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Comparative Aquatic Toxicity Of A Commercial Naphthenic Acid And Processes For Mitigating Risks, Ciera Kinley Dec 2015

Comparative Aquatic Toxicity Of A Commercial Naphthenic Acid And Processes For Mitigating Risks, Ciera Kinley

All Theses

Comparative toxicity data can inform predictions of relative risk, and can be used to implement strategies for altering exposures to mitigate risk. Naphthenic acids (NAs) are a complex group of carboxylic acids that naturally occur in petroleum sources and energy-derived process waters (e.g. refinery effluents and oil sands process affected waters). These compounds are relatively persistent in water and can be a source of toxicity to aquatic organisms. In the first experiment of this thesis, responses of sentinel aquatic organisms to 7-d exposures of commercial (Fluka) NAs were measured (in terms of acute toxicity) to discern relative sensitivities. In terms …

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Clemson Commencement Program, December 2015, Clemson University Dec 2015

Clemson Commencement Program, December 2015, Clemson University

Clemson Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

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An Examination Of Microbial Community Composition At Tba-Degrading Versus Non-Degrading Sites, Courtney Thompson Dec 2015

An Examination Of Microbial Community Composition At Tba-Degrading Versus Non-Degrading Sites, Courtney Thompson

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Understanding how fuel oxygenates interact with microorganisms in the subsurface is important for the remediation of contaminated sites and designing and optimizing remedial strategies. The current understanding of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) degradation in the environment has been developed primarily through gas chromatography GC analysis and culture-based laboratory studies. Microbial communities can be very diverse, and while microcosm studies provide valuable data, few metagenomic studies have been performed. To elucidate the significant microorganisms and pathways involved in the breakdown of MTBE and TBA, the compositions of entire indigenous microbial populations must be investigated and …

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Artificial Kingdoms, Lindsey Elsey Dec 2015

Artificial Kingdoms, Lindsey Elsey

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Fairy or folk tales and fantasy appear to be innocuous means of entertainment in contemporary society. Often relegated as pap for children, this view belies the gruesome origins, cultural significance, and means of personal expression and identity that is afforded to the author and reader/audience through the construction of fantasies. Through the creation of environments and experiences that center on porcelain vessels and sculpture, I explore the expression of uncomfortable desires and situations in the guise of fantasy. In some instances folk and fairy tales act as a means of escapism; an expression of desire for the fleeting and the …

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Decellularized Bovine Nucleus Pulposus As A Biomimetic Scaffold For Intervertebral Disc Regeneration, Christopher Fernandez Dec 2015

Decellularized Bovine Nucleus Pulposus As A Biomimetic Scaffold For Intervertebral Disc Regeneration, Christopher Fernandez

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Low back pain (LBP) is a significant burden with a lifetime prevalence of 84% and estimated expenditures of $85.9 billion.[1,2] Although LBP is multifactorial; it has been shown that LBP can originate from degenerating intervertebral discs (IVDs); a process which initiates in the nucleus pulposus (NP); a hydrated tissue primarily composed of type 2 collagen and proteoglycan. Current therapies for IVD degeneration (IDD) are palliative and merely delay surgical management. While these procedures may relieve pain temporarily, they fail to address the underlying cause of degeneration and make no attempt to regenerate the effected tissue. Additional concerns with the use …

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Analysis Of Citrate Content In Bone Using High Performance Liquid Chromatography, Matthew Konstantin Pysh Dec 2015

Analysis Of Citrate Content In Bone Using High Performance Liquid Chromatography, Matthew Konstantin Pysh

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Approximately 1.5 wt. % of bone is comprised of citrate molecules bound to the surface of apatite crystals. Furthermore, 80 to 90% of physiological citrate is contained within bone. Recently, interest in citrate has increased due to the potential of a citrate based method for estimation of postmortem intervals, time since death, of skeletal remains. The broad objective of this research was to develop and validate a High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method for quantitative and qualitative analysis of citrate in bone. An appropriate HPLC column and operating conditions for the detection of citrate were selected and subsequently used to analyze …

