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Pathways to belonging : shared culture, intergroup conflict reduction, and political inclusion of minorities
Full text linkThis dissertation examines how culturally legible practices shape intergroup attitudes and minority political engagement. I focus on low-barrier, repeatedly observable cues—visible appreciation for a locally iconic culture and participation in widely recognized national rituals—and examine whether these practices reduce backlash and if they invite political engagement among minority populations.
Chapter 1 reports findings from a survey experiment where an Asian immigrant’s expressed appreciation for an important local culture exacerbates White backlash to Asian immigration when it appears alongside familiar demographic and economic threat language. In this bundled message context, where positive cultural appreciation signals co-exist with negative immigration threat messages, respondents appear to recode cultural appreciation as appropriation or encroachment, and evaluations move in a more exclusionary direction; the design therefore provides implications for threat-bundling and cue–context mismatch as mechanisms behind White backlash to immigration.
Based on bundled message implications from chapter 1, chapter 2 tests cultural appreciation cue delivered cleanly—without threat message content—using a field experiment (with brief interviews) and a complementary online survey experiment. In chapter 2, a clean cultural appreciation signal reduces perceived cultural threat and lowers restrictive policy support, and follow-up qualitative interviews clarify why respondents interpret appreciation as local norm recognition rather than appropriation.
Then, chapter 3 shifts the focus of local cultural involvement to minority political engagement. Using a Multilingual Asian American Survey, I show that Asian American participation in Thanksgiving, the Super Bowl, and the Fourth of July is positively associated with their political interest, political media use, political discussion, and voting intention; mediation analyses indicate that American national identity carries a meaningful share of these associations. Across chapters, the mixed-method design—experiments, observational analysis, and interviews—specifies when cultural cues can backfire, when these signals can reduce perceived immigrant threat under a clean message delivery, and how ordinary cultural event participation can provide a low-barrier route into civic and political engagement among minority populations.Governmen
Threading the Needle: The Logic of Conventional Coercion in Nuclear Crises
Full text linkCan conventional military success lead to coercive success in a nuclear crisis? Some scholars argue that achieving limited conventional success can be used to coerce nuclear adversaries. Others argue that conventional capabilities coerce by manipulating nuclear risk. I intervene in this debate by arguing that conventional coercion in a nuclear crisis succeeds under two conditions. First, the challenger must possess an effective limited conventional option, or a conventional option that can achieve operational success while also respecting certain escalation thresholds. Second, the challenger must possess a strong nuclear retaliatory capability. Successful conventional coercion is therefore possible, but requires the challenger to thread a fine needle: It needs to restrain itself enough to avoid escalation, while also bringing enough force to bear to inflict a defeat. Achieving both aims simultaneously is difficult to do. One major implication of this argument is that US military and political leaders wanting to use conventional force effectively against a nuclear rival should work in peacetime to develop operational plans that respect geographic boundaries or refrain from targeting certain dual-use adversary platforms.LBJ School of Public Affair
Enhancing intratumoral drug transport by optimizing the surface physicochemical properties of nanotherapeutics
Full text linkCurrent therapies against solid cancers fail in part due to their inability to penetrate through the extracellular matrix (ECM) of tumors and reach the cancer cells at therapeutic doses. Increasing penetration promotes tumor regression and improves the therapeutic index of compounds. To achieve distribution and penetration through tumors, molecules must achieve unhindered diffusion through the size and interaction barriers presented by the heterogeneous ECM network. The interactions between the molecules and the ECM are driven by the surface physicochemical properties of the therapeutics. To address the challenges presented by current surface chemistries, we used peptide-presenting phage libraries as a high-throughput approach to screen and identify peptide coatings with physicochemical properties able to facilitate improved diffusive transport through the tumor microenvironment. Through iterative screening of these phage libraries against tumor ECM and identification through next-generation DNA sequencing and analysis, we identified a peptide that enhanced the diffusivity of both biological and synthetic nanoparticles. Interestingly, in contrast to most studies, we found that a positively charged peptide “surface” enhanced penetration, uptake, and the retention of particles in tumor tissue when compared to neutrally charged peptides. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that the positively charged particle partitioned into the net negative tumor tissue due to electrostatic interactions. Further, weak and reversible binding of the particles with the tumor bed allowed for deep penetration within the tissue. Additionally, the particle had a high number of intra-tissue binding sites in the tumor ECM that enabled longer retention in the tissue. Conjugating these peptides to immune checkpoint inhibitor antibodies improved the binding of the antibodies in a murine melanoma tumor environment. The longer retention of peptide-antibody conjugates recruited a higher number of activated tumor-infiltrating T-cells, resulting in a delayed tumor growth. This study indicates that net negative tumor ECM acts as a drug delivery depot for positively charged solutes toward improved intratumoral drug penetration and retention. Leveraging favorable interactions between the tumor ECM with therapeutics results in improved drug accumulation and retention for improved antitumor efficacy. As a result, this work can upend the current dogma of designing inert drug delivery systems and exploit electrostatic interactions to significantly improve therapeutic index of drugs and in the long-term, improve therapeutic outcomes in solid cancers.Pharmaceutical Science
