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Involvement Of Ampk And Ap-1 Biochemical Pathways In Il-6 Regulation Of Steroidogenic Enzymes In The Adrenal Cortex, Matharage Shenali De Silva Dec 2013

Involvement Of Ampk And Ap-1 Biochemical Pathways In Il-6 Regulation Of Steroidogenic Enzymes In The Adrenal Cortex, Matharage Shenali De Silva

Theses and Dissertations

The adrenal cortex is a crucial endocrine gland in the mammalian stress response. In chronic inflammatory stress, cortisol is elevated whereas adrenal androgens are decreased. Furthermore, ACTH levels have poor correlation with the plasma cortisol in these conditions, thus suggesting that other factors are driving the stress response during chronic inflammatory stress. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), a cytokine which is released during chronic inflammatory stress, is assumed to be one such factor. Thus the biochemical pathways by which IL-6 increases cortisol release from the zona fasciculata (ZF), and decreases adrenal androgen release from the zona reticularis (ZR) were investigated. Since IL-6 activates …


Ferritin-Based Photo-Oxidation Of Biomass For Nanoparticle Synthesis, Bioremediation, And Hydrogen Evolution, Oscar Petrucci Dec 2013

Ferritin-Based Photo-Oxidation Of Biomass For Nanoparticle Synthesis, Bioremediation, And Hydrogen Evolution, Oscar Petrucci

Theses and Dissertations

The cell is the basic unit of all living organisms. It is an amazing machine capable of self-replicating, growing, and synthesizing and shuttling thousands of compounds. To perform all of these activities the cell needs energy. The original source of energy for all living beings is the Sun. The energy of the sun is collected by the autotrophs (mostly plants) through photosynthesis and stored in the chemical bonds of carbohydrates and lipids through carboxylic acid intermediates; animals use these compounds to obtain the energy for their cells. Most of the energy extracted by the cell comes from the citric acid …


Fgf4 Induced Wnt5a Gradient In The Limb Bud Mediates Mesenchymal Cell Directed Migration And Division, John C. Allen Dec 2013

Fgf4 Induced Wnt5a Gradient In The Limb Bud Mediates Mesenchymal Cell Directed Migration And Division, John C. Allen

Theses and Dissertations

The AER has a vital role in directing embryonic limb development. Several models have been developed that attempt to explain how the AER directs limb development, but none of them are fully supported by existing data. I provide evidence that FGFs secreted from the AER induce a gradient of Wnt5a. I also demonstrate that limb mesenchyme grows toward increasing concentrations of Wnt5a. We hypothesize that the changing shape of the AER is critical for patterning the limb along the proximal to distal axis. To better understand the pathway through which Wnt5a elicits its effects, we have performed various genetic studies. …


Obstacles And Solutions To Studying Functional Adhesives Using Vibrational Sum-Frequency Generation Spectroscopy, Angela Renee Andersen Dec 2013

Obstacles And Solutions To Studying Functional Adhesives Using Vibrational Sum-Frequency Generation Spectroscopy, Angela Renee Andersen

Theses and Dissertations

Important aspects of adhesion occur at interfaces, including structures that may be different from those in the bulk materials. However, probing the orientation of molecules in functional adhesives poses a significant challenge because adhesive molecules are always located at a buried interface. The limited penetration depth of surface-specific analysis prohibits the study of buried interfaces using those techniques. The large quantity of bulk molecules relative to the adhesive molecules interacting at the interface results in the bulk signal swamping out adhesive signal in bulk analysis techniques. An interface-specific technique is required to study functional adhesives. One such technique that has …


Endocannabinoid-Dependent Long-Term Depression Of Ventral Tegmental Area Gaba Neurons, Jared Mark Weed Dec 2013

Endocannabinoid-Dependent Long-Term Depression Of Ventral Tegmental Area Gaba Neurons, Jared Mark Weed

Theses and Dissertations

GABA neurons in the ventral tegmental area of the midbrain are important components in the brain's reward circuit. Long term changes in this circuit occur through the process of synaptic plasticity. It has been shown that high frequency stimulation, as well as treatment with endocannabinoids, can cause GABA neurons in the ventral tegmental area to undergo long term depression, a form of synaptic plasticity that decreases excitability of cells. The present study elaborates on the mechanism whereby high frequency stimulation can result in long term depression of ventral tegmental area GABA neurons. Using the whole cell patch clamp technique in …


