Digital Commons Network^™

Fabrication Of Protein Arrays Using Electron Beam Lithography, Duy-Bao Phan Dinh

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Very few electron beam based methods for producing high-resolution patterns of surface bound proteins on glass have been developed.

There are only two types of end groups at the surface of glass, they are silanol and siloxane groups. An estersil layer can be formed on the surface of glass by treatment with hot alcohol creating a hydrophobic layer. The reaction is depicted as follows.

-Si-OH + HOR -SiO-R +H2O R = alkyl chain

The proposal that protein arrays could be fabricated by patterned electron bombardment using estersils as a negative resist was tested in this research. The hydrophobic estersil layer …

The Acquisition And Quantitative Analysis Of Digitally Generated Fourier Transforms Resulting From The Physiognomy Of Various Tree And Shrub Species, Alicia Eldridge-Spears

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

An optical Fourier transform represents the interference of wavefronts produced as light passes through multiple slits. Theoretically, any image containing periodic structure causes diffraction. The cellular arrangement of a plant leaf and the regularity in venation are ideal conditions for diffracting light. As light passes through columns of cells, its path is altered according to the distance and orientation present.

A photograph or slide of a leaf or the leaf itself may be used to produce a diffraction pattern by either optical or digital means. Optically, a laser beam directed through a slide is refracted by a converging lens and …

Benthic Biodiversity And Physico-Chemical Parameters Of Acid Mine Drainage, Acid Impacted And Nonimpacted Streams, Stephen D. Greene

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

South Fork of Sand Lick Creek, Logan County, West Virginia, drains an abandoned coal strip mine which had exploited Pottsville series coalbeds (Pennsylvania strata). These strata outcrop throughout southwestern West Virginia. North Fork watershed is relatively unchanged, save a small roadcut throughout. South Fork benthic community had not recovered although mining activity had ceased about 20 years earlier. Benthic communities were analyzed with detrended correspondence analysis (DCA). Family Chironomidae predominated South Fork benthic community throughout the study. North Fork’s benthic community had as major contributors acid resistant caddisfly family Hydropsychidae, mayfly family Baetidae, and stonefly families Perlodidae and Nemouridae. Family …

Clarification Of The Hybrid Origin Of Carex X Deamii Herm. (Cyperaceae) Based On Macro And Micro Morphological Characters, Paul B. Marcum

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The origin of Carex x deamii Herm. has been in question ever since it was named to science in 1938. Collections of the hybrid have always been associated with C. shortiana Dewey and either C. typhina Michx. or C. squarrosa L.. C. typhina and C. squarrosa are closely related taxa (Section Squarrosae) and often are morphologically similar. Because of this similarity, determining the correct parental species to the hybrid has been extremely difficult. It is known that the hybrid is sterile and only reproduces asexually. Pollen was analyzed to ascertain the viability of all four taxa. This study utilizes both …

Preparation Of N-(Haloaryl) Succinimides, Okey Noe Ii

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

N-(3,5-Dichloro-4-fluorophenyl)succinimide (NDCFPS) and N-(3,5-dichloro-4- pyridyl)succinimide (NDPyS) were synthesized using procedures employed previously for N-(3,5-dichIorophenyl)succinimide (NDPS). However, NDPyS was not formed cleanly: extraction from by-products was necessary and purification by column chromatograpy was required. Several potential alternative routes to NDPyS were investigated without success.

Both compounds were administered to male Fischer 344 rats to assess nephrotoxic potential. NDCFPS, contrary to expectations, was non-nephrotoxic. Preliminary results indicate that NDPyS is also non-nephrotoxic.

Interaction Of Laminin Beta2 With Eps8 And Desmin In Muscle Cells, Luke Xueliang Cui

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Laminin β2 is localized to the synaptic basal lamina (BL) in muscle and glomerular BL in kidney. To find interacting proteins, a mouse kidney cDNA library was screened with domain I of rat laminin β2 using the yeast two-hybrid system. Fifteen positive clones were found. The DNA sequence of three each of these clones corresponded to the phosphoprotein Eps8 (epidermal growth factor receptor pathway substrate clone 8, which is tyrosine phosphorylated after EGF stimulation) and the intermediate filament (IF) protein keratin. To determine if this interaction occurred in muscle cells, C2 cells transfected with the rat …

The Role Of Retinoids And Protein Kinase C In Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation And Function, Shaoshan Wang

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The structural and functional changes in the arterial wall of humans and animals accompany the development of hypertension and atherosclerosis. Hence, great interest exists in the mechanisms that govern vascular smooth muscle cell contraction and proliferation. Rat aortic rings maintained in organ culture show a significant loss of contractility; whereas, vascular smooth muscle cells in culture quickly dedifferentiate into a secretory phenotype with a marked capacity for proliferation. The addition of all-trans retinoic acid (RA) and retinol to the plasma-containing medium preserved the contractile response of cultured vessels. Removal of endothelium prior to culture abolished these effects. All-trans retinoic acid …

A Medicinal Plant Survey In Marketplaces Of Ecuador, Pamela Bailey

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

A medicinal herb survey was conducted in ten major marketplaces in Andean and coastal communities of Ecuador. Collections were made during the summer of 1997. Four plant collections from each market were pressed, dried, identified, and the medicinal information for each plant was recorded. Photographs of fresh plants, market vendors and the marketplaces were taken.

Fifty three families were represented in the 112 species collected. Forty-two species (37%) were introduced to Ecuador while seventy species (63%) were native to Ecuador. Plant taxa were grouped into 22 categories of medicinal usage. The most common 3 uses were: 1. General tonic and …