Digital Commons Network^™

Characterization And Functional Regulation Of Bioactive Peptides In Avian Macrophages And Heterophils, Lakshmi Kannan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Oligopeptides and low molecular weight polypeptides play central roles as effectors and signal transducers acting as hormones, neurotransmitters, growth factors, toxins, and antimicrobial factors that are important for the survival of the organism. Owing to the ubiquitous involvement of peptides in many key regulatory processes, we have been interested to identify native peptides in different cells and tissues and understand their functions. To conduct our studies, we used avian macrophages and heterophils as models of specialized cells which constitute central components of innate immunity. These studies involved (a) qualitative identification and characterization of the peptides associated with high intensity mass …

Evaluation Of Industrial Promoted Agroforestry In Andhra Pradesh And Madhya Pradesh, India, Brian D. Mcdonald

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In many parts of the world, pulp and paper companies are becoming heavily dependent on private agroforestry schemes. With growing demand for wood fiber and limited commercial land to grow it on, the forest industry is continually turning to private farmers and individuals to contract timber. In order to alleviate this problem, many companies have turned to out-grower schemes to supply wood to the mills. Local farmers now have the opportunity to benefit from company extension and supplies, and in return, the company can guarantee its supply of raw materials.;A recent trend in agriculture is adding trees to farmers? traditional …

Interleukin (Il)-1 Regulates Ozone-Induced Nerve Growth Factor (Ngf) And Substance P (Sp) Release In Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid (Balf) In Mice, Joshua S. Barker

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Previous studies show that both IL-1 and NGF increase synthesis of SP in airway neurons after either direct application or ozone exposure. We hypothesize that NGF mediates ozone-induced IL-1 effects on SP, similar to the pathway described for sympathetic neurons in culture. The current study specifically focuses on the effect of ozone on IL-1, NGF, and SP levels in mice BALF and if these mediators can be linked in an inflammatory-neuronal cascade in vivo. The experiments demonstrate in vivo ozone exposure induces an increase of all three proteins in mouse BALF and that both ozone-induced increases in NGF and SP …

Characterization Of A Soil Bacterial Community And Biphenyl Dioxygenase Genes Involved In The Degradation Of Individual Polychlorinated Biphenyl Congeners, Paola Correa

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are widespread, toxic, and persistent contaminants that threaten the environment and human health. PCBs represent a class of 209 congeners characterized by different degree of chlorination and substitution patterns. PCBs are known to be slowly degraded by the activity of soil microbes.;The general objective of this research was to investigate the effect of individual PCB congeners on the bacterial community and aerobic metabolism of PCBs in soil, for this reason three specific aims were pursuit.;The first specific aim was to test the hypothesis that exposure to individual PCB congeners results in different soil microbial community profiles, as …

Cloning And Characterization Of A Novel Oocyte-Specific Gene Fbos Encoding An F-Box Protein In Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss), Lei Wang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Oocyte-specific genes play critical roles in oogenesis, folliculogenesis and early embryonic development. Through analysis of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from a rainbow trout oocyte cDNA library, we identified a novel transcript which is represented by multiple ESTs derived only from the oocyte cDNA library. Analysis of tissue distribution of the novel Fbos gene by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction revealed that the novel gene is only expressed in unfertilized oocytes but not in 10 somatic tissues examined. Northern blot analysis showed the transcript size is approximately 2.1 kb. The full-length cDNA sequence for the novel gene Fbos was obtained by …

Home Range Characteristics Of The Male Eastern Wild Turkey In West Virginia, Steven E. Rauch

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Extensive research has been conducted on the eastern wild turkey ( Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) in West Virginia, but research on male wild turkey home range characteristics is lacking. To address this, I proposed to quantify home range shape by the use of eccentricity (E: circle is E = 1) and to estimate the least-squares cross validation fixed-kernel 95% and 50% utilization distribution (UD) annual and 95% UD seasonal home range as well as minimum convex polygon (MCP) home range estimate of male wild turkey on 2 study areas in West Virginia. I estimated the home range size of adult and …

