Synthesis of Copper Oxide Nanoparticles in Droplet Flow Reactors

Synthesis of metal oxide nanoparticles within droplet flow reactors is advantageous over batch synthesis due to the elimination of concentration and temperature gradients inside the reactor and prevention of reactor fouling. We present results on the synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles using aqueous droplets of copper acetate and acetic acid inside a bulk stream of sodium hydroxide in 1-octanol. Varying the copper acetate, acetic acid, and sodium hydroxide concentration resulted in needle-like and plate-like nanoparticles of varying sizes. The rate of mass transfer from the bulk to the droplet phase was found to increase with flow rate and addition of surfactants

Rhetoric and Social Struggle: In Search of the Topoi of Violence.

The rhetorical study of violence tends to examine violence within larger generic boundaries such as social movements studies or war rhetoric. In order to work toward a generalizable rhetorical theory of violence and discourse, this study examines texts which justify violence across generic boundaries. Accordingly, four case studies individually examine texts which justify political violence. This study compares and contrasts the rhetorical strategies of George Bush, the Unabomber, Earth First! and Abbie Hoffman. This study concludes that there are no universal strategies among the four case studies in the justification of violence. However, there appears to be a continuum of rhetorical strategies which rhetors follow depending on whether they are seeking to reinforce social institutions through violence, or destroy social institutions through violence

TSPO ligands promote cholesterol efflux and suppress oxidative stress and inflammation in choroidal endothelial cells

Choroidal endothelial cells supply oxygen and nutrients to retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells and photoreceptors, recycle metabolites, and dispose of metabolic waste through the choroidal blood circulation. Death of the endothelial cells of the choroid may cause abnormal deposits including unesterified and esterified cholesterol beneath RPE cells and within Bruch’s membrane that contribute to the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most prevalent cause of blindness in older people. Translocator protein (TSPO) is a cholesterol-binding protein that is involved in mitochondrial cholesterol transport and other cellular functions. We have investigated the role of TSPO in choroidal endothelial cells. Immunocytochemistry showed that TSPO was localized to the mitochondria of choroidal endothelial cells. Choroidal endothelial cells exposed to TSPO ligands (Etifoxine or XBD-173) had significantly increased cholesterol efflux, higher expression of cholesterol homeostasis genes (LXRα, CYP27A1, CYP46A1, ABCA1 and ABCG1), and reduced biosynthesis of cholesterol and phospholipids from [14C]acetate, when compared to untreated controls. Treatment with TSPO ligands also resulted in reduced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), increased antioxidant capacity, and reduced release of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and VEGF) induced by oxidized LDL. These data suggest TSPO ligands may offer promise for the treatment of AMD

Effects of Insular Cortex Lesions on Conditioned Taste Aversion and Latent Inhibition in the Rat

The present study tested the hypothesis that lesions of the insular cortex of the rat retard the acquisition of conditioned taste aversions (CTAs) because of an impairment in the detection of the novelty of taste stimuli. Demonstrating the expected latent inhibition effect, nonlesioned control subjects acquired CTAs more rapidly when the conditioned stimulus (0.15% sodium saccharin) was novel rather than familiar (achieved by pre-exposure to the to-be-conditioned taste cue). However, rats with insular cortex lesions acquired taste aversions at the same slow rate regardless of whether the saccharin was novel or familiar. The pattern of behavioural deficits obtained cannot be interpreted as disruptions of taste detection or stimulus intensity, but is consistent with the view that insular cortex lesions disrupt taste neophobia, a dysfunction that consequently retards CTA acquisition because of a latent inhibition-like effect

Insular Cortex Lesions and Morphine-Induced Suppression of Conditioned Stimulus Intake in the Rat

The present experiment examined the influence of insular cortex (IC) lesions on the intake of a taste stimulus in a consummatory procedure that used morphine as the unconditioned stimulus. In normal rats, morphine caused a rapid reduction in saccharin intake when the taste was novel but not when it was familiar. Irrespective of stimulus novelty, morphine had little influence on the saccharin consumption of IC-lesioned rats. The results are discussed in terms of a lesion-induced disruption of (i) a reward comparison mechanism and (ii) the perception of taste novelty

Toward economic evaluation of climate change impacts : a review and evaluation of studies of the impact of climate change

Efforts to access climate change have generally been unsuccessful in describing the economic damages (or benefits) associated with climate change or the functional relationship of damage (or benefits) to climate. Existing integrated economic studies have developed an aggregate damage estimate for the United States associated with equilibrium doubled trace gas climate that is unlikely to occur for 100 years or more. These estimates are used to extrapolate damages to other regions and over time. There is little or no basis for such extrapolation. It is possible to introduce climate explicitly into standard economic models but such models have generally not been estimated. Potentially affected sectors include 1) forestry and ecosystems, 2) agriculture, 3) coast, 4) fishers, 5) water resources, and 6) communities and households. An impact classification system is developed that considers short and long run flexibility to adapt to climate change, the existing knowledge or capacity to adapt, and the degree to which climate matters after adaptation (i.e., the degree to which damages can be avoided).Supported by the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, and NOAA

