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An Adaptive Bayesian Approach To Bernoulli-Response Clinical Trials, Andrew W. Stacey

Theses and Dissertations

Traditional clinical trials have been inefficient in their methods of dose finding and dose allocation. In this paper a four-parameter logistic equation is used to model the outcome of Bernoulli-response clinical trials. A Bayesian adaptive design is used to fit the logistic equation to the dose-response curve of Phase II and Phase III clinical trials. Because of inherent restrictions in the logistic model, symmetric candidate densities cannot be used, thereby creating asymmetric jumping rules inside the Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm. An order restricted Metropolis-Hastings algorithm is implemented to account for these limitations. Modeling clinical trials in a Bayesian framework …

A Genome-Scale Approach To Phylogeny Of Ray-Finned Fish (Actinopterygii) And Molecular Systematics Of Clupeiformes, Chenhong Li

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The current trends in molecular phylogenetics are towards assembling large data matrices from many independent loci and employing realistic probabilistic models. Large genome-scale data sets shall reduce the sampling error, whereas complex models accommodating heterogeneity among sites and along the phylogenetic tree can decrease systematic errors. The theme of this dissertation project is using both bioinformatic and experimental approaches to develop genome-scale nuclear gene markers and applying them in studies of phylogeny of ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii) and systematics of clupeiforms. Bioinformatic tools and computer programs were developed to search for conserved single-copy nuclear genes with long exons. By comparing within …

The Role Of Early Detection And Rapid Response In Thwarting Amphibian And Reptile Introductions In Floridalorida, Todd S. Campbell

Managing Vertebrate Invasive Species

Prevention is the best policy for dealing with introduced species. However, biologists often spend an inordinate amount of time studying their spread and impacts rather than focusing on what should be done to thwart their establishment in the first place. Amphibian and reptile introductions are reaching epidemic proportions in Florida, largely due to irresponsible behavior by pet owners and the pet industry, but also due to ineffective preventive policies and actions. Prevention of additional amphibian and reptile introductions in Florida will require a comprehensive approach involving legal restrictions of certain problematic species, a massive public education effort, and a well-funded …

Wildlife Contraception: Targeting The Oocyte, Richard E. Mauldin, Lowell A. Miller

Managing Vertebrate Invasive Species

The USDA’s National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) has successfully researched and developed a number of chemical and immunologically-based wildlife contraceptives. Diazacon™ interferes with cholesterol metabolism and disrupts steroidogenesis, while nicarbazin (registered as OvoControl-P® and OvoControl-G®) disrupts the structure of the vitelline membrane of bird eggs. Immunologically-based agents act to stimulate targeted antibody production. GonaCon™ causes the host’s immune system to bind gonadotropin releasing hormone, preventing ovulation, while SpayVac™ prevents fertilization of the postovulatory oocyte. This kind of target specificity can be highly advantageous. A number of oocyte-only control contraceptive strategies are currently being researched at the NWRC. 4-Vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD) …

In Vitro Plant Regeneration From Petiole-Derived Callus And Characterization Of Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (Issr) Markers Of Amorphophallus Hewittii Alderw. (Araceae)., Douglas Charles Bertelsen

Student Work

The genus Amorphophallus contains many species that are sought after by collectors. A large proportion of these species do not reproduce quickly enough to satisfy the demand. Consequently, the establishment of micropropagation methods to increase the supply is desirable. Though several protocols for tissue culture do exist, these focus on species of agricultural importance that naturally reproduce vegetatively. This research demonstrated the successful in vitro reproduction of Amorphophallus hewittii Alderw., a species that is not known to reproduce vegetatively. The protocol avoided destroying the parent plant through use of petiole material. It concluded with direct transfer of shoots to soil, …

Synthesis And Positron Emission Tomography Studies Of Radioligands Targeting Α7 Nicotinic Acetylocholine Receptors In The Central Nervous System, Sung Won Kim

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

[to be added]

Development Of Informative Priors In Microarray Studies, Kassandra M. Fronczyk

Theses and Dissertations

Microarrays measure the abundance of DNA transcripts for thousands of gene sequences, simultaneously facilitating genomic comparisons across tissue types or disease status. These experiments are used to understand fundamental aspects of growth and development and to explore the underlying genetic causes of many diseases. The data from most microarray studies are found in open-access online databases. Bayesian models are ideal for the analysis of microarray data because of their ability to integrate prior information; however, most current Bayesian analyses use empirical or flat priors. We present a Perl script to build an informative prior by mining online databases for similar …

