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Title: SEPARATING NOBLE GASES SUCH AS KRYPTON AND XENON FROM NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS OFF-GAS USING DD3R ZEOLITIC MEMBRANES: A COMPUTATIONAL MOLECULAR DYNAMICS STUDY
Creator: BASHMMAKH, BANDAR JAMAL S.
Date: 2021
Description: Noble gas fission products generated within nuclear power reactors, such as Kr and Xe, are currently discharged into the atmosphere. This...
Show moreNoble gas fission products generated within nuclear power reactors, such as Kr and Xe, are currently discharged into the atmosphere. This practice has a major economic drawback because of the high value associated with some of these gases. Zeolites, nanoporous materials suitable for gas separation processes, have become of major interest due to the potentially high selectivity for such separations. We have used nonequilibrium molecular dynamics to investigate the separation performance of DD3R framework zeolitic membranes (using LAMMPS software package) for such separations. Our studies have shown that the DD3R membrane shows promise for high selectivity ratios of Kr over Xe. The effects of pressure, temperature and pure vs. mixture gas feed conditions are studied in this work to understand at the molecular level the mechanisms of these (Kr/Xe) separations. MD runs show an agreement with most experimental trends in the permeation of Kr/Xe pure and mixed gases using DD3R zeolite with high separation factor, despite the absence of Xe complete permeation through the membrane because of MD timescale limitation, signaling much slower diffusion in comparison to Kr which is a desired trend in looking for high separation factors.
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Title: INFORMAL AREAS UPGRADING STRATEGIES: THE CASE OF ADEN CITY-YEMEN
Creator: Ba Tis, Ahmed Abdullah Obaid
Date: 2022
Description: Informal areas are global problems that pose a threat to the urban environment and their consequences prompted urgently to search for...
Show moreInformal areas are global problems that pose a threat to the urban environment and their consequences prompted urgently to search for solutions and methods to address these problems and limit their effects. This thesis examines the issue of informal areas in Yemen. Informal areas are houses built on illegal public or private real estate. In Yemen, these illegal areas began as a relatively new phenomenon and since then have grown at an extremely rapid rate. Increasing rates of urbanization, poverty, and unemployment have led to the rapid rise of slums and informal housing in Yemen. The UN-Habitat database of global urban indicators estimates that 60% of Yemen's urban population lives in informal settlements. The cities most affected by the rapid growth of informal settlements include Taiz, Al Hudaydah, Sana'a, and Aden. The Yemeni government has done little to address the growth of informal areas. However, there was growing concern about this issue, and governmental and non-state actors alike began to consider new approaches to urban policy development and implementation. The importance of the thesis is that it will limit the spread of slums in Aden in the future, and it will also be a good starting point for further research and studies on the issue of developing the problem of informal areas in Yemen. There are many ways to deal with the problem of informal areas, including demolition and resettlement, and development upgrading and each method differs according to the region’s conditions, whether the urban, social economic, location of the area. This study focuses on urban upgrading to clarify its concepts, types and strategies, because it has become one of the most appropriate ways to deal with informal areas and to reach a sustainable urban environment. The thesis aims to find solutions for informal areas in Yemen and limit their growth in the future by preparing a new strategy for dealing with informal areas, in light of the experiences of other countries, and in line with the reality of Yemen.
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Title: CHARACTERIZATION OF HERBS AND SPICES PHYTOCHEMICALS AND PHARMACOKINETIC PROFILE OVER 24-HOUR AFTER CONSUMPTION IN OVERWEIGHT/OBESE ADULTS
Creator: Huang, Yudai
Date: 2022
Description: The health benefits of herbs and spices (H/S) have been known since ancient times. They are a rich source of phytochemicals, such as phenolic...
