Texas A&M International University: Research Information Online (RIO)
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Numerical Simulation of the Nagumo Equation by Finite Difference Method
Get PDFThe Nagumo equation is an important nonlinear reaction-diffusion equation used to model the transmission of nerve impulses. In this thesis, traveling wave solutions to the Nagumo equation are studied. A pseudo-Crank-Nicolson finite difference scheme is developed to find numerical solutions. The exact solution of Kawahara and Tanaka is used to demonstrate the efficiency of the scheme. It is confirmed that the numerical errors, evaluated in the discrete maximum norm, converge in , where and are spatial and temporal step sizes, respectively. More simulations with different initial conditions are conducted. In particular, it is observed that the amplitude of the impulse is the major factor in determining if the wave damps down to the resting or rises to the excited state. For values , the wave approaches the 0 resting state and for the wave rose to the 1 excited state
Representaciones Eróticas Bataillianas en Farabeuf (1965) de Salvador Elizondo y Salón de Belleza de Mario Bellatin (1994)
Get PDFThe following thesis focuses on the study of Georges Bataille’s theories on eroticism through two Mexican novels. The analysis of Mexican author Salvador Elizondo’s Farabeuf (1965) will center in the relationship between the rite/sacrifice of the female protagonist to satisfy the male protagonist’s sexual desires. In addition, it will focus on the development of a mise-en-scène through the male protagonist manipulation of the female character. In the second one, Mexican-Peruvian Mario Bellatin’s Salón de belleza (1994), the analysis will try to explore how the protagonist, a male barber, will convert his beauty salon into a type of sanatorium where young men, infected with a strange virus, seek refuge. In each of these novels, as the analysis will explore, the protagonists will be obsessed with the witnessing and experience of death
Analysis of a dg method for singularly perturbed convection-diffusion problems
No full text�In this article, we studied a discontinuous Galerkin finite element method for convection-diffusion-reaction problems with singular perturbation. Our approach is highly flexible by allowing the use of discontinuous approxi-mating function on polytopal mesh without imposing extra conditions on the convection coefficient. A priori error estimate is devised in a suitable energy norm on general polytopal mesh. Numerical examples are provided
Suffering, consent, and coercion in Uganda: The luwero war, 1981–1986
No full textThe Ugandan National Resistance Army (NRA) and its political wing, the National Resistance Movement (NRM), are lauded in Africanist scholarship for being one the first guerrilla movements to overthrow an independent state in post-colonial African history. Scholars have largely attributed the NRA/M’s unprecedented success to its innovative strategies of governance and political education during the war, crediting these initiatives with legitimizing the NRA/M and encouraging civilians’ voluntary support within the war effort. This article contends that the NRA/M’s wartime reforms had only minimal impact on civilian decisions to participate in the 1981–1986 Luwero War. Instead, it argues that popular fear of the incumbent state motivated civilians to join the rebel movement. In recognizing the constraints within which civilians consented to NRA/M leadership, this article offers insight into broader questions of authority, legitimacy, and mobilization in African politics. Such reflection may also help contextualize the claims that African political leaders make toward power and explain variations in the resonance of those claims for African audiences over time
A literary history of mental captivity in the United States: Blood meridian, wise blood, and contemporary political discourse
No full textTechnology entrepreneurship of large state-owned firms in emerging economies
No full textFirms in emerging economies face greater resource constraints and higher levels of firm informality than those in developed economies. Particularly, large state-owned firms struggle for survival when encountering intense competition in the changing domestic markets and the global market. Technology entrepreneurship is proved an effective approach for these firms to gain competitive advantages. However, because large firms are less innovative and less adaptable, they often fail in technology entrepreneurship. As such, this article proposes a four-step scheme for large state-owned firms to develop technology entrepreneurship strategies and to implement entrepreneurial activities. A case study of the FAW Group Corporation, a Chinese automobile manufacturer, is conducted to elaborate the proposed scheme
Examining junior faculty work-life balance in public affairs programs in the United States
No full textTransitioning from doctoral student to assistant professor involves many changes for junior faculty beginning tenure-track careers. Research, teaching, and service demands, on top of adjusting to a new home environment, create tremendous pressures on tenure-lined, junior faculty members to adapt and perform. By understanding influences of junior faculty work-life balance, departments can become more aware of the unique, individual needs to help make their junior faculty successful, both personally and professionally. Drawing on social exchange theory, this study utilizes surveys to junior faculty in all NASPAA-accredited, public affairs programs in the United States. Data are analyzed using structural equation modeling and demonstrates that workload, presence of work-life balance policies, and stress have a significant direct impact on work-life balance satisfaction of junior faculty. The findings from this research have significant implications for universities that want to “care for/tend to” and retain their junior faculty members, as junior faculty success impacts the prestige of the program, school, and university through their scholarly achievements, teaching contributions, and service activities
