Digital Commons Network^™

Novel Characteristics Of Murine Bone Marrow-Derived Macrophages And Human Macrophage-Like Cells, George Tharwat Georges

Theses and Dissertations

These studies provide evidence for novel properties of macrophages derived from bone marrow stem cells. In study 1, treatment of activated mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMM) with either catecholamine synthesis inhibitors (α-methyl-para-tyrosine and fusaric acid) or the β2 adrenergic receptor antagonist ICI 118,551 demonstrated that BMM produce catecholamines. The catecholamines modulated macrophage cytokine production through autocrine actions on adrenergic receptors. In study II, undifferentiated human bone marrow cells were incubated in 30% mouse L929 fibroblast conditioned medium and generated adherent cells within three days. The cells were clearly identifiable as macrophages based on surface proteins and phagocytic activity but produced …

Role Of The Neuronal Specific Transcription Coregulator Npdc-1 In Retinoid And Thyroid Receptor Signaling In Human And The Axolotl Ambystoma Mexicanum, Maria Theodosiou

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Section I: This section is an introduction to the field of nuclear receptors. A general overview of nuclear receptor-mediated transcriptional regulation is followed by a review of literature on retinoid and thyroid receptor-mediated signaling. Section II: An introduction to NPDC-1 (neural proliferation, differentiation, and control), its discovery and characterization with regards to developmental expression and cellular localization. In addition NPDC-1 has been found to associate with a number of cell cycle regulatory proteins. NPDC-1 is characterized as a regulator of nuclear receptor-mediated transcriptional regulation. NPDC-1 was also demonstrated to be regulated post-transcriptionally through the ubiquitin/proteosome degradation pathway. Section III: Axolotl …

Studies Of Genetic Variation At The Kit Locus And White Spotting Patterns In The Horse, Samantha Ann Brooks

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

There are numerous different white spotting patterns in the horse, including two of particular interest tobiano and sabino. In the mouse, genetic variation in the gene KIT causes many white spotting patterns. Due to the phenotypic similarity among white spotting patterns in horses and mice, KIT was investigated as the cause of the tobiano and sabino spotting patterns in horses. Initially, the KIT cDNA sequences from horses with several spotting patterns were compared. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified, though none were associated with a spotting pattern. Three novel splicing variants were also observed: exon 17 skipping, exon 18 …

Determination Of The Band Gap Bowing Parameter Of A1xga1-Xn With Contactless Electroreflectance, Laura C. Mcglinchey

Theses and Dissertations

Contactless electroreflectance (CER), a modulation spectroscopy (MS) technique, has been used to study the A and C exciton transitions in A1xGa1-xN layers for a composition range of 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.48 at room temperature. Taking the entire composition range (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) into account by incorporating a previously reported band gap energy for AlN, the dependence of the A-exciton transition on composition showed a downward bowing from linearity. A bowing parameter of b = 1.7 eV was found. Analysis of the lower composition range 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.48 resulted in a linear fit, as did the …

The Expression And Function Of Wilms' Tumor 1 In Malignant Glioma, Aaron J. Clark

Theses and Dissertations

The Wilms' tumor 1 gene is overexpressed in many types of cancer and is associated with poor prognosis and resistance to anti-cancer therapies. In vitro studies in non-glioma cells types have demonstrated that WTl plays a role in increased proliferation, resistance to apoptosis, and increased cellular invasion. We aimed to thoroughly characterize the expression pattern of Wilms' tumor 1 in human malignant glioma and discern its function in this complex disease process. We screened a large sample of established human malignant glioma cell lines and glioma tissue specimens of all grades for WT1 expression. The majority of cell lines and …

Accelerating Whole-Cell Biocatalysis By Enhancing Outer Membrane Permeability, Ye Ni

Theses and Dissertations

Whole-cell biocatalysts are preferred in many biocatalysis applications. However, cell envelope often represents a formidable permeability barrier. As a result, reactions catalyzed by whole-cells are reportedly orders of magnitude slower than those of by their free enzyme counterparts. The present research addresses this critical issue by using membrane engineering approaches. Two E. coli strains with genetically altered outer membrane structures were used in the study, a lipopolysaccarides (LPS) mutant SM101 and a Braun's lipoprotein mutant E609L. The effects of outer membrane mutation on the permeability of substrates differing substantially in size and hydrophobicity were investigated by combining the mutant cells …

Autocrine Effects Of Catecholamines On Macrophage Release Of Interleukin-6 (Il-6), Shaunta D. Poe