Show moreThe health benefits of herbs and spices (H/S) have been known since ancient times. They are a rich source of phytochemicals, such as phenolic compounds and terpenoids. However, there is limited information on their absorption and metabolism in humans. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to identify and characterize phytochemical compounds in H/S mixtures and their absorption and metabolism in the human body over 24 h. H/S and plasma samples used in this study were from a randomized, single-blinded, 4-arm, 24 h, multi-sampling, single-center crossover clinical trial (Clincaltrials.gov NCT03926442) conducted in obese or overweight adults (n=24, aged 37 ± 3 years, BMI=28.4 ± 0.6 kg/m2). Plasma samples were collected at baseline (t=0 h), 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 5.5, 7, and 24 h after consuming a high-fat high-carbohydrate (HFHC) meal with salt and pepper (control) or the control meal with 6 g of three different H/S mixtures (Italian herb: rosemary, basil, thyme, oregano, and parsley in the same ratio; cinnamon; and pumpkin pie spice containing cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice, the ratio unknown). The phytochemical compounds in the H/S mixtures and their metabolites in human plasma were tentatively identified and quantified by dynamic multiple reaction monitoring transitions on UHPLC-QQQ-MS/MS. Statistical analysis was conducted on SAS-PC 9.4 using non-parametric test via NPAR1WAY procedure. A total of 79 phytochemical compounds were quantified from samples of three H/S mixtures and pepper, of which 36 were flavonoids conpounds, 8 were terpenoids, 27 phenolic acids, and 9 were identified as other compounds. Acetone showed the highest extraction ability for both (poly)phenols and terpenoids in H/S compared to other organic solvents (50% and 80% methanol, ethyl acetate and chloroform). Italian herb contains 763.1 mg/100 g flavonoids, 879 mg/100 g phenolic acids, and 498.6 mg/100g terpenoids; cinnamon contains 981 mg/100 g flavonoids, 11.2 mg/100g phenolic acids, 292.3 mg/100g coumarin, and 1977.1 mg/100 g cinnamaldehyde; pumpkin pie spice contains 655.8 mg/100 g flavonoids, 17.1 mg/100 g phenolic acids, 226.5 mg/100 g coumarin, and 1633 mg/100 g cinnamaldehyde. A total of 47 metabolites were tentatively identified and quantified in plasma samples after H/S consumption over 24 h. Plasma concentrations of carnosic acid derivatives and the glucuronidation products increased after intake of Italian herb, and the Area under the curve (AUC0-24h) was significantly different from control (all P < 0.05) except carnosol glucuronide. Carnosic acid and carnosol had Tmax at 3.4±1.1 and 1.8±0.3 h, respectively, while both of their conjugated glucuronides kept increasing until 24 h. Coumarin glucuronide was increased by cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice consumption with peak concentrations reached at between 1.5-1.6 h. The AUC0-24h after both meals were significantly different from control meal, both P < 0.05. Our results suggest that H/S contain diverse categories of phytochemical compounds that are absorbed and metabolized in the human body into various metabolites in response to 3 different H/S test meals and their appearance in the blood starts as early as around 0.5 h and extends to as long as 24 h for select metabolites.
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Title: High Energy High Power Primary Lithium Batteries with Graphite Fluoride and Functionalized Boron Nitride Cathodes
Creator: Huo, Haobin
Date: 2022
Description: The present Thesis concerns with the creation of high energy and high power batteries through the utilization of functionalized 2D materials...
Show moreThe present Thesis concerns with the creation of high energy and high power batteries through the utilization of functionalized 2D materials such as graphite fluoride (CFx) and functionalized boron nitride (FBN). The recent literature of Li-CFx batteries brings forward several methods to fabricate high energy and high power batteries. These methods include nano-architecture and porosity design, boron doping, electrolyte additives etc. The resulting batteries are capable to achieve 800-1000 Wh/kg energy density at a power density of 60-70 kW/kg. Our method is capable to achieve the same performance in a much simpler way by the application of a binder that also functions as an effective inhibitor of the growth of LiF crystals. Since LiF is the discharge product of Li-CFx batteries, it typically clogs the pores of the cathode and avoids fast discharge. Methods that increase the power density of Li-CFx batteries typically focus on the amorphization/dissolution of LiF to allow for a fast Li ion diffusion. Our solution using the effective binder appears to be well suited for a scalable production of high energy and high power Li-CFx batteries through a very small modification of existing production lines. Such high energy and high power batteries are needed for the electrification of aircraft such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), vertical take-off and landing planes (VTOLs), passenger airplanes and pulsed power sources. While Li-CFx batteries are not rechargeable this is not a problem for the above mentioned applications as current rechargeable batteries cannot provide the required energy and power densities.Li-FBN batteries may provide a rechargeable alternative to Li-CFx when fully developed. In the present thesis, we have demonstrated Li-FBN batteries with similar discharge plateaus and approximately half the capacity of Li-CFx batteries. Our Li-FBN batteries are also rechargeable to a much greater extent than Li-CFx.
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Title: Implicit Theory of Willpower and Life Satisfaction Among Persons with Spinal Cord Injury
Creator: Cerny, Brian M.
Date: 2022
Description: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a leading cause of physical disability and physical, functional, and psychosocial outcomes vary among persons with...
