This dissertation examined the association between HAP and respiratory health, both using simple proxy metrics, such as cooking fuel types, and actual measurements, such as household and personal measures of PM2.5 and BC. We found that simple proxy metrics can predict a portion of HAP levels, and associations with respiratory...
It is considered best practice when designing pedestrian access at intersections to provide two curb ramps at each street corner. In Oregon, there are many locations where long ramp runs cause curb ramps to be set back a significant distance from the apex of the intersection corner to meet this...
Transportation systems are facing safety and operational challenges with a cost of billions of dollars annually in lost production time and wasted fuel. Infrastructure expansion, previously held as a panacea to most transportation challenges has lost its appeal due to financial, land-use and environmental constraints. Interest is surging in intelligent...
Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication systems have recently been considered as one of the most significant technology breakthroughs for modern wireless communications, due to the higher spectral efficiency and improved link reliability. The sphere decoding algorithm (SDA) has been widely used for maximum likelihood (ML) detection in MIMO systems. It is...
The first goal of this study was to understand the role of u-calpain in skeletal muscle protein degradation in cultured muscle cells. Several strategies were developed to down-regulate endogenous u-calpain activity and m-calpain activity in rat myotubes. These included over-expression of antisense u-calpain (AnsL), dominant negative u-calpain (DN-u-CL), antisense 30K...
This thesis details my investigation of some pharmaceuticals and natural products on the transport of drugs which are substrates of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), such as cyclosporin A (CSA) and digoxin by using Caco-2 and MDCKII-MDR1 drug transport models. Three objectives were performed to address this goal. The first objective was to...
Public concern has recently focused upon the presence
of radioactive radon in homes. The Environmental
Protection Agency and others have researched this health
hazard. Radon gas is given off during typical household
water uses such as showering, bathing, dishwashing, and
clothes washing. However, few studies have been performed
on radon...
A novel switched-R-MOSFET-C input branch is proposed for low-voltage and high-linearity applications. The tunability is achieved by varying the clock duty cycle using an automatic tuning circuit. This tuning method does not involve a change in gate voltage, and is therefore particularly suitable for low-voltage applications. The advantages of the...
Reliability of sub-micron analog circuits is directly related to impact ionization and
the subsequent changes in threshold voltage and drain current of n-MOSFET devices.
This thesis presents theory of the hot-electron effects on the device characteristics and
circuit performance, explores several approaches to improve performance at both the
device and...
This study was designed to evaluate the effect of glucose on plasma pyridoxal 5'- phosphate (PLP) concentration. The objective was to determine whether there was a negative relationship between glucose ingestion and plasma PLP concentration and to evaluate the possible mechanism of decreased PLP after acute glucose ingestion. Seven healthy...
The cycloundecapeptide cyclosporin A (CsA) was first isolated from the insect-pathogenic fungus Tolypocladium inflatum for its antifungal activity and later developed as an immunosuppressant drug. However, the full biosynthetic mechanism of CsA remains unknown and has puzzled researchers for decades. In this study, the biosynthetic gene cluster is suggested to...
This dissertation focuses on extending the application scope of surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy to gas sensing. The method we propose is incorporating plasmonic nanostructures with nano-composite material, metalorganic framework, which can selectively preconcentrate certain gas molecules into the nanopores. The preconcentrating property is first demonstrated by applying metal-organic framework...
Silicon photonics has become the most promising platform for future large-scale optical interconnect and optical computing systems due to its inherent CMOS compatibility, which brings exclusive advantages in bandwidth density, energy efficiency, and cost effectiveness. Parallel optical interconnects based on photonic integrated circuits (PICs) have the capacity to meet the...
The paper puts forward a model of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) fishery in the South China Sea that integrates the ecological, social and economic costs and benefits of fisheries activities in a multidisciplinary framework. In particular, In particular, we developed integrated model by linking a regional Social Accounting Matrix...
The paper devises an integrated ecological–economics–social model to assess the implementation of ecosystem-based fisheries management in the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) in the South China Sea (SCS). In particular, this paper presents the development of an integrated model, which links a regional economics social accounting matrix (SAM) model to an ecological...
As decomposers, fungi are key players in recycling plant material in global carbon cycles. We hypothesized that genomes of early diverging fungi may have inherited pectinases from an ancestral species that had been able to extract nutrients from pectin-containing land plants and their algal allies (Streptophytes). We aimed to infer,...
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ancestors of land plants
Ying Chang, Sishuo Wang, Satoshi Sekimoto, Andrea L. Aerts, Cindy Choi, Alicia
As decomposers, fungi are key players in recycling plant material in global carbon cycles. We hypothesized that genomes of early diverging fungi may have inherited pectinases from an ancestral species that had been able to extract nutrients from pectin-containing land plants and their algal allies (Streptophytes). We aimed to infer,...
