Photobiological hydrogen production from live cells of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 encapsulated in silica gel was investigated. Hydrogen is a dense energy carrier with potential to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, provided a renewable and sustainable means of production can be achieved. Under certain conditions, Synechocystis sp. PCC...
Photobiological hydrogen production -- the use of photosynthesis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen -- presents an opportunity for efficient and large-scale solar biofuel development. One of the major challenges in this area is competition for reductant between the hydrogen-evolving hydrogenase enzyme and other metabolic pathways. In this work...
Cell-to-cell communication by chemical signals, termed quorum sensing (QS), is a common regulatory scheme in the microbial world. Pseudomonas aeruginosa¸ an opportunistic pathogen of burn wounds and cystic fibrosis lungs, uses QS to control the expression of hundreds of genes, particularly those necessary for population level benefits such as biofilm...
In this dissertation, we consider two problems in number theory, both relating to modular forms. First we consider when a given modular form can be expressed as a quotient in Dedekind's $\eta$ function. Rouse and Webb \cite{RW} have determined the integers $N \leq 500$ such that the graded ring of...
Cyanobacteria inhabit nearly every ecosystem on earth, play a vital role in nutrient cycling, and are
useful as model organisms for fundamental research in photosynthesis and carbon and nitrogen fixation.
In addition, they are important for several established biotechnologies for producing food additives,
nutritional and pharmaceutical compounds, and pigments, as...
Feminist compositionists have long argued for addressing the feminization of composition, or its association with low value “women’s work,” by revaluing caring labor (Enos; Heinert and Phillips; Tuell). However, this argument assumes that writing teachers’ care work is beneficial for all students and teachers. Focusing on responding to student writing...
The diffusion of divalent nickel (Ni²⁺) from wet silica gels was investigated.
Silica gel is gaining interest as an encapsulation matrix for biological components.
The transport of biologically relevant species within the gel is determined by the
structural characteristics of the gel, which are in turn governed by synthesis
parameters....
Corals have multiple roles in maintaining ocean health and are some of the world’s most diverse ecosystems. The coral animal is host to a multitude of taxa, including symbiotic dinoflagellate algae, fungi, bacteria, protists, and viruses. Environmental stressors and disease agents can perturb the delicate balance of the coral host...