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Protoporphyrin Ix Fluorescence Photobleaching Increases With The Use Of Fractionated Irradiation In The Esophagus, Brian W.Q. Pogue, Chao Sheng, Juan Benevides, David Forcione, Bill Puricelli, Norman S. Nishioka, Tayyaba Hasan

Dartmouth Scholarship

Fluorescence measurements have been used to track the dosimetry of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for many years, and this approach can be especially important for treatments with aminolevulinic-acid-induced protoporphyrin IX (ALA-PpIX). PpIX photobleaches rapidly, and the bleaching is known to be oxygen dependent, and at the same time, fractionation or reduced irradiance treatments have been shown to significantly increase efficacy. Thus, in vivo measurement of either the bleaching rate and/or the total bleaching yield could be used to track the deposited dose in tissue and determine the optimal treatment plans. Fluorescence in rat esophagus and human Barrett's esophagus are measured during …

Corona Ion Deposition: A Novel Non-Contact Method For Drug And Gene Delivery To Living Systems, Niraj Ramachandran

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Application of corona ions produced in air to B16F10 murine melanoma cells in vitro and in animal models resulted in the transport of molecular therapeutics across the cell membrane. This work presents the development of new methods for drug and gene delivery based upon similar principles as the traditional electrode driven membrane destabilization processes known as electroporation. This was achieved with non-contact corona ion deposition that temporarily increased the permeability of cell membranes.

Interaction of corona charge with biological cells was studied and their potential for molecular delivery was established. Molecular delivery was first demonstrated in vitro using tracer molecules …

Dawn Of Nations Today, May 2008, University Of New Mexico

Dawn of Nations Today

Dawn of Nations Today, May 2008

Preferential Flow And Phosphorus Translocation In Benchmark Soils Of West Virginia, Michael B. Harman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Preferential flow is a mechanistic description of water movement in a soil profile where much of the soil matrix is bypassed during periods of rapid infiltration. The occurrence of preferential flow could lead to the movement of phosphorus (P) down through the soil profile. The objectives of this research were (i) to verify the presence of preferential flow in benchmark West Virginia soil series and (ii) measure soil test phosphorus (STP) levels within the preferential flow pathways and the surrounding soil matrix to determine the effects of preferential flow on phosphorus distribution within the soil profile. A non-reactive dye (Brilliant …

Attitudes And Knowledge Of Forestry By High School Agricultural Education Teachers In West Virginia, Kristin R. Lockerman Friend

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes and knowledge of high school agricultural education teachers in West Virginia towards forestry. A descriptive research design was used for this study. Of the 86 West Virginia high school agricultural teachers selected for this study 40 teachers responded for a response rate of 47%. Of the responding teachers 85% wanted or needed more information on forestry. Also 57% of the responding teachers had not taken any other formal forestry training besides their college course work. When respondents were asked to react to the following statement: "agricultural education teachers need more …

Selenite Removal Using Gac Based Iron-Coated Adsorbents, Ning Zhang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Removal of selenite from aqueous phase using iron-coated granular activated carbons (GAC) was investigated in this study. Five different types of GAC were used for iron coating by oxidizing ferrous chloride with sodium hypochlorite and tested for selenite removal. Nitrogen adsorption-desorption analyses indicated that Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area, pore size, and pore volume deceased with the iron coating. The Darco 12x20 GAC was shown to be the most effective adsorbent among the five tested GACs after iron coating. Among the different concentrations used for iron coating, the Darco 12x20 GAC coated with 0.1 M ferrous chloride achieved the highest selenite …

Feeding Behaviors And Performance Measurements In Bucks, Rams, And Bulls, Stephen John Chavez

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The objective of the study was to determine if relationships exist with feeding behaviors of bucks, rams, and bulls and efficiency or residual feed intake (RFI). Animals utilized in this investigation were either producer consigned by species or West Virginia University animals. All animals were group-housed in pens (14.6 m x 51.2 m) with 156.2 m2 under roof at the Reymann Memorial Farm in Wardensville, WV over two years. Animals were fed complete nutritionally adequate rations ad libitum to meet daily growth requirements for each species. GrowSafe radio frequency technology (GrowSafe Systems Ltd.) was used to monitor animal identification, visit …

Postpartum Sleep Disturbance And Psychomotor Vigilance Performance, Salvatore Insana

