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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

The Impact Of Aging And Mechanical Injury On Alveolar Epithelial And Macrophage Responses In Acute Lung Injury And Inflammation, Michael S. Valentine Jan 2020

The Impact Of Aging And Mechanical Injury On Alveolar Epithelial And Macrophage Responses In Acute Lung Injury And Inflammation, Michael S. Valentine

Theses and Dissertations

Patients with severe lung pathologies, such as Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), often require mechanical ventilation as a clinical intervention; however, this procedure frequently exacerbates the original pulmonary issue and produces an exaggerated inflammatory response that potentially leads to sepsis, multisystem organ failure, and mortality. This acute lung injury (ALI) condition has been termed Ventilator-Induced Lung Injury (VILI). Alveolar overdistension, cyclic atelectasis, and biotrauma are the primary injury mechanisms in VILI that lead to the loss of alveolar barrier integrity and pulmonary inflammation. Stress and strains during mechanical ventilation are believed to initiate alveolar epithelial mechanotransduction signaling mechanisms that contribute …


The Role Of Manganese In Streptococcus Sanguinis, Tanya M. Puccio Jan 2020

The Role Of Manganese In Streptococcus Sanguinis, Tanya M. Puccio

Theses and Dissertations

Streptococcus sanguinis is primarily associated with oral health as a commensal bacterium. As an opportunistic pathogen, S. sanguinis is capable of colonizing heart valve vegetations, leading to the disease infective endocarditis. Previous studies from our lab have identified the high-affinity manganese transporter SsaACB as important for endocarditis virulence. The impact that manganese depletion has on S. sanguinis had never been evaluated and a secondary manganese transporter has not been identified. Thus, we employed the use of a fermentor to control large-scale growth over time and depleted manganese in an ΔssaACB mutant using a metal chelator, EDTA. The changes in …


A Eukaryotic Signature Based Method For Identification Of Saliva, Feces, And Urine, Alyssa Daniels Jan 2020

A Eukaryotic Signature Based Method For Identification Of Saliva, Feces, And Urine, Alyssa Daniels

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

The conception of the Human Microbiome Project advanced the understanding of microbial communities in the human body and previous research has established that unique microbial signatures can help distinguish each body fluid. While these signatures have been developed for the prokaryotic microbiome, the next step is the examination of the eukaryotic microbiome. Eukaryotic signatures could provide a greater specificity and statistical weight when discerning between body fluids. These microbial markers can be implemented to develop a confirmatory assay for body fluid identification that works in tandem with other DNA based methods in the forensic workflow. Using a VCU approved IRB …


Development Of A Quantitative Pcr (Qpcr) Based Method For Studying Temporal Dna Degradation In Waterlogged Bone, Isis Thornton Jan 2020

Development Of A Quantitative Pcr (Qpcr) Based Method For Studying Temporal Dna Degradation In Waterlogged Bone, Isis Thornton

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Human activities are often centered around the presence of water, thus it is not surprising that there are many water-related human deaths. Accumulated degree days (ADD), and other aquatic variables may affect DNA retrieval from waterlogged bone. Calcium and collagen in bone can inhibit the PCR necessary to produce an STR profile; the current solution is a time-consuming organic extraction. While there are examples of research on DNA degradation in terrestrial bone over time, there has been little work done on submerged bone samples and they are usually limited to case studies. The major aim of this study was to …