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Molecular Typing Of Mycobacterial Isolates Cultured From The Tissue Of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn's Disease) Patients, Leanne M. Adams Jan 2004

Molecular Typing Of Mycobacterial Isolates Cultured From The Tissue Of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn's Disease) Patients, Leanne M. Adams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The role of Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis (MAP) in the etiology and pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) including Crohn's Disease (CD), has been investigated. The fastidious characteristics and cross reactivity of MAP with other members in Mycobacteria have produced significant challenges in their detection and identification. In this two year pilot study, an array of three PCR molecular assays based on the detection of sequences from the16S rRNA, IS1245, and IS900 genes, belonging to members of the MAC, have been developed and optimized into a common protocol to be used as a rapid and accurate diagnostic tool regarding M. …

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Morpheme Acquisition In Second Language Learners, Timothy Andrew Schuwerk Jan 2004

Morpheme Acquisition In Second Language Learners, Timothy Andrew Schuwerk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored morpheme acquisition in learners of English as a Second Language (ESL). Specifically, it looked at the development of eight selected individuals from Korea over the course of an intensive 8-week instruction program and tracked their acquisition of three specific English morphemes: indefinite articles used with singular count nouns, progressive -ing forms, and third person -s markers. The individuals were given an assessment test to place them at the correct level within the program prior to their selection for the study. The participants provided four sets of data in the form of writing samples at fixed intervals during …

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Interactions Between The Nudibranch Okenia Zoobotryon And Its Bryozoan, Nicole Robinson Jan 2004

Interactions Between The Nudibranch Okenia Zoobotryon And Its Bryozoan, Nicole Robinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the Indian River Lagoon, the nudibranch Okenia zoobotryon and its egg masses are found attached to the bryozoan Zoobotryon verticillatum throughout the year. Okenia zoobotryon is thought to live, feed, and reproduce exclusively on Z. verticillatum, which would make this a very specialized predator-prey interaction. The primary goal of my study was to document certain aspects of the ecological and chemical relationships between Z. verticillatum and O. zoobotryon. Specifically, I wanted to understand the cues used by the nudibranch to locate and remain on Z. verticillatum. Population surveys on Z. verticillatum, as well as other potential hosts, were performed. …

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Extracullular Atp Regulates Il-1beta Release From Microglial Cells Via Purinergic Receptor After In Vitro Trauma, Chengya Liang Jan 2004

Extracullular Atp Regulates Il-1beta Release From Microglial Cells Via Purinergic Receptor After In Vitro Trauma, Chengya Liang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) induces a state of microglialactivation, which includes upregulation of macrophage functions and release inflammatory mediators such as certain inflammatory cytokines. Current literature suggests that interleukin-1Beta is an important cytokine mediator, which is dramatically increased after brain injury. Previous studies indicate that ATP is released by traumatically injured astrocytes and serves as a cell-to-cell mediator through purinergic receptors after in vitro injury. However, the mechanism of interleukin-1Beta release after traumatic brain injury remains poorly defined and is difficult to study using in vivo models. Using an in vitro model for traumatic brain injury (cell strain or stretch), …

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Nursing Leadership Characteristics: Effect On Nursing Job Satisfactio, Sandra Swearingen Jan 2004

Nursing Leadership Characteristics: Effect On Nursing Job Satisfactio, Sandra Swearingen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to determine the degree to which a positive experience with nursing leadership increases nurse's job satisfaction. The different values and norms of the generational cohorts result in each cohort perceiving leadership characteristics differently. Factors such as length of exposure to leadership, location, shift worked, clinical versus non-clinical positions and the presence or absence of Servant-Leadership, all have the potential to impact nursing satisfaction. Nursing satisfaction, or dissatisfaction impacts retention, further modifying nursing leadership practices. Conflict, Cohort, Servant-Leadership, and Self-Discrepancy theories were utilized to identify the relationships of generations to each other and to the …

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Trackers, Robin Rozanski Jan 2004

