Gadusol is a UV-B-absorbent compound found in fish and other marine organisms where it is presumed to play a role as a sunscreen and antioxidant. In light of commercial potential as a replacement for problematic synthetic sunscreens, a process to produce recombinant gadusol in the yeast Saccharomcyces cerevisiae was investigated....
The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, commonly used in winemaking, baking, and brewing, also serves as a host for the production of therapeutically valuable pharmaceuticals. Recently, the Bakalinsky laboratory constructed a recombinant yeast strain expressing two zebrafish (Danio rerio) genes in order to produce a UV-protective “sunscreen” compound called gadusol. An antioxidant...
Reductive sulfate assimilation, the biological process by which sulfur-containing amino acids and key derivatives are synthesized from sulfate, is broadly shared among bacteria, fungi, and plants. It is the major, if not sole source of methionine and cysteine for Saccharomyces cerevisiae during wine fermentation. Two obligate intermediates formed in the...
Lignocellulosic biomass represents a vast and renewable source of fermentable sugar for
production of biofuels. However, native lignocellulose—comprised of cellulose,
hemicellulose and lignin—is refractory to degradation because the crystalline cellulose is
not easily hydrolyzed by cellulases. Standard chemical treatments of lignocellulose to
reduce the crystallinity of cellulose prior to enzymatic...
The studies described in this thesis were motivated by ongoing efforts to develop lignocellulosic biomass as an efficient and practical source of renewable energy. Enormous problems complicate these efforts to reduce reliance on greenhouse gas-generating fossil fuels. Simply obtaining the fermentable sugars available in the cellulose and hemicellulose components of...
Global warming and on-going depletion of fossil fuels have stimulated research to develop renewable sources of energy. Current renewable energy use comprises only 10% of the energy consumed in the US and is focused mostly on generating electricity. The majority of the energy consumed by the US transportation sector is...
The purpose of this study was to identify antimutagens in yogurt active against the
experimental colon carcinogen, N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG). Our
initial experiments showed that acetone extracts of yogurt, or milk fermented by various
lactic acid bacteria were antimutagenic against MNNG and 3,2'-dimethyl-4-aminobiphenyl
(DMAB) in the Ames test (Salmonella typhimurium TA...
In an effort to understand the basis for sulfite detoxification in S. cerevisiae,
the functions of two genes were analyzed. SSU1, which encodes a plasma membrane
protein, was found to be required for efficient sulfite efflux. FZFl-4, a dominant
allele of a transcriptional activator of SSUl, was also found to...
Sequence-specific PCR markers were derived from one new and eight previously identified random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers for the purpose of identifying grape (Vitis) rootstocks. The markers were developed because the RAPD assay was found to be inconsistent and the original RAPD markers unreliable. Southern hybridization analysis of the...
Sulfite mutants representing five complementation groups, previously derived from
an ethyl methanesulfonate-treated haploid strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were studied.
Although the wildtype S. cerevisiae strain used (isogenic to X2180-1 A) had a basal
tolerance for sulfite (7 μM free H₂SO₃), the sensitive and resistant mutants were found to
tolerate less...
A number of methods to isolate and quantify protein in Pinot noir wines were evaluated. The combination of precipitation by acetone containing 10% w/v trichloroacetic acid followed by quantification with the Bradford assay, reported in yeast invertase equivalents yielded the most accurate results when compared to micro-Kjeldahl analysis. The technique...
Yeast mannoproteins released during the process of aging wine on the yeast lees have been reported to make important contributions to wine quality. However, few mannoproteins have been identified in wine and their lifespan during aging is unknown. As a first step towards better understanding the contributions of yeast mannoproteins...
Objectives:
1. Isolation or construction of an acid protease-excreting laboratory strain of Saccharomyces
cerevisiae.
