Digital Commons Network^™

Acoustic Green's Function Extraction In The Ocean, Xiaoqin Zang

Open Access Dissertations

The acoustic Green's function (GF) is the key to understanding the acoustic properties of ocean environments. With knowledge of the acoustic GF, the physics of sound propagation, such as dispersion, can be analyzed; underwater communication over thousands of miles can be understood; physical properties of the ocean, including ocean temperature, ocean current speed, as well as seafloor bathymetry, can be investigated. Experimental methods of acoustic GF extraction can be categorized as active methods and passive methods. Active methods are based on employment of man-made sound sources. These active methods require less computational complexity and time, but may cause harm to …

Cdx4 Coordinates Mesoderm Specification, Segmentation And Morphogenesis, Saptaparni Bandyopadhyay

Open Access Dissertations

Cdx4 is a ParaHox family of transcription factor that regulates Hox gene function in patterning and imparts identity to different segments of the body of a vertebrate organism. Somitogenesis, is the periodic and sequential division of the paraxial mesoderm of a vertebrate organism into repetitive segments called somites, which are the precursors of the muscle, dermis and vertebrae. Somite formation is an outcome of strictly orchestrated programs that bring together aspects of growth, fate specification, movement and differentiation of the trunk-tail paraxial mesodermal tissue. Although extensive studies have been carried out to understand the function of Cdx4 in patterning, its …

Novel Hormonal Combination Therapy For Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Ankita Thakkar

Open Access Dissertations

Anti-estrogen and anti-HER2 treatments have been among the first and most successful examples of targeted-therapy for breast cancers. However, around 10-20% of breast cancers lack estrogen receptor (ER) expression and HER2 amplification. Therefore, the treatment of ER-/HER2- Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) remains a major challenge due to lack of a druggable target. Currently, TNBCs are treated with non-targeted conventional chemotherapy and although they respond initially, less than 30% patients survive beyond 5 years highlighting the need for novel therapeutic strategies for this disease. We previously discovered that approximately two-thirds of TNBCs express Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) and/or Androgen Receptor …

A Video-Tracking Method To Identify And Understand Circadian Patterns In Drosophila Grooming, Chiyuan Li

Open Access Dissertations

Grooming is nearly universal in terrestrial animals and is important for animals to maintain body surface condition. In insects, grooming is controlled by relatively simple nervous system, so the study of grooming may reveal basic principles of grooming. While recent progress is being made on understanding the mechanism of stimulated grooming control in Drosophila, the internal regulation of non-stimulated grooming remains unexplored. It is possible that the circadian clock plays an important role in the internal regulation of grooming. However, a key problem in the study of grooming’s circadian control is the difficulty of obtaining and interpreting long-term grooming data. …

Examining Weight Gain In Treatment-Seeking African American Smokers: A Biopsychosocial Approach, Marcia D. Mcnutt

Open Access Dissertations

Research has shown that African Americans gain more than average weight after smoking cessation. However, few studies have examined 1) the pattern of weight gain and 2) factors associated with weight gain among African American smokers. The current study aimed to examine biopsychosocial predictors of weight gain in a sample of treatment-seekers. Data were drawn from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) testing the efficacy of a culturally specific cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) smoking cessation intervention among African Americans. Participants (N=342) completed assessments at baseline, the end of counseling (EOC), 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow ups. Baseline measures included salivary cortisol, …

Sibling Rivalry Or Sibling Revelry: A Multifactorial Approach To Understanding The Sibling Relationship From The View Of Typically Developing Siblings Of Children With Asd, Christine Ghilain

Open Access Dissertations

The sibling relationship is the longest lasting relationship in a person’s life, and therefore significant research has sought to understanding genetic and environmental factors that shape the development of this long-lasting bond. The current study aimed to understand the experience of typically-developing (TD) siblings growing up with a sibling who has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and to determine if their experiences differ from neurotypical (NT) siblings (children who do not have a sibling with ASD). The focus of this study was on the TD siblings’ perceptions of their own self-concept, social support, parental partiality, and overall satisfaction with his …

