Boundary behavior of the Bergman kernel function on strongly pseudoconvex domains with respect to weighted Lebesgue measure

Kennell, Lauren R The Ohio State University 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

The author proves pointwise estimates for the weighted Bergman kernel and its derivatives near the boundary of a smoothly bounded, strongly pseudoconvex domain. The estimate is obtained by relating the Bergman kernel to the Neumann operator, and estimating the Neumann operator using certain biholomorphic coordinate changes chosen to take advantage of the boundary geometry. The result obtained says, essentially, that a weight function which is smooth up to the boundary of the domain neither improves nor worsens the singularity of the kernel near the boundary diagonal.

A practical method for authentication of remote computer systems

Kennell, Richard L Purdue University 2008 해외박사(DDOD)

The preservation of physical security for computer systems has long been used as a foundation for computational trust. This requirement has come as a result of the use of shared secrets as host identifiers since there has been no empirical means of ascertaining the trustworthiness of a host in an absolute sense. Recent technological trends erode the usefulness of physical security as the basis for trust as well as open the possibility for a new trust model. This new model is not based on the traditional human qualities of trust such as reputation and accountability, but on capability, timeliness and determinism. A software-based procedure is demonstrated for establishing the trustworthiness of a remote computer system in the context of this new model. Deficiencies of this method are examined and used as a motivation for the development of a hardware implementation that offers greater durability of trust as well as ease of use.

Molecular control of adipogenesis: Regulation by TCF-4N and Frizzleds

Kennell, Jennifer Arianne University of Michigan 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

Wnts are secreted proteins that play important roles in many aspects of cell fate. Our lab has previously demonstrated that canonical Writ signaling inhibits preadipocyte differentiation. Writs act through Frizzled receptors to activate several signaling pathways. In the canonical pathway, beta-catenin is stabilized and coactivates members of the T-cell factor/lymphoid-enhancing factor (TCF/LEF) family of transcription factors. In addition, Wnt signaling also activates calcium signaling and other pathways independent of beta-catenin. This dissertation describes studies investigating the role of TCF-4N and Frizzleds in regulating preadipocyte and mesenchymal precursor biology. TCF-4N is an alternatively spliced isoform of TCF-4 expressed in preadipocytes that contains an N-terminal interaction domain for beta-catenin but lacks a DNA binding domain. While TCF-4N inhibits coactivation by beta-catenin of a TCF/LEF-dependent promoter, TCF-4N potentiates coactivation by beta-catenin of several non-TCF/LEF-dependent promoters. For example, TCF-4N and beta-catenin synergize with the adipogenic transcription factor CCAAT/enhancer binding protein alpha (C/EBPalpha) to induce leptin promoter activity. Consistent with TCF-4N's redirecting the actions of beta-catenin in cells, ectopic expression of TCF-4N in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes partially relieves the block of adipogenesis caused by beta-catenin. Thus, we propose that TCF-4N inhibits coactivation by beta-catenin of TCF/LEF transcription factors and potentiates the coactivation by beta-catenin of other transcription factors, such as SF-1 and C/EBPalpha. Effects of Wnt in preadipocytes may be mediated through Frizzled (Fz) 1 and/or Fz2 as these Wnt receptors are expressed in preadipocytes and their expression declines upon induction of differentiation. We ectopically expressed constitutively active chimeras between Wnt8 and Fz1 or Fz2 in preadipocytes and mesenchymal precursor cells. Our results indicate that activated Fz1 increases stability of beta-catenin, inhibits apoptosis, induces osteoblastogenesis, and inhibits adipogenesis. While activated Fz2 does not influence apoptosis or osteoblastogenesis, it inhibits adipogenesis through a mechanism independent of beta-catenin. An important mediator of the beta-catenin independent pathway appears to be calcineurin, because inhibitors of this serine/threonine phosphatase rescue the block to adipogenesis caused by Wnt3a or activated Fz2. These data support a model in which Wnt signaling inhibits adipogenesis through both beta-catenin dependent and independent mechanisms.

