Carbon dioxide (CO2) as a greenhouse gas has been increasing in recent decades. Because an elevated atmospheric CO2 influences insect physiology and behaviour, we hypothesize that pheromone-mediated communication in the moth is affected by an increased CO2 level. We test the behavioural responses of male Helicoverpa armigera to sex pheromone...
CAPA and pyrokinin (PK) neuropeptides are produced from two different genes, capa and pyrokinin, respectively. In this study, we identified and characterized the capa and pyrokinin genes from the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera). The capa gene encodes two CAPA-PVK (periviscerokinin) peptides (DAGLFPFPRVamide and EQ-LIPFPRVamide) and one CAPA-DH...
As CMOS processes keep scaling down devices, the maximum operating frequencies of CMOS devices increase, and hence circuits can process very wide band signals. Moreover, the small physical dimensions of transistors allow the placing of many more blocks into a single chip, including highly accurate analog blocks and complicated digital...
A method for large quantity dsRNA production was developed since a small amount of dsRNA synthesized in vitro with commercial kits are used for small scale bioassay evaluations. Developing a large-scale production system for dsRNA is critical for practical RNAi application, especially for non-transgenic RNAi-based control. However, large-scale analysis or...
Many studies have shown that ground beetles feed on different agricultural pests, but little is known about their species communities from US cropping systems. We assessed the biological control potential of the most common carabid beetle species in Oregon annual ryegrass grown for seed by investigating spatial and temporal overlap...
Numbers of carabid beetles, caterpillars, cranefly larvae and slugs collected from pitfall and refuge traps in ten Annual Ryegrass fields in Linn County, Oregon between March 23, 2018 and June 20, 2019. Given are details on sampling date, trap, size and sex (carabids only), weight (slugs only) and species (where...
Mordenite and X- or Y-type faujasite were used to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by adsorption at 25 °C. A microwave heating desorption system was applied for pollutant adsorbent regeneration. Studies were focused on the relationship between the adsorption and/or desorption behavior of selected VOCs (benzene, toluene, o-, m-, p-xylene,...
In this work, stainless steel wire cloth (SSWC) for metallic support was thermally treated to increase the adhesive strength of Al₂O₃ by improving superficial roughness. After coating Al₂O₃ on SSWC, Pt particles as a catalytic component were deposited on the Al₂O₃/SSWC. These supports and catalysts were characterized by N₂ gas...
Flowering is the primary trait affected by ambient
temperature changes. Plant microRNAs
(miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs playing an
important regulatory role in plant development. In
this study, to elucidate the mechanism of
flowering-time regulation by small RNAs, we
identified six ambient temperature-responsive
miRNAs (miR156, miR163, miR169, miR172, miR398
and...
The cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) is one of the most serious insect pest species to evolve resistance against many insecticides from different chemical classes. This species has evolved resistance to the pyrethroid insecticides across its native range and is becoming a truly global pest after establishing in South America...
We demonstrate remarkably strong nonlinear terahertz (THz) effects in an intrinsic GaAs wafer patterned with a nanometer-width slot antenna array. The antenna near-field reaches 20 MV/cm due to the huge field enhancement in the plasmonic nano-structure (field enhancement factor, α ≅ 50). The THz fields are strong enough to generate high density...
The reaction conditions for the synthesis of Cu-BTC (BTC = benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid) were elucidated using a continuous-flow microreactor-assisted solvothermal system to achieve crystal size and phase control. A high-rate synthesis of Cu-BTC metal-organic frameworks with BET surface area of more than 1600 m²/g (Langmuir surface area of more than 2000...
Full Text:
., Chang, C. H., Wannenmacher, N., Thallapally,
P. K., & Ahn, H. G. (2013). High-rate synthesis of Cu-BTC
Background: Having conquered water surfaces worldwide, the semi-aquatic bugs occupy ponds, streams, lakes, mangroves, and even open oceans. The diversity of this group has inspired a range of scientific studies from ecology and evolution to developmental genetics and hydrodynamics of fluid locomotion. However, the lack of a representative water strider...
Two approaches to the tricyclic core of the furanoeremophilane sesquiterpenoids are described. The first approach entails a projected Diels-Alder/retro Diels-Alder reaction of an acetylenic oxazole 64. Construction of the pivotal aldehyde 67 commenced from ketone 68. The acetyenic moiety was then introduced via a Felkin-Ahn addition of lithiopropyne to aldehyde...
