Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

University of Central Florida

Discipline
Keyword
Publication Year
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 3361 - 3390 of 6994

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Species Composition And Spatiotemporal Pattern Of The Seed Bank And Vegetation In Native And Degraded Florida Rosemary Scrub, Jennifer J. Navarra Jan 2010

Species Composition And Spatiotemporal Pattern Of The Seed Bank And Vegetation In Native And Degraded Florida Rosemary Scrub, Jennifer J. Navarra

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The soil seed bank plays a dynamic role in the regeneration of plant communities after natural and anthropogenic disturbance. In this thesis, I addressed how disturbances influence the vegetation and seed bank of Florida rosemary scrub. In Chapter One I evaluated changes in species composition and spatiotemporal pattern of the vegetation and seed bank along a gradient of disturbance. During the summers and winters of 2007-2009 percent ground cover and seed bank species composition were assessed among replicates of three vegetation types subjected to minimal, moderate, and extreme anthropogenic disturbance (native rosemary scrub, degraded scrub, and agriculturally improved pasture, respectively). …

Go to article

Characterizing The Vertical Structure And Structural Diversity Of Florida Oak Scrub Vegetation Using Discrete-Return Lidar, James J. Angelo Jan 2010

Characterizing The Vertical Structure And Structural Diversity Of Florida Oak Scrub Vegetation Using Discrete-Return Lidar, James J. Angelo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Vertical structure, the top-to-bottom arrangement of aboveground vegetation, is an important component of forest and shrubland ecosystems. For many decades, ecologists have used foliage height profiles and other measures of vertical structure to identify discrete stages in post-disturbance succession and to quantify the heterogeneity of vegetation. Such studies have, however, required resource-intensive field surveys and have been limited to relatively small spatial extents (e.g.,

Go to article

From Shadowmourne To Folk Art Articulating A Vision Of Elearning For The 21st Century, Christina Kapp Jan 2010

From Shadowmourne To Folk Art Articulating A Vision Of Elearning For The 21st Century, Christina Kapp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines mass-market applications for some of the many theories of eLearning and blended learning, focusing most closely on a period from 2000-2010. It establishes a state of the union for K-12 immersive eLearning environments by using in-depth cases studies of five major mass-market, educational, and community-education based products—Gaia Online, Poptropica, Quest Atlantis, Dimenxian/Dimension U, and Folkvine. Investigating these models calls into play not only the voices of traditional academic and usability research, but also the ad hoc voices of the players, commentators, developers, and bloggers. These are the people who speak to the community of these sites, and …

Go to article

Laboratory Studies To Field Evaluation : Remediation Of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Contaminated Painted Surfaces Through The Use Of Activated Metal Treatment Systems, Erin Kristen Saitta Jan 2010

Laboratory Studies To Field Evaluation : Remediation Of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Contaminated Painted Surfaces Through The Use Of Activated Metal Treatment Systems, Erin Kristen Saitta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) are a group of 209 congeners that are regulated under the Toxic Substance Control Act. They enter the environment as a result of industrial processes and can travel long distances. PCBs are environmentally persistent and bioaccumulate in animal populations. Painted surfaces are a common point source for PCBs and there are few options for remediating structures painted with PCB-contaminated paint. Removal of the paint can often spread contamination and disposing or burning of large structures is expensive. Experiments employing reductive dehalogenation through the use of a bimetal have shown that PCBs can be degraded in mild laboratory …

Go to article

Adventures Of Kody A Children's Visual Storybook And Interactive Web Site, Matthew L. Walsh Jan 2010

Adventures Of Kody A Children's Visual Storybook And Interactive Web Site, Matthew L. Walsh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In order to experience unconditional love, prejudices must be exposed and overcome. People often meet others with a disability or handicap and unknowingly treat these individuals negatively. As a middle school teacher, I have often witnessed students behaving cruelly towards those that are different. When my dog became a paraplegic I was inspired to develop a project to assist young readers in the development of conscientious actions towards individuals with disabilities. This document chronicles the development, procedures, and outcomes of the process behind that artistic endeavor. The artistic elements of this thesis project are a written children's storybook and an …