The Role Of Urban Forests In Sustainable Tourism Development: A Case Study Of Savannah, Ga, Stacy L. Casinelli

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to identify a range of stakeholder (tourism providers, resource managers, elected officials, tour operators and tourists) perceptions, issues and concerns of Savannah, Georgia's, urban forests to help develop opportunities for the growing sustainable tourism industry. Stakeholder interviews were conducted using an open ended, semi-structured questionnaire. Based on the three dimensions and the scope of sustainable development, the themes, trends and patterns that emerged were utilized to assess the current issues facing Savannah's urban forest. Through content data analysis, four overarching themes surfaced: development, preservation, balance, and diversity. The results of this study indicate a …

Properties Of A Dehydroalanine Analog Of Glutathione: A Reactive Electrophilic Busulfan Metabolite, Cody J. Peer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Gamma-Glutamyldehydroalanylglycine (EdAG) is a dethiolated, electrophilic metabolite of glutathione (GSH) derived from the Phase II conjugation of GSH with busulfan catalyzed by glutathione S-transferase (GST). It was demonstrated in this dissertation that EdAG could be successfully synthesized and shown to be a metabolite of busulfan from in vitro metabolism by enzymes in human liver cytosol. The electrophilic EdAG was reactive toward the cellular thiols cysteine and glutathione (GSH), and toward cysteine residues in reduced bovine insulin B-chain and bovine serum albumin in vitro , as well. EdAG was demonstrated to be a reversible noncompetitive inhibitor of GSTs, specifically GSTA1-1 at …

(Re)Construct: Exploring Objecthood In A Digital Age, Patrick L. Jones

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The following paper describes the conceptual framework and several works in the exhibition: "(re)construct: exploring objecthood in a digital age," which was on view at the Laura Mesaros Gallery at the College of Creative Arts, West Virginia University. The exhibition ran from November 30th through December 11th, 2009. The exhibition consisted of both oil paintings on clear acrylic and ink jet photographs. The question which this paper and the exhibition attempts to address is: what are the ontology and the limits of hyperreality in contemporary society? The following paper and the exhibition is epistemologically based and asks the following questions: …

Population Ecology, Residents' Attitudes, Hunter Success, Economic Impact, Modeling Management Options And Retention Time Of Telazol Of West Virginia Black Bears, Christopher W. Ryan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The West Virginia Black Bear Research Project (WVBBRP) was initiated in 1972 to investigate population parameters, growth rates, home ranges, and habitat uses of a declining American black bear (Ursus americanus ) population. The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) continued to monitor the black bear population and increased monitoring efforts and sample sizes in the 1990's as the black bear population increased in size and expanded its range. As part of the WVBBRP, we investigated black bear population ecology. Our objectives were to estimate reproductive rates, estimate survival and cause-specific mortality rates, examine effects of special hunting seasons …

Historical Response Rates, Reinforcement Context, And Behavioral Persistence, Chata A. Dickson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In several studies, historically lower-rate responding has been found to be more persistent than historically higher-rate responding (e.g., Lattal, 1989; Nevin, 1974). In these studies, historical response-rate differences were generated by reinforcement schedules (e.g., fixed-ratio [FR] and differential-reinforcement-of-low-rates-of-responding [DRL]) that directly affect response rate. The current study was conducted with pigeons pecking keys to determine whether this finding would hold when response-rate differences were generated by the context of reinforcement, such as a concurrently available source of reinforcement or schedule of response-independent food. In each of 3 experiments, a history-building condition was followed by a history-testing condition. In Experiment 1, …

Post-Transcriptional Regulation Of Rpos And Hema In Salmonella, Amy Madeline Jones

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The first part of this thesis is dedicated to translational regulation of rpoS mRNA by the small noncoding RNAs (sRNAs), DsrA and RprA, in two closely related enteric bacteria, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. The rpoS gene encodes a second vegetative sigma factor for RNA polymerase, which directs the cell's transcriptional response to general stress and entry into stationary phase. The rpoS gene is highly conserved among the gamma-branch of proteobacteria, and sRNAs are highly conserved in related species. In fact, sequence conservation is thought to have predictive value in sRNA discovery and functional conservation is largely assumed. …

