Digital Commons Network^™

Reduction Of Dose Calculation Errors For Patients With Metal Implants Receiving Photon Radiation Therapy, Jessie Huang-Vredevoogd

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Many patients receiving external beam radiation therapy have metal implants that can affect their treatment, and these metal implants can degrade the accuracy of dose calculations. Dose calculation errors result from limitations of modern dose calculation algorithms in modeling metal/tissue interface effects. Metals also cause streak artifacts in the computed tomography (CT) images that are used for treatment planning, and these artifacts can also degrade dose calculation accuracy. Metal based-energy deposition kernels are a potential solution for the calculation errors associated with the limitations of the convolution/superposition (C/S) dose calculation method as they better model photon interactions and scatter in …

Evaluation Of Current Knowledge Of Genetics Among Dental Students, Residents And Dental Hygiene Students, Carla Mcgruder

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Genetic testing is increasingly available in clinical settings. To provide personalized patient care, dental health professionals must have a greater understanding of genetics. The Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) credentials all dental schools in the United States and currently does not mandate genetics training for official approval of programs. There is little information about dental genetics education and no known studies that have evaluated dental students, residents and dental hygiene students’ knowledge of human genetics. It is crucial to assess genetics knowledge of this population to ascertain if dental schools are preparing students for the future of personalized dentistry. This …

Oxidative Protein Folding Pathways In Gram-Positive Actinobacteria, Melissa E. Robinson

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Disulfide bonds are important for the stability of many secreted proteins. These covalent linkages, which result from the oxidation of neighboring cysteine (Cys) residues, are often rate-limiting steps for protein folding and maturation. Disulfide bond formation is restricted to extracellular oxidizing compartments like the eukaryotic endoplasmic reticulum and Gram-negative bacterial periplasm. Protein oxidation has been well-studied in these organisms, but largely ignored in Gram-positive bacteria. Due to the absence of an outer membrane, these organisms are thought to lack compartments in which to catalyze oxidative protein folding.

This thesis reveals that Gram-positive Actinobacteria use disulfide bond formation to help fold …