Digital Commons Network^™

Remote Preconditioning: Evaluating The Efficacy Of Cardioprotection In Type-2 Diabetes And Exploring The Mechanistic Role Of Exosomes, Joseph Michael Wider

Wayne State University Dissertations

Remote preconditioning is a promising and robust treatment for myocardial

ischemia/reperfusion injury that evokes cardioprotection through endogenous neural

and/or humoral signaling. A recent study has reported that protective signaling is

mediated by exosomes through the circulation; however this concept is supported by

limited and inconsistent evidence. Despite overwhelming success in preclinical studies,

the efficacy of remote preconditioning in human studies is inconclusive. Importantly, the

majority of remote preconditioning studies use healthy animal models despite growing

evidence that comorbidities, such as type-2 diabetes, may negatively influence

outcomes. Nonetheless, the efficacy of remote preconditioning in the setting of type-2

diabetes has not …

Republican Feminists And Feminist Republicans: The Search For The Sensible Center In Michigan-1968 To 1984, Ann Marie Wambeke

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

REPUBLICAN FEMINISTS AND FEMINIST REPUBLICANS: THE SEARCH FOR THE SENSIBLE CENTER IN MICHIGAN-1968 TO 1984

by

ANN MARIE WAMBEKE

December 2016

Advisor: Dr. Liette Patricia Gidlow

Major: History

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

This dissertation explores feminism in the Michigan Republican Party from the late 1960s until the early 1980s through the activism of seven women. These women, Republicans before they were feminists, believed in the efficacy of party politics to bring about change. Therefore, it was only natural that once they became feminists they turned to the political system to effectuate gender equality. They sought to bring feminism into …

Effect Of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress On Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells And Its Regulation Of Sm22Α, Neeraja Priyanka Annam

Wayne State University Dissertations

Background: The vascular smooth muscle cells(VSMC) possess the ability to differentiate into a synthetic phenotype in response to stress. This phenotypic modulation may be accompanied by inflammatory or osteogenic response in chronic stress. The synthetic state is characterized by low levels of contractile markers unlike the differentiated state.

Hypothesis: Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress causes phenotypic modulation in VSMCs leading to apoptosis. Many transcription factors induced by ER stress contribute to the downregulation of Sm22α. Perturbation in cytoskeletal dynamics exacerbates the ER stress response.

Methods: Ex-vivo culture was used to establish importance of Sm22 in ER stress. In vitro analysis was …

On The Design Of Low-Complexity High-Speed Arithmetic Circuits In Quantum-Dot Cellular Automata Nanotechnology, Amjad Almatrood

Wayne State University Dissertations

For the last four decades, the implementation of very large-scale integrated systems has largely based on complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. However, this technology has reached its physical limitations. Emerging nanoscale technologies such as quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA), single electron tunneling (SET), and tunneling phase logic (TPL) are major candidate for possible replacements of CMOS. These nanotechnologies use majority and/or minority logic and inverters as circuit primitives. In this dissertation, a comprehensive methodology for majority/minority logic networks synthesis is developed. This method is capable of processing any arbitrary multi-output Boolean function to nd its equivalent optimal majority logic network targeting …

Computer Assisted Language Learning For Spanish Oral Proficiency, May Ritta Bluestein

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING FOR SPANISH ORAL PROFICIENCY

by

MAY RITTA BLUESTEIN

December 2017

Advisor: Dr. Jazlin Ebenezer

Major: Curriculum and Instruction

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

This three-article five-chapter dissertation is focused on improving high school students’ Spanish oral proficiency through computer assisted language learning (CALL) voice-recordings, and examining the effect of the intervention on foreign language anxiety and integrative motivation. The main goals of the study as a whole were to (1) investigate students’ CALL voice-recordings to determine students’ Spanish oral proficiency development, (2) identify significant differences between the experimental and control group in terms of Spanish oral …

Analyzing The Regulation, Stability And Functional Differences Between Sin3 Isoforms In Drosophila, Ashlesha Chaubal

