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Damage And Failure In The Carotid Artery: A Mechanistic Approach, Lauren Beatty Priddy Aug 2010

Damage And Failure In The Carotid Artery: A Mechanistic Approach, Lauren Beatty Priddy

Theses and Dissertations

Blunt carotid artery injury (BCAI), resulting primarily from automobile accidents, is a major contributor to the high mortality and morbidity rates associated with carotid artery dissection. More work is needed to characterize carotid artery injury mechanisms, quantify stages of damage, and elucidate failure modalities as a result of this type of injury. The present study examines the structure and mechanics of the carotid artery in the circumferential and axial directions by employing uniaxial tensile testing, high speed videography, interruption testing, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), histological analysis, real-time environmental SEM assessment, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Results are as follows: (i) …


Depuration As A Method To Reduce Vibrio Vulnificus Populations In Live Crassostrea Virginica Oysters, Oleksandr S. Tokarskyy Aug 2010

Depuration As A Method To Reduce Vibrio Vulnificus Populations In Live Crassostrea Virginica Oysters, Oleksandr S. Tokarskyy

Theses and Dissertations

Vibrio vulnificus is a foodborne bacterial pathogen associated with raw oyster consumption. Shellfish depuration for 48 hours is a dynamic process where coliform bacteria are purged; however, this process is ineffective against V. vulnificus. The current study investigated the use of prolonged two-week depuration on V. vulnificus populations in Gulf Coast oysters. The study evaluated the impact of prolonged depuration on V. vulnificus fatty acid profile change and the ability to survive in simulated gastric fluid. Oyster depuration in seawater (10 or 22oC, 14 days) reduced V. vulnificus counts, but not to non-detectable level, indicating close ecological relationship between the …


A Comparison Of Experiential Learning Activities Available To Juniors And Seniors In Secondary Agriscience Education And Science Education Courses, Brittany Leigh Beasley Aug 2010

A Comparison Of Experiential Learning Activities Available To Juniors And Seniors In Secondary Agriscience Education And Science Education Courses, Brittany Leigh Beasley

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if secondary agricultural education courses provide students with more experiential learning opportunities than other science-based courses in the high school curriculum. An ex post facto research design was employed for the study. A researcher created instrument was distributed to a sample of Alabama agriscience teachers (23), science teachers (35), and agriscience students (909). Based on the responses of 8 agriscience teachers, 12 science teachers, and 103 students, there was a statistically significant difference in the percentage of class time students spent participating in experiential learning activities. Teachers and students indicated that agriscience …


A Pattern Recognition Approach To Electromyography Data, Ivan Stefanov Mitzev Aug 2010

A Pattern Recognition Approach To Electromyography Data, Ivan Stefanov Mitzev

Theses and Dissertations

EMG classification is widely used in electric control of mechanically developed prosthesis, robots development, clinical application etc. It has been evaluated for years, but the main goal of this research is to develop an easy to implement and fast to execute pattern recognition method for classifying signals used for human gait analysis. This method is based on adding two new temporal features (form factor and standard deviation) for EMG signal recognition and using them along with several popular features (area under the curve, wavelength function-pathway and zero crossing rate) to come up with a low complexity suitable feature extraction. Results …


Evaluation Of In Vitro Serial Antibiotic Elution From Meropenem-Impregnated Polymethylmethacrylate Beads After Ethylene Oxide Gas And Autoclave Sterilization, Leonardo Alfredo Baez Aug 2010

Evaluation Of In Vitro Serial Antibiotic Elution From Meropenem-Impregnated Polymethylmethacrylate Beads After Ethylene Oxide Gas And Autoclave Sterilization, Leonardo Alfredo Baez

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to determine elution properties of meropenem and compare the elutions of meropenem impregnated PMMA beads without sterilization (PMMA-Cont) to those sterilized with steam (PMMA-Auto) and ethylene oxide gas (PMMA-EO). Four groups of beads were produced: one group without antibiotic and three groups of meropenem impregnated beads: PMMA-Cont, PMMA-Auto, and PMMA-EO. Antibiotic concentrations in eluent samples were determined using a microbiological assay at different time intervals. The microbiological assay resulted in no zone of inhibition at all time periods for the PMMA-Auto samples and the samples of PMMA without antimicrobial. The meropenem concentration on the …


