Digital Commons Network^™

Mutagenesis And Spectroscopic Studies Of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Sterol 14alpha Demethylase., Anuja R. Modi

Theses and Dissertations

P450s are heme containing enzymes which affect oxidation of substrates via catalytic intermediates having transient lifetimes. These oxidative catalytic intermediates are formed by a sequential interplay of electrons and protons at the active site of the enzyme bearing molecular dioxygen. The proton transfer to the active site from bulk solvent is coordinated by an “acid-alcohol” pair of active site residues which are conserved in all P450s. Sterol 14α-demethylases (CYP51) are P450 enzymes which catalyze oxidative deformylation of lanosterol in the cholesterol/ergosterol biosynthetic pathway. Both cholesterol and ergosterol are important regulators of membrane fluidity. CYP51 differs from other P450s in that …

Supervision Experiences Of Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Psychologists-In-Training: A Qualitative Study, Cheryl L. Stolz

Theses and Dissertations

With little research on how LGB psychologists-in-training experience supervision and how supervision affects their development as professionals and as LGB individuals, this qualitative study investigated the experiences of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) psychologists-in-training within the supervisory dyad. Included in the analysis were the developmental processes, both as LGB and as professionals, affected by the supervision relationship. Fourteen LGB participants were interviewed via telephone. Interview questions focused on where the individual was in terms of being “out,” what their overall experiences have been in supervision, and the impact of these supervisory relationships on their identity as LGB and as professionals. …

Group Dynamics In Extreme Earth Environments: Analogs For Space Missions (Past And Present Expeditions Analysis), Matthew M. Allner

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Crew performance in space has become an increasing focus of many space faring nations due to the recent shift in focus of colonizing the Moon and then preparing to travel to Mars and beyond. This recent shift in focus to more long- duration missions has moved researchers in the direction of analyzing crew performance aspects associated win, crew dynamic development on such long missions. More recently researchers have been analyzing past expeditions carried out on Earth, as these expeditions kept records of crew performance, which have been compared and analyzed to those reported on space missions. Purpose: This study …

The Beach Chair Position And Potential Complications Related To Cerebral Perfusion, Crystal L. Farrow

Theses and Dissertations

The complex and dynamic physiological changes that occur when a patient is anesthetized may be further influenced by the surgical positioning of the patient, including that of the beach-chair position. The beach-chair position is often utilized during orthopedic shoulder surgery. The purpose of this review is to identify, utilizing an evidenced-based approach, the potential risks to cerebral and/or spinal cord perfusion when utilizing the beach chair position for surgical procedures under general (and/or regional) anesthesia. Additionally, this review will identify physiological effects on cerebral auto perfusion during anesthesia utilizing the beach-chair position, as well as special considerations or guidelines anesthesia …

Indications, Complications, And Techniques For Emergent Rapid Sequence Intubation Outside The Operating Room, Nicole Underdahl

Theses and Dissertations

Airway is the initial and single most important step in any Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), airway rescue, or trauma resuscitative algorithm. Without a patent airway, further resuscitative measures are futile. Rapid sequence intubation (RSD is a technique used by Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA) and other appropriately trained healthcare providers to secDre the airway in an attempt to regain physiological homeostasis in ihe failing patient. This procedure, however, is associated with substantial ri sks. A.dditional l.y, those oati.ents r-ec1uirin r2: RSI are often the most ..i. J ,_. critically ill with a multitude of other injuries or pathology. A …

Depression Symptom Changes As A Function Of Increased Creative Behavior Over A Two-Week Recording Period, Julie M. Grieves

Theses and Dissertations

Research in the area of creativity suggested that mild, but not severe, mood elevation may sometimes enhance creativity. While depression has been thought by some to reduce creativity, empirical support for this hypothesis has been elusive and the relationship between creativity and depression now seems more complex than previously considered. Conversely, there has been speculation that creative activity itself may have differential effects on mood, depending on the individual. Maladaptive perfectionism, theorized to be one of the intervening variables between depression and creativity, has been associated with higher levels of categorical thinking which may mitigate against the constructive reasoning thought …

Investigation Of The Chemical And Physical Properties Of Asian Dust And Asian Pollution Transpacific Transport During The Intex-B Field Campaign, Timothy S. Logan

Theses and Dissertations

Asian dust events during INTEX-B were analyzed by using chemical and physical in situ measurements taken by instruments on board a NASA DC-8 aircraft during the INTEX-B (2006) field campaign. From this analysis, the three following scientific questions about the nature of the Asian dust events were answered: (1) How can we identify which mode dominates in the observed dust plumes, (2) How do the pollutants and Asian dust interact with eac': other to form secondary pollutants, and (3) Has the pollution measured over the remote Pacific increased over the time interval of two previous field experiments (PEM-B 1994 and …

Diet Assessment Methods: A Guide For Oncology Nurses, Jody L. Ralph

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Narrative Theory And Fort Berthold's Stories Of The Paranormal Or Supernatural, Waylon C. Baker

Theses and Dissertations

The author collected stories of the paranormal and supernatural from 10 enrolled members of the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold, North Dakota. The research participants were members of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara tribes. Five research questions guided the study: (1) Where did these contemporary stories of the paranormal or supernatural originate? (2) What is the meaning behind these stories? (3) How are these stories different from other stories of the paranormal or supernatural? (4) Do the respondents “believe” in these stories of the paranormal? (5) Do these stories connect to traditional American Indian customs and beliefs?

