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open access

Deciphering the details of RNA aminoglycoside interactions: from atomistic models to biotechnological applications

Description: A detailed study was done of the neomycin-B RNA aptamer for determining its selectivity and binding ability to both neomycin– and kanamycin-class aminoglycosides. A novel method to increase drug concentrations in cells for more efficiently killing is described. To test the method, a bacterial model system was adopted and several small RNA molecules interacting with aminoglycosides were cloned downstream of T7 RNA polymerase promoter in an expression vector. Then, the growth analysis of E. coli … more
Date: July 23, 2012
Creator: Ilgu, Muslum
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Cellulose and cellobiose: adventures of a wandering organic chemist in theoretical chemistry

Description: The energies arising from the rotation of free hydroxyl groups in the central glucose residue of a cellulose crystalline assembly, calculated using RHF, DFT, and FMO2/MP2 methods, will be presented. In addition, interactions of this central glucose residue with some of the surrounding residues (selected on the basis of the interaction strengths) are analyzed. The mechanism of acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of cellobiose, which is the repeating unit of cellulose. Energies corresponding to the differe… more
Date: April 3, 2012
Creator: Baluyut, John
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Feet on the potential energy surface, head in the pie clouds

Description: This work presents explorations of the potential energy surface of clusters of atoms and of the interactions between molecules. First, structures of small aluminum clusters are examined and classified as ground states, transition states, or higher-order saddle points. Subsequently, the focus shifts to dispersion-dominated π-π interactions when the potential energy surfaces of benzene, substituted benzene, and pyridine dimers are explored. Because DNA nucleotide bases can be thought of as substi… more
Date: July 12, 2012
Creator: Smith, Quentin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Virtual tool mark generation for efficient striation analysis in forensic science

Description: In 2009, a National Academy of Sciences report called for investigation into the scienti#12;c basis behind tool mark comparisons (National Academy of Sciences, 2009). Answering this call, Chumbley et al. (2010) attempted to prove or disprove the hypothesis that tool marks are unique to a single tool. They developed a statistical algorithm that could, in most cases, discern matching and non-matching tool marks made at di#11;erent angles by sequentially numbered screwdriver tips. Moreover, in the… more
Date: November 16, 2012
Creator: Ekstrand, Laura
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Surfaces of Intermetallics: Quasicrystals and Beyond

Description: The goal of this work is to characterize surfaces of intermetallics, including quasicrystals. In this work, surface characterization is primarily focused on composition and structure using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) performed under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions.
Date: October 26, 2012
Creator: Yuen, Chad
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

An investigation of exploitation versus exploration in GBEA optimization of PORS 15 and 16 Problems

Description: It was hypothesized that the variations in time to solution are driven by the competing mechanisms of exploration and exploitation.This thesis explores this hypothesis by examining two contrasting problems that embody the hypothesized tradeoff between exploration and exploitation. Plus one recall store (PORS) is an optimization problem based on the idea of a simple calculator with four buttons: plus, one, store, and recall. Integer addition and store are classified as operations, and one and me… more
Date: May 8, 2012
Creator: Koch, Kaelynn
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Polarized {sup 3}He(e,e'n) Asymmetries in Three Orthogonal Measurements

Description: Asymmetry measurements were conducted in Jefferson Lab's experimental Hall A through electron scattering from a polarized {sup 3}He target in the quasi-elastic polarized-{sup 3}He(e,e'n) reaction. Measurements were made with the target polarized in the longitudinal direction with respect to the incoming electrons A_L, in a transverse direction that was orthogonal to the beam-line and parallel to the q-vector A_T, and in a vertical direction that was orthogonal to both the beam-line and the q-ve… more
Date: September 1, 2012
Creator: Long, Elena
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Increasing the efficiency of organic solar cells by photonic and electrostatic-field enhancements

Description: Organic photovoltaic (OPV) technology is an attractive solar-electric conversion paradigm due to the promise of low cost roll-to-roll production and amenability to flexible substrates. Power conversion efficiency (PCE) exceeding 7% has recently been achieved. OPV cells suffer from low charge carrier mobilities of polymers, leading to recombination losses, higher series resistances and lower fill-factors. Thus, it is imperative to develop fabrication methodologies that can enable efficient optic… more
Date: November 3, 2012
Creator: Nalwa, Kanwar
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF AN INTEGRATED PULSE MODULATED S-BAND POWER AMPLIFIER IN GALLIUM NITRIDE PROCESS