Brief Psychosocial Intervention Effects On Benefit Finding Among Women With Breast Cancer And The Roles Of Distress And Ethnicity, Lisa M. Gudenkauf

Open Access Dissertations

Even while dealing with significant stressors related to breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, many women describe benefits derived from their cancer experience. Previous psychosocial interventions have been shown to increase benefit finding (BF) in post-surgical breast cancer patients, but these interventions have been rather lengthy and comprehensive in nature, raising the question of whether briefer, more specific psychosocial interventions would have similar effects on BF. Additionally, control groups were not attention-matched in previous studies, so the potential impact of group social support could not be controlled. Further, previous psychosocial interventions have examined intervention effects on women regardless of initial distress …

De-Regulation Of Microrna And Gene Expression In Diabetic Foot Ulcers Lead To A Dampened Inflammatory Response, Inefficient Dna Repair And Inhibition Of Cell Migration, Horacio Adrian Ramirez

Open Access Dissertations

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are a common and severe type of chronic wound of which molecular pathophysiology is poorly understood, resulting in slow development of new and efficacious treatments. The aim of this study was to identify cellular functions that contribute to pathophysiology of DFUs as compared to the acute wounds, by using genomic profiling. I postulated that de-regulation of DFU-specific genes and microRNAs (miRs) play an important role in the development of a chronic wound phenotype. I utilized a bedside-to-bench approach in which DFU tissue samples from patients, non-neuropathic diabetic (DFS) and non-diabetic foot skin (NFS) biopsies were used …

Defining Abdominal Obesity As A Risk Factor For Coronary Heart Disease In The Us Hispanic Community Health Study/Study Of Latinos (Hchs/Sol), Diana A. Chirinos Medina

Open Access Dissertations

It is now well established that pronounced differences exist in prevalence of abdominal obesity across gender and ethnicity. Hispanic/Latinos, in particular, have been shown to have markedly distinct prevalence when compared to other ethnic populations around the world. Various organizations have highlighted the need to examine whether overall abdominal obesity cut points are appropriate for the use in this ethnic minority, particular highlighting the need of research among Hispanic/Latino residing in Western countries. This study used data from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), the largest study of Hispanic/Latinos in the US, to: (1) establish optimal definitions for …

Substance Use And Hiv Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Vulnerable Populations: Substance Users, Std Clinic Patients And Hospitalized Hiv-Infected Patients, Yue Pan

Open Access Dissertations

Both HIV/AIDS and STD’s represent significant financial and public health burdens in the United States. Substance use and sexual risk behaviors play major roles in HIV/AIDS transmission, as well as in the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In this dissertation, we aim to 1) describe sexual risk and IDU behaviors and examine associations between viral suppression and HIV risk behaviors among hospitalized HIV-positive patients; 2) develop a new approach to examine the count of sexual acts using a fully disaggregated repeated measures design and show how this new approach can be used to evaluate the impact of substance use …

Hydrodynamic Limit Of Bak-Sneppen Branching Diffusions, Yishu Song

Open Access Dissertations

We study a hydrodynamic limit for a system of N diffusions moving in an open domain D ⊆ Rd undergoing branching when one particle reaches a certain subset of the boundary. The particle at the boundary and another random neighbor are eliminated and replaced with two new particles created instantaneously at a random point with distribution γ(dx) in D. This thesis proves the d = 1 case with D = (0,1), γ(dx) = δc(dx), c ∈ (0,1) while the general case is done in an upcoming paper. The mechanism represents a hybrid between the Fleming- Viot branching and a mean-field …

The Physiological Effects Of The Guanylin Peptides In The Intestine Of The Gulf Toadfish (Opsanus Beta), Ilan M. Ruhr

Open Access Dissertations

The findings in the present dissertation describe the regulatory role the guanylin peptides play in seawater teleost intestinal physiology through the use of the model organism, the Gulf toadfish (Opsanus beta). For the majority of the findings, renoguanylin (a guanylin peptide exclusive to teleost fish) is used as an experimental tool and elicits responses in the posterior intestine and rectum of the Gulf toadfish, but does not affect the anterior intestine. Both the posterior intestine and rectum display secretory short-circuit currents, reversed transepithelial potentials, and increased conductance in response to renoguanylin stimulation. These changes are driven primarily by chloride secretion …