Trackers, Robin Rozanski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Trackers is a collection of short stories that attest to the oddities and complexities found even in the non-exotic middle-class American suburbs. The characters in these stories experience disappointments that result from the physical and emotional distancing of families. In "Tokens," a woman's attempts at revenge on her cheating husband are unsatisfying because she ends up feeling more alone than before. In "Trackers," eleven-year old Richard hunts for Bigfoot as he and his family cope with the emotional aftermath of his sister's suicide attempt. In these stories people struggle to maintain normalcy in their lives--sometimes through inappropriate means. When their …

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Analysis Of Specific Cis-Acting Dna Sequences Of The Himar1 Mariner Transposon, Beth Berta Jan 2004

Analysis Of Specific Cis-Acting Dna Sequences Of The Himar1 Mariner Transposon, Beth Berta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Himar1, found in the horn fly Haematobia irritans, belongs to the mariner family of transposable elements. Mariners are a diverse and widespread family of eukaryotic transposons that transpose via a cut-and-paste mechanism. Mariner transposition not only requires the transposase, but also specific cis-acting DNA sequences known as inverted terminal repeats (ITRs). Very little is known about the fine structure of mariner ITRs, particularly which bases are important for transposition. A mariner family ITR sequence logo representing 20 different mariners from six different subfamilies suggests that more conserved regions of the logo are required for transposase binding while the more variable …

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Vitellogenin Induction As A Biomarker For Environmental Estrogens In Xenopus Laevis, Jamie Skoloda Jan 2004

Vitellogenin Induction As A Biomarker For Environmental Estrogens In Xenopus Laevis, Jamie Skoloda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In oviparous vertebrates, estrogen stimulates the liver to produce vitellogenin. Vitellogenin induction is a useful biomarker for exposure to endocrine disruptors, specifically environmental estrogens. The objective of this project was to design in vivo bioassays for environmental estrogens based on induction of vitellogenin in male Xenopus laevis. Frogs were exposed to ethinyl-estradiol by injection or immersion for different times and doses, than vitellogenin induction was assessed. An ELISA was developed to measure serum vitellogenin. Additionally, a vitellogenin rt-PCR assay was developed using species-specific vitellogenin primers, to detect mRNA induction. It was established that the induction of serum vitellogenin and hepatic …

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Identification Of Protein Interaction Between The Drosophila Runx1 Transcription Factor Lozenge And Ets-1 Factor Pointed Using Site Directed Mutagenesis And Yeast Two-Hybrid Analysis, Shalini Singh Jan 2004

Identification Of Protein Interaction Between The Drosophila Runx1 Transcription Factor Lozenge And Ets-1 Factor Pointed Using Site Directed Mutagenesis And Yeast Two-Hybrid Analysis, Shalini Singh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many classes of transcriptional regulatory proteins are known to function in both cell proliferation and differentiation. Runx1 proteins one such family of transcription factors, plays critical roles in hematopoiesis, osteogenesis and leukemogenesis and act as promoter organizers that cooperate with other transcription factors such as Ets-1 in the regulation of gene activation or repression. Genes that are regulated by the Runx1-Ets1 complex, frequently have multiple, adjacent consensus binding sites in their promoters. I have investigated a similar interaction in developing fly eye. Lozenge (DmRunx1) and Pointed P2 (DmEts-1) cooperate to upregulate expression of prospero, which has multiple Lz and Ets …

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The New Girl, Angela Marie Meredith Jan 2004

The New Girl, Angela Marie Meredith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The New Girl is a collection of poems in which the poet assumes a direct, unfeigned voice. These rhythmic poems cover the deeply personal to the universal and social. The body is presented as a record of experiences both good and bad. Feminist issues pertainingto marriage, work, and sexuality are explored. Whether the poem is about a personal relationship or some aspect of society, it is likely to be multi-dimensional and suggest a duality. Overall, the poems are rooted in the spiritual and attempt to relate, with holistic honesty, a sense of reverence for the impure parts of life.