Show moreSpinal cord injury (SCI) is a leading cause of physical disability and physical, functional, and psychosocial outcomes vary among persons with SCI. Persons with SCI are at risk for poor psychosocial adjustment, evidenced by higher rates of mood disorders and lower reported life satisfaction (LS) when compared to the general population. LS among persons with SCI is influenced by sociodemographic, injury-related, and psychosocial factors. Implicit theory of willpower (TOW) refers to individuals’ beliefs about their capacity for self-regulation; specifically, whether or not self-regulatory capacity (i.e., willpower) is depleted with use. TOW has previously been associated with LS and other aspects of subjective well-being. This is the first study to assess TOW among persons with SCI, and aims to investigate the association between TOW and LS among persons with SCI. The study sample consisted of 156 adults with SCI who completed an anonymous online questionnaire. Associations between demographic- and disability-related factors, global perceived stress, TOW, engagement coping, disengagement coping, and LS were assessed via bivariate Pearson correlations and a 3-block hierarchical multiple linear regression with LS as the primary outcome. LS was significantly correlated with age, perceived physical health, self-reported participation, and perceived stress. After controlling for the influence of other variables, age, perceived physical health, and perceived stress were significantly associated with LS, consistent with prior work. Neither TOW nor the interaction between perceived stress and TOW were significantly associated with LS. Post hoc analyses suggest a chronic disability population may have different interpretations of the TOW construct or measure items than populations previously investigated. Clinical implications and future directions for research are discussed.
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Title: Factors Influencing the Level of Detection of Testing Listeria monocytogenes in Ice Cream
Creator: Chen, Bairu
Date: 2022
Description: The increasing evidence has shown that having a sensitive detection method for Listeria monocytogenes in food products is critical for public...
Show moreThe increasing evidence has shown that having a sensitive detection method for Listeria monocytogenes in food products is critical for public health as well as industrial economics. L. monocytogenes was associated with foodborne illness outbreaks linked to ice cream in the United States from 2010 to 2015, with another recent outbreak under investigation. The FDA Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM) method was commonly used for L. monocytogenes detection. However, the performance characteristics of the chromogenic methods (MOX, RLM, and R&F agars) remain to be elucidated. The factorial effect on Level of Detection (LOD) as an essential element of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) approach for qualitative method validation was investigated in this study.For examining the LOD of L. monocytogenes in ice cream, fractional contaminated samples were prepared with the ice cream obtained from the 2015 outbreak and enumerated using the FDA BAM Most Probable Number (MPN) method for Listeria. The effect of test portion size was determined by comparing 10g and 25g using the BAM method with chromogenic agars (MOX, RLM, and R&F). The ISO single-lab validation requirement was followed for the factorial effect study, including four different factors: sample size (10g and 25g), ice cream types (commercially available regular vanilla ice cream and vanilla ice cream with low fat and no added sugar), re-freezing process (with re-freezing and without re-freezing process), and thawing process (slow thaw and fast thaw). LOD and relative LOD (RLOD) were computed using MiBiVal software to compare the sensitivity of the three chromogenic agars and the different factors. For all of the detection experiments, presumptive colonies were identified using the API listeria kit. The 2015 naturally contaminated ice cream was enumerated and resulted in an average contamination level of 2.15 MPN/g. At fractional levels of 0.25 MPN/10g and 0.75 MPN/10g, the positive rates of L. monocytogenes detected from 10g and 25g of sample portions were consistent with the statistically theoretical positive rates. The RLOD values for the reference method (MOX) and the alternative methods (RLM, R&F) were above 1 in both portion sizes, which suggested that MOX was slightly more sensitive than RLM and R&F. The factorial effect study indicated that the four factors have no significant influence on the LOD of L. monocytogenes detection at the fractional contamination levels. However, the test portion size of 25g provided more consistent results among the chromogenic media than the 10g portion size. Fat content was shown to have an effect on L. monocytogenes detection in a large test portion. The information from this study will be useful for the improvement of the reproducibility of a qualitative detection method and can also be used for data analysis standards such as ISO 16140 in method validation studies.
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Title: Habitat 2022+
Creator: Cho, San Lae Lae
Date: 2021
Description: Globalization and urbanization have led a vast group of population to shift from rural and suburban areas to urban centers. According to the...
