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Innate Immunity And Inflammation In Sepsis In A Mouse Model For Binge Drinking, Basit Latief Jan

Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol consumption is a significant riskactor for mortality in patients with sepsis. This study was carried to investigate the mechanisms by which acute ethanol exposure alters the course of sepsis and the effect of TLR4 signaling. Ethanol administration decreases resistance to E. coli and causes decrease in the ability to clear bacteria both from the peritoneal-cavity as well as the spleen. At early time-points, ethanol also suppresses the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. TLR4 is dispensable for survival in E. coli sepsis but it also contributes to lethality in wild-type mice. Although TLRs have been implicated as an important element of …

Comparing Detection Methods Of Aflatoxin And Exploring Aflatoxin Decontamination Methods, Rebecca Burgett Singleterry

Theses and Dissertations

Ethanol fermentation of highly concentrated aflatoxin-contaminated corn (Zea mays) was conducted on a lab scale to determine if aflatoxin concentrated in the distilled ethanol and/or dry distillers grain end-products. Alliquots of fermented mash, distilled ethanol, stillage, and dry distillers grain (DDG) were analyzed via LC-MS/MS and immunoassay detection methods for aflatoxin. Results indicate that aflatoxin does not greatly concentrate during fermentation in the DDGs and is undetectable in distilled ethanol. Addition of binders, MTB-100®, to aflatoxin-contaminated DDGs showed great reduction in aflatoxin concentrations when analyzed via LC-MS/MS. Also, an experiment investigating detoxification of aflatoxin using Clorox® was conducted. Results obtained …

Decay And Environmental Studies On Southern Pine, Joseph Martin Dahlen

Theses and Dissertations

This work focused on decay and dimensional stability of southern pine lumber and environmental issues associated with emissions released during kiln drying of southern pine. In one study decking boards were treated with a 3% resin acid solution to increase the dimensional stability. The boards were placed on a roof and weathered for two years. The increased water repellency reduced moisture gain following summer rainstorms by one-third compared to untreated matched samples, this significantly reduced splitting by half and cupping by one-third. In one study decking boards from matched samples were weathered for two years in the roof setup described …

First Order Analysis Of Nitrate Loading In The Upper Elbe River Basin, Czech Republic, Daniel J. Ritter

Theses and Dissertations

Nitrate contamination of water is a worldwide issue. Nitrate is especially dangerous for young children, and may result in potentially fatal blue baby syndrome when concentration in drinking water is > 10 mg/L N-NO3. Nitrate in surface water may also lead to eutrophication. Sources of NO3- contamination include nitrate fertilizers, wastewater treatment plants, individual domestic septic systems, runoff from animal feedlots, and natural soil nitrogen. Nitrate contamination in the Elbe River drainage, covering 148,270 km2 in Germany and the Czech Republic, has been a long-term issue. This study examines the upper one-third of the basin, located almost entirely in the Czech …

Factors Influencing Macroinvertebrate Diversity And Community Composition In Riverine Freshwater Rock Pools, Chtaura Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

I examined a system of 378-riverine rock pools situated along the James River in Richmond, Virginia, to uncover the factors influencing their macroinvertebrate diversity and community composition. I characterized (total = 60) the physical characteristics, water quality, hydrology, and community assemblages in July 2009 for a subset of pools. I examined whether selected environmental factors (pH, nearest neighbor distance, depth, surface area and inundation height) were related to macroinvertebrate diversity and community composition. Species richness and total abundance of all taxa increased with pool pH and surface area. Ordination indicates that nearest neighbor distance (NND) and pH varied significantly among …

The Physiological Effects Of Fasting And Feed Withdrawal Practices On Commercial Broilers, Karen Dianne Christensen

Theses and Dissertations

Commercial broiler chickens are withdrawn from feed prior to harvesting, transport and processing. This feed withdrawal period does not reduce carcass yield but is significant in reducing the potential for carcass contamination from undigested feed or fecal material that may remain in the digestive tract if feed is not withdrawn. However, withdrawing feed can result in an increase in bacterial contamination due to the decrease in physiological pH during fasting. Recently, consumers are more interested in how food animals are raised, prepared for, and processed. In response to these concerns, the feasibility of developing a “feed withdrawal” feed that could …