The effect of simultaneously reading and listening to audiotapes of expanded and compressed spoken text on the reading rate of English as a second language students

Kennell, Patrick Charles The Florida State University 2002 해외박사(DDOD)

The purpose of this study was to examine and compare a method for increasing the reading rate of English as a Second Language students. This study consisted of 36 students at the Center for Intensive English Studies. 19 of these students were in a control group and 17 were in a treatment group. The two groups were further divided into low and high English proficiency. The control group had 11 low proficient students and 8 high-proficient students, while the treatment group consisted of 7 low-proficient students and 10 high proficient students. A pre-measurement of the students' reading rate was taken by using the first chapter of a Penguin graded reader. Both groups continued to read this novel over a course of two weeks-one chapter a day. However, the treatment group also listened to a tape of the novel being read while they followed along in the book. The speed at which the tape was played was steadily increased over the course of the study. Comprehension was checked by multiple-choice questions at the end of each chapter read. A post-measurement of the students' reading rate was taken by using the first chapter of a second graded reader. The pre- and post-measurements of reading rate were then examined by both a two-way ANCOVA and a two-way mixed-design repeated measures analysis. The results clearly showed that reading with tapes helped to increase the reading rate of the ESL students tremendously compared to simply reading. The findings also show that while reading extensively without tapes benefited the high-proficient students more than the low proficient students, reading extensively with tapes greatly benefited both the low and high-proficient students. The reading rate measured was the “reading” rate of the students calculated in standard word length (Carver 2000). The methodology used in this study is important for further research in reading in a second language.

Bodies, statues, and machines: Dance and the visual arts in France, 1900--1925 (Isadora Duncan, Emile-Antoine Bourdelle, Vaslav Nijinsky, Fernand Leger)

Kennel, Sarah Alexandra University of California, Berkeley 2003 해외박사(DDOD)

During the first three decades of the twentieth century, dance emerged as one of modernism's most striking achievements. Exploring the fluid exchange between artists and choreographers and between representations of the body and representations through the body, this dissertation argues that neoteric forms of dance practice furnished early twentieth-century artists with new modes of conceiving and expressing relationships between embodiment and image. Chapter One analyzes the ways in which Isadora Duncan manipulated the forms and associated meanings of classical art as a strategy to elevate the status of her choreographic practice and in so doing, offered a revitalized version of classicism at a moment when the classical tradition in the visual arts seemed to have lost its bearings. Chapter Two focuses on French sculptor Emile-Antoine Bourdelle, who based his designs for the sculpted decorative friezes on the exterior of the Theatre des Champs-Elysees in Paris after his drawings of Duncan. Tracing the complex passage from dance to drawing to sculpture, I argue that Bourdelle's engagement with Duncan's dance formed part of a broader attempt to create a viable art social in which the antinomies of public and private and classical and modern might be resolved. Chapters Three and Four examine the explosive combination of modernism and "primitivism" in Vaslav Nijinsky's choreography for Afternoon of a Faun (1912) and The Rite of Spring (1913). Situating the body between a pre-social atavism and a fragmented, automatistic modernity, Nijinsky's choreography simultaneously articulated the desire for---and the failure of---a deeply-held fantasy of returning to bodily and cultural origins via the dance. While both modern dance and its representations in the visual arts served as metaphors for the tenuous position of the individual in pre-war French culture, new forms of dance participated in a wider project of cultural reconstruction in interwar France. In this vein, chapter Five examines how Fernand Leger's representations of the body in his designs for the Ballets Suedois' Skating Rink (1922) articulated, in terms particular to the interwar period, the broader tensions between primitivism and mechanization which had haunted the corporeal imagination of early twentieth-century modernism.

The effect of binaural auditory beats on inattention in children and adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

Kennel, Susan E University of Virginia 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

Purpose. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effectiveness of binaural auditory beat stimulation in reducing the symptom of inattention in children and adolescents with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Methods. This study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical investigation to determine the effectiveness of binaural auditory beats on the symptom of inattention in children with ADHD. Participants were randomly assigned to listen to a CD that contained binaural auditory beats or a sham CD, three times a week for three weeks while completing homework assignments. Sample. The sample was comprised of 20 children and adolescents, eight to twenty-one years of age. Participants were recruited from Charlottesville, Virginia and the surrounding counties via newspaper advertisements, brochures and flyers that were posted in the Primary Care Clinic at the University of Virginia's Health Center and local pediatrician's offices. Measures. The Children's Color Trails Test, The Color Trails Test and the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA) were used to measure changes in inattention pre and post intervention. The Homework Problem Checklist was used to measure changes in homework behaviors during the three week study. Results. Repeated measures ANOVA were used to analyze pre and post intervention scores on the Color Trails Tests. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyze pre and post intervention scores on the TOVA. The effect of time was significant on the Color Trails Test. However, there were no significant group differences on this measure. In addition, there were no significant group differences on the TOVA when pre and post-intervention scores were compared. Repeated measures ANOVA were used to evaluate changes on the Homework Problem Checklist over three week intervention. Homework problems significantly decreased in both groups; however, group differences were not significant. Conclusion. The results from the present study suggest that BABS did not significantly reduce the symptom of inattention in children and adolescents affected with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. This may be attributable to the small sample size. Therefore, this modality should be studied using a sufficient sample to determine its effectiveness to reduce the symptom of inattention in those diagnosed with ADHD.