Digital Commons Network^™

Comparing Virulence Of Cryphonectria Parasitica Isolates Recovered From Portions Of Cultures Or Cankers Established Before Versus Those After Hypovirus Innoculations, William E. Jones

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Variable recovery of hypovirulent (HV) and virulent (V) isolates from repeatedly sampled, identical chestnut blight cankers, caused by Cryphonectria parasitica, prompted this study to monitor more closely the isolate recovery over time to determine hypovirulent or virulent status. To meet the objective, laboratory and field experiments were conducted between 1998 and 2000 to recover isolates from cultures and cankers challenged with HV inoculum. Cultural studies demonstrated (1) hypovirus transfer readily occurred to actively growing colony margins, and (2) that established, virulent mycelium one-to-six weeks-old at time was unable to acquire hypovirus. Results from field studies demonstrated a significant difference in …

Cellular Mechanisms Of Effects Of Sphingosine 1 -Phosphate On Vascular Endothelial Barrier, Mei Xu

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), a biologically active lipid, induces a myriad of cellular events including enhancement of the endothelial barrier and assembly of adherens junction proteins, VE-cadherin and catenins. The over all goal in this set of studies was to investigate what cellular mechanisms contribute to S1P-induced enhancement of the vascular endothelial barrier.;Since VE-cadherin contributes to the stabilization of the endothelial barrier, I determined in the first study if the rapid, barrier-enhancing activity of S1P requires VE-cadherin. Ca2+-dependent, homophilic VE-cadherin binding of endothelial cells, derived from human umbilical veins and grown as monolayers, was disrupted with EGTA, an antibody to the …

A Non-Pastor Dependent Model For Churches In The Greater New York Conference, Richard A. Marker

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Pastors tend to hover over the churches and many of the functions of ministry within the local church. Church members demonstrate little personal spiritual growth or activity in witnessing to their communities. A specific church in New York City will be selected as a laboratory for experimentation with the premise that a non-pastor dependent church can achieve better than average growth.

Method

A systematic study of the Bible, Spirit of Prophecy, commentaries, books, and articles concerning the development of church leadership and growth was reviewed. Once theological and historical data on non-pastor dependent churches and church growth was identified, …

Estudio Descriptivo Y Retrospectivo De La Depresión En Una Muestra De Esposas De Pastores Hispanos, Roberto Juan Rothermel

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

This exploratory and descriptive study addresses depression as experienced by a sample of Hispanic pastors' wives Studies on Seventh-day Adventist ministers have shown they are vulnerable to depression and Hispanic ministers’ wives are not exempt from this reality. Women tend to be more prone than men to depression, because of biological, social, and cultural factors. In addition, ministers’ wives experience other church-related pressures that increase depression.

Method

The method known as handpicked sampling was used for this investigation. It consisted of the selection of a sample of Hispanic pastors’ wives that had experience in pastoral work, with the purpose …

Adolescent Risk-Taking And Social Meaning: A Commentary, Cass R. Sunstein

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

Why do adolescents take risks? What is the appropriate response to adolescent risk-taking? This Commentary for a special issue of Developmental Review, discussing a set of papers in that issue, explores these questions with attention to changes in the adolescent brain, to dual-processing theory, to social influences, and to fuzzy-trace theory. It contends that adolescent risk-taking is often driven by the social meaning of risk and caution, and that social meaning operates as a tax on or a subsidy to behavior. Changes in social meaning present a serious collective action problem, but also a valuable opportunity for both law and …

Analysis Of The Effects Of Patient Position And Bladder Volume On Urinary Bladder Pressure, Chad C. Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Urinary bladder pressure (UBP) is an important indicator for a variety of medical conditions. Eighty hospital subjects each had their UBP measured four times at various bladder volumes and lying positions. Positions included 0 degrees supine, 30 degrees supine, 30 degrees right lateral and 30 degrees left lateral, and the volumes included 0mL, 25mL, 50mL and 200mL. For each volume, mean UBP was found to be somewhat lower for subjects measured in non-elevated position (0 degrees supine) than any of the elevated positions (30 degrees), although the sizes of the effect only sometimes reached significance. Additionally, for each position, mean …