Wayne State University Dissertations

SIN3 is a master transcriptional regulator, conserved from yeast to mammals, that acts as a scaffold protein for a histone modifying complex. In Drosophila, a single Sin3A gene is alternatively spliced to produce distinct SIN3 isoforms; SIN3 220, SIN3 190 and SIN3 187, that differ only at their C-terminus. These isoforms are differentially expressed during development. We have shown that there is an interplay between the predominant isoforms of SIN3, SIN3 220 and SIN3 187, that possibly regulates the overall level of SIN3 in the cell. Exogenous expression of SIN3 187 reduces the level of transcript and accelerates the proteasomal …

Development Of A Programmed Electrospun Three Dimensional (3d) Nanofiber Collecter And It’S Application To Orthopedic Implant Coatings, Liang Chen

Wayne State University Dissertations

Orthopedic implants might not directly unite with bones especially in compromised patients even if they have been appropriately fixed. The lack of early osseointegration would lead to the failure of the orthopedic implant. A “bone-like” implant surface is urgently needed to accelerate osseointegration. Electrospun nanofiber (NF) is a promising implant coating due to its highly porous nanoscale structure. It mimics the collagen I nanofibrous network of bone tissue; meanwhile it has been widely used as a drug delivery device. However, its compact and dense structure is not ideal for cell growth. Our strategy was to develop a functional three-dimensional (3D) …

How To Understand The Debate Over Presentism And Eternalism, Travis Matthew Figg

Wayne State University Dissertations

Presentism is the view that, with the possible exception of things outside of time, everything that exists, exists at the present time. It is contrasted with eternalism, the view that everything which ever did exist or ever will exist, exists. Some philosophers argue that presentism and eternalism are not really substantive, opposed metaphysical theses. I consider some attempts in the literature to rebut this skeptical position, and argue that they are unsatisfactory. Then I make my own case for the conclusion that presentism and eternalism are substantive metaphysical theses by drawing a distinction between two ways of talking about what …

Functional Analysis Of Rad6 In Brca1 Wild Type And Brca1 Mutant Triple Negative Breast Cancer Drug Response, Brittany Haynes

Wayne State University Dissertations

TNBCs account for 15-20% of all breast and are unsuitable for common targeted therapies as they lack expression of estrogen, progesterone, and Her2/neu receptors. Cisplatin, a DNA damaging agent, is currently under clinical investigation for treatment of TNBCs and paclitaxel, a mitotic spindle poison, is a first-line treatment option for this disease. While both agents elicit therapeutic benefit BRCA1 mutation status, toxicity, and resistance are limiting factors. Rad6 functions as an E2 ubiquitin conjugating protein and its enzymatic activity is critical for its cellular function. Rad6 is known to play a critical role in the translesion synthesis (TLS) damage response …

Evaluation Of Earth-Abundant Monometallic And Bimetallic Complexes For Catalytic Water Splitting, Kenneth Kwame Kpogo

Wayne State University Dissertations

The development of affordable water splitting catalysts from Earth-abundant transition metal ions such as Co and Mn is of immense scientific interest. Aiming to develop an efficient water splitting catalyst, a Co(II) complex featuring an asymmetric, pentadentate quinolyl-bispyridine ligand with a phenylenediamine backbone was synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic, spectrometric, and X-ray analysis. The Co ion was selected because of its ability to undergo redox conversions from 3d5 CoIV through 3d8 CoI thereby making it a suitable catalyst that can withstand harsh structural and electronic changes during catalysis. The electrocatalytic water reduction activity of the catalyst at neutral pH gave …

Underlying Mechanisms Of Arsenic-Induced Tumorigenesis: From Epigenetics To Malignancy, Lingzhi Li

Wayne State University Dissertations

Arsenic is a well-recognized environmental health threat with the capability of inducing a number of human diseases, including cancer. The aim of this dissertation is to unveil the mechanisms underlying the carcinogenic activities of environmental arsenic. The biological functions of arsenic had been studied for decades. However, there are still many questions that remain to be fully answered, such as whether and how arsenic contributes to the epigenetic regulations and migration or metastasis control of the cancer cells. In this regard, we focused our attention on both histone modifications and miRNA regulations in the arsenic-induced malignant transformation of the cells, …

