Digital Commons Network^™

Health Care Reform, Wellness Programs And The Erosion Of Informed Consent, Matt Lamkin

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Making Boundaries And Linking Globally: “Material Politics” Of Phytosanitary Regulation On Mexican Mangos, Kiyohiko Sakamoto

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

This dissertation illuminates how phytosanitary (PS) regulations enable mango exportation from Mexico to the United States. PS regulations are technical and legal measures to prevent plant pests from proliferating or being transported to other places and are important regulatory mechanisms enabling the globalization of agriculture. My case study investigates how PS regulations enable Mexican mango exportation as an aspect of the globalization of agriculture, illustrating the consequences of PS regulations to humans and non-humans. More specifically, three research questions are posed: (1) How does the PS regulation network operate to draw distinctions between pest/non-pest, thereby enabling the export of Mexican …

Stability Of Antibiotic Resistance Patterns In Agricultural Pastures: Lessons From Kentucky, Usa, Sloane Ritchey, Siva Gandhapudi, Mark Coyne

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Cellular Nucleic Acid Binding Protein Regulates The Alzheimer’S Disease Β-Secretase Protein Bace1, Christopher J. Holler

Theses and Dissertations--Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease affecting the elderly population and is believed to be caused by the overproduction and accumulation of the toxic amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide in the brain. Aβ is produced by two separate enzymatic cleavage events of the larger membrane bound amyloid precursor protein, APP. The first, and rate-limiting, cleavage event is made by beta-secretase, or BACE1, and is thus an attractive therapeutic target. Our lab, as well as many others, has shown that BACE1 protein and activity are increased in late-stage sporadic AD. We have extended these findings to show that BACE1 …

The Effects Of Spatial Configuration Of Populations On The Maintenance Of The Sexes In A Clonal Organism, Christopher Stieha

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Despite the two-fold advantage to asexual reproduction and its prevalence in a variety of organisms, sexual reproduction is prevalent across all taxa. The maintenance of two sexes is required to ensure genetic diversity and to prevent “evolutionary dead ends,” especially in clonal organisms. Many mechanisms have been proposed for the maintenance of two sexes, ranging from environmental variation and stochasticity, parasites and predators, and mutation rates. Spatial configuration, the size and location of populations with respect to other populations, can allow two competitors to coexist when one would normally be lost. This is especially important when the two competitors are …

Ecosystem Impacts Of The Invasive Shrub Lonicera Maackii Are Influenced By Associations With Native Tree Species, Megan Marie Poulette

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Invasive species are significant drivers of global environmental change, altering the stability and functioning of numerous ecosystems. The exotic shrub Lonicera maackii is an aggressive invader throughout much of the eastern United States. While much is known about its population and community impacts, little is known about effects on ecosystem processes.

This dissertation documents changes in ecosystem processes associated with L. maackii growing beneath three native tree species (Fraxinus quadrangulata, Quercus muehlenbergii, Carya ovata) in a savanna in Kentucky. Like many invasive plants, L. maackii litter decomposed and lost nitrogen (N) rapidly, especially in comparison with …

Empirical And Conceptual Approaches To Life-History Trade-Offs: The Size And Number Of Offspring In Broods Of A Parasitoid Wasp, Yoriko Saeki

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Trade-offs in resource allocation underlie key life history traits of organisms. My dissertation focuses on the size-number trade-off in clonal broods of offspring using the polyembryonic wasp, Copidosoma bakeri parasitizing immature stages of the moth Agrotis ipsilon. I aim to characterize responses of wasp brood size and individual body mass by manipulating the environments in order to understand the allocation pattern in the size number trade-off. In reviewing the functional forms of trade-off relationships in relation to resource constraints, I distinguish among three main trade-off types based on graphical representations of the relationship between the trade-off variables: linear, convex …

Ecology Of Mating Patterns And Sexual Selection In Dickcissels Breeding In Managed Prairie, Bridget Frances Sousa

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Males of many species have elaborate phenotypes that are absent in females and that are thought to be the result of sexual selection. Sexual selection requires: (i) variance in male mating success, (ii) variation in male phenotype, and (iii) covariation between male mating success and male phenotype. Environmental conditions influence these factors, and management practices that alter environmental conditions have the potential to shape mating patterns and sexual selection. I investigated the hypothesis that the frequency of fire, used to manage tallgrass prairie, affects the mating patterns and process of sexual selection in the organisms breeding in managed prairies.

