Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
- Keyword
-
- Depression (38)
- Music (38)
- HIV (30)
- Cancer (25)
- Gender (21)
-
- Jazz (21)
- Adolescents (20)
- Inflammation (20)
- Anxiety (18)
- Autism (18)
- Climate change (18)
- Stress (18)
- Breast cancer (17)
- Development (17)
- Aging (14)
- Caribbean (14)
- Mitochondria (14)
- Pedagogy (14)
- Aquaculture (13)
- Ethnicity (13)
- Evolution (13)
- Hispanic (13)
- Piano (13)
- Preschool (13)
- Trumpet (13)
- Women (13)
- Cognition (12)
- Coral (12)
- Prostate cancer (12)
- Adolescent (11)
- Publication Year
Articles 1 - 30 of 2810
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
Molecularly Targeted Treatments For Urothelial And Renal Cell Carcinomas, Andre R. Jordan
Molecularly Targeted Treatments For Urothelial And Renal Cell Carcinomas, Andre R. Jordan
Open Access Dissertations
Bladder cancer (BCa) is the 4th most common cancer in men, and more often presents as advanced disease in women. Management of BCa is complicated and costly due to high rates of recurrence and progression, multifocality, and heterogeneity of tumors. The hyaluronic acid-HYAL-1 system is a molecular driver of BCa. Tumor cell-derived hyaluronidase, HYAL-1, degrades hyaluronic acid (HA) into angiogenic fragments (AGF: 10-12 disaccharides). AGF support tumor growth and progression. In preclinical models of BCa, we evaluated whether o-sulfated AGF (sHA-F) inhibits HYAL-1 HAase activity and has antitumor activity. At IC50 for HAase activity inhibition (5-20 µg/ml [0.4-1.7 µM]), sHA-F …
Understanding The Role Of Idh Mutation In Chondrosarcoma, Luyuan Li
Understanding The Role Of Idh Mutation In Chondrosarcoma, Luyuan Li
Open Access Dissertations
Chondrosarcomas constitute a heterogeneous group of malignant bone tumors that produce hyaline cartilaginous matrix. Chondrosarcomas are generally resistant to conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy, leaving surgery as the only curative treatment option for most localized tumors. In the absence of effective systemic therapy, metastatic disease is nearly uniformly fatal. Therefore, better therapy for patients with unresectable or metastatic disease is urgently needed. Mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase 1/2 (IDH1/2) enzymes were recently described in several malignancies including conventional and dedifferentiated chondrosarcomas. These mutations represent a novel genetic abnormality in chondrosarcoma, indicating a potential role for aberrant IDH function in the pathogenesis of …
A Role For The Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1 Alpha In Murine Gammaherpesvirus 68 (Mhv68) Lytic Replication And Reactivation From Latency, Darlah Michelle López-Rodríguez
A Role For The Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1 Alpha In Murine Gammaherpesvirus 68 (Mhv68) Lytic Replication And Reactivation From Latency, Darlah Michelle López-Rodríguez
Open Access Dissertations
The hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF1α) protein and the hypoxic microenvironment are critical for infection and pathogenesis by the oncogenic gammaherpesviruses (γHV) such as Kaposi' Sarcoma-associated Herpes Virus (KSHV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). However, understanding the role of HIF1α during the virus life cycle and its biological relevance in the context of host pathogenesis has been challenging due to the lack of animal models for human γ HV. To study the role of HIF1α we employed the murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV68), a rodent pathogen that readily infects laboratory mice. We show that MHV68 infection induces HIF1α protein and HIF1α-responsive …
Contrasts In Oxygen Variability Of Se Pacific Oxygen Deficient Zone And Subtropical Gyre, Molly M. Martin
Contrasts In Oxygen Variability Of Se Pacific Oxygen Deficient Zone And Subtropical Gyre, Molly M. Martin
Open Access Theses