Go to article

Biogeography And Diversification In The Neotropics: Testing Macroevolutionary Hypotheses Using Molecular Phylogenetic Data, Juan Manuel Daza Rojas Jan 2010

Biogeography And Diversification In The Neotropics: Testing Macroevolutionary Hypotheses Using Molecular Phylogenetic Data, Juan Manuel Daza Rojas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lineage diversification in the Neotropics is an interesting topic in evolutionary biology and one of the least understood. The complexity of the region precludes generalizations regarding the historical and evolutionary processes responsible for the observed high diversity. Here, I use molecular data to infer evolutionary relationships and test hypotheses of current taxonomy, species boundaries, speciation and biogeographic history in several lineages of Neotropical snakes. I comprehensively sampled a widely distributed Neotropical colubrid snake and Middle American pitvipers and combined my data with published sequences. Within the colubrid genus Leptodeira, mitochondrial and nuclear markers revealed a phylogeograhic structure that disagrees with …

Go to article

The Effect Of Video Modeling And Social Skill Instructionon On The Social Skills Of Adolescents With High Functioning Autism And, Bruce Blake Jan 2010

The Effect Of Video Modeling And Social Skill Instructionon On The Social Skills Of Adolescents With High Functioning Autism And, Bruce Blake

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research conducted on video modeling has shown that these strategies are most effective when they include specific strategies to address conversation skills. Social skills research has also shown that teaching social skills to adolescents in group settings may be more effective than presenting them on an individual basis. Adolescents with Aspergers Syndrome (AS) and High functioning Autism (HFA) participated in a12-week Social Skills Training (SST) program. In addition to pre-and post-study measures, conversation skills data were collected before and after the application of the independent variable (video modeling). Follow-up interviews were also conducted with participants, secondary participants, and parents of …

Go to article

The Relationship Between Thinking Maps And Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test Reading And Math Scores In Two Urban Middle Schools, Anna Diaz Jan 2010

The Relationship Between Thinking Maps And Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test Reading And Math Scores In Two Urban Middle Schools, Anna Diaz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine what difference, if any, exists between the implementation and use of Thinking Maps® and students' academic achievement in Reading and Mathematics as measured over time by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test® (FCAT). Thinking Maps® is a registered trademark of Thinking Maps, Inc. The data were examined after three years of Thinking Maps® implementation and instruction. The design of this study was quantitative, with a nonrandomized control group, pretest-posttest design (Ary, Jacobs, & Razavieh, 2002) that examined the effects on student Reading and Mathematics FCAT scores in one middle school that implemented Thinking …

Go to article

Does Chronic Stress Accelerate Late-Aging Cognitive Decline In Memory And Executive Functioning?, Diane Robinson Jan 2010

Does Chronic Stress Accelerate Late-Aging Cognitive Decline In Memory And Executive Functioning?, Diane Robinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Few studies exist examining the relationship between self-reported stress and cognitive function in healthy nonpsychiatric older adults, and even less studies have examined whether high levels of self-reported stress accelerate the cognitive decline found in normal late-aging populations. A group of older nonpsychiatric adults, ages 54 years and above, were asked to complete three measures assessing their self-perceived stress over the past month, past year, and their lifetime. Sixty-one adults between the ages of 54 and 88 (52% female) participated in a second phase in which neuropsychological tasks were administered to assess three cognitive domains; memory, learning, and executive functioning. …

Go to article

Simulation For Commercial Driver License Third Party Tester Testing, Henry Truong Jan 2010

Simulation For Commercial Driver License Third Party Tester Testing, Henry Truong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The advance of technology is thought to help ease the myriad tasks that are usually involved in operating equipment. Training and testing in modern times have been replacing with simulation technologies that mimic the actual live operations and testing. Many successful stories of flight simulation come from military fighter aircraft and commercial pilot programs. The possibilities of safety in saving lives, economic incentive in reducing the operational cost and reducing the carbon footprint via simulation makes simulation worth looking into. These considerations quickly boosted the transfer from live training operations to virtual and simulation, as were easily adopted in the …

