The environmental consequences of transportation are significant; and, vehicular sources account for onequarter to more than one-half of all nationwide emissions of pollutants including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and organic substances and carcinogens such as benzene, 1,3-butadiene, formaldehyde, toluene, xylene, and others. However, it is spurious to conclude that vehicular (primarily tailpipe) emissions are the only, or only significant, environmental consequence of transportation. And, to identify and assess these other consequences, the use of life-cycle analysis (LCA) methods is recommended. For example, when transportation is examined on this basis, significant environmental consequences are identified in other lifecycle stages including vehicle production and the extraction, production, and distribution of fuel. And, because of these life-cycle consequences, it is clear that “simple” solutions such as cleaner fuels and electric vehicles are inadequate to mitigate the environmental impacts of vehicular travel. There has been only limited research to-date that has modeled and optimized the operation of a transportation network or system where environmental impacts were considered among the optimization objectives. And, previous research has been limited primarily to consideration of criteria pollutants (tailpipe emissions) and/or to optimization of a single variable. More importantly, from the perspectives of decision theory and environmental sustainability, it is not the impacts (e.g., pollutant emissions) that should be optimized; but, rather, it is the consequences of the impacts (e.g., human health and ecological damage) that are important and should serve as the basis for optimization. And, available life-cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methodologies provide a means for identifying and assessing such consequences. This paper will develop and demonstrate a methodology for optimizing the operation (vehicle assignment, routing, and scheduling) of a public transit (demand-responsive, paratransit) system based on the joint optimization of cost, service, and environmental (consequence) objectives. In order to do this, a life-cycle inventory (LCI) model of the transit operation will be developed, wherein environmental (and cost and service) impacts are specified as functions of vehicle routing and scheduling parameters.

Prostate Cancer (PCa) is a non-cutaneous malignancy in men. Considering the severity of the disease, it is essential to consider the early detection and screening of prostate-specific antigen for decreasing the incidence of death due to this disease. Decipher is a genomic test that has gained increasing attention in estimating the risk of developing a recurrence or metastatic PCa disease in patients. Therefore, this study is focused on evaluating the association of Decipher score risk with recurrence of prostate cancer patients based on their medical, genetic predictors, and demographics (e.g., races) by conducting a systematic review. Moreover, the study would also assess whether Decipher score risk can be a good predictor for prostate patients’ metastasis and prostate cancer-specific mortality in men and clinical decision-making regarding Treatment Recommendations for patients. The research study reviewed 120 research articles, and the results of the systematic review have been presented in the form of themes. The studies' review indicated that Decipher acts as a genomic metastasis signature to predict metastatic disease among patients and make better decisions about treating the disease. Moreover, this genomic test can also be used in conjunction with MRI for identifying the lesions that may carry the biological potential for early metastases. Furthermore, the studies also identified that treatment options for PCa might range from ART and SRT to RP; however, the selection of treatment methodology depends upon the GC score and risk stratification. The results further suggested that the occurrence of PCa is two folds greater among AA men than non-AA men. The increasing incidence of PCa among AA and discrimination within AA's health and socio-economic conditions plays a significant role in treating AA. In this scenario, the Decipher score plays an essential role in making treatment decisions. Hence, this research has reviewed the evidence of benefits of the Decipher test, placed the usage into clinical context, made recommendations to help providers and patients know which treatment might be more appropriate based on the GC score, and when they should consider using the Decipher score based on the works of literature. To conclude, further trials are still required for validating the Decipher biomarkers. All treatment options should be managed based on the individual risk profile and sensitivity to particular medical treatment. As a future direction, scientists could enhance decipher score ability to be run on blood samples of a patient instead of tumor tissue, which will help patients to use decipher test as a screening test at the asymptomatic level. In this way, this test can be routinely done for patients with a family history of prostate cancer, and the biopsy will not be required during the screening stage.

2005 CENS Summer Intern:The concept behind the Water level Control System is to program a mote to the extent that it can not only read and send data, but can also interpret and use the data as needed. Normally when a mote collects and sends data, it is unreadable and contains other information such as the header of the packet, its address, it’�¡�Çs length, etc. The Water level Control System can interpret the data collected, display readable data onto the computer screen and use the data to determine the status of the water level and pump. It is a simple model system that represents a water supply and demand situation. For example, if there was a water supply at the bottom of a mountain and water was needed at the top of the mountain, a wireless mote at the top of the mountain can send a packet to another wireless mote at the bottom of a mountain to indicate that water is needed. The Water Level Control System works in the same way except at a much smaller scale, however, it was designed such that it can also apply on a larger scale.

This dissertation contributes to scholarship on theatricality and the Victorian novel. Through its examination of Charles Dickens’s Nicholas Nickleby, William Makepeace Thackeray’s Vanity Fair, and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, this dissertation unpacks how the Victorian novel negotiates and shapes understandings of the theatre and theatricality. Focusing on melodrama, theatrical performances, the theatre, actors, and acting and paying particular attention to the bodies of Victorian actors, this dissertation argues that theatricality and the theatre serve as sources of profound cultural anxiety and imminent danger in the Victorian novel. Nicholas Nickleby, Vanity Fair, and Dorian Gray are not just about theatre and theatricality; they are theatre. Dorian Gray is structured like a play about three theatrical and theatre-going Victorian men and the melodramatic actress who briefly comes in-between them. Vanity Fair is a puppet play about two women, one of whom is a brilliant actress. Nicholas Nickleby features the archetypes of Victorian stage melodrama, a handsome actor as its protagonist, and a touring troupe of eccentric actors. Published in the early, mid, and late Victorian period respectively, these novels capture what is terrifying and tantalizing about the theatre and theatricality. Noting the symbiotic relationship between the Victorian theatre and the novel as well as historical and theoretical definitions of theatricality and performance, this dissertation contributes to Victorian studies and draws from scholarship on the Victorian theatre. Chapter 1 scrutinizes the exploited performing bodies of male child actors in Nicholas Nickleby. Chapter 2 analyzes how theatricality and the sexualized, animalized body of the Victorian actress in Vanity Fair are transgressive. Chapter 3 explores the threatening materiality of the theatre and the precariousness of theatrical performance in Dorian Gray. Through close readings of the seasoned performer in Vanity Fair, the tragic ingénue in Dorian Gray, and child actors in Nicholas Nickleby, this dissertation shows how Dickens, Thackeray, and Wilde frame theatricality and the theatre as dangerous and threatening. This dissertation tethers representations of theatricality in the Victorian novel to broader contentious debates in Victorian culture about the theatre, acting, actors, prostitution, professionalization, the nature of identity, role-playing, sexuality, authenticity, and vice.