I …

The Ecological And Evolutionary Effects Of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds On Sexually Selected Traits In Male Guppies, Kausalya Shenoy

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Male mating signals convey important mate-quality information to females and are regulated by androgens. Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are chemicals that interfere with proper hormonal functioning in exposed animals, causing altered hormone levels and resulting in changed reproductive characteristics, including mating signals. Altered signals can have ecological implications by influencing population and community dynamics and evolutionary implications via trans-generational reduction in signal reliability leading to reduced preference and eventual loss of the signal trait. I examined the effects of exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of atrazine, a widely used herbicide and EDC, on mating signals and behaviors in male guppies, …

Adult Bmi Change And Risk Of Colon Cancer In Postmenopausal Women, Lyla Blake-Gumbs, Zhengyi Chen, Cheryl L. Thompson, Nathan A. Berger, Thomas C. Tucker, Li Li

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Purpose. We recently reported an association of adult BMI change with colon cancer risk. Here, we sought to further explore this association with respect to postmenopausal HRT use in a larger study population. Methods. We included 1,457 postmenopausal women participating in an ongoing population-based case-control study of colon cancer. Results. We confirmed a previously reported association of adulthood weight gain and increased risk of colon cancer: compared to those with <5 kg/m² change of BMI, women who reported moderate (5–10 kg/m²) and large (>10 kg/m²) BMI changes since their 20s had OR estimates …

The Effect Of Integrated Weed Management Strategies On Weed Populations And Biomass, Pasture Productivity, Economic Returns, And Forage Quality With And Without Grazing, Joshua Allen Tolson

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Field studies examined the strategies of mowing, herbicide, fertility, and all combinations on tall ironweed populations, weed biomass, pasture yield, grazing, economics, and forage quality at three Kentucky locations. Mowing was performed in July 2008 and 2009, herbicide applied in August 2008, and fertilizer applied in September 2008 and 2009 at all locations. Weed populations were measured in 2008, 2009, and 2010, and forage and weed biomass collected in May or June of 2009 and 2010. Herbicide treatments reduced weed biomass at all locations, and reduced tall ironweed stems by 64% or greater in 2009 at all locations. Weed biomass …

Enantioselective Demethylation: The Key To The Nornicotine Enantiomeric Composition In Tobacco Leaf, Bin Cai

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Nicotine and nornicotine are the two main alkaloids that accumulate in Nicotiana tabacum L. (tobacco), and nornicotine is the N-demethylation metabolite of nicotine. Nicotine is synthesized in the root, and probably primarily in the root tip. Both nicotine and nornicotine exist as two isomers that differ from each other by the orientation of H atom at the C-2' position on the pyrrolidine ring. (S)-nicotine is the dominant form in tobacco leaf and the enantiomer fraction of nicotine (EF_nic), the fraction of (R)-enantiomer over the total nicotine, is approximately 0.002. Despite considerable efforts to elucidate nicotine and nornicotine …

Evaluation Of Vascular Changes In Cattle Relative To Time-Off Endophyte-Infected Tall Fescue, Jessica R. Bussard

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Twenty-four steers were grazed on endophyte (Neotyphodium coenophialum)-infected [[Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) Darbysh]; E+] tall fescue (TF) and exposed to ergot alkaloids for an 106-d grazing period. Cattle were removed from pasture, placed in dry lots, and fed a non-toxic diet to evaluate changes in vascular contraction relative to time-off E+ TF pasture. Lateral saphenous veins (SV) were biopsied from steers at 0-, 21-, 42-, and 63-d off TF pasture and from 6 control steers at 0- and 63-d off bermudagrass (BG) pasture. To evaluate contractile response, biopsied SV were exposed to increasing concentrations of ergotamine in a multimyograph. Cross-sectional scans …

Steer And Tall Fescue Pasture Responses To Grazing Intensity And Chemical Seedhead Suppression, Ben M. Goff

