Franck, Ollive

Ensuring the security of the information systems in an university is not simple. When this university is scattered over about fifteen different sites, the security measures become very complex. Moreover, when you consider this university is one of the oldest in France, it is easy to understand that the habits acquired, either through the user-friendly access to the system or through ignorance, can imperil the security of the information systems. Within four years, we have tried to raise the secu...

Kern, Hartmut

The development of a systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and sepsis are well known complications after cardiac surgery. In the present study, 77.1 % of the 3653 cardiac surgical patients developed SIRS or SIRS-like symptoms on the first postoperative day. Only 20 % of these patients, however, showed a prolonged SIRS during the first 3 postoperative days. 4.4 % of all patients had septic complications during their stay on the intensive care unit (ICU). However, 21.8 % of the patients w...

Morgan, J.D.

Europe, increasingly, is becoming a place for people with the skills to conduct their business or social lives bilingually, and even multilingually. Often, people may communicate jointly through an indigenous tongue and an internationally used language such as English, French or German. Evidence suggests that communicating in this way can enhance the process of learning. What does bilingualism mean? Is it enough to assume knowledge of two languages? Arguably not. Useful and transferable bilingua...

Waser, Wolfgang

Oxygen partial pressures (Po2) above ambient levels are found only in the swimbladder and the eye of teleost fish species. The mechanisms related to the involved oxygen concentration processes have been investigated to some detail in eel swimbladder, but little attention has been paid to analogous mechanisms of the teleost eye. This thesis has accordingly concentrated on developing a method promoting investigation of oxygen concentrating mechanisms in teleost eyes by application of an isolated p...

Leeder, Dawn

This paper documents a two-year project to transform a traditional course in Medical Sociology into a series of stand-alone web-delivered interactive multimedia modules. Existing lecture material was extended, updated and then deconstructed using a chunking process to form the basis of content for the modules. The material was then reconstructed to form a coherent and self-contained set of modules. Issues raised by the project include depth and breadth of content; levels of deconstruction; navig...

Abahji, Thomas N.

Die enterpathogenen Yersinia-Spezies unterlaufen die primären Abwehrmechanismen des
Wirtes durch Einflußnahme auf Signaltransduktionskaskaden. Diese Subversion wird von
einem 70 kDa Virulenzplasmid vermittelt, welches für ein Typ III
Sekretion/Translokationsssystem und einige Virulenzfaktoren, sogenannte Yops (Yersinia
outer proteins) kodiert. Die sechs bisher bekannten Effektor-Yops gelangen über das
Sekretionssystem in...

Son, Hyunju

In der vorliegenden Studie wird die Klonierung und Charakterisierung einer neuen STE20-ähnlichen Proteinkinase aus Dictyostelium discoideum beschrieben. STE20-Kinasen wurden zuerst in Hefe gefunden und stellen eine Hauptgruppe der p21-aktivierten Proteinkinasen dar.
Die Domänenstruktur der Dictyostelium STE20-ähnlichen Kinase DST2 zeigt, dass sie der GCK Untergruppe ("germinal center kinases") zuzuordnen ist. Typische Vertreter dieser Untergruppe sind...

Grüner, Florian

In der Theorie des Ionen-Channeling in Einkristallen gibt es eine sog. Reversibilitätsregel, die besagt, dass die Wahrscheinlichkeiten für De- und Rekanalisierung gleich groß sein sollten. Die Experimente dieser Arbeit zeigen eine starke Verletzung dieser Regel. Eigens entwickelte Computersimulationen liefern die Erklärung für dieses unerwartete Verhalten in Form einer Hysterese des mittleren Ladungszustands des Ions während seiner Bewegung e...

Zwing, Alexander

The present work combines palaeomagnetic and rock magnetic methods with clay mineralogy, isotope geochemistry of clay minerals and trace element geochemistry of Fe-oxide leachates to study remagnetised sedimentary rocks from Palaeozoic outcrops in Middle and Eastern Europe. Three areas were selected (NE Rhenish Massif, Barrandian and Holy Cross Mountains), where the causes of Late Palaeozoic remagnetisations are yet unclear. The results yield important implications for the processes and mechanis...

Maierhofer, Christine

Nunziante, Maximilian

Die transmissiblen spongiformen Enzephalopathien (TSEs) bilden eine Gruppe fataler degenerativer Erkrankungen des zentralen Nervensystems von Mensch und Tier, deren bekannteste Erscheinungsformen die bovine spongiforme Enzephalopathie (BSE) beim Rind, die Traberkrankheit beim Schaf sowie die Creutzfeldt-Jakob-Erkrankung beim Menschen sind. Diese Erkrankungen können als Folge von Mutationen familiär-genetisch bedingt sein, infektiös erworben werden oder ohne erkennbare ...

