No description available.

The strength development of young masonry mortar and prism is studied through measuring the electrical properties of hydrating mortar by using TWIN-tape capacitance sensor. The dielectric properties over the frequency range of 10 kHz to10 MHz varies during hydration of mortar, providing a means for monitoring the strength development. This investigation confirms that the lower frequencies (less than 100 kHz) are very efficient in monitoring hydration of mortar. In addition, wireless sensing electronics is employed to monitor the strength gain process of young masonry prisms. Moreover, the freezing and thawing temperatures of masonry mortar and prism are identified by using three different techniques. Furthermore, the strength gain process of mortar is investigated at cold ambient temperatures, i.e. ambient temperature below 5ºC, by using dielectric measurements. This investigation reveals that the mortar gains strength at temperatures as low as 0ºC, whereas it partially freezes at -1º c and completely freezes at -2ºC.

No description available.

No description available.

The objective of this creative project was to create a series of cast bronze sculptures that would provide a ground for the exploration of metal patination, a chemical coloration of a metal surface. These bronzes were created using a ceramic shell investment mold and lost-wax cast in the Department of Art foundry facilities. Some of the pieces were cast in parts and either welded together or cold connected by drilling and pinning. Using recipes for hot and cold patinas, chemicals were applied to the bronze surface using a variety of application techniques, resulting in a subtle variation of warm and cool, transparent and opaque colors and tones. / Department of Art

This creative project includes five chapters of an original novel, sufficiently polished for submission to a publisher, plus a plot summary and a specific plan for marketing the novel. The novel was written in. a style utilizing the detailed and factual approach called "the new journalism." Though the story is entirely fictional, the writer employed the "saturation research" that is characteristic of the new journalism to make the story both realistic and plausible.The plan for marketing the novel explored various avenues of approach and proposed a specific plan for, first, getting an agent, and if that fails, finding a publisher. It outlined a philosophical approach to the problem that is based partly on information found in Writer's Market and other books on publishing, partly on the writer's professional experience and partly on advice she obtained from people she knew through her work in New York City. It dealt particularly withproblems a first-time novelist is likely to encounter.

The artist's imagery mainly consists of carrousel horses and reptiles. The only thing that relates the images of the reptiles and the carrousel horses in the artist's work is the fact that she finds both images fascinating and intriguing, but at the same time, finds both of these images some what repulsive and frightening. As a child, the artist developed a fascination for carrousel horses and reptiles. At this time these images mainly inspired feelings of fear in the artist. In the artist's opinion, carrousel horses seem to be frantic and frenzied. The artist feels that this aspect of carrousel horses makes them an image with expressive possibilities and she attempts to capture feelings of fear, curiosity and fascination in her prints. The artist is amazed at the variety of colors and textures found on reptiles. She finds them interesting images because although most reptiles are menacing creatures, they are also beautiful and exotic. The artist feels that this aspect of the reptile makes it an intriguing subject matter to work with.Intaglio is a form of printmaking in which a metal plate, traditionally copper or zinc, is manipulated by certain techniques such as: line etch (where a dry-point needle is used to scratch the surface of the plate onto which hard ground [an acid resistant, waxy substance] has been applied and the plate is etched in acid to incise the lines and form a line drawing); and aquatint (a technique to achieve a wide range of tones in an intaglio print). Aquatint has an appearance similar to that of a water color wash. To create the aquatint tonal areas, powdered rosin is sprinkled evenly over the plate and the plate is then heated until the rosin melts and adheres to the plate. The areas that are to remain white are covered with a hard ground "block out." The plate is etched in acid for a period of time to be determined by the artist and is then taken out and rinsed with water to stop the acid from etching the plate any further. This process is repeated until a desired range of tones are created. Another technique usually used is a hybrid combination of burnishing and scraping using a burnisher or scraper. A burnisher and a scraper are patented tools that are used to polish (burnish) and scrape (that is, cut/remove metal from the plate) the surface of the plate to create highlights, lighten an area, or to totally erase an incised area of the plate. Embossing is another form of intaglio printmaking in which three layers of illustration board are cut to form a positive image on a piece of dampened arches paper that is pressed into the carved image by means of a printing press. The deeper the embossment, the more elevated the image will be on the paper. Pressing the paper down into the layers of illustration board forms an embossed image. No ink is used to create the image. Thus, this form of intaglio printmaking is known as "blind" printing, that is printing without ink.In the artist's work, all of the intaglio techniques discussed are used in combination with each other on the same plate to create a rich image. Researching different techniques has allowed the artist to have a better understanding and appreciation for the intaglio prints of historically renowned artists, who were printmakers before the artist. / Department of Art

