Digital Commons Network^™

Cell Biology Of Foxp3+ Regulatory T Cells, Mariko Takami

Dissertations

T cells play a central role in the immune response to fight against pathogens and orchestrate other immune cells. An overreactive immune response can lead to autoimmune diseases, therefore the immune system must possess negative regulation mechanisms. In the periphery, naturally arising regulatory T cells (nTregs) negatively regulate immune responses and play an important role in maintaining immune homeostasis. When antigens are present, conventional CD4+ T cells recognize their cognate antigen and proliferate. After pathogen clearance, expanded effector T cells eventually decline in number due to activation induced cell death (AICD) to terminate immune response. However, it is not understood …

Forebrain Noradrenergic Alterations And Anxiety After Myocardial Infarction, Jaimee Glasgow

Dissertations

Thirty to 45% of patients who suffer a myocardial infarction (MI) develop anxiety disorders and/or depression, and the development of mood and anxiety disorders following MI is a major risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Depressed post-MI patients have an increased risk of fatal arrhythmias, which are often precipitated by emotional stressors. However, the central nervous system mechanisms that contribute to post-MI anxiety and arrhythmia susceptibility are unknown. Therefore, the studies reported in this dissertation were designed to test the hypothesis that alterations in noradrenergic transmission in the forebrain contribute to the development of anxiety disorders and arrhythmia susceptibility …

Populus Defense And Stress Response Regulation During Ectomycorrhizal Symbiosis With Laccaria As Revealed By Global Transcriptome Analysis, Avinash Sreedasyam

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Continuous- And Discrete-Time Structured Malaria Models And Their Dynamics, Junliang Lu

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Understanding Controlled Evaporation Of Microdroplets Towards Scalable Micro/Nano Manufacturing, Taye Dickson Esho

Dissertations

This research investigates the controlled evaporation of microdroplets to the nano scale regime for scalable micro/nano manufacturing. A customized direct write inkjet printing system was utilized to generate monodisperse microdroplets of different fluid types. Two novel approaches were employed to achieve the research objective. The first approach incorporated a convective heat source (i.e. resistive heated ring) to induce controlled heat flux for microdroplet evaporation after ejection from the inkjet system. The temperature of the heated ring was varied to observe reduction of the microdroplet via heat transfer to its lateral periphery. The second approach employed a radiative source (i.e. CO …

Renewable Energy Integration: Correlating Homeowner Motivations, Casey Jerome Forrest

Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to explain the relationship between homeowners' preferred leadership style and their motivation to use sustainable energy. This study utilized a quantitative correlational methodology. The researcher developed and administered a questionnaire to collect data from a convenience sample of faculty and staff homeowners from two public institutions in the Piedmont-Triad region of North Carolina. The Leadership Motivation Index Questionnaire (LMIQ) is an 11 question assessment designed to explain potential correlations between the frequency of motivational factors and preferred leadership styles. The LMIQ includes three sections (demographics, motivation, and leadership style) to access what …

Network Survivability Analysis: Coarse-Graining And Graph-Theoretic Strategies, Teshome Feyessa

Dissertations

Survivability is the ability of a system to continuously deliver essential services despite attacks, failures, or accidents that damage a significant portion of the system. Most of existing survivability measures evaluate global impact of faults on a network by averaging the loss in performance over the whole network. These approaches undermine the fact that a fault is not expected to impact all parts of the network equally. Impacts of some faults are contained in local neighborhoods while others have a global reach. In addition, graph algorithms are often computationally intensive, and even polynomial time algorithms get impractical for a fair …

Molecular Dynamics Modeling Of Scalable Micro/Nano Manufacturing, Ravindra Damodarrao Kaware

Dissertations

In this research, 'Droplet Based Direct Write' micro/nano manufacturing is investigated using a molecular dynamics modeling and simulation approach. The aim of this investigation is characterization of the direct write inkjet printing process to promote optimization for the enhancement of scalability. The study was completed in four phases; nanodroplet evaporation modeling, substrate-nanodroplet interaction modeling, nanodroplet impingement study and nanodroplet-patterned substrate interaction modeling. For the evaporation study, the two typical solvents water and acetone were used. Under this phase, characterization of nanodroplet evaporation was accomplished including evaluation of droplet size variations at different temperatures and time scales. The results of evaporation …

Biofunctional Coatings Using Direct-Write Fabrication Technique For Surgical Implant Devices, Jessica L. Perkins

Dissertations

Surface modification of biomaterials is of critical value to attain desired functionality of biomedical devices and implants. Many of the conventional manufacturing methods used for the fabrication of thin film coatings lack the ability to precisely dispense biological compounds without compromising its chemical integrity. This research investigates the use of direct-write inkjet technique for the deposition of multi-layer coatings of biodegradable polymers. The Direct Write inkjet method provides selective deposition and patterning capability for depositing multi-material coatings on biomaterials for a vast array of surgical implant devices (e.g. stents for cardiovascular applications and orthopedic implants). In the first phase of …

