Digital Commons Network^™

A Functional Collagen Adhesin Gene, Acm, In Clinical Isolates Of Enterococcus Faecium Correlates With The Recent Success Of This Emerging Nosocomial Pathogen, Sreedhar R Nallapareddy, Kavindra V Singh, Pablo C Okhuysen, Barbara E Murray

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Enterococcus faecium recently evolved from a generally avirulent commensal into a multidrug-resistant health care-associated pathogen causing difficult-to-treat infections, but little is known about the factors responsible for this change. We previously showed that some E. faecium strains express a cell wall-anchored collagen adhesin, Acm. Here we analyzed 90 E. faecium isolates (99% acm(+)) and found that the Acm protein was detected predominantly in clinically derived isolates, while the acm gene was present as a transposon-interrupted pseudogene in 12 of 47 isolates of nonclinical origin. A highly significant association between clinical (versus fecal or food) origin and collagen adherence (P

Contribution Of The Collagen Adhesin Acm To Pathogenesis Of Enterococcus Faecium In Experimental Endocarditis, Sreedhar R Nallapareddy, Kavindra V Singh, Barbara E Murray

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Enterococcus faecium is a multidrug-resistant opportunist causing difficult-to-treat nosocomial infections, including endocarditis, but there are no reports experimentally demonstrating E. faecium virulence determinants. Our previous studies showed that some clinical E. faecium isolates produce a cell wall-anchored collagen adhesin, Acm, and that an isogenic acm deletion mutant of the endocarditis-derived strain TX0082 lost collagen adherence. In this study, we show with a rat endocarditis model that TX0082 Deltaacm::cat is highly attenuated versus wild-type TX0082, both in established (72 h) vegetations (P < 0.0001) and for valve colonization 1 and 3 hours after infection (P or=50-fold reduction relative to an Acm producer) were found in three of these five nonadherent isolates, including the sequenced strain TX0016, by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR, indicating that acm transcription is downregulated in vitro in these isolates. However, examination of TX0016 cells obtained directly from infected rat vegetations by flow cytometry showed that Acm was present on 40% of cells grown during infection. Finally, we demonstrated a significant reduction in E. faecium collagen adherence by affinity-purified anti-Acm antibodies from E. faecium endocarditis patient sera, suggesting that Acm may be a potential immunotarget for strategies to control this emerging pathogen.

"Imminent Danger" And Inconsistency: The Need For National Reform Of The "Imminent Danger" Standard For Involuntary Civil Commitment In The Wake Of The Virginia Tech Tragedy, Alison Pfeffer

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Recognizing A Dysfunctional Swallowing Pattern Using Surface Electromyography (Semg), Michelle F. Couto

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if a surface electromyography (sEMG) assessment of swallowing is better at identifying Oral Muscular Dysfunction (OMD) than a clinical evaluation (observation & digital palpation) of swallowing. The assessment was conducted on children ages 9 to 17, who were patients at the Orthodontic Department at Loma Linda University, School of Dentistry. Additionally, the prevalence of a “perceived” swallowing dysfunction was assessed.

Methods: This study included 39 randomly selected subjects from the orthodontic patients at Loma Linda University. Each subject’s “dry” swallow was evaluated using two separate methods: (a) sEMG and (b) digital …

Arginine Vasopressin And Male Attachment: A Marital And Family Therapy Perspective, Calvin James Thomsen

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Social neuroscience offers a promising way to understand some dimensions of adult attachment. Arginine vasopressin (AVP) is a neuropeptide with significant implications for human social behavior and it provides an important testing ground to explore links between social/interpersonal neurobiology and attachment. It has a distinctive impact on the social/relational behavior of certain male animals, most notably prairie voles. It fosters monogamy, creates attachment to both mate and offspring, and increases affiliation and a desire for physical proximity with other animals of the species. There has been much speculation that it might play a similar role with human males. This study …

Breast Cancer Screening Disparities In Japanese-American Women, Theodora Stratis

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Cancer screening disparities in ethnic minority women have received much research attention in the last several years due to a marked increase in ethnic minority cancer incidence and poor survival rates (Miller, Kollnel, Bernstein, Young Swanson, West et ah, 1996). Breast cancer is the leading cause of death for Asian American women (Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness, Research & Training, 2002) and, although their incidence and mortality rates are lower than Caucasian women, these rates continue to increase every year. This increasing mortality rate is likely due to the underutilization of breast cancer screening by Asian American women. Asian …

Impacts Of Land Use, Anthropogenic Disturbance, And Harvesting On An African Medicinal Liana, Lauren Mcgeoch, Ian Gordon, Johanna Schmitt