Theses and Dissertations

Effects of norepinephrine (NE) on macrophage cytokine release are complex because the cells have both α2 and β2 adrenergic receptors, which mediate opposing actions. Furthermore, β2-adrenergic agonists are reported to have both stimulatory and inhibitory effects on interleukin-6 (IL-6). This study was designed to clarify the autocrine role of macrophage-derived NE on IL-6 production in activated peritoneal macrophages. Effects of NE on IL-6 production in the RAW264.7 macrophage cell-line also were investigated. Treatment of activated peritoneal macrophages with endotoxin, the α2-adrenergic antagonists yohimbine or RS79948 revealed that the α2-adrenergic receptor mediates a stimulatory autocrine action of catecholamines on IL-6 production. …

Rehabilitating The "Mystery Passage": An Examination Of The Supreme Court's Anthropology Using The Personalistic Norm Explicit In The Philosophy Of Karol Wojtyla, Michael A. Scaperlanda

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Never Get Out'a The Boat: Stenberg V. Carhart And The Future Of American Law, John Breen, Michael A. Scaperlanda

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Water Stress Vulnerability Of Four Banksia Species In Contrasting Ecohydrological Habitats On The Gnangara Mound, Western Australia, Caroline Canham

Theses : Honours

The distribution of obligate and facultative phreatophytic vegetation reflects the gradient of ecohydrological habitats in a landscape. Preliminary investigations of Banksia vulnerability to xylem embolism have reported that obligate phreatophytes are more susceptible to water stress than facultative phreatophytes (Froend & Drake 2006). A quantitative measure of plant susceptibility to water stress is vital when establishing environmental water requirements. This study investigated interspecific differences in vulnerability to water stress for two facultative phreatophytes (B. attenuata and B. menziesii) and two obligate pln·eatophytes (B. ilicifolia and B. littoralis) at the same position along an ecohydrological gradient on the Gnangara Groundwater Mound, …

Misconceptions: Loss And Melancholia In Poetry Of Miscarriage, Stillbirth And Abortion, Donna Yannakis

Theses : Honours

This thesis argues that cultural and discursive attitudes towards miscarriage, stillbirth and abortion attribute maternal blame to these losses and silence the expression of grief over them. It further argues that, following pregnancy loss, this silence and blame, coupled with the veneration and discursive production of motherhood as a woman's biological and psychical destiny, produce 'symptoms' that, according to Freud, are a sign of a pathological melancholia. I suggest, however, that these symptoms - self-reproach and impoverishment of the ego as responses to pregnancy loss, do not necessarily indicate a woman's pathological failure to resolve loss but reflect the social …

An Ontology Based Approach To The Integration Of Heterogeneous Information Systems Supporting Integrated Provincial Administration In Khon Kaen, Thailand, Malee Kabmala, Lampang Manmart, Chaiyaporn Chirathamjaree

EDU-COM International Conference

Information systems are a necessity to the administration of organizations. In a recent reform to the Thai administration, the governor of each province is entrusted with the full responsibility for the strategic planning and execution of the Integrated Provincial Administration (IPA). This presents a big challenge and many difficult problems for a potentially fast growing, both economically and demographically, province, such as Khon Kaen. To provide the administrator of the province with reliable and up to date information, the Provincial Operation Centre (POC) has been set up and assigned the task of collecting all required information from disparate information systems, …

Case Study Of A Basic Course: Using Assessment To Legitimize Innovation, Marlene M. Preston, Rachel Holloway

Basic Communication Course Annual

As public higher education enters an era of increasing demand, shrinking resources, increased competition, and restructuring (Hebel, Schmidt, & Selingo, 2002; Schmidt, 2002), many colleges and universities will turn to measures of productivity and quality to decide what new efforts will be funded and what efforts will be discontinued. Because change will be necessary for public universities to thrive (Yudof, 2002), basic courses may be increasingly called upon to prove their efficacy and/or shift their focus to meet new demands.

The following case study describes the five-year process through which a two-semester first-year communication sequence was accepted into the general …

The Antiviral Action Of Common Household Disinfectants And Antiseptics Against Murine Hepatitis Virus, Christine Bernadette Dellanno

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) infected over 8,000 people and killed 784 leaving many questions concerning the effectiveness of common household disinfectants and antiseptics at preventing viral transmission. In order to determine how well standard disinfectants and detergents were at eliminating viral particles from surfaces, the antiviral action of triclosan, pine oil, bleach, chloroxylenol and quaternary ammonium compound/ethanol based products were assayed against Murine Hepatitis Virus (MHV), a virus genetically similar to SARS. Using the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines for the virucidal assay, it was determined that alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium saccharinate in 79% ethanol …

Emd: An Ensemble Algorithm For Discovering Regulatory Motifs In Dna Sequences, Jianjun Hu, Y. D. Yang, D. Kihara

Faculty Publications

Background

Understanding gene regulatory networks has become one of the central research problems in bioinformatics. More than thirty algorithms have been proposed to identify DNA regulatory sites during the past thirty years. However, the prediction accuracy of these algorithms is still quite low. Ensemble algorithms have emerged as an effective strategy in bioinformatics for improving the prediction accuracy by exploiting the synergetic prediction capability of multiple algorithms.