Mechanism By Which Dietary Polyunsaturated Fat Regulates Lipogenic Gene Expression, Alison Bloom Kohan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Primary hepatocytes treated with non-esterified polyunsaturated fatty acids have been used as a model for describing the inhibitory effects of dietary polyunsaturated fats on lipogenic gene expression. This model resembles starvation or uncontrolled diabetes but not dietary fat ingestion, which is delivered to liver via chylomicron remnants. Chylomicron remnants enriched with polyunsaturated fatty acids stimulate a unique pattern of intracellular signaling. These remnants enhance p38 mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) activity but do not inhibit insulin signaling or induce extracellular-signal related kinase (ERK) or AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation as do non-esterified polyunsaturated fatty acids. Polyunsaturated fatty acids-enriched remnants and …

Creation Of Bioactive Surfaces To Modulate Cell Behavior Using Surface Initiated Photoiniferter-Mediated Graft Photopolymerization, Nihar Shah

All Dissertations

Biomaterials widely used in biomedical applications still face biocompatibility issues arising from non-specific protein adsorption on the foreign surface, and the consequent undesired cell response. Emerging evidence suggests that imparting specific bioactivity to the biomaterial's surface to elicit favorable response from cells, (like osseointegration of joint implants and endothelialization of stents) can yield much better biocompatibility results when combined with passive prevention of protein adsorption. In more complex diseases like spinal cord injury and cardiomyopathy, specific biomolecules are required to elicit desired cell responses for successful regeneration. However, for success of such biomolecule based strategies, the effects of various parameters …

The Development Of A Mesenchymal Stem Cell Based Bone Graft System, Sarina Sinclair

All Dissertations

Greater than 5.5 million fractures are sustained by Americans each year, accounting for more than 500,000 bone graft surgeries. Bone grafts are the second most transplanted material, surpassed only by blood. The current 'gold standard' for bone grafting involves harvesting bone material from the patient's iliac crest, due to its osteoinductive properties. Unfortunately, the surgery required to harvest material from the iliac crest causes additional pain for the patient, relies on a limited amount of available bone tissue, and results in, on average, a 30% rate of donor site morbidity. Both natural and synthetic substitutes have been developed to avoid …

Prevalence And Biological Control Of Salmonella Contamination In Rendering Plant Environments And The Finished Rendered Meals, Brandon Kinley

All Dissertations

Although the rendering process serves as invaluable means for the disposal of inedible animal by-products, the finished products often harbor pathogenic and opportunistic microorganisms such as Salmonella and enterococci, respectively. The temperatures used during the rendering process far exceed the heat tolerance threshold of most bacterial species, so cross-contamination from the environment and/or from the incoming raw material is the proposed source of the contamination. Research has demonstrated that the raw material coming into the rendering facility is highly contaminated with pathogenic bacteria including Salmonella. While not in a rendering facility, studies have also demonstrated that bacteria such as Salmonella …

Characterization Of Escherichia Coli Related To Construction Site Sediment Basins, Calvin Sawyer

All Dissertations

Large construction sites can have significant temporary and permanent impacts on the physical landscape. Excess sediment is frequently deposited into nearby surface waters, altering benthic habitat, reducing water clarity and transporting other pollutants such as enteric bacteria. To capture eroded soil and attenuate storm discharge peaks, many permitted construction projects larger than 10 acres in South Carolina require the installation of a sediment basin. Sediment-laden runoff is routed to a newly excavated impoundment, where larger particles settle out of suspension. Thus an entirely new hydrologic feature designed to concentrate eroded sediment and water is introduced into the landscape.
Eight construction …

Configuring Of Masculinity In An Ethnocentric Community School, Dimitri Garas, Sally Godinho

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper presents snapshots of a qualitative study that investigated how Year 8 boys in an ethnocentric community school configured their constructions of masculinity. Fifteen boys participated in focus group discussions that extended over a six-week period. For one focus group, the boys were invited to bring a ‘totem’, which was an embodiment of their masculinity. The findings from the focus groups revealed both collective and individual constructions and enactments of masculinities that were talked into existence and transmitted through hegemonic discourses. Yet the findings also revealed the boys’ individual agency to engage with other ways of doing and being …

