VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Development of Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Thermoelectrics

While greater than 80% of all electricity continues to be generated by heat engines, methods of directly converting heat into electricity will remain appealing. Thermoelectric generators are one technology that is capable of doing this but the low efficiency and high cost has limited their terrestrial deployment. Thermoelectrics are compact, solid state devices, without moving parts that directly convert a temperature difference into a voltage. Developing better thermoelectric materials is challenging and requires that materials be engineered with new transport physics. The interface between organic and inorganic materials is one example where new transport physics manifests. Therefore, it is possible that improvements in thermoelectrics can be made by engineering organic-inorganic hybrid thermoelectric materials./nComposite materials exhibit characteristics of their constituents where hybrid materials possess new properties that are distinctly different from their constituents. At the interface between organic and inorganic materials, hybrid properties manifest. One ideal system to understand this interface is in a metal-molecule-metal junction commonly referred to as a molecular junction. This is often a result of the discrete electronic energy levels of the organic hybridizing with the continuum of electronic states in the inorganic./nHerein, new transport phenomenon is observed in molecular junctions, which have great promise for thermoelectrics. It is observed that the transport property are positively correlated breaking the historic trends to improving thermoelectric efficiency. Towards the goal of higher efficiency thermoelectrics, the fundamental science of interfaces is first investigated in molecular junctions. Guiding principles from these fundamental studies are then applied to engineer a bulk, polymer-based, thermoelectric materials with high efficiency. These improvements are encouraging and motivated a cost analysis to evaluate their current market potential against competing thermoelectric materials. In all, this dissertation marks the progress in developing a new class of hybrid organic-inorganic materials for thermoelectric applications.

Advisor: Segalman, Rachel A
Dames, Chris
Computer Input Devices: Design for Well-Being and Productivity

Objective: Three studies evaluated human computer interaction with alternative keyboard designs, new tablet features, and a 3D gesture-command set for their effects on biomechanics, comfort, and productivity./nBackground: Keyboard key spacing, tablet designs, and the design of hand gestures for human computer interaction have been guided primarily by past practices and design convention because few studies are available that can guide design based on productivity, usability, and biomechanics./nMethod: Experienced typists (N=89, 26 female) typed on keyboards which differed in horizontal and vertical key spacing while productivity, biomechanics, and subjective usability and fatigue were recorded. Thirty subjects (15 female) evaluated tablet design features (e.g., size (weight), orientation, grip shape, texture and stylus shape) on productivity, biomechanics and subjective usability and fatigue when the tablet was held with just the left hand. Thirty subjects (15 female) performed user derived gestures for 34 common computer commands. A gesture set is proposed based on user preference, match, easiness, effort, gesture popularity, and musculoskeletal postural risks./nResults: Reducing horizontal key spacing, from 19 to 17 mm, had no significant effect on productivity or usability ratings but with 16 mm horizontal spacing, the same ratings, muscle activity and postural factors were significantly worse. Reducing vertical key spacing, from 18 to 17 to 16 mm, had no significant effect on productivity or usability, but at 15.5 mm vertical spacing these measures were worse. The study evaluating table design features supported the use of smaller to mid-sized tablets, tablets with a ledge or handle shape on the back and tablets surfaced with a rubberized texture. Larger, heavier tablets had signiﬁcantly worse usability and biomechanics and their use with one hand should be limited. The stylus with a tapered grip (7.5-9.5mm) or larger grip (7.6mm) had better usability and biomechanics than one with a smaller grip (5mm). For the gesture study, 34 different commands were linked to 84 different gestures with a total of 160 gesture-command combinations. A proposed gesture set using 13 gestures for the 34 commands is proposed using the six outcome measures with adjustment by expert opinion./nConclusions: The study findings support key spacing on a computer keyboard from 17 to 19 mm in the horizontal direction and 16 to 19 mm in the vertical direction. Based on short-term tasks emulating functional tablets: smaller and medium sized tablets, portrait instead of landscape orientation, a back grip, and rubberized grip texture improved usability and security from dropping. We present a method for developing a 3D gesture language for common commands for human-computer interaction which considers subjective preference, ease of forming gesture, hand biomechanics and other factors.

