This thesis examines the influence on range-of-motion
of beetle body of changes in leg segment
parameters. From beetle's leg orientation, influence of
the following leg segment parameters are investigated:
coxa length, coxa twist and body-coxa joint.
Kinematic equations are derived for legs of the
beetle. Roots of quartic polynomials obtained...
Control of high-speed, light-weight robotic manipulators is a challenge because of their special dynamic characteristics. In this work, a two-stage control algorithm for the position control of flexible manipulators is proposed. First, the more complex, flexible robot system is replaced by a simplified hypothetical rigid body system (HRRA) with off-line...
Peroxiredoxin (Prx) enzymes catalyze the reduction of hydrogen peroxide, peroxynitrous acid, and organic peroxides, and are extremely efficient peroxidases, with k[subscript cat]/K[subscript M] on the order of 10⁷ - 10⁸ M⁻¹ s⁻¹. Besides their role in oxidative stress defense, evidence has accumulated that some eukaryotes, including humans, use Prxs as...
This dissertation describes studies of isoprenoid biosynthesis in the
phytoflagellate Euglena gracilis. Elucidation of a novel isoprerioid pathway, the 2-Cmethyl-D-erythritol-4-phosphate (MEP) pathway, in addition to the generally known
mevalonate (MVA) pathway, led to extensive exploration of the distribution of both pathways in a variety of organisms. To date, photosynthetic eukaryotes...
According to Engel, Blackwell, and Miniard (1993), evaluative criteria is defined as "the standards and specifications used by consumers to compare different products and brands" (p.51). Many studies have investigated factors that might influence the importance of clothing evaluative criteria used by consumers in the decision making process. However, few...
Improved methods for automatic translation of Chinese characters
to English, using a scanner coupled to a digital computer, are
described. Included are computer techniques of locating, describing,
and recognizing different strokes for translation of the character.
One of the important ‘hallmarks’ of cancer is angiogenesis, which is the process of formation of new blood vessels that are necessary for tumor expansion, invasion and metastasis. Under normal physiological conditions, angiogenesis is well balanced and controlled by endogenous proangiogenic factors and antiangiogenic factors. However, factors produced by cancer...
Poplar Bark Storage Proteins (BSP) are important in storing nitrogen (N)
recovered from autumn-senescent leaves, and supply N for spring growth. Plants of
Populus tremula x P. alba were transformed with a poplar BSP antisense cDNA
fused to a double 35S promoter. Regenerated lines were screened for reduced BSP
accumulation...