Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1991. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 179-181). Also available via the Internet

Thesis (M. S.)--Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010. / Committee Chair: Peter J. Webster; Committee Member: Judith A. Curry; Committee Member: Robert X. Black. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Cincinnati, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 92-102). Also available online.

This paper presents the fabrication of controlled release devices for anticancer drug paclitaxel using supercritical antisolvent method. The thermodynamic and hydrodynamic effects during supercritical antisolvent process on the particle properties obtained were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy was employed to study particle sizes and morphologies achieved. It was observed that increasing supercritical pressure improves the surface morphology of particles obtained, and increasing the flow rate of the organic solution jet reduces the particle sizes obtained. A modified Supercritical Antisolvent with Enhanced Mass transfer setup was developed to produce monodispersed nanoparticles with high recovery yield. High performance liquid chromatography was used to determine the encapsulation efficiency and in vitro release profiles of paclitaxel loaded particles obtained. The encapsulation efficiencies of particles obtained using the modified SASEM process were high and up to 83.5%, and sustained release of paclitaxel from the polymer matrix was observed over 36 days release. The thermogram properties of the particles were also analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry to determine the crystalline state of polymer and drug. / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)

abstract: Mesoporous materials that possess large surface area, tunable pore size, and ordered structures are attractive features for many applications such as adsorption, protein separation, enzyme encapsulation and drug delivery as these materials can be tailored to host different guest molecules. Films provide a model system to understand how the pore orientation impacts the potential for loading and release of selectively sized molecules. This research work aims to develop structure-property relationships to understand how pore size, geometry, and surface hydrophobicity influence the loading and release of drug molecules. In this study, the pore size is systematically varied by incorporating pore-swelling agent of polystyrene oligomers (hPS) to soft templated mesoporous carbon films fabricated by cooperative assembly of poly(styrene-block-ethylene oxide) (SEO) with phenolic resin. To examine the impact of morphology, different compositions of amphiphilic triblock copolymer templates, poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(propylene oxide)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO), are used to form two-dimensional hexagonal and cubic mesostructures. Lastly, the carbonization temperature provides a handle to tune the hydrophobicity of the film. These mesoporous films are then utilized to understand the uptake and release of a model drug Mitoxantrone dihydrochloride from nanostructured materials. The largest pore size (6nm) mesoporous carbon based on SEO exhibits the largest uptake (3.5μg/cm2); this is attributed to presence of larger internal volume compared to the other two films. In terms of release, a controlled response is observed for all films with the highest release for the 2nm cubic film (1.45 μg/cm2) after 15 days, but this is only 56 % of the drug loaded. Additionally, the surface hydrophobicity impacts the fraction of drug release with a decrease from 78% to 43%, as the films become more hydrophobic when carbonized at higher temperatures. This work provides a model system to understand how pore morphology, size and chemistry influence the drug loading and release for potential implant applications. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Chemical Engineering 2011

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Taylor J. Sievers, for the Master of Science degree in Plant, Soil, and Agricultural Systems, presented on May 13, 2016, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: COVER CROP CHARACTERISITICS AND IMPACTS ON AGRONOMIC SYSTEMS IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Rachel L. Cook Midwestern farmers face the dual challenge of increasing crop production while reducing environmental impacts. Best management practices to decrease nutrient and soil loss in agronomic systems has fueled the resurgence of the cover cropping practice, but many growers are uncertain about the effects that different cover crop species may have in their fields or how combinations of tillage and cover crops may influence yields or soil characteristics. Different cover crop characteristics, such as above and belowground biomass production, nitrogen content, and decomposition may affect both soils and crop yields. Field experiments were conducted across two sites in southern Illinois from 2013 to 2015 to study characteristics of cover crops and the impact of cover crops and tillage on soils, nutrient availability, and agronomic field crop performance. Specifically, these studies 1) determine the effects of cover crops on soil nitrogen, 2) quantify above and belowground biomass production of cover crops, 3) quantify the grain yield and belowground biomass of the following crops of corn (Zea mays L.) and soybeans (Glycine max L. Merr.), and 4) evaluate cover crop decomposition and nutrient release of a leguminous and non-leguminous species. In both field sites, Hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) treatments produced the most biomass and accumulated the most nitrogen of all cover crop treatments. Cover crop establishment was a problem for the 2014−2015 field season. Cover crops, for the most part, did not have an influence on corn or soybean grain yields, except that corn following Hairy vetch treatments tended to be higher in grain yields than corn following Annual ryegrass treatments. Soybeans following Annual ryegrass treatments tended to be higher in grain yield than soybeans following Canola treatments. Root biomass production was higher for cover cropped plots than non-cover cropped plots (weed root biomass), and corn or soybean root biomass was more affected by tillage practices rather than the main effect of cover crop. Tilled treatments were typically higher in soil nitrate and total inorganic nitrogen compared to No-till treatments, and Annual ryegrass treatments were consistently lower in soil nitrogen compared to other cover crop treatments. Hairy vetch and cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) decomposition and nutrient release was monitored over a 16 week period, with litterbag and intact root core collections at 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 16 weeks. Decomposition and nitrogen release data were fit to a single exponential decay model with an asymptote. Cereal rye aboveground (k = 0.14) and belowground (k = 0.19) biomass decomposed more gradually compared to hairy vetch aboveground (k = 0.45) and belowground (k = 0.68) biomass. The same trend developed for nitrogen release with cereal rye aboveground (k = 0.07) and belowground (k = 0.19) biomass releasing nitrogen slower and more gradually compared to hairy vetch aboveground (k = 0.61) and belowground (k = 0.61) biomass. Most of the hairy vetch nitrogen was released around Week 2, but the corn crop did not reach the V6 growth stage until Week 8, therefore cover crop nitrogen release and cash crop uptake may have not been synchronized. Plant Root Simulator™ ion exchange resin membrane probes also captured significantly more nitrogen in hairy vetch plots compared to cereal rye plots at weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12, which indicates that hairy vetch could increase the readily plant available total nitrogen (nitrate + ammonium) in the soil throughout the bulk of cover crop decomposition. Farmers should decrease the time between cover crop termination and cash crop planting in order to increase the likelihood of crop synchrony. This research will help farmers develop better management practices regarding inclusion of cover crops into traditional agronomic production systems.