Diamond model and the export competitiveness of the agriculture industry from emerging markets: an exploratory vision based on a spatial effect study using a genetic algorithm
No full textA deeper understanding of the comparative advantage of emerging markets in agricultural export can be gained by analysing the spatial connections of emerging markets through the framework provided by the diamond model. The geographic economics factors are transformed to interconnections of emerging markets by a genetic algorithm based on Mahalanobis distances. The spatial effect of geographic economics factors on export competitiveness of agriculture is further identified by spatial modelling. The irrigated land area, competitive labour cost, foreign direct investment (F.D.I.), and export market opportunity are important to further develop the export competitiveness of the agriculture industry from emerging markets based on spatial modelling. Also there is a spatial disturbances effect in agricultural export of emerging markets based on transformed interconnections structured by geographic economic factors. A fuzzy cluster analysis is further performed, and the stationary solution of clusters in dynamic transition across market segments is analysed by a Markov Chain. It is further found that the distribution of emerging markets with a higher level of export competitiveness can be more concentrated in clusters with lower levels of proportion. The findings of this research can offer support to global managers in further understanding the spatial effect of geographic economics factors on export competitiveness of agriculture from emerging markets
The Characterization of the Novel Gene CIA7 Using Pb Exposed Wild-Type and Mutant Strains of Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii
Get PDFIndustrialization has increased the risk of heavy metal contamination. This leads to contamination of the ecosystem surrounding microalga and other primary producers. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a unicellular alga that is of interest in toxicity studies due its detoxification pathways. This study aims to compare three common markers of cellular health and heavy metal homeostasis namely, levels of Pb bioaccumulation, chlorophyll fluorescence, and cell size between two strains of C. reinhardtii: a wild type (CC4425) and a mutant (CC5013). The mutant strain has a gene designated as Cia7 that has been disrupted by Ble insert. Cia7’s cysteine rich protein product (CIA7) is hypothesized to provide increased heavy metal tolerance to C. reinhardtii, due to its structural similarities to known thiol-peptides such as phytochelatins and metallothioneins. Levels of bioaccumulated lead were analyzed using inductively couple plasma optical emission spectrometry. Differences in chlorophyll fluorescence were determined using flow cytometry, while changes in cell size were determined under scanning electron microscopy. The results of this study show that CC5013 accumulated more lead than CC4425 and exhibited marked reductions in both chlorophyll fluorescence and cell size across increasing concentrations of lead. These results lend support to the hypothesis that Cia7’s cysteine rich protein product (CIA7) could provide increased heavy metal tolerance to C. reinhardtii
Anti-bacterial Activity of Rifamycin Derivatives Against Clinical Strains of Mycobacterium Abscessus
Get PDFMycobacterium abscessus is non-tuberculosis, rapid-growing mycobacterium (RGM), initially described in 1953. It is considered to be an important human pathogen that is found in hospital settings. This organism is responsible for soft tissue infections, disseminated infections in immunocompromised patients, after lung transplants, as well as common in bronchopulmonary infections in patients with cystic fibrosis. It accounts for up to 80% of lung diseases caused by RGM. Mycobacterium abscessus possesses resistance to a wide variety of antibiotics, thus, no standardized treatment for this pathogen has been established. While currently available antimicrobials are useful against most infections caused by this pathogen, lung infections have proven to be particularly troublesome. Following the American Thoracic Society (ATS) recommendations for the treatment of M. abscessus infections, treatment response rates were below 60% for maintenance of negative sputum cultures for more than 12 months, with frequent adverse effects reported. While rifamycins have potent activity against M. tuberculosis, they have no activity against M. abscessus. It is known that M. abscessus possesses two resistance mechanisms to deactivate rifamycins. Genomic analyses show that the DNA sequence of the ropB gene of M. abscessus (type strain ATCC 19977) is identical to rifampicin-susceptible strains of M. tuberculosis. M. abscessus harbors an ADP-ribosyl transferase gene (GenBank ID MAB_0591) and data indicates that the arr homolog of M. abscessus confers high-level resistance to rifamycin. A series of three rifamycin derivatives (coded ARR-1-21, KC-1-51, and S1-35) with potential anti-bacterial activity against M. abscessus were synthetized. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) assays were performed against clinical strains of M. abscessus to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of the made compounds. For further testing and better understanding of the permeability of the molecules a series of disc diffusion tests were performed against two clinical strains of M. abscessus. The results indicate that the innate resistance to rifampicin can be overcome, and while the three molecules show considerable antimicrobial activity against M. abscessus in both tests performed, KC-1-51 was the derivative that showed the most promising results