W.E.B. Du Bois And The Rhetoric Of Social Change, 1897-1907: Attitude As Incipient Action, Fendrich Clark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the social change rhetoric of scholar and civic activist W.E.B. Du Bois to understand the role, motivations, influences, and shortcomings of his message upon a shifting current of black thought during the late ninetieth and early twentieth-century. In this study, I focus upon Du Bois' rhetorical aptitude in the building of his character, the emotional appeals made to his immediate audience, and the logical arguments and counter arguments that he publicly advanced in developing his program of parallel development.
I contend that in providing an alternate narrative to the competing opinions of accommodation as a solution to …

An Examination Of Pharmacy Faculty Quality Of Work Life: Work Satisfaction, Turnover Intentions, And Self-Efficacy, Mark H. Conklin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous research on pharmacy faculty quality of work life lacks a thorough, well-conceived theoretical foundation, especially in critical areas such as work satisfaction and turnover intentions. The objectives of this study are to develop a comprehensive measure of pharmacy academician work satisfaction and determine the contribution of work life variables toward pharmacy academician work satisfaction, job turnover intentions, and self-efficacies. An e-mail survey sent to pharmacy faculty elicited responses on various single and multi-item measures of quality of work life variables. Factor analytic procedures were used to evaluate the validity and reliability of the work satisfaction scale. Multiple regression procedures …

African American Males And Issues Of Fatherhood: An Examination Of The Sweat Lodge As A Psychosocial And Spiritual Intervention, Jay E. Darr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The emasculation of African American men is illustrated by disparities in the criminal justice system, education, employment, income, and health care, which has an impact on an African American man's ability to be a father. Researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners have struggled with establishing sustainable programs that address the complex issues that face African American men, especially when they have children (Martinson & Nightingale 2008). The emergence of the Sweat Lodge as an intervention for Native Americans has had some promising results (Cohen, 2003; Edwards, 2003, Noe, Fleming & Manson 2003; Smith, 2005). However, there is limited research on the Sweat …

Towards A Hermeneutical Understanding Of The Listening Process, Molly Mae Stoltz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation offers an alternative to the behaviorist understanding of the listening process inherent in the models developed by scholars such as Brownell, Wolvin and Coakley. Using mostly close-text analysis to examine the trends of the literature to date, this dissertation introduces the ideas of Gadamer on philosophical hermeneutics and Fuimara on the connections between listening and hermeneutics to the current discussion. This dissertation argues that the process actually starts when one makes the choice to listen. It distinguishes the choice to listen from the behaviorist concepts of willingness and attention and connects it to Gadamer's understanding of tradition and …

A Contemporary Consideration Of The Role Of Metaphysics In Systematic Theology: The Contributions Of Pope John Paul Ii And Claude Tresmontant, Daniel M. Strudwick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It has been traditionally held that Catholic theology has notable metaphysical threads deeply connected with the fabric of its faith and its systematic presentation. This dissertation focuses upon those "metaphysical threads" in order to explore their past, present and possible future status within theology. In each section the goal is to investigate the contributions of John Paul II and Claude Tresmontant and the role they believe metaphysics has within Catholic Systematic theology. This work attempts to present and assess whether, which, and why components of metaphysics, according to John Paul II and Tresmontant, should be retained even in light of …

The Synthesis And Physicochemical Characterization Of New Monothiophosphate Materials, Nathan Takas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following dissertation focuses on the chemistry of materials incorporating the monothiophosphate anion. The monothiophosphate anion is a member of the oxythiophosphates, a family of compounds in which phosphorus is bound to both oxygen and sulfur. This chemical characteristic places the metal oxythiophosphates between the well known families of the metal phosphates and thiophosphates. While both the metal phosphates and thiophosphates have been reported numerous times in the literature, the oxythiophosphates are rare, with only 29 compounds reported prior to this dissertation. Three new monothiophosphate materials are presented in this work, as well a new polymorph of a previously known …

Sensitization Of Ovarian Cancer Cells To Cisplatin By Genistein: The Role Of Nf-Kappab, Leigh A. Solomon, Shadan Ali, Sanjeev Banerjee, Adnan R. Munkarah, Robert T. Morris, Fazlul H. Sarkar

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Platinum-resistance (PR) continues to be a major problem in the management of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Response to various chemotherapeutic agents is poor in patients deemed PR. Genistein, a soy isoflavone has been shown to enhance the effect of chemotherapy in prostate and pancreatic cancer cells in vitro and in vivo by reversing chemo-resistance phenotype. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of combination therapy with genistein and cisplatin as well as other cytotoxic conventional chemotherapeutic agents in platinum-sensitive (PS) and resistant EOC cells.