In recent years, self-myofascial release has gained popularity as a post-exercise therapeutic technique in regards to alleviating pain or muscle soreness. New developments have led many researchers and practitioners to examine self-myofascial release, in the form of foam rolling, pre-exercise. The effects of foam rolling, in combination with a dynamic warm-up, is not quite understood. Minimal research has been published on this topic. To date, there has been one article that examines how a dynamic warm-up and foam rolling can improve performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine if an acute bout of foam rolling in the form of self-myofascial release in addition to a dynamic warm-up could improve performance. Fourteen active male and female participants (N = 14; age: 20.931.44; height: 68.043.21, weight: 80.0922.82, BMI: 26.47 5.89) with no prior experience foam rolling volunteered to engage in this counterbalanced, within-subjects design. Participants engaged in experimental condition groups: a general warm-up (GW) group, a dynamic warm-up (DYN) group, and a foam rolling (FM) group. Following each condition, participants performed a series of performance tests. One-way repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to compare the effect of the independent variable (group: general warm-up, dynamic warm-up, and foam rolling group) on the dependent variable (scores: flexibility, vertical jump, standing long jump, and sprint scores) to determine if significant differences exist. When the omnibus F-test statistic was significant, pairwise comparisons using Sidak comparisons were performed. The data indicated that the foam rolling group showed significant differences in flexibility and power (specifically in the standing long jump) when compared to a general or dynamic warm-up. Furthermore, no significant differences were found in the vertical jump or the speed test among the three groups. The results suggest that total-body foam rolling session may be valuable for improvements in certain aspects of performance. Implications from this study suggest foam rolling can be used before a workout routine.

NOGUEIRA, Carlos Antônio Ferreira. Política e Sindicalismo Rural: considerações sobre ajudas, liberação de voto, tempo e trocas de apoio na Terra Onde os Pássaros Cantam. 2016. 131f. – Dissertação (Mestrado) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Programa de Pós-graduação em Sociologia, Fortaleza (CE), 2016. / Submitted by Márcia Araújo (marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-04-25T13:08:49Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2016_dis_cafnogueira.pdf: 1449785 bytes, checksum: 530b069748235a920a1c9bec7ad365f4 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Márcia Araújo (marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-04-26T14:50:43Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2016_dis_cafnogueira.pdf: 1449785 bytes, checksum: 530b069748235a920a1c9bec7ad365f4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T14:50:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2016_dis_cafnogueira.pdf: 1449785 bytes, checksum: 530b069748235a920a1c9bec7ad365f4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016 / This paper tried to analyze the representations, perceptions and definitions about the political and rural union practices in a small town in the state of Ceará, Aracoiaba. I developed the research from taking some native categories used to classify the relationship between politicians, voters, union members and associates. I performed this work under the native researcher condition, looking also discuss this, since I find myself, somehow implicated in the midst of local relations. In the survey, I could see a place permeated times, both in politics and in the union, which are often associated with activities marking certain practices. Also I tried to map the places moral and analyze reputations as a way to introduce the municipality, but also to show the interrelationship between rural and urban. Finally, I tried to make analyzes of the notions of "help" and "free to vote." I realized that they help to understand the politics and trade unionism beyond the classical conception of patronage, which also brings with it a normative dimension, does not capture the meanings present around certain practices, relationships and exchanges of political and union support that happen in different "times", showing the complexity that permeates the adhesions and the possibility of unification of the vote in political groups. / Neste trabalho procurei analisar as representações, as percepções e as definições acerca das práticas de políticos e de sindicalistas rurais em um pequeno município do interior do Estado do Ceará, Aracoiaba. Desenvolvi a pesquisa a partir do exame de algumas categorias nativas utilizadas para classificar as relações entre políticos, eleitores, sindicalistas e associados. Realizei este trabalho sob a condição de pesquisador nativo, procurando também discutir essa situação, uma vez que me encontro, de algum modo, implicado em meio às relações locais. Na pesquisa, pude perceber um lugar permeado de tempos, tanto na política como no sindicato, que são frequentemente associados a atividades, marcando certas práticas. Também procurei mapear os lugares morais e analisar reputações como forma de apresentar o município, mas também para mostrar a inter-relação entre o rural e o urbano. Por fim, busquei realizar análises sobre as noções de “ajuda” e “liberado para votar”. Pude perceber que elas ajudam a compreender a política e o sindicalismo para além da concepção clássica do clientelismo, que além de trazer consigo uma dimensão normativa, não capta os significados presentes em torno de certas práticas, relações e trocas de apoio político-sindicais que acontecem em diferentes “tempos”, mostrando a complexidade que permeia as adesões e a possibilidade de unificação do voto nos grupos políticos.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:37:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:09:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 04785.pdf: 3458454 bytes, checksum: 560fdc27a291126a48fceeb5a4a5137a (MD5) / Dissertacao (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN/CNEN-SP