2. Evaluation of enzyme activity against model protein, protein-tannin, and grape protein substrates.
3. Selection or screening of isolates producing greater enzyme activity with improved specificity.
4. Construction of an acid protease-excreting wine strain of Saccharomyces...
Correct identification of grapevines is of extreme importance to the expanding U.S. viticulture and wine industries. Several recent cases of misidentifications have occurred because the tools for accurate typing of plants are either inadequate or lacking. We have been applying one type of DNA-based procedure that has shown great promise...
Hydrogen sulfide and related sulfur compounds produced internally by yeast during fermentation are considered highly undesirable if they are excreted and exceed threshold concentrations in the finished wine, as they cause an unpleasant "reduced character". The threshold for hydrogen sulfide is on the order of parts per billion and that...
1-Phenyl-3-(2-Thiazoly1)-2-Thiourea (PTTU), has been reported to
inhibit dopamine-fi-hydroxylase (a copper-containing enzyme involved in
the pathway of biosynthesis of adrenaline in animal systems). In the
present study, PTTU has been shown to have cytokinin activity in the
tobacco bioassay. The cytokinin activity of PTTU suggested that
cytokinin-active N⁶-substituted adenine derivatives might...
Cytokinins are plant hormones regulating cell division and differentiation.
Most developmental events from germination, vegetative morphogenesis to seed
and fruit set are influenced by cytokinins. t,ns-Zeatin is the major natural
occurring cytokinin. Its isomer, cis-zeatin, and its derivatives are usually present in
low quantities and have traditionally been considered as...
One of the most common problems in wine production is the formation of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) and other volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs), which can mask positive aromas at low concentrations and result in unpleasant aromas such as rotten egg, cabbage, garlic, and rubber at higher concentrations. Despite the large body...
Studies reporting on potentially toxic interactions between aqueous fullerene nanoparticles (nC₆₀) and
microorganisms have been contradictory. When known confounding factors were avoided, growth yields of
Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli cultured in the presence and absence of independently prepared
lots of underivatized nC₆₀ were found not to be significantly different.
'Golden Delicious' winter squash (GDWS), Cucurbita maxima Duchesne, provides significant amounts of pollen (24 mg) and nectar (236 μl), but with a low reward of 14% nectar sugar. The quantity of nectar produced per GDWS flower differed between sites and floral sex. The GDWS male flowers had 25% higher sugar...
Moderate wine consumption, particularly pigment-rich red wine, is thought by many to be beneficial for the cardiovascular system. Both ethanol and phytochemicals are thought to contribute to this cardioprotective property. Metabolic disturbances associated with overconsumption of food are related to the initiation and progression of many chronic diseases, and cardiovascular...
Peptide-phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers (PPMOs) are synthetic DNA mimics that bind and silence gene targets. Through designing PPMOs that silence essential or resistance genes in pathogens, these antisense oligomers could be utilized as novel antimicrobials. Towards this end, my thesis employed minimum inhibitory concentration assays (MICs) to identify PPMOs capable of...
Contaminants can exist in a wide range of states in aqueous environments, especially in surface waters. They can be freely dissolved or associated with dissolved or particulate organic matter depending on their chemical and physical characteristics. The freely dissolved fraction represents the most bioavailable fraction to an organism. These freely...
The yeast Brettanomyces bruxellensis is the most important wines spoilage yeast encountered during winemaking as it can survive in wine for long periods, requires minimal nutrients for growth, and can be difficult to control. Brettanomyces produces two major spoilage products, the volatile phenols 4-ethylphenol (Band-Aid, medicinal smell) and 4-ethylguaiacol (smoke,...
The research described in this thesis was aimed at understanding how particle size, porosity, and enzyme accessible surface area influence the rate of saccharification of microcrystalline cellulose. Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) is a commonly used substrate for the study of cellulolytic enzymes. MCC preparations of different particle size are commercially available....
Pesticides are among the most pervasive environmental contaminants and they are an important potential risk for human health. Agricultural workers are constantly exposed to pesticide spray, drift and residues in the soil and foliage. Many agricultural pesticides are readily absorbed by the body, through contact with the skin, the respiratory...
Successful cell division requires proper chromosome movement, including accurate congression to the metaphase plate and proper segregation to spindle poles. Errors that occur in either event can cause chromosome aneuploidy in daughter cells, which may lead to cell death, genetic diseases and cancers (Matson and Stukenberg,2012, Compton, 2000). The force...
Pergamasus quisquiliarum Canestini is a polyphagous predatory mite that has been shown to feed on the economically important arthropod, Scutigerella immaculata Newport (Symphyla: Scutigerellidae), Collembola, Diptera larvae, Enchytraeid worms, and miscellaneous other soil organisms. This study examined the feeding behavior of P. quisquiliarum, the effects of cover cropping and tillage...
This research investigated yeast populations and diversity during pre-fermentation cold maceration and alcoholic fermentation of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Pinot noir grapes from a commercial vineyard (Dayton, OR). Fermentations were conducted at the Oregon State University research winery in 100 L tanks while grapes from the same vineyard lot were...
This study reports finding of two rootstock experiments planted in 1997. The purpose of the first experiment was to evaluate the performance of Pinot noir on 19 phylloxera-resistant rootstocks and as an ungrafted vine. The purpose of the second experiment was to evaluate the performance of V. Vinifera cultivars Pinot...
This thesis summarizes an investigation into the need for removing extractives
from herbaceous biomass feedstocks prior to their chemical characterization. Switchgrass
(Panicum virgatum), was used in this study as a representative herbaceous biomass
feedstock. The influence of extractives on the chemical analysis of switchgrass was done
by comparing the composition...
A low, but significant, fraction of the carbohydrate portion of herbaceous biomass may be composed of fructose/fructosyl-containing components (“fructose equivalents”); such carbohydrates include sucrose, fructo-oligosaccharides, and fructans. Standard methods used for the quantification of structural-carbohydrate-derived neutral monosaccharide-equivalents in biomass are not particularly well suited for the quantification of fructose equivalents...
The objectives of this research project are to gain a better understanding of juice/must nutrition and the production of hydrogen sulfide and other 'off' sulfide odors in Oregon wines in relationship to both viticulture and winemaking practices. Specifically, the objectives of this research project are: · To analyze commercial juices/musts...
SAR11 Alphaproteobacteria are the most abundant aerobic chemoheterotrophs in ocean surface waters. Previous studies have indicated SAR11 cells play an important role in marine carbon cycling and consume up to half of some common dissolved organic compounds, such as amino acids. During sequencing of the first SAR11 genome, genes for...
Metabolomics is a comprehensive analysis of small molecules, or metabolites, in a system. Metabolomics is a hypothesis-generating experiment and offers an unbiased analysis of cell metabolism that can aid in the understanding of fundamental biological processes. Metabolomics is widely and broadly applicable in the biological sciences and has been used...
The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a ligand activated transcription factor that is a member of the basic helix-loop-helix PER-ARNT-SIM (bHLH/PAS) protein family of cellular sensors. The AHR is conserved across multiple animal phyla and is required for proper vertebrate development. A structurally diverse group of chemicals, including polycyclic aromatic...
Many members of the Phylum Cnidaria are mutualistic with unicellular dinoflagellates belonging to the genus Symbiodinium. Corals are the most widely recognized example of these associations due to their key ecological importance in coral reef ecosystems where they serve as the structural and trophic foundation of these rich ecosystems. Coral...
This thesis is an account of investigation on the natural products deriving from various marine algae and has resulted in the discovery of eleven novel bioactive metabolites. Isolation and characterization of these new molecules were carried out using different chromatographic techniques and by analyses of different spectroscopic data, respectively. Using...