Show moreGlobalization and urbanization have led a vast group of population to shift from rural and suburban areas to urban centers. According to the United Nation’s (UN) projection, around 2.5 billion more people will live in the cities by 2050. For cities to accommodate such a population, cities can grow horizontally or vertically. If cities were to grow horizontally, this population would need to commute majorly by car which has a very high carbon footprint. By building vertically, the population’s commute becomes more efficient if the vertical structure is built as such is a city within a city. Although having existed for 500 years, tall buildings and skyscrapers have been topics of controversy for their excessive use of resources, ignoring environmental and contextual problems. In order to mitigate this sustainability issue, mass timber as a construction material has been recently introduced into the American market. Mass timber is the building material for a carbon neutral future according to Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitats (CTBUH). Another means is to grow plants around the buildings meaning they are regrowing greenery back into nature with the hopes to take a step towards mitigating climate change. In addition, with the argument of tall buildings lacking neighborhood-like qualities that for instance, a Chicago block of housing may give, more and more tall buildings around the world have tried to implement the lush spaces onto the building perimeters. These spaces with plants and trees mimicking nature can exist as both indoor and outdoor spaces. While neighborhoods have parks, these spaces or sky gardens will substitute as modified parks for skyscrapers.With psychological benefits tied to spaces linked to nature in high-rises, such spaces should be integrated in all high rise, residential buildings. Today, in addition to Covid pandemic, many people practice working from home. Meanwhile, it is human nature since birth to want to be surrounded by plants and nature, either spending time under a tree or lying on the grass. To mitigate spending excessive amounts of hours indoors, spaces linked to nature have become crucial in providing a sense of peace and reconnecting back to nature. However, currently architecture that has nature integrated, results in spaces only for the wealthy. Furthermore, architecture in the US is so commercially driven with developers aiming for the most cost effective, most efficient and largest floor areas. For nature to be more available to the living spaces of middle class and ideally working class, the city planners and city development authorities need to get involved. For instance, the city could aid by allocating some of the tax collected to build more green architecture. With the tax fund assistance from the city, high quality living of green architecture will become available and much more affordable.Another option to making living more affordable is by implementing co-living. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, co-living remains relatively high in demand in Chicago according to Chicago Tribune. For the younger generations such as the Millennials and younger, it is predicted that due to the nature of student loan debts, these generations are less likely to be financially well off after graduation. Hence, they are less likely to establish a family as soon as the previous generations, as most people tend to start a family when they feel financially stable.Hence, in this design thesis, a certain prototype will be tested out regarding some of these issues. This is just one option to the issues above and there are many options and other nuances still available to explore.
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Title: RE-DEFINING LABOR HOUSING COMMUNITIES IN DUBAI
Creator: Chavadi, Sanjana Mrutyunjaya
Date: 2022
Description: From the moment they are duped into believing in a utopian lifestyle, to their day to-day working and living conditions once they arrive in...
Show moreFrom the moment they are duped into believing in a utopian lifestyle, to their day to-day working and living conditions once they arrive in the country, to the denial of theirrights for years after they are stuck in the country, the migration of workers from other countries into the Emirates is a neglected humanitarian issue. The United Arab Emirates and several other GCC countries have a heinous habit of recruiting illiterate foreigners into their country and abusing them as if they were modern-day slaves. Many nations and individuals have legal control over immigrants by applying the Kafala sponsorship system and ignoring international norms and rights established by organizations like the International Labor Organization. While the Kafala system is only one of many aspects of the whole problem, this thesis will seek to identify the influence of architecture on the lives of the South Asian labor force who work behind the beautiful façade of the United Arab Emirates by reconstructing the labor community. These colossal structures are built and shown while the individuals who construct them are ignored and hidden. Immigrant low income labor employees bear the brunt of their hard life-work imbalance with the intention of providing assistance to their family in their home nations. The labor force of Dubai becomes the major target of the terrorists, isolated from Dubai's pleasure amenities, socially detached from the rest of the population, and separated from their creations. By creating a landmark and developing a sense of social coherence, integration, and empowerment among the labor community, this initiative intends to bridge the divide and commemorate the labor community. This project will propose a new sort of community and housing typology that embraces the ideals of modularity, adaptability, and community as a solution to the immigrant worker dilemma.
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Title: Mothers’ Vaccination Decision: The Relation Between Science Skepticism, Social Networks, Vaccination Beliefs, and Fear of ASD
Creator: Lockwood, Maria Izabel Kugelmas Guarita
Date: 2021
Description: Vaccines are instrumental in stopping the spread of disease, yet some parents choose to not vaccinate their children. Despite scientific...