Study Of Periodical Flow Heat Transfer In An Internal Combustion Engine, Xi Luo

Wayne State University Dissertations

In-cylinder heat transfer is one of the most critical physical behaviors which has a direct influence on engine out emission and thermal efficiency for IC engine. In-cylinder wall temperature has to be precisely controlled to achieve high efficiency and low emission. However, this cannot be done without knowing gas-to-wall heat flux. This study reports on the development of a technique suitable for engine in-cylinder surface temperature measurement, as the traditional method is “hard to reach.” A laser induced phosphorescence technique was used to study in-cylinder wall temperature effects on engine out unburned hydrocarbons during the engine transitional period (warm up). …

Mechanisms Of Hormonal Regulation Of Invasiveness And Metastasis Of Luminal Breast Cancer, Thomas Mcfall

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

MECHANISMS OF HORMONAL REGULATION OF INVASIVENESS AND METASTASIS OF LUMINAL BREAST CANCER

By

THOMAS MCFALL

December 2017

Advisor: Dr. Manohar Ratnam

Major: Cancer Biology

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Over 20% of breast cancer cases present with distal metastasis and they are predominantly of luminal subtypes. As luminal breast cancer is relatively indolent, it is believed that progression to metastasis must occur over many years, generally well into post-menopausal years. Unfortunately, very little is known about the mechanisms by which these hormone receptor positive tumors metastasize, likely in part due to their slow metastatic rates in animal model systems as …

Commissioning And Validation Of Analytical And Monte Carlo Based Dose Calculation Algorithms For Proton Spot Scanning, Jatinder Saini

Wayne State University Dissertations

Purpose: Accurate dose calculation is one of the most necessary components of radiation therapy. While the commercially available photon dose calculation algorithm offerings have improved considerably in last decade, proton dose calculations are still performed using the analytical dose calculation algorithms. The goal of this work is to validate a newly available commercial Monte Carlo (MC) dose calculation algorithm using measurements and simulations in GATE software. A secondary goal is to compare and contrast the performance of analytical algorithm against MC algorithm. Finally, GATE simulations are used to evaluate a newly available ceramic marker for ocular melanoma proton therapy.

Methods: …

Additive Manufacturing Of Al 4047 And Al 7050 Alloys Using Direct Laser Metal Deposition Process, Amrinder Singh

Wayne State University Dissertations

Additive manufacturing (AM) of metals is finding numerous applications in automotive and aerospace industry. In 21st century, aluminum is second to steel in automotive sector, because of its high strength to weight ratio. In current era, casted components of Al-Si alloy and high strength Al 7xxx series alloys are being used from low load to high load components. The primary study of this research was to achieve the defect free deposition of Al-Si and Al 7050 alloy. Al-Si alloys samples have been manufactured at lab scale using various additive manufacturing processes, but so far there is no literature available to …

Mobile Learning Technology Acceptance Among Saudi Higher Education Students, Talal Mohammed Alasmari

Wayne State University Dissertations

The rapid development of technology has encouraged Saudi universities to establish initiatives to improve learning. Mobile learning technology is one of the technologies targeted by eLearning and distance education deanships among Saudi universities. However, few studies have been done in investigating mobile learning technology acceptance in the Saudi context. This study aims to provide policy and decision makers in the Saudi higher education with reliable data in order to employ mobile learning technology in learning process. Therefore, this study modified Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to investigate students’ acceptance of mobile learning technology. To this end, …

A Narrative Study Of Chaldean Refugees And The Myth Of Return: From Chaldean Babylon To The New World, Joseph James Byle

Wayne State University Dissertations

With the removal of Saddam following the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, life for all Iraqis changed for the worse, especially for minorities such as Christians, including Chaldeans. Considering the powerful push factors that have compelled Chaldean Refugees in the Detroit area to leave Iraq, the idea of returning to the homeland would seem like a remote possibility, however, these Chaldeans present an intriguing case, due to the fact that they are among the indigenous people in Iraq. Do their deep rooted ties to the homeland contribute to a desire to return? This research examines this possibility through an in-depth …

An Analysis Of Gateway Programs On African American Student Retention: A Case Study In An Urban Higher Education Setting, Janice Cook Johnson

