In this dissertation, two important current mode circuit design subjects have
been explored. In the first part, the switched-current circuit technique has been
investigated. The fundamental performance and limitations of this technique are
explored. One of the major limitations, the signal distortion caused by clock
feedthrough has been substantially reduced...
Although the biology of Bradyrhizobium has been studied for almost
one hundred years, virtually nothing is known about the ecology and genetic
variation in natural soil populations of this genus. The majority of
information has been obtained from studies of one species, Bradyrhizobium
japonicum, and the diversity within soil populations...
Nearly 80% of solid tumors, such as melanoma, metastasize via the lymphatic system. The most common form of melanoma is BRAF-mutant melanoma, and additional mutations, such as a PTEN mutation in the PI3K pathway, is required for metastases to occur. Standard therapy includes treatment with small molecules dabrafenib (DAB) and...
In this thesis the concept of inhomogeneous
dielectrics is demonstrated for various optical coating
applications. Compositionally-varying silicon oxynitride
(SiON) dielectric layers, with the refractive index
varying as a function of position, are grown by computer-controlled
plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition
(PECVD) using silane, nitrogen, and nitrous oxide reactant
gases. Compositionally graded...
Layered multiconductor coupled slot and strip-slot structures are characterized by introducing the full-wave modal analysis as well as the quasi-TEM spectral domain technique. In the modal analysis, the electric and magnetic fields are constructed in terms of modal fields in different regions. Application of the boundary conditions at interfaces for...
Breeding ecology and behavior were investigated in a field study of three sympatric anuran amphibians in the Oregon Cascade Mountains: the western toad (Bufo
boreas), the Cascades frog (Rana cascadae) and the Pacific treefrog (Hyla regilla). A comprehensive study of the western toad mating system was conducted at three populations...
A method based on fatty acid (FA) analysis is used to profile microbial community structure (MCS). Various extraction protocols are available, which alter the types of FAs extracted from soils. The more time consuming but widely used protocol extracts only FAs from phospholipids (PLFA). This technique is desirable because PLFAs...
The tracheal mite, Acarapis woodi (Rennie), parasitizes the
honey bee, Apis mellifera L., an insect used extensively by humans
for pollination of domestic crops and for bee products, primarily
honey.
This parasite was first discovered in 1921 on the Isle of
Wight, a small island situated in the English Channel...