Water Fat Separation With Multiple-Acquisition Balanced Steady-State Free Precession Mri, Michael A. Mendoza Dec 2013

Water Fat Separation With Multiple-Acquisition Balanced Steady-State Free Precession Mri, Michael A. Mendoza

Theses and Dissertations

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an important medical imaging technique for visualizing soft tissue structures in the body. It has the advantages of being noninvasive and, unlike x-ray, does not rely on ionizing radiation for imaging. In traditional hydrogen-based MRI, the strongest measured signals are generated from the hydrogen nuclei contained in water and fat molecules.Reliable and uniform water fat separation can be used to improve medical diagnosis. In many applications the water component is the primary signal of interest, while the fat component represents a signal which can obscure the underlying pathology or other features of interest. In other …


Characterization And Processing Evaluation Of Starch/High-Density Polyethylene Materials In Extrusion Blow Molding, Bradley Dale Bacigalupi Dec 2013

Characterization And Processing Evaluation Of Starch/High-Density Polyethylene Materials In Extrusion Blow Molding, Bradley Dale Bacigalupi

Theses and Dissertations

The growing negative impacts of non-biodegradable plastics derived from non-renewable materials have created increasing interest throughout the world for new materials that are both biodegradable and renewable, that can be combined with or replace traditional plastics. Plant-based thermoplastic starch (TPS), a promising alternative material to traditional petroleum based resin, is both biodegradable and renewable and has great potential for use in plastic manufacturing processes. Two major obstacles that prevent more widespread use of TPS include; TPS base material, which is typically manufactured in a flake or powder, is incompatible with standard plastics production equipment that require pelletized resin, the second …


Children's Recognition Of Pride: An Experimental Approach, Darren Jason Garcia Dec 2013

Children's Recognition Of Pride: An Experimental Approach, Darren Jason Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

Pride is elicited when a child takes credit for an achievement or exceeds a socially valued standard or expectation. Evidence suggests that pride has a distinct nonverbal expression that is recognized by adults across cultures (Tracy & Robins, 2004). Research examining when children recognize pride has yielded age discrepancies between studies that use forced-choice response formats and those that use spontaneous-response formats. Differences in children's ability to use and comprehend language may account for some of these differences. The purpose of this thesis was to examine the age at which children reliably recognize pride, while minimizing the need for children …


Adolescent Self-Disclosure And Father Involvement Transactions Across Early To Midadolescence, Stephanie Blickfeldt Dec 2013

Adolescent Self-Disclosure And Father Involvement Transactions Across Early To Midadolescence, Stephanie Blickfeldt

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the transactional relationship between father involvement and adolescent self-disclosure from early to midadolescence. Four hundred and ninety-six adolescents reported on their general self-disclosure to fathers, and mothers reported on father involvement behaviors and maternal involvement behaviors at ages 11, 13, and 15. Results from a longitudinal cross-lagged model indicated a unidirectional relationship from father involvement to child self-disclosure in both early and midadolescence, and a transactional relationship from adolescent self-disclosure to father involvement in early adolescence. A multiple group analysis by gender revealed that both unidirectional and transactional relationships were significant for boys only. Future research efforts …


Investigation Into The Effects Of Pegylation On The Thermodynamic Stability Of The Ww Domain, Sam S. Matthews Dec 2013

Investigation Into The Effects Of Pegylation On The Thermodynamic Stability Of The Ww Domain, Sam S. Matthews

Theses and Dissertations

The covalent attachment of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to a protein surface (known as PEGylation), has been demonstrated to increase the serum half-life of therapeutic proteins by reducing kidney clearance and immunogenicity and by protecting against proteolysis. Theses beneficial effects could be further enhanced if PEGylation consistently increased protein conformational stability (i.e. the difference in free energy between the folded and unfolded states). However, the effects of PEGylation on protein conformational stability are unpredictable; PEGylation has been reported to increase, decrease, or have no effect on the conformational stability of medicinal proteins.This thesis details the results of two studies aimed at …