Factors Affecting Ammonia Volatilization From Broiler Litter, Dana Mcgee Miles Aug 2010

Factors Affecting Ammonia Volatilization From Broiler Litter, Dana Mcgee Miles

Theses and Dissertations

Loss of ammonia from broiler litter degrades air quality, decreases litter fertilizer value, and can have negative health consequences for birds and their caretakers. Rates of NH3 emission from broiler houses are complicated by interrelated management and environmental factors such as air temperature, humidity, house style, ventilation rate,bird age, litter conditions, litter characteristics, and cleanout schedule. Wide variations inemission rates necessitate further investigation of litter characteristics and abatement techniques. The research was designed to clarify the impact of moisture effects that are critical to emissions for poultry litter, in conjunction with bedding type and temperature. Experiments were conducted on litter …


Factors Affecting Morphometrics And Epiphyseal Closure Of White-Tailed Deer, Emily Brooke Flinn Aug 2010

Factors Affecting Morphometrics And Epiphyseal Closure Of White-Tailed Deer, Emily Brooke Flinn

Theses and Dissertations

Factors affecting morphometrics and epiphyseal closure are important in understanding regional variation and growth of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). I compared body and antler growth from birth to 3 years of age in captive, first-generation, male white-tailed deer from three regions with varying soil quality and deer morphometrics. I also determined gender and age effects on epiphyseal closure timing in captive white-tailed deer. I found regional morphological variation present in first-generation male deer, which may be caused by regional genetic variation or lingering maternal effects. Determining cause of regional morphological variation will require data collection through a second-generation of males …


Investigation Of High Rate Mechanical Properties And Damage Evolution In Porcine Liver Tissue, Joseph Chen Aug 2010

Investigation Of High Rate Mechanical Properties And Damage Evolution In Porcine Liver Tissue, Joseph Chen

Theses and Dissertations

Each year, 6.4 million automobile accidents account for approximately 40,000 deaths in the United States. With increasing requirements for automobile safety, computational models capable of simulating organ deformation/ injury during high impact scenarios would be extremely valuable for optimizing safety measures. Accurate experimental data is essential for the accuracy of the models; however, there has been a sparse investigation into high-strain biomechanics which is necessary to address organ/tissue response in high impact scenarios. Damage threshold criterion and damage evolution are other areas that have not been well studied. In vehicular accidents, damage to the liver is the most common cause …


Assessing Long-Term Viability Of Glyphosate-Resistant Technology As A Foundation For Cropping Systems, Jason Wade Weirich Aug 2010

Assessing Long-Term Viability Of Glyphosate-Resistant Technology As A Foundation For Cropping Systems, Jason Wade Weirich

Theses and Dissertations

The introduction of glyphosate-resistant (GR) crops in the late 1990s changed the way producers used herbicides to control weeds. Since the introduction of GR crops producers have relied on glyphosate alone for weed control instead of utilizing multiple modes of action for weed control. This over-reliance resulted in several weed species developing resistance to glyphosate. This has resulted in organizations from the public and private sector questioning the sustainability of GR cropping systems. Researchers from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, and North Carolina established 156 onarm trials to determine the sustainability of GR cropping systems. The objectives of this study …


Nutrient Utilization By And Diet Preference Of American White Pelicans When Offered Diets Of Channel Catfish And (Or) Grass Carp, Treena Lee Ferguson Aug 2010

Nutrient Utilization By And Diet Preference Of American White Pelicans When Offered Diets Of Channel Catfish And (Or) Grass Carp, Treena Lee Ferguson

Theses and Dissertations

Twelve pelicans captured in northeast Mississippi were used for a 7 day metabolism trial followed by a 2 day preference trial and a trial to evaluate the effect of consuming plastic tags. In the metabolism trial, pelicans were allotted to one of three treatment diets (4 birds/diet): catfish only, carp only or both (50 % catfish and 50% carp). Pelicans consuming the catfish only diet metabolized less dry matter, organic matter and energy than those consuming only carp or both. Four pelicans were used to determine preference for carp or catfish. Pelicans ate more (P = 0.001) carp (89 % …