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Postpartum women have high rates of sleep disturbance and commonly suffer from many of the effects of disturbed sleep, though attentional state has not been studied extensively in this population. This study assessed sleep and attentional state psychomotor performance in postpartum women to develop a better understanding of how sleep disturbance --specifically sleep fragmentation and partial sleep deprivation-- is associated with attentional state psychomotor performance. Participants were a sample of 24 postpartum mothers from a larger study. Mothers were 29.96 (SD = 7.94) years old, had a mean income of {dollar}65,808 (SD = {dollar}41,398), and had 17.04 (SD = 2.53) …

Agricultural Awareness And Perceptions Of Freshmen At West Virginia University, Laura L. Pfeifer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Increased dependence on technology and further removal from agricultural practices has given rise to a decrease in agricultural literacy among members of society, which has established a need for advancement in educating individuals about the basic concepts of agriculture. This study was designed to determine the knowledge of agriculture possessed by incoming freshmen at West Virginia University (WVU). The data collected for this study were obtained from 403 freshmen participants who reported their responses to 35 Agricultural Knowledge, 35 Agricultural Perceptions, and 24 demographic statements and questions on an instrument administered during multiple First Year Orientation courses at WVU. It …

Application Of The Biolog Microplate System To Monitor The Physiological Response Of Heat-Stressed Bacteria, Matthew G. Mccarroll

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The BIOLOG microplate system was originally evaluated by Miller and Rhoden (1991) for its ability to correctly identify clinical and environmental isolates. The system determines identity based on the exchange of electrons produced during utilization of a carbon substrate and subsequent respiration, leading to the reduction of a tetrazolium-based color change. Enteric bacteria ( Escherichia coli, Enterobacter sakazakii, and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium) were exposed to heat stress (52°C) and samples were removed as a function of time (0, 15, 30 and 90 min). Stressed cells were monitored with traditional viable cell counts and inoculated into BIOLOG GN plates. The …

Periconceptional Treatment With Growth Hormone Alters Fetal Growth And Development In Sheep, Jill Marie Koch

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Altering the fetal environment can modify the composition or growth rate of the fetus, a concept known as fetal programming. A majority of the research in this area has focused on intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), which has been linked to adult diseases. A few studies have attempted to ameliorate the negative effects of IUGR, by applying growth promoters late in gestation, and have only observed transient effects. Our laboratory has previously shown that growth hormone (GH) treatment around the time of breeding alters the uterine environment early in gestation and results in larger lambs at birth. Therefore there were three …

In Vitro Elucidation Of The Metabolic Fate Of The Anticancer Drug Busulfan, Islam Rasem Younis

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Busulfan is a bifunctional alkylating agent that is used to treat mylogenous leukemia. The major elimination pathway of busulfan is through glutathione-S-transferase (GST) catalyzed conjugation to form glutathione sulfonium conjugate. The aim of this work is to elucidate the novel metabolic pathways of busulfan that may explain its toxicity. The observed data showed that busulfan is not a substrate for CYP450. The sulfonium ion conjugate of busulfan was found to be inactive as it did not inhibit GST in human liver cytosol, did not react with 4-(4-nitrobenzyl)pyridine, did not induce apoptosis in NCI-H460 cells, and was not stable in basic …

A Performer's Analysis Of Eric Ewazen's Sonata For Trumpet And Piano, Joseph Daniel Mcnally Iii

Dissertations

Eric Ewazen is a prolific composer whose works are becoming standard repertoire for not only trumpet players but also for brass quintets, soloists, and wind ensembles alike. Ewazen wrote the Sonata for Trumpet and Piano for the International Trumpet Guild, and it was premiered by Chris Gekker, trumpet, and Ewazen, piano, in 1995 in Bloomington, Indiana.

This document illuminates some of the characteristics of Ewazen's music, and summarizes the music's technical and performance demands, based on firsthand performing experience. It should also offer practical observations and recommendations for the performance of Eric Ewazen's Sonata for Trumpet and Piano.

