The physics of granular materials is one of the big questions in science. Granular materials serve as a prototype of collective systems far from equilibrium and fundamental questions remain. At the same time, an understanding of granular materials has tremendous practical importance. Among practical problems, granular mixing and its interplay...
Surfaces and interfaces, which are ubiquitous in the environment, control the mobility,speciation, and ultimate fate of groundwater species. The presented work provides insight into the interfacial behavior of three environmental pollutants: hexavalent chromium, oxytetracycline, and morantel. Model surfaces are employed for these studies, including (1-102) α-Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> and a carboxylic acid-terminated...
In this dissertation, the Tg behavior of nanoconfined polymer films and 1-dimensional (1-D) patterned polymer nanostructures was studied. Using a novel fluorescence method, a reduction in Tg was observed upon confinement in PS films supported on silica, where free-surface (polymer-air interface) effects are dominant in modifying Tg. In contrast, Tg...
This study investigates the nature of the face-to-face interactions and collaborations between secondary school students and community members in the nested contexts of the classroom and a local Italian community, both situated in a large city in Canada. Students used the tools of inquiry of cultural ethnographers, interviewing members of...
Weak optical signals, e.g., Raman scattering, fluorescence emission, etc., are typically enhanced by increasing both the excitation field and the collection efficiency. Near a surface, signals can be resonantly enhanced using either surface plasmon polaritons or a resonant dielectric waveguide, provided the sources lie within an evanescent decay length of...
Activin, a member of the TGF-b superfamily, controls a variety of physiological events from the cell cycle to reproductive health. Activin activates the Smad signaling pathway through ActRII/B and ALK4 receptors. The regulation of activin signaling is carried out in part by the inhibitor protein follistatin. The mechanistic details of...
Because soft materials, particularly polymer gels, are playing a greater role in industrial and biotechnological applications today, the exploration of their mechanical behavior over a range of deformations is becoming more relevant in our daily lives. Understanding these properties is therefore necessary as a means to predict their response for...
This dissertation covers the synthesis and study of peptide nucleic acids (PNAs), specifically, derivatives of PNA containing amine-bearing sidechains or cyclopentane portions. PNAs are non-natural nucleic acids that have far reaching potential in therapeutics and nucleic acid detection. Despite immense potential and widespread application, improving on the design and applications...
In this dissertation I examine the relationship between voter turnout and legislative representation in the United States Congress. My main contention is that political elites react to electoral participation in formulating public policies. I posit that the institutional advantages of incumbency in the House of Representative reduces turnout in congressional...
There is a need for cyclic robots that interact with lower limbs. Such robots will bring new programmability to exercise, rehabilitation, psychophysiology, and physiology, allowing for complete customization of the foot pedal path and dynamics. These robots are novel to the robotics research ¯eld as well, since conventional robotic designs...