Seed Coating, Seed Treatment, And Temperature Effects On Germination Of Five Seeded Bermudagrass Cultivars, John Morris Layton Aug 2010

Seed Coating, Seed Treatment, And Temperature Effects On Germination Of Five Seeded Bermudagrass Cultivars, John Morris Layton

Theses and Dissertations

The use of improved seeded bermudagrasses (SB) has increased. All new cultivars are marketed as coated seed. As germination of many of these new cultivars is less than ideal, questions arise as to the effect coatings have on germination. Five SB cultivars were selected for a series of germination studies. The first study compared coated and uncoated samples of the five cultivars for germination response to six temperature regimes. Overall, commercial seed coating did not affect SB germination. However, both temperature regime and cultivar were significant factors. In a second study, three seed treatments were investigated across three temperature regimes …


Shifts In Herbicide Use, Tillage Practices, And Perceptions Of Glyphosate-Resistant Weeds Following Adoption Of Glyphosate-Resistant Crops, Wade Alexander Givens Aug 2010

Shifts In Herbicide Use, Tillage Practices, And Perceptions Of Glyphosate-Resistant Weeds Following Adoption Of Glyphosate-Resistant Crops, Wade Alexander Givens

Theses and Dissertations

A survey was conducted by phone to nearly 1,200 growers in six states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, and North Carolina) in 2005. The survey measured producers’ cropping history, perception of glyphosate-resistant (GR) weeds, past and present weed pressure, tillage practices, and herbicide use as affected by the adoption of GR crops. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of GR crop use on producers’ tillage practices; changes in herbicide use patterns after adoption of a GR crop; effect of grower awareness of GR weeds on sources of information growers’ use; and growers’ perceptions on resistance management …


Skin From Horses With Hereditary Equine Regional Dermal Asthenia (Herda) Contains Collagen Crosslinking Patterns That Are Associated With Reduced Tensile Strength, Ashley Arwen Hill Aug 2010

Skin From Horses With Hereditary Equine Regional Dermal Asthenia (Herda) Contains Collagen Crosslinking Patterns That Are Associated With Reduced Tensile Strength, Ashley Arwen Hill

Theses and Dissertations

Hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia (HERDA) is a recessive connective tissue disorder of Quarter Horse lineages. This study correlates previously identified decreases in skin tensile strength in HERDA with abnormal dermal collagen cross linking patterns that are also identified in urine from HERDA horses. Dermal collagen from HERDA horses has significantly less pyridinoline and significantly more deoxypyridinoline than control or carriers. Concentrations of hydroxylysine, the rate limiting substrate for these crosslinks were significantly lower in HERDA versus control and carriers. These characteristics of HERDA skin parallel humans with a similar syndrome of skin fragility, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome TypeVIA. This is …


Prevalence Of Campylobacter Jejuni In Newly Constructed Broiler Houses, Krista Nicole Eberle Aug 2010

Prevalence Of Campylobacter Jejuni In Newly Constructed Broiler Houses, Krista Nicole Eberle

Theses and Dissertations

Campylobacter is the leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in the United States. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Campylobacter in newly constructed broiler houses and compare three microaerophilic gas delivery methods used to culture Campylobacter in the laboratory. Of 2,300 litter, 900 fecal, and 45 water samples, only 5, 6 and 1 of the samples, respectively, were confirmed positive. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Results indicated litter moisture content was different across day, location and house. An interaction was detected for litter pH between day, location and flock. Temperatures averaged 26.8°C inside and 27.6°C outside. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> No difference in …


Protein Markers In Angus Bull Spermatozoa For Fertility, Xiaojun Wang Aug 2010

Protein Markers In Angus Bull Spermatozoa For Fertility, Xiaojun Wang

Theses and Dissertations

In the field of mammalian reproduction, the success rate of fertilization largely relies on spermatozoa fertility potential. Total proteins change to a large degree during gametogenesis to activate gametes. There are some techniques that are most popular for proteomic studies of fertilization, including SDS-PAGE, 2D-DIGE, Western Blotting and Immunocytochemistry, as well as Mass Spectrometry. Proteins and their cofactors play important roles at different stages of gametogenesis, fertilization and embryo development. However, insufficiencies in the construction mode of fertility hinder the techniques in determination the sperm fertility. This study focused on identifying and tracking crucial proteins for fertility based on comparison …


