α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors (AMPARs) function as paracrine and autocrine receptors throughout the body. Most studies have focused on their role in fast excitatory neuronal signaling, and learning and memory. In...
Mobile agents (Computer software). ; Electronic data processing -- Distributed processing. ; Sequential processing (Computer science) -- Mathematical models.
Mobile agents have received much attention recently as a way to efficiently access distributed resources in a low bandwidth network. Planning allows mobile agents to make the best use of the available resources. This thesis studies several planning...
Access control is a core component of any information-security strategy. Researchers have spent tremendous energy over the past forty years defining abstract access-control models and proving various properties about them. However, surprisingly...
Studies have implicated the essential role of Vitamin A (VA) and its active metobolite, retinoic acid (RA) in both host defense and tolerance through manipulation of various immune cells, including T cells, B cells, macrophages and others. CD8⁺ T...
Free electron lasers -- Experiments. ; Resonators -- Experiments.
A Smith-Purcell Free Electron Laser test-facility has been developed. The structure is used to conduct detailed explorations that novel resonator designs will have on tunability, start current and other performance criteria. Emphasis is on sources...
Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is an immunoregulatory cytokine whose biological effects are mediated through interaction with specific receptors (IL-2R) on the surface of target cells. Due to its presumed role in generating a normal immune response, IL-2 is...
Quantum wires and dots can be created by patterning inhomogeneous strain on semiconductor quantum wells. I have used laser spectroscopic methods to study the carrier transfer from the host quantum well to quantum wires and dots. For quantum dot...
Liver disease of different etiologies confers significant morbidity and mortality and hence it constitutes a major health concern worldwide. Stemming from a range of causes, such as viral, drug-induced, alcoholic, or autoimmune, the rate of...
Earth's high latitude ionosphere, highly disturbed by particle and energy inputs and associated aurora, is the stage for plasma wave activity across a wide range of frequencies. These waves often exhibit strikingly distinct time-frequency structure...
Near infrared spectroscopy -- Instruments -- Design and construction.;""Magnetic resonance imaging -- Instruments -- Design and construction."";""Breast -- Cancer -- Imaging."";""Breast -- Magnetic resonance imaging."";""Breast -- Cancer --...
The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa secretes a protein that triggers the accelerated degradation of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) in airway epithelial cells. This protein, known as the CFTR inhibitory...
Spatial heterogeneity inherent in ecological systems impacts both diversity and community structure. However, little is known about the influence of habitat heterogeneity on temporal variability in communities. I performed several studies to...
Coherent states. Quantum field theory. Nonlinear theories.
In this thesis we study the properties of time-dependent, nontopological configurations and their effect on the macroscopic properties of a system described by a nonlinear field theory. These structures seem to be ubiquitous in relativistic field...
Proteins, the basic structural and functional building blocks of cellular machinery, evolve under significant constraint. Evolutionary pressures limit the acceptable variation and covariation of amino acids in a protein. As such, these evolutionary...
In order to most effectively investigate protein structure and improve protein function, it is necessary to carefully plan appropriate experiments. The combinatorial number of possible experiment plans demands effective criteria and efficient...