Methods

The PS human ovarian cancer cell line A2780 and its …

Droid: The Drosophila Interactions Database, A Comprehensive Resource For Annotated Gene And Protein Interactions, Jingkai Yu, Svetlana Pacifico, Guozhen Liu, Russell L. Finley Jr

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Charting the interactions among genes and among their protein products is essential for understanding biological systems. A flood of interaction data is emerging from high throughput technologies, computational approaches, and literature mining methods. Quick and efficient access to this data has become a critical issue for biologists. Several excellent multi-organism databases for gene and protein interactions are available, yet most of these have understandable difficulty maintaining comprehensive information for any one organism. No single database, for example, includes all available interactions, integrated gene expression data, and comprehensive and searchable gene information for the important model organism, Drosophila melanogaster. …

Mcm-Test: A Fuzzy-Set-Theory-Based Approach To Differential Analysis Of Gene Pathways, Lily R. Liang, Vinay Mandal, Yi Lu, Deepak Kumar

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Gene pathway can be defined as a group of genes that interact with each other to perform some biological processes. Along with the efforts to identify the individual genes that play vital roles in a particular disease, there is a growing interest in identifying the roles of gene pathways in such diseases.

Results

This paper proposes an innovative fuzzy-set-theory-based approach, Multi-dimensional Cluster Misclassification test (MCM-test), to measure the significance of gene pathways in a particular disease. Experiments have been conducted on both synthetic data and real world data. Results on published diabetes gene expression dataset and a list …

A Stable Explant Culture Of Her2/Neu Invasive Carcinoma Supported By Alpha-Smooth Muscle Actin Expressing Stromal Cells To Evaluate Therapeutic Agents, Marie P. Piechocki

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

To gain a better understanding of the effects of therapeutic agents on the tumor microenvironment in invasive cancers, we developed a co-culture model from an invasive lobular carcinoma. Tumor cells expressing HER2/neu organize in nests surrounded by alpha-Smooth Muscle Actin (α-SMA) expressing tumor stroma to resemble the morphology of an invading tumor. This co-culture, Mammary Adenocarcinoma Model (MAM-1) maintains a 1:1 ratio of HER2/neu positive tumor cells to α-SMA-reactive stromal cells and renews this configuration for over 20 passages in vitro.

Methods

We characterized the cellular elements of the MAM-1 model by microarray analysis, and immunocytochemistry. We developed …

Detailed Characterization Of The Mouse Embryonic Stem Cell Transcriptome Reveals Novel Genes And Intergenic Splicing Associated With Pluripotency, Galih Kunarso, Kee-Yew Wong, Lawrence W. Stanton, Leonard Lipovich

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Transcriptional control of embryonic stem (ES) cell pluripotency has been a subject of intense study. Transcriptional regulators including Oct4 (Oct3/4 index), Sox2 and Nanog are fundamental for maintaining the undifferentiated state. However, the ES cell transcriptome is not limited to their targets, and exhibits considerable complexity when assayed with microarray, MPSS, cDNA/EST sequencing, and SAGE technologies. To identify novel genes associated with pluripotency, we globally searched for ES transcripts not corresponding to known genes, validated their sequences, determined their expression profiles, and employed RNAi to test their function.