Advisor: Rempel, David M
Agogino, Alice M
Exclave: Politics, Ideology, and Everyday Life in Königsberg-Kaliningrad, 1928-1948

"Exclave: Politics, Ideology, and Everyday Life in Königsberg-Kaliningrad, 1928-1948," looks at the history of one city in both Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Soviet Russia, follow- ing the transformation of Königsberg from an East Prussian city into a Nazi German city, its destruction in the war, and its postwar rebirth as the Soviet Russian city of Kaliningrad. The city is peculiar in the history of Europe as a double exclave, first separated from Germany by the Polish Corridor, later separated from the mainland of Soviet Russia. The dissertation analyzes the ways in which each regime tried to transform the city and its inhabitants, focusing on Nazi and Soviet attempts to reconfigure urban space (the physical and symbolic landscape of the city, its public areas, markets, streets, and buildings); refashion the body (through work, leisure, nutrition, and healthcare); and reconstitute the mind (through various forms of education and propaganda). Between these two urban revolutions, it tells the story of the violent encounter between them in the spring of 1945: one of the largest offen- sives of the Second World War, one of the greatest civilian exoduses in human history, and one of the most violent encounters between the Soviet army and a civilian population./nThis dissertation argues that the postwar socialist revolution in Kaliningrad began as a reenactment of the Russian Revolution of 1917, but the encounter with Germans in Kaliningrad changed both the goals and the outcome of that revolution: the Soviets annexed Königsberg to replace the ethnic exclusivity of fascism with the internationalist ideology of socialism, but in the end, they erected Kaliningrad as a Russian national homeland, complete with a Slavic myth of origin and ethnic requirements for membership.

Advisor: Slezkine, Yuri
Supramolecular Assembly of Polymers, Organic Semiconductors, and Nanoparticles

This dissertation focuses on the supramolecular self-assembly of organic semiconductor small molecules (SMs), polymers, and inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) for potential applications in solution processable optical, electronic, and stimuli-responsive devices. Highly crystalline, functional SMs have a number of desirable optical and electronic properties, but their strong tendency to aggregate makes it challenging to solution process them and optimize their morphology and macroscopic alignment in thin films. Block copolymers (BCPs) are readily solution processable and assemble into well-defined, nanoscopic arrays, desirable for a number of device applications. BCP-based supramolecules can be constructed by attaching functional SMs through secondary interactions, such as hydrogen bonding, to one or more blocks of a BCP. By this method, the advantages of these two materials can potentially be combined. However, the assembly of supramolecules based on highly crystalline SMs is less straightforward and has been less thoroughly investigated compared to their non-functional counterparts./nMacroscopically aligned, nanoscopic assemblies of organic semiconductors were achieved without hindering the electronic properties of the semiconductor by constructing organic semiconductor-based supramolecules. In bulk and thin films, a number of potentially useful morphologies for optical and electronic devices were formed by tuning the annealing conditions. The high degree of crystallinity of the SM was also found to greatly increase the BCP periodicity of the supramolecule and enhanced its thermally-responsive properties compared to supramolecules based on less crystalline SMs./nThis led to an investigation of supramolecules based on two different families of SMs, where the composition of the crystalline core, the location (side- vs. end-functionalization) of the alkyl solubilizing groups, and the constitution (branched vs. linear) of the alkyl groups were varied. The crystallinity and packing of the SMs were identified as key parameters governing the overall assembly and packing of the supramolecules./nSupramolecules based on non-functional SMs have also been utilized as a template to direct the assembly of inorganic NPs through favorable interactions between the SMs and the NP ligands. Using organic semiconductor-based supramolecules as the template, the effects of the SM phase behavior as well as the NP size and loading rate on the assembly of supramolecular nanocomposites were investigated. While the assembly of these nanocomposites based on highly crystalline SMs was found to be distinct from both supramolecular nanocomposites based on less crystalline SMs and supramolecules based on highly crystalline SMs without NPs, nanostructured arrays of organic and inorganic semiconductors were obtained. These studies present a versatile method for the coassembly of polymers, highly crystalline functional SMs, and NPs for the fabrication of optical, electronic, and stimuli-responsive devices.

Advisor: Xu, Ting
Peptide Repertoire Changes Caused by Defects in Antigen Processing

