Sleep deprivation (Sd) preferentially impairs predictive and adaptive behaviors that shift responses based on the appropriate context. Behavioral studies implicate the frontal lobes as particularly susceptible to Sd. Aging also impairs frontal functioning, and alters the response to Sd. The interaction between age and Sd is poorly understood, and few...
In this work several self-assembling PA systems containing covalent-linking functionalities have been investigated. These covalently linkable PAs were designed to probe the supramolecular structure by covalent capture of the nanofibers and also improve the mechanical stiffness of the gel-material. The diacetylene motif was the main functional group investigated because of...
Polyvalent oligonucleotide functionalized gold nanoparticle conjugates (DNA-AuNPs) possess unusual properties, which derive from their particle and oligonucleotide subunits as well as their three-dimensional architectures. This dissertation explores the role each chemical component plays in the conjugate's architecture and assembly and recognition capabilities. It also describes their application as probes in...
This dissertation examines how producers in the capital city of Burkina Faso manage to generate gains in producing utilitarian goods from scrap materials. Aluminum-smelting, tinsmithing, and tire-workings are three modern trades that have developed with the rising import of scrap supplies and consumer goods from Europe, the Middle East, and...
Evidence suggests both that teacher quality matters for students' outcomes and that principals might not hire the "best" teachers. However, relatively little is known about what characteristics principals value in teachers or how they make hiring decisions. In my dissertation, I use a diverse array of data sources to examine...
Early Growth Response genes (Egr1-4) are transcriptional mediators of signals governing growth and differentiation. In sympathetic neuron-derived cell lines, Egr1 is induced by NGF signaling, which is required for sympathetic neuron survival, differentiation and target organ innervation. In the absence of identifiable sympathetic defects in Egr1-deficient mice, we investigated the...
Risk measurement involves estimating some functional of a loss distribution. This calls for nested simulation, in which risk factors are sampled at an outer level of simulation, while the inner level of simulation provides estimates of loss given each realization of the risk factors. Assessing the statistical uncertainty of estimates...
This dissertation examines growth of platinum nanoparticles from vapor deposition on SrTiO3 using a characterization approach that combines imaging techniques and X-ray methods. The primary suite of characterization probes includes atomic force microscopy (AFM), grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray absorption spectroscopy...
In a 1980 campaign speech to veterans, Ronald Reagan declared that the United States suffered from a "Vietnam syndrome." The war in Vietnam, Reagan said, had harmed American political life and made the public wary of the aggressive foreign policies Reagan believed were necessary to win the Cold War. I...
Serious games that are designed for educational purposes promote acquisition of knowledge and skills that are valued in the both the virtual realm and the real world. The challenge is to design serious games that leverage meaningful play to produce positive learning outcomes in the real world. I argue that...