The Use Of General Land Office Records And Geographical Information Systems For Restoration Of Native Prairie Patches In The Jackson Prairie Region In Mississippi, Michael Tobit Gray

Theses and Dissertations

The Jackson Prairie Region represents a rare, poorly understood and threatened ecosystem. A review of the literature concerning the ecology, physiography and geology of the Region was undertaken, along with a search of General Land Office (GLO) records for locations of historic prairie patches. The prairie patch location data was transcribed, digitized and inserted as a base map in a Geographical Information System (GIS). A set of current, local conditions indicating suitability for conservation or restoration, along with importance weights for each condition, was derived from stakeholder input. A simple additive weighting technique was used to rank the locations in …

Occurrence And Transformation Of Pharmaceutical And Antibacterial Compounds In The Environment, Kusum Santosh Verma

Theses and Dissertations

The presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the environment has become a matter of concern during the last decade. Increased production of PPCPs along with their increased use has led to release of these compounds in the environment via various routes. PPCPs includes large group of compounds including veterinary and human antibiotics, analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs, psychiatric drugs, β-blockers, X-ray contrasts, and steroid hormones, etc. Many of the compounds used in PPCPs have been shown to possess adverse effects to living organisms and act as endocrine disrupting agents (ECDs). This dissertation includes the investigation of the occurrence …

Performance Of Neonatal Holstein Heifers Fed Yeast Derivatives In Milk Replacer, Jessica Martin Graves

Theses and Dissertations

Objectives of the present study were to evaluate neonatal Holstein heifer performance while supplemented with coccidiostat (CX), yeast (YST), β-glucan or some combination of these products in non-medicated milk replacer. Efficacy of these products on E. coli and coccidia shedding was also observed. No differences (P > 0.05) were observed among treatment groups with respect to performance data collected which included growth, feed intake and efficiency, fecal and respiratory and blood parameters. Heifers fed YST or YST + β-glucan had higher (P = 0.02 and P < 0.01, respectively) fecal E. coli concentrations compared to heifers fed CX, CX + YST, or β-glucan. No heifers showed clinical signs of coccidiosis and appeared to be healthy. These results suggest neonatal heifers may be supplemented with yeast derivatives without negative effects on growth or health performance.

Poplar Interactions With Zinc For Use In Bioremediation And Monitoring, Joshua Pope Adams

Theses and Dissertations

Plant mechanisms regulating environmental heavy metal interactions are vital for plant survival. Plants must maintain adequate metal levels while preventing excesses. Several mechanisms involved in heavy metal uptake and sequestration have been identified and studied in hyperaccumulating plants such as Thlaspi caerulescens. These plants accumulate large quantities of metals, but their use in remediation is limited by their small size. On the other hand, mechanisms in high-biomass, non-hyperaccumulating perennial species such as poplar (Populus spp.) are unknown. The central goal of this project is to delineate specific mechanisms in poplar regulating the heavy metal zinc (Zn) for potential use in …

Winter Food And Waterfowl Dynamics In Managed Moist-Soil Wetlands In The Mississippi Alluvial Valley, Heath Michael Hagy

Theses and Dissertations

Moist-soil wetlands that are seasonally flooded provide important habitats for waterfowl in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV). These wetlands often contain tall and dense vegetation that may constrain waterfowl use before natural openings form. During winters 2006–2009, I estimated abundances of waterbirds, seeds and tubers, and invertebrates in response to autumn, prelooding treatments of light disking, mowing, and no manipulation (control) of vegetation in 26 moist-soil wetlands in the MAV. Seeds and tubers were most abundant in control and mowed plots in late autumn. Decomposition was least and invertebrate abundance was greatest in control plots during winter. Dabbling ducks were …

Effects Of Repeated Prescribed Fires On Upland Oak Forest Ecosystem In The Missouri Ozarks, Zhongqiu Ma

Theses and Dissertations

In this research, the fire effects on structural and compositional change, and advance regeneration of oak forests in the Ozarks of Missouri were investigated by combining the statistic methods of MANONA, survival analysis, CART analysis, and logistic analysis. Results indicated that fire treatments significantly reduced the midsotry and understory basal area and stem density. However, fire effects on overstory tree survival differentiated among size classes. A new morphological variable, ratio of the total height to the square of basal diameter, was found to be statistically significantly related to the tree mortality rate for most of the species. The developed logistic …