Show moreVaccines are instrumental in stopping the spread of disease, yet some parents choose to not vaccinate their children. Despite scientific evidence that childhood vaccines are safe, there is an increasing number of children in the United States and the United Kingdom who are not getting vaccinated. The current study investigates different factors that may be associated with mothers’ decision to vaccinate their children. This study examines the relations between skepticism in science, vaccination beliefs, fear of having a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), social network recommendations, and maternal decision to vaccinate. Participants included 293 expectant mothers in the United States and the United Kingdom. Results indicated that mothers who are pro-vaccine and mothers who are vaccine-hesitant have different score profiles across scales that measure skepticism in science, vaccination beliefs, and fear of having a child with ASD. Specifically, we found that relative to mothers who are vaccine-hesitant, mothers who are pro-vaccine: (1) indicated less skepticism in science; (2) had fewer anti-vaccination beliefs; (3) did not statistically differ on their fear of having a child with ASD; and (4) had a smaller percentage of their social network advocating against vaccination. Thus, the study adds to the research literature, as it illustrates that mothers who are vaccine-hesitant differ from mothers who are pro-vaccine on key factors.
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Title: Data-Driven Methods for Soft Robot Control and Turbulent Flow Models
Creator: Lopez, Esteban Fernando
Date: 2022
Description: The world today has seen an exponential increase in its usage of computers for communication and measurement. Thanks to recent technologies,...
Show moreThe world today has seen an exponential increase in its usage of computers for communication and measurement. Thanks to recent technologies, we are now able to collect more data than ever before. This has dawned a new age of data-driven methods which can describe systems and behaviors with increasing accuracy. Whereas before we relied on the expertise of a few professionals with domain-specific knowledge developed over years of rigorous study, we are now able to rely on collected data to reveal patterns, develop novel ideas, and offer solutions to the world’s engineering problems. No domain is safe. Within the engineering realm, data-driven methods have seen vast usage in the areas of control and system identification. In this thesis we explore two areas of data-driven methods, namely reinforcement learning and data-driven causality. Reinforcement learning is a method by which an agent learns to increase its selection of ideal actions and behaviors which result in an increasing reward. This method was applied to a soft-robotic concept called the JAMoEBA to solve various tasks of interest in the robotics community, specifically tunnel navigation, obstacle field navigation, and object manipulation. A validation study was conducted to show the complications that arise when applying reinforcement learning to such a complex system. Nevertheless, it was shown that reinforcement learning is capable of solving three key tasks (static tunnel navigation, obstacle field navigation, and object manipulation) using specific simulation and learning hyperparameters. Data-driven causality encompasses a range of metrics and methods which attempt to uncover causal relationships between variables in a system. Several information theoretic causal metrics were developed and applied to nine mode turbulent flow data set which represents the Moehlis model. It was shown that careful consideration into the method used was required to identify significant causal relationships. Causal relationships were shown to converge over several hundred realizations of the turbulent model. Furthermore, these results match the expected causal relationships given known information of self-sustaining processes in turbulence, validating the method’s ability to identify causal relationships in turbulence.
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Title: Synthesis and Photophysical Characterization of Novel Aromatic Triplet Dyes for Photodynamic Therapy Applications
Creator: Morgan, Jayla A
Date: 2022
Description: Photodynamic therapy is a biomedical approach to treating specific types of cancerous tumor cells and harmful bacteria. The core principle of...
Show morePhotodynamic therapy is a biomedical approach to treating specific types of cancerous tumor cells and harmful bacteria. The core principle of photodynamic therapy involves the usage of a photosensitizer, which is an agent with the capability of transforming molecular, triplet state oxygen, into a reactive oxygen species upon a reaction with near-infrared (NIR) light. The reactive oxygen species has been demonstrated to cause apoptosis among harmful cells without damaging cancer free cells. The effectiveness of photodynamic is highly dependent upon the identity of the photosensitizer; a powerful and efficient photosensitizer should be non-toxic, exhibit high light absorption capabilities, and should produce large amounts of the reactive oxygen species. A novel chromophore bis-iodo-dipyrrolonaphthyridine-dione was demonstrated to have all vital characteristics of an ideal photosensitizer, however produced low amounts of the reactive oxygen species of interest due to the chemical instability of a carbon-halogen bond present in the molecule. Various subsequent halogenations (bis-bromo and bis-chloro) completed in order to remedy this instability revealed specific regioselectivity in regards to the dipyrrolonaphthyridinedione parent that are exhibited upon substituents effects by the substrate, electronic effects exhibited by the reagents of interest, and overall photophysical characterization of the molecules.
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Title: Video Object Detection using CenterNet
Creator: Mondal, Madhusree
Date: 2021
Description: This thesis investigates the options of video object detection with key-point-based approaches. The problem of recognizing, locating, and...