Go to article

Ageist Perceptions In Personnel Selection Decisions: A Prejudice-Reduction Intervention, Justin Marcus Jan 2010

Ageist Perceptions In Personnel Selection Decisions: A Prejudice-Reduction Intervention, Justin Marcus

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to examine whether older job applicants are discriminated against relative to younger job applicants when changing careers, and to investigate whether an intervention designed to reduce stereotyping and prejudice could alleviate such unfair discrimination, if it was found. A between-subjects laboratory experiment with three factors was conducted, including age (young vs. old job applicant), career-transition type (within- vs. between-career transition), and a dual-identity based recategorization intervention (control vs. intervention), totaling 8 experimental conditions. Data were collected and analyzed from 157 undergraduate student participants. Participants were informed that they would be evaluating the viability …

Go to article

Laser Plasma Radiation Studies For Droplet Sources In The Extreme Ultraviolet, Reuvani Kamtaprasad Jan 2010

Laser Plasma Radiation Studies For Droplet Sources In The Extreme Ultraviolet, Reuvani Kamtaprasad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The advancement of laboratory based Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) radiation has escalated with the desire to use EUV as a source for semiconductor device printing. Laser plasmas based on a mass-limited target concept, developed within the Laser Plasma Laboratory demonstrate a much needed versatility for satisfying rigorous source requirements. This concept produces minimal debris concerns and allows for the attainment of high repetition rates as well as the accommodation of various laser and target configurations. This work demonstrates the generation of EUV radiation by creating laser plasmas from mass-limited targets with indium, tin, and antimony doped droplets. Spectral emission from the …

Go to article

What's In A Name? Genocide Early Warning Model For Humanitarian Intervention, Alexandria Lewis Jan 2010

What's In A Name? Genocide Early Warning Model For Humanitarian Intervention, Alexandria Lewis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is much debate among genocide scholars as to the causes and even accurate definitions of genocide. Early warning developed to address the increasing need for humanitarian intervention in violent conflicts around the world. As a subset of genocide studies, early warning seeks to go beyond explaining the causes of genocide. The early warning model created here uses six indicator variables - government, leaders/elites, followers, non-followers/bystanders, outsider group, and environment - to detect the likelihood of genocide within a given case study. Four cases were chosen - Kenya, Nigeria, Yemen, and Ethiopia - and analyzed using the indicator variables to …

Go to article

Fairy Forts And The Banshee In Modern Coastal Sligo, Ireland: An Ethnography Of Local Beliefs And Interpretations Of These Traditions, Brian Tillesen Jan 2010

Fairy Forts And The Banshee In Modern Coastal Sligo, Ireland: An Ethnography Of Local Beliefs And Interpretations Of These Traditions, Brian Tillesen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines issues of cultural identity and modernity, and the anthropology of spirituality and sacred sites by conducting ethnographic research on fairy beliefs in contemporary Ireland. Irish folk belief has traditionally identified a spirit world intertwined with our own which is inhabited by spirits, often collectively referred to as fairies. Belief in these spirits was once widespread. My research sought to determine the prevalence of these traditional beliefs among modern Irish people within my research area, as well as differences in belief across variables including age, gender, and religious preference. I conducted eight weeks of ethnographic fieldwork during June-August …

Go to article

Hsp90 Is Required For Transfer Of The Cholera Toxin A1 Subunit From The Endoplasmic Reticulum To The Cytosol, Michael Taylor, Fernando Navarro-Garcia, Jazmin Huerta, Helen Burress, Shane Massey, Keith Ireton, Ken Teter Jan 2010

Hsp90 Is Required For Transfer Of The Cholera Toxin A1 Subunit From The Endoplasmic Reticulum To The Cytosol, Michael Taylor, Fernando Navarro-Garcia, Jazmin Huerta, Helen Burress, Shane Massey, Keith Ireton, Ken Teter