Enhanced Lipid Production And Biodiesel Yields From Activated Sludge Via Fermentation Of Lignocellulose Hydrolyzate, Andro Hernandez Mondala

Theses and Dissertations

The potential of enhancing lipid accumulation in municipal sewage activated sludge via fermentation of lignocellulose biomass hydrolyzate was investigated. The overall objective was to increase the levels of feedstock lipids in the activated sludge biomass and increase its biodiesel yield via in situ or ex situ transesterification; and improve its cost competitiveness as an abundant feedstock source for biofuels production. To reduce production costs and maintain environmental sustainability, influent wastewater and waste lignocellulose biomass hydrolyzate were used as cultivation media and substrate, respectively. However, lignocellulose hydrolyzates also contain degradation by-products such as furfural and acetic acid that are known to …

The Economic Feasibility Of Producing Sweet Sorghum As An Ethanol Feedstock In Mississippi, Joseph Andrew Linton

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the feasibility of producing sweet sorghum as an ethanol feedstock in Mississippi. An enterprise budgeting system is used along with estimates of transportation costs to estimate farmers’ breakeven costs for producing and delivering sweet sorghum biomass. This breakeven cost for the farmer, along with breakeven costs for the producer based on wholesale ethanol price, production costs, and transportation and marketing costs for the refined ethanol, is used to estimate the amounts that farmers and ethanol producers would be willing to accept (WTA) and willing to pay (WTP), respectively, for sweet sorghum biomass. These WTA and WTP estimates …

Haploinsufficiency Of Rai1 And Its Effect On Bdnf Expression, Sun Kim

Theses and Dissertations

Smith-Magenis Syndrome (SMS) [OMIM, #182290] is a congenital anomaly and mental retardation (MCA/MR) syndrome associated with deletion of chromosome17p11.2 [1]. The clinical phenotype has been well described and includes minor craniofacial anomalies, self-injurious behaviors as well as sleep disturbances, speech delays, and obesity [1,2,3]. The incidence of SMS is estimated to be ~ 1:15,000 - 25,000 births [2,6]. Among SMS patients, ~90% are comprised of 17p11.2 deletions, while ~10% have RAI1 mutations [8]. All 17p11.2 deletions associated with SMS include RAI1 deletion [10]. RAI1 is thought to function as a transcriptional factor although its cellular role is still unclear. First, …

Facial Expression Discriminates Between Pain And Absence Of Pain In The Non-Communicative, Critically Ill Adult Patient, Mamoona Arif-Rahu

Theses and Dissertations

BACKGROUND: Pain assessment is a significant challenge in critically ill adults, especially those unable to communicate their pain level. At present there is no universally accepted pain scale for use in the non-communicative (cognitively impaired, sedated, paralyzed or mechanically ventilated) patient. Facial expressions are considered among the most reflexive and automatic nonverbal indices of pain. The facial expression component of pain assessment tools include a variety of facial descriptors (wincing, frowning, grimacing, smile/relaxed) with inconsistent pain intensity ratings or checklists of behaviors. The lack of consistent facial expression description and quantification of pain intensity makes standardization of pain evaluation difficult. …

A Case Study Of The Impact Of Filmmaker Decisions In The Construction Of A Documentary: Helen Whitney's (2007) The Mormons, Elizabeth Joy Mott

Theses and Dissertations

Informed by theories of media framing, exemplification, and non-fiction film production, this case study used as its sample for textual analysis the typed transcripts from the final cut of Helen Whitney's (2007) documentary film, The Mormons, and the interview transcripts of the 15 key commentators interviewed for the documentary. These theories suggest that (a) media producers condense topics in the media by selecting information that connects news stories to a larger context and imbues them with symbolic value; (b) verbal and visual examples have been shown to be more easily retrieved in memory than abstract ideas and are consequently …

Tracking Floral Visitation Using Dna Barcodes, Ivan Ray Shoemaker

Theses and Dissertations

Floral visitation resulting in interspecific pollen transfer (IPT) from non-native or invasive plant species can affect the reproductive fitness of native plant species through pollen allelopathy, stigma clogging, stylar clogging, and ovule (seed) discounting. The prevalence of IPT and the importance of pollinators in mediating its impacts, however, remain poorly understood. Although most traditional methods for examining visitor movement are insufficient for determining rates of potential IPT, one promising alternative is the use of DNA barcoding. Because floral visitors eat, collect or unknowingly obtain pollen, nectar and other floral tissues, plant DNA should be recoverable from their bodies, permitting molecular …