Compared to conventional amorphous silicon (a-Si) TFTs, amorphous metal oxide TFTs have superior device performance such as
higher mobility, better sub-threshold swing, and lower off-state current. Amorphous metal oxide TFTs have an additional advantage
on the device uniformity due to the lack of grain boundary issues in the poly-Si TFTs....
CuInGaSe₂ (CIGS), a promising thin film solar cell material, has gained lots of
attention in decades due to its high energy conversion efficiency and potential lower
manufacture cost over conventional Si solar cells. As a cheaper processing method
compared to vacuum-based techniques, solution-based deposition has been
successfully applied to fabricate...
There is an emerging interest in developing wearable electronics as a platform, which
provides the flexibility of a wearable while maintaining its promising functionality as smart textiles. Metal-halide semiconductors are attractive materials with tunable optical and electrical properties. Researchers have widely studied and applied it for advanced
photonics and optoelectronic...
This dissertation presents nonlinear terahertz (THz) properties of carbon nanomaterials investigated by time-resolved high-field THz spectroscopy. In order to determine THz characteristics of nanomaterials, we performed THz power spectrum measurement, THz raster imaging, THz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) and time-resolved pump-probe experiment on two different types of single layer graphene and...
Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) have been used to improve both the positive and negative bias-stress stability of amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) bottom gate thin film transistors (TFTs). N-hexylphosphonic acid (HPA) and fluorinated hexylphosphonic acid (FPA) SAMs adsorbed on IGZO back channel surfaces were shown to significantly reduce bias-stress turn-on...
Thin-film transistors (TFTs) are primarily used as a switching element in liquid crystal
displays. Currently, amorphous silicon is the dominant TFT technology for displays, but
higher performance TFTs will become necessary to enable ultra-definition resolution
high-frequency large-area displays. Amorphous zinc tin oxide (ZTO) TFTs were
fabricated by RF magnetron sputter...
Terahertz (THz) spectroscopy is a great tool not only to study fundamental physical processes such as many-body Coulomb interaction but also to develop ultrafast electronic devices. More specifically, intense THz fields interacting with semiconductors have exhibited strong nonlinear effect involving extreme carrier dynamics. In this experiment, intense THz radiation was...
Spotted wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii, is an economically damaging pest on small fruits. The estimated economic impact is hundreds of millions of dollars annually in the U.S. alone, and increasing every year. Current control of SWD relies heavily on chemical insecticides which have many negative impacts on environmental and...
In the second chapter, a foam-core meniscus coating process was developed for retrofitting 100 nm-scale sol-gel anti-reflective coatings onto in-field solar panels through the deposition, evaporation, and curing of wet films.Advantages of this technique include the means to control fluid flow relative to substrate motion and the ability to conform...
Nanostructured ZnO films were obtained via thermal oxidation of thin films formed with metallic Zn-nanoparticle dispersions. Commercial zinc nanoparticles used for this work were characterized by microscopic and thermal analysis methods to analyze the Zn-ZnO core shell structure, surface morphology and oxidation characteristics. These dispersions were spin-coated on SiO₂/Si substrates...
Nano fish bone (NFB) was prepared using high-energy wet media milling. The characteristics of NFB including particle size distribution, morphology, elemental composition, ZETA potential, calcium ion concentration and chemical structure were investigated. The suitable operational parameters of milling were determined to be 0.5 mm diameter bead, agitation speed at 3,000...
We demonstrate that unidirectionally aligned, free-standing multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) exhibit highly anisotropic linear and nonlinear terahertz (THz) responses. For the polarization parallel to the CNT axis, strong THz pulses induce nonlinear absorption in the quasi-one-dimensional conducting media, while no nonlinear effect is observed in the perpendicular polarization configuration. Time-resolved...
NAND flash based solid state drives (SSDs) require out-of-place updating due to the characteristics of flash memories. In addition, due to the mismatched granularity between read/write and erase operations, a cleaning policy involving garbage collection and wear leveling has to perform data migration incurring high overhead. Another challenge is that...
Resilience is a key driver in the design of systems that must operate in an uncertain operating environment, and is a key metric to assess the capacity for systems to perform within the specified performance envelop despite disturbances to their operating environment. This paper describes a graph spectral approach to...
