Optimization and Standardization of DMS Chemical Mapping Experiments for Probing RNA 3D Structure

RNA plays a significant and crucial role in biological processes. The properties of RNA are ultimately responsible for each molecule’s unique function. The configuration and structural integrity of RNA is important for its functionality. Chemical mapping detailed in this thesis can be used to analyze the 3D structure of an RNA sequence. RNA is modified via methylation of adenine and cytosine bases using dimethyl sulfate, then reverse transcribed to DNA, then sequenced. The sites where the bases were methylated become mutations in the DNA sequence, allowing for identification of these locations when analyzing sequencing data. Conditions for modification can be altered to provide insight into the structure of the compound in vitro. This thesis details optimizations and changes made to chemical mapping protocols to increase data accuracy, experiment reproducibility, and efficiency. The major changes made include altering of modification time and amount of dimethyl sulfate (DMS) used, increasing magnesium amounts added to the reaction to aid in folding, and altering of purification methods and DNA processing

Physical and chemical sensing applications of polypyrrole-coated foams

We live in a world of information, and emerging technologies, which compel us to look for new ways to collect, process, and distribute information. Today we are faced with an information overload problem as users struggle to locate the right information in the right way at the right time. In my view this is an “overload” of trivial information coupled with a gap in access to important information. Digitization of information and communications has seen the rise and rise of computers to a now ubiquitous position in our society. However, the problem remains as to how to merge the digital world with sensing, and respond to changes in the real world. Ubiquitous information systems are needed that will automatically sense and importantly, respond to changes in their environment and usage in order to deliver a more intelligent, proactive and personalized information service. These systems may be wearable, enabling them to disappear into our personal space, enhancing rather than burdening our daily activities. Conventional sensors are generally unsuitable for wearable body monitoring devices either due to their physical structure or their functional requirements. This thesis examines this area of wearable sensors, detailing the development and characterisation of novel sensing materials and outlines their performance in various on-body monitoring applications

The challenge of moral difference : a theoretical investigation of encounters with a client\u27s capacity for violence

Clinical social workers face an ethical imperative to work with a range of clients, some of whom will undoubtedly espouse views and confess to violent behavior that will differ, sometimes profoundly, with the worker\u27s own personal moral compass and the values of the social work profession. How are clinical social workers to navigate the potential impasses that arise from such encounters? This theoretical thesis explores the dilemma of engaging with a client whose morality is experienced by the worker as untenable. It draws on two bodies of theory, moral anthropology and relational psychoanalysis—both of which emphasize contingency, circumstance, and the role of social phenomena in shaping an individual\u27s subjectivity and identities. These bodies of theory are applied to two cases set in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa (Gobodo-Madikizela, 2003; Straker, 2007a). While these cases focus on the extremes of human behavior in a particular historical and cultural locale, they also offer a paradigm of what it means to face a client whose morality profoundly differs from one\u27s own and how one might overcome the impasse precluding empathy for the client\u27s subjectivity and recognition of his or her human dignity

Research Proposal: Gender Differences Concerning Thoughts on Love Attitudes and Romance

Which gender has more romantic views on love? Oftentimes, women think of their sex as the more romantic gender and complain that their partners are not romantic enough. Yet, is this truly the case

Gender Differences Concerning Thoughts on Love Attitudes and Romance

In the present study, the question of which gender has more romantic views on love was investigated. Thirty participants were given a 30-question survey regarding their thoughts on love. Using a coded rating system, certain responses were considered to be more romantic and other responses were categorizes as less romantic and more idealistic. Results of this study showed that males, more often than females, supplied the romantic response to the survey questions. These findings might imply that males are the more romantic gender