Building Freedom’s Frontier in Northeast Asia

Following World War II, a power struggle between the Soviet Union and the United States divided the world into a state of bipolarity, with the United States continuing its adherence to democracy and the Soviet Union spreading communism. In order to contain and prevent the expansion of communism, despite the uncertainty of success and South Korean President Syngman Rhee’s ineffective policies, the United States audaciously helped nation-build South Korea after the Korean War from 1954-1960. For this case study, I will use historical data and academic publications in my efforts to analyze the events that led to the United States’ decision to provide South Korea with unconditional aid to boost its postwar economy in its efforts to stave off the spread of communism in the region. I will utilize Balance of Power theory to support my argument. Moreover, I will attempt to answer the question that scholars and experts alike ceaselessly deliberate: “Why do states do what they do?” and “What causes conflict and cooperation among states?” In short, I will strive to give the readers a better understanding as to why states do what they do – in this case, the United States’ decision to nation-build South Korea against all odds

The Development of Arbitration in the Resolution of Internet Domain Name Disputes

Web surfers who use the AltaVista Internet search engine may not realize that in 1998, Compaq Computer Corporation paid $3.3 million for the rights to the domain name AltaVista.com. A year later, eCompanies paid$7.5 million for the domain name business.com. And in February of 2000, Bank of America paid $3 million for the domain name loans.com. These transactions demonstrate that the ownership, transfer, and control of Internet domain names is a multi-million dollar industry

Commentary on Schotanus, "Singing and Accompaniment Support the Processing of Song Lyrics and Change the Lyrics' Meaning"

In this commentary, a number of problematic aspects of the studies presented in the target article are discussed. Suggestions have been made for further analyses of some of the data and for additional experimental investigations

Directing the paracrine actions of adipose stem cells for cartilage regeneration

Current cartilage repair methods are ineffective in restoring the mechanical and biological functions of native hyaline cartilage. Therefore, using the paracrine actions of stem cell therapies to stimulate endogenous cartilage regeneration has gained momentum. Adipose stem cells (ASCs) are an attractive option for this endeavor because of their accessibility, chondrogenic potential, and secretion of factors that promote connective tissue repair. In order to use the factors secreted by ASCs to stimulate cartilage regeneration, the signaling pathways that affect postnatal cartilage development and morphology need to be understood. Next, approaches need to be developed to tailor the secretory profile of ASCs to promote cartilage regeneration. Finally, delivery methods that localize ASCs within a defect site while facilitating paracrine factor secretion need to be optimized. The overall objective of this thesis was to develop an ASC therapy that could be effectively delivered in cartilage defects and stimulate regeneration via its paracrine actions. The general hypothesis was that the secretory profile of ASCs can be tailored to enhance cartilage regeneration and be effectively delivered to regenerate cartilage in vivo. The overall approach used the growth plate as an initial model to study changes in postnatal cartilage morphology and the molecular mechanisms that regulate it, different media treatments and microencapsulation to tailor growth factor production, and alginate microbeads to deliver ASCs in vivo to repair cartilage focal defects.PhDCommittee Chair: Boyan, Barbara D.; Committee Member: Guldberg, Robert E.; Committee Member: Murphy, Mary; Committee Member: Sambanis, Anthanassios ; Committee Member: Schwartz, Zv

Methods for evaluating the performance of volume phase holographic gratings for the VIRUS spectrograph array

The Visible Integral Field Replicable Unit Spectrograph (VIRUS) is an array of at least 150 copies of a simple, fiber-fed integral field spectrograph that will be deployed on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) to carry out the HET Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX). Each spectrograph contains a volume phase holographic grating as its dispersing element that is used in first order for 350 nm to 550 nm. We discuss the test methods used to evaluate the performance of the prototype gratings, which have aided in modifying the fabrication prescription for achieving the specified batch diffraction efficiency required for HETDEX. In particular, we discuss tests in which we measure the diffraction efficiency at the nominal grating angle of incidence in VIRUS for all orders accessible to our test bench that are allowed by the grating equation. For select gratings, these tests have allowed us to account for > 90% of the incident light for wavelengths within the spectral coverage of VIRUS. The remaining light that is unaccounted for is likely being diffracted into reflective orders or being absorbed or scattered within the grating layer (for bluer wavelengths especially, the latter term may dominate the others). Finally, we discuss an apparatus that will be used to quickly verify the first order diffraction efficiency specification for the batch of at least 150 VIRUS production gratings.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figures. To be published in Proc. SPIE, 2012, "Ground-Based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV", 8446-20