Results

Gene Identification Signature (GIS) analysis, a SAGE derivative distinguished …

N-Hexanoyl Chitosan Stabilized Magnetic Nanoparticles: Implication For Cellular Labeling And Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Shanta R. Bhattarai, Remant B. Kc, Sun Y. Kim, Manju Sharma, Myung S. Khil, Pyoung H. Hwang, Gyung H. Chung, Hak Y. Kim

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

This project involved the synthesis of N-hexanoyl chitosan or simply modified chitosan (MC) stabilized iron oxide nanoparticles (MC-IOPs) and the biological evaluation of MC-IOPs. IOPs containing MC were prepared using conventional methods, and the extent of cell uptake was evaluated using mouse macrophages cell line (RAW cells). MC-IOPs were found to rapidly associate with the RAW cells, and saturation was typically reached within the 24 h of incubation at 37°C. Nearly 8.53 ± 0.31 pg iron/cell were bound or internalized at saturation. From these results, we conclude that MC-IOPs effectively deliver into RAW cells in vitro and we also …

Molecular Evolution Of The Cytochrome C Oxidase Subunit 5a Gene In Primates, Monica Uddin, Juan C. Opazo, Derek E. Wildman, Chet C. Sherwood, Patrick R. Hof, Morris Goodman, Lawrence I. Grossman

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Many electron transport chain (ETC) genes show accelerated rates of nonsynonymous nucleotide substitutions in anthropoid primate lineages, yet in non-anthropoid lineages the ETC proteins are typically highly conserved. Here, we test the hypothesis that COX5A, the ETC gene that encodes cytochrome c oxidase subunit 5A, shows a pattern of anthropoid-specific adaptive evolution, and investigate the distribution of this protein in catarrhine brains.

Results

In a dataset comprising 29 vertebrate taxa, including representatives from all major groups of primates, there is nearly 100% conservation of the COX5A amino acid sequence among extant, non-anthropoid placental mammals. The most recent common …

Limited Functional Conservation Of A Global Regulator Among Related Bacterial Genera: Lrp In Escherichia, Proteus And Vibrio, Robert E. Lintner, Pankaj K. Mishra, Poonam Srivastava, Betsy M. Martinez-Vaz, Arkady B. Khodursky, Robert M. Blumenthal

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Bacterial genome sequences are being determined rapidly, but few species are physiologically well characterized. Predicting regulation from genome sequences usually involves extrapolation from better-studied bacteria, using the hypothesis that a conserved regulator, conserved target gene, and predicted regulator-binding site in the target promoter imply conserved regulation between the two species. However many compared organisms are ecologically and physiologically diverse, and the limits of extrapolation have not been well tested. In E. coli K-12 the

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The Centennial Of The Boundary Waters Treaty: A Century Of United States-Canadian Transboundary Water Management, Noah D. Hall

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Climate Change And Great Lakes Waters Resources: Avoiding Future Conflicts With Conservation, Noah D. Hall, Bret B. Stuntz

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Department Of Family Medicine And Public Health Sciences 2007 Annual Report, Wayne State University School Of Medicine, Department Of Family Medicine And Public Health Sciences

Annual Reports

2007 annual report includes: Greetings from the Chair, Maryjean Schenk; Meet the Faculty and Benefactors; Full-time Affiliate and Voluntary Faculty; Master of Public Health Program; Honors, Awards, and Appointments; Family Medicine Residency; Residency Community Activities; Patient Care at the Family Medicine Centers; Editorial; Research Highlights; Occupational and Environmental Health; External Funding; Highlights from 2007 Publications; Peer-Reviewed Publications; Faculty Development; Undergraduate Medical Education; Editorial and Peer-Review Activities; Presentations at Professional Meetings; Clinical and Community Translational Research; Professional Meetings Hosted; Faculty Involvement in Academic Service; Vision, Mission, and Core Values.

Evolution Of Prostatic Acid Phosphatase (Acpp) Expression In Hominoids, Kathryn Hooper-Boyd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hominoids vary in their mating behavior. Levels of sperm competition vary accordingly. Species in which females mate with a large number of males are expected to experience high levels of sperm competition, such as chimpanzee and bonobo, while polygynous gorillas likely have little or no sperm competition. Coding regions of several seminal proteins have been shown to be experiencing positive selection, but little is known about the regulatory regions of these genes. The 1.7 kb upstream promoter region of prostatic acid phosphatase (ACPP) of human, bonobo, gorilla, orangutan, gibbon, and macaque was cloned into a luciferase reporter vector and transiently …

