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Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Microbiology

The Effect Of Febrile Temperature On Plasmodium Falciparum, Heidi Sue Porter Dec 2007

The Effect Of Febrile Temperature On Plasmodium Falciparum, Heidi Sue Porter

Theses and Dissertations

Previously it has been shown that cultures of Plasmodium falciparum died following exposure to a febrile temperature of 40°C, as demonstrated by a decrease in parasitemia of the following generation. In the current study, the effect of 40°C treatment on culture media, erythrocytes, and parasite glucose consumption, were ruled out as possible influences on parasite death, demonstrating that 40°C impacted the parasites directly. Metabolic profiling of DNA synthesis, protein synthesis, and glucose utilization during exposure to 40°C clearly indicated that febrile temperatures had direct effect on major metabolic pathways and parasite development, beginning 20-24 hr after erythrocyte invasion. The ring …


Differential Resource Allocation In Deer Mice Exposed To Sin Nombre Virus, Eric Wilson, Erin M. Lehmer, Christine A. Clay, Stephen St. Jeor, Denise M. Dearing Sep 2007

Differential Resource Allocation In Deer Mice Exposed To Sin Nombre Virus, Eric Wilson, Erin M. Lehmer, Christine A. Clay, Stephen St. Jeor, Denise M. Dearing

Faculty Publications

The resource allocation hypothesis predicts that reproductive activity suppresses immunocompetence; however, this has never been tested in an endemic disease system with free-ranging mammals. We tested the resource allocation hypothesis in wild deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) with natural exposure to Sin Nombre Virus (SNV). Immunocompetence was estimated from the extent of swelling elicited after deer mice were injected with phytohemagglutinin (PHA); swelling is positively correlated with immunocompetence. After livetrapping deer mice, we determined their reproductive state and SNV infection status. Males were more likely to be seropositive for SNV than females (37% vs. 25%) and exhibited 10% less swelling after …


Differential Response Of Various Spore Species To Sporicidal Disinfectants, Michael David Pratt Aug 2007

Differential Response Of Various Spore Species To Sporicidal Disinfectants, Michael David Pratt

Theses and Dissertations

In the fall of 2001, letters laced with anthrax spores were delivered to various news organizations in New York and Florida, as well as to two Senators in Washington, D.C. Over 22 anthrax infections and five deaths resulted from exposure to these spores, and decontamination of the affected buildings was both time consuming and costly. Since these attacks, interest in sporicidal disinfectants has increased greatly. Many chemical sporicidal disinfectants are available commercially, but the exposure time required to sterilize can be relatively long. In addition, some spores are simply injured or inhibited by chemical disinfectants, but not necessarily killed. Studies …


Characterization Of A Novel Nuclear Variant Of Bmp2 And Coordinate Regulation Of Col11a2 And Col27a1 By The Transcription Factor Lc-Maf, Jaime Lynn Mayo Jul 2007

Characterization Of A Novel Nuclear Variant Of Bmp2 And Coordinate Regulation Of Col11a2 And Col27a1 By The Transcription Factor Lc-Maf, Jaime Lynn Mayo

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT I CHARACTERIZATION OF A NOVEL NUCLEAR VARIANT OF BMP2

Bone morphogenetic protein 2 (Bmp2) is a signaling protein that was first detected by its ability to induce cartilage and bone formation. It has since been implicated in broad variety of developmental, patterning, and disease processes. To date, Bmp2 has only been known to function as an extracellular signaling molecule. However, we have obtained clear evidence for a nuclear form of Bmp2. This nuclear variant, nBmp2, contains a bipartite NLS that overlaps the site of proteolytic cleavage. The NLS remains intact and functional when translation of Bmp2 initiates from a …


An Infection Model For Examining The Effects Of Gender And Diabetic State On Proinflammatory Cytokine Secretion By Phagocytic Cells In Response To Infection With Burkholderia Pseudomallei, Laura L. Dickey Apr 2007

An Infection Model For Examining The Effects Of Gender And Diabetic State On Proinflammatory Cytokine Secretion By Phagocytic Cells In Response To Infection With Burkholderia Pseudomallei, Laura L. Dickey

Theses and Dissertations

Burkholderia pseudomallei is an opportunistic soil pathogen that causes melioidosis, a life-threatening human disease prevalent in Southeast Asia, northern Australia, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. The organism also causes disease in plants and animals. Persons with severe melioidosis usually die of septicemia. Relatively little is known regarding the virulence mechanisms of B. pseudomallei; however, several putative virulence determinants have been identified. The organism is able to invade and replicate within phagocytic cells and is particularly pathogenic in males with diabetes mellitus. B. thailandensis is closely related to B. pseudomallei, but is not pathogenic. This study examines various in …