The content …

Perceptions Of Weight Reduction Surgery: The Role Of Stigma And The Attribution Of Responsibility, Jessica Marie Behm

Theses and Dissertations

The amount of weight reduction surgeries performed in the United States has increased considerably within the last twenty years. Many people choose to undergo the procedure with the hopes of shedding the negative stigma of being obese and improving their life. The purpose of this study was to investigate how society views individuals who have elected to undergo weight reduction surgery. A questionnaire assessing the influence of three variables (Responsibility, Acceptability, and Stigma) on the perception of weight reduction surgery was developed and administered to 503 Midwestern college students. The respondents were presented with one of two vignettes depicting a …

Integration Of Multiple Data Types In 3-D Immersive Virtual Reality (Vr) Environments, George Demetrius Lecakes Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Intelligent sensors have begun to play a key part in the monitoring and maintenance of complex infrastructures. Sensors have the capability not only to provide raw data, but also provide "information" by indicating the reliability of the measurements. The effect of this added information is a voluminous increase in the total data that is gathered. If an operator is required to perceive the state of a complex system, novel methods must be developed for sifting through enormous data sets. Virtual reality (VR) platforms are proposed as ideal candidates for performing this task-- a virtual world will allow the user to …

Schizophrenia Candidate Genes Study, Grace Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Schizophrenia is a debilitating disorder caused by the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. In this study, we identified candidate genes and single nucleotide polymorphisms from two genome-wide association studies, GAIN and CATIE. Nine SNPs representing four candidate genes were selected for replication studies with our Irish samples: Irish Case-Control Study of Schizophrenia (ICCSS), the Irish Study of High-Density Schizophrenia Families (ISHDSF), and the Irish Trio Study of Schizophrenia (ITRIO). In the ITRIO sample, rs4704591 (CMYA5 gene) showed nominal significance (p = 0.0447947). Combining ICCSS, ISHDSF, and ITRIO samples for rs4704591 increased sample size and power and yielded a p-value …

Evaluation Of Association Of Microrna-122 With Histological Severity Of Recurrent Hcv Infection In Liver Transplant Recipients, Jihee Suh

Theses and Dissertations

Hepatitis C virus recurrence (which is defined by detection of HCV RNA in serum) in post-transplanted liver is universal but the progression of infection remains unpredictable, varying from case to case. It has been estimated that 75%-80% of the HCV recurrence patients will suffer chronic hepatitis C infection and up to a third of them will progress into the development of fibrosis and cirrhosis within 5 years post-transplantation. Therefore, finding ways to predict early on the progression of fibrosis can contribute to better prognoses. Recent literatures have mentioned that the hepatitis C virus relies on the host microRNA-122 (miR-122) for …

Lysophosphatidic Acid Is A Mediator Of Interleukin-6 Production In Ovarian Cancer Cells, David Dang

Theses and Dissertations

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a naturally occurring bioactive lysophospholipid that mediates a broad range of cellular processes such as cell proliferation, survival, migration and invasion. LPA also plays a potential role in human oncogenesis as suggested by elevated expression of its receptors and its producing enzymes in malignant tissues. In the current study, we demonstrated that LPA is a potent mediator of interleukin-6 (IL-6) production in ovarian cancer. IL-6 is a pleiotropic cytokine which is thought to be an important mediator of ovarian cancer development and progression. Here, we demonstrated that IL-6 levels are indeed increased in the plasma of …

Creating An Environmentally Sustainable Costume Shop, Katherine Stone

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of my thesis is to provide the reader with a better understanding of how to create an environmentally sustainable costume shop. I chose to focus on certain elements of the costume shop that are imperative to the function of the shop, but desperately need to change for the sake of the environment. The elements I focused on were fabric, energy, and chemicals. Armed with a better understanding of why and what needs to be changed, the reader will be able to take this knowledge and apply it to their costume shop and life. We need to change how …

Effects Of Biofilm Age And Composition On Oyster Larval Setting, Alaina Hart

Theses and Dissertations

The lack of success in restoring oyster, Crassostrea virginica, populations to Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries has raised many questions about why many restoration efforts have failed. A number of studies have focused on the larval stage of oysters and considered the variables that impact oyster setting behavior in an effort to understand why oyster populations have not recovered. Studies that have examined setting surfaces suggest that biofilms promote oyster larval settlement; however, similar studies with barnacle larvae have found an inhibitory relationship. The present study utilized field-produced biofilms of different ages to determine if natural biofilms inhibit or promote …