Energizing Mirna Research: A Review Of The Role Of Mirnas In Lipid Metabolism, With A Prediction That Mir-103/107 Regulates Human Metabolic Pathways, Bernard R. Wilfred, Wang-Xia Wang, Peter T. Nelson

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are powerful regulators of gene expression. Although first discovered in worm larvae, miRNAs play fundamental biological roles-including in humans-well beyond development. MiRNAs participate in the regulation of metabolism (including lipid metabolism) for all animal species studied. A review of the fascinating and fast-growing literature on miRNA regulation of metabolism can be parsed into three main categories: (1) adipocyte biochemistry and cell fate determination; (2) regulation of metabolic biochemistry in invertebrates; and (3) regulation of metabolic biochemistry in mammals. Most research into the 'function' of a given miRNA in metabolic pathways has concentrated on a given miRNA acting upon …

The Impact Of Host Rock Geochemistry On Bacterial Community Structure In Oligotrophic Cave Environments, Hazel A. Barton, Nicholas M. Taylor, Michael P. Kreate

KIP Articles

Despite extremely starved conditions, caves contain surprisingly diverse microbial communities. Our research is geared toward understanding what ecosystems drivers are responsible for this high diversity. To asses the effect of rock fabric and mineralogy, we carried out a comparative geomicrobiology study within Carlsbad Cavern, New Mexico, USA. Samples were collected from two different geologic locations within the cave: WF1 in the Massive Member of the Capitan Formation and sF88 in the calcareous siltstones of the Yates Formation. We examined the organic content at each location using liquid chromatography mass spectroscopy and analyzed microbial community structure using molecular phylogenetic analyses. In …

Biology, Saint Mary's College Of California

Academic Catalog

No abstract provided.

Cocoa Farming In Ghana: Emic Experience, Etic Interpretation, Francis Danquah, Stephen K. Miller

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

This paper develops the tension between emic and etic analysis, recounting the experience of life on a cocoa farm in Ghana, from the perspective of an urban youth with familial connections to the rural community. The dual perspective of living in the city along with frequent visits to and summer sojourns on the farm provided an “outsider’s” perceptions of the rural culture. Yet even these dual emic perspectives were insufficient to bring recognition of the underlying economic realities of cocoa bean production that depended partly on migrant labor. That etic insight came later in the United Kingdom, when studying similar …

A Gene × Gene Interaction Between Drd2 And Drd4 Is Associated With Conduct Disorder And Antisocial Behavior In Males, Kevin M. Beaver, John Paul Wright, Matt Delisi, Anthony Walsh, Michael G. Vaughn, Danielle Boisvert, Jamie Vaske

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Antisocial behaviors are complex polygenic phenotypes that are due to a multifactorial arrangement of genetic polymorphisms. Little empirical research, however, has been undertaken that examines gene × gene interactions in the etiology of conduct disorder and antisocial behavior. This study examined whether adolescent conduct disorder and adult antisocial behavior were related to the dopamine D2 receptor polymorphism (DRD2) and the dopamine D4 receptor polymorphism (DRD4).

Methods: A sample of 872 male participants from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) completed self-report questionnaires that tapped adolescent conduct disorder and adult antisocial behavior. DNA was genotyped for DRD2 …

The George-Anne, Georgia Southern University

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Slides: A Case Study Of The Roan Plateau Area, Mary Viviano

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

Presenter: Mary Viviano, EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc.