Peptide Repertoire Changes Caused by Defects in Antigen Processing/nBy/nKristin Camfield Lind/nDoctor of Philosophy in Molecular and Cell Biology/nUniversity of California, Berkeley/nProfessor Nilabh Shastri, Chair/nMHC I molecules display peptides derived from intracellular proteins on the cell surface for recognition by CD8+ T cells. Presentation of these peptide:MHC I complexes (pMHC I) is important for elimination of viruses and transformed cells. In order to generate an effective CD8 T cell response, a high-quality set of pMHC I must be presented. However, the editing mechanisms that select these optimal pMHC I are not clear. In these studies, we used biochemical and immunological methods to examine the role of two ER-resident pMHC I editors, tapasin and ERAAP in shaping the pMHC I repertoire./nAnalysis of tapasin-deficient mice revealed a qualitative loss as well as gain of some pMHC I. However, these changes did not overlap with the ERAAP-unedited pMHC I repertoire, indicating that tapasin edits peptides in a distinct way. Sequencing of peptides unique to tapasin-deficient cells revealed altered C-termini, suggesting that tapasin determines the peptide C-terminus while ERAAP shapes the peptide N-terminus./nWe separately examined the allele-specific effects of ERAAP-deficiency on the H-2d pMHC I repertoire. In addition to Kd and Dd, these mice express Ld, an MHC I molecule which is particularly affected by loss of ERAAP. We found that ERAAP-deficiency has distinct effects on the peptide repertoire presented by each MHC I molecule. Analysis of the peptide sequences revealed unique peptides bound to all three MHC I, although long, structurally unique peptides were only found on Dd and Kd. Furthermore, using a T cell hybridoma specific for loss of ERAAP function, we identified and characterized an ERAAP-unedited peptide presented by Dd. Together, these findings highlight the importance of both tapasin and ERAAP in determining an optimal pMHC I repertoire.

Advisor: Shastri, Nilabh
Sensitivity Analysis of Stochastic Simulators with Information Theory

The increased computational power available today has made the use of computer models or simulators common in many fields. While there is a widely adopted set of tools for the analysis of simulators, there are still many unsolved problems when dealing with these models. Specifically, the traditional methods for sensitivity analysis of deterministic computer models, based on functional ANOVA decompositions, do not generalize well to simulators with stochastic or nondeterministic output. This paper presents a methodological solution for conducting sensitivity analysis on computer models with stochastic output through the use of information theory and Bayesian density regression. The presented method is applied to the inputs of a near-fault ground motion stochastic simulator of Dabaghi et. al (2011).

Advisor: Kaufman, Cari G
Innovative Testing Strategies for the Diagnosis of Syphilis

Traditional serological syphilis testing in the US currently includes screening with a nontreponemal assay that detects antibodies to lipoidal material released into the blood from host cells damaged by Treponema pallidum as well as lipids on the surface of nonspecific treponemes itself. Reactive nontreponemal tests are subsequently confirmed with a test that detects antibody specific for T. pallidum (termed "treponemal"). It has been suggested that this traditional serological algorithm could be reversed so that screening begins with a treponemal test, such as an enzyme immunoassay (EIA), and if reactive, infection would be confirmed with a nontreponemal test. In cases of discordance between the screening treponemal test and the confirmatory non-treponemal test, the CDC suggests that a second treponemal test (such as a TPPA) could be utilized to serve as a supplemental test./nThe reverse sequence testing algorithm offers several advantages over the traditional algorithm for laboratories. Screening with an immunoassay (IA) (1) allows for the use of automation, thus potentially increasing laboratory efficiency; (2) provides objective instead of subjective results; (3) reduces the amount of manual manipulation that is involved with nontreponemal assays. However, the algorithm is not without issues. Perhaps greatest amongst them is that such tests will be reactive in cases where the patient has previously been treated for syphilis. This may be particularly problematic in a setting with a high prevalence of syphilis where many patients being tested may have had a previous case of the disease./nThis dissertation is formatted as three individual, self-contained reports of research investigations with an overall introduction and conclusion. Chapter 2 reports on the performance of a reverse sequence algorithm in San Francisco and shows that this algorithm would cause a large amount of additional work for the laboratory. Chapter 3 describes a reduction in the number of supplemental treponemal tests that needs to be run if EIA signal-to-cutoff ratios were considered as part of the algorithm. Chapter 4 describes how a rapid syphilis test could potentially replace the TPPA as the second supplemental test in the reverse sequence algorithm, thus decreasing the turnaround time to report positive syphilis results.

Advisor: Sensabaugh, George
Buehring, Gertrude
Optical Whispering-Gallery Mode Resonators for Applications in Optical Communication and Frequency Control

High quality factor (Q) optical whispering gallery mode resonators are a key component in many on-chip optical systems, such as delay lines, modulators, and add-drop filters. They are also a convenient, compact structure for studying optomechanical interactions on-chip. In all these applications, optical Q is an important factor for high performance. For optomechanical reference oscillators in particular, high mechanical Q is also necessary. Previously, optical microresonators have been made in a wide variety of materials, but it has proven challenging to demonstrate high optical Q and high mechanical Q in a single, integrated device. This work demonstrates a new technique for achieving high optical Q on chip, a fully-integrated tunable filter with ultra-narrow minimum bandwidth, and the effect of material choice and device design on optical Q, mechanical Q and phase noise in microring optomechanical oscillators./nTo achieve a high optical Q, phosphosilicate glass (PSG) is studied as a resonator material. The low melting point of PSG enables wafer-scale reflow, which reduces sidewall roughness without significantly changing lithographically-defined dimensions. With this process, optical Qs up to 1.5 x 10^7 are achieved, over ten times higher than typical silicon optical resonators./nThese high-Q PSG resonators are then integrated with MEMS-actuated waveguides in a tunable-bandwidth filter. Due to the high Q of the PSG resonator, this device has a best-to-date minimum bandwidth of 0.8 GHz, with a tuning range of 0.8 to 8.5GHz./nFinally, microring optomechanical oscillators (OMOs) in PSG, stoichiometric silicon nitride, and silicon are fabricated, and their performance is compared after characterization via a tapered optical fiber in vacuum. The silicon nitride device has the best performance, with a mechanical Q of more than 1 x 10^4 and record-breaking OMO phase noise of -102 dBc/Hz at a 1 kHz offset from a 72 MHz carrier.