Metabolic syndrome is a problem affecting people around the world. In a number of studies, soy intake has been documented to possess antidiabetic and anticardiovascular effect. My project is focused on the impact of the intake of compounds found within soy, the isoflavones, their impact on metabolic syndrome symptoms, and...
The efficiency of cellulose hydrolysis under straight saccharification and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) conditions was evaluated using three lignocellulosic materials (switchgrass, cornstover, and poplar), which had been pretreated with dilute sulfuric acid under conditions which optimized xylose concentrations in the prehydrolysate liquid. Yields of glucose, cellobiose and ethanol obtained...
Oysters are filter-feeding bivalves, which filter water for nutrients and often accumulate contaminants and human pathogens such as Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus naturally occurring in the marine environment. These naturally occurring pathogens have been frequently isolated from raw shellfish, particularly oyster, in the United States and are recognized as...
The enterotoxin-producing Clostridium perfringens type A isolates are responsible for the third most common foodborne illness in the United States and can also cause non-foodborne human gastrointestinal (GI) diseases such as antibiotic- associated and sporadic diarrheas. Three important factors contribute to the ability of C. perfringens to cause GI diseases,...
Lichens are an important part of the biota in western Oregon forests, where
they perform valuable ecological roles and contribute significantly to biodiversity.
Lichens in western Oregon are threatened by a number of factors including air
pollution and land use practices. If we wish to maintain the persistence of lichens...
The objectives of this project were to evaluate the efficacies of electrolyzed oxidizing (EO) and ozonated waters as antimicrobial agents for enhancing the microbiological safety of fresh strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa). The influence of sodium chloride (NaCl) concentrations used for preparing EO water was evaluated on their bactericidal activities against...
Lignocellulosic biomass represents a vast supply of fermentable carbohydrates and functional aromatic compounds. Conversion of lignocellulosics to ethanol and other useful products would be of widespread economical and environmental benefit. Better understanding of the behavior of different lignicellulosic feedstocks in fermentation protocols as well as catalytic activities involved in lignocellulosic...
The aim of this study was to gain more information about the
interactions between DNA and the histone octamer during the
process of transcription. This work used a pUC8 plasmid derivative
that contained the core promoter region of the RNA polymerase I of
Acanthamoeba castellanii, placed upstream of four repeats...
Positively-charged gold nanoparticles (0.8-nm core diameter) reduced yeast
survival, but not growth, at a concentration of 10 to 100 μg/ml. Among 17 resistant
deletion mutants isolated in a genome-wide screen, highly significant enrichment
was observed for respiration-deficient mutants lacking genes encoding proteins
associated with the mitochondrion.
Full Text:
Published ahead of print 9 November 2012
Address correspondence to AlanT. Bakalinsky, alan.bakalinsky
Positively-charged gold nanoparticles (0.8-nm core diameter) reduced yeast
survival, but not growth, at a concentration of 10 to 100 μg/ml. Among 17 resistant
deletion mutants isolated in a genome-wide screen, highly significant enrichment
was observed for respiration-deficient mutants lacking genes encoding proteins
associated with the mitochondrion.
Full Text:
, John M. Miller3,4, 4
James E. Hutchison3,4, Jeffrey A. Greenwood2, Hagai Abeliovich5, AlanT
Previous studies have shown that rainbow trout exposed to dieldrin via diet for 9 to 12 weeks increased biliary excretion of a subsequent dose of [¹⁴C]dieldrin by 500%. This was not explained by induction of the cytochrome P-450 (CYP) system involved in oxidative metabolism of these compounds. We hypothesized that...
Ultraviolet-protective compounds, such as mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) and related gadusols produced by some bacteria, fungi, algae, and marine invertebrates, are critical for the survival of reef-building corals and other marine organisms exposed to high-solar irradiance. These compounds have also been found in marine fish, where their accumulation is thought...
Positively-charged gold nanoparticles (0.8-nm core diameter) reduced yeast
survival, but not growth, at a concentration of 10 to 100 μg/ml. Among 17 resistant
deletion mutants isolated in a genome-wide screen, highly significant enrichment
was observed for respiration-deficient mutants lacking genes encoding proteins
associated with the mitochondrion.