Cis-Regulatory Sequence And Co-Regulatory Transcription Factor Functions In Erα-Mediated Transcriptional Repression, Richard Leroy Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Estrogens exert numerous actions throughout the human body, targeting healthy tissue while also enhancing the proliferative capacity of breast cancers. Estrogen signaling is mediated by the estrogen receptor (ER), which binds DNA and ultimately affects the expression of adjacent genes. Current understanding of ER-mediated transcriptional regulation is mostly limited to genes whose transcript levels increase following estrogen exposure, though recent studies demonstrate that direct down-regulation of estrogen-responsive genes is also a significant feature of ER action. We hypothesized that differences in cis-regulatory DNA was a factor in determining target gene expression and performed computational and experimental studies to test this …

To Evaluate The Level Of Agreement Between Two Self-Reported Medication Adherence Scales And Prescription Refill Records In Older Adults, Priyanka Kakad

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: To evaluate the level of agreement between two self-reported medication adherence scales and prescription refill records in older adults. Design: Cross-sectional study Setting: Imperial Plaza; a retirement community located in Richmond, Virginia. Participants: 32 independent-living older adults, taking anti-hypertensive medications and filling their prescriptions at on-site Plaza Professional Pharmacy were recruited in the study. Methods: Participants’ 6 months refill records were obtained and Medication Possession Ration (MPR) was calculated. Participants were interviewed using Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS) & Brief Medication Questionnaire (BMQ). Kappa statistics was used to evaluate the level of agreement. Results: Poor level of agreement was …

Genetic Differentiation Of The Parasitoid, Cotesia Congregata (Say), Based On Host-Plant Complex, Georgia Karns

Theses and Dissertations

Endoparasitoids of herbivorous lepidopterans have intimate relationships with their host species as well as the plant on which their host develops. Characteristics of both hosts and plants can affect parasitoid success in tri-trophic systems and thus, drive diversification. Genetic differentiation was estimated for Cotesia congregata (Say) collected from two distinct host-plant complexes, Manduca sexta L. on tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) and Ceratomia catalpae, (Haworth) on catalpa (Catalpa bignonioides Walker), in the mid-Atlantic region of North America using seven microsatellite loci and the mitochondrial COI locus. Microsatellite allele frequencies were differentiated based on host-plant complex, and COI haplotypes from individuals on …

Crafting Authenticity, Allison N. Schumacher

Theses and Dissertations

Authenticity is what we want from the world around us, from others, and crucially from ourselves and what we make. As it relates to graphic design, I define authenticity as a perceived match between form and purpose. For the designer, its quality is found in the process of simultaneously developing a concept and crafting the design/object.

A Sequential Algorithm To Identify The Mixing Endpoints In Liquids In Pharmaceutical Applications, Akriti Saxena

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this thesis is to develop a sequential algorithm to determine accurately and quickly, at which point in time a product is well mixed or reaches a steady state plateau, in terms of the Refractive Index (RI). An algorithm using sequential non-linear model fitting and prediction is proposed. A simulation study representing typical scenarios in a liquid manufacturing process in pharmaceutical industries was performed to evaluate the proposed algorithm. The data simulated included autocorrelated normal errors and used the Gompertz model. A set of 27 different combinations of the parameters of the Gompertz function were considered. The results …

A Top-Down Proteomic Approach For The Discovery Of Novel Serum Biomarkers Of Pregnancy-Related Disease, Karen Merrell

Theses and Dissertations

The serum fraction of blood is an ideal material in which to search for novel biomarkers for disease. It is easily obtained through relatively non-invasive means, routinely collected, and a rich treasure-trove of information about the health of an individual. Cells react to signal molecules, take up nutrients, and release waste products, fragments that are the result of proteolysis, and other molecules out into the bloodstream. If these components are unique to the cells in question, that part of the complex mixture that is the blood stream can potentially characterize the health of the tissue or organ those cells are …

Chaperone Expression And Effects Of Its Inhibition On Breast Cancer Sensitization, Malissa Diehl

Theses and Dissertations

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent and deadly forms of cancer in women and is not restricted by race or ethnicity. Although a wealth of knowledge has been amassed on the biology of breast cancer, including its risk factors, diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, and treatment, it remains a serious health concern and active area of research. Initial response to standard chemotherapeutic and radiotherapeutic regimens is generally strong for many patients, yet breast tumors often recur, leading to more aggressive and resistant tumors. Because recurrence is such a clinical issue, more effective therapeutic approaches are needed to eliminate partial clinical …

The Potential Role For Capb In Pathogenesis Of Francisella Tularensis, Eric Fleming