Show moreThis thesis investigates the options of video object detection with key-point-based approaches. The problem of recognizing, locating, and tracking objects in videos has been a challenging task in the computer vision area. There are few applications on key-point-based object detectors like CornerNet and CenterNet. At the first stage, this work involves the use of the previously proposed CenterNet module as a baseline detector on each frame of the Imagenet Video dataset. Then we apply an RNN module to exploit the temporal information from the past frames for better results.There are challenges in video object detection compared to still image-based object detection. It is not efficient to apply a still-image-based detector on each frame independently because we cannot exploit the temporal contextual information in videos since neighboring frames in a video are highly correlated. Object detection from videos suffers from motion blur, video focus, rare poses, etc. To overcome these issues one way of improving CenterNet for video object detection is to propagate the previous reliable detection results to boost the detection performance.
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Title: REDUCED-ORDER MODELING OF UNSTEADY FLOW OVER TWO COLLINEAR PLATES AT LOW REYNOLDS NUMBERS
Creator: Almashjary, Abdulrahman N
Date: 2021
Description: Wakes of bluff bodies that exhibit unsteady behavior are a topic of great interest in the study of fluid dynamics. Vortex formation in these...
Show moreWakes of bluff bodies that exhibit unsteady behavior are a topic of great interest in the study of fluid dynamics. Vortex formation in these wakes depends significantly on the Reynolds number and the arrangement of the bluff bodies in the computation domain. To attain a comprehensive understanding of the unsteady wakes of adjacent bodies, we examine the emerged flow patterns in the wake of two bodies when subjected to different flow regimes and geometric configurations. This work aims to develop a reduced-order model that can capture the dynamics and predict the time evolution of specific parameters in the flowfield. Investigations including direct numerical simulations of two collinear plates normal to the flow were performed. Flowfield data and forces exerted on the plates were collected using a numerical code of an immersed boundary projection method (IBPM). The conducted numerical simulations pursued classifying the flow patterns by systematically varying the Reynolds number and the gap between the two plates. It was found that at small gap spacings, a typical von Karman vortex street is observed. Whereas at larger gap spacings, both a biased and a flip-flopping gap flow are detected. Prevalent coherent structures present in various flow regimes can be extracted via data-driven modeling techniques. The proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) method is used in this framework, from which projection-based reduced-order models are developed utilizing the governing equations of fluid flows. Single and broadband spectra are observed in the unsteady wake of the two-plate configuration. The amplitude and frequency of the time-evolution of the true POD modes and the predicted models are assessed using the spectral proper orthogonal decomposition (SPOD), an empirical method to extract coherent structures one frequency at a time from fluid flows. It was found that these reduced-order models are able to recover the frequency content from non-time resolved data.
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Title: DEVELOPING FUSION BACTERIOCINS FOR ERADICATING PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA BIOFILMS
Creator: An, Sungjun
Date: 2022
Description: The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in cystic fibrosis patients and...
Show moreThe opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in cystic fibrosis patients and immunocompromised individuals. Due to its remarkable ability to resist antibiotics, eradicating P. aeruginosa has become increasingly difficult. As previously reported, we have successfully engineered a colicin-secretion system that kills target biofilm cells rapidly and selectively in multispecies biofilms as well as demonstrated the potential of using live microorganisms engineered to produce antimicrobial colicin protein to treat biofilm-associated infections. In this study,we constructed a fusion colicin-pyocin that could target P. aeruginosa by DNase activity of colicin E2. The newly engineered bacteriocin-secretion system upon the shift in target, maintained biofilm inhibition capacity. Both during biofilm formation and after its development, the system was able to suppress the P. aeruginosa biofilm. This result opened up the possibility that it could be used for novel live biotherapeutics. A further study was conducted to overcome the challenge of requiring an exogenous inducer. We applied the concept of Quorum-Sensing signal that recognize autoinducer as a trigger of fusion colicin-pyocin producing genetic circuit so that it automates the production and secretion of fusion colicin-pyocin as soon as the genetic circuit senses the target population growing. This study demonstrated that combining the domains of colicin and pyocin could broaden the genetic circuit target range, maintaining strain specificity, while employing the QS system could remove the fundamental problem of diffusion or degradation of extra compounds as they approach engineered cells.
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Title: FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY LABELS FOR THE MULTICHANNEL IIT AND RUSH UNIVERSITY AGING (MIITRA) ATLAS
Creator: Badhon, Rashadul Hasan
Date: 2022
Description: In the field of medical imaging, a brain atlas refers to a specific model of the brain of a population where different parts of the atlas...