Use Of Monoclonal ∆-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Antibodies Chemically Bound To A Polystyrene Surface Using Glutaraldehyde For The Purpose Of Extracting ∆-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol And ∆-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Carboxylic Acid From Postmortem Whole Blood Samples For Analysis By Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry, Thomas Sidney Pittman

Dissertations

Quantitations of drugs and their respective metabolites in postmortem blood samples using gas chromatographic instrumentation is a primary analytical practice used to determine if drugs played a role in or were the cause of a victim's death. Postmortem blood samples often prove difficult to work with due to interfering substances formed during the putrefaction process. Attempts to eliminate interfering substances with present day extraction methods can be time-consuming, costly and often ineffective when dealing with drugs that exhibit toxicity or impairment at very low concentrations. This study was conducted using monoclonal antibodies chemically bound to a polystyrene surface to extract …

Roosting Ecology Of Rafinesque's Big-Eared Bat, Corynorhinus Rafinesquii, In Southeastern Mississippi, Austin Webb Trousdale Iii

Dissertations

Rafinesque's big-eared bat, Corynorhinus rafinesquii, is considered rare and/or declining throughout its range. Concrete bridges are potentially important roosts for C. rafinesquii, especially in the Gulf Coastal Plain where the species' natural roosts (caves and large hollow trees) are inherently scarce. Successful efforts to monitor and conserve this species must account for its movements among multiple roosts and determine the duration of its roost use (including bridges) at different temporal scales. Therefore, I investigated roosting ecology of C. rafinesquii from 2000-2005 within a mixed hardwood-pine (Pinus spp.) system in southeastern Mississippi. I conducted surveys of concrete bridges to determine phenological …

The Influence Of Species And Context On Human-Dolphin Interactions, Deirdre Breen Yeater

Dissertations

Anthropogenic activities pose a threat to marine mammals around the world. Cetaceans that use coastal waters are at particular risk for potential disturbances caused by vessel traffic and human swimmers. Although many cetacean species are found near the coast of Utila, Honduras, little is known about their behavior or the effects of anthropogenic activities on their behavior. Whether the presence of boats and human swimmers led to short-term changes in dolphin behavior was investigated for three commonly sighted species of dolphins; rough-toothed (Steno bredanensis), spinner (Stenalla longirostris), and bottlenose (Turslops truncatus). The dolphins' behavioral activities, with and without other boats …

Jumping On The Next Bandwagon: An Overview Of The Policy And Legal Aspects Of The Local Food Movement, Marne Coit

Journal of Food Law & Policy

This article is an exploration of this new and growing local food movement. It is not a cohesive movement, nor is it one that is organized by a particular group. Rather, it is a grassroots movement comprised of people who are interested, for various reasons, in obtaining food grown or produced where they live or in producing this food themselves. The purpose of this article is to explore what the local food movement is, why consumers are interested in basing their food purchasing choices on where their food originates, current and future regulation of local food, and where this movement …

Journal Of Food Law & Policy - Spring 2008, Journal Editors

Journal of Food Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Dangerous Interpretations Of The Precautionary Principle And The Foundational Values Of European Union Food Law: Risk Versus Risk, Miguel A. Recuerda

Journal of Food Law & Policy

In their ordinary lives, many people try to avoid any situation involving risk that could cause themselves harm. On the other hand, others assume risk with greater facility because they are not sufficiently aware of it, or because they know that the probability of resulting damage is very low. Overwhelming worry in the face of any kind of risk would be paralyzing (we would not leave the house, eat in any restaurant outside of our home, drive, or fly). On the contrary, an attitude absolutely heedless of risks would end up causing innumerable damages, some of them irreparable. Common sense …

Personalized Web Search By Using Learned User Profiles In Re-Ranking, Jia Hu

Theses and Dissertations

Search engines return results mainly based on the submitted query; however, the same query could be in different contexts because individual users have different interests. To improve the relevance of search results, we propose re-ranking results based on a learned user profile. In our previous work we introduced a scoring function for re-ranking search results based on a learned User Interest Hierarchy (UIH). Our results indicate that we can improve relevance at lower ranks, but not at the top 5 ranks. In this thesis, we improve the scoring function by incorporating new term characteristics, image characteristics and pivoted length normalization. …

School Web Sites Within The Educational Marketplace: A Case Study Investigating The Parents As Engaged Consumer-Users, Claudia Jane Beeman Edd

Dissertations

Schools -- like their corporate counterparts -- recognize the many advantages that the Internet affords. Today's schools vie for students, and thus use the web to market their services and showcase their management team (administrators, teachers, staff) and academic accomplishments. In a sense, then, web sites are the public face of education; those that are well-designed and multi-featured can enhance a district's public image and create the perception of excellence and competence. This case study explores how one suburban, K-8 school district approaches web site development, specifically, the process by which decisions about design, development, and maintenance are made (and …

Design, Synthesis, And Evaluation Of Small Molecules In The Discovery Of Novel Antimicrobial Agents, Kimberly D. Grimes