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

AN ANALYSIS OF GATEWAY PROGRAMS ON AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENT RETENTION: A CASE STUDY IN AN URBAN HIGHER EDUCATION SETTING

by

JANICE COOK JOHNSON

MAY 2017

Advisor: Dr. Carolyn Muriel Shields

Major: Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Existing policies and processes have not gone far enough to eradicate the persistent academic achievement gap at Wayne State University. Nor has identifying poor student academic preparation prior to enrollment. By accepting this reality and responsibility, officials and members within the university community can affect change, bringing parity to retention through graduation, by becoming proficient at serving the students …

Development Of Tools For Phosphosite-Specific Kinase Identification And Discovery Of Phosphatase Substrates, Pavithra Maheshani Dedigama Arachchige

Wayne State University Dissertations

Phosphorylation is a ubiquitous post translational modification implicated in many diseases, such as cancer. The phosphorylation status of cellular proteins is regulated by the activity of kinases and phosphatases. The biological significance of many phosphorylation events remain unknown because the methods to determine which kinase or phosphatase is responsible for phosphorylation are limited. Previously, we established kinase-catalyzed labeling where kinases accept γ-modified ATP analogs, such as ATP-arylazide and ATP-biotin, to label phosphoproteins. To study substrates of kinases and phosphatases, here we developed two new methods using kinase-catalyzed labeling. As one application, we developed K-CLASP (Kinase-catalyzed CrossLinking And Streptavdin Purification) to …

Identifying The Function Of The Calpain Small Subunit In The Mechanics Of Cell Migration, Bingqing Hao

Wayne State University Dissertations

Cell migration plays a vital role in many physiological events including: morphogenesis, wound healing, and immune response. Dysfunctional cell migration results in multiple disease states including chronic inflammation, vascular disease, and tumor metastasis, to name a few. Progress in understanding the mechanism of cell migration had been slow until the turn of the century when rapid technological advances in microscopy and omics burst to the forefront. These advances led to the realization that physical factors (dimensions, fluid shear stress, hydrostatic pressure, compression stress, environmental stiffness, and topography) have profound effects on cell migration. This study of cell mechanics has expanded …

Automated Refinement Of Hierarchical Object Graphs, Mohammad Ebrahim Khalaj

Wayne State University Dissertations

Object graphs help explain the runtime structure of a system. To make object graphs convey design intent, one insight is to use

abstraction by hierarchy, i.e., to show objects that are implementation details as children of architecturally-relevant objects from the application domain. But additional information is needed to express this object hierarchy, using ownership type qualifiers in the code. Adding qualifiers after the fact involves manual overhead, and requires developers to switch between adding qualifiers in the code and looking at abstract object graphs to understand the object structures that the qualifiers describe. We propose an approach where developers express …

'Strange' Lands Of Opportunity - Representations Of Moral, Social, And Economic Profit In Late Medieval And Early Modern Literature, Lisa Marie Kanniainen

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

‘STRANGE’ LANDS OF OPPORTUNITY – REPRESENTATIONS OF MORAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC PROFIT IN LATE MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN LITERATURE

By

LISA KANNIAINEN

MARCH 2017

Advisor: Dr. Jaime Goodrich

Major: English (British Literature)

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

This dissertation pursues the link between late medieval and early modern texts and the thoughts of the developing middling class and the New Men. Adding to scholarship regarding travel literature, colonization, and propaganda, I claim that the selected texts offer insight into medieval and early modern concerns regarding moral, social, and economic profit. Employing contemporary economic constructs as a base, this enterprise investigates …

Exploring The Physics Of Proteins At Molecular Level By Neutron And X-Ray Scattering, Utsab Raj Shrestha

Wayne State University Dissertations

The protein structures revealed by the crystallographic studies have provided the valuable information over the years regarding their biological functions. However, such snapshots of protein fluctuations averaged over time may not be enough to fully capture the underlying biological phenomena. A deeper understanding of the protein dynamics is crucial for elucidating the structural pathways or the transition mechanism from the initial state to the final state necessary for regulating the physical and chemical processes. Hence, the biological activities and functions are mainly governed by the protein conformational dynamics. However, the direct correlation of a wide range of protein dynamics to …

Arab American Adolescents’ Bullying Experiences And Effects On Their Perceived Stress And Health, Maha Albdour

Wayne State University Dissertations

This study is intended to examine the bullying experience among Arab American adolescents and effects on their perceived stress and health. Adolescents who are vulnerable or marginalized might be at higher risk for bullying. Arab American adolescents have not been included in research studies examining bullying and described as the invisible population.