Faculty Bibliography 2010s

Cholera toxin (CT) is an AB(5) toxin that moves from the cell surface to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by retrograde vesicular transport. In the ER, the catalytic A1 subunit dissociates from the rest of the toxin and enters the cytosol by exploiting the quality control system of ER-associated degradation (ERAD). The driving force for CTA1 dislocation into the cytosol is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the cytosolic chaperone Hsp90 is required for CTA1 passage into the cytosol. Hsp90 bound to CTA1 in an ATP-dependent manner that was blocked by geldanamycin (GA), an established Hsp90 inhibitor. CT activity against cultured cells …

Go to article

A New Target For Amyloid Beta Toxicity Validated By Standard And High-Throughput Electrophysiology, Kucku Varghese, Peter Molnar, Mainak Das, Neelima Bhargava, Stephen Lambert, Mark S. Kindy, James J. Hickman Jan 2010

A New Target For Amyloid Beta Toxicity Validated By Standard And High-Throughput Electrophysiology, Kucku Varghese, Peter Molnar, Mainak Das, Neelima Bhargava, Stephen Lambert, Mark S. Kindy, James J. Hickman

Faculty Bibliography 2010s

Background: Soluble oligomers of amyloid beta (A beta) are considered to be one of the major contributing factors to the development of Alzheimer's disease. Most therapeutic development studies have focused on toxicity directly at the synapse. Methodology/Principal Findings: Patch clamp studies detailed here have demonstrated that soluble A beta can also cause functional toxicity, namely it inhibits spontaneous firing of hippocampal neurons without significant cell death at low concentrations. This toxicity will eventually lead to the loss of the synapse as well, but may precede this loss by a considerable amount of time. In a key technological advance we have …

Go to article

Oral Delivery Of Bioencapsulated Coagulation Factor Ix Prevents Inhibitor Formation And Fatal Anaphylaxis In Hemophilia B Mice, Dheeraj Verma, Babak Moghimi, Paul A, Loduca, Harminder D. Singh, Brad E. Hoffman, Roland W. Herzog, Henry Daniell Jan 2010

Oral Delivery Of Bioencapsulated Coagulation Factor Ix Prevents Inhibitor Formation And Fatal Anaphylaxis In Hemophilia B Mice, Dheeraj Verma, Babak Moghimi, Paul A, Loduca, Harminder D. Singh, Brad E. Hoffman, Roland W. Herzog, Henry Daniell

Faculty Bibliography 2010s

To address complications of pathogenic antibody or life-threatening anaphylactic reactions in protein replacement therapy for patients with hemophilia or other inherited protein deficiencies, we have developed a prophylactic protocol using a murine hemophilia B model. Oral delivery of coagulation factor IX fused with cholera toxin beta-subunit (with or without a furin cleavage site; CTB-FFIX or CTB-FIX), expressed in chloroplasts (up to 3.8% soluble protein or 0.4 mg/g leaf tissue), bioencapsulated in plant cells, effectively blocked formation of inhibitory antibodies (undetectable or up to 100-fold less than controls). Moreover, this treatment eliminated fatal anaphylactic reactions that occurred after four to six …

Go to article

Climatic Variability Leads To Later Seasonal Flowering Of Floridian Plants, Betsy Von Holle, Yun Wei, David Nickerson Jan 2010

Climatic Variability Leads To Later Seasonal Flowering Of Floridian Plants, Betsy Von Holle, Yun Wei, David Nickerson

Faculty Bibliography 2010s

Understanding species responses to global change will help predict shifts in species distributions as well as aid in conservation. Changes in the timing of seasonal activities of organisms over time may be the most responsive and easily observable indicator of environmental changes associated with global climate change. It is unknown how global climate change will affect species distributions and developmental events in subtropical ecosystems or if climate change will differentially favor nonnative species. Contrary to previously observed trends for earlier flowering onset of plant species with increasing spring temperatures from mid and higher latitudes, we document a trend for delayed …