Positively-charged gold nanoparticles (0.8-nm core diameter) reduced yeast
survival, but not growth, at a concentration of 10 to 100 μg/ml. Among 17 resistant
deletion mutants isolated in a genome-wide screen, highly significant enrichment
was observed for respiration-deficient mutants lacking genes encoding proteins
associated with the mitochondrion.
Positively-charged gold nanoparticles (0.8-nm core diameter) reduced yeast
survival, but not growth, at a concentration of 10 to 100 μg/ml. Among 17 resistant
deletion mutants isolated in a genome-wide screen, highly significant enrichment
was observed for respiration-deficient mutants lacking genes encoding proteins
associated with the mitochondrion.
1. To provide technical services and consultation for solving commercial winemaking problems. 2. To develop applied workshops and technical seminars for the continuing education and professional development of Oregon wine industry personnel. 3. To apply research results to commercial wine production to improve wine stability and quality. The Oregon wine...
Metals are a persistent form of freshwater pollution and have been shown to bioaccumulate in aquatic macroinvertebrates through direct contact with contaminated water, sediments, and through consumption of contaminated organisms. This research explored the longitudinal bioaccumulation patterns of 5 common trace metals (Cr, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb) in the...
Over the last decade the world has seen three major tsunamis strike the coasts of
Indonesia, Samoa, and Chile. These tsunamis have caused significant losses of life and
property on the coastal cities of these and nearby countries. The NEES (Network for
Earthquake Engineering Simulation) Housesmash project was created to...
Two built-up wide-flange beams with several large holes in each
beam were tested to failure. Strains were measured by strain gages
at various levels, located at the ends and center of typical holes, and
deflections were measured optically at two points on each beam.
Lateral bracing was provided to prevent...
Eight foodborne pathogenic and spoilage Gram-positive bacteria were
evaluated for their spontaneous resistance frequencies to the peptide
antimicrobial nisin. In brain heart infusion (BHI) medium, nisin resistance
frequencies were in the range of l06 to l08 when exposed to nisin at
concentrations 2 to 4 times the minimal inhibitory concentrations....
Incorporation of nanoparticles (NPs) into consumer products is on the rise and human exposure to NPs is unavoidable. Currently, there is insufficient data to assess the safety of nanoparticles. I conducted a series of five studies using the zebrafish model to determine which NP components (i.e., core material or surface...
Scientific inquiry in K-12 classrooms tends to be procedural, lacking opportunities for students to gain understanding of how scientific knowledge is constructed through reflection, debate, and argument. Limited opportunity to develop scientific argumentation skills prevents students from practicing the scientific thinking needed to understand the nature of scientific knowledge and...
This research was designed to broaden the understanding of how timber-harvest affects aquatic macroinvertebrates in perennial and intermittent headwater streams. This study compared emergent and benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages from 20 headwater streams in the central Oregon Coast Range that varied by harvest condition and flow duration. Through comparison of the...
Hypothesis tests are developed for the exertion of
market power by the Japanese government in the world and
domestic wheat markets. The results indicate that the
Japanese government is pursuing a more restrictive import
policy for wheat than would be indicated by an optimal
tariff strategy. Results also indicate that...
This thesis traces the relationship between the First World War, constructions of masculinity, and the life and poetry of T.S. Eliot. Central to this relationship is a study of homoeroticism, which the author characterizes as different from homosexuality but not exclusive of it, in late 19th and early 20th century...
On February 9th, 2014 Michael Sam stated in an interview with ESPN's "Outside the Lines" that he is gay. Since he was drafted, Sam will become the first ever openly gay player in NFL history. The following study aims to explore ESPN's coverage of Michael Sam, with a goal of...
Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV’s) are a very important part of today’s transportation system as they are bridging the gap between fully electric vehicles and conventional internal combustion vehicles (ICV’s). They have much higher efficiencies and lower emissions than ICV’s, while still having the ability to travel long range and refuel...
Previous work (Thorgaard, G. H. et al., Aquatic Toxicology 46:121-126, 1999)
showed triploid rainbow trout (0. mykiss) given embryonic carcinogen bath exposures
had significant reduction of induced tumors relative to diploids. In the present study,
trout were made triploid by thermal shock after fertilization. At age of 5 months they...
The middle Eocene Tillamook Volcanics form the oldest rock unit in the Elsie-lower Nehalem River area. K-Ar age determinations and age constraints imposed by foraminiferal and calcareous nannofossil assemblages of overlying sedimentary strata indicate an absolute age of about 42 Ma for the uppermost Tillamook Volcanics. Major oxide values indicate...
An estimated 99% of native wet prairie has been lost in the Willamette Valley, Oregon, but a large number of seasonal wetlands remain on private lands dedicated to grass seed production within the historical wet prairie landscape. Because agriculture is known to alter physical and chemical wetland conditions, I investigated...
In recent years, model-free Deep Reinforcement Learning (RL) has become an increasingly popular alternative to more traditional model-based or optimization-based control methods in solving robotic legged locomotion. However, deploying RL in the real world can be a significant undertaking. Constructing reward functions which compel controllers to learn the desired behavior...
Markov models are commonly used for joint inference of label sequences. Unfortunately, inference scales quadratically in the number of labels, which is problematic for training methods where inference is repeatedly preformed and is the primary computational bottleneck for large label sets. Recent work has used output coding to address this...
This thesis focuses on the problem of object tracking. Given a video, the general objective of tracking is to track the location over time of one or more targets in the image sequence. This is a very challenging task as algorithms need to deal with problems such as appearance variations,...
Domain-independent automated planning is concerned with computing a sequence of actions that can transform an initial state into a desired goal state. Resource production domains form an interesting class of such problems, in that they typically require reasoning about concurrent durative-actions with continuous effects while minimizing some cost function. Although...
Legged robots have consistently captured our collective imagination through various forms of media, from Hollywood films, anime, and viral Youtube videos of robots accomplishing incredible feats of acrobatics. These robots have the potential to navigate our environments, capable of completing tasks that would otherwise require human intervention. However, developing controls...
A five year study of file-system metadata shows that the number of files increases by 200% and only a select few file-types contribute for over 35% of the files that exist on a file-system. It is difficult to point out a permanent selection of files that a user really cares...
An interactive Computational geometry package was developed
for the purpose of experimenting with geometry problems in
the Euclidean plane. The package also contains computer graphics
functions to display the result. Application independent functions
were developed that are both flexible and general enough for
creating new geometry experiments as well as...
Anomaly detection has been used in variety of applications in practice, including cyber-security, fraud detection and detecting faults in safety critical systems, etc. Anomaly detectors produce a ranked list of statistical anomalies, which are typically examined by human analysts in order to extract the actual anomalies of interest. Unfortunately, most...
Papers proposing novel machine learning algorithms tend to present the algorithm or technique in question in the best possible light. The standard practice is generally for authors to emphasize their proposed algorithms' performance in the precise setting where it is maximally impressive, often by only fully evaluating their best known...
We consider the problem of tactical assault planning in real-time strategy games where a team of friendly agents must launch an assault on an enemy. This problem offers many challenges including a highly dynamic and uncertain environment, multiple agents, durative actions, numeric attributes, and different optimization objectives. While the dynamics...
We explored an optofluidic sensing mechanism from inkjet-printed droplets on diatom biosilica using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Our study revealed a new biosensing strategy that combines the microscopic fluidic flow induced by the droplet evaporation and the photonic crystal effects of diatom frustules, which can provide an ultra-sensitive, cost-effective biosensing...