Regulation Of The Myostatin Protein In Overload-Induced Hypertrophied Rat Skeletal Muscle, Paige Abriel Affleck Dec 2013

Regulation Of The Myostatin Protein In Overload-Induced Hypertrophied Rat Skeletal Muscle, Paige Abriel Affleck

Theses and Dissertations

Myostatin (GDF-8) is the chief chalone in skeletal muscle and negatively controls adult skeletal muscle growth. The role of myostatin during overload-induced hypertrophy of adult muscle is unclear. We tested the hypothesis that overloaded adult rodent skeletal muscle would result in reduced myostatin protein levels. Overload-induced hypertrophy was accomplished by unilateral tenotomy of the gastrocnemius tendon in male adult Sprague-Dawley rats followed by a two-week period of compensatory overload of the plantaris and soleus muscles. Western blot analysis was performed to evaluate changes in active, latent and precursor myostatin protein levels. Significant hypertrophy was noted in the plantaris (494 ± …


Shaping Swarms Through Coordinated Mediation, Shin-Young Jung Dec 2013

Shaping Swarms Through Coordinated Mediation, Shin-Young Jung

Theses and Dissertations

A swarm is a group of uninformed individuals that exhibit collective behaviors. Without any information about the external world, a swarm has limited ability to achieve complex goals. Prior work on human-swarm interaction methods allow a human to influence these uninformed individuals through either leadership or predation as informed agents that directly interact with humans. These methods of influence have two main limitations: (1) although leaders sustain influence over nominal agents for a long period of time, they tend to cause all collective structures to turn in to flocks (negating the benefit of other swarm formations) and (2) predators tend …


Going The Distance: Themes Of The Hero In Disney's Hercules, Amy Elizabeth Burchfield Dec 2013

Going The Distance: Themes Of The Hero In Disney's Hercules, Amy Elizabeth Burchfield

Theses and Dissertations

Disney's Hercules is an apt modern reception of the ancient mythology of Herakles, acknowledging ancient and modern sources surrounding three types of classical hero: the archetypal hero, influenced by the ideas of Joseph Campbell; the Pan-Hellenic hero, distilled from ancient Greek exempla of heroism from epic and other genres of ancient literature; and the tragic hero, inspired by the heroic criteria presented in Aristotle's Poetics. By adapting these heroic types from their traditional ancient source myths, Disney's Hercules produces a new, contemporary definition of heroism—one informed by modern, Western family values. This adaptation renews the power of the myth of …


Habitat Selection And Nesting Ecology Of Snowy Plover In The Great Basin, Kristen Sue Ellis Nov 2013

Habitat Selection And Nesting Ecology Of Snowy Plover In The Great Basin, Kristen Sue Ellis

Theses and Dissertations

Snowy plovers (Charadrius nivosus) are small, ground-nesting shorebirds that are a species of conservation concern throughout North America. Despite increased efforts to understand factors contributing to the decline of snowy plover, little is known about habitat selection and breeding ecology of snowy plover for the large population found in the Great Basin. We tested hypotheses concerning the occupancy and nesting success of snowy plover. First, we identified factors influencing snowy plover nest survival at Great Salt Lake, Utah. We hypothesized that snowy plover would demonstrate differences in nest survival rates across years due to differences in habitat characteristics, predator abundance, …


A Boot Camp Approach To Remediating Interdental /S/ In A School-Aged Child, Melanie Ellen Peris Nov 2013

A Boot Camp Approach To Remediating Interdental /S/ In A School-Aged Child, Melanie Ellen Peris

Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between speech articulation therapy dose (frequency, intensity, duration) and treatment outcomes are poorly understood. Identifying optimal therapy doses for specific articulation disorders is essential to providing efficient clinical care. Recent research indicates that intensive speech therapy doses-known as boot camps-may promote rapid improvement and generalization for certain speech disorders. Therefore the present investigation examined the effects of a boot camp speech therapy approach to remediate interdental /s/ production in an 8-year-old male. The boot camp included two days of speech therapy involving visual, tactile, and auditory feedback approaches. Therapy was administered 5.5 hours per day across morning and …