Two decades of observations in the eastern South Pacific show changes in oxygen concentrations and apparent oxygen utilizations (AOUs) in the lower thermocline 26.5-27.0 sigma-theta. The 2013 GEOTRACES O2 and AOU data along ~12°S from the oxygen deficient zone (ODZ; O2 < 50 umol/kg) are compared with repeat hydrography data from the 1990s to the 2010s; the recent data add detail and process information to earlier work. In 2013, transient tracer ratio ages suggest renewal times of over two decades at the core of the ODZ as compared with being at least 7 years younger at the same densities in the subtropical gyre. Related to the age differences in the two regions, we observe oxygen parameters changing in different directions over the two decades, also different processes and forcing dominate. Similar to earlier studies, we found subtropical gyre oxygen concentrations increase and AOUs decrease due to increases in ventilation between 1990s and 2013, coupled to changes in southern hemisphere westerlies. In the core of the ODZ, oxygen concentrations decrease at an annual rate of 0.2 umol/kg/yr, AOUs increase between 1990s and 2013, and the 5 umol/kg contour reaches ~300 m deeper in the water column. ODZ changes are estimated to be due to increased biological consumption, consistent with increased upwelling corresponding to increased trade winds during that period. Thus, the difference in oxygen between the 1990s and 2013 is due to - proximity of the ODZ to coastal upwelling and longer ventilation time scales in the ODZ than gyre. In the gyre, water masses are closer to their sources and ages are younger. Whereas, the ODZ is more isolated from water mass source regions, and it takes more than two decades for the ventilated gyre waters to reach the ODZ. We have shown that in the South Pacific changes in oxygen parameters in the ODZ and subtropical gyre – to date – appear to be due to independent processes and forcing acting in each region. Continuing ocean observations are needed to monitor changes in gases such as oxygen that are critical to life.
Infection Of Mitochondria In Damselfish Neurofibromatosis: Impacts On Mitochondrial Function And Dna Levels, Merly Laura Ovares
Infection Of Mitochondria In Damselfish Neurofibromatosis: Impacts On Mitochondrial Function And Dna Levels, Merly Laura Ovares
Open Access Dissertations
Damselfish neurofibromatosis (DNF) is a type of cancer affecting Stegastes partitus (Bicolor damselfish) on Florida reefs. The agent which causes the disease, termed the damselfish virus-like agent (DVLA), is the only known agent to replicate within mitochondria of animal cells. Determining the effects DVLA has on mitochondrial function and DNA levels are of importance to further understand DNF, as well as which mechanisms of mitochondrial function are directly affected by DVLA which may cause cancer. Experiments analyzed DNA levels of both DVLA and mitochondria (mtDNA), as well as mitochondrial-mediated metabolism on healthy and tumor tissues. Cell lines were also analyzed …
Untangling The Complexities Of Patient Navigation Interventions For Engagement In Care Among People Living With Hiv Who Use Drugs Or Alcohol, Sharleen M. Traynor
Untangling The Complexities Of Patient Navigation Interventions For Engagement In Care Among People Living With Hiv Who Use Drugs Or Alcohol, Sharleen M. Traynor
Open Access Dissertations
Engaging and retaining individuals with HIV who also use drugs or alcohol in care is essential to reducing HIV-related morbidity and mortality in the United States. HIV-infected individuals who use substances are less likely to access care, adhere to treatment plans, and achieve viral suppression compared to those who do not report substance use. This leads to uncontrolled infection and contributes to ongoing disease transmission. Multiple factors are associated with poor engagement in HIV care and often include a combination of syndemic psychosocial factors, comorbid conditions, and structural barriers to healthcare utilization. Patient Navigation (PN) is a client-centered intervention designed …
Nucleus Pulposus Of The Intervertebral Disc: The Effect Of Environmental Factors On Metabolic Activity, Lukas M. Jaworski
Nucleus Pulposus Of The Intervertebral Disc: The Effect Of Environmental Factors On Metabolic Activity, Lukas M. Jaworski
Open Access Dissertations
Lower back pain is a major socioeconomic concern in developed nations. Moreover, it is a condition which a majority of people will experience an episode within their lifetime, with a portion becoming chronically afflicted. Degeneration of the intervertebral disc (IVD) is believed to play a critical role in initiating lower back pain. Poor nutrient supplies are implicated as a one of the root causes of this degeneration and much effort has been spent to better elucidate the behavior of IVD cells. The IVD is the largest avascular structure within the body, relying on diffusion to migrate nutrients in and clear …