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum) is the principal cool-season species within pastures of the southeastern USA and is known to have a mutualistic relationship with a fungal endophyte (Neotyphodium coenophialum) that produces the ergot alkaloids responsible for tall fescue toxicosis. Management of the reproductive growth of tall fescue is necessary, as the seedheads contain the highest concentrations of ergot alkaloids, and livestock have been documented to selectively graze these tissues. Recently, the herbicide Chaparral^™ has been shown to be an effective method to prevent seedhead production in tall fescue pastures while also increasing steer gains at …

Oxidative Stress And Down Syndrome: A Route Toward Alzheimer-Like Dementia, Marzia Perluigi, D. Allan Butterfield

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Down syndrome (DS) is one of the most frequent genetic abnormalities characterized by multiple pathological phenotypes. Indeed, currently life expectancy and quality of life for DS patients have improved, although with increasing age pathological dysfunctions are exacerbated and intellectual disability may lead to the development of Alzheimer's type dementia (AD). The neuropathology of DS is complex and includes the development of AD by middle age, altered free radical metabolism, and impaired mitochondrial function, both of which contribute to neuronal degeneration. Understanding the molecular basis that drives the development of AD is an intense field of research. Our laboratories are interested …

Investigations Into Modulation Of Brain Oxidative Stress By Various Interventions, Jessica Lynn Harris

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

In this thesis study we examined glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) and its effects over Nrf2 and Pin 1 as it relates to Alzheimer’s disease (AD). AD is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by a prolonged high oxidative environment. Transcription factor Nrf2 is vital in the brain’s defense against oxidative insults through its up-regulation of over 100 antioxidants. Depletion of the brain’s antioxidant defense system results in intolerance to an oxidative environment, contributing to the progression of AD. The regulatory Pin 1 protein promotes cellular homeostasis, and when down-regulated results in increased deposits of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques, the …

Investigations Of Oxidative Stress Effects And Their Mechanisms In Rat Brain After Systemic Administration Of Ceria Engineered Nanomaterials, Sarita S. Hardas

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Advancing applications of engineered nanomaterials (ENM) in various fields create the opportunity for intended (e.g. drug and gene delivery) or unintended (e.g. occupational and environmental) exposure to ENM. However, the knowledge of ENM-toxicity is lagging behind their application development. Understanding the ENM hazard can help us to avoid potential human health problems associated with ENM applications as well as to increase their public acceptance. Ceria (cerium [Ce] oxide) ENM have many current and potential commercial applications. Beyond the traditional use of ceria as an abrasive, the scope of ceria ENM applications now extends into fuel cell manufacturing, diesel fuel additives …

Biosensing Systems For The Detection Of Bacterial Quorum Sensing Molecules: A Tool For Investigating Bacteria-Related Disorders And Food Spoilage Prevention, Nilesh G. Raut

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Quorum sensing enables bacteria to communicate with bacteria of the same or different species, and to modulate their behavior in a cell-density dependent manner. Communication occurs by means of small quorum sensing signaling molecules (QSMs) whose concentration is proportional to the population size. When a QSM threshold concentration is reached, certain genes are expressed, thus allowing control of several processes, such as, virulence factor production, antibiotic production, and biofilm formation. Not only many pathogenic bacteria are known to produce QSMs, but also QSMs have been identified in some bacteria-related disorders. Therefore, quantitative detection of QSMs present in clinical samples may …

Application Of Thin Film Analysis Techniques And Controlled Reaction Environments To Model And Enhance Biomass Utilization By Cellulolytic Bacteria, Hsin-Fen Li

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Cellulose from energy crops or agriculture residues can be utilized as a sustainable energy resource to produce biofuels such as ethanol. The process of converting cellulose into solvents and biofuels requires the saccharification of cellulose into soluble, fermentable sugars. However, challenges to cellulosic biofuel production include increasing the activity of cellulose-degrading enzymes (cellulases) and increasing solvent (ethanol) yield while minimizing the co-production of organic acids. This work applies novel surface analysis techniques and fermentation reactor perturbations to quantify, manipulate, and model enzymatic and metabolic processes critical to the efficient production of cellulosic biofuels.