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

African medicinal plant species are increasingly threatened by overexploitation and habitat loss, but little is known about the conservation status and ecology of many medicinal species. Mondia whitei (Apocynaceae, formerly Asclepiadaceae), a medicinal liana found in Sub-Saharan Africa, has been subject to intensive harvesting and habitat loss. We surveyed M. whitei in Kakamega Forest, the largest of three remnant Kenyan forests known to contain the species. In 174 100 m2 plots, we quantified the status of M. whitei and investigated its relationships with land use, disturbance and harvesting. With average adult densities of 101 plants/ha, M. whitei is not locally …

Global Conformational Dynamics In Ras, Casey O'Connor, Evgenii L. Kovrigin

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

Ras and its homologues are central to regulation of a multitude of cellular processes. Ras in complex with GTP binds and activates its downstream signaling partners. ³¹P NMR studies indicated that the Ras−GTP conformation is heterogeneous on a millisecond time scale, but details of its conformational dynamics remain unknown. Here we present evidence that the conformational exchange process in human H-Ras complexed with GTP mimic GppNHp is global, encompassing most of the GTPase catalytic domain. The correlated character of conformational dynamics in Ras opens opportunities for understanding allosteric effects in Ras function.

Anaesthetic Management Of A Pregnant Patient For Aortic Valve Replacement, Khalid M Siddiqui, Fazal Hameed Khan

Department of Anaesthesia

Cardiac disease can be encountered during pregnancy with the frequency being 1% to 2% of all pregnant women. Because of the high foetal and relative maternal mortality during surgery, medical management is the first line of treatment. Nevertheless, when medical treatment fails, cardiac surgery becomes necessary. We present the anaesthetic management of a case of Aortic valve disease in a pregnant woman undergoing surgery.

Individual Response To Three Types Of Nonlethal Weapons, Tyrone R. Nixon, Cynthia M. Bridges, Mara S. Aruguete

Modern Psychological Studies

This study investigates behavioral reactions to three types of nonlethal weapons (NLWs) used by the U.S. military. We provided participants with simulated situations involving military use of NLWs, and asked them to predict how they would react. We found variations in response according to weapon type. In general, individuals were unlikely to aggress or disperse, although these reactions were mediated by demographic factors. It may be important for Army officials to know the behavioral effects of NLWs in order to use them effectively.

Domain-Oriented Reduction Of Rule-Based Network Models, Nikolay M. Borisov, Alexander S. Chistopolsky, James R. Faeder, Boris N. Kholodenko

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

The coupling of membrane-bound receptors to transcriptional regulators and other effector functions is mediated by multi-domain proteins that form complex assemblies. The modularity of protein interactions lends itself to a rule-based description, in which species and reactions are generated by rules that encode the necessary context for an interaction to occur, but also can produce a combinatorial explosion in the number of chemical species that make up the signaling network. We have shown previously that exact network reduction can be achieved using hierarchical control relationships between sites/domains on proteins to dissect multi-domain proteins into sets of non-interacting sites, allowing the …

Undergraduate Research: A Bridge To Graduate Education In Agricultural Biotechnology For Hispanics, Eliezer S. Louzada, Hilda Sonia De Rio, Allison J. Abell, Gerson Peltz, Michael W. Persans

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Hispanics lag behind all other U.S. ethnic groups in education, and are especially poorly represented in science careers. Undergraduate research is an efficient method to attract undergraduate students to science, and many universities are taking advantage of this; however, much still needs to be done to fully explore its potential. In 2000, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, in collaboration with the University of Texas at Brownsville and the University of Texas Pan-American, initiated a undergraduate research internship program in citrus biotechnology to channel Hispanic undergraduate students into graduate education. To date, 51 internships have been provided, and 20 students have been channeled …

Toll-Like Receptor And Il-12 Signaling Control Susceptibility To Contact Hypersensitivity., Stefan F. Martin, Jan C. Dudda, Eva Bachtanian, Annalisa Lembo, Stefanie Liller, Christoph Dürr, Markus M. Heimesaat, Stefan Bereswill, György Fejer, Ralitsa Vassileva, Thilo Jakob, N Freudenberg, Christian C. Termeer, Caroline Johner, Chris Galanos, Ma Freudenberg

School of Biomedical Sciences

Allergic contact hypersensitivity (CHS) is a T cell-mediated inflammatory skin disease. Interleukin (IL)-12 is considered to be important in the generation of the allergen-specific T cell response. Loss of IL-12 function in IL-12Rbeta2-deficient mice, however, did not ameliorate the allergic immune response, suggesting alternate IL-12-independent pathways in the induction of CHS. Because exposure to contact allergens always takes place in the presence of microbial skin flora, we investigated the potential role of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in the induction of CHS. Using mice deficient in TLR4, the receptor for bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), IL-12 receptor (R) beta2, or both, we show that …

Small Acreage Irrigation Management, Kevin M. Heaton

All Current Publications

Field irrigation application methods include surface (wild flooding, border, furrow, basins), sprinkler (hand line, wheel move, solid set, center pivot), low flow or micro-irrigation (drip, trickle, micro-spray), and subirrigation (water table manipulation under special conditions).