Reimagining Gender Violence: Understanding Community-Based Organizations’ Use Of Restorative And Transformative Justices As Social Change Strategies, Ahjané D. Billingsley
Reimagining Gender Violence: Understanding Community-Based Organizations’ Use Of Restorative And Transformative Justices As Social Change Strategies, Ahjané D. Billingsley
Open Access Dissertations
Currently, the “violence against women” (VAW) frame that informs dominant responses to gender violence has had limited success. This frame often excludes victims who are men, gender diverse, and those of sexual minorities, and the omissions have resulted in collateral harms to victims and communities. Scholars and community psychologists have noted the need for multilevel, ecological, and multidimensional gender violence interventions and preventions. Some community-based organizations are responding to the limitations of the VAW frame by using restorative justice and/or transformative justice/community accountability social change strategies within social settings to understand and address gender violence. This study used interpretive phenomenology …
Non-Sovereign Poetics: Rethinking Nationalism And Independence In Puerto Rico, Martinique, And Guadeloupe, Fély Catan
Non-Sovereign Poetics: Rethinking Nationalism And Independence In Puerto Rico, Martinique, And Guadeloupe, Fély Catan
Open Access Dissertations
This dissertation reconsiders the notion of political sovereignty, independence and nationalism in the non-sovereign Caribbean context. I explore the ways in which writers and artists from Puerto Rico, Martinique, and Guadeloupe envision alternative epistemologies to the Western concepts of sovereignty and the nation-state. By questioning the traditional model of state sovereignty through the linguistic, aesthetic, and thematic components of their texts, plays, and visual, I argue that these artists have expressed other ways to be sovereign. This dissertation analyzes a defiant artistic production that originates in a contemporary crossroads for economic survival in a Caribbean context. I investigate how the …
Informing An Intervention To Address High-Risk Sexual Behavior In Hispanic Men Who Have Sex With Men, Jacob Martinez
Informing An Intervention To Address High-Risk Sexual Behavior In Hispanic Men Who Have Sex With Men, Jacob Martinez
Open Access Dissertations
Hispanic men who have sex with men (MSM) continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV infection. However, few interventions have been shown to be effective in decreasing high-risk sexual behaviors among Hispanic MSM. The purpose of this dissertation study was to explore factors that may contribute to Hispanic MSM engagement in interventions to decrease high-risk sexual behaviors and to add relevant data to inform a culturally appropriate intervention. A qualitative descriptive research design was utilized to conduct in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a sample of 21 Hispanic MSM from various collaborator community sites in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Data were analyzed using …
Exploring Myosin Rlc Phosphorylation As A Potential Novel Therapeutic Target For Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, Sunil Yadav
Exploring Myosin Rlc Phosphorylation As A Potential Novel Therapeutic Target For Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, Sunil Yadav
Open Access Dissertations
Background: Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is one of the most prevalent heart diseases characterized by ventricular and septal hypertrophy, myocardial fibrosis and myofibrillar disarray. Genetic forms of HCM are mainly caused by mutations in major sarcomeric proteins such as β-myosin heavy chain (β-MHC), myosin protein binding C (MyBP-C), regulatory and essential light chains (RLC/ELC), troponin, tropomyosin and actin. My Ph.D. proposal focuses on myosin RLC and two RLC mutations: Arginine-to-Glutamine, R58Q, and Aspartic acid-to-Valine, D166V, that cause HCM and strives to provide insight into the importance of human cardiac myosin RLC phosphorylation site at Ser-15 for normal heart function and its …
Functional Significance Of The Hexosamine Biosynthesis Pathway In Pancreatic Cancer, Nikita Satish Sharma
Functional Significance Of The Hexosamine Biosynthesis Pathway In Pancreatic Cancer, Nikita Satish Sharma
Open Access Dissertations