Lensch, Martin

Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit dem proteolytischen System des Chloroplasten
höherer Pflanzen und hier speziell mit dem des Thylakoidsystems. Vorderstes Ziel war die
Isolierung und Charakterisierung neuer, bislang unbekannter Komponenten. Zu diesem
Zweck wurden zwei unterschiedliche Ansätze erprobt: Einmal der rein biochemische Weg,
bei dem der Versuch unternommen wurde, speziell lichtinduzierte proteolytische Aktivit&#22...

Lee, Soo Sim

Profilin ist ein ubiquitäres Zytoskelettprotein, dessen Funktion für die Zellphysiologie von
fundamentaler Bedeutung ist. Durch gerichtete Mutagenese von Profilin II aus Dictyostelium
discoideum wurden die Punktmutationen W3N und K114E erzeugt. Das W3N-Profilin
interagiert nicht mehr mit poly-(L)-Prolin und zeigt geringfügig verminderte Aktinbindung.
Dagegen ist die Aktinbindung des K114E-Profilin stark reduziert, während seine ...

Jeschke, Jonathan Michael

Der Zusammenhang zwischen der pro Kopf Konsumtionsrate und der Nahrungsdichte wird in der Ökologie als funktionelle Reaktion bezeichnet und ist das Thema dieser Dissertation. Jeweils zum ersten Mal seit den 70er Jahren gebe ich hier einen Überblick über sowohl theoretische als auch empirische Arbeiten zur funktionellen Reaktion. Dabei zeige ich eine Lücke in der bisherigen Theorie und fülle diese mit einem neuen Modell, der SSS Gleichung.
&amp...

Bolzer, Andreas

Die Erforschung von Chromosomenpositionen im menschlichen Zellkern führte zu kontroversen Ergebnissen: In Lymphozyten konnte eine radiale Chromosomenposition entdeckt werden, die von der Gendichte der Chromosomen abhing (Boyle A. L. et al. 1990; Cremer M. et al. 2001). Genreiche Chromosomen lagen zentraler im Zellkern als genarme. In Fibroblasten wurde zwar ebenfalls eine radiale Verteilung gefunden, jedoch korreliert diese besser mit der genomischen Größe der Chromoso...

Lindemann, Lothar

Die Eph-Familie von Rezeptortyrosinkinasen und ihre Liganden, die Ephrine, sind die größte Gruppe von axonalen Zielführungsmolekülen. Die membrangebundenen Ephrine und ihre Rezeptoren sind jedoch nicht ausschließlich für die Etablierung neuronaler Konnektivität, sondern auch für Entwicklungsvorgänge außerhalb des Nervensystems wie die Ausbildung des Blutgefäßsystems und die Steuerung von Z...

Blay, Martin

Humanes Herpesvirus Typ 7 wurde bisher mit verschiedenen fieberhaften Erkrankungen im
Kindesalter in Verbindung gebracht. Typischerweise kann HHV-7 exanthematöse Erkrankungenverursachen,
in wenigen Fällen konnte ein Zusammenhang mit neurologischen Komplikationen
beobachtet werden. Unter anderem wurden Fieberkrämpfe, temporäre Hemiparesen
oder Meningitiden beschrieben. In dieser Arbeit sollte untersucht werden, ob HHV-7
i...

Lu, Jun

<T>ABSTRACT</T><p>JUN LU. Analysis on Microarray Data and DNA Regulatory Elements Prediction (Under the direction of Dr. Spencer Muse)</p><br><p>Transcription profiling with microarray technology has significantly accelerated our understanding of complex biological processes by allowing the genome-wide measure of message RNA levels. Microarrays are commonly used for identifying genes with expression differing bet...

Dennis, Brent Moorman

With the advent of computers and more sophisticated electronics,scientists can now collect massive amount of information. Theincreasing emph{size} and emph{dimensionality} of these datasetsmakes them challenging to visualize in an effective manner.Visualizations must show the global structure of spatial relationshipswithin the dataset while simultaneously representing the local detailof each data element being visualized. Techniques in informationvisualization provide views of the dataset at mul...