Show moreIn the field of medical imaging, a brain atlas refers to a specific model of the brain of a population where different parts of the atlas correspond to different anatomical parts of the average brain of the population. A brain atlas is composed of MRI templates and semantic labels and is a crucial component of neuroscience for its critical role in facilitating spatial normalization, temporal characterization and automated segmentation for the purposes of voxel-wise, region of interest and network analyses. Building a brain atlas requires registering multi-dimensional brain datasets from a population into a reference space and, during the last decade, the advent of new technologies and computational modeling approaches has made it possible to build high-quality, detailed brain atlases. At the same time developments in data acquisition now allow the construction of comprehensive brain atlases containing a variety of information about the brain. The Multichannel Illinois Institute of Technology and Rush university Aging (MIITRA) atlas project is developing a high-quality comprehensive atlas of the older adult brain containing a multitude of templates and labels. These templates are constructed with state-of-the-art spatial normalization of high-quality data and as a result, they are characterized by higher image quality, are more representative of the brain of non-demented older adults and provide higher inter-subject spatial normalization accuracy of older adult data compared to other available templates. The methodology used in the development of the MIITRA templates facilitates the construction of accurate structural and connectivity labels. Functional connectivity MRI reveals sets of functionally connected brain regions, forming networks, by investigating synchronous fluctuations in MRI signal over time across these brain regions during rest. The purpose of this work was to generate functional connectivity labels for several brain networks in MIITRA space.
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Title: IDENTIFICATION OF THE RIBOFLAVIN BINDING SITE IN VIBRIO CHOLERAE ION PUMPING NQR COMPLEX
Creator: Lee, Chia-Hsing
Date: 2021
Description: NQR is a six-subunit complex that transfers electrons from NADH to ubiquinone, one of the essential enzymes in the bacterial respiratory chain...
Show moreNQR is a six-subunit complex that transfers electrons from NADH to ubiquinone, one of the essential enzymes in the bacterial respiratory chain of many pathogens such as Vibrio cholerae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Chlamydia trachomatis. Its electron transfer path requires three different flavin cofactors to facilitate: FAD, FMN, and riboflavin. The FMN in subunit B (FMNB) brings electrons to riboflavin and then transfers it to the final electron receptor UQ in subunit B, coupled with the Na+ pumping mechanism. NQR has a unique evolutionary history, and one of the pieces of evidence is that NQR has been reported as the only one flavoenzyme that uses riboflavin as its redox cofactor. However, the binding site of riboflavin has not been well understood. To gain insight into the electron transfer at this site in V.cholerae NQR, we generated mutants at the interface of subunits B, D, and E where the possible location of riboflavin is. To characterize these mutants, we assessed NQR properties with different approaches including enzyme kinetics and flavin radical profiling. We found that the mutagenesis surrounding the hydrophobic pocket disrupted the NQR activity, and cause the loss of neutral radical, but did not interfere with the binding affinity between the substrates and NQR. This study will help to understand electron transfer better in NQR and develop the drugs targeting the riboflavin binding site in the future.
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Title: The Impact of Supplementary Cementitious Materials on Strength Development in Concrete
Creator: Lallas, Zoe Nicole
Date: 2022
Description: This thesis outlines the specific properties of fly ash, silica fume, slag, and a variety of natural pozzolans that affect strength...
Show moreThis thesis outlines the specific properties of fly ash, silica fume, slag, and a variety of natural pozzolans that affect strength development in concrete mix designs. It presents a comprehensive summary of select research studies which examined the fresh and hardened properties of concrete made with supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) to better understand how these materials affect compressive strength development in concrete. The considerations necessary for precast fabrication and other applications in which early-age strength is a crucial concern are of particular importance, as SCMs often slow the rate of strength development in concrete. While SCM usage is common in concrete, replacement quantities are limited and heavily regulated, with the potential for further incorporation into concrete in higher replacement amounts, given continued research on how to best integrate SCMs to maximize strength properties, through the use of chemical admixtures, accelerators, and heat controlled curing regimes as needed.
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Title: Enhancing Explanation Generation in the CaJaDE system using Interactive User Feedback
Creator: Lee, Juseung
Date: 2022
Description: In today’s data-driven world, it is becoming increasingly difficult to interpret and understand query results after going through several...
Show moreIn today’s data-driven world, it is becoming increasingly difficult to interpret and understand query results after going through several manipulation steps, especially on a large database. There is a need for automated techniques that explain query results in a meaningful way. A recent study, CaJaDE(Context-Aware Join-Augmented Deep Explanations), presents a novel approach to generating explanations of query results including crucial contextual information. However, it becomes difficult to interpret explanations since the search space increases exponentially.In this thesis, we propose a new approach that introduces a user interaction model for a purpose of enhancing the generation of explanations in the CaJaDE system. We implemented a user interaction model that consists of three modules: User Selection, Recommendation Score, and User Rating. With these modules, our approach guides a user while exploring relevant join graphs, and lets them be involved in the decision-making process while generating join graphs. We demonstrate through performance experiments and user study that our approach is an effective method for users to understand explanations.
