves small 22-23 nucleotide sequences called microRNA (miR). Early detection of small changes in concentration of these biomarkers holds potential to diagnose diseases at their earliest stages. Use of current nucleic-acid based biosensors, like molecular beacons, for in...
Eukaryotic small RNA (~20-30 nucleotides) are diverse regulatory molecules that repress gene expression at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels, defend hosts against invading viruses and defend genomes against selfish DNA elements. Small RNA populations are studied by high-throughput sequencing of the total small RNA fraction isolated from cells, however, the...
Taking long-term electrical measurements of a large number of neurons simultaneously is required for many modern neuroscience experiments. However, such experiments are currently limited by the shortcomings of traditional neurosensing technology. For example, there is a significant mechanical mismatch between rigid silicon probes and soft biological tissues. This mismatch can...