Results

We proposed a novel clustering-based ensemble algorithm named EMD for de novo motif discovery by combining multiple predictions from multiple runs of one or more base component algorithms. The ensemble approach is …

Integrative Missing Value Estimation For Microarray Data, Jianjun Hu, H. Li, M. S. Waterman, X. J. Zhou

Faculty Publications

Background

Missing value estimation is an important preprocessing step in microarray analysis. Although several methods have been developed to solve this problem, their performance is unsatisfactory for datasets with high rates of missing data, high measurement noise, or limited numbers of samples. In fact, more than 80% of the time-series datasets in Stanford Microarray Database contain less than eight samples.

Results

We present the integrative Missing Value Estimation method (iMISS) by incorporating information from multiple reference microarray datasets to improve missing value estimation. For each gene with missing data, we derive a consistent neighbor-gene list by taking reference data sets …

Nephrology Social Work: History In The Making, Teri Browne

Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Attenuation Of Acute Rejection In A Rat Liver Transplantation Model By A Liver-Targeted Dextran Prodrug Of Methylprednisolone, Anjaneya Chimalakonda, Donald L. Montgomery, Jon A. Weidanz, Imam H. Shaik, Justin H. Nguyen, John J. Lemasters, Eiji Kobayashi, Reza Mehvar

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Background. The use of methylprednisolone (MP) and other corticosteroids for the treatment of acute liver allograft rejection is associated with severe toxicities in nontarget tissues. Therefore, selective delivery of NIP to the liver may improve its efficacy and alleviate its side effects. We investigated the effects of a novel liver-targeted dextran prodrug of MP (DMP) in an orthotopic rat liver transplantation (OLT) model.

Methods. The model consisted of a high responder rejection strain combination (Dark Agouti donors and Lewis recipients). Liver recipients were intravenously administered saline or a single subtherapeutic dose of MP (5 mg/kg) as the parent …

Environmental Soil Science: A Marketing Research Strategy, Steven Diamond, Bryce Youngquist, Mariella Horna

Student Works

Before we commenced the research process, three main objectives were set forth by MBS Consulting. The research objectives are as follows: Determine the potential future path of the Environmental Soil Science program. Determine the overall appeal of changing the name of the Environmental Soil Science program. Obtain an understanding of a student's mind-set when selecting a major. MBS Consulting is comprised of Steven Diamond, Bryce Youngquist and Mariella Horna.

Critical Analysis Of Coprolite Evidence Of Medicinal Plant Use, Piauí, Brazil, Sérgio Augusto De Miranda Chaves, Karl J. Reinhard

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Human coprolites, dating from 8,500 to 7,000 years BP, were collected from the rock-shelter of Boqueirão da Pedra Furada, in Piauí, Brazil. These dates fall within the “Serra Talhada” cultural traditions I and II of the Tradição Nordeste, a paleohuman culture of northeastern Brazil. Archaeoparasitological analysis of the coprolites revealed whipworm eggs and hookworm eggs. Analysis of Tradição Nordeste skeletons and hair shows a variety of diseases including dental problems, osteoarthritis, and head louse infestation. Palynological analysis of the coprolites revealed 12 genera that were potentially medicinal. The pollen data were critically analyzed to assess the potentiality that the pollen …

Managing Phosphorus In Beef Feedlot Operations, William F. Kissinger, Galen E. Erickson, Terry J. Klopfenstein, Richard K. Koelsch

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

A commercial feedlot study determined manure nutrient flow in six feedlots using a corn and by-product based diet with an average P content of 0.39% (DM basis), and a range of 0.34 to 0.48%. Mass balances for N and P were conducted on each pen. The average feed nutrient intake was 0.52 lb N/head/day (64.0 + 7.6 lb/animal fed) and 0.09 lb P/head/day (10.9 + 2.2 lb/animal fed). Based upon averages from the 6,366 head of cattle, 11.5% of the feed nitrogen and 16.9% of the feed phosphorus were retained by the animal with the remaining nutrients excreted. The harvested …

Chemical Composition And Response To Dilute-Acid Pretreatment And Enzymatic Saccharification Of Alfalfa, Reed Canarygrass, And Switchgrass, Bruce S. Dien, Hans-Joachim G. Jung, Kenneth P. Vogel, Michael D. Casler, Joann F. S. Lamb, Loren Iten, Robert C. Mitchell, Gautum Sarath