Out Of The Blue: A Mother's Memoir Of Our Family's Transgender Experience, Roxanne Moore

Theses and Dissertations

OUT OF THE BLUE: A MOTHER'S MEMOIR OF OUR FAMILY'S TRANSGENDER EXPERIENCE is a memoir about what it has been like to discover that the baby girl I gave birth to almost forty years ago, now identifies as a female to male transgender person. He began his transformation both physically and legally over five years ago. Though it is a story about our entire family's transformation, it focuses mainly on what this has been like for me as a mother and the relationship I have with my first-born child.

Noted psychologist, Arlene Ishtar Lev states in Transgender Emergence: Therapeutic Guidelines …

Approaches To Identify Surface Proteins Of Anaplasma Phagocytophilum Dense-Cored Organisms As Adhesins To Human P-Selectin Glycoprotein Ligand-1, Matthew Troese

Theses and Dissertations

Anaplasma phagocytophilum is an obligatory intracellular bacterium that infects neutrophils to cause human granulocytic anaplasmosis. Sialyl Lewis x (sLex)-modified P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1) is the confirmed receptor utilized by A. phagocytophilum to bind and invade human neutrophils and myeloid cell lines. As an obligate intracellular pathogen, the binding of A. phagocytophilum to a host cell receptor is a prerequisite step for entry and replication, and thus its survival. However, the bacterial adhesins mediating this process have yet to be identified. In this study, we sought to identify surface proteins of A. phagocytophilum as putative adhesins. A. phagocytophilum undergoes a biphasic …

Job Satisfaction Among Minnesota High School Principals, Steven Duwayne Heyd

Theses and Dissertations

It has been reported the demands of the high school principalship in the United States has deterred qualified candidates from accepting the position. The purpose of this study was to investigate levels of job satisfaction among Minnesota high school principals within a potentially dwindling supply of qualified candidates as reported in other studies.

Data were gathered fall 2010 using the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) short-form to answer the following research questions: 1. What is the level of intrinsic job satisfaction, extrinsic job satisfaction, and general job satisfaction among current Minnesota high school principals; 2. What is the relationship, as perceived …

Google Earth In The Middle School Geography Classroom: Its Impact On Spatial Literacy And Place Geography Understanding Of Students, Kerri S.W. Westgard

Theses and Dissertations

Success in today's globalized, multi-dimensional, and connected world requires individuals to have a variety of skill sets – i.e. oracy, numeracy, literacy, as well as the ability to think spatially. Student's spatial literacy, based on various national and international assessment results, indicates that even though there have been gains in U.S. scores over the past decade, overall performance, including those specific to spatial skills, are still below proficiency. Existing studies focused on the potential of virtual learning environment technology to reach students in a variety of academic areas, but a need still exists to study specifically the phenomenon of using …

Phytoremediation Of Copper Contaminated Waste Water Using Lemna Minor, Mark Apelt

Theses and Dissertations

The use of natural remediation methods to remove contaminants from waste water is becoming more popular. Plants have been used for several decades, yet their use for municipal waste water contaminated by heavy metals is limited to a few studies which focus on the Mercury and Chromium (Bennicelli, et.al, 2004). This study specifically attempted to determine the viability for using Lemna minor to remediate municipally generated wastewater contaminated with copper. The study used 100 ml samples of wastewater, artificially spiked with 8 mg/L of copper sulfate and seeded with approximately 100 Lemna minor fronds. Each treatment was repeated 15 times …

Inhibition Of Cytomegalovirus Genome Maturation By The Halogenated Benzimidazoles, Anne Sauer

Theses and Dissertations

Current FDA approved anti-cytomegalovirus antivirals are ganciclovir, foscarnet, and cidofovir. These drugs target the viral polymerase to inhibit DNA synthesis. Halogenated benzimidazoles target a step later in viral replication during packaging and cleavage of the viral genome. The compounds 2-Bromo-5,6-dichloro-1-(β-D-ribofuranosyl)benzimidazole (BDCRB) and 2,5,6-trichloro-1-(β-D-ribofuranosyl)benzimidazole (TCRB) are novel inhibitors of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and resistance to these compounds are found within the human cytomegalovirus viral terminase. Terminase is unique to the virus and in theory provides a good target for antiviral development. Beginning with a BDCRB resistant guinea pig cytomegalovirus observations found a single mutation located in the viral terminase gene UL89 …