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Co-Design Of Dynamic Real-Time Scheduling And Cooperative Control For Human-Agent Collaboration Systems Based On Mutual Trust, Xiaotian Wang Dec 2015

Co-Design Of Dynamic Real-Time Scheduling And Cooperative Control For Human-Agent Collaboration Systems Based On Mutual Trust, Xiaotian Wang

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Mutual trust is a key factor in human-human collaboration. Inspired by this social interaction, we analyze human-agent mutual trust in the collaboration of one human and (semi)autonomous multi-agent systems. In the thesis, we derive time-series human-agent mutual trust models based on results from human factors engineering. To avoid both over- trust and under-trust, we set up dynamic timing models for the multi-agent scheduling problem and develop necessary and sufficient conditions to test the schedulability of the human multi-agent collaborative task. Furthermore, we extend the collaboration between one human and multiple agents into the collaboration between multi-human network and swarm-based agents …

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Influence Of Exurban Neighborhoods On Riparian Vegetation And Stream Salamanders In The Southern Appalachian Mountains, Nathaniel Weaver Dec 2015

Influence Of Exurban Neighborhoods On Riparian Vegetation And Stream Salamanders In The Southern Appalachian Mountains, Nathaniel Weaver

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The southern Appalachian Mountains have experienced large population growth and a change in land use in the past 30 years. The majority of development has been low density, suburban land, known as exurban development. Lotic Systems and riparian areas are severely degraded by conversion from urban to rural land uses. The long-term effects of exurbanization on riparian vegetative communities and stream salamanders in the southern Appalachian Mountains are not well known. We sought to determine if vegetative community composition and structure change with time since neighborhood development or with the amount of impervious surface within the watershed. In order to …

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Therapeutic Riding And Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Program Evaluation, Brenna Goodwin Dec 2015

Therapeutic Riding And Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Program Evaluation, Brenna Goodwin

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Therapeutic riding is a commonly used therapeutic approach for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Research supports therapeutic riding for children with ASD; however, the effect of specific sub-types of therapeutic riding (e.g., therapeutic riding drill team) has been under investigated. Furthermore, the role of self-efficacy and other programmatic components (e.g., interaction with horses, interaction with other participants, etc.) of therapeutic riding programs have not been studied, especially among children with ASD. This study evaluated a therapeutic riding drill team for children with ASD to determine if and to what extent self-efficacy and other program components were present. Three forms …

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Management And Impacts Of Wild Hogs (Sus Scrofa) In South Carolina, Susan Sullivan Dec 2015

Management And Impacts Of Wild Hogs (Sus Scrofa) In South Carolina, Susan Sullivan

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Wild hogs (Sus scrofa) are an invasive species that can damage native ecosystems, negatively impact native wildlife, and potentially act as disease reservoirs in the U.S. To better understand how natural resource professionals in South Carolina approach wild hog management, I conducted a web-based survey of natural resource professionals focused on aspects of wild hog impacts and management. Generally, there was agreement among natural resource professionals regarding the approaches used to control wild hog populations and their subsequent effectiveness. The majority of respondents indicated high priority impacts needing to be addressed in wild hog management were agricultural damage …

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The Design, Implementation, And Incorporation Of "Hack And Slash"  Animation Into The Unreal Development Kit, Christopher Thomas Dec 2015

The Design, Implementation, And Incorporation Of "Hack And Slash"  Animation Into The Unreal Development Kit, Christopher Thomas

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In this thesis, we investigate the incorporation of 'hack and slash' game play animations into a first person shooter game engine, the UDK 4. We create the animations using the Maya modeling tool and we describe our approach to incorporating these animations into UDK 4 and create an appropriate control scheme to play these animations in a 'hack and slash' game environment.