Development Of A Fluorescent Probe For Determination Of Water Transport In Subcellular Organelles, Adriana Chaurra-Arboleda

All Dissertations

Water transport has been widely studied in a variety of cells and isolated membranes. However, the intrinsic complexity related with the study of intracellular processes has delayed the development of an analytical technique for the study of water transport in subcellular compartments of living cells. This study represents the development and application of a ratiometric fluorescent probe to study water transport in endocytic organelles of intact living cells. The probe is based on the use of a D₂O-sensitive fluorophore, Lucifer yellow dextran (LY-dex), together with a D₂O-insensitive fluorophore, Alexa fluor 546 dextran (AF546-dex), used as an …

Hydrogel Compositions For Nonviral Gene Delivery, Eunhee Cho

All Dissertations

The incorporation of nonviral vectors into biomaterial matrices has been employed to improve localization at the implant site and to protect from loss by clearance or extracellular barriers. However, several limitations such as detrimental crosslinking mechanisms, uncontrolled burst release require improved design of matrix-based gene delivery systems that provides sustained and controlled vector release as well as overcomes extracellular barriers to gene transfer in proximity to target cells. The long-term objective of this dissertation project is to provide the basis for the eventual creation of tissue engineering scaffolds that combine structural and biological activity through the creation of composite materials …

Exploring T. Brucei Hexokinase Biology: Localization And Inhibition Studies, Todd Lyda

All Dissertations

Trypanosoma brucei, the causative agent of the disease African sleeping sickness
in humans and nagana in animals, is a scourge of sub-Saharan Africa. There is a
desperate need for more efficacious therapies for the disease; here we describe research
validating T. brucei hexokinase 1 (TbHK1) as a drug therapeutic target for T. brucei
infection and the identification and characterization of novel inhibitors of the enzyme by
both low throughput and high throughput means. Additionally this thesis introduces
efforts at characterizing a second T. brucei hexokinase, focusing mostly on cell biology
and the determination of localization.
The small molecule quercetin (QCN) …

Characterization Of Gulf Sturgeon Diel And Seasonal Activity In The Pensacola Bay System, Florida, Beth Wrege

All Dissertations

We assess temporal and spatial distribution and diel variability in activity of Gulf of Mexico sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi in the Pensacola Bay system, Florida, using stationary ultrasonic telemetry. Gulf of Mexico sturgeon (n = 54) migrated through the bay system in fall to wintering areas in the Gulf of Mexico and Santa Rosa Sound. In spring, sturgeon migrated back through the bay system to summering habitats in rivers. Gulf of Mexico sturgeon use East Bay and Escambia Bay primarily as migration routes between riverine areas used in spring and summer and the Gulf of Mexico used in winter. North …

The Rheology, Degradation, Processing, And Characterization Of Renewable Resource Polymers, Jason Conrad

All Dissertations

Renewable resource polymers have become an increasingly popular alternative to conventional fossil fuel based polymers over the past couple decades. The push by the government as well as both industrial and consumer markets to go 'green' has provided the drive for companies to research and develop new materials that are more environmentally friendly and which are derived from renewable materials. Two polymers that are currently being produced commercially are poly-lactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) copolymers, both of which can be derived from renewable feedstocks and have shown to exhibit similar properties to conventional materials such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene, …

Eleven Years Of Parima Activities In North-Central Kenya: Impacts On Egerton University And Neighboring Communities, D. Layne Coppock, Abdillahi Aboud, Mark Mutinda, Stellamaris Muthoka

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

The PARIMA project was created to improve the well-being of pastoralists and agro-pastoralists in northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia via risk-management research, training, and outreach. The project began to collaborate with Egerton University’s Department of Natural Resources in 1998 and many joint activities were undertaken over the next 11 years. Among them were regional household research on pastoral risks and their management, a training program for Egerton teaching staff to obtain post-graduate degrees, facilitation of Egerton faculty and staff to attend professional meetings, and provision of computer hardware and software that led to the creation of a GIS teaching and …