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Alfalfa stems, reed canarygrass, and switchgrass; perennial herbaceous species that have potential as biomass energy crops in temperate regions; were evaluated for their bioconversion potential as energy crops. Each forage species was harvested at two or three maturity stages and analyzed for carbohydrates, lignin, protein, lipid, organic acids, and mineral composition. The biomass samples were also evaluated for sugar yields following pretreatment with dilute sulfuric followed by enzymatic saccharification using a commercial cellulase preparation. Total carbohydrate content of the plants varied from 518 to 655 g kg^-1 dry matter (DM) and cellulose concentration from 209 to 322 g kg …

Mutations In Arabidopsis Yellow Stripe-Like1 And Yellow Stripe-Like3 Reveal Their Roles In Metal Ion Homeostasis And Loading Of Metal Ions In Seeds, Brian M. Waters, Heng-Hsuan Chu, Raymond J. Didonato, Louis A. Roberts, Robynn B. Eisley, Brett Lahner, David E. Salt, Elsbeth L. Walker

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Here, we describe two members of the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) Yellow Stripe-Like (YSL) family, AtYSL1 and AtYSL3. The YSL1 and YSL3 proteins are members of the oligopeptide transporter family and are predicted to be integral membrane proteins. YSL1 and YSL3 are similar to the maize (Zea mays) YS1 phytosiderophore transporter (ZmYS1) and the AtYSL2 iron (Fe)-nicotianamine transporter, and are predicted to transport metal-nicotianamine complexes into cells. YSL1 and YSL3 mRNAs are expressed in both root and shoot tissues, and both are regulated in response to the Fe status of the plant. β-Glucuronidase reporter expression, driven by …

The Slippery Slope: The Vitality Of Reynolds V. Us After Romer And Lawrence, James Askew

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note argues that the legal prohibition of polygamy, upheld by the landmark case Reynolds v. United States, is increasingly vulnerable in light of recent Supreme Court decisions, particularly *Romer v. Evans* and Lawrence v. Texas. These decisions have expanded individual rights and challenged the constitutionality of laws targeting specific groups, suggesting that the legal framework against polygamy may no longer hold. The author posits that just as same-sex marriage is gaining legal recognition, polygamous marriages should also be reconsidered under these evolving legal standards.

Annotated Legal Bibliography On Gender

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Importance Of Realizing "Other Rights" To Prevent Sex Trafficking, Jonathan Todres

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article argues that effectively combating sex trafficking requires a broader approach that goes beyond criminalization and victim assistance. It emphasizes the importance of realizing "other rights" under international human rights law, such as the right to be free from gender-based violence, discrimination, and the rights to birth registration, health, and education. Ensuring these rights addresses the systemic issues that make marginalized populations vulnerable to trafficking and fosters sustainable development, which is critical for long-term prevention.

Organizational Acculturation Jetblue Airways Through Values-Framed Instructional Design, Antonio I. Cortes

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

New initiatives across the entire spectrum of academic education are attempting to develop values-based curricula that teach ethical decision making. Can a similar process be used to inculcate organizational culture in a corporate workforce? Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is exploring the use of values-framed instructional design (VFID), where traditional course contents are structured around organizational core values in order to explicitly and implicitly acculturate corporate workers. The method is currently being used to train instructor pilots at JetBlue Airways as a means of scaling organizational culture in step with ongoing growth. In order to determine the potential role for VFID in …

Ninth Circuit Upholds The Corps' Adjacency Jurisdiction Over Wetlands, Jonathan Lew

Sea Grant Law Fellow Publications

No abstract provided.

Reproducing Published Results From In Silico Computer Models Of The Acute Inflammatory Response To Severe Sepsis, Wayne W. Wakeland, Joe Fusion, Brahm Goldstein

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recent studies describe computer simulation models of the acute or systemic inflammatory response (AIR or SIR) to severe sepsis, a condition that can lead to multiple organ failure and death. One study used an agent-based model, while the other used differential equations (DEs) to simulate a randomized clinical trial. Both studies obtained results similar to the actual results from a successful clinical drug trial of severe sepsis, suggesting that in silico (simulated) randomized clinical trials may be used to design more effective in vivo clinical trials.

What's Wrong With Inclusive Fitness?, Jeffrey Fletcher, Martin Zwick, Michael Doebeli, David Sloan Wilson

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

In lieu of an abstract, here is the first paragraph:

In a recent issue of TREE, Foster et al. [1] defend inclusive fitness theory [2] from recent challenges [3,4]. The main author of these challenges, E.O. Wilson, argues that inclusive fitness (also called kin selection [5]) may not be the main explanation for the evolution of altruism and eusociality. In contrast, Foster et al. claim that inclusive fitness is not only the most prominent explanation for altruism, but that genetic “relatedness is always required for altruism to evolve” [1, p. 59]. Here we take issue with their claim about …