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Enterococcus faecalis, pushes us to discover new antibacterial agents to maintain adequate patient coverage. This body of work highlights the use of medicinal chemistry methodologies that encompass cross-disciplinary fields of study. Chapter 1 gives an introduction to the antibacterial drug targets, resistance, and how scientists are working to overcome obstacles encountered with drug-resistant bacteria. It also details modern medicinal chemistry applications in antimicrobial drug discovery. Chapter 2 details the use of a structure-guided library approach to drug design, in which large virtual libraries against the target …

Cephalometric Evaluation Of Bionator Therapy In The Early Treatment Of Class Ii Malocclusions, Daniel C. Sawrie

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Early or two-phase orthodontic treatment of Class II malocclusions is a debated topic in orthodontic circles primarily because the benefits of early intervention have not been consistently reproduced among researchers. The present study was a retrospective analysis of cephalograms from patients with Class II, division 1 malocclusions at the start of treatment. These were 50 consecutively treated youths who received phase 1 (early) treatment with a Bionator appliance and later treatment with full appliances (all treated by a single clinician). The comparison group consisted subjects treated in a single phase with fixed Edgewise appliances only. Importantly, subjects in the two …

Influence Of Tooth Crown Size On Malocclusion, Michael Kelly Agenter

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Malocclusion is an increasingly common, multifactorial problem in industrialized countries. Although the causes of dental malocclusion are obscure in most instances, one contributing factor may be tooth size. While several researchers have studied whether tooth size contributes to malocclusion, there still is no consensus. Some have found that the mesiodistal widths of the mandibular incisor teeth are significantly larger in subjects with anterior crowding, while others have been unable to support this conclusion. Study designs often have been confounded by combining the sexes, which confuses sexual dimorphism with the supposed effect of tooth size on crowding. The present study tested …

A Mechanical And Histological Study Of Functionally Graded Hydroxyapatite Implant Coatings, Suzanne Kemp Coco

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Ever since Dr. Brånemark discovered that titanium was biocompatible with bone, extensive research has been done to improve the osseointegration of dental implants. As advances in medicine continue, the average life span of the population is ever increasing. Today, people of all ages are investing more money and time into dental treatment than ever before. Patients are becoming more educated on dental treatment options and expect the best treatment possible. As a result, the replacement of missing teeth with implants is becoming more and more commonplace in dental practices.

The purpose of the present study is to evaluate bone-implant interaction …

Revitalizing Liberty: Creating A Train Station—Community Center—Business Incubator, Magan M. Baxter

Architecture Theses and Projects

This project will include a train station located in the Town of Liberty, instating a light rail line that will connect Liberty to the Middletown Station (currently the closest train station at approximately 40 miles away), which is directly connected with New York City. The city of Middletown itself has plenty to offer, with a shopping mall and several department stores adjacent to station, although currently there isn’t a pedestrian path connecting the train station to anything; so this project will also provide pedestrian access to these amenities. The rail line will travel from Middletown to Liberty, with the possibility …

Societal Tabula Rasa: Destruction As A Form Of Creation In Selected Works By Kurt Vonnegut, Jorge J. Santos

Theses (Pre-2016)

Kurt Vonnegut on the Daily Show in 2005 (on the issue of his disappointment in humanity): "Well, I think we are terrible animals. And I think our planet's immune system is trying to get rid of us. And should." It is a common occurrence in works by Kurt Vonnegut for the societies built by man to crumble under the weight of our own folly only to be rebuilt and redesigned by the survivors. Due to the fact that these new societies are typically built from the remnants of those that came before, they often face the same challenges and feature …

Perturbation Of Testicular Leydig Cell Proliferation And Gene Expression Analysis Using Sodium Arsenite, Natalia L. Harmon

Theses (Pre-2016)

Recent research has established arsenic as an environmental carcinogen. Given arsenic's wide spread distribution it has the potential to affect millions of people worldwide. On-going research is trying to establish the toxicities of this chemical. While much effort has been put forth in studying the effects of arsenic, its role in carcinogenesis remains unknown. The main goal of this study is to determine if arsenic exposure can produce an unstable environment in testicular Leydig cells. To examine this potential effect, we have designed two studies that will test short- term, as well as relatively long term exposure to arsenic in …

Prophet, Priest, And King : The Impact Of A Pastoral Theology Course On The Practice Of Pentecostal Pastors In The Philippines, Albert C. Clavo

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

On The Threshold Of The Monster Truck Rally, Kendall Grady

A Midwestern Review: A Magazine of the Arts and Issues at DePauw University

Winner of the Paul Query Prize for Poetry