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Genre And Persona In Activist Websites, Margaret M.F. Boreman Jan 2004

Genre And Persona In Activist Websites, Margaret M.F. Boreman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Digital texts present significant challenges to technical communicators in terms of genre and persona. Because of the ubiquity of electronic media, we increasingly embrace digital formats over print-based documents. As a result, technical communicators must now devise the means to cue audiences to the purposes of digital documents in any given discourse community. We can only convey meaning to our Internet audiences through the use of appropriate standards and elements recognizable generic forms and rhetorical cues that we designate as conventions in specific digital discourse. Just as we use file and folder office metaphors for information stored on computers, digital …

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Survival Of Mycobacterium Avium Subspecies Paratuberculosis In The Pol, John Rumsey Jan 2004

Survival Of Mycobacterium Avium Subspecies Paratuberculosis In The Pol, John Rumsey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (map) is an intracellular pathogen that is known to parasitize macrophages and monocytes. Map infiltrates gastrointestinal tract host tissue where it is the known etiological agent of johne's disease in ruminants and implicated in the etiology of crohn's disease in humans. Map's ability to survive within macrophages enables it to disseminate throughout the rest of the host, possibly infecting other circulating blood leukocytes. In this study, the survival and fate of map strain atcc 43015 (human isolate) following phagocytosis was determined using in vitro murine macrophage cell line j774a.1 and polymorphonuclear cells (pmnc's) from five crohn's …

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The Ecology Of Drift Algae In The Indian River Lagoon, Florida, Julie Lynnae Liss Jan 2004

The Ecology Of Drift Algae In The Indian River Lagoon, Florida, Julie Lynnae Liss

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To gain an understanding of the ecology of drift algae in the Indian River Lagoon system along the east coast of central Florida, four questions were addressed: 1) What is the composition and rate of accumulation of drift? 2) How much movement and turnover occurs within drift accumulations? 3) Do growth rates differ for drift versus attached algae? 4) Is there a difference in photosynthetic performance in drift versus attached algal species? Manipulative field and laboratory experiments were conducted to address these questions with the green macroalga Codium decorticatum and the red macroalga Gracilaria tikvahiae. Changes in pigment concentration and …

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Multigene Metabolic Engineering Via The Chloroplast Genome, Oscar Nemesio Ruiz Jan 2004

Multigene Metabolic Engineering Via The Chloroplast Genome, Oscar Nemesio Ruiz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The vast majority of valuable agronomic traits are encoded polygenetically. Chloroplast genetic engineering offers an alternate approach to multigene engineering by allowing the insertion of entire pathways in a single transformation event, while being an environmentally friendly approach. Stable integration into the chloroplast genome and transcription of the phaA gene coding for β-ketothiolase was confirmed by Southern and northern blots. Coomassie-stained gel and western blots confirmed hyperexpression of β-ketothiolase in leaves and anthers, with high enzyme activity. The transgenic lines were normal except for the male sterile phenotype, lacking pollen. Scanning electron microscopy revealed a collapsed morphology of the pollen …

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Hydrogen Sulfide Flux Measurements And Dispersion Modeling From Constr, Sangho Eun Jan 2004

Hydrogen Sulfide Flux Measurements And Dispersion Modeling From Constr, Sangho Eun

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Odor problems are a common complaint from residents living near landfills. Many compounds can cause malodorous conditions. However, hydrogen sulfide (h2s) has been identified as a principal odorous component from construction and demolition (c&d)debris landfills. Although several studies have reported the ambient concentrations of h2s near c&d landfills, few studies have quantified emission rates of h2s. The most widely used and proven technique for measuring gas emission rates from landfills is the flux chamber method. Typically the flux chamber is a cylindrical enclosure device with a spherical top which limits the gas emission area. Pure zero grade air is introduced …

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Adaptive Intelligent User Interfaces With Emotion Recognition, Fatma Nasoz Jan 2004

Adaptive Intelligent User Interfaces With Emotion Recognition, Fatma Nasoz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this dissertation is on creating Adaptive Intelligent User Interfaces to facilitate enhanced natural communication during the Human-Computer Interaction by recognizing users' affective states (i.e., emotions experienced by the users) and responding to those emotions by adapting to the current situation via an affective user model created for each user. Controlled experiments were designed and conducted in a laboratory environment and in a Virtual Reality environment to collect physiological data signals from participants experiencing specific emotions. Algorithms (k-Nearest Neighbor [KNN], Discriminant Function Analysis [DFA], Marquardt-Backpropagation [MBP], and Resilient Backpropagation [RBP]) were implemented to analyze the collected data signals …