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Characterization Of A Multi-Laminate Angle-Ply Af Patch For Annulus Fibrosus Repair, Ryan Borem Dec 2015

Characterization Of A Multi-Laminate Angle-Ply Af Patch For Annulus Fibrosus Repair, Ryan Borem

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Annually, over 5.7 million Americans are diagnosed with two IVD-associated pathologies: IVD herniation (IVDH- a mechanical disruption of the concentric fibrous layers of the annulus fibrosus (AF))) and degeneration (IVDD- a multifactorial process which initiates within the inner gelatinous core (NP), and results in a biochemical degradation of NP tissue), with over 2.7 million requiring surgical inteventions.1,2 Although both underlying pathologies are different, quite often they both lead to a decrease in IVD height, impaired mechanical function, and increased pain and disability. These pain symptoms affect approximately 80% of the adult population during their lifetime with estimated expenditures exceeding $85.9 …

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Finite Element Analysis Of The Effect Of Acoustic Wavelength To Hierarchical Side Length And Facet Area For Elastic Scattering From Polygonal Rings And Geodesic Spheres, Ankit Kumar Dec 2015

Finite Element Analysis Of The Effect Of Acoustic Wavelength To Hierarchical Side Length And Facet Area For Elastic Scattering From Polygonal Rings And Geodesic Spheres, Ankit Kumar

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In this work, the frequency response from two-dimensional polygon and three-dimensional geodesic spheres is numerically simulated using a coupled structural acoustic finite element model. The model is composed of a submerged thin-walled elastic shell structure surrounded by an infinite acoustic air domain. Infinite elements are used to simulate the far-field acoustic radiation condition. Results for the faceted polygon and geodesic sphere are compared to their canonical counterpart viz. a circle/ring and a spherical shell. A unique feature of this study is to compare results as the number of facets in the polygon or geodesic is increased, such that the surface …

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Effects Of Nitrogen Fertilization On The Life History Of The Madeira Mealybug (Phenacoccus Madeirensis) And The Molecular Composition Of Its Host Plant, Stephanie Alliene Rhodes Dec 2015

Effects Of Nitrogen Fertilization On The Life History Of The Madeira Mealybug (Phenacoccus Madeirensis) And The Molecular Composition Of Its Host Plant, Stephanie Alliene Rhodes

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The aim of this study was to investigate how different nitrogen fertilization rates of host-plants influence the development, fecundity, and nutritional status of a pest insect,the Madeira mealybug (Phenococcus madeirensis Green, Hemiptera: Psuedococcidae).This study evaluated the effects of nitrogen fertilization (0, 75, 150 and 300 ppm N) onthe growth, % nitrogen, % carbon, lipid, and protein contents of basil plants (Ocimum basilicum L., Lamiaceae), and the subsequent impacts of host-plant nutritional status onthe life history and total lipid and protein contents of the Madeira mealybug. Heights androot lengths of plants fertilized with 75 ppm N were greater than those of …

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Associations Between Hereditary Breast Cancer Susceptibility Gene Alterations And Aggressive Tumor Phenotype In Women Diagnosed With Breast Cancer, Sourat Darabi Dec 2015

Associations Between Hereditary Breast Cancer Susceptibility Gene Alterations And Aggressive Tumor Phenotype In Women Diagnosed With Breast Cancer, Sourat Darabi

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The first chapter of this dissertation serves as an overview of the background and significance of this study, the associations between hereditary breast cancer susceptibility gene alterations (GA) and aggressive tumor phenotypes in women with breast cancer. The body of work in all chapters focuses on the topics of breast cancer genomics, inflammatory breast cancer, the application of Protection Motivation Theory to guide prevention strategies for women with breast cancer diagnosis and positive genetic alteration, and the associations between hereditary breast cancer susceptibility GAs and aggressive tumor phenotype. The second chapter is a review of literature to discuss breast cancer …

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Painting With Turbulence, Chuqiao Wang Dec 2015