Atrazine And Info-Disruption: Does The Pesticide Atrazine Disrupt The Transfer Of Chemical Information In The Terrestrial Salamander, Plethodon Shermani?, Stephanie Lanzel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Atrazine is a commonly used herbicide in the United States and is a potential info-disruptor. Atrazine acts as an info-disruptor in fish, by dampening olfactory responses to pheromones, and atrazine has been linked to endocrine disruption in frogs. By interfering with chemoreception, atrazine may potentially impact foraging and reproductive success in various species. I hypothesized that in the terrestrial salamander, Plethodon shermani, in which chemical communication is important in social and foraging behaviors; atrazine would act as an odorant and/or interfere with chemosensation. I predicted that both acute and chronic exposure to atrazine would decrease chemoinvestigative behaviors, pheromone detection by …

Modification Of Nitinol Nickel And Titanium Oxides With Self-Assembled Monolayers And Polymers For Corrosion Mitigation In Biomtaerial Applications, Rosalynn Quinones-Fernandez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For the first time Self-Assembled Monolayers (SAMs) were formed on nitinol and characterized. Factors which can affect the formation of SAMs such as head groups, chain length, and tail groups were varied and analyzed to form the most stable and strongly adhered monolayer on the surface. Since an alloy is being studied, the formation of SAMs was also studied on nickel and titanium oxide, the components of the nitinol surface. After data was collected by infrared spectroscopy (IR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI), and contact angle measurements on the modified substrates. In the long …

"Is Not The Past All Shadow?": History And Vision In Byron, The Shelleys, And Keats, Timothy Ruppert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the British Romantic period, poets and prose writers shared a keen interest in the imaginative possibilities conferred by the national legacy of literary prophecy. The subversive and transformative elements of the vatic tradition in England, particularly as established by John Milton's aesthetically and politically radical work, appealed to both older and younger Romantic writers who sought not simply to describe their times but to remake them. To such minds, prophecy offered a historically authoritative genre equipped with unique aesthetic principles and a seemingly timely interventionist ethic, whether turned to the renovation of individual men and women or of whole …

Mechanistic And Clinical Studies Of Platelet Rich Plasma: A Simple Clinical Method For Enhancing Bone And Soft Tissue Healing, James L. Rutkowski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Platelet rich plasma (PRP) is a methodology of using a patient's own platelets to enhance bone and soft tissue healing following oral surgical procedures. Whole blood is drawn from the patient by conventional phlebotomy techniques and then centrifuged with the formation of a distinct middle layer that contains platelets and white blood cells (WBCs). This layer of platelets and WBCs is then placed into the surgical site to enable faster and more predictable healing. This technique has also found use in general medical surgeries and is gaining in popularity.

Platelets contain growth factors and other cytokines that are beneficial for …

Evaluation Of Attention And Executive Control Within A Model Of Gf-Gc Cognitive Functioning, Adam Scheller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Gf-Gc model (McGrew, 2003; McGrew and Flanagan, 1998) guided the development of most contemporary cognitive ability tests (Kaufman and Kaufman, 2004; Wechsler, 2003), as it enumerates general cognitive ability through the evaluation of its multiple components. This study involved an investigation of the Gf-Gc domains including added attention and executive control domains, which was measured by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 4th Edition (WISC-IV) and Conners' Continuous Performance Test, 2nd Edition (CPT-II). These domains were compared via factor analysis of the WISC-IV and CPT-II.

In addition, Structural Equation Modeling was used to test the structure of the Dean-Woodcock …

Gene Regulation Through Artificially Induced Dna Conformational Changes, David Bednarski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The conformation of DNA has been shown to play an important role in the regulation of gene expression. A consequence of this finding is that agents that alter the conformation of DNA should also affect the regulation of gene expression. To explore this, we used tethered-triple helix oligonucleotides (TFO) to bend DNA. We show that the expression of a luciferase gene is regulated by the presence of an induced DNA bend. Bends occurring in the same orientation as RNA polymerase binding result in a 93% increase in expression. In contrast, bends induced in that opposite direction resulted in a 51% …