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Expression Morphing Between Different Orientations, Tao Fu Jan 2004

Expression Morphing Between Different Orientations, Tao Fu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

How to generate new views based on given reference images has been an important and interesting topic in the area of image-based rendering. Two important algorithms that can be used are field morphing and view morphing. Field morphing, which is an algorithm of image morphing, generates new views based on two reference images which were taken at the same viewpoint. The most successful result of field morphing is morphing from one person's face to the other one's face. View morphing, which is an algorithm of view synthesis, generates in between views based on two reference views which were taken at …

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Part I: Evaluation Of Russian Synthetic Compounds As A Potential Source Of New Drug Leads Agains Breast And Colon Cancer Part Ii: Isolation Of Beta-Amyrin Formate From Eucalyptus Viminalis Labill And Investigation Of Its Colon Cancer Activity, Mihaela Cohanoschi Jan 2004

Part I: Evaluation Of Russian Synthetic Compounds As A Potential Source Of New Drug Leads Agains Breast And Colon Cancer Part Ii: Isolation Of Beta-Amyrin Formate From Eucalyptus Viminalis Labill And Investigation Of Its Colon Cancer Activity, Mihaela Cohanoschi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although modern medicine made great steps toward curing most diseases considered deadliest, yet cancer remains one of the major public health problems. The first part of this thesis investigates a new source of selective compounds that are potential candidates against cancer. Fifteen Russian compounds were tested in order to establish their efficiency against two types of cancer: human breast SK-Br-3 and colorectal carcinoma HT-29. The bioassay results show that seven of the new synthetic Russian compounds can be considered new drug leads, based upon their low toxicity and efficacy in slowing the growth of human breast cancer and colon cancer …

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Pseudomonas Aeruginosa 1244 Pilin Glycan: Surface Location And Induction Of Immune Response, Erica Sentgeorge Jewell Jan 2004

Pseudomonas Aeruginosa 1244 Pilin Glycan: Surface Location And Induction Of Immune Response, Erica Sentgeorge Jewell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

P. aeruginosa 1244 pilin is covalently modified with a carbohydrate moiety, which is structurally similar to the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O-antigen repeating unit. Studies were conducted using transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with the monoclonal glycan-specific antibody, 11.14, to determine the location of the glycan. It was found that the glycan is evenly distributed over the entire surface of the pilin fiber and not restricted to the tip. The immunogenicity of the pilin glycan was also studied. Rabbits were immunized with pure LPS-free pili to determine if the pili produce anti-LPS antibodies. The serum obtained from the rabbits was …

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Characterization Of Protein Prenyltransferases And Protein Prenylation In Plasmodium Falciparum, Thiago Gaspar Dasilva Jan 2004

Characterization Of Protein Prenyltransferases And Protein Prenylation In Plasmodium Falciparum, Thiago Gaspar Dasilva

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Malaria kills at least one million people each year, mostly children - a death every 30 seconds. Almost one half of the world population is at risk from malaria. Antimalarial drugs are the only means for the treatment of about 500 million annual global malaria cases. Because of prevalent drug-resistance it is extremely urgent to identify new drug targets. Many proteins involved in eukaryotic signal transduction and cell cycle progression undergo post-translational lipid modification by a prenyl group. Protein prenyltransferases, which catalyze the post-translational prenyl modification, have been established as a target for anticancer therapy. Research done in our laboratory …

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Pedagogy For Internet-Based Teaching And Learning And The Impact Of That Pedagogy On Student Achievement And Satisfaction, Janet Perkins Kemerait Jan 2004

Pedagogy For Internet-Based Teaching And Learning And The Impact Of That Pedagogy On Student Achievement And Satisfaction, Janet Perkins Kemerait