On The Design-Build Of Small Pavilions, Agrippa Spence Kellum Aug 2010

On The Design-Build Of Small Pavilions, Agrippa Spence Kellum

Theses and Dissertations

Design-build is the process whereby a project is constructed by the same entity that designed it. Detailed narratives are provided for the collaborative, integrated designbuild of two small, relatively contemporary pavilions. The first was constructed as part of a design-build workshop taught by Steve Badanes, director of the Neighborhood Design/Build Studio at the University of Washington Department of Architecture and founder of the international architecture firm The Jersey Devil. The second, a multi-use pavilion on the site of a former junkyard, was implemented as a local volunteer community service project using Badanes' method. A third proposal is also described; an …


Temporal And Spatial Patterns Of Fish Distribution And Diversity In The Noxubee River, Mississippi And Alabama, Michael Thomas Calloway Aug 2010

Temporal And Spatial Patterns Of Fish Distribution And Diversity In The Noxubee River, Mississippi And Alabama, Michael Thomas Calloway

Theses and Dissertations

The Mobile Basin is a prime example of a system that has undergone extensive channel modification with corresponding declines in the distribution and abundance of the native aquatic fauna. However, many of the declining aquatic species of the Mobile basin may persist within unmodified subbasins. The Noxubee River is a subbasin of the Mobile basin that has had very little alteration throughout its watershed. I investigated the species richness and assemblage structure to determine if the contemporary fish assemblage attributes resembled the conditions represented by historic collections. The findings of this study are important because the Noxubee River has not …


The Biology, Ecology And Management Of Common Reed [Phragmites Australis (Cav.) Trin. Ex. Steudel], Joshua Craig Cheshier Aug 2010

The Biology, Ecology And Management Of Common Reed [Phragmites Australis (Cav.) Trin. Ex. Steudel], Joshua Craig Cheshier

Theses and Dissertations

Studies conducted to determine life history and starch allocation of common reed (Phragmites australis), and evaluate haplotype susceptibility to aquatic labeled herbicides. Twelve 0.1 m2 samples were taken from four sites in the Mobile River delta from January 2006 to December 2007. Samples separated into above and belowground biomass dried and weighed. Starch determination used the amylase/amyloglucosidase method. Biomass decreased with decreasing temperature. Aboveground biomass was 2200 and 1302 g m2 in October 2006 and December 2007. Belowground biomass was 1602 and 1610 g m-2 in November 2006 and December 2007. Aboveground starch was highest in December of 2006 and …


The Conceptual Ecology And Management Of Parrotfeather [Myriophyllum Aquaticum (Vell.) Verdc., Ryan Michael Wersal Aug 2010

The Conceptual Ecology And Management Of Parrotfeather [Myriophyllum Aquaticum (Vell.) Verdc., Ryan Michael Wersal

Theses and Dissertations

Parrotfeather [Myriophyllum aquaticum (Vellozo) Verdecourt] is a non-native aquatic plant from South America that was introduced into the United States in the 1890's. Research was conducted to elucidate seasonal life history, starch allocation patterns, and key environmental factors that may affect plant growth. Environmental factors identified in field studies were used to develop a conceptual model to display relationships between growth and environmental factors. The conceptual model served as a broad-based hypothesis to parameterize growth limiting factors as it related to M. aquaticum growth. Mesocosm experiments were then conducted to test relationships depicted in the model and define the growth …


The Effects Of Dietary Amino Acid Density In Broiler Feed On Carcass Characteristics And Meat Quality, Reid Alexander Lilly Aug 2010

The Effects Of Dietary Amino Acid Density In Broiler Feed On Carcass Characteristics And Meat Quality, Reid Alexander Lilly

Theses and Dissertations

Research was conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary amino acid (AA) density (Deficient (D), Low (L), High (H), and Excessive (E)) on broiler breast and thigh meat quality. As expected, the feed conversion improved (P<0.05) as AA density increased. No differences (P>0.05) existed among treatments with regard to final pH, cooking loss, shear force, brine absorption proximate analysis, and average consumer acceptability of breast meat. The D AA diet yielded meat with less (P<0.05) moisture, less protein (P<0.05) and more fat (P<0.05) than all other treatments. Increasing AA density in the diet led to increased (P<0.05) concentrations of linoleic and linolenic acid in the thigh meat from the H and E treatments, thus making it more susceptible to oxidation (P<0.05) in comparison to the D and L treatments. Overall, data revealed that all four AA diets yielded high-quality breast and thigh meat with minimal product differences.