14 slides

The George-Anne, Georgia Southern University

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A Hybrid First Year Science Course For Engineering Students – Integrating Biology With Chemistry, David Harding, Pauline Schwartz, Jean Nocito-Gobel, Agamemnon Koutsospyros

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Biology is playing an increasingly important role in many engineering fields. With the typical engineering program already having a high credit hour requirement, the question becomes, how to best integrate biology concepts into a packed engineering curriculum. A typical biology course is not likely to introduce the important concepts of biology to engineering students. The solution here is to develop a hybrid course that integrates chemistry and biology. In the course, Chemistry with Applications to Biosystems, the concept is to develop a course that integrally links important concepts of chemistry and biology. The course focuses on the areas of biology …

The George-Anne, Georgia Southern University

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Information Literacy At Augustana: A Programmatic Approach, Nancy E. Goebel, Paul J. Neff

Communications in Information Literacy

Information literacy programs, and the factors that influence their development and structure, can vary significantly from institution to institution. Credit-bearing discipline-specific information literacy courses are a rare and valuable component of an undergraduate educational experience and form the basis of Augustana's information literacy program. This article provides an overview of the development, implementation, successes, and drawbacks of the credit-bearing discipline-specific information literacy courses at the Augustana Campus of the University of Alberta (Camrose, Alberta, Canada). Additional program components including Augustana's annual information literacy workshop, information literacy awards, information literacy DVD, and marketing/branding, are discussed.

The Bioinorganic Chemistry Of Copper-Containing Systems: From Type-3 Systems Pertinent To Alzheimer’S Disease To Mononuclear Hydrolysis Involved In Biological Development, Giordano Faustini Zimmerer Da Silva

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although transition metals are essential for life, misregulation of redox-active metal uptake, delivery, storage, and excretion has been linked with a series of neurodegenerative disorders. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is considered an epidemic and is the most widespread of all forms of dementia. Copper ions found in large concentrations localized in amyloid-ß plaques in the brain of AD patients have been linked with the generation of reactive oxygen species which are suspected to be the culprits leading to neuronal cell death. Herein a series of mechanistic and spectroscopic studies elucidate the chemistry about the metal-centered oxidation of biomolecules, including catecholamine neurotransmitters …

Viability, Functionality, And Genetic Assessment Of Cells After Laser Guidance, Tabitha Rosenbalm

All Theses

We systematically vary the controllable laser parameters, namely, wavelength, intensity, and exposure time of the laser on single cells to clearly establish laser parameters that allow negligible cell damage with significant cellular position control. To accomplish this goal, embryonic day 7 (E7) chick forebrains neurons were cultured with control and test cells selected one hour after seeding to allow attachment, at which time test cells were subjected to the laser. Cells were imaged at 4, 12, 24, and 36 hours after laser exposure to evaluate viability and functionality by using the Live/Dead Viability Cytotoxicity Kit (Molecular Probes L3224) and measuring …

Student Honors And Awards Program 2007, University Relations

UMM Honors and Awards Ceremony

In recognition of students who demonstrate academic excellence and enrich campus life.

Molecular Analysis Of Arabidopsis Thaliana Genes Involved In Stress Response, Jessica M. Whitlock

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Arabidopsis thaliana is an excellent model plant to study various plant processes, including plant’s response to environment, its interactions with other organisms, etc. In this study I characterized eight Arabidopsis genes that are likely to regulate plant’s responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Microarray analysis was done previously in our lab to identify Arabidopsis genes that are differentially expressed in response to various biotic and abiotic stresses and several plant hormones. The biotic stresses include bacterial, fungal and viral pathogens (both virulent and avirulent strains), sucking and chewing insects. The abiotic stresses include chemicals that induce variety of oxidative stresses …

Nicarbazin Ovocontrol G Bait Reduces Hatchability Of Eggs Laid By Resident Canada Geese In Oregon, Kimberly Bynum, John D. Eisemann, Gary C. Weaver, Christi A. Yoder, Kathleen A. Fagerstone, Lowell A. Miller

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Expanding populations of resident Canada geese (Branta canadensis) are resulting in increased conflicts with humans. Nonlethal and humane means are needed for managing Canada goose flocks at a variety of sites, including golf courses, industrial parks, government sites, and city parks. Decreased egg production and hatching are side effects of nicarbazin, a veterinary drug used to treat coccidiosis in chickens. Capitalizing on these effects, we developed nicarbazin as a reproductive inhibitor for Canada geese and conducted a field efficacy study. We recruited study sites in 2002 and 2003. Following laboratory testing, we conducted a field efficacy trial of …

Rotunda - Vol 85, No 22 - April 18, 2007, Longwood University

Rotunda

No abstract provided.