Pancreatic cancer is a notoriously lethal disease. Late detection, lack of effective biomarkers, presence of a treatment refractory population of cells, an impermeable stroma, metastasis and tumor recurrence are some of the factors contributing to the dismissal 5-year survival rate of 8% for this disease. Hexosamine Biosynthesis Pathway (HBP) is a unique node in cancer metabolism. Its end product, UDP-GlcNAc is used by both tumor cells and the extracellular matrix component Hyaluronan for signaling, proliferation and metastasis of pancreatic cancer cells. While there have been reports examining the significance of HBP in individual factors contributing to tumor aggressiveness, a comprehensive …
Modeling Relationships Among Psychological Distress, Eating Styles, And Hunger, Jennifer Ann Schmaus
Modeling Relationships Among Psychological Distress, Eating Styles, And Hunger, Jennifer Ann Schmaus
Open Access Theses
Hunger is an essential human process and develops through both physiological and neurological mechanisms. Hunger is driven by secretion of molecules and hypothalamic neural circuits that stimulate appetite and promote food intake. Pathways to hunger may also be influenced by higher-order cognitive and emotional processes to ultimately impact food intake and eating behavior. For example, increased symptoms of depression, anxiety, anger, and hostility (hereby referred to as “hostile negative affect”) are suggested to increase hunger and food intake. Additionally, perceived stress has been shown to both decrease and increase hunger and food intake. The stress-induced eating hypothesis posits that, when …
Perception Of Management Success In The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary: A Comparative Analysis Between Residents And Visitors, Charline Tina Quenée
Perception Of Management Success In The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary: A Comparative Analysis Between Residents And Visitors, Charline Tina Quenée
Open Access Theses
The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is a multiple-use marine protected area with a history of tension between management entities and local stakeholders. At the root of the issues are differences in the definition of “successful management” between these two stakeholder groups and recent administrative vacancies within the Sanctuary’s management staff have made it difficult for the Sanctuary to update its management plan. This study surveyed two primary stakeholder groups in the Florida Keys in order to gain understanding of their perceptions of successful management. A comprehensive intercept survey detailing various management objectives was presented to participants in person using …
The Diverse Roles Of Mitochondrial Dynamics In Retinal Ganglion Cell Maturation, Disease, And Regeneration, Alexander Kreymerman
The Diverse Roles Of Mitochondrial Dynamics In Retinal Ganglion Cell Maturation, Disease, And Regeneration, Alexander Kreymerman
Open Access Dissertations
Mitochondria maintain a diversity of roles central to the array of neuronal functions and survival, as implied by the ubiquitous evidence of mitochondrial roles in neuronal developmental, aging, and disease progression. The canonical function of mitochondria is to produce ATP, a critical and dominant molecule used by cells for energy requiring activities. However, since their discovery more than a century ago, mitochondria have been implicated in a vast collection of cellular processes, largely driven by their expanded function beyond metabolism, including secondary messenger signaling, cytoplasmic Ca2+ signaling, fatty acid oxidation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and protein scaffolding. More recently, …
A Comprehensive Investigation Of Mth1 As A Novel Therapeutic Target In Ras-Driven Cancers., Govindi Jayanika De Alwis Samaranayake
A Comprehensive Investigation Of Mth1 As A Novel Therapeutic Target In Ras-Driven Cancers., Govindi Jayanika De Alwis Samaranayake
Open Access Dissertations
The nucleotide pool is significantly more susceptible to oxidative damage induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS) compared to genomic DNA, due to DNA being more protected by the double helix and nucleosome packing. The NUDIX pyrophosphatase, MutT Homolog 1 (MTH1), maintains nucleotide pool integrity by hydrolyzing oxidized purines thus preventing their genomic incorporation. If incorporated into DNA the accumulation of these oxidized purines can lead to DNA strand breaks, genomic instability, and ultimately cell death. Our prior work has shown that MTH1 is critical in facilitating multiple pro-tumorigenic phenotypes in oncogenic RAS-mutated cancer cells, with its depletion leading to decreased …