Iconic Semantics In Phonology: A Corpus Study Of Japanese Mimetics, Joshua Marrinor Caldwell

Theses and Dissertations

Recent research on Japanese mimetics examines which part of speech the mimetic occurs as. An individual mimetic can appear as a noun, an adjective, an adverb, or a verb (Tsujimura & Deguchi 2007, 340). It is assumed by many scholars that mimetic words essentially function as adverbs (Inose 2007, 98). Few data-based studies exist that quantify the relative frequency of mimetic words in different word categories. Akita (2009) and Caldwell (2009a) have performed small scale or preliminary studies of this aspect of Japanese mimetics. The use of mimetics in other grammatical function categories has been attributed to the polysemous nature …

Garden Grove, Iowa: From Mormon Way Station To Permanent Settlement, 1846-1852, Jill N. Crandell

Theses and Dissertations

When the Mormon people began evacuating Nauvoo, Illinois, in February 1846, they intended to leave the United States and build a home for themselves in the West, where they could practice their religion without persecution. However, as Brigham Young led thousands through severe rain and mud that spring, he soon decided that too many of the Saints were unprepared for the long journey to the mountains. Mormons built way stations across Iowa, places where they planted crops, raised log cabins, and obtained the necessary food and supplies. After the Saints moved on to Utah in following years, many of these …

Intrinsic Features Of The Multisensory Cortical Area Lrss In The Ferret, Alexandru Ioan Cojanu

Theses and Dissertations

Environmental events simultaneously transduced by more than one sensory modality underlie multisensory processing in the CNS. While most studies of multisensory processing examine functional effects, none have evaluated the influence of local or columnar circuitry. The goal of the present study is to examine of local features of the ferret lateral rostral suprasylvian sulcus (LRSS), a multisensory cortex. Immunostaining revealed the cytoarchitectonic features of the LRSS: thick supragranular layers, a narrow layer IV, and moderately stained but differentiated infragranular layers. Golgi-Cox techniques were used with light microscopy and digital reconstruction to document neuronal morphology. Among the 90 reconstructed neurons, 4 …

Printed Matter, Inc., The First Decade: 1976-1986, Claire Dixon

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides an account of the events of the first ten years of Printed Matter, Inc., a distribution center for artists’ books established in New York City in 1976. Included are descriptions of the individuals who formed Printed Matter’s first board, their objectives, books published by Printed Matter, and the windows installation program. This thesis also describes challenges the board members faced, including lack of organization, difficulty cultivating a broad public audience, and inadequate income. In addition, it recounts the gradual streamlining of business practices, and the realignment of goals and expectations for the genre as board members accepted …

Humphry Davy: Science, Authorship, And The Changing Romantic, Marianne Lind Baker

Theses and Dissertations

In the mid to late 1700s, men of letters became more and more interested in the natural world. From studies in astronomy to biology, chemistry, and medicine, these "philosophers" pioneered what would become our current scientific categories. While the significance of their contributions to these fields has been widely appreciated historically, the interconnection between these men and their literary counterparts has not. A study of the "Romantic man of science" reveals how much that figure has in common with the traditional "Romantic" literary figure embodied by poets like William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. This thesis interrogates connections between Romantic …

Pierced Through The Ear: Poetic Villainy In Othello, Kathleen Emerald Somers

Theses and Dissertations

The paper examines Othello as metapoetry. Throughout the play, key points of comparison between Iago and Shakespeare's methodologies for employing allegory, symbolism, and mimetic plot and character construction shed light upon Shakespeare's self-reflexive use of poetry as an art of imitation. More specifically, the contrast between Shakespeare and Iago's poetry delineates between dynamic and reductive uses of allegory, emphasizes an Aristotelian model of mimesis that makes reason integral to plot and character formation, and underscores an ethical function to poetry generally. In consequence of the division between Iago and Shakespeare as unethical and ethical poets respectively, critical contention concerning the …