Go to article

Neural Membrane Signaling Platforms, Ron Wallace Jan 2010

Neural Membrane Signaling Platforms, Ron Wallace

Faculty Bibliography 2010s

Throughout much of the history of biology, the cell membrane was functionally defined as a semi-permeable barrier separating aqueous compartments, and an anchoring site for proteins. Little attention was devoted to its possible regulatory role in intracellular molecular processes and neuron electrical signaling. This article reviews the history of membrane studies and the current state of the art. Emphasis is placed on natural and artificial membrane studies of electric field effects on molecular organization, especially as these may relate to impulse propagation in neurons. Implications of these studies for new designs in artificial intelligence are briefly examined.

Go to article

The Adaptive Function Of Masturbation In A Promiscuous African Ground Squirrel, Jane M. Waterman Jan 2010

The Adaptive Function Of Masturbation In A Promiscuous African Ground Squirrel, Jane M. Waterman

Faculty Bibliography 2010s

Background: Studies of animal mating systems increasingly emphasize female multiple mating and cryptic sexual selection, particularly sperm competition. Males under intense sperm competition may manipulate sperm quantity and quality through masturbation, which could waste sperm and decrease fertility. I examined the factors influencing masturbation by male Cape ground squirrels (Xerus inauris) in light of a number of functional hypotheses. Methodology: Observational data on a marked population of squirrels were collected in east-central Namibia using scan and all-occurrences sampling. Findings: Masturbation was far more frequent on days of female oestrus and mostly occurred after copulation. Masturbation rates were higher in dominant …

Go to article

Measurement Of Contractile Stress Generated By Cultured Rat Muscle On Silicon Cantilevers For Toxin Detection And Muscle Performance Enhancement, Kerry Wilson, Mainak Das, Kathryn J. Wahl, Richard J. Colton, James Hickman Jan 2010

Measurement Of Contractile Stress Generated By Cultured Rat Muscle On Silicon Cantilevers For Toxin Detection And Muscle Performance Enhancement, Kerry Wilson, Mainak Das, Kathryn J. Wahl, Richard J. Colton, James Hickman

Faculty Bibliography 2010s

Background: To date, biological components have been incorporated into MEMS devices to create cell-based sensors and assays, motors and actuators, and pumps. Bio-MEMS technologies present a unique opportunity to study fundamental biological processes at a level unrealized with previous methods. The capability to miniaturize analytical systems enables researchers to perform multiple experiments in parallel and with a high degree of control over experimental variables for high-content screening applications. Methodology/Principal Findings: We have demonstrated a biological microelectromechanical system (BioMEMS) based on silicon cantilevers and an AFM detection system for studying the physiology and kinetics of myotubes derived from embryonic rat skeletal …

Go to article

Reflecting On The Design And Implementation Issues Of Virtual Environments, Chadwick A. Wingrave, Joseph J. Laviola Jr. Jan 2010

Reflecting On The Design And Implementation Issues Of Virtual Environments, Chadwick A. Wingrave, Joseph J. Laviola Jr.

Faculty Bibliography 2010s

We present a candid reflection on the issues surrounding virtual environment design and implementation (VEDI) in order to: (1) motivate the topic as a research-worthy undertaking, and (2) attempt a comprehensive listing of impeding VEDI issues so they can be addressed. In order to structure this reflection, an idealized model of VEDI is presented. This model, investigated using mixed methods, resulted in 67 distinct issues along the model's transitions and pathways. These were clustered into 11 themes and used to support five VEDI research challenges.

Go to article

A Shortstraw-Based Algorithm For Corner Finding In Sketch-Based Interfaces, Yiyan Xiong, Joseph J. Laviola Jr. Jan 2010

A Shortstraw-Based Algorithm For Corner Finding In Sketch-Based Interfaces, Yiyan Xiong, Joseph J. Laviola Jr.