A Performance Edition Of Charles Villiers Stanford's Cello Concerto In D Minor, Patrick Shea Kole
A Performance Edition Of Charles Villiers Stanford's Cello Concerto In D Minor, Patrick Shea Kole
Open Access Dissertations
The following paper appears in conjunction with a video of a lecture recital by Patrick Shea Kole. The subject of this doctoral thesis is a cello concerto by Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924). Written in 1879 and orchestrated in 1880, the concerto was not published in the composer's lifetime. The manuscripts resurfaced in 2002, leading to the publication of a critical edition in 2012. The recency of its publication means that cellists are just now becoming aware of this exceptional 19th century concerto. My lecture recital on February 12th 2019 at the Frost School of Music (included here) was the United …
The Ecophysiology Of Photosynthetic Heat Tolerances In Tropical Plants, Timothy More Perez
The Ecophysiology Of Photosynthetic Heat Tolerances In Tropical Plants, Timothy More Perez
Open Access Dissertations
Temperature governs several biological processes from molecular to macroecological scales. Underlying many ecological processes is the assumption that fitness is constrained by the physiological limits of species’ metabolic function. The thermal limits of metabolic function, termed thermal tolerances, are often assumed to directly translate into the environmental conditions that define species’ abiotic thermal niches. When species exceed their physiological thermal tolerances, it is expected to negatively impact fitness, and may therefore provide a basis for understanding the environmental constraints on species distributions. Given the rising temperatures caused by climate change, heat tolerances are of particular interest for understanding these constraints. …
Induction Of Beta-Cell Regeneration By Activin-Like Kinase 3 Stimulation, Mirza Muhammad Fahd Qadir
Induction Of Beta-Cell Regeneration By Activin-Like Kinase 3 Stimulation, Mirza Muhammad Fahd Qadir
Open Access Dissertations
Glucose homeostasis is maintained and tightly regulated via production of key hormones that control the uptake and metabolism of glucose. β-cells, which secrete insulin, are the subject of autoimmune destruction in type 1 diabetes. From a developmental standpoint, Bone Morphogenetic Protein receptors (BMPRs) have a key role in multiple cell processes, including proliferation and differentiation. Targeting these receptors to identify and induce the proliferation of progenitor cells could have therapeutic applications. Previous studies have shown the conversion of the exocrine compartment of the pancreas to form insulin-producing cells. In this context, we have identified a cell residing in the pancreatic …
The Effect Of A High Intensity Interval Exercise Bout On Addictive Behaviors In Overweight/Obese Adults, Sarah Zaldivar
The Effect Of A High Intensity Interval Exercise Bout On Addictive Behaviors In Overweight/Obese Adults, Sarah Zaldivar
Open Access Dissertations
Addictive snacking can contribute to excessive caloric intake having an adverse effect on body weight and the obesity pandemic. Studies have reported that moderate intensity exercise decreases chocolate consumption. However, the effect of high intensity interval exercise (HIIE) on addictive snacking is unknown. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a brief HIIE bout on cravings, affect (affective valence and affective activation), and attentional bias to chocolate. Twelve regular chocolate eaters (10 premenopausal females; 2 males; mean age: 30.5 ± 7.37 years, mean BMI: 28.67 ± 4.5 kg/m2) abstained from chocolate consumption for 24 h prior to evaluation. Participants …
Contemporary Central American Imaginaries Under (Re)Construction: Landings In A Postwar Cultural Landscape, Rosario Catalina Ramírez
Contemporary Central American Imaginaries Under (Re)Construction: Landings In A Postwar Cultural Landscape, Rosario Catalina Ramírez
Open Access Dissertations
My dissertation maps contemporary Central American cultural production in literature, music and grassroots networks for culture. It is focused on the postwar period in the region, from the signing of the Peace Accords in the 1990s onwards. I focus on emergent cultural narratives in order to analyze the reconstruction of isthmian imaginaries through a constructive lens. Cultural texts and discursive imaginaries are analyzed from a perspective grounded in local histories versus the grand homogenizing narratives that have historically defined the Central America isthmus, such as mestizaje and the revolutionary as paradigm. Through the analytical constructs of aterrizaje and descendencia, …