Mode Of Action And Characterization Of A Novel Biological Response Modifier Isolated From Fractionated Caprine Serum, Charles Joseph Matyi Aug 2010

Mode Of Action And Characterization Of A Novel Biological Response Modifier Isolated From Fractionated Caprine Serum, Charles Joseph Matyi

Theses and Dissertations

Immune Cell Potentiating Factor (ICPF) represents a class of biological response modifiers initially only found within active caprine serum fractions. Controlled studies have since demonstrated active ICPF derived from several non-caprine mammalian sources; including equine and human. ICPF is able to increase survivability in murine gram negative induced sepsis (60%) as well as secondary infection and subsequent sepsis in canines infected within canine parvo virus 2 (36%) despite showing no innate antiviral properties. ICPF is able to initiate systemic proteomic changes within several organ systems; including serum, liver, brain, lung, and spleen. ICPF initiated an early acute phase response, specifically …


Understanding Molecular Aspects Of Catfish-Pathogen Interactions, Pradeepkumar Reddy Dumpala Aug 2010

Understanding Molecular Aspects Of Catfish-Pathogen Interactions, Pradeepkumar Reddy Dumpala

Theses and Dissertations

The catfish industry suffers losses primarily due to enteric septicemia of catfish and columnaris disease caused by Edwardsiella ictaluri and Flavobacterium columnare, respectively. Understanding the host-pathogen interactions is vital for prevention and eradication of these diseases. Hence, the overall objective of this study was to analyze whole cell proteomes of these two bacteria, and to determine the changes in E. ictaluri protein expression against in vitro iron-restriction and host serum treatment. High-throughput proteomic analysis of these bacteria was conducted using two-dimensional liquid chromatography followed by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (2-D LC ESI MS/MS) and two-dimentional gel electrophoresis coupled with …


Management Strategies For Glyphosate-Resistant Italian Ryegrass [Lolium Perenne L. Ssp. Multiflorum (Lam.) Husnot], Robin C. Bond Aug 2010

Management Strategies For Glyphosate-Resistant Italian Ryegrass [Lolium Perenne L. Ssp. Multiflorum (Lam.) Husnot], Robin C. Bond

Theses and Dissertations

Glyphosate-resistant (GR) Italian ryegrass has been documented in many different countries around the world and has now become a major problem in row crop production areas of Mississippi. Field experiments were conducted from 2006 to 2008 in the Mississippi Delta to evaluate various herbicide and tillage treatment programs for its control. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Highest level of control and reduction of GR Italian ryegrass biomass was observed with mechanically incorporated as well as surface applied residual herbicides in the fall of the year. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Control of GR Italian ryegrass was 86-95% with surface applications of clomazone at 0.56, 0.84, and 1.12 kg …


An Adaptive Grid-Based All Hexahedral Meshing Algorithm Based On 2-Refinement, Jared D. Edgel Aug 2010

An Adaptive Grid-Based All Hexahedral Meshing Algorithm Based On 2-Refinement, Jared D. Edgel

Theses and Dissertations

Adaptive all-hexahedral meshing algorithms have many desirable features. These algorithms provide a mesh that is efficient for analysis by providing a high element density in specific locations, such as areas of high stress gradient or high curvature and reduced mesh density in other areas of less importance. In addition, inside-out hexahedral grid based schemes, using Cartesian structured grids for the base mesh, have shown great promise in accommodating automatic all-hexahedral algorithms. In these algorithms mesh refinement is generally used to capture geometric features. Unfortunately, most adaptive mesh generation algorithms employ a 3-refinement method. This method, although easy to employ, provides …


Variation In Sound Production Of The Blue Catfish, Ictalurus Furcatus., Zachary Ghahramani Aug 2010

Variation In Sound Production Of The Blue Catfish, Ictalurus Furcatus., Zachary Ghahramani