Reproductive Cycles Of The Pearl Oysters, Pinctada Fucata (Gould) And Pinctada Margaritifera (Linnaeus) (Bivalvia: Pteriidae) In Southwestern Taiwan Waters, Jiuan-Jiuan Hwang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The reproductive cycles of the pearl oysters Pinctada fucata (Gould) and Pinctada margaritifera (Linnaeus) were examined based on 339 and 284 specimens, collected in southwestern Taiwan. Except for the month of December 2002, Pinctada fucata were collected during the periods from March 2002 to September 2003. Pinctada margaritifera were collected over two periods: from March 2002 to November 2002 and from June 2003 to September 2003. Histological observations on gonadal development indicated that Pinctada fucata and Pinctada margaritifera were protandrous hermaphrodites, and both species exhibited different annual cyclical patterns, in which maturity peaked in May and October for Pinctada fucata, …

Bionomic Studies Of Papilio Demoleus Linnaeus, The Citrus Butterfly, (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae), From Lower Sindh, Pakistan, Arshad Munir, Nikhat Yasmin Siddiqui, Muhammad A. Rafi, Harry Pavulaan, David Wright

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Biological parameters of Papilio demoleus Linnaeus, the Citrus Butterfly, in Tando Muhammad Khan, lower Sindh, Pakistan are presented. This major agricultural pest was reared on Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng. (Curry Leaf) and ten different varieties of Citrus sp. (Citrus) plants. The length of the adult mating period ranged 5 to 8 hours. Following mating, females laid 27.7 ± 3.3 eggs. Eggs hatched in 1.5 to 7 days. Mean durations of larval instars were 1.8 ± 0.1 (minimum) and 2.9 ± 0.1 (maximum) days respectively. Pupal duration was 5.5 to 20 days. Biotic factors including predators [praying mantis, ants, Common Garden …

Investigation Of The Summer Kara Sea Circulation Employing A Variational Data Assimilation Technique, G. Panteleev, A. Proshutinsky, M. Kulakov, Dmitri A. Nechaev, W. Maslowski

Faculty Publications

[ 1] The summer circulations and hydrographic fields of the Kara Sea are reconstructed for mean, positive and negative Arctic Oscillation regimes employing a variational data assimilation technique which provides the best fit of reconstructed fields to climatological data and satisfies dynamical and kinematic constraints of a quasi-stationary primitive equation ocean circulation model. The reconstructed circulations agree well with the measurements and are characterized by inflow of 0.63, 0.8, 0.51 Sv through Kara Gate and 1.18, 1.1, 1.12 Sv between Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land, for mean climatologic conditions, positive and negative AO indexes, respectively. The major regions of …

Glyconanobiotics: Novel Carbohydrated Nanoparticle Polymers, Thotaha Wijayahewage Sampath Chrysantha Abeylath

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Carbohydrates on the cell surface conjugates to proteins and lipids and participates in biological processes as glycoconjugates. Carbohydrate functionalized nanoparticles (glyconanoparticles) constitute a good bio-mimetic model of carbohydrate presentation at the cell surface and are currently centered on many glycobiological and biomedical applications. The most of the applications have been reported using gold glyconanoparticles. A brief review of gold glyconanoparticles and some of their applications will be discussed in Chapter I. Although metallic, semiconductor and magnetic glyconanoparticles have been reported, no polyacrylate glyconanoparticles have yet to be described.

Chapter II describes the first preparation of carbohydrate functionalized polymer nanoparticles by …

Campus Assembly Minutes 04/03/2007, Campus Assembly

Campus Assembly

No abstract provided.

A Sustainable Future For Fishing On Christmas Island. A Draft Five-Year Strategy For Managing Commercial, Recreational And Charter Fishing., Department Of Fisheries Western Australia.

Fisheries Management Papers

This draft strategy was developed by the Department of Fisheries, Western Australia, hereafter known as the “Department of Fisheries” which has responsibility for managing fish resources (within Territorial waters out to 12 nautical miles) on behalf of the Commonwealth Department of Transport and Regional Services (DoTARS), through the applied Fish Resources Management Act (FRMA) (WA)(CI) (the “Applied Act”). The Applied Act provides a legislative framework that allows for management arrangements to be developed specifically for Christmas Island. The management of fisheries in Western Australia uses an adaptive approach which balances the need for the effective management of fish stocks with …