Inhibitory Effects Of Estrogen Receptor Beta On Specific Hormone-Responsive Gene Expression And Association With Disease Outcome In Primary Breast Cancer, Chin-Yo Lin, Anders Strom, Li Say Kong, Silke Kietz, Jane S. Thomsen, Jason B. S. Tee, Vinsensius B. Vega, Lance D. Miller, Johanna Smeds, Jonas Bergh, Jan-Ake Gustafsson, Edison T. Liu Apr 2007

Inhibitory Effects Of Estrogen Receptor Beta On Specific Hormone-Responsive Gene Expression And Association With Disease Outcome In Primary Breast Cancer, Chin-Yo Lin, Anders Strom, Li Say Kong, Silke Kietz, Jane S. Thomsen, Jason B. S. Tee, Vinsensius B. Vega, Lance D. Miller, Johanna Smeds, Jonas Bergh, Jan-Ake Gustafsson, Edison T. Liu

Faculty Publications

The impact of interactions between the two estrogen receptor (ER) subtypes, ER(alpha) and ER(beta), on gene expression in breast cancer biology is not clear. The goal of this study was to examine transcriptomic alterations in cancer cells co-expressing both receptors and the association of gene expression signatures with disease outcome. Methods: Transcriptional effects of ER(beta) overexpression were determined in a stably transfected cell line derived from ER(alpha) -positive T-47D cells. Microarray analysis was carried out to identify differential gene expression in the cell line, and expression of key genes was validated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Microarray and clinical data …


Tandem Repeat Regions Within The Burkholderia Pseudomallei Genome And Their Application For High Resolution Genotyping, Richard A. Robison, Jana M. U'Ren, James M. Schupp, Talima Pearson, Heidie Hornstra, Christine L. Friedman Clark, Kimothy L. Smith, Rebecca R. Leadem Daugherty, Shane D. Rhoton, Ben Leadem, Shalamar Georgia, Michelle Cardon, Lynn Y. Huynh, David Deshazer, Steven P. Harvey, Daniel Gal, Mark J. Mayo, David Wagner, Bart J. Currie, Paul Keim Mar 2007

Tandem Repeat Regions Within The Burkholderia Pseudomallei Genome And Their Application For High Resolution Genotyping, Richard A. Robison, Jana M. U'Ren, James M. Schupp, Talima Pearson, Heidie Hornstra, Christine L. Friedman Clark, Kimothy L. Smith, Rebecca R. Leadem Daugherty, Shane D. Rhoton, Ben Leadem, Shalamar Georgia, Michelle Cardon, Lynn Y. Huynh, David Deshazer, Steven P. Harvey, Daniel Gal, Mark J. Mayo, David Wagner, Bart J. Currie, Paul Keim

Faculty Publications

The facultative, intracellular bacterium Burkholderia pseudomalle is the causative agent of melioidosis, a serious infectious disease of humans and animals. We identified and categorized tandem repeat arrays and their distribution throughout the genome of B. pseudomallei strain K96243 in order to develop a genetic typing method for B. pseudomallei. We then screened 104 of the potentially polymorphic loci across a diverse panel of 31 isolates including B. pseudomallei, B. mallei and B. thailandensis in order to identify loci with varying degrees of polymorphism. A subset of these tandem repeat arrays were subsequently developed into a multiple-locus VNTR analysis to examine …


Ecology Of Culturable Organisms At Rozel Point, Great Salt Lake, Utah, Emily Sarah Haws Mar 2007

Ecology Of Culturable Organisms At Rozel Point, Great Salt Lake, Utah, Emily Sarah Haws

Theses and Dissertations

The study of organisms from extreme environments is an emerging field of research with applications to multiple scientific areas. One of these extreme environments is Great Salt Lake (GSL), whose microbiology has yet to be extensively studied. This dynamic and unique environment offers an excellent opportunity to increase understanding of hypersaline ecology. Cultivation of microorganisms remains an important part of ecology research, as it is essential for understanding microbial physiology. We report here the culturing and characterization of isolates from Rozel Point, located on the northeastern shore of Great Salt Lake. This site was chosen because of the presence of …


The Role Of Prolactin In Ccl28 Regulation, Jennie Hyde Mar 2007

The Role Of Prolactin In Ccl28 Regulation, Jennie Hyde

Theses and Dissertations

Infants are born with naive immune systems, making them susceptible to a variety of infections. In order to protect the newborn infant it is important that mothers be able to pass protective IgA antibodies to their infants through breast milk. B cells that produce IgA enter the mammary tissue during lactation and secrete IgA into the milk. During pregnancy, the mammary tissue expresses high levels of chemokines, molecules that allow lymphocytes to selectively home to specific tissues. The chemokine CCL28 has been shown to be upregulated during both pregnancy and lactation, and is vital for the ability of IgA-producing B …