Faculty Bibliography 2010s

We present IStraw, a corner finding technique based on the ShortStraw algorithm. This new algorithm addresses deficiencies with ShortStraw while maintaining its simplicity and efficiency. We also develop an extension for ink strokes containing curves and arcs. We compare our algorithm against ShortStraw and two other state of the art corner finding approaches, MergeCF and Sezgin's scale space algorithm. Based on an all-or-nothing accuracy metric, IStraw shows significant improvements over these algorithms for ink strokes with and without curves. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Go to article

Extended Papers From The 2009 Sketch-Based Interfaces And Modeling Conference (Foreword), Cindy Grimm, Joseph J/ Laviola Jr. Jan 2010

Extended Papers From The 2009 Sketch-Based Interfaces And Modeling Conference (Foreword), Cindy Grimm, Joseph J/ Laviola Jr.

Faculty Bibliography 2010s

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Investigation Of The Behavior Of Serum And Plasma In A Microfluidics System, J. Caroline Henderson, Michele Yacopucci, Chang Ju Chun, Keith Lenghaus, Frank Sommerhage, James J. Hickman Jan 2010

Investigation Of The Behavior Of Serum And Plasma In A Microfluidics System, J. Caroline Henderson, Michele Yacopucci, Chang Ju Chun, Keith Lenghaus, Frank Sommerhage, James J. Hickman

Faculty Bibliography 2010s

There are common problems with adsorption of analytes on the surfaces of microfluidic systems with physiological samples such as blood serum, plasma, and urine. The authors' investigation involves the interaction of serum components with fused-silica surfaces under various flow regimes in microcapillaries. Their focus will include the individual components of serum as well as fresh whole serum. The authors studied the whole serum components in our microfluidic system to uncover the responses of proteins in capillary and microchannel surfaces when influenced by the highly variable serum constituents. They have observed the whole serum with a total protein assay by using …

Go to article

Structural Morphology Of Acoustically Levitated And Heated Nanosilica Droplet, Ranganathan Kumar, Erick Tijerino, Abhishek Saha, Saptarshi Basu Jan 2010

Structural Morphology Of Acoustically Levitated And Heated Nanosilica Droplet, Ranganathan Kumar, Erick Tijerino, Abhishek Saha, Saptarshi Basu

Faculty Bibliography 2010s

We study the vaporization and precipitation dynamics of a nanosilica encapsulated water droplet by levitating it acoustically and heating it with a CO(2) laser. For all concentrations, we observe three phases: solvent evaporation, surface agglomeration, and precipitation leading to bowl or ring shaped structures. At higher concentrations, ring reorientation and rotation are seen consistently. The surface temperature from an infrared camera is seen to be dependent on the final geometrical shape of the droplet and its rotation induced by the acoustic field of the levitator. With nonuniform particle distribution, these structures can experience rupture which modifies the droplet rotational speed.

Go to article

Mcp-Induced Protein 1 Deubiquitinates Traf Proteins And Negatively Regulates Jnk And Nf-Kappa B Signaling, Jian Liang, Yasser Saad, Tianhua Lei, Jing Wang, Dongfei Qi, Qinglin Yang, Pappachan E. Kolattukudy, Mingui Fu Jan 2010

Mcp-Induced Protein 1 Deubiquitinates Traf Proteins And Negatively Regulates Jnk And Nf-Kappa B Signaling, Jian Liang, Yasser Saad, Tianhua Lei, Jing Wang, Dongfei Qi, Qinglin Yang, Pappachan E. Kolattukudy, Mingui Fu

Faculty Bibliography 2010s

The intensity and duration of macrophage-mediated inflammatory responses are controlled by proteins that modulate inflammatory signaling pathways. MCPIP1 (monocyte chemotactic protein-induced protein 1), a recently identified CCCH Zn finger-containing protein, plays an essential role in controlling macrophage-mediated inflammatory responses. However, its mechanism of action is poorly understood. In this study, we show that MCPIP1 negatively regulates c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and NF-kappa B activity by removing ubiquitin moieties from proteins, including TRAF2, TRAF3, and TRAF6. MCPIP1-deficient mice spontaneously developed fatal inflammatory syndrome. Macrophages and splenocytes from MCPIP1(-/-) mice showed elevated expression of inflammatory gene expression, increased JNK and I. B …