Metal grating based plasmonic filters are widely researched for their unique properties of field enhancement and localization of light beyond diffraction limit. However, the plasmonic grating filters reported in literature mostly have broadband outputs making them unsuitable for spectroscopy. In this project, we have designed, fabricated, and characterized an array...
This dissertation explores algorithms for learning ranking functions to efficiently solve search problems, with application to automated planning. Specifically, we consider the frameworks of beam search, greedy search, and randomized search, which all aim to maintain tractability at the cost of not guaranteeing completeness nor optimality. Our learning objective for...
Ambifunctional axially chiral 2,2',6,6'-tetrasubstituted biphenyls containing nucleophilic (or basic) functional groups juxtaposed with hydrogen-bond donors were synthesized and their properties studied. Applications for the prepared biaryls as potential organocatalysts for enantioselective carbon-carbon bond forming reactions were examined. Processes investigated included: aldol, Michael, nitroaldol (Henry), and Baylis-Hillman reactions.
The novel amidoamine...
We take for granted how quickly we, as humans, form mental models of the world around us. By the time we are toddlers, we have an observable intuition around the physical rules of the world. Stacking blocks such that they don’t fall over becomes such a trivial task, that it...
This study, based on Brunswik's (1952, 1956) lens model,
examined the judgment policies employed by 67 art students
and faculty when they evaluate instruction. Four groups of
subjects, non-art majors, undergraduate art majors, graduate
and bachelor of fine arts students, and faculty members, judged
a series of 35 hypothetical teacher...
Learning latent space representations of high-dimensional world states has been at the core of recent rapid growth in reinforcement learning(RL). At the same time, RL algo- rithms have suffered from ignored uncertainties in the predicted estimates of model-free or model-based methods. In our work, we investigate both of these aspects...
Dynamic bipedal locomotion is among the most difficult and yet relevant problems in modern robotics. While a multitude of classical control methods for bipedal locomotion exist, they are often brittle or limited in capability. In recent years, work in applying reinforcement learning to robotics has lead to superior performance across...
Due to the advantages of the high surface area and high porosity, Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) materials are widely used in gas storage. As a typical MOF material, Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8 (Zif-8) has high selectivity and adsorption capability of carbon dioxide (CO2). In this thesis, we investigated the infrared absorption of...
Silicon photonics has rapidly become one of the most promising photonic integration platforms. Especially, microring resonator (MRR) plays a pivotal role in silicon photonics and has been widely used for electro-optic (E-O) modulators and wavelength filters due to its small footprint, low energy consumption, and high quality factor (Q-factor). Recently,...
Monte-Carlo planning algorithms such as UCT make decisions at each step by
intelligently expanding a single search tree given the available time and then
selecting the best root action. Recent work has provided evidence that it can be
advantageous to instead construct an ensemble of search trees and make a...
An interactive computer graphics package was developed for the
purpose of solving certain geometric problems in the Euclidean plane.
The Geometric Graphics Package provides basic application-independent
functions for creating arbitrary views of two-dimensional objects and
for supporting interaction between the application program and its
user. The application program contains a...
Reinforcement learning has emerged as a popular tool for solving control tasks, with multiple works focusing on the complex and dynamic task of locomotion. However, the naive application of reinforcement learning to this problem often produces maladaptive policies that exploit the model or reward function. This results in behavior that...
This dissertation focuses on indoor free-space optical communications systems for use in short range wireless networks. We propose that current radio frequency wireless links be augmented or replaced with optical frequency links due to overcrowding in the radio frequency spectrum. Optical frequencies contain hundreds of terahertz of unregulated bandwidth and...
The present study examined fathers' and mothers' attitudes
toward fathering and fathers' involvement with their infant sons
and daughters. Subjects included 42 pairs of parents with infants
from upper and middle socioeconomic class families. All subjects
were of the Caucasian race. The Attitudes Toward Fathering Scale
and the Father Behavioral...