Bao, Shaowu

Abstract<br>BAO, SHAOWU. Numerical Simulation of the Mesoscale Air-Sea Interaction<br>over the Western Pacific Warm Pool. (Under the direction of Lian Xie and SethuRaman.)<br>The purpose of the research is to improve our understanding of the air-sea<br>interaction processes over the region of western Pacific warm pool and ultimately<br>improve weather and climate predictions. To achieve this goal, an air-sea coupled<br&...

Bruck, Isaac Samuel

<html><head><title> Ethnobotany of the K ekchi Maya </title></head><body><table width="600" align="center"><tr><td><div align="center">ABSTRACT</div><p></p>BRUCK, ISAAC SAMUEL. Ethnobotany of the K ekchi Maya of Southern Belize and a<br> search for novel pesticide models. (...

Mitra, Madhumi

Sediments from the Late Cretaceous Tar Heel Formation in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of North Carolina were investigated for occurrence and distribution of palynomorphs. Exposures along rivers at Elizabethtown, Goldsboro, Ivanhoe, Lock, Willis Creek and Tar River in North Carolina were systematically collected. One hundred and three sediment samples were macerated by standard techniques modified by eliminating treatments with nitric acid and potassium hydroxide, and analyzed for palynomorphs. Eig...

Rhome, Jamie Robert

The need for improved tropical cyclone (TC) intensity guidance has never been greater given recent upward population trends in coastal areas. The difficulty in forecasting rapid intensity change remains one of the more challenging aspects of TC forecasting and was recently highlighted by the unexpected weakening of Hurricane Debby (2000) along the northern coast of Hispaniola on August 23, 2000. To address the need for improved understanding of rapid intensity change and the ability of dynamical...

Chaves, Juan Carlos

Factors causing mortality in North Carolina s soft-shell blue crab industry were quantified and identified at 11 crab shedding systems across the state. Operators of crab shedding systems who shed peeler crabs (pre-molt crabs) that they had caught themselves (self-caught peeler crabs) experienced significantly lower crab mortality rates than operators who shed peelers that they had bought from different sources (purchased-peeler crabs). Molt stage had a significant effect on the mortality rates ...

Potter, Kevin Mark

Nonpoint sources of pollution may be responsible for as much as 50 percent of current water quality degradation in the United States, and as much as 70 percent in the Southeast. In this study, I used an ecological risk assessment methodology, at the watershed scale and riparian scales (zones 300, 100, and 50 feet on either side of streams), to analyze and quantify the impact of nonpoint pollution on the ecological integrity and water quality of North Carolina streams. Specifically, I determined ...

Cerjak, Jason Robert

The specific purpose of the research is to evaluate the performance of the MM5 model in the forecasting of near-surface parameters, such as 2-meter temperature, 2-meter dew point, and 1000-850 mb thickness. The evaluation will include a comparison of the MM5 against the Eta model, and a comparison of the forecasting skill of the MM5 with three different land-surface parameterization schemes. Three different soil moisture scaling techniques will be applied to the MM5, and their forecasts will be ...

wu, zhenhua

ABSTRACTWU, ZHENHUA Prestressed FRP Tubular Deck System (Under the direction of Dr. Amir Mirmiran)An experimental and analytical study was undertaken to assess the behavior of a new FRP deck system. The deck consists of a series of pultruted FRP tubes, laid side by side on existing stringers, perpendicular to the direction of traffic. The tubes are then post-tensioned at mid-point between the stringers in the direction of traffic. The experimental work consisted of seven FRP tubular specimens cr...

Wing, Kenneth Michael

Costs of replacement and maintenance of expansion joints are often a large part of the costs associated with bridge maintenance. To replace these expansion joints or eliminate some of them on structures could greatly reduce the costs. Link slab is a new design approach, which could replace the traditional expansion joints. A link slab is the portion of the bridge deck that connects two adjacent simple-span girders. Link slabs also reduce the damage to the substructure of bridges due to water pen...

Chiao, Sen

This research investigates the local circulation associated with a heavy orographic rainfall event occurred during 19-21 September 1999 (MAP IOP-2B). The near-surface flow was dominated by a barrier jet originally from the Adriatic Sea anda southerly jet from the Gulf of Genoa. A significant westward turning occurredwhen the southeasterly and southerly flow approached the south side of the Alps.Precipitation was mainly concentrated on the windward slopes, especially near the Lago Maggiore area. ...

Gregory, Joseph William

GREGORY, JOSEPH WILLIAM. Identification of Statistical Energy Analysis Parameters from Measured Data. (Under the Direction of Dr. Richard F. Keltie)An approach for identifying statistical energy analysis (SEA) parameters from experimental investigation is presented. Specifically, a power flow realization method (PRM) and statistical energy analysis model improvement (SMI) technique using transient time-domain vibration measurements are derived. The efforts are refined and validated using a range...