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to identify appropriate pedagogical practices for Internet-based teaching and learning, determine the status of their use in the community college adjunct instructor's Internet-based classroom, and examine the impact of these practices on student academic achievement and satisfaction. Frequencies, measures of central tendency, percentages, and SPSS Cross Tabulation procedures described and analyzed data from student and instructor surveys to answer these questions. Internet-based best practice and recommended practice pedagogical methods and strategies were identified through extensive content analysis of the professional literature. Internet-based adjunct instructors at a Central Florida community college rated 43 selected recommended …

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Factors Influencing A Declining Pronghorn Population In Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, Jaret D. Sievers Jan 2004

Factors Influencing A Declining Pronghorn Population In Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, Jaret D. Sievers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) were reintroduced into Wind Cave National Park (WCNP) in 1914 and thus, have inhabited the park for almost a century. A decline in the population has raised concern for the continued existence of pronghorn inside the park. Historically, pronghorn numbers reached greater than 300 individuals but were estimated to be less than 50 individuals during this study. Knowledge of food habits, genetic structure, causes of mortality, survival rates, and information related to movements were important to developing an understanding of factors contributing to this decline. Past studies have described spatial relationships and breeding behavior of adults and …

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Effects Of Fire On The Nutritional Ecology Of Selected Ungulates In The Southern Black Hills, South Dakota, Teresa J. Zimmerman Jan 2004

Effects Of Fire On The Nutritional Ecology Of Selected Ungulates In The Southern Black Hills, South Dakota, Teresa J. Zimmerman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research in the 1990s indicated that populations of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the northern and central Black Hills had declined since the late 1970s likely due to habitat deterioration. In August 2000, the Jasper fire consumed nearly 35,000 ha of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest in the southern Black Hills. To ascertain the nutritional condition of white-tailed deer and mule deer (O. hemionus) and their response to fire, 5 adult white-tailed deer and 5 adult mule deer were collected in burned and unburned habitat, in February and August, 2002 and 2003. Collected deer were weighed and necropsied at a …

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Influence Of Diets Formulated To Increase The Supply Of Ketones Or Ketone Precursors On The Carbohydrate Status And Performance Of Transition Dairy Cows, Jeffrey Michael Defrain Jan 2004

Influence Of Diets Formulated To Increase The Supply Of Ketones Or Ketone Precursors On The Carbohydrate Status And Performance Of Transition Dairy Cows, Jeffrey Michael Defrain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research to date has focused on increasing the supply of glucose precursors in transition dairy cows to reduce ketosis. Ketones and ketone bodies represent energy sources for body tissues; therefore, conserving blood glucose for lactose synthesis in the mammary gland. This led to the hypothesis that transition cows might benefit from diets formulated to stimulate rumen epithelial ketogenesis or dietary ingredients supplying ketone precursors. A series of experiments were conducted to study the impact of diets formulated to increase the supply of ketones (via feeding lactose, glycerol, or an alphaamylase enzyme preparation) or ketone precursors (feeding Ca soaps of longchain …

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Common Ground : Looking At The Culture Of Oxford High School Athletics, Christopher Jay Hedglin Jan 2004

Common Ground : Looking At The Culture Of Oxford High School Athletics, Christopher Jay Hedglin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

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Tangible Connections To An African Past : Archaeological And Ethnohistorical Investigations Of The Silk Hope, Dublin, Heather Mauldin Jan 2004

Tangible Connections To An African Past : Archaeological And Ethnohistorical Investigations Of The Silk Hope, Dublin, Heather Mauldin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

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Transitions, Rebecca A. Geary Jan 2004

Transitions, Rebecca A. Geary

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

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Effects Of Flavonoids On Cyp1 Expression In Rl95-2 Endometrial Carcinoma Cells, Zankhana Master Jan 2004

Effects Of Flavonoids On Cyp1 Expression In Rl95-2 Endometrial Carcinoma Cells, Zankhana Master

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

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Biopulping And Solid State Fermentation, Marty Lanier Jan 2004

Biopulping And Solid State Fermentation, Marty Lanier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

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Incompatible Subjects : An Indictment Of Barthian Postmodern Radical Orthodoxy, Brandon L. Newman Jan 2004

Incompatible Subjects : An Indictment Of Barthian Postmodern Radical Orthodoxy, Brandon L. Newman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

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