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Evolved Digesting
Cell Walls of Algal Ancestors of Land Plants
Chang, Y., Wang, S., Sekimoto, S., Aerts
As decomposers, fungi are key players in recycling plant material in global carbon cycles. We hypothesized that genomes of early diverging fungi may have inherited pectinases from an ancestral species that had been able to extract nutrients from pectin-containing land plants and their algal allies (Streptophytes). We aimed to infer,...
As decomposers, fungi are key players in recycling plant material in global carbon cycles. We hypothesized that genomes of early diverging fungi may have inherited pectinases from an ancestral species that had been able to extract nutrients from pectin-containing land plants and their algal allies (Streptophytes). We aimed to infer,...
Marine recreational fishery plays an important role in developing marine economy and traditional fishery transformation. Recently the development of Marine recreational fishery has hit a bottleneck, traditional marine recreational fishing industry needs rapid change. Marine recreational fishery new format as an existing form of Marine recreational fishery industry has opened...
The interface electrochemical and chemical mechanism of the low alloy steel in a 3.5% NaCl solution containing the Ce3+-based inhibitor was investigated by the electrochemical techniques in conjunction with the surface analysis technologies. It was shown that the Ce(3+-)based inhibitor was an anodic inhibitor with more than 90.0% inhibitory efficiency....
This thesis proposes a novel fully digital technique for the estimation and correction of the DAC error in multi-bit delta sigma ADCs. The structure of the DAC error is indicated through a simple model for unit-element based DACs. The impact of the DAC error on the performance of ADC is...
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....
Digital-to-analog converters (DACs) with wide dynamic range and high
linearity are required for high-end audio applications. A multi-bit delta sigma
audio DAC, using a novel gain-correction technique, is described in this thesis. For
widely varying on-chip RC time constant, the DAC gain can be accurately
controlled by the correction circuitry....
Dysfunction of mitochondria has been linked to aging and the pathogenesis of many degenerative diseases. Aside from their primary function in energy production, mitochondria are considered as a major source and target of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) in cells as well. The mitochondrial thiol proteome is a subset...
Recombinant human calpain-5 was expressed in insect cells using a baculovirus system. The expressed calpain-5 was purified by both traditional chromatography and by affinity-column chromatography. Both methods yielded active protease. Calpain-5 displayed very limited hydrophobicity. This indicated that calpain-5 is not a membrane binding protein. Calpain-5 had pI of 8.3....
This dissertation presents a low-power high-resolution delta-sigma ADC. Two new architectural design techniques are proposed to reduce the power dissipation of the ADC. Compared to the conventional active adder, the direct charge transfer (DCT) adder greatly saves power by keeping the feedback factor of the active adder unity. However, the...
Skeletal muscle proteins are the largest amino acid pool in animal body and are continuously degraded and resynthesized. Dozens of factors have been shown to influence the balance between synthesis and degradation and thereby regulate muscle growth and function. It is now know that one of the major regulatory bases...
Investigations were conducted to study in detail some biochemical and physiological aspects of ripening in pears. Anjou pears
picked at different degrees of maturity were treated with Ethrel
(2-chloroethane phosphonic acid), 4000 ppm, and ethylene, 500 ppm,
for different lengths of time. Respiration rate was measured twice
daily and changes...
Delta-Sigma (ΔΣ) analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are traditionally used in high quality audio systems, instrumentation and measurement (I&M) and biomedical devices. With the continued downscaling of CMOS technology, they are becoming popular in wideband applications such as wireless and wired communication systems,high-definition television and radar systems. There are two general realizations...
The coastal ecosystem of the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) has been overfished and received a high level of
combined pollution in the past decades. The fisheries stock assessments have shown a declining
population and have led to a number of management measures, including fishing moratorium. This study
evaluated the effect...
Over 37,000 people die each year in automobile accidents, with many of these fatalities resulting from collisions with emergency vehicles. The rise of autonomous cars creates the need for an accurate and failsafe method of detecting and responding to emergency vehicles safely and on time. This thesis investigates the ability...
The Gulf of Aqaba, northern Red Sea, is an ideal natural laboratory for studying the
impact of atmospheric dry deposition of iron to the ocean surface. We have measured
atmospheric iron deposition weekly for 18 months, and dissolved and total dissolvable
iron concentrations in the stratified summer (August) and well-mixed...
OCLC recently announced a plan to implement MARC 21 Format for Holdings Data (MFHD) and invited holdings experts Frieda Rosenberg and Diane Hillmann to serve as advisors and to aid in the implementation process. In December 2004, Jian Wang interviewed Rosenberg and Hillmann. They discuss their longtime involvement with the...