The Neuman System Model, which focuses on wellness of adolescents in relation to environmental stress, guided this study. Bullying is a tension producing stressor, operationally defined as repeated attacks or intimidation that cause fear, distress or harm and perceived power imbalance between bully and victim. Perceived stress is …

Reliability And Validity Of An Arabic Version Of The Self-Determination Assessment – Internet (Sda-I), Mona Alamri Alamri

Wayne State University Dissertations

Self-determination is related to the desirable transition outcomes of an individual. It has gained an increasing amount of attention in numerous fields, including education, sociology, psychology, and other fields related to human behavior. However, there are no measures originally written in Arabic that accurately measure an individual’s self-determination. Thus, during this study, an Arabic version of the Self-Determination Assessment – Internet (SDAi) was developed from the regular English version of the assessment. The SDAi measures the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral factors related to self-determination. The purpose of this study was to develop and then test the reliability and validity of …

Applying An Ecological Model To Predict Adolescent Academic Achievement, Claudia Anagurthi Anagurthi

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between multiple intrapersonal, microsystem, and macrosystem factors. The predictor variable was academic achievement. The theoretical model used was Bronfenbrenners’ Ecological Systems Theory and Bandura’s Social Learning Theory.

Participants in this study were ninth to twelfth grade high school students from a charter school that catered to students from urban and suburban backgrounds (N = 312). Students were from various socioeconomic backgrounds but primarily of African American and Latino descent. The students were asked to complete several surveys assessing their demographics and the variables grouped by their ecological contexts as follows: …

Middle School And High School Students Who Stutter: A Qualitative Investigation Of School Experiences, Tiffany Cobb

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO STUTTER: A QUALITATIVE INVESTIGATION OF SCHOOL EXPERIENCES

by

TIFFANY COBB

MAY 2017

Advisor: Dr. Derek Daniels

Major: Speech-Language Pathology

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore and further understand the ways in which middle school and high school students perceive their school experiences within the school environment.

School has an important impact on the social development of children (Milsom, 2006). Learning is not done individually as classrooms are inherently social places. This suggests that students do not learn alone, but rather in the presence of many …

Assessing Parent Invovlment In Applied Behavior Analysis Treatment For Children With Autism, Krista Marie Clancy

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare two groups of parents whose children participated in ABA on their levels of stress, self-efficacy, treatment acceptability, and parents’ level of involvement in their children’s treatment, and to assess variables that may explain variance in parent involvement. Parents in the treatment group participated in a voluntary parent training (n=18) and the comparison group were parents who elected not to participate in the voluntary training (n=22). This was a quasi-experimental design study where parents and their therapists completed a survey regarding parents’ involvement in their children’s treatment programs. Additional parent measures collected as …

Adolescent Achievement: Relative Contributions Of Social Emotional Learning, Self-Efficacy And Microsystem Supports, Meghan Elizabeth Fairless

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to examine the roles of select intrapersonal and microsystem factors in high school adolescents’ academic achievement. The selected combination of factors was hypothesized to be unique in their ability to explain greater proportions of variance in academic achievement in adolescents. A specific model through an ecological framework was proposed. Participants included 379 high school students (176 males, 193 females) from a midwestern, suburban high school that enrolls approximately 1,500 students. A variety of variables emerged as significant predictors of academic achievement, with social emotional learning, selfefficacy, socio-economic status, parental involvement, peer support, and …

Developing Innovation Capability In A Mass Production Organization, Mark Douglas Dolsen

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

DEVELOPING INNOVATION CAPABILITY IN A MASS PRODUCTION ORGANIZATION

by

MARK DOLSEN

May 2017

Advisor: Dr. Ratna Babu Chinnam

Major: Industrial Engineering

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Auto parts manufacturing is a key element of the North American automotive supply chain, and a significant component of the economy of Ontario, Canada. Employment in this sector declined 40% from 2003 to 2010 as the industry experienced a recession, and many firms relocated to lower wage jurisdictions as the Canadian currency strengthened against the US dollar. Experts contend that the solution for the industry lies in innovation; however, recommendations found in the current …