Texas A&M University-Kingsville: AKM Digital Repository
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Exploring the roles of Drosophila IK2 gene in nervous system function
No full textAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Many genetic mutations have been identified in ALS patients, including the mutations found in the gene TBK1, it is not yet well understood how these mutations contribute to the pathogenesis of ALS. In this study, we utilized Drosophila transgenic lines with lowered expression of the IK2 gene, the fly version of the human TBK1 gene, to investigate the phenotypic and molecular changes of the affected flies. We checked the effect of the toxicity caused by lowered expression of IK2 on the eye phenotype. We carried out a number of behavioral analysis assays which include the climbing and crawling assays on the affected lines. In addition, we conducted out RNA analysis on the affected lines and also examined their longevity via a viability experiment. These research data demonstrated that IK2 gene is very important for Drosophila nervous system function, in the end they will help establish the fly model of ALS to explore the potential mechanism of TBK1 related ALS
The history of the Maverick County irrigation project
No full textOne of the most unusual irrigation systems in Texas is that of the Maverick County Water Control and Improvement District Number One. Water is drawn from the Rio Grande by gravity into a huge canal nearly a hundred miles long. This "man-made river” begins fourteen miles south of Del Rio; it ends eighteen miles southeast of Eagle Pass, in a valley on the famous Indio Ranch.
Without including many details which might not be of interest to the reader, the author has attempted to present a brief, yet clear, history of the Maverick County Irrigation Project
Design of graphene oxide membranes for membrane distillation desalination
No full textThe ability of novel membrane distillation (MD) technology to treat hyper-saline solutions, produce high quality water, generate high salt rejection rates, operate at low temperatures, access waste heat and renewable energy sources, and operate at low pressure has made it a potential future technology for the treatment of hyper saline water. This research study aims to advance the development of hydrophobic porous membranes suitable for MD with the goal to speed up the deployment and commercialization of this technology for desalination applications. Graphene oxide (GO) membranes were synthesized using phase inversion method and their performances were tested on the process of MD with simulated brine, simulated brackish RO concentrate, and real brackish RO concentrate. Graphene oxide sheet was modified to obtain GO membranes that are scaling resistant and can produce high permeate flux on the MD process. A Mathematical model was developed to predict the effect of temperature polarization (TP) and concentration polarization (CP) in MD considering the morphological properties of membranes. Among the laboratory-made GO and commercial membranes, dry-wet pH-4 1% wt. GO membrane produced the highest permeate fluxes of 87.9 L/m2h, 87.2 L/m2h and 64.1 L/m2h from 24,660 ppm simulated brine, 13,620 ppm simulated RO concentrate and 13, 440 ppm real RO concentrate respectively. The high performance of dry-wet pH-4 1% wt. GO membrane may be due to the pH modification of the GO sheet which makes it more hydrophobic in acidic solution during exfoliation of GO solution and the change in process condition from wet phase inversion to dry-wet phase inversion which may be responsible for the large pore formation with good mechanical strength. Also, dry-wet pH-4 1% wt. GO membrane was observed to show high salt rejection of 99.5% and high scaling resistance with low surface roughness (Ra) of depth 31.2 nm due to antifouling property of GO sheet when compared to other membranes. The developed model showed good prediction of TP and CP upon verification and validation with experimental data
Optimization of adaptive filter utilizing Recursive Least Squares algorithm
No full textThe Recursive Least Squares algorithm (RLS) is utilized in digital signal processing as an adaptive filter technology to reduce noise. Research into its applications show problems with its use in adaptive filtering of nonstationary signals. The testing of RLS algorithm to determine how different signals effect its filtering capability when testing nonstationary signals, can reveal possibilities in a way to adjust the adaptive filter for a previously underutilized process. An analysis is performed on the major components which make up the parts of the whole of this adaptive filter. Finding how different signals effect response of the adaptive filter will allow correlations to be generated. These relations will assist in the design an either parallel or linear process control system to increase efficiency of RLS algorithm that will help extend its uses into other branches of digital signal processing
Effect of prostaglandin F2a at initiation of 7-d CO-Synch + CIDR protocol on estrus and conception rates in a split-time artiificial insemination program
No full textWe evaluated the effect of an additional prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) treatment at the initiation of a 7-d CO-Synch + CIDR synchronization of estrus protocol in a Split-time AI program. Our objective was to determine if estrus response and fixed-time AI (FTAI) pregnancy rate could be enhanced by regressing existing corpora lutea at the initiation of synchronization. Postpartum (> 80d), multiparous commercial Angus (Bos taurus) cows (n = 263) were synchronized in 3 experimental groups over the span of 2 yr on a large ranch in West Texas. Experiment 1: Estrus responses to synchronization were greater (P 0.05) between treatment (+PG = 70.45%) and (Control = 61.54%). Conception rates were similar (P > 0.05) between EC (69.05%) and NEC (30.95%). Conception rates of EC was greater (P 0.05) between +PG (77.42%) and Control (75.00)
Design and analysis of Belleville spring washers
No full textBelleville washers are elastic washers that have circular shapes. They are flexible axially and deflect like springs when they are compressed. Belleville washers provide preload between two fastened surfaces and are used to prevent loose fastening, absorb shocks, eliminate play and uniformize load. Belleville washers are employed when radial space is constrained, and moderate load is applied in the operation. In this thesis, a systematic method is introduced for designing and analyzing Belleville washers. To model a Belleville washer, a slanted surface is first utilized to define the axial cross section. The solid model of the Belleville washer is then produced through rotating the slanted surface along its central axis. The solid model of a Belleville washer is completely decided by its four geometric parameters: the internal and external diameters, the thickness of the washer and its height. The design of a Belleville washer is systemized in this thesis as optimizing its four geometric parameters. The analysis of a Belleville washer is conducted based on its solid model. Examples on designing and analyzing Belleville washers are presented in the thesis to verify the effectiveness and demonstrate the procedure of the introduced method
The comparative analysis of the financial condition of the five smaller independent school districts and eight common school districts of Cameron County, Texas
No full textThe problem of taxes is facing the school men of Cameron County, Texas, a.a it ia elsewhere. With the· search for more economic schooling of the youth of the land in terms of dollars and cents expended for that purpose. an analytic comparison of the financial condition of the eight Common School Districts with that of the five smaller Independent School Districts which maintain a four year high school i Cameron County, Texas, should give some pertinent facts concerning such economy. Those facts related, to the maintenance and operation of the respective districts should be valuable to the school men in· as far as the conditions discovered are comparable. The Common Schools of Cameron County, as elsewhere, are under the direct supervision of the County Superintendent who is elected by the popular vote ot the people. This Superintendent. with the County Board ot Trustees. has the authority to spend the money which comes to those districts from State funds and from local taxes. Each Independent School District has a superintendent, who is elected by the Board of Trustees of that particular District, to aid in administering the funds of that district. Each Independent School District listed in this study maintains a four year high school. Each of these high schools conforms to the requirement of the State Department of Education that each high school must maintain a sufficient teaching staff in order to retain the school's affiliation with the State Department of Education. (9 ,21-22) .