Advisor: Wu, Ming C
Clinging to their Guns? The New Politics of Gun Carry in Everyday Life

Alongside a series of high-profile massacres over the past decade, Americans continue to turn to guns as the solution to, rather than the cause of, violent crime. Since the 1970s, most US states have significantly loosened restrictions on gun carrying for self-defense, and today, over 8 million Americans hold permits to carry guns concealed. Contrary to popular images of gun culture, this is not a white-only affair: in Michigan, whites and African Americans are licensed to carry guns at roughly the same rate. And while women are licensed at rates far lower than men, their numbers are increasing. This dissertation presents an in-depth analysis of the new politics of concealed carry and asks: Why do Americans not just own guns but also carry them? What role does the NRA play/nin enabling people to carry guns? And finally, how do different kinds of gun carriers enact the model of citizenship advocated by the NRA?/nThrough intensive ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with gun carriers and pro-gun advocates in the Metro Detroit area, it shows how suspicion of the state's power to police, combined with the embodied practice of gun carry, sustains a new politics of policing, crime and insecurity. Situating the appeal of guns in contexts of neoliberal decline facing Michigan, this book analyzes how, with the help of required NRA training, gun carry becomes an embodied, everyday practice through which gun carriers embrace a moral duty to protect not only oneself but also others (usually family, but sometimes strangers). I show how this moral duty is enacted differently by different groups of gun carriers: while all of the gun carriers I interviewed turned to guns to supplement what they viewed as inadequate police protection, gun carriers of color also mobilized gun rights as a way to defend against police abuse and assert their political rights, echoing the anti-statist position of groups such as the Black Panthers. Meanwhile, male gun carriers embraced their duty to protect self and others as a way to assert their social relevance as male protectors amid their declining status as breadwinners, while female gun carriers tended to emphasize their individual right to self-defense as an act of empowerment./nOverall, this dissertation argues that for pro-gun Americans, the carrying of guns is a means of practicing good citizenship amid perceptions of social disorder. This understanding of American gun politics helps to clarify both why Americans so vociferously 'cling to their guns' as practical and symbolical tools of policing, and it also sheds light on the NRA's hidden power as the primary organization that trains and certifies Americans to carry guns.

Advisor: Ray, Raka
Development of an economical and green chromatographic system for lanthanide purification and Progress toward protein-polymer hybrids from estrogen receptors for the detection and removal of organic pollutants from water

The expensive separation procedures necessary to produce pure metals have resulted in a small number of entities producing nearly all of global demand. Market control by only a few entities has, in turn, led to price instability. Increasing global consumption of lanthanide-based materials has highlighted the need for parity in lanthanide production. As more entities attempt to enter the market, they face the significant challenges of overcoming the financial and environmental costs of lanthanide separation. To address these obstacles, a new chromatographic system is created from a cheap, commercially available, and widely produced polystyrene resin. This resin was further synthetically modified by various methods, and chromatographic performance tested. One such synthetically modified resin was used as a new solid phase in a chromatographic system, which exhibits excellent separation of an industrially relevant lanthanide mixture. Furthermore, cost, operating conditions, and the waste stream of this system are extremely competitive with currently employed industrial methods./nThe concentration of estrogenic compounds in fresh water sources and observed correlation with deleterious effects in wildlife has been met with increasing concern. As these estrogen concentrations grow, so does the need to detect estrogen concentrations in the field. A reusable protein-polymer conjugate composed of the estrogen receptor and synthetic polymers is proposed to meet this need. For use as the protein component, three different estrogen receptors have been expressed in E. coli. Two of these receptors have been successfully modified specifically at the C-terminus, and one at the N-terminus, with ketones to facilitate the attachment of the polymer component. A new monomer has also been synthesized. Further work in constructing and testing the material is underway.

Advisor: Francis, Matthew B