Growth control of oxygen stoichiometry in homoepitaxial SrTiO3 films by pulsed laser epitaxy in high vacuum

In many transition metal oxides (TMOs), oxygen stoichiometry is one of the most critical parameters that plays a key role in determining the structural, physical, optical, and electrochemical properties of the material. However, controlling the growth to obtain high quality single crystal films having the right oxygen stoichiometry, especially in a high vacuum environment, has been viewed as a challenge. In this work, we show that through proper control of the plume kinetic energy, stoichiometric crystalline films can be synthesized without generating oxygen defects, even in high vacuum. We use a model homoepitaxial system of SrTiO3 (STO) thin films on single crystal STO substrates. Physical property measurements indicate that oxygen vacancy generation in high vacuum is strongly influenced by the energetics of the laser plume, and it can be controlled by proper laser beam delivery. Therefore, our finding not only provides essential insight into oxygen stoichiometry control in high vacuum for understanding the fundamental properties of STO-based thin films and heterostructures, but expands the utility of pulsed laser epitaxy of other materials as well

Optimizing Cybersecurity Risk in Medical Cyber-Physical Devices

Medical devices are increasingly connected, both to cyber networks and to sensors collecting data from physical stimuli. These cyber-physical systems pose a new host of deadly security risks that traditional notions of cybersecurity struggle to take into account. Previously, we could predict how algorithms would function as they drew on defined inputs. But cyber-physical systems draw on unbounded inputs from the real world. Moreover, with wide networks of cyber-physical medical devices, a single cybersecurity breach could pose lethal dangers to masses of patients. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is tasked with regulating medical devices to ensure safety and effectiveness, but its regulatory approach—designed decades ago to regulate traditional medical hardware—is ill-suited to the unique problems of cybersecurity. Because perfect cybersecurity is impossible and every cybersecurity improvement entails costs to affordability and health, designers need standards that balance costs and benefits to inform the optimal level of risk. The FDA, however, conducts limited cost-benefit analyses, believing that its authorizing statute forbids consideration of economic costs. We draw on statutory text and case law to show that this belief is mistaken and that the FDA can and should conduct cost-benefit analyses to ensure safety and effectiveness, especially in the context of cybersecurity. We describe three approaches the FDA could take to implement this analysis as a practical matter. Of these three, we recommend an approach modeled after the Federal Trade Commission’s cost-benefit test. Regardless of the specific approach the FDA chooses, however, the critical point is that the agency must weigh costs and benefits to ensure the right level of cybersecurity. Until then, medical device designers will face continued uncertainty as cybersecurity threats become increasingly dangerous

Snow and ice melt flow features on Devon Island, Nunavut, Arctic Canada as possible analogs for recent slope flow features on Mars

Based on morphologic and contextual analogs from Devon Island, Arctic Canada, the recent martian slope flow features reported by Malin and Edgett are reinterpreted as being due not necessarily to groundwater seepage but possibly to snow or ice melt

Optimizing Cybersecurity Risk in Medical Cyber-Physical Devices

Medical devices are increasingly connected, both to cyber networks and to sensors collecting data from physical stimuli. These cyber-physical systems pose a new host of deadly security risks that traditional notions of cybersecurity struggle to take into account. Previously, we could predict how algorithms would function as they drew on defined inputs. But cyber-physical systems draw on unbounded inputs from the real world. Moreover, with wide networks of cyber-physical medical devices, a single cybersecurity breach could pose lethal dangers to masses of patients. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is tasked with regulating medical devices to ensure safety and effectiveness, but its regulatory approach—designed decades ago to regulate traditional medical hardware—is ill-suited to the unique problems of cybersecurity. Because perfect cybersecurity is impossible and every cybersecurity improvement entails costs to affordability and health, designers need standards that balance costs and benefits to inform the optimal level of risk. The FDA, however, conducts limited cost-benefit analyses, believing that its authorizing statute forbids consideration of economic costs. We draw on statutory text and case law to show that this belief is mistaken and that the FDA can and should conduct cost-benefit analyses to ensure safety and effectiveness, especially in the context of cybersecurity. We describe three approaches the FDA could take to implement this analysis as a practical matter. Of these three, we recommend an approach modeled after the Federal Trade Commission’s cost-benefit test. Regardless of the specific approach the FDA chooses, however, the critical point is that the agency must weigh costs and benefits to ensure the right level of cybersecurity. Until then, medical device designers will face continued uncertainty as cybersecurity threats become increasingly dangerous