Painting With Turbulence, Chuqiao Wang

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Inspired by a study that identified a strong similarity between Vincent van Gogh's and Jackson Pollock's painting techniques, this thesis explores the interplay between science and art, specifically the unpredictable behaviors in turbulent flows and aesthetic concepts in painting. It utilizes data from a GPU-based air flow simulation, and presents a framework for artists to visualize the chaotic property changes in turbulent flows and create paintings with turbulence data. While the creation of individual brushstrokes is procedural and driven by simulation, artists are able to exercise their aesthetic judgments at various stages during a painting creation. A short animation demonstrates …

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Ocean Surface Shader, Kara Lauren Gundersen Dec 2015

Ocean Surface Shader, Kara Lauren Gundersen

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The Renderman Layered Ocean Shader (RLOS) is a RenderMan displacement shader that makes it easier and more efficient to generate realistic oceans. The shader implements a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) wave algorithm to generate tileable ocean surface displacements. These displacement layers can be added to other displacement layers to increase surface detail. The RLOS can optionally generate multiple layers with editable parameters so that it is possible to create extended ocean surfaces that can be viewed up close. The result is demonstrated with an animated time-lapse.

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Development Of A Suturing Simulation Device For Synchronous Acqusition Of Data, Tanmay Kavathekar Dec 2015

Development Of A Suturing Simulation Device For Synchronous Acqusition Of Data, Tanmay Kavathekar

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There have been tremendous technological advancements in the field of surgery with new devices and minimally invasive techniques rapidly being developed. As a result, there is a corresponding need to train novice surgeons and residents to use these new technologies. Due to new regulations in medical education, an increasing the amount of surgical skills training is designed for outside the operation room using surgical simulators. In this work, a device called the suture platform was conceptualized for assessing and training basic suturing skills of medical students and novice surgeons. In the traditional approach of “open” surgery, which has not benefitted …

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Virtual Humans And Photorealism: The Effect Of Photorealism Of Interactive Virtual Humans In Clinical Virtual Environment On Affective Responses, Himanshu Chaturvedi Dec 2015

Virtual Humans And Photorealism: The Effect Of Photorealism Of Interactive Virtual Humans In Clinical Virtual Environment On Affective Responses, Himanshu Chaturvedi

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The ability of realistic vs stylized representations of virtual characters to elicit emotions in users has been an open question for researchers and artists alike. We designed and performed a between subjects experiment using a medical virtual reality simulation to study the differences in the emotions aroused in participants while interacting with realistic and stylized virtual characters. The experiment included three conditions each of which presented a different representation of the virtual character namely; photo-realistic, non-photorealistic cartoon-shaded and non-photorealistic charcoal-sketch. The simulation used for the experiment, called the Rapid Response Training System was developed to train nurses to identify symptoms …

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Weeds, Nitrogen, And Yield: Measuring The Effectiveness Of An Organic No-Till System, David Robb Dec 2015

Weeds, Nitrogen, And Yield: Measuring The Effectiveness Of An Organic No-Till System, David Robb

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Previous research in the mid-Atlantic and midwestern USA has identified advantages and drawbacks of "organic no-till" vegetable production, but few studies have been conducted in the warmer southeastern region. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of tillage [no-till (NT) vs. conventional tillage (CT) of a cereal rye/crimson clover cover crop] and three nitrogen fertilization rates on organic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and summer squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) yield, weed suppression, and soil N dynamics in two years in a soil series in Clemson, SC. Squash yields were similar between tillage treatments in both years. NT tomato …

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Tracking Anisotropic Optical Tracers To Study Biophysical Processes And Cytotoxicity, Khanh Van Nguyen Dec 2015

Tracking Anisotropic Optical Tracers To Study Biophysical Processes And Cytotoxicity, Khanh Van Nguyen