This project involved making a series of woodcut and intaglio prints based on Muncie's urban landscape. The idea of a generic specific - a place unique to one area yet readily recognized across the industrialized world as familiar - is introduced and explored. In addition the idea of impermanence and flux is discussed in terms of how the time that I am living in now has its own unique features that will be obsolete, ruins, or altogether forgotten in the next fifty to seventy-five years. The work also explores the aesthetic merits of buildings like gas stations and vehicles - objects that are generally unconsidered in that way. In completing this series a historical documentation of this period of time was created, valuable to both those living now and those to come. / Department of Art

No description available.

<p>The classical approach to gene discovery has been to culture micro-organisms demonstrating a specific enzyme activity and then to recover the gene of interest through shotgun cloning. The realization that these standard microbiological methods provide limited access to the true microbial biodiversity and therefore the available microbial genetic diversity (collectively termed the Metagenome) has resulted in the development of environmental nucleic acid extraction technologies designed to access this wealth of genetic information, thereby avoiding the limitations of culture dependent genetic exploitation. In this work several gene discovery technologies was employed in an attempt to recover novel bacterial laccase genes (EC 1.10.3.2), a group of enzymes in which considerable biotechnological interest has been expressed. Metagenomic DNA extracted from two organic rich environmental samples was used as the source material for the construction of two genomic DNA libraries. The small insert plasmid based library derived from compost DNA consisted of approximately 106 clones at an average insert size of 2.7Kbp, equivalent to 2.6 Gbp of cloned environmental DNA. A Fosmid based large insert library derived from grape waste DNA consisted of approximately 44000 cfu at an average insert size of 25Kbp (1.1 Gbp cloned DNA). Both libraries were screened for laccase activity but failed to produce novel laccase genes. As an alternative approach, a multicopper oxidase specific PCR detection assay was developed using a laccase positive Streptomyces strain as a model organism. The newly designed primers were used to detect the presence of bacterial multicopper oxidases in environmental samples. This resulted in the identification of nine novel gene fragments showing identity ranging from 37 to 94% to published putative bacterial multicopper oxidase gene sequences. Three clones pMCO6, pMCO8 and pMCO9 were significantly smaller than those typically reported for bacterial laccases and were assigned to a recently described clade of Streptomyces bacterial multicopper oxidases.</p> <p><br /> Two PCR based techniques were employed to attempt the recovery of flanking regions for two of these genes (pMCO7 and pMCO8). The use of TAIL-PCR resulted in the recovery of 90% of the pMCO7 ORF. As an alternative approach the Vectorette&trade / system was employed to recover the 3&rsquo / downstream region of pMCO8. The complexity of the DNA sample proved to be a considerable technical challenge for the implementation of both these techniques. The feasibility of both these approaches were however demonstrated in principle. Finally, in an attempt to expedite the recovery of fulllength copies of these genes a subtractive hybridization magnetic bead capture technique was adapted and employed to recover a full &ndash / length putative multicopper oxidase gene from a Streptomyces strain in a proof of concept experiment. The StrepA06pMCO gene fragment was used as a &lsquo / driver&rsquo / against fragmented Streptomyces genomic DNA (&lsquo / tester&rsquo / ) and resulted in the recovery of a 1215 bp open reading frame. Unexpectedly, this ORF showed only 80% identity to the StrepA06pMCO gene sequence at nucleotide level, and 48% amino acid identity to a putative mco gene derived from a Norcardioides sp JS614.</p>