Description: The design of power amplifiers in any semi-conductor process is not a trivia exercise and it is often encountered that the simulated solution is qualitatively different than the results obtained. Phenomena such as oscillation occurring either in-band or out of band and sometimes at subharmonic intervals, continuous spectrum noticed in some frequency bands, often referred to as chaos, and jumps and hysteresis effects can all be encountered and render a design useless. All of these problems might… more
Date: April 4, 2012
Creator: SEDLOCK, STEVE
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Wide Bandgap Extrinsic Photoconductive Switches

Description: Photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSS) have been investigated since the late 1970s. Some devices have been developed that withstand tens of kilovolts and others that switch hundreds of amperes. However, no single device has been developed that can reliably withstand both high voltage and switch high current. Yet, photoconductive switches still hold the promise of reliable high voltage and high current operation with subnanosecond risetimes. Particularly since good quality, bulk, single c… more
Date: January 17, 2012
Creator: Sullivan, J S
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

A Proof-of-Principle Echo-enabled Harmonic Generation Free Electron Laser Experiment at SLAC

Description: With the advent of X-ray Free Electron Lasers (FELs), new methods have been developed to extend capabilities at short wavelengths beyond Self-Amplified Spontaneous Emission (SASE). In particular, seeding of a FEL allows for temporal control of the radiation pulse and increases the peak brightness by orders of magnitude. Most recently, Gennady Stupakov and colleagues at SLAC proposed a new technique: Echo-Enabled Harmonic Generation (EEHG). Here a laser microbunches the beam in an undulator and … more
Date: January 6, 2012
Creator: Pernet, Pierre-Louis
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Determination of the Azimuthal Asymmetry of Deuteron Photodisintegration in the Energy Region E{sub {gamma}} = 1.1 - 2.3 GeV

Description: Deuteron photodisintegration is a benchmark process for the investigation of the role of quarks and gluons in nuclei. Existing theoretical models of this process describe the available cross sections with the same degree of success. Therefore, spin-dependent observables are crucial for a better understanding of the underlying dynamical mechanisms. However, data on the induced polarization (P{sub y}), along with the polarization transfers (C{sub x'} and C{sub z'} ), have been shown to … more
Date: May 20, 2012
Creator: Zachariou, Nicholas
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Measurement of double polarized asymmetries in quasi-elastic processes ${}^3\vec{He}(\vec{e},e' d)$ and ${}^3\vec{He}(\vec{e},e' p)$

Description: This thesis is dedicated to a study of a spin-isospin structure of the polarized {sup 3}He. First, an introduction to the spin structure of {sup 3}He is given, followed by a brief overview of past experiments. The main focus of the thesis is the E05-102 experiment at Jefferson Lab, in which the reactions {sup 3}{ovr He} ({rvec e}, e'd) and {sup 3}{ovr He} ({rvec e}, e'p) in the quasi-elastic region were studied. The purpose of this experiment was to better understand the effects of the S'- and … more
Date: August 1, 2012
Creator: Mihovilovic, Miha
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Study of CP Violation in Dalitz-Plot Analyses of B-Meson Decays to Three Kaons

Description: The Standard Model (SM) explains CP violation in terms of the CKM matrix. The BABAR experiment was designed mainly to test the CKM model in B decays. B decays that proceed through b {yields} s loop diagrams, of which B {yields} KKK decays are an example, are sensitive to new physics effects that could lead to deviations from the CKM predictions for CP violation. We present studies of CP violation in the decays B{sup +} {yields} K{sup +}K{sup -}K{sup +}, B{sup +} {yields} K{sub S}{sup 0}K{sub S}… more
Date: February 15, 2012
Creator: Lindquist, Brian
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Energy Spread Reduction of Electron Beams Produced via Laser Wake

Description: Laser wakefield acceleration of electrons holds great promise for producing ultra-compact stages of GeV scale, high quality electron beams for applications such as x-ray free electron lasers and high energy colliders. Ultra-high intensity laser pulses can be self-guided by relativistic plasma waves over tens of vacuum diffraction lengths, to give >1 GeV energy in cm-scale low density plasma using ionization-induced injection to inject charge into the wake at low densities. This thesis descri… more
Date: March 19, 2012
Creator: Pollock, B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Unorthodox theoretical methods