The objective of the work reported herein is to explore the impact of decreasing channel thickness on radio-frequency (RF) sputtered amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) electrical performance through the evaluation of drain current versus gate voltage (I[subscript D] − V[subscript G]) transfer curves. For a fixed set of...
The aim of the research undertaken for this thesis was to develop a new high-performance amorphous oxide semiconductor (AOS) for use as a channel layer in a thin-film transistor (TFT). AOS TFTs offer higher electron mobility than the established amorphous silicon based technology. A new channel material comprised of aluminum...
Investigations on the application of self-assembled monolayers (SAM) to indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) thin film transistors (TFT) for fabrication and channel modification are presented. The back channel of IGZO thin film transistors can be modified by the absorption of self-assembled monolayers. The electrical properties of the IGZO exposed back...
The metal organic framework, MOF-74(Ni), was synthesized in a continuous flow microwave-assisted reactor obtaining a high space-time yield (~90 g h⁻¹ L⁻¹) and 96.5% conversion of reagents. Separation of the nucleation and growth steps was performed by using uniform and rapid microwave heating to induce nucleation, which allowed a substantial...
The continuous improvement of construction operations requires a systematic approach of monitoring and making appropriate control actions. However, the lack of real-time information hinders this workflow and eventually compromises timely and effective decision-making. Project managers spend a great deal of time and effort to solve problems emerging from lack of...
A series of new ternary graphite intercalation compounds (GICs) containing alkaline earth metal cations (M = Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba) and ethylenediamine (en) are reported. These GICs are deep blue to green in color and can be prepared as phase-pure compounds by the direct reaction of graphite powder with the...
We, for the first time, demonstrate that orthorhombic V₂O₅ can exhibit superior electrochemical performance in sodium ion batteries when uniformly coated inside nanoporous carbon. The encapsulated V₂O₅ shows a specific capacity as high as 276 mAh/g, while the whole nanocomposite exhibits a capacity of 170 mAh/g. The V₂O₅/C composite was...
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. Electrochem. Solid-State Lett. 2012, 15, A1-A4.
[10] Su, D.; Wang, C.;Ahn, H. J.; Wang, G. Chem. Eur. J
Ample research has demonstrated the largely untapped potential of bioactive peptides (BAPs) for treating systematic chronic inflammation (SCI). Protein hydrolysates are the mixture of peptides resulting from the hydrolytic breakdown of a protein. Numerous hydrolysates contain BAPs and exert beneficial effects in both in vitro and in vivo models. In...
The focus of this thesis is developing materials for thin-film transistors (TFTs). Cu₃SbS₄ is explored as p-channel layer. Cu₃SbS₄ TFTs show p-type, depletion-mode behavior with a small amount of gate-controlled modulation of the channel conductance. This behavior is consistent with Hall measurements indicating a mobility of 17 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹ and hole...
Peroxiredoxins (Prxs) make up an ancient family of enzymes that are the predominant peroxidases for nearly all organisms and play essential roles in reducing hydrogen peroxide, organic hydroperoxides, and peroxynitrite. Even between distantly related organisms, the core protein fold and key catalytic residues related to its cysteine-based catalytic mechanism have...
Resistive random access memory (RRAM) is a non-volatile memory technology based on resistive switching in a dielectric or semiconductor sandwiched between two different metals. Also known as memristors, these devices are potential candidates for a next-generation replacement for flash memory. In this thesis, bipolar resistive switching is reported for the...
Hop (Humulus lupulus L. var. lupulus) is a diploid, dioecious plant with an extensive history of cultivation and use in brewing, as a textile, and for its therapeutic properties. Hop is prized for its ability to produce a variety of aromatic and flavor compounds, as well as compounds with anti-microbial...
Cryptographic obfuscation is a powerful tool that makes programs “unintelligible” yet still runnable. It essentially gives programs the ability to keep secrets. The practical applications of obfuscation range from keeping secrets in banking applications to preventing software theft to providing secure messaging applications. The cryptographic applications of obfuscation are also...
This work investigates the effect of cation substitution on the properties of the lead-free, solid solution (Na₀.₅Bi₀.₅)TiO₃-BaTiO₃ (NBT-BT). Substitution into NBT-BT increases disorder and increases the relaxor ferroelectric properties. These relaxor ferroelectric materials show large piezoelectric strains that can be utilized in actuator applications. Ceramic samples were prepared using standard...
Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is an innovative method where metal powder is fused together to generate complex geometries. LPBF is used as a technology to reduce material waste, and extensive labor that are often linked to conventional subtractive manufacturing. H13 tool steel is one of the widely used materials...
Transparent and electrically conductive metal oxide nanoparticles have attracted much attention, and can be used to improve the performance of solar cells, transparent electrode materials, and gas sensor technology. Specifically, indium tin oxide (ITO) nanocrystals (NCs) are potentially useful nanomaterials, having technological applications in enhanced sensitivity of optical spectroscopy due...
BACKGROUND: Zebrafish have been used as a vertebrate model to study human cancers such as melanoma,
rhabdomyosarcoma, liver cancer, and leukemia as well as for high-throughput screening of small molecules of
therapeutic value. However, they are just emerging as a model for human brain tumors, which are among the most...
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molecules that delay S phase suppress a zebrafish bmyb mutant.
Nat Chem Biol. 2005;1:366–70.
43. Jeong JY
TAC is the most commonly used medication in post transplantation maintenance immunosuppression therapy. TAC lipophilicity and its erratic oral absorption especially in the presence of food intake result in great intra- and interpatient pharmacokinetic variations. Complicated dosing and frequent required therapeutic monitoring is thought to be the main cause of...
Emerging data showing the presence of atmospheric microplastics (MPs) has recently raised awareness surrounding the potential of human nanoplastics (NPs) exposure. Due to factors such as weathering, UV exposure, and other biodegradation processes, plastic pollution in the environment breaks down over time into micro (<5 micrometers) and nanoscale (<1000nm) particles....
The last two decades have witnessed a triumph of free market policies in many developing countries and thus an increase in trade and financial openness. While economic theory provides a solid justification of the fact that trade and financial openness for a small economy with perfectly competitive markets improve resource...
In recent years, Oblivious Random Access Memory (ORAM) controllers in Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) have become a popular area of investigation, as coresident trusted systems allow for significantly more efficient oblivious execution. Further, in the case of Intel architectures, oblivious execution effectively eliminates the majority of confidentiality leakage holes in...
The various solution-based processes, spin coating, inkjet printing, microreactor assisted nanoparticle deposition (MANDTM) and spin-successive ionic layer absorption and reaction (Spin-SILAR) were used to demonstrate thin film electronics and anti-reflective coatings. Several aspects of thin film transistors (TFTs) were tested including a range of temperatures, annealing atmosphere, and deposition methods....
In this dissertation, a series of studies in the field of terahertz (THz) science are presented, specifically using nonlinear THz spectroscopy. We exploit huge field enhancement and subwavelength confinement in plasmonic structures. There are three distinct projects which will be discussed: nonlinear THz spectroscopy using plasmonic induced transparency (PIT), THz-triggered...
The electrical stability of amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide (a-IGZO) thinfilmtransistors (TFTs) is investigated for flat-panel display applications. Althoughproducts incorporating a-IGZO TFT backplanes are already commercially available,e.g., iMac with 5K retina display, technical challenges need to be addressed for nextgenerationapplications, e.g., active-matrix organic light-emitting diode displays.Device stability is one crucial issue. The...
Processing of metals through the application of high-pressure torsion (HPT) provides significant grain refinement in bulk metals at ambient temperatures. The ultrafine-grained (UFG) materials processed by HPT generally demonstrate the superior physical and mechanical characteristics. For utilizing the benefit of HPT, the feasibility of conventional HPT processing was demonstrated recently...
To realize pipelined ADCs in deep-submicron processes, low voltage techniques
must be developed to work around problems created by limited supply voltages such as
the floating switch dead zone, reduced SNR, and reduced OpAmp performance.
This thesis analyzes standard and low voltage design issues for pipelined ADCs
and proposes a...
The trend towards higher resolution, faster refresh rate active-matrix liquid-crystal displays (AMLCDs) as well as the emergence of active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) displays is driving the demand for amorphous oxide semiconductor thin-film transistors (AOS TFTs) with higher mobility. A physics-based model for carrier transport in an amorphous semiconductor is...
It has been well established that ferroelectric to relaxor crossover in piezoelectric ceramics exhibit promising electromechanical and dielectric properties over a wide temperature range, applying sensors and actuators transducers and such. A plethora of research has reported giant strain in various lead-free piezoelectric ceramics and attributed the reasoning to the...