Advancing water distribution systems modeling and management through high-performance computing
Full text linkWater distribution systems (WDSs) form a critical infrastructure that ensures communities’ reliable supply of clean and safe water. However, these systems face various challenges, including aging infrastructure, population growth, and the potential for water contamination events. To effectively manage and secure WDSs, developing advanced computational methods that can accurately model system dynamics, specifically focusing on transient behaviors, and detect and localize contamination incidents to minimize their impact is imperative. This Ph.D. dissertation focuses on utilizing parallel computational methods and heuristics to advance transient modeling in water distribution systems and develop effective contamination localization techniques. Transients, which are characterized by rapidly changing flow rates and pressures, can occur due to sudden valve operations, pump failures, or other system disturbances. Understanding and predicting transient behaviors is crucial for system design, operation, and maintenance, as well as addressing issues such as pipe bursts, water hammer, and water quality deterioration. Additionally, the dissertation develops water quality modeling tools specifically tailored for contamination detection and localization. Rapid identification and response to water contamination incidents are essential to safeguard public health and prevent widespread contamination. By leveraging advanced computational techniques, we can enhance our ability to detect, locate, and mitigate the impacts of both transients and contamination events, thereby improving the resilience and safety of WDSs.Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineerin
Doctoral thesis recital (piano)
No full text3 unidentified works for piano.MusicName of supervisor not provided
Advanced development of mass spectrometry technologies for intraoperative molecular diagnostics
Full text linkMass spectrometry is well-suited for the analysis of complex biological samples like human tissues because hundreds of molecules can be simultaneously detected and resolved based on differences in their observed mass to charge ratios. Conventional mass spectrometry approaches for biological sample analysis involve an orthogonal front-end chromatographic or ion mobility separation prior to mass analysis to improve confidence in molecular identification. Conventional approaches also rely on some sort of extraction based sample preparation step to enhance the detection of specific molecular classes e.g. lipids, metabolites. This dissertation focuses on an unconventional mass spectrometric approach, namely the direct mass spectrometric analysis of human tissues without any sample preparation or orthogonal front-end separation prior to mass analysis. This approach allows for untargeted molecular profiling of tissue samples in which hundreds of molecules belonging to a variety of molecular classes and can be characterized in near real-time. The molecular profiles of tissues with varying disease states can provide insights into disease pathology and guide the development of new therapies. Mass spectrometry based molecular profiles can also be used in conjunction with predictive modeling and/or machine learning to differentiate disease states and tissue types based on the molecules detected. Although several types of direct mass spectrometry techniques exist, this dissertation exclusively describes advancements in using the MasSpec Pen, a liquid-extraction probe, for the direct mass spectrometry analysis of tissues during surgery. Chapter 2 outlines changes to the design of the MasSpec Pen probe that expanded its utility beyond traditional open-surgery and allowed integration of the probe during minimally invasive robotic surgeries. Chapter 3 describes the implementation of the MasSpec Pen during ovarian cancer surgeries for real-time in vivo and ex vivo molecular analysis of human tissues. Chapter 5 introduces a unique mobile mass spectrometry platform that allows a single orbitrap mass spectrometer to be operated in multiple locations without the need to power down or vent the ultrahigh vacuum system. Chapter 6 describes a hybrid predictive modeling approach in which datasets from an alternative direct mass spectrometry analysis technique, desorption electrospray ionization, are used to create predictive models for the classification of MasSpec Pen molecular profiles. As a whole, this dissertation describes both advancements in mass spectrometry data acquisition during surgery and mass spectrometry based predictive modeling for the disease state classification of human tissues.Chemistr
Doctoral thesis recital (piano)
Full text linkSuite en la mineur (RCT 5), No. 7 "Gavotte et six doubles" (1726/27) / Jean-Philippe Rameau -- Piano sonata no. 28 in A major, op. 101 / Ludwig van Beethoven -- Variations on a theme by Paganini : op. 35 book 1 / Johannes Brahms -- L'islse joyeuse : op. 106 / Claude Debussy.MusicName of supervisor not provided