Theses and Dissertations

The blue catfish, Ictalurus furcatus, is an invasive species introduced to Virginia in 1974 and is the largest catfish in the United States. Like other Ictalurids, they are capable of producing disturbance calls via stridulation of the pectoral spine. These sounds can be made in air and water, and catfish can be preyed upon by both aerial and underwater predators. I characterized these putative distress calls by recording them in air and in the fish’s natural habitat. Sounds exhibited a wide variation in acoustic parameters relative to fish ontogeny: larger fish produced higher amplitude sounds with lower frequency bands. Sweep …


Effect Of Ph On The Transcriptional Profile Of Porphyromonas Gingivalis W83, Nathan Maietta Aug 2010

Effect Of Ph On The Transcriptional Profile Of Porphyromonas Gingivalis W83, Nathan Maietta

Theses and Dissertations

Porphyromonas gingivalis, a gram-negative, anaerobic bacterium, is widely recognized as a causative agent for periodontal disease. Despite sequencing of the complete genome, no research exists examining gene regulation response in P. gingivalis to shifts in pH. Previous studies have shown that P. gingivalis is capable of surviving in the variety of micro- environmental niches found within the oral cavity, including basic and acidic pH conditions. However, the underlying mechanisms of this survival are not well understood. This study examined P. gingivalis by comparing bacteria shocked at three acidic to neutral pH conditions (5.5, 6.5 and 7.0) to bacteria vii shocked …


Sleep, Bmi, And Work-Family Conflict: A Gender Comparison Of U.S. Workers, Blake Lee Jones Aug 2010

Sleep, Bmi, And Work-Family Conflict: A Gender Comparison Of U.S. Workers, Blake Lee Jones

Theses and Dissertations

This study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine how sleep problems, Body Mass Index (BMI), and poverty were related to several work, personal, and family variables in a sample of married male and female workers in the United States. The data for this study came from the National Study of the Changing Workforce (NSCW) 2008. This large, nationally representative dataset provided a resource for examining potential gender differences in variables that have been linked to sleep problems and increases in BMI, as well as how each of these variables relate to several work, personal, and family life outcomes, including …


Cannabinoid Receptors In The 3d Reconstructed Mouse Brain: Function And Regulation, Peter Nguyen Aug 2010

Cannabinoid Receptors In The 3d Reconstructed Mouse Brain: Function And Regulation, Peter Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations

CB1 receptors (CB1R) mediate the psychoactive and therapeutic effects of cannabinoids including ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive constituent in marijuana. However, therapeutic use is limited by side effects and tolerance and dependence with chronic administration. Tolerance to cannabinoid-mediated effects is associated with CB1R adaptations, including desensitization (receptor-G-protein uncoupling) and downregulation (receptor degradation). The objectives of this thesis are to investigate the regional-specificity in CB1R function and regulation. Previous studies have investigated CB1Rs in a subset of regions involved in cannabinoid effects, but an inclusive regional comparison of the relative efficacies of different classes of cannabinoids to activate G-proteins has not …


Partition Based Phylogenetic Search, Kenneth A. Sundberg Aug 2010

Partition Based Phylogenetic Search, Kenneth A. Sundberg

Theses and Dissertations

Evolutionary relationships are key to modern understanding of biological systems. Phylogenetic search is the means by which these relationships are inferred. Phylogenetic search is NP-Hard. As such it is necessary to employ heuristic methods. This work proposes new methods based on viewing the relationships between species as sets of partitions. These methods produce more parsimonious phylogenies than current methods.


Determining The Function Of Nuclear Bmp4, Trina Jane Loos Aug 2010

Determining The Function Of Nuclear Bmp4, Trina Jane Loos

Theses and Dissertations

Bone morphogenetic protein 4 (Bmp4) is a well known growth factor that regulates gene expression through the SMAD signaling pathway. Bmp4 is involved in many developmental processes and has been identified as an important factor in several cancers, including melanoma, ovarian cancer, and colon cancer. Madoz-Gurpide et al. recently observed Bmp4 in the nuclei of a minor percentage of cells in colon cancer tissues. In addition, our lab has recently discovered a nuclear variant of Bmp2 (nBmp2), the TGF-β family member most closely related to Bmp4. These observations led us to hypothesize that a nuclear variant of Bmp4 (nBmp4) also …