Phosphate and peroxide stabilize new oxo-hydroxo niobium clusters in water at low pH. The clusters open a new chapter in aqueous niobium chemistry under acidic conditions. The clusters also produce atomically smooth, amorphous niobium oxide phosphate (NbPOx) thin films. Reaction pathways from cluster solutions to amorphous niobium oxide phosphate solids...
Solid solutions based on the perovskite ferroelectrics Bi₀.₅Na₀.₅TiO₃ (BNT) and Bi₀.₅K₀.₅TiO₃ (BKT) might someday replace current Pb-based ferroelectric and piezoelectric devices. This is one goal of the Restrictions on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) guidelines seeking to limit Pb in consumer devices. Although the Bi-based ferroelectrics are well suited to the task...
In this report, we present climate projections for Union County that are relevant to specified natural hazards for the 2020s (2010–2039) and 2050s (2040–2069) relative to the 1971–2000 historical baseline. The projections are based on multiple global climate models for both a lower greenhouse gas emissions scenario (RCP 4.5) and...
In this report, we present climate projections for Morrow County that are relevant to specified natural hazards for the 2020s (2010–2039) and 2050s (2040–2069) relative to the 1971–2000 historical baseline. The projections are based on multiple global climate models for both a lower greenhouse gas emissions scenario (RCP 4.5) and...
The focus of this thesis is the investigation of thin-film transistors (TFTs) based on amorphous oxide semiconductors (AOSs) in two circuit applications. To date, circuits implemented with AOS-based TFTs have been primarily enhancement-enhancement inverters, ring oscillators based on these inverters operating at peak frequencies up to ~400 kHz, and two-transistor...
Aerobic organisms have evolved many sensory mechanisms that allow
response to oxidants in the environment. One area of interest is the relationship
between the activity of the tumor suppressor protein p53 and the redox state of
thioredoxin. Human p53 activity is severely compromised in budding yeast lacking
thioredoxin reductase. Evidence...
The primary objective of this thesis is to develop a process for fabricating integrated circuits based on thin-film transistors (TFTs) using zinc tin oxide (ZTO) as the channel layer. ZTO, in contrast to indium- or gallium-based amorphous oxide semiconductors (AOS), is perceived to be a more commercially viable AOS choice...
The variegated aqueous chemistries of metal cations are applied to the design and synthesis of non-toxic solution precursors suitable for additive printing of large-area oxide electronics. Polycondensation behaviors of aqueous Al+3 and PO4 +3 are manipulated in the deposition of atomically smooth amorphous aluminum oxide phosphate (AlPO) dielectric films. AlPO...
Proceedings of the 78th Annual Pacific Northwest Insect Management Conference, held January 7-8, 2019 at the Hilton Hotel in Portland, Oregon.
These are research reports only, not management recommendations.
Background:
The dietary agent sulforaphane (SFN) has been reported to induce nuclear factor erythroid 2 (NF-E2)-related factor 2 (Nrf2)-dependent pathways as well as inhibiting histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity. The current investigation sought to examine the relationships between Nrf2 status and HDAC expression in preclinical and translational studies.
Results:
Wild type...
Full Text:
Wang, Hui Nian, Chris Larsen, Kate Cleveland, Hassaan Saeed,
Tian-Wei Yu, and Soyoun Ahn for their
The advent of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) methods has enabled direct approaches to quantitatively profile small RNA
populations. However, these methods have been limited by several factors, including representational artifacts and lack of
established statistical methods of analysis. Furthermore, massive HTS data sets present new problems related to data processing
and...
This thesis will cover my work relating to the developing field of terahertz (THz) science and technology. It will present experimental and theoretical studies investigating the optical and electrical properties of various material systems using novel THz imaging and spectroscopy techniques. Due to its low photon energy, THz imaging and...
Skeletal muscle is the largest organ in the body by mass, comprising roughly 40% of total bodyweight in adults. It plays diverse and unique roles that include movement, locomotion, and support for posture and internal organs, among others. The structural foundation for all skeletal muscle in adults is formed early...
The primary focus of this thesis is modifying the comprehensive depletion-mode model and extending its applicability to p-channel thin-film transistor (TFT) behavior and subthreshold (subpinchoff) operation. The comprehensive depletion-mode model accurately describes depletion-mode TFT behavior and establishes a set of equations, different from those obtained from square-law theory, which can...
Delta-sigma analog-to-digital converters traditionally have been used for low speed, high resolution applications such as measurements, sensors, voice and audio systems. Through continued device scaling in CMOS technology and architectural and circuit level design innovations, they have even become popular for wideband, high dynamic range applications such as wired and...
This dissertation covers my work relating to the application of strong terahertz (THz) radiation to study the nonlinear properties of nano-scale material. It presents experimental and numerical studies on the optical and electronic properties of various material system including single-layer graphene, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), nanoantenna-patterned gallium arsenide (GaAs) and...
Chemistry of preparing dense film from solution deposition is explored with several cases in this thesis. Surface dense structure, conversion at melting point, and ion exchange in aqueous solution are the main topics covered here for the thin films of aluminum oxide phosphate and tin dioxide. Thin film density, optical...
The numerous different types of nanomaterials and paucity of reliable in vivo information on toxicity has resulted in enduring uncertainties associated with health and safety risks, thereby slowing progress in nanotherapeutic assessment and development. This dissertation explores how the embryonic zebrafish model can be applied to prioritize commonly used nanomaterial...
Task persistence has been associated with task mastery in many different realms of learning, and is thought to be evoked particularly through the observation of positive models; however, the capability of such exposures to transfer across domains is not currently well-understood. The present study sought to examine the effect of...
In this study the enzymatic activity of adsorbed Thermomonospora fusca E₅ and Trichoderma reesei CBHI cellulases were investigated using fluorescence techniques. In particular, cellulases were allowed to contact hydrophobic polystyrene surfaces under conditions of different solution concentrations, and adsorption times. Each of these variables is known to have a potential...
Phase-Locked Loops (PLLs) are essential building blocks in many communication systems. Designing high performance analog PLLs in the presence of technology imposed constraints such as leakage, poor analog transistor behavior, process variability, and low supply voltage is a challenging task. To overcome these drawbacks, digital PLLs (DPLLs) have recently emerged...
Interest in nanomaterials is motivated partly by their potential for sensor arrays to detect
different gases. Nanowires in particular are of interest because their high surface-to-volume
ratio promises the possibility of high sensitivity. However, because of their discrete
quasi-one-dimensional geometry, electrical integration of nanowires into photolithographically
defined devices and circuits...
Fungi from the genus Chlorociboria are known for their production of the blue-green quinonic pigment xylindein. Extracted xylindein has been the subject of investigations ranging from fabric dying to use a coloring agent in paint, and shows potential as an organic semiconductor in organic photovoltaics (OPVs) and other technologies. However,...
This work investigates the relationship between the local structure and physical properties of a set of classical (MgTiO3, CaTiO3, SrTiO3, and BaTiO3) and complex ((1-x)Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3-x(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3[BZT-BCT], Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 [NBT]) perovskite electroceramics. The materials in this work were synthesized via standard solid state ceramic synthesis, the structure was investigated through a number of...
Novel graphite intercalation compounds (GICs) and associated chemistry have been explored, specifically: (1) containing alkyl- substituted imidazolium cations; (2) a series containing alkaline earth metal (Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba) cations with ethylenediamine (en) co-intercalates; (3) showing reversible intragallery M-M bonding and (4) via electrochemical intercalation of Mg cations with potential...
American Indians and Alaska Natives have disproportionately high rates of diabetes, and it is not known if perceived medical discrimination is associated with diabetes health measures and poorer health for this population. This study examined the
effect of perceived medical discrimination (PMD) in American Indian women on health care decisions,...
A class of inorganic thin-film transistor (TFT) semiconductor materials has emerged involving oxides composed of post-transitional cations with (n-1)d¹⁰ns⁰ (n≥4) electronic configurations. This thesis is devoted to the pursuit of topics involving the development of these materials for TFT applications: Deposition of zinc oxide and zinc tin oxide semiconductor
layers...
High-pressure torsion (HPT) is an effective severe plastic deformation (SPD)
technique to produce bulk nanostructured materials (BNMs). These BNMs often show a combination of exceptional mechanical and physical properties. Processing of single metals and alloys by HPT has been understood that the homogenous microstructures can be achieved throughout the disk...