Surface analysis techniques utilizing cellulose thin film …

Chronic Orofacial Pain Influences Self-Regulation In A Rodent Model, Tracey Christine Kniffin

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Self-regulation is the capacity to exert control over cognition, emotion, behavior, and physiology. Since chronic pain interferes with the ability to self-regulate, the primary goal of this study was to examine, in rodents, the effects of chronic pain on self-regulation processes. Sixteen male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into two groups: (1) chronic constriction injury of the infraorbital nerve (CCI-ION) and (2) naïve. Testing confirmed that CCI-ION animals had significant mechanical allodynia compared to naïve animals (p<0.001). A two-part self-regulation behavioral paradigm consisting of a cued go/no-go task and a subsequent persistence task was developed based on human paradigms. In the cued task, both groups made fewer incorrect lever presses in post-surgery trials (p<0.001); naive animals had a greater decrease in number of incorrect presses than CCI-ION animals (p=0.06). Similarly, both groups had a larger correct to total lever presses ratio in post-surgery trials (p<0.001); naïve animals had a greater increase than CCI-ION animals (p=0.06). In the persistence task, naïve animals experienced a greater decrease in lever presses (p=0.08) than did CCI-ION animals (p=0.66). These results suggest that animals experiencing chronic pain were not able to learn as well as naïve animals, and may have difficulty responding to novel environmental demands.

Land, Rights, And The Practice Of Making A Living In Pre-Saharan Morocco, Karen Eugenie Rignall

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This dissertation explores the relationship between land tenure and livelihoods in pre-Saharan Morocco as an ethical struggle over subsistence rights and the definition of community. Research in an oasis valley of southern Morocco indicated how changing land use practices framed contestations over community, political authority, and social hierarchies. The dissertation specifically examines the extension of settlement and cultivation from the oasis into the arid steppe. The research methodology contextualizes household decision-making around land use and livelihood strategies within the framework of land tenure regimes and other regional, national, and global processes. Households with the resources and prestige to navigate customary …

Literacygrows.Org Cultivating An Online Platform For Teaching Professionals: A Formative Experiment Exploring The Effectiveness, Efficiency, And Appeal Of A Co-Constructed Online Platform For Professional Development, Susan Jean Beckley Hart

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

The purpose of this formative experiment (Reinking & Bradley, 2008) was to describe the stages of development of an online platform that cultivated the growth of an online community of practice for teaching professionals. One hundred and forty-eight elementary school professionals participated in this study. Relying primarily on qualitative data, an iterative process of data gathering, analysis, and reflection was used prior to, during, and after the implementation of the intervention, LiteracyGrows.org, to describe performance and determine progress toward the pedagogical goal.

Qualitative data were coded for recurring themes derived from the following sources: interview data, user-profile information, Google Analytics, …

Relationships Of Access And Affordability To Household Food Security Status Among Rural, Low Income Caregivers, Jodi Elaine Marani

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

Household food security status in rural areas is a significant issue facing caregivers as positive health outcomes depend on appropriate access to healthy foods necessary to lead an active life. Access and affordability of healthy foods are two mediating factors of household food security that may be improved to ultimately increase rates of food security and overall health status among rural, low income populations.

The purpose of the study was to examine the factors of access and affordability of nutritionally adequate food sources in one rural community in relation to food security status through the perspective of its caregivers. In …

A Shared Gene Expression Signature In Mouse Models Of Ebv-Associated And Non-Ebv-Associated Burkitt Lymphoma, Kathryn T. Bieging, Kamonwan Fish, Subbarao Bondada, Richard Longnecker

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

The link between EBV infection and Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is strong, but the mechanism underlying that link has been elusive. We have developed a mouse model for EBV-associated BL in which LMP2A, an EBV latency protein, and MYC are expressed in B cells. Our model has demonstrated the ability of LMP2A to accelerate tumor onset, increase spleen size, and bypass p53 inactivation. Here we describe the results of total gene expression analysis of tumor and pretumor B cells from our transgenic mouse model. Although we see many phenotypic differences and changes in gene expression in pretumor B cells, the transcriptional …

Microglial P38Α Mapk Is Critical For Lps-Induced Neuron Degeneration, Through A Mechanism Involving Tnfα, Bin Xing, Adam D. Bachstetter, Linda J. Van Eldik

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The p38α MAPK isoform is a well-established therapeutic target in peripheral inflammatory diseases, but the importance of this kinase in pathological microglial activation and detrimental inflammation in CNS disorders is less well understood. To test the role of the p38α MAPK isoform in microglia-dependent neuron damage, we used primary microglia from wild-type (WT) or p38α MAPK conditional knockout (KO) mice in co-culture with WT cortical neurons, and measured neuron damage after LPS insult.