Cognitive Vulnerability For Social Anxiety And Depression: A Transdiagnostic Investigation Of Repetitive Negative Thinkers, Kimberly Anne Arditte

Open Access Dissertations

In the current study, emotional and cognitive vulnerability factors for social anxiety and depression were examined using an RDoC framework. The overarching goals of the study were (1) to elucidate the symptom-specific and/or transdiagnostic nature of two cognitive vulnerability factors, interpretation biases and executive control, and (2) to examine the synergistic impact of these cognitive processes on emotional responding and clinical symptoms. To address these aims, the study recruited a sample of individuals at risk for current or future difficulties with social anxiety and depression symptoms (i.e., persons reporting elevated levels of repetitive negative thinking). The study then investigated how …

The Development And Initial Validation Of A Multidimensional Scale Of Fairness, Johnathan Harrington Duff

Open Access Dissertations

Investigations in a variety of disciplines have identified associations between fair treatment and human health and well-being. However, the lack of a valid and practical instrument for assessing individual experiences of fair treatment has limited researchers’ ability to study this construct. The purpose of this study was to develop and establish the preliminary validity of a scale measuring personal experiences of fairness across various ecological levels. The two phases of this study were scale development and scale validation. Scale development included the generation of items, item revision, and analysis of content validity. A review of existing literature and qualitative data …

Fibroblast Growth Factor 23 Directly Targets Hepatocytes To Promote Inflammation In Chronic Kidney Disease, Saurav Singh

Open Access Dissertations

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global health problem that affects 10-15% of the adult population worldwide and significantly increases the risk of death. Patients with CKD develop marked elevations in circulating levels of the phosphaturic hormone, fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23), which correlate with the stage of disease, and are associated with higher risk of mortality. Chronic inflammation is a hallmark of CKD. Circulating levels of inflammatory cytokines, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) are significantly elevated in CKD patients and increase with disease progression. This inflammatory burden has been suggested to be …

Measuring Motivation In Children Served By Head Start, Andres Sebastian Bustamante

Open Access Dissertations

There is a well-established achievement gap between children from low income families and their middle to high income counterparts. One avenue towards narrowing the achievement gap is improving domain-general school readiness skills, such as motivation, persistence, and preference for challenge which support learning regardless of content area. Motivation orientation, one example of a malleable domain-general construct, encompasses two approaches at opposite ends of a continuum: mastery and performance motivations. The former is characterized by viewing failure as an opportunity for growth, while the latter views failure as a confirmation of a low innate ability level. Interventions targeting motivation orientation have …

The Marine Biogeochemistry Of Trace Metals, Saeed Roshan

Open Access Dissertations

Some of the transition metals play major roles within the biology of the ocean, but occur in the ocean at the “trace” levels of concentration. They, particularly, function in the metabolism and thriving of the marine primary producers which contribute significantly to the global photosynthesis and are the base of the marine food web. Iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), and manganese (Mn) are among the most important trace metals whose oceanic behavior in terms of distribution, cycling, sources, sinks, and similarities to macronutrients such as phosphate (PO4 3-), nitrate (NO3 -), and silicate (SiO4 4-) are studied …

Plasmon Field Effect Transistor: A Novel Sensing Platform For Biomedical Applications, Hossein Shokri Kojori

Open Access Dissertations

The interest in plasmons, associated with nanostructured metals, has remarkably increased in the past decade. A Recent improvement in fabrication techniques to create well-controlled nanostructures also contributed to the rapid development of plasmonic applications, such as meta-materials, nonlinear optics, photovoltaic devices, biomedical sensors, medical therapies and spectroscopy. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor is one of the successful applications, which is widely used in biomedical research. On the other hand, localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) is also widely studied in a broad range of applications. The distinct property of LSPR is a tailored and sharp absorption/scattering peaks depending on the …

Development Of An Imaging/Therapy Integrated System By Using Radionuclide 192ir For Breast Cancer, Jian Fang