Acoustic Droplet Vaporization In Biology And Medicine, Chung-Yin Lin, William G. Pitt Nov 2013

Acoustic Droplet Vaporization In Biology And Medicine, Chung-Yin Lin, William G. Pitt

Faculty Publications

This paper reviews the literature regarding the use of acoustic droplet vaporization (ADV) in clinical applications of imaging, embolic therapy, and therapeutic delivery. ADV is a physical process in which the pressure waves of ultrasound induce a phase transition that causes superheated liquid nanodroplets to form gas bubbles. The bubbles provide ultrasonic imaging contrast and other functions. ADV of perfluoropentane was used extensively in imaging for preclinical trials in the 1990s, but its use declined rapidly with the advent of other imaging agents. In the last decade, ADV was proposed and explored for embolic occlusion therapy, drug delivery, aberration correction, …


Modeling Dipyrenylpropane, Steven Bray, David Busath Nov 2013

Modeling Dipyrenylpropane, Steven Bray, David Busath

Journal of Undergraduate Research

1,3-di(1-pyrenyl)propane(hereinafter dipyrenylpropane) has proven very useful as a fluorescence probe in determining fluidity and monitoring phase transitions in biological membrane systems.1 By virtue of its structure, dipyrenylpropane may fluoresce light in an excimer or a monomer configuration. Each configuration fluoresces light at a different wavelength, thus allowing us to monitor the excimer-to-monomer intensity ratio. The excimer form occurs when, as the light is absorbed, the pyrene branches come within close proximity, transferring energy and fluorescing light back at a different wavelength.2 The monomer configuration is defined by the lack of energy transfer and a consistent fluorescence wavelength. Therefore, as membrane …


Phylogeny Of Siphonaptera In Relation To Mecoptera And The Snow Fleas Using Molecular Data From The Mitochondrial Gene Cytochrome Oxidase Ii, Sonia Bake, Dr. Michael Whiting Nov 2013

Phylogeny Of Siphonaptera In Relation To Mecoptera And The Snow Fleas Using Molecular Data From The Mitochondrial Gene Cytochrome Oxidase Ii, Sonia Bake, Dr. Michael Whiting

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The intent of this study is to determine the phylogeny of the order Siphonaptera (fleas) and their relationship to the order Mecoptera (scorpion flies) including the Boreidae family (snow fleas) which have traditionally been placed with the scorpion flies. A study is being conducted using molecular data from several genes and morphology to design a more accurate phylogeny for these orders. This study uses the data from a single gene, cytochrome oxidase II or COII, to create a tree for several species from these orders.


The Effect Of Cytokinin And Abscisic Acid On Iron Stress Response In Tomatoes, Mark L. Bernards, Dr. Von D. Jolley Nov 2013

The Effect Of Cytokinin And Abscisic Acid On Iron Stress Response In Tomatoes, Mark L. Bernards, Dr. Von D. Jolley

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Iron is an essential nutrient for healthy plant growth. Dicotyledenous plants respond to insufficient iron with a variety of mechanisms. For example, they may release hydrogen ions or exude reductants (such as caffeic acid) from the roots to acidify the rhizosphere, reduce Fe 3+ to Fe 2+ through enzymes at the root surface, and accumulate organic acids (primarily citrate) in the roots (Brown, 1978). Iron-efficient tomato T3238FER responds to iron stress signals in the roots by activating these mechanisms. Iron-inefficient T3238fer does not activate these mechanisms when subjected to iron stress.