Synthesis And Photoluminescence (Pl) Of Gold (I) And Silver (I) Metal Complexes With 1-Methylbenzimidazole Diphenylphosphine (Mbdp): Potential Sensing Applications For Volatile Organic Compounds, Darkus Elizabeth Jenkins

Dissertations

Volatile organic compound(s), VOC(s), detection have become a highly demanding area of research due to potential harmful effects to the ecosystem. The search for methods of VOC sensor devices has led to the examination of photoluminescence and photoluminescent materials such as metal complexes. Their luminescent properties markedly with phosphine and/or nitrogen based ligands, bridging ligands, have the ability to accommodate metal atoms with short metal – metal distances. It is of great interest to accomplish short metal interactions as the photoluminescent properties can be altered. We show the synthesis and structural characterization of the bridging ligand, 1-methylbenzimidazole diphenylphosphine. We examined …

Biometric Alternatives To Captcha: Exploring Accessible Interface Options, Anita Foley

Dissertations

In the computing domain the relationship between accessibility and security is a complex and evolving one; accessibility attempts to ensure that as wide a range of individuals as possible are granted access to systems, whereas security attempts to restrict access only to individuals who are entitled to access those systems. A key security concern is to determine whether or not the system is being accessed by a software agent or a real human being, and a number of approaches have been developed to determine the answer to this question. This issue has been discussed throughout the history of computer science …

Investigation And Analysis Of Open Government Data In Ireland, And The Creation Of A Set Of Quality Guidelines To Aid Its Utility Within Mobile Application Development, Peadar Fitzpatrick

Dissertations

Governments are the custodians of vast amount of data. While some of this data may be sensitive in nature, in that it contains personal or confidential information, much of it is in the public interest. Recent years has seen the emergence of Open Government Data (OGD) where governments are now actively making their data available in open and electronically accessible formats. The motivation for the production of such data includes a desire to increase transparency but also a desire to realise the economic potential associated with re-use of this data. A key usage area for this data to date has …

Towards Universally Designed Assistive Technology E-Learning, Karl O'Keeffe

Dissertations

The aim of this dissertation is to provide Assistive Technology (AT) professionals involved in the area of education and training with a set of reusable technological tools and techniques that will enable them to increase the reach, efficiency, effectiveness and accessibility of their training through online delivery. There are a number of broadly accepted reasons why an organisation in any field might choose to make training available online or partially online (blended) rather than relying on traditional face to face methods. Of the four considered here and mentioned above, accessibility is the biggest concern in the context of AT. It …

Porous Silicon Platform Technologies For Transmembrane Protein Investigation, Khalid Hasan Tantawi

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Global Stability And Traveling Wave Solutions For Some Epidemiological Models, Siroj Kansakar

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Binding Properties And Functional Consequences Of Ryr2-Cam Interaction, Yi Yang

Dissertations

The aim of my dissertation is to understand the regulation of RyR2. The whole dissertation is composed of two parts. The first part focused on RyR2-CaM interaction. The second focused on synthetic RyR2 domain peptide (DPc10), which worked as a powerful molecular tool for RyR2 functional and structural studies.

CaM has been long identified as an important cardiac RyR regulator. Broad studies suggest CaM is a critical RyR2 stabilizer and CaM-RyR2 interaction is a critical molecular substrate for arrhythmias and HF pathogenesis, but the in situ binding properties for CaM-RyR2 are still unknown. Here we, Using FRET detection and permeabilized …

Positive Emotions And Immune Respose To Influenza In Medically Stable Older Adults, Maryann J. Gierloff

Dissertations

Influenza results in substantial human suffering and health care costs. Evidence from psychoneuroimmunology suggests that emotions influence the immune system and may alter susceptibility to infectious diseases, like influenza. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the influence of psychological factors, health behaviors, circulating levels of proinflammatory cytokines and the development of influenza-like illness in older adults. Medically stable participants, 55 years of age and over, were enrolled from the general community and an elderly community. Psychological factors (emotions and perceived stress), health behaviors (sleep and physical activity) and plasma cytokine levels (IL-6 and IL-1B) were evaluated with respect …

Social Cognitive Functioning And Social Competence In Children And Adolescents With Spina Bifida And Hydrocephalus: Social Cognitive Neuroscience As A Model, Caitlin Reid Roache

Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to examine social cognition in children with spina bifida and congenital hydrocephalus (SBH) and to determine whether deficits in these domains are associated with poor social competence, utilizing concepts from social cognitive neuroscience. To build upon extant literature, multi-method assessments, multi-informant data, and a developmental, biopsychosocial perspective were utilized. Distinct aspects of social competence, as defined by social performance, social skills, and social adjustment, were considered.

