published_or_final_version / Computer Science and Information Systems / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Artificial Intelligence Lab, Department of MIS, University of Arizona / Electronic commerce (EC) and software agents are two of the hottest fields of research in information science. As the Internet is rapidly becomes a popular marketplace for consumers and sellers of goods and services, combining these two research areas offers lucrative opportunities both for businesses wishing to conduct transactions over the World Wide Web (WWW) and for developers of tools to facilitate this trend. The focus in this chapter will be on software agents specifically designed for electronic commerce activities. We will briefly describe the history of agent research in general, defining characteristics of agents, and will touch on the different types of agents. Following this introduction we will describe the learning and action mechanisms that make it possible for agents to perform tasks. Finally, we will describe the issues associated with the deployment of electronic commerce agents (ECAs).

This study investigates the Web presence and Web Impact Factor (WIF) for country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) of Middle-Eastern countries, and sub-level domains (SLDs) related to education and academic institutions in these countries. Counts of links to the web sites of Middle-Eastern countries were calculated from the output of Yahoo search engine. In this study, we compute the WIF at two levels: top-level domains, and sub-level domains. The results show that the Middle-Eastern countries, apart from Turkey, Israel and Iran, have a low web presence. On the other hand, their web sites have a low inlink WIF. Specific features of sites may affect a countryâ s Web Impact Factor. For linguistic reasons, Middle-Eastern web sites (Persian, Kurdish, Turkish, Arabic, and Hebrew languages) may not receive and attract the attention that they deserve from the World Wide Web community.

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Marek’s disease virus (MDV), the causative agent of Marek’s disease in chicken, is an important oncogenic avian pathogen which leads to world-wide economic losses in the poultry industry. It targets the chicken's immune system by initially causing a lytic infection in B-lymphocytes in lymphoid organs (spleen, bursa of Fabricius and thymus), followed by a latent infection of T-lymphocytes, which may lead to tumour formation. Despite the presence of well-established vaccination programs against MDV, it is still a major concern for the poultry industry due to the emergence of more virulent strains. As MDV is also considered an excellent model for herpesvirusinduced oncogenicity and immunosuppression, a better understanding of its pathogenesis, including the functional roles of individual MDV proteins, is of both biomedical as well as economical importance. All open reading frames (ORFs) of the CVI988 vaccine strain and the RB1B virulent strain were PCR-amplified from BAC DNA and cloned into the pDONR 207 entry vector by recombinatorial cloning (Gateway® system). Subsequently, all ORFs were subcloned into the yeast-two-hybrid (Y2H) vectors pGBKT7–DEST (bait) and pGADT7-DEST (prey), as well as other expression vectors. The Y2H bait and prey vector clone collections were transformed into the yeast strains AH109 and Y187, respectively. More than 140 ORFs, or ORF fragments, were analysed against each other in a comprehensive Y2H assay. Of > 20.000 interactions tested, 435 positive interactions between 115 ORFs were observed. Several of these interactions have previously been reported in other species of herpesvirus indicating that they may be conserved within the family. A subset of the positive interactions were confirmed using co-immunoprecipitation and LUMIER pull-down assays as a second independent assay. In the second part of the project all MDV proteins were tested for their ability to inhibit the chicken interferon-alpha (chIFN-α)-induced immune response. In functional luciferase reporter assay with a chicken Mx1 promoter containing an interferon stimulated responsive element (ISRE), four MDV-encoded chIFN-α inhibitors were identified, including UL12, UL26, UL50, and Meq, the main MDV oncoprotein. Both isoforms Meq and L-Meq derived from the oncogenic and the non-oncogenic vaccine strain, respectively, similarly inhibited the interferon response in a dose-dependent way, and Meq deletion mutants revealed that the Cterminal, proline-rich transactivating domain is not required for this inhibitory effect. In transient transfection experiments, Meq induced a dose-dependent proteasomal degradation of the chicken interferon regulatory factor 7 (chIRF7), which is required for chIFN-α- induced activation of ISRE. Over-expression of chIRF7 lead to a dosedependent degradation of Meq and its accumulation in the cytoplasm, suggesting that proteasomal degradation of both Meq and chIRF-7 is linked. Consistent with these findings, MDV deletion mutant lacking both copies of the Meq gene was more sensitive to chIFN-α treatment compared to wild-type virus.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 30-November 02, 1995 / Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada / The Internet, as the online worldwide connection of computers has come to be known, has now grown to the point of emergence as a major tool in many applications. It will soon become, if it has not already become, an indispensable source of information and interaction for scientists and business people alike. The use of the Internet's various protocol's, including mail, newsreader, and file transfer, produces a global interconnectedness that is impossible to achieve in any other fashion. It is also important to realize that the Internet is currently doubling in size every year and will continue to grow at an extremely accelerated rate for at least the next five years. It is therefore important to be aware of the various applications made possible by use of the Internet, and of the potential for telemetry related uses.

To dissect the genetic architecture of blood pressure and assess effects on target organ damage, we analyzed 128,272 SNPs from targeted and genome-wide arrays in 201,529 individuals of European ancestry, and genotypes from an additional 140,886 individuals were used for validation. We identified 66 blood pressure-associated loci, of which 17 were new; 15 harbored multiple distinct association signals. The 66 index SNPs were enriched for cis-regulatory elements, particularly in vascular endothelial cells, consistent with a primary role in blood pressure control through modulation of vascular tone across multiple tissues. The 66 index SNPs combined in a risk score showed comparable effects in 64,421 individuals of non-European descent. The 66-SNP blood pressure risk score was significantly associated with target organ damage in multiple tissues but with minor effects in the kidney. Our findings expand current knowledge of blood pressure-related pathways and highlight tissues beyond the classical renal system in blood pressure regulation.

Thesis (M.S.)--Washington State University, December 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 66-69).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2008. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 150-157). Also available on the World Wide Web.