Effects of aquatic exercise on hemodynamics, cognition, and functional mobility in older adults
Full text linkAging presents various challenges, including declines in cardiovascular function, cognition, and functional mobility. Regular exercise can help mitigate these aging-related health concerns. However, most available research focuses on land-based exercise such as walking and cycling. Unfortunately, adherence to land-based exercise is often low among older adults, particularly those with arthritic pain, functional limitations, or a fear of falls. The aquatic environment has the potential to reduce barriers to exercise, allowing this vulnerable population to benefit from exercise. The overall theme of this dissertation is to investigate the beneficial effects of aquatic exercise on cardiovascular function, cognition, and functional mobility in older adults. The rationale for these projects is to more clearly determine the advantages of aquatic exercise and highlight it as a viable alternative to land-based exercise for improving overall health in older adults. In the first study, a randomized crossover trial compared orthostatic hemodynamics in water versus on land in older adults. Blood pressure and heart rate measurements were collected in sitting and standing before, immediately after, and 2 hours after walking exercise performed on land and in water. The primary finding revealed a 86% lower occurrence of orthostatic hypotension episodes in the water. Additionally, immersion in water resulted in an increase in mean arterial pressure and a decrease in heart rate, and this effect persisted for at least 10 minutes after emerging from the water. This hemodynamic response to orthostatic stress when in the water could be beneficial for individuals with orthostatic hypotension. In the second study, the effects of an 8-week aquatic cognitive-motor exercise program were evaluated in older adults using a randomized controlled trial. The intervention yielded clinically meaningful improvements in systolic blood pressure and pulse pressure compared to a control group (usual routine) that did not experience a significant change in blood pressure. Furthermore, the aquatic exercise intervention showed moderate to large beneficial effects on cognition, single and dual-task gait, and functional mobility, whereas only small to negligible effects were observed in the control group. Taken together, the findings from this dissertation highlight the benefits of aquatic exercise in improving the overall health of older adults.Kinesiology and Health Educatio
Microwave heating for the synthesis of precious metal-based nanoparticles for gas- and liquid-phase reduction reactions
Full text linkMain goal of this overall research is the design and synthesis of highly active precious-metal based heterogeneous catalysts. The underlying strategy is to attain cost effectiveness and better catalytic performance by nanoscale dilution of expensive metals such as Rh, Pd, Pt, & Au using readily available and cheaper metals (Cu, Ag, etc.). Such hetero-metal mixing usually lead in advantageous synergy effects and yield superior nanoparticle (NP)-catalysts. A crucial aspect of this research is microwave irradiation (μwI) which unlike conventional heating (CvH), strongly couples to polar solvents, ionic metal precursors and therefore may provide access to classically immiscible bimetallic systems. Surface reactivities of our hetero-metallic NPs have been successfully used as vapor-phase probes to derive reactivity and kinetic information which in turn is directly compared with collaborative DFT calculations. Specifically, synthesis of PdₓAu₁₀₀₋ₓ alloy NPs in wide range of compositions have been carried out to distinguish efficacy of the two heating methods (μwI & CvH). Composition dependent catalytic tunability was experimentally observed in both gas-phase hydrogenation reaction, and aqueous-phase nitrite reduction using PdₓAu₁₀₀₋ₓ alloy NPs. This observation matched reasonably well with theoretical calculations. In a separate project, scalability issues associated with small-scale batch reactions are addressed using flow methods to synthesize Rh NPs under μwI. Mechanistic insight into distinct morphologies of Rh NPs obtained using single-, and two-phase flow methods is attained and structural differences are probed by model hydrogenation catalysis. In another study, Cu-containing bimetallic NP systems (PdCu & RhCu) are currently being investigated to further address the cost factor while retaining superior catalytic activity. Moreover, highly atom-efficient Ag-based nanocages are also synthesized under μwI. Detailed investigation into the formation mechanism of such exciting and unique nanostructures are currently underway. Several characterization techniques such as PXRD, UV-vis, FTIR, XPS, TEM, STEM-EDX, ICP (-MS & -OES), etc. are routinely employed to fully delineate research described herein.Chemistr
Progress in the Development of a Science and Engineering Library Over a Twenty-Five-Year Period, 1990 Through 2015
No full textAs part of its 25-year anniversary celebration, Rodgers Library for Science and Engineering at The University of Alabama developed a poster highlighting changes in collections, services, and facilities which improved instruction and research among students and faculty served by the library. At the beginning of this period, attention shifted to digital libraries, as journals, indexes, and books that were previously available in print became accessible in digital format. More than one hundred software applications became accessible through upgraded desktop computers. Facilities saw considerable transformation, too. Collaborative spaces for students improved with the addition of more group study rooms. Outreach and instruction became a priority during this time.Informatio