In the Common School Districts, high school students are sent to a large nearby high school at a low rate of tuition, and thereby are saved the expense of operating a high school. Both plans are in operation in Cameron County.
The Tax. Payers Association has been organized _to demand all taxing bodies to administer their funds in a more economical manner. (10,2) This study attempts to present these data in such a manner that the question of economic soundness of the administration of school funds in the interested districts may be determined. It attempts to present the financial data in such form that the possible economies may be discovered and practiced.
This analysis concerns only the financial status of the districts involved, and has ignored other important factors. Economy, in this study, means the operation of the educational system in a less expensive manner.
Since there has been a marked decrease in local school support due to apparent decline in taxable values and due to increased delinquency in the payment of property tax, school men have been faced with the task either of securing more funds to operate such schools or finding a more economic way to systemize the offering as to the young people. The state has accepted the responsibility of aiding the Educational system. In the school year 1936c6, the State o! Texas paid 59% of the total cost of the operating expenses of the Public Schools of the State. The Local Districts paid only 37.5% of the cost. The State and Local funds were supplemented by gift of the Federal Government which amounted to 2.8% of the cost. (7,53) · With the above figures in mind one can justify the State's taking the authority to set certain regulations· and requirements upon the schools of the state.
The data used in this discussion were gathered from the superintendents of the Independent Districts involved, and from the County Superintendent of Cameron County. Copies of the budgets or the schools are on file in the County Clerk's office, Brownsville, Texas. The Superintendent's annual reports furnished the figures for the Average Daily Attendance, while other information was gathered by the use of a questionnaire, a copy of which can be found in the Appendix
The history of Brooks County
No full textIn South Texas about one hundred sixty-rive miles, in an almost southward direction from San Antonio, on the Rio Grande Valley highway, or highway 12A, is located the Northern boundary of Brooks County. On the North, Brooks County borders on Kleberg, Jim Wells, Duval, and Jim Hogg Counties. Jim Hogg County alone provides Brooks County's Western boundary. Starr and Hidalgo Counties from the Southern boundary, while the Eastern boundary is furnished by Kennedy and Kleberg Counties¹
1 Texas Almanac, 1936, p. 384
Trends in scholastics, enrollment, average daily attendance, and age-grade distribution, of Spanish-American pupils in Lyford, Texas public schools, 1933-1938
No full text1.Importance of General Attendance Problem.
Attendance is considered a vital factor in education. (2-247) If irregular attendance is an important cause of retardation and of ultimate dropping out of school, and if the irregular pupil hinders the advancement of the entire class on account of what he has missed, it is then important that this problem of attendance receive special study and attention. If this is true in general, then it must be particularly true of the child of Spanish-American culture, who lacks one of the fundamental skills, the use of the English language, when he enters school. If this be the case, it is necessary for the child to acquire the use of English, or at least partially so, before he can make much progress in the regularly prescribed curriculum of study. Since English is rarely spoken in the Spanish-American home, it is necessary for the Spanish-American child to attend school regularly to gain necessary skill in the use of English. According to Manuel, (4-24) among some alleged traits of the Spanish-American child are conservatism, apathy, and a sensitiveness to praise or blame. These characteristics, added to a lack of the knowledge of English, make it necessary that the Spanish-American child attend school regularly
The Gregorio Cortez case
No full textGregorio Cortez y Lira, better known as Gregorio Cortez, stirred Southwest Texas to unprecedented fits of passion during a ten day interval in June, 1901. Within a span of a little more than two days, Gregorio Cortez shot and killed two of Texas’ most popular law enforcement officers. A third man was also killed. The deaths of the men triggered one of the sensational manhunts in the history of Texas lasting ten days. ¹
Many stories and tales have been recounted of Cortez’s deeds and exploits. He has become a legend in Texas folklore. In the cantinas along the Rio Grande Ricer on the Texas-Mexico border, Mexican-Americans glorify his feats in a ballad El Corrido de Gregorio Cortez. Cortez has become a legendary hero in the eyes of many Mexican-Americans