The development of a transient electric birefringence (TEB) apparatus for macroparticle characterization is herein discussed. The experimental difficulties encountered were related largely to poor data resolution. Misalignment and strain birefringence in optical components further complicated results. Improved data digitization methods were developed, and precise mathematical models were derived in order...
One common assumption in interpreting ice-core CO₂ records is that diffusion in the ice does not affect the concentration profile. However, this assumption remains untested because the extremely small CO₂ diffusion coefficient in ice has not been accurately determined in the laboratory. In this study we take advantage of high...
With the increasing international focus on transboundary cooperation as a part of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Framework, there is global recognition of transboundary water cooperation as a tool for improved governance and management of transboundary surface and groundwaters. Yet, there is not an agreed upon definition of transboundary water...
To understand the processes that lead to the formation of the oceanic crust, one must know the composition and the depth at which primary melts originate. Towards this end, this dissertation focuses on plagioclase-hosted melt inclusions from plagioclase ultraphyric basalts (PUBs). Plagioclase is usually considered to be the second phase,...
Performance evaluation of conventionally reinforced concrete (CRC) bridge superstructure elements with diagonal cracks is of interest to the bridge engineering community. Standardized methods to predict service-level stress magnitudes in cracked bridge girders under combined bending and shear forces are not available. An analysis procedure was developed to determine the response...
Planktonic foraminiferal faunal assemblages were used to estimate sea-surface temperatures (SST) in the southeast Pacific Ocean during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and off the coast of Peru over the last 150,000 years. Temperatures along the eastern boundary of South America were 6-8° C cooler during the LGM than at...
Biological agents and their products commonly cause foodborne illnesses. In the United States it is estimated that there are over 76 million cases of foodborne illnesses each year, resulting in an economic loss of approximately $40 billion. These high figures demonstrate the need for bioassays that display a rapid and...
Polybenzimidazoles were synthesized from 3, 3', 4, 4'-tetraminobiphenyl
(diaminobenzidine, or DAB) with orthoesters, carboxylic acid derivatives (an ester and
an acid) and with m-benzenedialdehyde. The products were of low molecular weight,
as evidenced by low inherent viscosity, except in the case of the dialdehyde plus DAB.
The product of that...
This thesis undertakes an examination of Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, as a layering of genres. A futuristic dystopia that imagines late twentieth-century America as having fallen into neo-Puritanism and totalitarianism following widespread infertility and violence, The Handmaid’s Tale invites contemplation of various forms of fundamentalism, radicalism, and...
Ecosystem services (ES) represent a way to represent and quantify multiple uses, values as well as connectivity between ecosystem processes and human well-being. Ecosystem-based fisheries management approaches may seek to quantify expected trade-offs in ecosystem services due to actions such as restoration and gear restrictions, or due to changes such...