The focus of this thesis is to design, characterize, and apply novel computational methods and molecular systems to interrogate heterogeneous human gut microbiome-related phenomena. In Chapter 2, I design, implement, and characterize a method for embedding co-occurrence patterns derived from massive 16s amplicon datasets. I use this method to 1....
Robotic Bipedal locomotion holds the potential for efficient, robust traversal of difficult terrain. The difficulty lies in the dynamics of locomotion which complicate control and motion planning. Bipedal locomotion dynamics are dimensionally large problems, extremely nonlinear, and operate on the limits of actuator capabilities, which limit the performance of generic...
The application of a flapping foil with prescribed trailing edge motion to energy harvesting in a low reduced frequency (k = fc/U∞) regime was experimentally studied. The effects of the phase and amplitude of the applied trailing edge motion upon time-variant power extraction capability have been measured and are interpreted....
Collective robotic systems are biologically-inspired and exhibit behaviors found in spatial swarms (e.g., fish), colonies (e.g., ants), or a combination of both (e.g., bees). Collective robotic system popularity continues to increase due to their apparent global intelligence and emergent behaviors. Many applications can benefit from the incorporation of collectives, including...
While primary use of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT), various GNSS applications have emerged over the past decades that includes GNSS meteorology. GNSS meteorology is the remote sensing of the atmospheric constituents in the neutral atmosphere – mostly in the troposphere - using GNSS...
Biodiversity loss is of global concern, and is due in part to deforestation and high consumer demand for wood and wood products. The neotropical tree species Cedrela odorata (“Spanish cedar” or “cedro”) is economically valuable for its wood and faces threats of overexploitation. Due to strong similarities in wood features...
This dissertation aims to elicit how a neo-colonial context shapes maternal and infant heath (MIH) outcomes by describing how they are socially, politically, historically, and culturally produced. Using a multi-level critical biocultural, medical anthropological research approach, the purpose of this research was to investigate maternal stress in the United States...
Photoelectric and Compton interactions are some of the common interaction mechanisms we observe when gamma radiation interacts with matter. These interactions are highly depended on the energy of the radiation and the atomic number of the detector material. Lower the energy of the photon and higher the atomic number of...
Trophic interactions within and among species vary widely across spatial scales and species’ ontogeny. However, the drivers and implications of this variability are not well understood. Juvenile Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha have a wide distribution, ranging from northern California to the eastern Bering Sea in North America, but it is...
Full Text:
feeding ecology of juvenile Chinook
salmon along the coastal Northeast Pacific Ocean
Hertz, E., Trudel
Trophic interactions within and among species vary widely across spatial scales and species’ ontogeny. However, the drivers and implications of this variability are not well understood. Juvenile Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha have a wide distribution, ranging from northern California to the eastern Bering Sea in North America, but it is...
Full Text:
Chinook Salmon along the coastal Northeast Pacific Ocean
EricHertz*, M. Trudel, R. D. Brodeur, E. A