The Effects of ZnO Nanoparticles on Egg, Larva, and Adult Rough-Skinned Newts (Taricha granulosa)

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles on egg, larva, and adult rough-skinned newts, Taricha granulosa. To date, little research has been done to investigate the potentially detrimental effects of nanoparticles on amphibians, especially salamanders and newts (caudates). Chronic toxicity was tested on eggs and larvae, and acute toxicity was tested on eggs, larvae, and adults. For eggs, chronic exposure to ZnO nanoparticles caused higher mortality at 10.0 and 100.0 mg/L compared to 0.0, 0.1, and 1.0 mg/L. When given an acute exposure (24h) to nanoparticles at a late incubation stage, nanoparticles caused larvae to hatch five days early, at a decreased developmental stage and smaller size compared to the control. Chronic and acute exposure of larvae increased mortality up to 75% at both 10 and 100.0 mg/L, and exhibited sublethal effects, most dramatically, severe gill degradation. These results suggest nanoparticles can have lethal and sublethal effects on all life stages of amphibians. For the first time to our knowledge caudates are shown to be vulnerable to nanoparticle toxicity. Considering the paucity of data on this relatively new environmental contaminant, the use of nanoparticles and their potential effects need to be recognized as these substances become increasingly prevalent in the environment

An Invertible Transform for Efficient String Matching in Labeled Digraphs

Let G = (V, E) be a digraph where each vertex is unlabeled, each edge is labeled by a character in some alphabet ?, and any two edges with both the same head and the same tail have different labels. The powerset construction gives a transform of G into a weakly connected digraph G\u27 = (V\u27, E\u27) that enables solving the decision problem of whether there is a walk in G matching an arbitrarily long query string q in time linear in |q| and independent of |E| and |V|. We show G is uniquely determined by G\u27 when for every v_? ? V, there is some distinct string s_? on ? such that v_? is the origin of a closed walk in G matching s_?, and no other walk in G matches s_? unless it starts and ends at v_?. We then exploit this invertibility condition to strategically alter any G so its transform G\u27 enables retrieval of all t terminal vertices of walks in the unaltered G matching q in O(|q| + t log |V|) time. We conclude by proposing two defining properties of a class of transforms that includes the Burrows-Wheeler transform and the transform presented here

Junior Recital: Brandon T. Austin, trumpet

This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree Bachelor of Music in Performance. Mr. Austin studies trumpet with Doug Lindsey.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1501/thumbnail.jp

Junior Recital: Nicolas Franz, jazz guitar

This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree Bachelor of Music in Performance. Mr. Franz studies guitar with Trey Wright.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1475/thumbnail.jp

Harnessing What Lies Within: Programming Immunity With Biocompatible Devices to Treat Human Disease

Advances in our mechanistic insight of cellular function and how this relates to host physiology have revealed a world which is intimately connected at the macro and micro level. Our increasing understanding of biology exemplifies this, where cells respond to environmental cues through interconnected networks of proteins which function as receptors and adaptors to elicit gene expression changes that drive appropriate cellular programs for a given stimulus. Consequently, our deeper molecular appreciation of host homeostasis implicates aberrations of these pathways in nearly all major human disease categories, including those of infectious, metabolic, neurologic, oncogenic, and autoimmune etiology. We have come to recognize the mammalian immune system as a common network hub among all these varied pathologies. As such, the major goal of this dissertation is to identify a platform to program immune responses in mammals so that we may enhance our ability to treat disease and improve health in the 21st century. Using advances in materials science, in particular a recently developed particle fabrication technology termed Particle Replication in Non-wetting Templates (PRINT), our studies systematically assess the murine and human immune response to precisely fabricated nano- and microscale particles composed of biodegradable and biocompatible materials. We then build on these findings and present particle design parameters to program a number of clinically attractive immune responses by targeting endogenous cellular signaling pathways. These include control of particle uptake through surface modification, design parameters that modulate the magnitude and kinetics of biological signaling dynamics that can be used to exacerbate or dampen inflammatory responses, as well as particle designs which may be of use in treating allergies and autoimmune disorders. In total, this dissertation provides evidence that rational design of biocompatible nano- and microparticles is a viable means to instruct therapeutic immune responses that may fundamentally improve how we treat human disease.Doctor of Philosoph

Immersive Search: Comparing Conventional and Spatially Arranged Search Engine Result Pages in Immersive Virtual Environments

Advances in immersive technologies (e.g., virtual reality head-mounted displays) have brought a new dimension into user interfaces to increasingly more people in the recent years. However, little prior work has explored how people could use the extra dimension afforded by VR HMDs to aid in the information retrieval process. My dissertation research investigated how different task types and layouts of search engine result pages (displays) in immersive virtual environments impact the information retrieval process. In this dissertation, I present results from a within-subjects user study to investigate users' search behaviors, system interactions, perceptions, and eye-tracking behaviors for four different spatial arrangements of search results (``list'' - a 2D list; ``curve3'' - a 3x3 grid; ``curve4'' - a 4x4 grid; and ``sphere'' - a 4x4 sphere) in a VR HMD across two different task types (Find All relevant, Pick 3 best). Thirty-two (32) participants completed 5 search trials in 8 experimental conditions (4 displays x 2 task types). Results show that: (1) participants were accepting of and performed well in the spatial displays (curve3, curve4, and sphere); (2) participants had a positional bias for the top or top left of SERPs; (3) the angle of search results and layouts influenced the navigation patterns used; (4) participants had a preference for physical navigation (e.g., head movement) over virtual navigation (e.g., scrolling) to view and compare search results, and (5) participants were less likely to perceive a rank order in the spatial displays where a clear scan path was not obvious to them.Doctor of Philosoph

Junior Recital: Jack Walker, saxophone

This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree Bachelor of Music in Performance. Mr. Walker studies saxophone with Sam Skelton.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1480/thumbnail.jp

Junior Recital: Bob Wright, jazz trumpet

This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree Bachelor of Music in Performance. Mr. Wright studies trumpet with Douglas Lindsey.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1253/thumbnail.jp

Senior Recital: Nicolas Franz, jazz guitar

This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree Bachelor of Music in Performance. Mr. Franz studies jazz guitar with Trey Wright.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1505/thumbnail.jp

Synchronizing Media Content In A Shared Virtual Reality Environment

Disclosed herein is a mechanism for synchronizing media content in a shared virtual reality environment. The mechanism can cause a shared virtual reality space to be presented on multiple user devices corresponding to multiple users participating in the shared virtual reality space. In some instances, users in the shared virtual reality space can be viewing different media content items. The mechanism can cause indications of the media content items being viewed by each user to be presented within the shared virtual reality space. In response to receiving a selection from a first user device of an indication of a media content item being presented on a second user device, the mechanism can transmit, to the first user device, metadata indicating an identifier of the media content item being presented on the second user device and a current playback position of the media content item on the second user device. The mechanism can then cause the media content item to be presented on the first user device at the playback position indicated in the transmitted metadata