Submitted by Fabio Sobreira Campos da Costa (fabio.sobreira@ufpe.br) on 2017-03-02T16:09:36Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) DISSERTAÇÃO PARA DEPÓSITO_AMANDA DAMASCENO LEÃO.pdf: 4254308 bytes, checksum: 37ca5d3f981b6ef7d24669240e08a3cc (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-02T16:09:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) DISSERTAÇÃO PARA DEPÓSITO_AMANDA DAMASCENO LEÃO.pdf: 4254308 bytes, checksum: 37ca5d3f981b6ef7d24669240e08a3cc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-03 / CNPq / Hidróxidos duplos lamelares são materiais inorgânicos, estruturados bidimensionalmente, dotados de carga elétrica e com capacidade de interagir e carrear moléculas orgânicas. Proporcionam aumento de solubilidade, estabilidade e alteração na liberação da molécula intercalada ou adsorvida. A presente dissertação objetivou o aumento da taxa de dissolução aquosa do hipoglicemiante glibenclamida utilizada no tratamento do diabetes mellitus tipo II, para tanto realizou-se a adsorção do fármaco em HDLs do tipo Mg2Al(OH)8(Cl).nH2O e Zn2Al(OH)8(Cl).nH2O. Os sistemas foram obtidos através de síntese por co-precipitação e caracterizados pelas técnicas: análise elementar; difratometria de raios X; espectroscopia na região do infravermelho (FTIR), microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV) e calorimetria exploratória diferencial (TGA-DSC) acoplada à espectrometria de massa (MS). O percentual de glibenclamida nos sistemas segundo a análise elementar foi de 25,23% para Mg2Al(OH)8(Cl).nH2O e de 26,85% para Zn2Al(OH)8(Cl).nH2O, observou-se retardamento de 130°C na decomposição do fármaco em Zn2Al(OH)8(Cl).nH2O e alteração na estrutura cristalina em ambos os sistemas. Para a avaliação das alterações do perfil de dissolução, os sistemas foram submetidos ao teste de dissolução usando meio ácido com pH 1,2 e meio básico com pH 7,3, no qual, foi observado o aumento de 500% na taxa de dissolução da glibenclamida no HDL Mg2Al(OH)8(Cl).nH2O e de 300% na taxa de dissolução de Zn2Al(OH)8(Cl).nH2O em meio básico. Assim, pode-se concluir que os novos sistemas obtidos apresentaram aumento significativo da taxa de dissolução da glibenclamida podendo portanto, ser considerados como promissores para aplicações tecnológicas futuras. / HDLs are inorganic materials, two-dimensionally structured, equipped with electric charge and the ability to interact and caries organic molecules. Provide increased solubility, stability and change in the release of the intercalated or adsorbed molecule. This work aimed to increase the aqueous solubility of hypoglycemic glibenclamide, used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus type II, for both held the adsorption of the drug in the HDLs type Mg2Al(OH)8(Cl).nH2O and Zn2Al(OH)8(Cl).nH2O. The systems were obtained through synthesis by co-precipitation and characterized by the techniques: elemental analysis; X-ray diffraction; scanning electron microscopy (SEM); in the infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC-TGA) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS). The loading of the glibenclamide in the systems according to the elemental analysis was 25.23% for Mg2Al(OH)8(Cl).nH2O and 26.85% for Zn2Al(OH)8Cl.nH2O, the retardation was observed 130° C the decomposition of the drug in Zn2Al(OH)8(Cl).nH2O and also to change the crystalline structure of both systems. For the evaluation of the change of the dissolution profile systems were subjected to the dissolution test using pH 1.2 with acidic and basic medium at pH 7.3, which showed an increase of 100% in the solubility of glibenclamide in LDH Mg2Al (OH)8(Cl).nH2O and 60% Zn2Al (OH)8(Cl).nH2O. Thus, one may conclude that the obtained new systems have provided substantial increase of the solubility of glibenclamide and can therefore be considered promising for future technological applications.