Equine Immunity, Vaccination Guidelines, And Recommendations, Kerry Rood, Patricia Evans

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

Eighth National Garrett Morgan Symposium On Sustainable Transportation, Report Mti 08-03, Mineta Transportation Institute

Mineta Transportation Institute

On April 1, 2008, the Mineta Transportation Institute at San José State University hosted a videoconference that brought together experts in surface transportation and students from middle and high schools across the nation to discuss the importance of sustainable transportation. The goal was to introduce students to future career opportunities in transportation and to inspire them to take the high school and college courses that will prepare them for professional careers. Students from California, Maryland and Virginia participated in the 2008 symposium, during which they heard opening remarks from Vice Admiral Thomas J. Barrett, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department …

Ultracompact Awg Using Air-Trench Bends With Perfluorocyclobutyl Polymer Waveguides, Seunghyun Kim, Gregory P. Nordin, John Ballato, Yongbin Lin, Nazli Rahmanian, Dennis W. Smith, Chris Topping

Faculty Publications

Using air-trench bends, an ultracompact 8 8 arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) demultiplexer (200-GHz channel spacing) for wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) has been designed and fabricated with perfluorocyclobutyl (PFCB) core and clad co-polymers on a polyimide substrate. Compared to a conventional AWG in the same material system, the air-trench bend AWG shrinks the required chip area by a factor of 20. The decreased size is a factor in reducing the measured thermal shift to -0.012 nm/ C and decreasing the polarization-dependent wavelength shift to 1.3 nm.

A Mathematical And Computational Exploration Of The Effect Of The A-Current In Determining The Activity Phase Of Follower Neurons, Yu Zhang

Dissertations

Bursting oscillations are prevalent in neurons of central pattern generators (CPGs) that produce rhythmic motor activity, and the activity phase plays an important role in determining the normal or dysfunctional network output. The activity phase is the delay time-with respect to some reference time in each cycle and normalized by the oscillation cycle period-of the onset of action potentials by a neuron. This dissertation investigates how the A-current, in conjunction with other intrinsic properties, sets the activity phase of a neuron driven by inhibition.

This dissertation is divided into two major components. In the first component, methods of dynamical systems …

Investigation Into The Acupuncture And Meridian System, Jingong Pan

Dissertations

The Meridian system conceived by the ancient Chinese has been described and referenced for more than a thousand years. The Meridians meaning paths are the main trunks that run longitudinally within the body. The Meridian system consists of about 400 acupuncture nodes and 20 Meridian channels connecting most of these points. It deals with the routing and distribution of certain signals that may affect physiological functions. It integrates meridians, tissues and organs into a complex system.

Initially, modeling of the acupuncture system is investigated. The physical effect of injecting an acupuncture needle at a node is suggested by an equivalent …

Novel Polypropylene Based Microporous Membranes Via Spherulitic Deformation, Kuan-Yin Lin

Dissertations

A novel method for creating a microporous polypropylene membrane via spherulitic deformation is described. The microporous structure was generated by the combination of intra-spherulitic and inter-spherulitic deformations. Polypropylene was selected due to its unique cross-hatched lamellar morphology facilitating inter-spherulitic deformation. A precursor film with a spherulitic structure was made under low-stress melt processing condition. A tangential lamellae-rich spherulite was created and identified with a positive birefringence sign. A sequential annealing process improved the crystalline structure, and in particular the thickness of the tangential lamellae. The annealing process proved to be critical for initiating the inter-spherulitic deformation. The post-extrusion process conditions …

Ionic Liquids As Additives For Biodegradable Polyactic Acid, Ku-Il Park

Dissertations

In this study, two ionic liquids (IL) with different anions (decanoate, tetrafluoroborate) but with the same phosphonium based cation were evaluated as potential plasticizers and lubricants for polylactic acid (PLA) and also for their effects on its hydrolytic and thermal degradation. Both ILs at 5wt% were well dispersible and partly miscible with PLA as evidenced by scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive x-ray scattering, SEMIEDX, and glass transition temperature, T_g, characterization, as well as from solubility parameters calculations.