Liao, Jiangying

Filamentous bulking is a widespread problem in activated sludge wastewater treatment plants. In North Carolina, 63% of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) surveyed have experienced bulking. Determining the dominant bulking-causative bacteria and their level of proliferation is a necessary step in bulking control. This study used molecular techniques, i.e. quantitative Fluorescent in situ Hybridization (FISH) and membrane hybridization to identify and quantify the specific filamentous microorgani...

Mattos, Leonardo Serra

The research presented in this thesis describes the design and development of the EvBot II, a small, computationally powerful, and robust evolutionary robotics platform equipped with an acoustic array system. The EvBot II represents the next generation of autonomous robots for distributed robot-colony research, and its design has expanded the sensing capabilities and the overall performance of the EvBot robots by the incorporation of two microcontroller units, shaft encoders and a complete acous...

Dixon, Karrie Gibson

Student retention continues to be a concern for two-year and four-year colleges and universities; there are a variety of factors contributing to the institutional attrition rates. The purpose of this study was to identify and examine factors associated with how freshman students enrolled in the First Year College (FYC), at North Carolina State University during the 1999 - 2000 academic year perceive their academic and social integration. The data for this research study was obtained using the Co...

Klimstra, Jon David

Six-years of banding data were analyzed from an intensively managed pine plantation in the Lower Coastal Plain of South Carolina on land owned by Mead Westvaco. The focus of the six-year study was to determine if the installed corridors were providing habitat throughout the overall landscape that would be beneficial to breeding landbirds. To address this question, avian productivity and abundance were monitored using nest searching, point counts, territory mapping, and mist netting. The objectiv...

Bethea, Dana Michelle

As top predators, sharks have an important role in marine ecosystems in relation to populations of fish and invertebrates at lower trophic levels. Fishery management plans stress the need for an ecosystem approach, but few quantitative data on the foraging ecology of sharks have been published. Results from a literature review found that shark species close in taxonomic relation have high diet overlap. Stomach contents and catch data of early life stages of Atlantic sharpnose (<i>R...

Roughton, Dean Morris

<p>AbstractRoughton, Dean Morris. Blackwater: A Collection of Stories. (Under the direction of Angela Davis-Gardner.)The stories in this collection all either take place in or deal with characters from Blackwater, a fictional town in eastern North Carolina. Blackwater is not meant to represent any real town, but is more an amalgamation of the small towns that exist in the region. Eastern North Carolina serves as a point of convergence for various waters, salt and fresh, alkaline an...

Helo, Julia Esperanza

<p><P>The Internet has undergone a tremendous evolution during the past five years. Since 1995, consumer-catalog websites have not only come into being, but have become important business and consumer tools. Despite the upsurge and importance of these websites, it is difficult to find freely available tools that help website developers make important decisions regarding the content of these websites.</P><P> In this pilot study, I analyze a ...

Xiang, Bin

<p>AbstractBIN XIANG Genetic Analysis of Diallel Tests of Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda L.) (Under the direction of Dr. Bailian Li)A new approach was developed for analyzing diallel tests with SAS PROC MIXED and PROC IML. The new method can estimate variance components, obtain BLUE (best linear unbiased estimators) of fixed effects and BLUP (best linear unbiased predictors) of random genetic effects simultaneously. A new formula based on BLUP was further developed to predict individua...

INDEJE, MATAYO

<p>INDEJE, MATAYO. Prediction and Numerical Simulation of the Regional Climate of Equatorial Eastern Africa. (Under the direction of Dr. Fredrick H. M. Semazzi.). The objective in this investigation was to provide a better understanding of the mechanisms and physical processes responsible for climate variability over the equatorial eastern Africa, and explore potential for short-term climate prediction. Both statistical and numerical methods have been employed in this research. App...

Bass, Kristopher

<p><br>The use of in-stream wetlands is a growing practice being used to mitigatethe impacts of non-point source (NPS) pollution. Wetlands promote physical,chemical, and biological processes that attenuate and convert nutrientswhich can lead to improved water quality. Wetland performance is sensitiveto site conditions, making it difficult to precisely quantify their possibleimpact. Factors such as site specific soil, hydrologic, and vegetativecharacteristics influence...