Go to article

Reduction Of Sympathetic Activity Via Adrenal-Targeted Grk2 Gene Deletion Attenuates Heart Failure Progression And Improves Cardiac Function After Myocardial Infarction, Anastasios Lymperopoulos, Giuseppe Rengo, Erhe Gao, Steven N. Ebert, Gerald W. Dorn Ii, Walter J. Koch Jan 2010

Reduction Of Sympathetic Activity Via Adrenal-Targeted Grk2 Gene Deletion Attenuates Heart Failure Progression And Improves Cardiac Function After Myocardial Infarction, Anastasios Lymperopoulos, Giuseppe Rengo, Erhe Gao, Steven N. Ebert, Gerald W. Dorn Ii, Walter J. Koch

Faculty Bibliography 2010s

Chronic heart failure (HF) is characterized by sympathetic over-activity and enhanced circulating catecholamines (CAs), which significantly increase HF morbidity and mortality. We recently reported that adrenal G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2) is up-regulated in chronic HF, leading to enhanced CA release via desensitization/down-regulation of the chromaffin cell alpha(2)-adrenergic receptors that normally inhibit CA secretion. We also showed that adrenal GRK2 inhibition decreases circulating CAs and improves cardiac inotropic reserve and function. Herein, we hypothesized that adrenal-targeted GRK2 gene deletion before the onset of HF might be beneficial by reducing sympathetic activation. To specifically delete GRK2 in the chromaffin cells …

Go to article

Doppler Imaging With Dual-Detection Full-Range Frequency Domain Optical Coherence Tomography, Panomsak Meemon, Kye-Sung Lee, Jannick P. Rolland Jan 2010

Doppler Imaging With Dual-Detection Full-Range Frequency Domain Optical Coherence Tomography, Panomsak Meemon, Kye-Sung Lee, Jannick P. Rolland

Faculty Bibliography 2010s

Most of full-range techniques for Frequency Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (FD-OCT) reported to date utilize the phase relation between consecutive axial lines to reconstruct a complex interference signal and hence may exhibit degradation in either mirror image suppression performance or detectable velocity dynamic range or both when monitoring a moving sample such as flow activity. We have previously reported a technique of mirror image removal by simultaneous detection of the quadrature components of a complex spectral interference called a Dual-Detection Frequency Domain OCT (DD-FD-OCT) [Opt. Lett. 35, 1058-1060 (2010)]. The technique enables full range imaging without any loss of acquisition …

Go to article

Host-Toxin Interactions Involving Espc And Pet, Two Serine Protease Autotransporters Of The Enterobacteriaceae, Fernando Navarro-Garcia, Michael Sonnested, Ken Teter Jan 2010

Host-Toxin Interactions Involving Espc And Pet, Two Serine Protease Autotransporters Of The Enterobacteriaceae, Fernando Navarro-Garcia, Michael Sonnested, Ken Teter

Faculty Bibliography 2010s

EspC and Pet are toxins secreted by the diarrheagenic enteropathogenic and enteroaggregative Escherichia coli pathotypes, respectively. Both toxins have a molecular mass around 110 kDa and belong to the same protein family called Serine Protease Autotransporters of the Enterobacteriaceae (SPATE). Furthermore, both toxins act within the cytosol of intoxicated epithelial cells to disrupt the architecture of the actin cytoskeleton. This cytopathic and enterotoxic effect results from toxin cleavage of the actin-binding protein fodrin, although the two toxins recognize different cleavage sites on fodrin. EspC and Pet also have dramatically different mechanisms of entering the target cell which appear dependent upon …

Go to article

First Prev Next Last