The current study was designed to investigate: (1) differences in social cognition between children and adolescents with SBH and the general population, (2) potential neuroanatomical predictors of …

Nietzsche's Theory Of Cognition: An Interpretation And Defense Of Perspectivism, Justin R. Marquis

Dissertations

Friedrich Nietzsche has long been recognized as a pivotal thinker in the history of moral philosophy, but until the last quarter century his importance for our understanding of the concepts of truth and knowledge had been largely ignored in English-language scholarship. In my dissertation, I add to the growing discussion on Nietzsche's theory of human cognition. While more attention has recently been given to this dimension of Nietzsche's thought, several key aspects have been largely ignored or insufficiently treated including the effects that the ethical or evaluative domain have on the way we cognize the world, the role that radical …

Preferred Dna Binding Orientation Of The Hyperthermophile Protein Sac7d, Gokul Krishna Turaga

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Structured Dna Probe Microarrays For Detection Of Acetotrophic Methanogens In Complex Solutions, Jonas Boateng

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Transcriptome Characterization Of The Ectomycorrhizal Fungus Laccaria Bicolor To Understand Metabolic Reprogramming During Symbiotic Interaction With Populus Tremuloides, Geetika Trivedi

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Detecting The Presence Of Extrinsic Nodes In A Virtual Network Using A Message Induced Graph, James A. Jerkins

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Spectropolarimetric Characterization Of Light Scattering Materials, Prashant Raman

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Synthesis And Characterization Of Biocompatible Pegylated Poly (A-Amino Acid) Random And Block Copolymers For Application To Solid Surfaces, Tracy L. Armstrong

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Emotional Intelligence Profiles And Cognitive Measures Of Nurse Anesthesia Students In The Southeastern United States, Shawn Bryant Collins

Dissertations

Problem. The purpose of this cross-sectional correlational study was to explore the relationship between emotional intelligence and personal and academic factors of nurse anesthesia students at three points in a program: matriculation, at one year of study, and in the last semester of study and the relationship of these to clinical scores and national certification examination (NCE) scores.

Method. An ex-post-facto cross-sectional study design was used to gather data at three critical times in nurse anesthesia (NA) programs to explore the relationships between emotional intelligence scores, preadmission demographics, clinical scores, and NCE scores.

Results. Data from 216 nurse anesthesia students …

Empirically Supported Treatment Interventions For Persons With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder And Comorbid Borderline Personality Disorder, Megan Seliga

Dissertations

The overall stigma- and gender-related controversies that surround the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) present a unique ethical mandate to the practitioner. The relationship between trauma and the BPD diagnosis strengthens the need for carefully designed treatment interventions in order to secure the benefits of trauma-focused work, while minimizing the risk of undue regression. The complexity and risk of harm introduced by a diagnosis of comorbid BPD and PTSD urges the need for clarification of optimal treatment interventions to guide practitioners. Trauma-focused therapies, particularly EMDR, tend to be the treatment of choice for PTSD; however, comorbid borderline pathology has …

Acute-To-Home Care Nursing Handoffs: Distributed Cognition Across Patterns Of Knowledge, Rosemary Kennedy

Dissertations

Timely, explicit, and effective communication of patient information during care transitions is fundamental to safe care. Studies show that handoffs or transfers of patient care from one provider to another are susceptible to communication failures (Riesenberg et al., 2009a). Most studies on communication failures focus on communication between providers within the same setting of care. Few studies, if any, focus on communication between care settings in different locations. However, research has identified gaps in care during critical transitions and identified poor communication and incomplete transfer of information as the root cause (Naylor et al., 2004). This qualitative dissertation consists of …

Promoting Thymopoiesis With Age: Potential Role Of The Transcription Factor Foxn1, Erin Christine Zook

Dissertations

It is known that the elderly are more susceptible to illnesses and infections and respond poorly to immunization. A contributing factor to a decrease in the immune response in the elderly is the decline in the production of naïve T cell by the thymus. In the thymus, the notch receptor expressed on early T cell progenitors (ETP) binds to its ligand expressed on thymic epithelial cells (TEC), signaling ETP to develop through a series of developmental stages before maturing into naive T cells. Because ETP are non-self renewing, the thymus relies on the bone marrow (BM) for a continuous supply …

The Lord Opened Her Heart: Women, Work, And Leadership In Acts Of The Apostles, Teresa Jeanne Calpino

Dissertations

This dissertation will explore two women in The Acts of the Apostles, Tabitha (Acts 9:36-42) and Lydia (Acts 16:11-15) who have been routinely ignored by scholars, or mentioned only in praising the apostle associated with their story. As a result, stereotypical categorization has swept these important characters from their rightful place into relative obscurity. In fact, an examination of their stories set against the expectations of women in Greco-Roman antiquity reveals their unconventional situations. In particular, this dissertation takes special notice of the ways in which representations of the `ideal woman' in the Greco Roman world are at variance with …