Pouliot, George

<p>ABSTRACTPOULIOT, GEORGE. A Variable Resolution Nonhydrostatic Global Atmospheric Semi-implicit Semi-Lagrangian Model. (Under the direction of Dr. Fredrick H.M. Semazzi.)The objective of this project is to develop a variable-resolution finite difference adiabatic global nonhydrostatic semi-implicit semi-Lagrangian (SISL) model based on the fully compressible nonhydrostatic atmospheric equations. To achieve this goal, a three-dimensional variable resolution dynamical core was deve...

Birgand, François

<p>BIRGAND, FRANÇOIS. Quantification and Modeling of In-Stream Processes in Agricultural Canals of the Lower Coastal Plain. (Under the direction of Dr. R. Wayne Skaggs).Excess nutrient loads have been recognized to be the major cause of serious water quality problems recently encountered in the North Carolina estuaries and coastal waters. There has been a particular concern in coastal watersheds because agricultural and forested lands are located in close proximity to recr...

Dukes, Michael Dale

<p> Degradation of water quality in the streams and estuaries of North Carolina in recent years has resulted in regulations to reduce the introduction of numerous types of contaminants to this system. In the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico River Basins, excessive amounts of nitrogen have been identified as causing increased algal growth, low dissolved oxygen concentrations, and have been linked to increased growth of toxic microorganisms such as Pfiesteria piscicida. There are numerous sourc...

Parameshwara, Vinayak Kota

<p>AgNET is a weather network, which collects surface and subsurface meteorological data in North Carolina. Each AgNet weather station measures a variety of weather parameters such as air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, solar radiation, photosynthetically active radiation, soil temperature, soil moisture and precipitation. The station summarizes the above parameters for every hour and stores them in its local memory. Currently the data...

Espey, James Lee

A series of static toxicity tests were conducted to determine the tolerance of yellow perch to ammonia and nitrite on larvae, juvenile and adult fish. Toxicity tests on adults were conducted at 18, 22, and 25 C. The tests on larvae showed highly varible results and were ultimately inconclusive. The 96h LC50 for ammonia and nitrite to juveniles were 0.77 mg/L as NH3-N and 78.24 mg/l as NO2-N, respectively. Adult and juvenile yellow perch had similiar tolerance levels. lc50 values for ammonia and ...

Chen, Shu-Yun

In this study, we have adopted Penn State/NCAR Mesoscale Model version 5 (MM5) to simulate the synoptic and mesoscale environments conducive to orographic rainfall associated with Mesoscale Alpine Programme (MAP) Intensive Observation Period 8 (IOP-8). The model sensitivity tests on cumulus parameterization schemes, microphysical parameterization schemes, and terrain resolution were also included in this study.<br>A deep trough system associated with low-level jet approached the La...

Childs, Peter Phipps

ABSTRACTChilds Jr., Peter P. Numerical Simulations of Mesoscale Boundary Layer Structure over New York City. (Under the direction of Dr. Sethu Raman)Roughness length variations and the urban heat island effect are the dominating influences of highly urbanized terrain on boundary layer structure and evolution. Variations in roughness length can alter the surface wind flow by slowing it down, turning it, or a combination of both. The urban heat island effect keeps surface temperatures warmer than ...

Robinson, Jason Lesley

Biogeographical studies in the Toxaway and Horsepasture Rivers, (Transylvania County, NC) were initiated along with the creation of a state park in the area. This region is noted for extreme topographic relief, high annual rainfall totals and many rare and endemic plants and animals. The study area encompasses a portion of the Blue Ridge Escarpment and the associated Brevard Fault Zone. These geologic features are important factors in determining the distribution of stream habitats and organisms...

Njunie, Michael Ngunjiri

NJUNIE, MICHAEL NGUNJIRI. Evaluation of forage legumes for soil fertility improvement in maize/cassava production systems. (Under the direction of Michael Gary Wagger.)Soil fertility decline is a major factor limiting crop production in smallholder farms in sub-Saharan Africa. Coastal Kenya farmers are aware of the problem of declining soil fertility caused by continuous cropping without returning nutrients, soil erosion, burning of plant residues, and short fallow intervals in food crops produc...

Tong, Quansong

ABSTRACTTONG, QUANSONG. Measurement, Modeling, and Analysis of Ozone and its Key Precursors in the Southeast United States National Parks (Under the direction of Dr. Viney P. Aneja).Lower tropospheric ozone (O3) continues to be a major air pollution problem in the southeast United States due to its adverse effects on humans and the environment. This study presents measurements, modeling, and interpretation of ozone (O3) and its key precursors based on measurements collected from three Southeast ...