Open Access Dissertations

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed among women in the United States following skin cancer. About one-third of women cancer patients have breast cancer. Following lung cancer, breast cancer has the second highest death rate compared to other types of cancer. Radiation therapy is a common way to treat breast cancer after surgery; it can significantly decrease the breast cancer recurrent rate. For early breast cancer treatment, breast-conserving surgery followed by radiation therapy is highly recommended compared to mastectomy. Since most of the local recurrences occur near the tumor bed, additional boost radiation to the tumor bed …

Modeling The Biomechanics And Mechanobiology Of Intervertebral Discs, Xin Gao

Open Access Dissertations

The degeneration of lumbar intervertebral discs (IVDs) has been implicated as a possible cause of low back pain which affects more than 600 million people worldwide. Abnormal mechanical loading is thought to be a primary etiological factor leading to degenerative changes in the discs. The abnormal mechanical loading could initiate disc degeneration through two pathways: causing the failure of disc structures, and disturbing the balance between cellular anabolic and catabolic activities. The latter one is thought to be the main pathway. However, the mechanism of extracellular mechanotransduction is not fully understood, neither the abnormal mechanical loading is quantified. The objectives …

The Genetics Of Preterm Birth, Muthu Kumar Veerapen

Open Access Dissertations

Defined as live births prior to the completion of 37 weeks of gestation, preterm birth (PTB) affects up to 13% of all US deliveries. PTB is one of the largest causes of perinatal morbidity and mortality resulting for a large economic burden. With an overall heritability of up to 37%, PTB is a multifactorial condition and is poorly understood. Despite being highly ancestry variable in affectation, few replicable studies have identified variants, transcriptional or epigenetic changes. The objective of this study is to utilize a multi-omics approach in well-characterized SPTB cohorts: exome sequencing in Latin-American infant SPTB cases; and RNA …

Dyadic Study Of Depression On Inflammation And Diurnal Cortisol Variation In Cancer Patients And Caregivers, Kelly M. Shaffer

Open Access Dissertations

Both cancer patients and their informal family caregivers develop chronic diseases earlier and more frequently than those who have not been affected by cancer. Elevated depressive symptoms, which are easily measureable and modifiable, have been linked to inflammation, dysregulated HPA axis functioning, and physical health decline in both cancer patients and healthy persons. Further, studies have shown patients’ and caregivers’ depressive symptoms to be correlated, and that patients’ distress relates to their caregivers’ poorer health, and vice versa. While it is known that one’s own depressive symptoms are a risk factor for one’s own inflammation and HPA axis dysregulation, and …

Regulation Of Trpc6 Podocyte Surface Expression By Synaptopodin, Hao Yu

Open Access Dissertations

Mutations of classic Transient Receptor Potential Channel 6 (TRPC6) were identified in hereditary FSGS, most of which are gain-of function. Increased expression of wild-type TRPC6 in glomeruli was observed in several human acquired proteinuric diseases. Synaptopodin, an actin binding protein that is important in maintaining podocyte function, is down-regulated in various glomerular diseases. Here, we provided evidence that synaptopodin maintains podocyte function by regulating podocyte surface expression and activity of TRPC6. We show indirect interaction and nonrandom association of synaptopodin and TRPC6 in podocytes. Knockdown of synaptopodin in cultured mouse podocytes increased the expression of TRPC6 at the plasma membrane, …

The Role Of Cholesterol And Sphingolipids In Glomerular Disease, Christopher E. Pedigo

Open Access Dissertations

Abnormalities in lipid metabolism can be observed in patients at all stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Most commonly, dyslipidemia is due to defects in cholesterol or sphingolipid metabolism. However, the exact mechanisms by which dyslipidemia contributes to or causes glomerular disease have not been well defined. To elucidate the role of dyslipidemia in podocytes, which are cells with an important role in glomerular function, we focused our interest on studying the mechanisms by which altered cholesterol and sphingolipid metabolism contributes to podocyte injury. As inflammation is highly prevalent in patients with CKD and inflammation was shown to contribute to …