Genomic Analyses Reveal The Evolutionary Dynamics Of Speciation In Two Tropical Avian Systems, Sarah Alison Cowles
Genomic Analyses Reveal The Evolutionary Dynamics Of Speciation In Two Tropical Avian Systems, Sarah Alison Cowles
Open Access Dissertations
The process of speciation is long and complex, and takes place in multiple stages, with a variety of potential outcomes. Studying lineages at different stages in the speciation process can lend insight into the evolutionary factors that generate and maintain biodiversity. For my dissertation, I used two genomic datasets generated from field-collected DNA samples in two tropical avian systems to examine the early and late stages of the speciation process. I studied the initial stages of speciation in the Amazilia Hummingbird (Amazilia amazilia) subspecies complex. Found across Ecuador and Peru, this species is split into six phenotypically differentiated …
The Effects Of Environmental Variables And Anthropogenic Pollutants On The Physiology And Behavior Of Marine Fishes, Lela S. Schlenker
The Effects Of Environmental Variables And Anthropogenic Pollutants On The Physiology And Behavior Of Marine Fishes, Lela S. Schlenker
Open Access Dissertations
In the face of rapidly changing environmental conditions due to human mediated climate change and large-scale pollution events such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, it is critical to understand the relationship between environmental stimuli and the behavior of marine fishes. Sustainable management of commercially important and highly migratory fish species, such as mahi-mahi (Coryphaena hippurus), as well as unfished reef species, like the bicolor damselfish (Stegastes partitus), depend upon our understanding of their physiology and behavior in response to changing habitat conditions. Olfaction is critical for fish to detect environmental cues and triggers behaviors that …
The Plastic Crisis Goes Public: Representations Of Plastic Pollution In Environmental Media, Savannah Geary
The Plastic Crisis Goes Public: Representations Of Plastic Pollution In Environmental Media, Savannah Geary
Open Access Theses
Plastic pollution emerged as a landmark environmental issue in the last few years, and as such, has appeared in environmental media. This thesis examines the representations of plastic pollution in environmental communication campaigns, social media of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), environmental campaigns created by the advertising industry, corporate environmentalism efforts, and media from concerned individuals. While plastic materials began as a way to mimic materials found in nature, their ubiquity, heavy promotion from petrochemical companies, and widespread adoption as single-use disposables outpaced waste disposal measures. NGOs and nonprofits unite under networked environmental campaigns, invoke agenda-setting theory, and favor framing that features …
Predicting Hiv Transmissions From Syndemic Factors In A Large Clinic-Based Sample, Satyanand Satyanarayana
Predicting Hiv Transmissions From Syndemic Factors In A Large Clinic-Based Sample, Satyanand Satyanarayana
Open Access Theses
Background: The theory of syndemics—whereby synergism between co-occurring psychosocial epidemics exacerbates health outcomes—has informed efforts to quantify the risk of contracting HIV, but it has rarely been used to quantify HIV transmission risk among people living with HIV (PLWH). To improve treatment as prevention (TasP) efforts, greater insight is needed about how syndemic factors influence viral suppression and biobehavioral transmission risk behavior among PLWH. Method: Data were from 14,261 PLWH receiving care through the Centers for AIDS Research Network of Integrated Clinical Systems at seven sites from 2007 to 2017. Syndemic factors (depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, drug use, and alcohol …
Multi-Scale Analysis Of Multifunctional Composites And 3d Printed Polymers, Daniel Branden Perez
Multi-Scale Analysis Of Multifunctional Composites And 3d Printed Polymers, Daniel Branden Perez
Open Access Dissertations