The piezoresistance of aluminum alloy interconnect structures

The effects of applied strain on the resistivity of Al thin film metallization interconnects have been measured with a novel methodology that uses thermal expansion mismatch to produce the strain. The interconnect volumetric strain is induced by thermal cycling of passivated and unpassivated interconnects between ≈70 and 373 K. The coefficient of piezoresistivity, defined as dρ/dϵvdρ/dϵv, where ρ=resistivity and ϵvϵv=volumetric strain, is determined by properly accounting for the degree of interconnect constraint and thermal expansion mismatch strain induced during temperature changes. The volumetric strains are calculated for unpassivated and passivated lines of varying thickness and width. A model which incorporates the geometrical and piezoresistance effects on the measured interconnect resistance during temperature changes is described. The coefficient of piezoresistivity is calculated by a fitting procedure which provides an accurate and consistent fit for both unpassivated and passivated interconnects of different geometries and different strain states. The measured coefficient dρ/dϵvdρ/dϵv is 2.0×10−52.0×10−5 Ω cm in tension, similar to earlier results in bulk Al samples measured in compression but significantly higher than values recently measured in Al interconnects. The application of the calibrated coefficient of piezoresistivity for the measurement of electromigration-induced stresses in novel interconnect test structures will be described. © 1999 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70378/2/JAPIAU-85-3-1943-1.pd

Essays in Empirical Asset Pricing and Investments:

Thesis advisor: Jeffrey PontiffMy thesis contains four essays on the pricing of financial assets and the role of non-professional investors. The first two essays describe the legal framework governing Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and the liquidity transformation functions of ETFs. The third essay examines how trading by nine different types of market participants are related to characteristics that have previously documented to predict the cross-section of equity returns. The fourth and final essay examines whether and how orders originating from retail brokerages respond to analyst recommendations. In my first essay, I describe the legal framework that governs ETFs and theoretical benefits of the ETF security design relative to two other popular investment management security structures: open-end and close-end mutual funds. To do so, I briefly describe the history of the modern investment management industry. I describe the role of Authorized Participants (APs), the main security design innovation of ETFs, and highlight the key theoretical differences between the three classes of funds. Lastly, I describe SEC rulemaking that governs the behavior of ETF Managers and their APs. In the second essay, I document a hidden but substantial cost associated with the liquidity transformation that corporate bond exchange-traded funds (ETFs) provide. When creating new shares, authorized participants (APs) deliver a subset of the portfolio of bonds that underlie a corporate bond ETF. This subset contains bonds that realize low future returns, reducing ETF performance by 48 basis points per annum. This loss in performance cannot be attributed to forgone compensation for risk or illiquidity, but instead results from APs utilizing information regarding future changes in net asset values to strategically deliver bonds when those bonds are expected to realize poor performance in the near future. My third essay is joint work with Jeff Pontiff and David McLean. We provide the most comprehensive study of market participation to date. We assess the informativeness of 9 different participants’ trades, and how each participant’s trades relate to 130 different variables that together reflect the cross-section of expected stock returns. Firms and short sellers tend to be the smart money—both sell stocks with low expected returns, and their trades predict returns in the intended direction. Firms, however, also seem to possess private information, while short sellers do not. Retail investors buy (sell) stocks with low (high) expected returns and their trades predict returns opposite to the intended direction. All 6 types of institutional investors are weighted towards stocks with low expected returns, but none of their trades robustly predict returns. My fourth essay is joint work with Jeff Pontiff and David McLean. We ask whether retail investors are responsive to analysts’ revisions. We consider revisions in recommendations, price targets, and EPS forecasts, all of which predict returns. Revisions in recommendations and price targets portend greater retail trading in the direction of the revision. The effects are stronger for All-Star Analysts’ revisions, and retail investors also respond to All-Star’s revisions in EPS forecasts. Retail investors trade in anticipation of revisions in price targets and recommendations, consistent with analysts or brokers “tipping” some retail investors. Retail trades earn higher returns when aligned with analysts’ revision. The results show that retail investors are one channel through which analysts’ information gets into prices. Our findings also support the idea that spikes in retail trading reflect informed trading, some of which is informed by analysts.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management.Discipline: Finance

Morphine-induced Suppression of Conditioned Stimulus Intake: Effects of Stimulus Type and Insular Cortex Lesions

Intake of an unconditionally preferred taste stimulus (e.g., saccharin) is reduced by contingent administration of a drug of abuse (e.g., morphine). We examined the influence of insular cortex (IC) lesions on morphine-induced suppression of an olfactory cue and two taste stimuli with different levels of perceived innate reward value. Two major findings emerged from this study. First, morphine suppressed intake of an aqueous odor as well as each taste stimulus in neurologically intact rats. Second, IC lesions disrupted morphine-induced suppression of the taste stimuli but not the aqueous odor cue. These results indicate that the perceived innate reward value of the CS is not a factor that governs drug-induced intake suppression