High-resolution lattice periodicity images of a variety of well-defined surfaces, including graphite, mica, and Au(111), validated the good stability of our atomic force microscope (AFM) system. Combining self-assembled monolayer (SAM) and AFM technology, we demonstrated the capabilities of pattern fabrication as well as modification of surface functionality. AFM-based nanolithography operating conditions, such as scan rate, deflection setpoint, and number of scan were studied to obtain the optimized quality of the fabricated patterns. Thiolated-DNA probe molecules could be patterned at a nanometer scale on a gold substrate. However, we found that the surface coverage began to drop notably with the probe length (number of DNA bases). Therefore, the displaced DNA molecules during nanoshaving were reversibly adsorbed, and patterning became unreliable. We were unsuccessful in detecting the subsequent hybridization reactions at these nanopatterns from AFM measurements. To realize the DNA hybridization, further studies on the incubation temperature, probe length and even DNA sequences are required to demonstrate that this AFM-based gene diagnostic method is truly operational.

Since the discovery of cuprate superconductors, PrBa2Cu3O7 (Pr123) has attracted much attention due to its nonsuperconductivity and other anomalies. The very recent reports on superconducting Pr123 instead of putting an end of this issue, virtually stimulate more controversies. One of the proposed explanations for the recently observed superconductivity in Pr123 is that the samples could be Ba-rich Pr123 to investigate this possibility, we prepared Pr1-xBa2+xCu3O7 (x=1~0.3) and Pr1-xCaxBa2Cu3O7 (x=0~0.6) as comparison. X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) indicates an increase in carrier concentration with Ba and Ca doping, which is consistent with resistivity and thermoelectric power(TEP) data. However, carriers are introduced in a peculiar why rather than simply add into CuO2 plane.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 168-176). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Canterbury, 2009. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-77) and index. Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 122-137).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 168-176). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D)--Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010. / Committee Chair: Griffin, Paul; Committee Member: Butera, Robert; Committee Member: Halpern, Michael; Committee Member: Nichols, Richard; Committee Member: Vidakovic, Brani. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

Behavioral isolation is an important barrier to gene flow, contributing to the formation and maintenance of animal species. Nevertheless, hybridization occurs more commonly than is generally recognized, occurring in over ten percent of animal species in the wild. Although the genetic consequences of hybridization are of considerable interest given their evolutionary implications, the reasons that animals choose to mate with other species are less clear. I apply mate choice theory to the question of hybridization, using wood warblers (family Parulidae) and swordtail fishes (genus Xiphophorus) as study systems. Over half of the 45 species of North American wood warbler have produced hybrids. Using comparative methods, I address the questions: Do ecological and demographic factors predict hybridization in this family? Similarly, how do phylogeny, song similarity, and sympatry with congeners correlate with hybridization? As with North American wood warblers, behavioral isolation is also considered of primary importance in isolating sympatric species of swordtail fishes. Two species, X. birchmanni and X. malinche, hybridize in several locations in the wild. Through experimentation with these and other Xiphophorus species, I investigate some of the factors that cause female mate choice to vary, possibly contributing to hybridization. Specifically, I address the following questions: Do females become less choosy when predation risk is high, or encounter rates with conspecifics are low? Are female preferences for conspecifics innate, or can they be modified by experience? And, do female preferences for conspecifics vary among species, populations, or experiments? These studies illustrate the utility of treating hybridization as just another possible outcome of variation in mate choice. I find that warbler hybridization correlates with ecological and other variables, that female swordtails become more responsive to heterospecifics when mate choice is costly, and that female preferences for conspecifics are species- and context-dependent. As animal hybridization can have important evolutionary consequences, studying the factors that contribute to this variation can enhance our understanding of the evolutionary process. / text

published_or_final_version / Surgery / Master / Master of Philosophy

One of the important contributions genetic studies have made to conservation is the ability to resolve taxonomy and define relationships among populations. However, this can be complicated when species exhibit hybridization. Hybridization can be an important part of the evolutionary process and a critical component in a species ability to adapt to a changing environment. Most hybrid zones are observed at ecotones between two distinct habitats and this may be important in defining the role of hybrid zones in the evolutionary process. I examined hybridization among the three distinct lineages of desert tortoises in the genus Gopherus. An important aspect of this study system is the presence of areas of overlap between divergent lineages of desert tortoise which allowed me to test hypotheses about which forces influence these taxonomic boundaries. Specifically, I tested hypotheses about the contribution of physical vs. ecological segregation and the relative importance of isolation and gene flow in the formation of these disparate desert tortoise lineages. I used mtDNA sequence data and 25 microsatellite loci to perform Bayesian clustering, clinal analyses and habitat suitability modeling to infer population structure and influence of landscape features at each contact zone. In both instances, I observed ecological niche partitioning and limited hybridization at ecotones. I then used mtDNA and four nDNA loci to perform a multi-locus phylogenetic analysis to estimate the species tree among desert tortoise lineages and tested for ancestral admixture with RNA-seq data using demographic inference employed in the software package ∂a∂i. My results validate taxonomic distinction among all three lineages without evidence of ancestral introgression. These data suggest that despite the presence of contemporary hybridization and incomplete reproductive isolation, divergence among these lineages is consistent with species-level differentiation. By clarifying the evolutionary processes that influence the distribution of desert tortoise lineages, this study will directly inform efforts to preserve the evolutionary potential of these threatened species. Ultimately, understanding the evolutionary history of desert tortoises not only clarifies the forces that have driven speciation in this group, but it also contributes to our knowledge of the biogeographic history of the southwestern deserts and how diversity is maintained within them.