Theses and Dissertations

Francisella tularensis was a facultative intracellular pathogen and a gram-negative coccobacillus which has been categorized by the CDC as a potential class A select agent due to its highly infectious properties and high mortality rates. Francisella tularensis was also responsible for the zoonotic disease tularemia, which was usually transmitted by arthropod vectors or via contact with infected animals. Francisella tularensis subspecies novicida has been used by many researchers in genetic pathogenesis experiments to try to elucidate genes responsible for virulence factors. One of these virulence factors was a capsular material which has been thought to be involved in either increasing …

Predictors Of Smoking Initiation In African American Adolescents, Jennifer Kienzle

Theses and Dissertations

Cigarette smoking and other forms of tobacco use are responsible for over 440,000 deaths per year in the U.S. Health consequences associated with cigarette smoking include cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and cancer. Despite awareness of the health risks, approximately 21% of the U.S. adult population smokes. Efforts to-date to reduce smoking-related disease and illness have focused on prevention and intervention strategies that encourage cessation. Adolescence is a critical period for both intervention and prevention. Because more than three-fourths (80%) of adult smokers reported starting to smoke prior to the age of 18, prevention and brief intervention is likely to be …

The Production And Filtration Efficiency Testing Of Nonwoven Electrospun Fiber Mats, Jan Uecker

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis the production and filtration performance of electrospun nylon-4,6 nanofiber mats was experimentally studied. The average fiber diameter of nylon-4,6 fibers is controlled by altering the polymer concentration in solution. Adding small amount of pyridine to the electrospinning solution controlled fiber beading and other defects. These fibers were then deposited onto a wide variety of conductive and dielectric substrate materials. A corona ion source was used to eliminate surface charging effects observed at the surface of all substrates. The resulting fiber mats, uniform in size and distribution as verified by SEM imaging, are tested for filtration efficiency and …

Specific Levels Of Therapeutic Ultrasound Stimulate The Release Of Inflammatory And Angiogenic Mediators From Macrophages In Culture, Thomas Turner

Theses and Dissertations

Therapeutic ultrasound (TUS) is a treatment modality that is used to accelerate tissue healing. TUS is thought to affect cellular processes of tissue healing, especially those that occur in the inflammatory and early proliferative phases. TUS can be applied using various parameter selections including intensity, wavelength, duty cycle and treatment duration and no clear consensus exists on optimal parameters for healing enhancement. Macrophages are important mediators of inflammation and their actions are critical to normal progression into the proliferative phase of healing. They complete many functions during these periods of tissue healing, among those being release of cytokines and growth …

The Regulation Of Platelet Activating Factor Acetylhydrolase By Oxidized Phospholipids, Rachael Griffiths

Theses and Dissertations

Platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase (PAFAH) is elevated in atherosclerosis and may play a role in pathogenesis of this disease. Molecular mechanisms regulating the expression of this lipoprotein-associated PLA2 are indistinct. Mildy oxidized low density lipoprotein (oxLDL) and monocytes (the primary source of PAFAH) are co-localized in early atheromas. Monocytes are activated by oxidized phospholipids (oxPL) in the oxLDL particle. We hypothesized that oxPL-activated monocytes are the source of increased levels of PAFAH in atherosclerosis. We found that PAFAH expression is significantly induced by OxPAPC and in particular long-chain fractions of oxPAPC in monocytes and cytokine-differentiated DC, but not cytokine-differentiated MO. Furthermore, …

A Longitudinal Study Of The Educational Advancement Alliance, Inc. Afterschool And Summer Enrichment Programs, Karen E. Nicholas

Theses and Dissertations

By all accounts there is a crisis in the American educational system. From government officials at all levels to educators, both practitioners and researchers, the question of how to reconnect with America's youth is debated on a daily basis. Solutions to the problems are suggested, debated, and sometimes tested. One of the topics that is often deliberated is the impact of supplemental educational programs. In an effort to address issues of academic skill deficiencies and college preparedness, the Educational Advancement Alliance (EAA) was founded in 1990.

The intent of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the impact of the Educational …

Assessment Of Pre-Pcr Whole Genome Amplification Of Single Pollen Grains Using Flowering Dogwood (Cornus Florida), Candace Dillon

Theses and Dissertations

Studies of gene flow in natural plant populations often focus on either historical or abiotic dispersal methods (e.g. wind, water, gravity), but there is little information available on contemporary, animal-mediated pollen dispersal patterns. Emerging molecular laboratory techniques allow unprecedented insights into spatial patterns of pollen-mediated gene flow. However, to date, technical challenges have limited their widespread application. The genome of a pollen grain can be amplified via whole genome amplification (WGA) prior to traditional amplification via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to prevent the stochastic effects associated with low copy number amplification. Even still, WGA can suffer from low success rates …