The effects of the IL containing a decanoate anion were more pronounced on lubrication and degradation as evidenced by reduced melt viscosities …

Multi-Functional, Self-Sensing And Automated Real-Time Non-Contact Liquid Dispensing System, Qiong Shen

Dissertations

Liquid dispensing in the order of pico-liter has become more and more important in biology, electronics and micro-electronic-mechanical-system (MEMS) during the past two decades due to the rapid progress of researches on the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) microarray, compact and low-cost direct write technology (DWT), organic semiconductors and nano-particles.

The existing approaches, commercialized or experimental, to liquid dispensing in minute amounts have one common shortcoming: open loop control, i.e., they have no direct control on the quality of dispensed liquid. In contrast, the SmartPin has intrinsic self-sensing capability to not only control the process of liquid dispensing, but also the results …

Degradation Of Polylactic Acid In The Presence Of Microsize And Nanosize Fillers, Quyuan Zhou

Dissertations

Polylactide (PLA)-cationic (montmorillonite, MMT) and anionic (hydrotalcite, HT) clay micro- or nanocomposites based on semicrystalline and amorphous polymers and unmodified and organomodified as well as calcined or non-calcined clays at 5wt% concentration are produced by melt mixing. Depending on the clay type, presence of organomodifiers and calcination, micro- or nanocomposites are produced, as confirmed by XRD and SEM analysis.

Unfilled polymers and their composites are subjected to isothermal degradation in air at 180°C and 200°C. Degradation rate constants are calculated from novel equations incorporating IV. Results show that the thermal degradation rate constants of the amorphous PLA and its composites …

Agribusiness Concentration, Intellectual Property, And The Prospects For Rural Economic Benefits From The Emerging Biofuel Economy, Leland L. Glenna, Daniel R. Cahoy

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

United States policy makers are promoting bio-fuels as an economic development opportunity, especially for rural America. A USDA study claims that developments in energy production from biomass could increase profits for agricultural commodity producers. However, as William Heffernan and his colleagues have demonstrated, concentration in the agrifood sector limits the economic benefits going to the commodity producers. Relying on Heffernan’s framework, we compare the distribution of intellectual property of corn and other genetically modified crops with that of the emerging biomass technologies. We find that patent ownership in the emerging biofuel sector is not yet as concentrated as in the …

Chinese Music And Its Globalized Past And Present, Joseph Lam

Macalester International

No abstract provided.

About The Authors

Macalester International

No abstract provided.

Qcurbits, Vol. 1, No. 3 (August 31, 2008), Horticulture Center

Cucurbits

Newsletter of the Illinois State University Horticulture Center.

Precipitation Of Ultrafine Particles Using Liquid Antisolvent With Concentric Ultrasonic Nozzle And Subcritical Co2, Satya Chaitanya Kunchala

Theses

Nanotechnology has become more relevant in the pharmaceutical industry. Almost 40% of the drugs developed by pharmaceutical industries are poorly soluble in water which limits the bioavailability of these drugs in body fluids. Hence, it is necessary to reduce the particle size, which increases the interfacial surface area. This work focuses on micronization of class ii drug Griseofulvin which is poorly water soluble. Two processes namely, liquid antisolvent precipitation using ultrasonic nozzle and other process using subcritical CO₂ have been used to produce ultrafine particles of this drug.

In liquid antisolvent precipitation, a combination of ultrasound, polymer and surfactant …

Classification Of Hand Held Shapes And Locations In Continuous Signing, Swetha Karri

Theses

Sign language for the deaf and hearing impaired replaces speech with manually produced signs. Each sign has been categorized as being combinations of handshape, movement, orientation, location, and facial expressions. Of the five sign parameters, this thesis focuses on classification of two of the main parameters, the hand shapes and locations, in continuous signing.

Since the nature of hand shapes is transient and not static, neural networks was used as a classifier for hand shapes. And since locations in sign language are defined by linguistic variables rather than by hard core position values, fuzzy logic was used as a classifier …

Development Of Pharmacophore And Comfa Studies For Sigma2 Receptor Ligands, Laura Ann Wirpsza

Theses

This study describes the development of a pharmacophore and CoMIFA model for sigma 2 (σ₂) receptor ligands. CoMFA studies were performed for 32 bioactive σ₂ receptor ligands using the radioligand [H 3] (+) DTG in the presence of pentazocine. The pharmacophore was derived using Distance Comparisons (DISCOtech) from eight partially to highly active ~2 receptor ligands. All 32 compounds were calculated in three methods: AMi, HFI3~21G*, and B3LYP/3~21G* methods. These methods run in Gaussian 98 determined the geometry optimization and electrostatic charges for each molecule. CoMFA maps were developed using SYBYL ver. 7.2 to compare the electrostatic …