It is generally believed that the old quantum theory, as presented by Niels Bohr in 1913, fails when applied to many-electron systems, such as molecules, and nonhydrogenic atoms. It is the central theme of this dissertation to display with examples and applications the implementation of a simple and successful extension of Bohr’s planetary model of the hydrogenic atom, which has recently been developed by an atomic and molecular theory group from Texas A&M University. This ”extended” Bohr model, which can be derived from quantum mechanics using the well-known dimentional scaling technique is used to yield potential energy curves of H2 and several more complicated molecules, such as LiH, Li2, BeH, He2 and H3, with accuracies strikingly comparable to those obtained from the more lengthy and rigorous ”ab initio” computations, and the added advantage that it provides a rather insightful and pictorial description of how electrons behave to form chemical bonds, a theme not central to ”ab initio” quantum chemistry. Further investigation directed to CH, and the four-atom system H4 (with both linear and square configurations ), via the interpolated Bohr model, and the constrained Bohr model (with an effective potential), respectively, is reported. The extended model is also used to calculate correlation energies. The model is readily applicable to the study of molecular species in the presence of strong magnetic fields, as is the case in the vicinities of white dwarfs and neutron stars. We find that magnetic field increases the binding energy and decreases the bond length. Finally, an elaborative review of doubly coupled quantum dots for a derivation of the electron exchange energy, a straightforward application of Heitler-London method of quantum molecular chemistry, concludes the dissertation. The highlights of the research are (1) a bridging together of the pre- and post quantum mechanical descriptions of the chemical bond (Bohr-Sommerfeld vs Heisenberg- Schr¨odinger), and (2) the reporting of the appearance of new bound states of H2 in the presence of very strong magnetic fields. The new states emerge above the critical value of 5 × 107 G, and hence cannot be obtained perturbatively.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--York University, 2002. Graduate Programme in Kinesiology and Health Science. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-82). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004 & res_dat=xri:pqdiss & rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation & rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MQ71602.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Pennsylvania, 1961. / Title form home page.(viewed Nov. 20, 2003). Includes bibliographical reference and indexes.

Thesis (Ph. D.) in Chemistry--University of Maine, 2002. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 157-169).

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological cancer. This is mainly due to widespread peritoneal dissemination and malignant ascites, in which angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels, is critical to both ascites development and its metastasis. Loss of E-cadherin is a well-established marker that characterizes the progression of metastatic tumors, including ovarian cancer. The release of a soluble form of E-cadherin (sE-cad) has been frequently associated with a rapid reduction of functional E-cadherin at the cell surface. Importantly, sE-cad is significantly present in ascites from women with stage III/IV ovarian cancer when compared to women with benign ovarian cysts. However, despite the clinical significance, most studies have focused on its role in weakening cell-cell adhesion, whether sE-cad itself has any biological function is not fully understood. Here it is shown for the first time a potent angiogenic role for sE-cad released from ovarian carcinoma. Soluble form of E-cadherin promoted the migration, permeability, and tubulogenesis of endothelial cells. These activities were also observed with a sE-cad/Fc chimera, and targeted inhibition using E-cadherin blocking antibodies completely prevented the sE-cad mediated effects. In addition, it was further revealed that sE-cad could be released from ovarian cancer cells in form of exosomes, a form of extracellular vesicles that play an important role in distant intercellular communication. sE-cad-positive exosomes were able to stimulate the angiogenic phenotype in vitro and functional neovascularization in a Matrigel implant model in vivo. The use of E-cadherin blocking antibodies resulted in diminished angiogenesis, confirming that the effect was sE-cad-positive exosomes specific. In search of the underlying mechanism by which sE-cad-positive exosomes promoted angiogenesis in endothelial cells which lacked E-cadherin, sE-cad was found to heterodimerize with VE-cadherin. This effect was associated with constitutive activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt and its effector β-catenin, but not p120 catenin. Similarly, the angiogenic phenotype could be reversed by inhibition of VE-cadherin, PI3K/Akt and β-catenin. A mass spectrometric proteomic analysis of the isolated exosomes revealed distinct membrane-bound proteases, especially disintegrin and metalloproteinase 10 (ADAM10) and matrix metalloproteinase 25 (MMP25) commonly associated with ovarian cancer progression, are implicated in sE-cad production. Small interfering RNA-mediated down-regulation of ADAM10 and MMP25 significantly inhibited sE-cad production. Moreover, hepatocyte growth factor, a multifaceted cytokine which is frequently elevated in ovarian cancer ascites, was shown to increase the expression of ADAM10 and MMP25 concomitant with an elevated level of sE-cad. Together, these results uncover a novel angiogenic role of sE-cad and a new mechanism of the action of sE-cad in tumor progression. / published_or_final_version / Biological Sciences / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Surgery / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Chemistry / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

No description available.

No description available.

This thesis describes the advances made towards a dual-species magneto-optical trap (MOT) of Li and Rb for use in photoassociation spectroscopy, Feshbach resonance studies, and, as long-term aspirations, the formation of ultracold heteronuclear polar molecules. The initial discussion will focus on a brief theoretical overview of laser cooling and trapping and the production of ultracold molecules from a cold atom source. Subsequently, details of the experimental system, including those pertaining to the required laser light, the vacuum chamber, and the computer control system will be presented. Finally, preliminary optimization and characterization measurements showing the performance of a single species Li MOT are introduced. These measurements demonstrated the loading of over 8 x 107 Li atoms directly into a MOT without the need for a Zeeman slower.