Thesis (Ph. D.)--California Institute of Technology, 1973. UM #73-07,291. / Advisor names found in the Acknowledgments pages of the thesis. Title from home page. Viewed 01/19/2010. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Committee on Medical Physics, December 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Queensland, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--M. Phil., University of Hong Kong, 1975.

Thesis--M. Phil., University of Hong Kong, 1977.

Thesis--Ph. D., University of Hong Kong, 1977.

Thesis--M.D., University of Hong Kong, 1983. / Vol. 2: Appendix.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--California Institute of Technology, 1982. UM #82-08,712. / Advisor names found in the Acknowledgments pages of the thesis. Title from home page. Viewed 02/18/2010. Includes bibliographical references.

Spintronics is an emerging technology that arises from the interplay between spin of the charge carrier and the magnetic property of the materials. The miniaturization of spintronic devices requires a deep understanding of ferromagnetic materials at the nanometer scale. This thesis studies the properties of ferromagnetic particles (2-5nm in diameter) using electron transport measurements. A technique to fabricate nanoparticle devices and incorporate microwave in the electron tunneling measurement of the particles is presented. Repeated microwave pulses can directly excite the magnetization of the particles without heating the electrons. Results of the transport measurements on Co particles will be discussed, which demonstrate that electron tunneling through a ferromagnetic particle can induce magnetization excitations in that particle. A physical model regarding the mesoscopic fluctuations is presented to address the current driven magnetization noise. Numerical simulations based on that model are performed to explain the experimental data and validate the model. Electron transport measurements on Ni, Fe, and Ni??Fe?? are conducted. The hysteretic behaviors of the particles in presence of electron tunneling have strong material dependence, which is mainly due to the magnetic shape anisotropy. Electron tunneling is a main source of magnetization noise, while other sources still need to be identified. Some data we collected from literature will be included in this thesis as an appendix.

Dengue is the most common mosquito-borne human disease, leading to 2.5 billion people at risk, 50-100 millions infections each year worldwide and among them, 500 000 severe dengue cases (dengue hemorrhagic fever, DHF/ dengue shock syndrome, DSS) plus more than 20 000 deaths. It can be caused by any of four dengue virus serotypes, which are antigenicly distinct and belong to the Flaviviridae family, genus Flavivirus. However, up till now there is no specific drug and vaccine against dengue. Understanding mechanisms developed by dengue virus to exploit host cells during all stages of the replication cycle is a first step towards the rationale design of anti-viral strategies. Very little is known about the late stages, which consist of assembly, budding and secretion of the virus. It is therefore very important to develop tools in order to study the egress of the virus. In this study, I investigated a stable cell line named Hela-prME that expresses serotype 1 dengue virus (DENV-1) prM and E native structural envelope proteins and constitutively produces dengue recombinant subviral particles (RSPs). Biochemical characterization of DENV-1 RSPs has validated that this cell line is a potential tool to study the dengue viral late-stage. Indeed, the maturation process observed with RSPs is similar to the pathway described for real virus (cleavage of prM fragment, homodimerization of E, acquisition of complex sugars). To better understand and depict the dengue virus late-stage secretion, I combined various electron microscopy (EM) techniques e.g. classical transmission electron microscopy (TEM), negative staining, immunogold labeling on cryo-ultrathin sections (Tokuyashu method) and tomography (ET) with such RSPs tool. The EM results obtained illustrate that electron dense particles and tubules labeled by antibodies directed against E and prM proteins were abundantly found in the lumen of endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-related cisternae of HeLa prME cells. Epositive particles were also found in other structures such as Golgi stacks and vesicles nearby as well as in aggregates with electron dense materials inside and surrounded by membrane. These particles are most likely corresponding to DENV-1 RSPs whereas the tubules may be other structures induced by assembly of prM and E proteins. This study has clearly shown that DENV-1 RSPs assemble in the ER and transport through the secretory pathway before being released. This work further validates the use of dengue RSPs and RSPs-producing cells as a model to study viral egress. / published_or_final_version / Pathology / Master / Master of Philosophy