Biology Commons^™

The Role Of Msa In The Global Regulation Of Virulence In Staphylococcus Aureus, Vijayaraj Nagarajan

Dissertations

Staphylococcus aureus is an important pathogen causing life threatening diseases in humans. Previously we showed that msa modulates the activity of sarA (Staphylococcal accessory regulator), which is one of a major global regulator of virulence in S. aureus. The objective of this study is to characterize the role of msa (Modulator of SarA) in the global regulation of virulence in S. aureus. Structure and function predictions were done using several computational tools and approaches to understand the nature of msa. A novel S. aureus microarray meta-database (SAMMD) was designed and developed to compare and contrast other transcriptomes with msa transcriptome. …

To Love Your Neighbor: A Christian Perspective On The Study Of Microbiology And Immunology, Joy Doan

Faith Learning Integration Papers

I have been blessed with enough of a sense of adventure to have experienced the awe-inspiring beauty of a rain forest at night, the top of Half Dome at Yosemite National Park, the sheer cliffs and rushing waters of the Narrows at Zion National Park, Plateau Point—which seems suspended in the Grand Canyon, and the top of a 14,000-foot peak in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. These are the types of places about which one of the characters in Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance observes, “This is the hardest stuff in the world to photograph. You …

Soluble Factors From Plasmodium Falciparum-Infected Erythrocytes Induce Apoptosis In Human Brain Vascular Endothelial And Neuroglia Cells, Winston Anderson

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

The severity of malaria is multi-factorial. It is associated with parasite-induced alteration in pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine and chemokine levels in host serum and cerebrospinal fluid. It is also associated with sequestration and cytoadherence of parasitized erythrocytes (pRBCs) in post-capillary venules and blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction. The role of these factors in development of vascular injury and tissue damage in malaria patients is unclear. While some studies indicate a requirement for pRBC adhesion to vascular endothelial cells (ECs) in brain capillaries to induce apoptosis and BBB damage, others show no role of apoptosis resulting from adhesion of pRBC to EC. …

Soluble Factors From Plasmodium Falciparum-Infected Erythrocytes Induce Apoptosis In Human Brain Vascular Endothelial And Neuroglia Cells, Winston A. Anderson

Winston Anderson

Trypanosoma Cruzi In Wild Raccoons And Opossums From Kentucky, Brian Chad Groce

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Only 6 autochthonous cases of human Chagas disease have been documented in the U.S.A., however, as many as 5% of immigrants from Latin America may be infected with the etiologic agent, Trypanosoma cruzi. The parasite has been isolated from a variety of wild mammals, particularly in the southeastern region of the U.S.A. The goal of our study was to determine if the sylvatic cycle of T. cruzi infection occurs in Kentucky, and, if present, to assess the prevalence of infection in Warren and Barren counties. Raccoons and opossums were live-trapped between June and December, 2007. Animals were anesthetized with …

Louis Pasteur’S Views On Creation, Evolution, And The Genesis Of Germs, Alan L. Gillen, Frank Sherwin

Faculty Publications and Presentations

“There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.” Ecclesiastes 1:11 (NIV)

In past years revisionist historians have been rewriting the worldview of Christians who have made some of the major discoveries in biology and medicine. It appears that postmodern revisionists are rewriting history to support their agenda of a more “secular” explanation to science. The Judeo-Christian worldview is not politically correct in most universities. This is true in regard to past scientists such as Louis Pasteur who believed in creation. According to reliable, primary …

Molecular Characterization And Related Aspects Of The Innate Immune Response In Ticks, Daniel E. Sonenshine, Wayne L. Hynes

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Compared to insects, little is known about innate immunity in ticks. This chapter addresses the molecular processes that recognize non-self and the cellular and molecular processes mobilized to phagocytose, engulf, inhibit or kill invaders. We discuss the receptors that recognize pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and the putative up-regulation of regulatory cascades that lead, ultimately, to cellular or molecular responses. We describe the molecular events that activate the cellular processes and the array of humoral factors that are mobilized against invading organisms, including antimicrobial peptides, proteases and protease inhibitors, lectins, coagulation factors and others. Special attention is directed to the …

Historical Mammal Extinction On Christmas Island (Indian Ocean) Correlates With Introduced Infectious Disease, Kelly B. Wyatt, Paula F. Campos, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Sergios-Orestis Kolokotronis, Wayne H. Hynes, Rob Desalle, Peter Daszak, Ross D.E. Macphee, Alex D. Greenwood

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

It is now widely accepted that novel infectious disease can be a leading cause of serious population decline and even outright extinction in some invertebrate and vertebrate groups (e. g., amphibians). In the case of mammals, however, there are still no well-corroborated instances of such diseases having caused or significantly contributed to the complete collapse of species. A case in point is the extinction of the endemic Christmas Island rat (Rattus macleari): although it has been argued that its disappearance ca. AD 1900 may have been partly or wholly caused by a pathogenic trypanosome carried by fleas hosted …