Description: The use of the ReaxFF force field to correlate with NMR mobilities of amine catalytic substituents on a mesoporous silica nanosphere surface is considered. The interfacing of the ReaxFF force field within the Surface Integrated Molecular Orbital/Molecular Mechanics (SIMOMM) method, in order to replicate earlier SIMOMM published data and to compare with the ReaxFF data, is discussed. The development of a new correlation consistent Composite Approach (ccCA) is presented, which incorporates the co… more
Date: June 20, 2012
Creator: Nedd, Sean
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Investigation of high-precision {Lambda} hypernuclear spectroscopy via the (e,e'K{sup +}) reaction

Description: The study of {Lambda} hypernuclear structure is very interesting in point of the understanding of the interaction between {Lambda} and nucleon ({Lambda}-N interaction) and its ”strange” structure itself due to the containment of a {Lambda} hyperon which has a strangeness as a new degree of freedom. In the several way to study the Lamda hypernuclei, the (e,e'K{sup +}) reaction spectroscopy is a powerful tool for the precise investigation of {Lamda} hypernuclear structure. The purpose of the… more
Date: March 31, 2012
Creator: Kawama, Daisuke
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Enhanced performance of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and OLED-based photoluminescent sensing platforms by novel microstructures and device architectures

Description: After a general introduction to OLEDs and OLED-based PL sensors, the transient emission mechanism of guest-host OLEDs is described both experimentally and theoretically. A monolithic and easy-to-apply process is demonstrated for fabricating multicolor microcavity OLEDs (that improve the sensor platform). The outcoupling issues of OLEDs at the substrate/air interface are addressed by using a microstructured polymer film resulting from a PS and polyethylene glycol (PEG) mixture. Based on the unde… more
Date: August 1, 2012
Creator: Liu, Rui
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Probing Novel Properties of Nucleons and Nuclei via Parity Violating Electron Scattering

Description: This thesis reports on two experiments conducted by the HAPPEx (Hall A Proton Parity Experiment) collaboration at the Thomas Je#11;erson National Accelerator Facil- ity. For both, the weak neutral current interaction (WNC, mediated by the Z{sup 0} boson) is used to probe novel properties of hadronic targets. The WNC interaction amplitude is extracted by measuring the parity-violating asymmetry in the elastic scattering of longitudinally polarized electrons o#11; unpolarized target hadrons. HAPP… more
Date: May 31, 2012
Creator: Mercado, Luis
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Cellular membrane trafficking of mesoporous silica nanoparticles

Description: This dissertation mainly focuses on the investigation of the cellular membrane trafficking of mesoporous silica nanoparticles. We are interested in the study of endocytosis and exocytosis behaviors of mesoporous silica nanoparticles with desired surface functionality. The relationship between mesoporous silica nanoparticles and membrane trafficking of cells, either cancerous cells or normal cells was examined. Since mesoporous silica nanoparticles were applied in many drug delivery cases, the e… more
Date: June 21, 2012
Creator: Fang, I-Ju
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Imaging gene expression in real-time using aptamers

Description: Signal transduction pathways are usually activated by external stimuli and are transient. The downstream changes such as transcription of the activated genes are also transient. Real-time detection of promoter activity is useful for understanding changes in gene expression, especially during cell differentiation and in development. A simple and reliable method for viewing gene expression in real time is not yet available. Reporter proteins such as fluorescent proteins and luciferase allow for n… more
Date: November 2, 2012
Creator: Shin, Il Chung
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

SANE's Measurement of the Proton's Virtual Photon Spin Asymmetry, A^p_1, at Large Bjorken x

Description: The experiment SANE (Spin Asymmetries of the Nucleon Experiment) measured inclusive double polarization electron asymmetries on a proton target at the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility at the Thomas Jefferson National Laboratory in Newport News Virgina. Polarized electrons were scattered from a solid {sup 14}NH{sub 3} polarized target provided by the University of Virginia target group. Measurements were taken with the target polarization oriented at 80 degrees and 180 degrees relat… more
Date: May 1, 2012
Creator: Mulholland, Jonathan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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