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Title: Relations Between Inhibitory Control, Teacher Support, and Externalizing Behaviors in Elementary School Children
Creator: Kurian, Jennifer
Date: 2021
Description: The aim of this study was to examine the relation between child hot and cool inhibitory control (IC) at the beginning of the school year and...
Show moreThe aim of this study was to examine the relation between child hot and cool inhibitory control (IC) at the beginning of the school year and externalizing behaviors at the end of the year, and to determine if teacher support moderates this relation in early elementary school. Participants included a diverse sample of 138 children in grades 1 (n = 62) and 2 (n = 76), with a mean age of 7.2 years (SD = 10.1 months), about half of whom were male. Hot IC was assessed with the Puzzle Box Task and cool IC with the Happy-Sad Stroop Task. Teacher support was rated by independent observers using the Adapted Teaching Style Rating Scale. A composite teacher-report score based on ratings on subscales from two measures, the Strengths and Weaknesses of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Symptoms and Normal Behavior and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, was used to assess externalizing behavior at both time points. Results of hierarchical regression analyses revealed that, contrary to expectation, neither hot nor cool IC significantly predicted child externalizing behavior at the end of the school year. A moderation analysis also failed to show a significant moderating effect for teacher support. The only variable that significantly predicted externalizing behavior at the end of the year was externalizing behavior at the beginning of the year. There were significant concurrent associations between hot IC and externalizing behaviors at both the beginning and end of the school year. These findings suggest that externalizing behaviors in early elementary school are relatively stable. Thus, early and comprehensive intervention may be critical for implementing prevention strategies designed to increase self-regulation and thereby decrease externalizing behaviors after formal school entry.
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Title: Growth kinetics of Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes during rehydration of dehydrated corn and subsequent storage
Creator: Mate, Madhuri
Date: 2022
Description: Dehydrated vegetables, including corn, are often used in restaurants and retail grocers. They do not support the growth of pathogens as their...
Show moreDehydrated vegetables, including corn, are often used in restaurants and retail grocers. They do not support the growth of pathogens as their moisture content is very low. After rehydration, these food products attain high water activity values suitable with neutral pH for the survival and proliferation of foodborne pathogens, including Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes. The purpose of the study was to examine the extent to which dehydrated corn supports the growth of S. enterica and L. monocytogenes during rehydration at 5 or 25°C water and following storage at 5, 10, and 25°C temperatures at 1, 3, 5 and 7 d intervals. Fresh corn was dehydrated at 60°C for 24 h. Dehydrated corn was inoculated with a 4-strain cocktail of either S. enterica or rifampicin-resistant L. monocytogenes, resulting in 4 log CFU/g, and held at ambient temperature for 24 h. This corn was then rehydrated using either 5 or 25°C water for 24 h. Throughout rehydration, corn samples were removed at intervals and enumerated. To enumerate S. enterica and L. monocytogenes, the samples were homogenized with BPB and BLEB respectively and cultivated on TSAYE with overlaid XLD or BHIARif200, respectively. Rehydrated corn was then stored at 5, 10, or 25°C and enumerated at intervals 1,3,5 and 7 d. Triplicate samples were assessed at each timepoint and three independent experiments were conducted for each rehydration water temperature. Growth rates were determined by DMFit and statistically analyzed using Student t-test. A p-value ≤0.05 was considered significant. Overall the growth rate of S. enterica was higher when rehydrated in 5°C water temperature and then stored at 25°C and was determined to be 0.61 ± 0.23 log CFU/g per d. This timepoint was also the shortest time required to increase by 1 log which was: 1.64 d, i.e. 39 h. For L. monocytogenes, the 25°C water rehydration showed the fastest growth rate when stored at 25°C. It took only 1.58 d or 37.8 h for 1 log increase in the population. After 5°C water rehydration of corn the highest populations of mesophilic bacteria and yeasts and molds were observed for 25°C storage ranging from 8.43 to 9.39 log CFU/g and 4.75 to 7.87 log CFU/g, respectively. After 25°C water rehydration, the highest population of mesophilic bacteria, 8.88 log CFU/g, was observed at 5°C storage at 5 d; yeasts and molds were 8.70 log CFU/g for 25°C storage on the same day. The results of this study determined that S. enterica and L.monocytogenes could survive and grow in dehydrated plant foods during rehydration and storage, highlighting the need for product assessments for these types of foods.
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