Simple Cooling Method Improves The Quality Of Marketed Camel Milk In Northern Kenya, D. Layne Coppock, A. O. Adongo, F. Wayua, I. J. Sagalla, H. K. Walaga, C. Amboga

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Milk marketing is important for many pastoralists to generate income, especially poor households with little else to sell. Milk is accumulated at pastoral settlements and transported to local markets on foot, by pack animals, or in vehicles. Despite challenges of heat and long-distance travel, pastoralists or traders do not attempt to cool marketed milk and possibly reduce risk of spoilage. Milk spoilage is an important problem that limits urban consumer demand. Our research objective was to determine effects of water-soaked hemp (burlap), wrapped around plastic jerry cans, on reducing milk temperature and enhancing quality of marketed camel milk, a key …

Can Pastoral Linkages To Livestock Markets Be Sustained In Southern Ethiopia?, D. Layne Coppock, Getachew Gebru, Solomon Desta, Seyoum Tezera, Zewdu Edea

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

The PARIMA project has facilitated collective action, empowerment of women, and increased involvement in livestock marketing among pastoralists on the Borana Plateau since 2001. Fifty-nine collective-action groups formed by PARIMA and her partners have been recently merged into market-oriented cooperatives, consistent with government policy. We used focus groups and participatory appraisals to assess the extent that market linkages have been sustained since previously reported in 2006. The markets have been growing, but are volatile. Members report they need access to early warning and livestock market-information systems, as well as more capital, to promote trade. Export firms have imposed added conditions …

Fire History And Current Stand Structure Analysis Of A Midwestern Black Oak Sand Savanna, Cody Douglas Considine

Theses

Management and restoration of black oak dominated sand savannas often rely on historic vegetative descriptions (settler accounts, surveyor notes, aerial photographs). It is commonly assumed that fire alone maintains savanna structure and composition, however little information is known about the specific fire frequency needed to maintain these systems. The objective of this study was to quantify and correlate characteristics of stand structure with fire history of the Kankakee Sands savannas in northeastern Illinois. Fire history chronologies were determined through dendrochronological methods from 289 dated fire scars identified on 58 black oak (Quercus velutina) trees located throughout four wooded sites. Tree …

Perceptions And Attitudes Of College Science Students Regarding Carrers In Clinical Laobratory Science, Maureen L. Doran

Theses

Histology as a career offers many challenging and diverse job opportunities but few qualified applicants pursue this vocation. The purpose of this research was to collect data to identify factors impacting this problem. The study investigated the awareness, attitudes and perceptions of community college and university science students towards laboratory health science and histology as a career option. The goal was to develop strategies to identify and recruit potential individuals who are qualified for the histology profession. The researcher surveyed 15 undergraduate science classes from two community colleges and one university in the Midwest. The community colleges and university surveyed …

Law's Expressive Value In Combating Cyber Gender Harassment, Danielle K. Citron

Faculty Scholarship

The online harassment of women exemplifies twenty-first century behavior that profoundly harms women yet too often remains overlooked and even trivialized. This harassment includes rape threats, doctored photographs portraying women being strangled, postings of women’s home addresses alongside suggestions that they should be sexually assaulted and technological attacks that shut down blogs and websites. It impedes women’s full participation in online life, often driving them offline, and undermines their autonomy, identity, dignity, and well-being. But the public and law enforcement routinely marginalize women’s experience, deeming it harmless teasing that women should expect, and tolerate, given the Internet’s Wild West norms …

Neon Allegiance, Jason Paul Olsen

Dissertations

This collection of thirty-one poems is built around my personal search for place, the idea of "home," and how it is relationship more than mere geography that defines the places one encounters in a life. In these poems, that idea of "home" ties back to intimate relationships with family and friends, but also with relationships involving culture—both historical and popular—as a whole.

The collection itself is a pastiche of strategies and stylizations, united by a defined and consistent voice. The geographic locations vary—from Las Vegas (where the largest number of poems and energy are focused) to stops in points across …