While sophisticated plans have been adopted nationally and globally to increase bicycling’s share of daily commutes, safety concerns have negatively impacted targeted bicycling growth. Specifically, truck traffic plays a pivotal role in bicyclists’ perceptions of safety and comfort, because of the severe consequences of bicycle-truck collisions. Several types of engineering...
Melanocytes are dendritic, pigment-producing cells located in the skin and are responsible for its protection against the deleterious effects of solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR), which include DNA damage and elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS). They do so by synthesizing photoprotective melanin pigments and distributing them to adjacent skin cells (e.g.,...
In this dissertation, the process of computational modeling of amorphous oxide materials is studied. Amorphous oxides have random atomic arrangements with no long-range structural order which makes it difficult to study structure-property relationships. Despite the difficulties, amorphous oxides have great uses as semiconductors and dielectrics in thin-film transistors. The ability...
This dissertation presents novel, field-activated smart material systems for the actuation and control of autonomous robots. Smart materials, a type of material whose properties can be changed with an external stimuli, represent a promising direction to expand upon existing robotic control and actuation methods, particularly in the sub-fields of soft...
Sulforaphane is an isothiocyanate derived from cruciferous vegetables and has been under investigation as a cancer chemopreventive agent for over two decades. The compound is well tolerated and has been shown to slow cancer progression in several different pre-clinical models of carcinogenesis, such as of the lung, breast and colon....
Novel synthetic strategies are developed to prepare new intercalation compounds and nanocomposites with several layered hosts (NiPS₃, Na-montmorillonite, MoS₂ and MoO₃). In these products, alkali metals are ionic intercalates and linear polymers, dendrimers or amines act as co-intercalates. In addition to new synthetic approaches, new structures are identified and characterized....
In this work, colloidal PbSe quantum dots (QDs) are shown to be synthesized in a controlled manner by changing the growth time and reaction temperature in a microwave synthesis method. It is explained why quantum dots make such a unique material to create electronic devices and the specific benefits that...
Sugar phosphate cyclases (SPCs) are enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of many important natural products. SPCs form a unique cyclitol during the early steps in the biosynthesis of many natural products. These natural products include rifamycin, which is chemically modified to rifampicin and used clinically as an antituberculosis drug, and...
ZnO nanowires (NWs) are good candidates for chemical sensing because of their high surface-to-volume ratio. In this work, ZnO nanobridge sensors were fabricated utilizing a novel method which uses carbonized photoresist (C-PR) as a nucleation layer. The use of C-PR allows simultaneous growth and integration of NWs to lithographically-defined features....
Rhizopus microsporus is a globally ubiquitous opportunistic human and plant pathogen that is known to harbor endosymbiotic bacteria. Differences between populations of clinical and environmental R. microsporus isolates have yet to be assessed on a global scale. Whole-genome sequence data were used to explore fungal biology and to assess potential...
The central focus of this thesis is the design, fabrication and characterization of amorphous oxide semiconductor (AOS) thin-film transistor (TFT) current mirrors. The thin-film deposition and circuit fabrication methods used to realize zinc tin oxide (ZTO) TFT
current mirrors are addressed in order to elucidate the processing challenges for this...
The development of solution-based methods for deposition of different thin film material is presented as an alternative to high cost vacuum-based methods. For certain materials, vacuum techniques are unsuitable for processing. Additionally, vacuum-based processes present high capital costs associated with equipment, and slow processing times. Atmospheric pressure solution based techniques...
This thesis will cover work that I have completed relating to the field of terahertz (THz) science. My work has consisted of generating tunable, narrowband THz pulses in a table-top optical setup and using both narrow- and broadband THz pulses to study various material systems. Broadband THz pulses were used...
An innovative silver nano-dimple arrays (Ag DAs)-integrated microfluidic device was developed to achieve highly sensitive fluorescence-based nucleic acid detection. The Ag DAs were utilized to produce surface plasmon resonance (SPR) for strong fluorescence enhancement. We systematically investigated the plasmon-enhanced fluorescence by controlling the nanostructure dimension of the Ag DA substrate....
Vibrio cholerae is autochthonous to various aquatic niches and is the etiological agent of the life-threatening diarrheal disease
cholera. The persistence of V. cholerae in natural habitats is a crucial factor in the epidemiology of cholera. In contrast to the
well-studied V. cholerae-chitin connection, scarce information is available about the...