Novel Acoustic Wave Microsystems For Biophysical Studies Of Cells, Sukru Ufuk Senveli

Open Access Dissertations

The platform presented in this study exploits high frequency acoustic interaction and uses direct coupling of Rayleigh type SAWs with various samples placed inside microcavities to analyze their structural properties. The proposed microsystem was analyzed using finite element methods. Prototype devices were fabricated on quartz and lithium niobate in a cleanroom environment. Soft microprobes and microchannels were fabricated out of SU-8 and PDMS, respectively. Experimental results are given first for analysis of high glycerin content in deionized water as wells as counting and size differentiation of polystyrene microbeads. Ultimately, biological cells are sensed and characterized. After tumor cells in media …

Role Of The Dead-Box Protein Mrh4 In Mitochondrial Ribosome Biogenesis, Dasmanthie De Silva

Open Access Dissertations

Mitoribosomes are macromachines modified from their ancestral bacterial ribosomes to specialize in the synthesis of a handful of hydrophobic proteins, essential for the biogenesis of the oxidative phosphorylation system. We have identified a conserved DEAD-box RNA helicase Mrh4 and a GTPase Mtg1 as essential mitoribosome 54S LSU assembly factors in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Null mutants of mrh4 or mtg1 accumulate 54S assembly intermediates. The Δmrh4 mitoribosome intermediate is missing in uL9, uL16 and bL33 ribosome proteins and the assembly factor Mtg1 is not bound to it; while the mitoribosome intermediate in Δmtg1 contain Mrh4 but uL16 is highly underrepresented. We show …

The Influence Of Sex Hormones On The Female Singing Voice: A Review Of The Literature, 1971-2016, Vindhya Khare

Open Access Dissertations

Vocal pedagogy is a discipline steeped in traditions that have been passed down for generations, from voice teacher to singer. The mature singer then takes on the role of teacher and the cycle continues. For the twenty-first century voice teacher, the revered tradition of pedagogy must also include science. A voice degree program at most universities will include courses covering laryngeal anatomy, vocal production, and voice disorders. Widely used textbooks by authors such as Barbara Doscher, Scott McCoy, James C. McKinney, and Richard Miller provide a very useful and extensive study of the functionality of the singing voice, but little …

The Application Of The Hadoop Software Framework In Bioinformatics Programs, Dan Wang

Open Access Dissertations

The project described in this dissertation proposal attempted to improve the efficiency and scalability performance as well as the usability and user experience of three Bioinformatics applications - DNA/peptide sequence similarity comparison, digital DNA library subtraction, and DNA/peptide sequence de-duplication - by 1) adopting the Hadoop MapReduce algorithms and distributed file system and 2) implementing the fully automated Hadoop programs into a user friendly graphical user interface (GUI). In addition, the researcher was also interested in investigating the advantages and limitations of applying the Hadoop software framework as a general methodology in parallelizing Bioinformatics programs.

After considering the original calculation …

Energy Transfer And Localization In Molecular Crystals, Mitchell A. Wood

Open Access Dissertations

With the aim of developing new technologies for the detection and defeat of energetic materials, this collection of work was focused on using simulations to characterize materials at extremes of temperature, pressure and radiation. Each branch of the work here is collected by which material response is potentially used as the detectable signal.

Where the chemical response is of interest, this work will explore the possibility of non-statistical chemical reactions in condensed-phase energetic materials via reactive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We characterize the response of three unique high energy density molecular crystals to different means of energy input: electric fields …

Simulation Of Conservation Practice Effects On Water Quality Under Current And Future Climate Scenarios, Carlington W. Wallace

Open Access Dissertations

Analysis of the effects of implementing different conservation practices, as well as increased levels of conservation practices under existing and projected future climate, will determine if current conservation practice recommendations will be sufficient to maintain soil and water resources. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to study four watersheds of different sizes (CCW = 680 km2, F34 = 183 km2, AXL = 42 km 2 and ALG = 20 km2) located in Northeastern Indiana. The overarching goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of various agricultural practices on runoff and agricultural chemical losses under current …