Novel Liposomes For Targeted Delivery Of Drugs And Plasmids, Marjan Javadi Nov 2013

Novel Liposomes For Targeted Delivery Of Drugs And Plasmids, Marjan Javadi

Theses and Dissertations

People receiving chemotherapy not only suffer from side effects of therapeutics but also must buy expensive drugs. Targeted drug and gene delivery directed to specific tumor-cells is one way to reduce the side effect of drugs and use less amount of therapeutics. In this research, two novel liposomal nanocarriers were developed. This nanocarrier, called an eLiposome, is basically one or more emulsion droplets inside a liposome. Emulsion droplets are made of perfluorocarbons which usually have a high vapor pressure. Calcein (as a model drug) and Paclitaxel were used to demonstrate drug delivery, and plasmids and siRNA were used to exemplify …


Trajectory Generation And Optimization For Experimental Investigation Of Flapping Flight, Michael Schnebly Wilcox Nov 2013

Trajectory Generation And Optimization For Experimental Investigation Of Flapping Flight, Michael Schnebly Wilcox

Theses and Dissertations

Though still in relative infancy, the field of flapping flight has potential to have a far-reaching impact on human life. Nature presents a myriad of examples of successful uses of this locomotion. Human efforts in flapping flight have seen substantial improvement in recent times. Wing kinematics are a key aspect of this study. This study summarizes previous wing trajectory generators and presents a new trajectory generation method built upon previous methods. This includes a novel means of commanding unequal half-stroke durations subject to robotic trajectory continuity requirements. Additionally, previous optimization methods are improved upon. Experimental optimization is performed using the …


Dynamic Nanochannels For Biosensing Applications, Joseph B. Oxborrow Nov 2013

Dynamic Nanochannels For Biosensing Applications, Joseph B. Oxborrow

Theses and Dissertations

Inexpensive label-free detection of biomarker panels in serum could revolutionize earlycancer diagnosis and treatment. Such detection capabilities may be possible with dynamicnanochannels in conjunction with electrical impedance measurement. In Dr. Greg Nordin's lab I designed, fabricated and tested several iterations of these sensors with polydimethyl-siloxane microfluidics. The final design yielded a dynamic nanochannel array sensor thatshowed a 140% impedance change when exposed to 14µM bovine serum albumin in phos-phate buffered saline. For the geometry and noise limits of the tested device, simulationsindicated that a minimum detectable concentration of 20pM with specifically bound strep-tavidin should be possible. However, the polydimethylsiloxane approach …


The Association Between Dairy Consumption And Insulin Resistance, Andrea Rose Erickson Nov 2013

The Association Between Dairy Consumption And Insulin Resistance, Andrea Rose Erickson

Theses and Dissertations

Background: A cross-sectional design was employed to ascertain the relationship between dairy consumption and insulin resistance (IR) in 272 middle-aged, nondiabetic women. Methods: Participants kept a seven-day weighed food record to report their diets, including consumption of dairy foods. IR was assessed using the homeostatic model assessment (HOMA), using the following formula: fasting plasma insulin (µU/ml) x fasting plasma glucose (mg/dL)/405. The Bod Pod was used to examine body fat percentage, and accelerometry over a seven-day period was used to assess physical activity. HOMA values were log-transformed and regression analysis and the General Linear Model procedure were used to determine …


The Effects Of White Bass (Morone Chrysops) Predation On Juvenile June Suckers (Chasmistes Liorus), Michael J. Whitney, Dr. Mark C. Belk Oct 2013

The Effects Of White Bass (Morone Chrysops) Predation On Juvenile June Suckers (Chasmistes Liorus), Michael J. Whitney, Dr. Mark C. Belk

Journal of Undergraduate Research

We estimated the vulnerability of juvenile June suckers to predation by a growing cohort of juvenile white bass. Also, habitat preference of juvenile white bass (open versus vegetated habitats) in the presence and absence of adult white bass was determined experimentally. Juvenile white bass preferred vegetated habitats similar to juvenile June suckers. June suckers are most vulnerable to juvenile white bass immediately after they hatch and move downstream into Utah Lake. Vulnerability decreases during the summer until by the end of the growing season. Only a small fraction of the juvenile June sucker population is potentially vulnerable to juvenile white …


Androgen Regulation Of Calbindin-D28k In Rat Hypothalamic Tissue During Prenatal Development, Melanie A. Watson, Dr. Edwin Lephart Oct 2013

Androgen Regulation Of Calbindin-D28k In Rat Hypothalamic Tissue During Prenatal Development, Melanie A. Watson, Dr. Edwin Lephart