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We use anisotropic optical tracers (also called magnetically modulated optical nanoprobes – MagMOONs or MOONs for non-magnetic nanoprobes in this dissertation) to study biophysical processes such as enzyme-catalyzed cleavage through tissue, intracellular transport of these tracers and cytotoxicity based on this transport. The anisotropic optical properties cause these tracers to blink when rotating. This blinking is distinguishable from the background and can be tracked on a single-particle level in the absence of tissue, or for an ensemble average of tracers blinking through tissue. An alginate gel containing these tracers in the form of a thin film can be used as …

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In Vitro Multi-Scale Patient-Specific Modeling Of Hemodynamics In Stage 1 Norwood Palliation For The Treatment Of Single Ventricle Heart Disease, Tianqi Hang Dec 2015

In Vitro Multi-Scale Patient-Specific Modeling Of Hemodynamics In Stage 1 Norwood Palliation For The Treatment Of Single Ventricle Heart Disease, Tianqi Hang

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Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is a congenital heart defect in which the left ventricle is severely underdeveloped. The Norwood procedure is the first stage procedure to make an unrestrictive systemic blood flow and at the same time balance it with the pulmonary flow. This is done by constructing a neo-aorta using the pulmonary artery root and the autologous aorta, and then installing a shunt to the pulmonary artery. Variations of the Norwood surgery include the modified Blalock-Taussig (mBT) shunt, which diverts blood from the innominate artery to the pulmonary artery (PA), and the Right Ventricle Shunt (RVS), which diverts …

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Effects Of Semi-Rigid Plastic Tray Geometry On Thermal Processing And Quality Factors In Retorted Foods, Curtis Stowe Dec 2015

Effects Of Semi-Rigid Plastic Tray Geometry On Thermal Processing And Quality Factors In Retorted Foods, Curtis Stowe

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This research studied the effect of packaging geometry changes on heat penetration and quality attributes of a food system processed in a rotary retort vessel. Studies were conducted to determine the effect of package geometry in a rotary retort on heat penetration, analytical, and physical properties of a model food system processed at optimum conditions. Additionally, heat mapping for each shape was used to determine the heating profiles during retorting. Retort-able trays were filled with a tomato based food simulate and thermally processed in a water immersion, automated batch retort system (ABRS) using rotational speeds of 6 RPM and 11 …

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Web-Based Nutrition Education Intervention For African American Women Using The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Joyce Senior Angulo Dec 2015

Web-Based Nutrition Education Intervention For African American Women Using The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Joyce Senior Angulo

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African American women have been disproportionately impacted for decades by the obesity epidemic, which frequently leads to severe chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and hypertension. This increase in chronic diseases amongst African American women is the motivation for the design of a culturally tailored nutrition education (NE) program that combines a strong theoretical base with the use of technology such as the Internet, since its usage within the college aged African American community has rapidly increased. Little is known about the variables that motivate behavior change in regards to eating and physical activity habits among college aged African …

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Electrochemical Enhancement Of Butanol Production And Xylose Consumption In Pure And Mixed Culture Fermentations, Jovan Popovic Dec 2015

Electrochemical Enhancement Of Butanol Production And Xylose Consumption In Pure And Mixed Culture Fermentations, Jovan Popovic

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The volatility of foreign and domestic petroleum markets has prompted initiatives for the development of alternative liquid energy carriers which have the capacity to accommodate our current transportation infrastructure. Butanol, which has an energy density similar to that of gasoline and can be produced through the fermentation of carbohydrates by solventogenic Clostridia, has been investigated as a supplement or direct replacement to gasoline. However, most butanol fermentations rely on glucose as a feedstock which is in direct competition with our food supply, and this requires the exploration of alternative fermentable substrates. This study investigates the use of electrochemical fermentation modifications …

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Evaluation Of Blue Tilapia (Oreochromis Aureus) For Duckweed (Lemna Minor) Control In South Carolina's Private Waters, William Heaton Dec 2015

Evaluation Of Blue Tilapia (Oreochromis Aureus) For Duckweed (Lemna Minor) Control In South Carolina's Private Waters, William Heaton