Methods of multi-scale analysis through combined physical testing and computational FEM were used to investigate structural battery composites and 3D printed polymers. Multifunctional composite structural batteries are materials capable of storing electrical energy while providing structural rigidity. Two battery cell configurations were considered: a carbon paper based cell with copper and aluminum foils, and a woven carbon fiber-based battery with nickel and iron deposition coatings. Flexural simulations were performed through simulated and physical three-point bend testing. Unidirectional carbon fiber layers in the place of the carbon paper can lead to up to a 233.73 GPa stiffness, significantly greater than the …
Investigating Novel Compounds In The Treatment Of Cardiac Arrhythmia, Briana Marie Bohannon
Investigating Novel Compounds In The Treatment Of Cardiac Arrhythmia, Briana Marie Bohannon
Open Access Dissertations
Cardiac arrhythmia leads to 325,000 cases of sudden cardiac death annually in adults alone (Clinic 2017). Long QT Syndrome (LQTS) is an arrhythmogenic disorder that is caused by mutations (or channelopathies) in voltage-gated ion channels expressed in the cardiomyocyte. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have emerged as a potential therapeutic for the treatment of LQTS because they modulate the activity of voltage-gated ion channels involved in LQTS pathology. PUFAs are amphipathic molecules with a hydrophilic head group, as well as long, polyunsaturated hydrophobic tail. In this work, we demonstrate that the position of the double bonds in the hydrophobic tail influence …
James Stephenson: Symphony #3 "Visions"- A Conductor's Literary Companion, Alexander Magalong
James Stephenson: Symphony #3 "Visions"- A Conductor's Literary Companion, Alexander Magalong
Open Access Dissertations
The primary purpose of this essay is to provide information and an overview for conductors and performers who are preparing a performance of Symphony #3 “Visions” by James Stephenson. Each individual movement is discussed, addressing a range of observations as discovered from extensive score study. These include theoretical observations, use of orchestration, and thematic and motivic development. Unifying elements to other movements such as thematic recurrences are identified. Each chapter also addresses performance considerations such as potential issues with balance, clarifications with articulations, considerations for ensemble precision, vital cues from the conductor, and so forth. Appendices include the composer’s program …
Leveraging Admixture In United States Minority Populations To Elucidate The Genetic Underpinnings Of Multiple Sclerosis, Ashley Harris Beecham
Leveraging Admixture In United States Minority Populations To Elucidate The Genetic Underpinnings Of Multiple Sclerosis, Ashley Harris Beecham
Open Access Dissertations
Notable progress has been made towards unraveling the genetic architecture of multiple sclerosis (MS) within ancestral European populations; with 200 confirmed variants outside of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) explaining ~19% of the genetic predisposition to MS, and the MHC alone explaining ~20%. However, the genetics of MS in Hispanics and African Americans remains largely understudied. I proposed to examine the role of the previously confirmed non-MHC MS risk loci in United States patient populations of Hispanics and African Americans and to identify novel loci. In Hispanics, I proposed to extend these analyses; both to characterize the MHC and to …
The Effects Of Coral Presence Among Red Mangrove (Rhizophora Mangle) Prop Roots On Caribbean Fish Communities., Jennifer Lynn Wright
The Effects Of Coral Presence Among Red Mangrove (Rhizophora Mangle) Prop Roots On Caribbean Fish Communities., Jennifer Lynn Wright
Open Access Theses
Coral reefs and mangroves play a variety of roles in the lives of reef fishes, serving as nursery, feeding, and breeding grounds. Mangroves, while often near reef ecosystems, do not typically have suitable conditions for coral recruitment and growth, though mangrove-coral habitats do occur. The distribution and extent of these mangrove-coral habitats, as well as the composition of the fish community that utilizes them, are poorly understood. In several locations throughout Bocas del Toro, Panama, many species of corals grow on and among submerged red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) prop roots. This study aimed to analyze the reef fish …