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Calbindin-D28K is a calcium-binding protein that serves a potentially important role in both the development and function of the central nervous system (CNS). Previous studies indicate the dimorphic expressions of calbindin within the medial basal hypothalamus (N4BH), supporting its putative importance in the neurogenesis of sexually dimorphic brain structures.2 Another primary action of this protein is to buffer intracellular calcium levels, thus functioning as a neuroprotective mechanism against pre-mature apoptosis. Regulation of calbindin is reported to be, in part, stimulated by glucocorticoids in response to activation of the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal stress axis.3 Evidence also exists for the potential regulation of calcium-binding …


The Cultural Whys Of Mental Retardation: Etiologies Among The Asante In Ghana, West Africa, Chelsea Shields, Dr. William C. Olsen Oct 2013

The Cultural Whys Of Mental Retardation: Etiologies Among The Asante In Ghana, West Africa, Chelsea Shields, Dr. William C. Olsen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

During my time as an international student at the University of Ghana and volunteering at a school for mentally handicapped children, I uncovered a large lacuna in non-western mental retardation research and decided to return the next year as BYU’s Ghana Medical Anthropology field study facilitator. I desired to document and disclose Asante beliefs behind mental retardation under the hope that such awareness would lead to more positive treatment of handicapped individuals.


Word Sense Disambiguation Through Analogical Modeling, Deryl Keith Hatch, Dr. Deryle Lonsdale Oct 2013

Word Sense Disambiguation Through Analogical Modeling, Deryl Keith Hatch, Dr. Deryle Lonsdale

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In the early twentieth century, throngs of male Greek immigrants came to Utah. They left their homeland seeking to save their families from impending poverty and to escape draft by the Greek and Turkish armies.1 The jobs they took in Utah mines, smelters, and rail yards were lowpaying and dangerous, but these were the least of the troubles waiting for Greeks in Utah. They found Mormons and other Utah residents to be inhospitable and strange, and they quickly learned to isolate themselves in all-Greek communities.


Greeks, Mormons, And Marginalization: A Case Study, Annie Peterson Green, Dr. Phillip Snyder Oct 2013

Greeks, Mormons, And Marginalization: A Case Study, Annie Peterson Green, Dr. Phillip Snyder

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In the early twentieth century, throngs of male Greek immigrants came to Utah. They left their homeland seeking to save their families from impending poverty and to escape draft by the Greek and Turkish armies.1 The jobs they took in Utah mines, smelters, and rail yards were lowpaying and dangerous, but these were the least of the troubles waiting for Greeks in Utah. They found Mormons and other Utah residents to be inhospitable and strange, and they quickly learned to isolate themselves in all-Greek communities.


The Sophie Digital Library Of Early Women’S Research: A Blueprint For Mentored Undergraduate Online Research, Blaine Evanson, Dr. Michelle Stott James Oct 2013

The Sophie Digital Library Of Early Women’S Research: A Blueprint For Mentored Undergraduate Online Research, Blaine Evanson, Dr. Michelle Stott James

Journal of Undergraduate Research

I was first introduced to Sophie in September 2001 in my German Cultural History class. Dr. McFarland announced that there was some grant money left over and that some students who were interested in the research would be invited to work a few hours each week helping prepare texts to be published on the website. I immediately recognized the opportunity to get research experience and knew both how important and beneficial such an opportunity would be, as I was planning on applying the following year for graduate school.


Openness In International Adoptions: An Idea Whose Time Has Come? The Experience Of U.S. Families Who Adopted Children From The Marshall Islands, Jamie Wyatt, Jini Roby Oct 2013

Openness In International Adoptions: An Idea Whose Time Has Come? The Experience Of U.S. Families Who Adopted Children From The Marshall Islands, Jamie Wyatt, Jini Roby

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Increased globalization of today’s society is bringing about dramatic change; the social sciences are not exempt from the results of these changes. Particular to this research study is the issue of international adoptions, particularly those which are characterized as open. “Open adoption” was defined in this study to be some form of continued contact between the biological and adoptive families following the finalization of an adoption. International adoptions are a relatively new concept in and of themselves; international adoption compounded with openness was largely unheard of until the recent onset of globalization when open adoptions increased in accessibility and desirability …