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ABSTRACT We investigated the potential of Blue Tilapia (Oreochromis aureus) as a means for biological control of duckweed in agricultural impoundments, and assessed the potential for naturalization of this non-native fish in coastal regions of South Carolina. Additionally, we studied growth characteristics and nutrient accumulation abilities of duckweed (Lemna minor) growing in agricultural impoundments in the piedmont and coastal plain. Observations of tank feeding trials indicated juvenile Blue Tilapia consumed 36 – 86% of their body weight in fresh duckweed every 24 hours. Tilapia were stocked in agricultural impoundments in the piedmont and coastal plain during the 2012 and 2013 …

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Effects Of Growth Factor Supplementation And Environmental Conditions On Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cell Differentiation Towards Urothelial Lineage, James Turner Dec 2015

Effects Of Growth Factor Supplementation And Environmental Conditions On Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cell Differentiation Towards Urothelial Lineage, James Turner

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In recent years, tissue engineering of the bladder has undergone many technological advances. Autologous urothelial cells have been used in animal models and have shown increased performance for ureteral reconstruction compared to unseeded grafts. However, since patients may lack a reliable source of native urothelial cells due to the nature of their specific bladder disease, autologous cells are not an ideal source clinically, and an alternate cell source must be explored. Adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) are an attractive cell source for such regenerative medicine applications as they have been extensively studied for their multipotential differentiation, immunosuppressive properties, ease of …

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Nematicidal Activity Of Extracts From Phytolacca Americana On Five Plant-Pathogenic Nematode Species Of Economic Importance, Saleh Ahmed Dec 2015

Nematicidal Activity Of Extracts From Phytolacca Americana On Five Plant-Pathogenic Nematode Species Of Economic Importance, Saleh Ahmed

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Plant-parasitic nematodes cause significant losses to plant agriculture annually. The limited availability and high cost of synthetic nematicides, along with the environmental risks associated with their use, have created a renewed interest in the search for alternative management tactics. One such alternative tactic is the use of plant extracts. The focus of this research is the evaluation of the nematicidal activity of water extracts from Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana). In vitro and greenhouse tests were performed to evaluate the effects of the extracts on five species of plant-pathogenic nematodes of economic importance: Aphelenchoides fragariae, Ditylenchus dispsaci, Meloidogyne incognita, Pratylenchus penetrans, and …

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Development And Validation Of A Novel In Vitro Model For The Assessment Of Heterocellular Interactions Mediated By Connexin43, Emily Ongstad Dec 2015

Development And Validation Of A Novel In Vitro Model For The Assessment Of Heterocellular Interactions Mediated By Connexin43, Emily Ongstad

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The injury border zone (IBZ), a region of transitional tissue between intact myocardium and the ischemic area, is often the site of lethal reentrant arrhythmia generation in post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients. Disruption to normal connexin43 (Cx43) localization at the intercalated disc (ID), separation of myocytes by activated fibroblasts and deposited scar tissue are thought to be factors that render the IBZ a pro-arrhythmic substrate, though there is a current need to better understand these changes so directed therapies can be developed. There are no clinically available therapies focused on the mechanistic changes in the IBZ. Additionally, generation of new compounds …

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Chinese Tallow Invasion In Maritime Forests: Understand Invasion Mechanism And Develop Ecologically-Based Management, Lauren Susan Pile Dec 2015

Chinese Tallow Invasion In Maritime Forests: Understand Invasion Mechanism And Develop Ecologically-Based Management, Lauren Susan Pile

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Invasion by highly aggressive, non-native, invasive plants is a significant threat to management and conservation priorities as these plants can transform ecosystem functions and processes. In this study, I investigated the non-native, invasive tree, Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera (L.) Small) in the maritime forests of Parris Island, South Carolina. I studied the role of land-use history and modern forest disturbance in facilitating the invasion of Chinese tallow. I found that stands previously cleared for agriculture and reforested with slash pine (Pinus elliottii Englem.) since the 1970s had significantly more Chinese tallow stems than stands that remained forested since …

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