The actively subsiding North China sedimentary basin is associated with an unusually high level of seismic activity. This oil- and gas-producing basin has been the site of nine large (M ≥ 7), destructive earthquakes since 1600 A. D. An analysis of faulting during the Tangshan earthquake sequence, which includes some...
Physical-Layer Network Coding (PNC) is a promising technique that has great potentials for improving the achievable data rates of end-to-end flows through higher packet transmission rates, thereby increasing the overall network throughput. In this thesis, we study the performance of the PNC transmission techniques for unidirectional end-to-end flows in multi-hop...
Inhaled and intranasal corticosteroids (ICS and INS) are among the mainstays of the treatment for asthma and allergic rhinitis, respectively, and also carry the potential to suppress the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. Several important factors affect the interpretability of trials investigating the impact of ICS and INS on the HPA axis....
As decomposers, fungi are key players in recycling plant material in global carbon cycles. We hypothesized that genomes of early diverging fungi may have inherited pectinases from an ancestral species that had been able to extract nutrients from pectin-containing land plants and their algal allies (Streptophytes). We aimed to infer,...
Native populations of forest trees are specifically adapted to the climates they inhabit. The farther trees are moved from their local climates (i.e., as the climatic transfer distance increases), the more growth and survival tend to decrease. The transfer limit is the climatic transfer distance beyond which plantation performance is...
The Mongolian Steppe is one of the largest remaining grassland ecosystems. Recent studies have reported widespread
decline of vegetation across the steppe and about 70% of this ecosystem is now considered degraded. Among
the scientific community there has been an active debate about whether the observed degradation is related to...
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due to overgrazing
Hilker, T., Natsagdorj, E., Waring, R. H., Lyapustin, A., & Wang, Y. (2014
The Mongolian Steppe is one of the largest remaining grassland ecosystems. Recent studies have reported widespread
decline of vegetation across the steppe and about 70% of this ecosystem is now considered degraded. Among
the scientific community there has been an active debate about whether the observed degradation is related to...
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Thomas Hilker1*, Enkhjargal Natsagdorj2, Richard H. Waring1, Alexei Lyapustin3, Yujie Wang
3,4
Worldwide measurements of nearly 130C3 species covering all
major plant functional types are analysed in conjunction with
model simulations to determine the effects of mesophyll
conductance (gm) on photosynthetic parameters and their
relationships estimated from A/Ci curves. We find that an
assumption of infinite gm results in up to 75%...
The interaction of lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) with apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) plays a critical role in highdensity lipoprotein (HDL) maturation.Wepreviously identified a highly solvent-exposed apoA-I loop domain (Leu¹⁵⁹–Leu¹⁷⁰) in nascent HDL, the so-called “solar flare” (SF) region, and proposed that it serves as an LCAT docking site (Wu, Z., Wagner, M....
Toxoplasma gondii, the most common parasitic infection of human brain and eye, persists across lifetimes, can progressively damage sight, and is currently incurable. New, curative medicines are needed urgently. Herein, we develop novel models to facilitate drug development: EGS strain T. gondii forms cysts in vitro that induce oocysts in...
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changes in treating active and chronic,
persistent apicomplexan infections
Martin McPhillie
1
*, Ying
Toxoplasma gondii, the most common parasitic infection of human brain and eye, persists across lifetimes, can progressively damage sight, and is currently incurable. New, curative medicines are needed urgently. Herein, we develop novel models to facilitate drug development: EGS strain T. gondii forms cysts in vitro that induce oocysts in...
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infections
Martin McPhillie1,*, Ying Zhou2,*, Kamal El Bissati2, Jitender Dubey3, Hernan Lorenzi4,
Michael
Toxoplasma gondii, the most common parasitic infection of human brain and eye, persists across lifetimes, can progressively damage sight, and is currently incurable. New, curative medicines are needed urgently. Herein, we develop novel models to facilitate drug development: EGS strain T. gondii forms cysts in vitro that induce oocysts in...
Full Text:
changes in treating active and chronic,
persistent apicomplexan infections
Martin McPhillie
1
*, Ying
Toxoplasma gondii, the most common parasitic infection of human brain and eye, persists across lifetimes, can progressively damage sight, and is currently incurable. New, curative medicines are needed urgently. Herein, we develop novel models to facilitate drug development: EGS strain T. gondii forms cysts in vitro that induce oocysts in...
Coring/logging data and physical property measurements from International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 349 are integrated with, and correlated to, reflection seismic data to map seismic sequence boundaries and facies of the central basin and neighboring regions of the South China Sea. First-order sequence boundaries are interpreted, which are Oligocene/Miocene, middle...