RESULTS: We found that neurons in co-culture with p38α-deficient microglia were protected against LPS-induced synaptic loss, neurite degeneration, and neuronal death. The involvement of the proinflammatory …

Juvenile Hormone Regulates Vitellogenin Gene Expression Through Insulin-Like Peptide Signaling Pathway In The Red Flour Beetle, Tribolium Castaneum, Zhentao Sheng, Jingjing Xu, Hua Bai, Fang Zhu, Subba R. Palli

Entomology Faculty Publications

Our recent studies identified juvenile hormone (JH) and nutrition as the two key signals that regulate vitellogenin (Vg) gene expression in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. Juvenile hormone regulation of Vg synthesis has been known for a long time in several insects, but the mechanism of JH action is not known. Experiments were conducted to determine the mechanism of action of these two signals in regulation of Vg gene expression. Injection of bovine insulin or FOXO double-stranded RNA into the previtellogenic, starved, or JH-deficient female adults increased Vg mRNA and protein levels, thereby implicating the pivotal role for …

Forage News [2011-12], Department Of Plant And Soil Sciences, University Of Kentucky

Forage News

• Heart of America Grazing Conference
• UK Forage Variety Tests
• Forage Dynamics and Calf Behavior in Two Creep Grazing Systems
• Testing and Feeding Tobacco-Brown Hay and Silage
• World Population Hits Seven Billion
• Farmers Use of Broadband Internet
• High Cattle Prices to Continue, Analysts Say

Maternal Separation Affects Dopamine Transporter Function In The Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat: An In Vivo Electrochemical Study, Jacqueline S. Womersley, Jennifer H. Hsieh, Lauriston A. Kellaway, Greg A. Gerhardt, Vivienne A. Russell

Neuroscience Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. The spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) is a well-characterised model of this disorder and has been shown to exhibit dopamine dysregulation, one of the hypothesised causes of ADHD. Since stress experienced in the early stages of life can have long-lasting effects on behaviour, it was considered that early life stress may alter development of the dopaminergic system and thereby contribute to the behavioural characteristics of SHR. It was hypothesized that maternal separation would alter dopamine regulation by the transporter (DAT) in ways that distinguish SHR …

Widespread Regulation Of Mirna Biogenesis At The Dicer Step By The Cold-Inducible Rna-Binding Protein, Rbm3, Julie Pilotte, Esther E. Dupont-Versteegden, Peter W. Vanderklish

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play critical roles in diverse cellular events through their effects on translation. Emerging data suggest that modulation of miRNA biogenesis at post-transcriptional steps by RNA-binding proteins is a key point of regulatory control over the expression of some miRNAs and the cellular processes they influence. However, the extent and conditions under which the miRNA pathway is amenable to regulation at posttranscriptional steps are poorly understood. Here we show that RBM3, a cold-inducible, developmentally regulated RNA-binding protein and putative protooncogene, is an essential regulator of miRNA biogenesis. Utilizing miRNA array, Northern blot, and PCR methods, we observed that over …

Liposomal, Ring-Opened Camptothecins With Prolonged, Site-Specific Delivery Of Active Drug To Solid Tumors, Bradley D. Anderson, Vijay Joguparthi, Tiang-Xiang Xiang

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Patents

A method for preparing a stable dispersion of a camptothecin, camptothecin prodrug, or analog thereof for administration to a patient in need thereof includes preparing a solution of the camptothecin, wherein the solution has a pH which places substantially an entirety of that camptothecin in a carboxylate form. The camptothecin may be a neutral camptothecin. The solution is next loaded into a liposome including at least one lipid, which may be a phospholipid. An intraliposomal pH is maintained which preserves substantially an entirety of the camptothecin in the carboxylate form. The liposomal dispersion is administered to an individual in need …