Digital Commons Network^™

Isolation And Investigation Of The Exopolysaccharide From Thauera Sp. Mz1t, Michael S. Allen

Doctoral Dissertations

Thauera sp. strain MZ1T is a floc-forming bacterium isolated from the wastewater treatment plant of Eastman Chemical Company. Its overabundance in that system in the form of zoogloeal clusters was positively correlated to episodes of poor dewatering of activated sludge (Lajoie 2000). The specific cause of this problem was thought to be due to the production of large quantities of hydrophilic exopolysaccharide (EPS) by MZ1T, which entraps water in the form of a hydrated gel, and results in a sludge that is resistant to mechanical dewatering.

A method for the reproducible extraction of EPS from pure cultures of MZ1T was …

Development And Evaluation Of The Sleep Treatment And Education Program For Students (Steps), Franklin Christian Brown

Doctoral Dissertations

Sleep difficulties are becoming progressively more common among university students and may be related to increased academic and emotional difficulties. Psychoeducational interventions are among the most effective methods for reducing sleep difficulties and are significantly better than pharmacological treatments. Attempts to demonstrate the effectiveness of such treatments among university students are not present in the literature.

The purpose of this study was to develop the Sleep Treatment Education Program for Students (STEPS) and evaluate its effectiveness to improve sleep habits and reduce sleep complaints. The study used a double blind, experimental design. Participants in the treatment condition received Sleep Hygiene …

Modular Machine Learning Methods For Computer-Aided Diagnosis Of Breast Cancer, Mia Kathleen Markey '94

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to improve breast cancer diagnosis by reducing the number of benign biopsies performed. To this end, we investigated modular and ensemble systems of machine learning methods for computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) of breast cancer. A modular system partitions the input space into smaller domains, each of which is handled by a local model. An ensemble system uses multiple models for the same cases and combines the models' predictions.

Five supervised machine learning techniques (LDA, SVM, BP-ANN, CBR, CART) were trained to predict the biopsy outcome from mammographic findings (BIRADS™) and patient age based on a …

Analysis Of Aneuploidy During Mouse Spermatogenesis, April D. Pyle

Doctoral Dissertations

Successful transition through meiosis is required for production of chromosomally-balanced gametes. When chromosome segregation goes awry during meiosis, aneuploidy can occur. Unfortunately, the mechanisms behind this nondisjunction are not well understood. Therefore, this dissertation has focused on learning more about the causative factors associated with aneuploidy during spermatogenesis. Are there factors that are always associated with leading to production of aneuploid sperm? One of the main goals of this dissertation is to find mouse models to study what factors may be involved in chromosome malsegregation; such as pairing, recombination, and transition through the division phases of meiosis.

The first part …

Investigation Of Cognitive Impairments Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Fmri) And Positron Emission Tomography (Pet) In Patients With Mild Alzheimer's Disease, Mateja De Leonni Stanonik

Doctoral Dissertations

Awareness and interest in diseases, which pertain to cognitive and affective functions in the elderly, has been increasing, as the proportion of elderly people in the population grows larger. Afflicting an estimated 19 million people worldwide the syndrome of dementia comprises some of the most prevalent and devastating diseases. The development of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most frequent cause of dementia in the elderly, is associated with a number of pathogenic mechanisms that include genetic, immunologic, and vascular factors. AD is often unrecognized in its earliest stages even though it is the most common cause of dementia in the aged …

Analysis And Diagnostic Implications Of The Fusion And Attachment Protein Genes Of Respiratory Syncytial Viruses Of Ruminants, Nasser Zakaria Eleraky

Doctoral Dissertations

Respiratory syncytial viruses (RSVs) in ruminants are classified into two subgroups, ovine RSV and bovine RSV. Although ovine RSV infects cattle, its contribution to bovine respiratory tract disease has not been established which is an important issue for vaccine development in cattle.

Diagnosis by virus isolation or serology has low or variable sensitivity and/or specificity and PCR has been recommended as a rapid and sensitive technique for RSV detection. Prior to this study, a laboratory test to differentiate between bovine and ovine RSVs did not exist.

First, the nucleotide sequence of the ovine RSV fusion (F) gene was determined and …

Aquaporins And Aquaglyceroporins Of Legume Nodules: Structure, Function, And Regulation, James F. Guenther

Doctoral Dissertations

By isolating RNA from mature nodules of the legume Lotus japonicas and employing an RT-PCR approach, two new cDNAs were characterized whose open reading frames code for members of the MIP (Major Intrinsic Protein) family of membrane proteins. These two genes products were termed (Lotus Intrinsic Membrane Protein 1 and 2) LIMP1 and LIMP2. Both LIMP1 and LIMP2 display all the hallmarks of the MIP protein family including, six putative transmembrane domains based on hydropathy plots, and the invariant NPA (asparagine-proline-alanine) signature motifs located symmetrically on two loops, which connect transmembrane helix 3-4 and transmembrane helix 5-6. Based on sequence …

Bordetella Bronchiseptica: A Candidate Mucosal Vaccine Vector, Sreekumari Rajeev

Doctoral Dissertations

Bordetella bronchiseptica colonizes the upper respiratory tract of a wide variety of mammals and is involved in diseases such as kennel cough in dogs, atrophic rhinitis in pigs and upper respiratory tract infections of laboratory animals. Studies were focused on developing a heterologous antigen expression system in B. bronchiseptica and to evaluate the potential of this organism as a candidate mucosal vaccine vector. Since the role of Bordetella bronchiseptica and Pasteurella multocida toxin (PMT) in the disease atrophic rhinitis of pigs was well documented, this research was focused in the possibility of developing a refined vaccine to control this disease. …

Relationships Between A Quaternary Model Of Psychological Type Processes And Defense Mechanism Clusters, Kathryn Elizabeth Kelly

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the relationships between two psychological type dimensions (Extraversion-Introversion and Thinking-Feeling) and defense mechanism preferences. Psychological Type Theory was used as a conceptual framework for the generation of hypotheses. Specific hypotheses between the two psychological type dimensions and defense mechanism preferences were tested. Further, Extraversion-Introversion and Thinking-Feeling were combined, resulting in the formation of a quaternary personality model consisting of four groups (Introverted Thinking, Introverted Feeling, Extraverted Thinking, and Extraverted Feeling). Hypotheses that certain quaternary groups would display specific relationships with defense mechanism preferences were tested. To test hypotheses, 223 university students were administered the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator …