Digital Commons Network^™

End Matter, Vol. 69 No. 2

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

July 13, 2009 Reporter, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

eReporter (campus newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Monitor Newsletter July 13, 2009, Bowling Green State University

Monitor

Official Publication of Bowling Green State University for Faculty and Staff

Kirk-Hughes Dev., Llc V. Kootenai County Bd. Of County Comm'rs Respondent's Brief 2 Dckt. 35730

Idaho Supreme Court Records & Briefs, All

No abstract provided.

Dna-Binding By Haemophilus Influenzae And Escherichia Coli Ybab, Members Of A Widely-Distributed Bacterial Protein Family, Anne E. Cooley, Sean P. Riley, Keith Kral, M. Clarke Miller, Edward Demoll, Michael G. Fried, Brian Stevenson

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Genes orthologous to the ybaB loci of Escherichia coli and Haemophilus influenzae are widely distributed among eubacteria. Several years ago, the three-dimensional structures of the YbaB orthologs of both E. coli and H. influenzae were determined, revealing a novel "tweezer"-like structure. However, a function for YbaB had remained elusive, with an early study of the H. influenzae ortholog failing to detect DNA-binding activity. Our group recently determined that the Borrelia burgdorferi YbaB ortholog, EbfC, is a DNA-binding protein. To reconcile those results, we assessed the abilities of both the H. influenzae and E. coli YbaB proteins to bind DNA …

Central Florida Future, Vol. 41 No. 60, July 13, 2009

Central Florida Future

Committee to decide fate of four programs; Buono Mangiare; Military research building started; UCF ADLab students' art selected for campus for campus venue.

Synthesis And Characterization Of Lanthanide Phenolate Compounds And Their Catalytic Activity Towards Ring-Opening Polymerization Of Cyclic Esters, Pascal I. Binda

Theses and Dissertations

Metal-catalyzed ring-opening polymerization of cyclic esters is an important strategy to prepare high molecular weight polyester materials, which are biodegradable and are produced from renewable resources. Examples of such polymers include polylactide and polycaprolactone. These environmentally friendly polymers have found great utility as drug delivery agents and as packaging materials owing to their biodegradability compared to petroleum-based plastics. Lanthanide phenolate compounds have been investigated as catalysts for the ring-opening polymerization of lactide and ϵ-caprolactone and the results are presented in this dissertation. Exploring the chemistry of lanthanide phenolate compounds has become one of the most valuable and exciting areas of …

Characterization Of The Novel 7a5 And Bog25 Death Domain In Human Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells, Eric D. Koppelman

Theses and Dissertations

BOG25 contains multiple protein-protein interaction domains at the N-terminus that are characteristic of the EH (Eps15 Homology) network family of proteins involved in endocytosis and a C-terminal death domain characteristic of proteins involved in apoptosis. This combination of protein-protein interaction domains had not been identified in other known proteins until a National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) human genome BLAST search using the BOG25 amino acid sequence identified a novel gene, 7a5. The current study hypothesized that: (1) BOG25 and 7a5 are related proteins; and (2) the BOG25 death domain is biologically active and has a functional role in apoptosis …

The Effect Of Cytoskeletal Elements On Gap Junction Channel Mobility, Samantha M. Simet

Theses and Dissertations

Gap junctions are aggregates of intracellular channels (plaques) that allow the direct exchange of small molecules and ions between cells (≤ 1kD). Previous research has shown gap junction plaques composed of connexin 43 (Cx43) to be dynamic and mobile structures. We are utilizing a normal rat kidney cell line (NRK), which contains a temperature sensitive viral oncogene (v-src), to study the mobility of gap junction channels within a plaque in transformed (v-src active) and non-transformed NRK cells (v-src inactive). Previous research in our lab has shown a correlation between channel mobility and v-src activation. On average, plaque mobility was reduced …

Age -Related Behavioral Change In Ames Dwarf Mice, David P. Austin

Theses and Dissertations

The discovery of the Ames dwarf mouse in the early 1960s has given researchers an exciting opportunity to study the hormonal effects of aging. The Ames dwarf mice have a recessive mutation of the PROP-1 gene that causes hereditary dwarfism. The abnormality produced an anterior pituitary deficiency which resulted in the lack of growth hormone, thyroid-stimulating hormone, and prolactin. Researchers noticed that these mice were smaller than their normal siblings but lived approximately twice as long. The purpose of the present research was to determine if the reduced hormones in the Ames dwarf mouse delay the loss of memory and …

Physiological Role Of Bipa In Escherichia Coli, Karthik Krishnan

Theses and Dissertations

The BipA protein belongs to the EF-Tu/EF-G family of translational factors. In addition to intriguing domain similarities to the elongation factor subfamily members, BipA also possesses ribosome-binding capability and GTPase activity that is enhanced by the presence of fully programmed ribosomes. BipA has been shown to be involved in the regulation of a variety of pathways in different bacterial species; these include a role in pathogenicity, oxidative stress, capsule formation, motility, and growth at low temperatures. These two points have led to speculation that BipA may be a novel regulatory protein that affects efficient translation of target genes through direct …

Gene Expression Responses In Male Fathead Minnows Exposed To Binary Mixtures Of An Estrogen And Antiestrogen., Natalia Garcia-Reyero, Kevin J. Kroll, Li Liu, Edward F. Orlando, Karen H. Watanabe, Maria S. Sepulveda, Daniel L. Villeneuve, Edward J. Perkins, Gerald T. Ankley, Nancy D. Denslow

Department of Forestry & Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Background

Aquatic organisms are continuously exposed to complex mixtures of chemicals, many of which can interfere with their endocrine system, resulting in impaired reproduction, development or survival, among others. In order to analyze the effects and mechanisms of action of estrogen/anti-estrogen mixtures, we exposed male fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) for 48 hours via the water to 2, 5, 10, and 50 ng 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE₂)/L, 100 ng ZM 189,154/L (a potent antiestrogen known to block activity of estrogen receptors) or mixtures of 5 or 50 ng EE₂/L with 100 ng ZM 189,154/L. We analyzed gene …

School Deans, Department Chairpersons, And Program Directors 2009-2010, Saint Mary's College Of California

Chairs and Program Directors lists

No abstract provided.

Thiomicrospira Crunogena: A Chemoautotroph With A Carbon Concentrating Mechanism, Kimberly P. Dobrinski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Gammaproteobacterium Thiomicrospira crunogena thrives at deep-sea vents despite extreme oscillations in the environmental supply of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC; =CO₂ + HCO₃^- + _CO3^-2). Survival in this habitat is likely aided by the presence of a carbon concentrating mechanism (CCM). Though CCMs are well-documented in cyanobacteria, based on this study T. crunogena is the first chemolithoautotroph to have a physiologically characterized CCM. T. crunogena is capable of rapid growth in the presence of 20 micrometers DIC, has the ability to use both extracellular HCO₃^- and CO₂, and generates intracellular DIC concentrations …

Removing Arsenic From Landfill Leachate In Batch Reactors With Kemiron Adsorbent, A Commercially Available Iron Oxide, Douglas Oti

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research evaluated the effectiveness of a commercially available adsorbent, Kemiron, to remove arsenic from conditions representative of landfill leachate. Kemiron was identified as an iron oxide of 39.8 m

^{2/g surface area, 44 % of which resided in the less than 3 nm pore size range. Batch experiments of As(V) and As(III) were conducted with particle sizes either ≤38 μm and in the range 500 – 600 μm with equilibrium being reached in the smaller particles in ~ 36 hours and estimated at 374 hrs for the larger particles. Ionic strength did not affect the mass loadings of As(V) …}

Enzymatic Regulation Of Opioid Antinociception And Tolerance, Lynn Hull

Theses and Dissertations

ENZYMATIC REGULATION OF OPIOID ANTINOCICEPTION AND TOLERANCE By Lynn C. Hull, Ph.D. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2009 Director: William L. Dewey, Ph.D. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology The involvement of kinases in opioid actions has long been established. The acute actions of opioids, through the Gi/Go G-proteins, cause the inhibition of adenylyl cyclase and therefore a decrease in protein kinase A (PKA) activation. Additionally, acute opioid administration may cause the G-protein to activate the phospholipase C (PLC)-mediated cascade leading to the …

Institutional Repositories, Paul Royster

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Presentations

Summary of collection strategies at UNL:
Be inclusive, not exclusive
Be proactive, even aggressively so
Think of the global audience
Everything open access
Everything full-text
Ample metadata—especially abstracts
Utilize work-study students
Link back to your site
Give depositors feedback — publishers don't
Measure, measure, measure, . . .

The "document" is a PDF version of the PowerPoint slides plus the spoken text; the PowerPoint file itself is attached (below) as an additional file.

Mozilla Firefox users: There is a known bug in the Firefox PDF plug-in (which opens PDFs within the browser window) that will crash if a file exceeds …

We Are…Marshall, July 10, 2009, Office Of Marshall University Communications

We Are ... Marshall: the Newsletter for Marshall University 1999-2023

No abstract provided.

Approaching Autism: A Qualitative Review Of Maternal And Familial Adaptation Among Families Of Children With Autism, Stephanie A. Williamson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to serve as an exploration of family experiences in relation to a child's autism diagnosis. Specifically, it focuses on family adaptation as explained by McCubbin, et al.'s Double ABCX Model (1983). Given that mothers play a crucial role in the family system and are often the primary caregivers for children with disabilities, maternal adaptation is also investigated. This study employs qualitative methods, including in-depth personal and group interviews. Mothers shared their perceptions and experiences surrounding children's autism diagnoses, including initial recognition of atypical behavior and development, the formal diagnosis process, and subsequent transitions within …

Abstract Sculpture Installation Is "Perfect" Ending As University Museum Director Enters Retirement, Admin

University of Mississippi News

No abstract provided.

Synergistic Growth Inhibition And Enhancement Of Cell Death By Combination Of Melanoma Differentiation Associated Gene-7 (Mda-7/Il-24) And Cisplatin In Ovarian Cancer Cell Lines, Renyan Liu

Theses and Dissertations

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological malignancy among women. The current first-line treatments for ovarian cancer are cisplatin, carboplatin and paclitaxel. However, resistance to these platinum-based drugs occurs in the large majority of initially responsive tumors, resulting in fully chemoresistant, fatal disease. Therefore, the resistance to cisplatin therapy has been a critical hurdle in the management of recurrent ovarian cancer. The mechanisms responsible for cisplatin resistance are not completely understood. In the search for new therapies to overcome/bypass cisplatin resistance, melanoma differentiation gene-7 (MDA-7) IL-24, which is a new cytokine, has anti-cancer efficacy by suppressing cell growth and inducing …

Factors Affecting Folic Acid Stability In Micronutrient Fortified Corn Tortillas, Jordan S. Chapman

Theses and Dissertations

Folate degradation in micronutrient fortified corn masa and tortillas was evaluated using masa prepared from either nixtamalized corn flour or fresh nixtamal. A laboratory evaluation of the effects of pH, iron, and holding time at elevated temperature on folate loss in corn flour masa failed to show significant differences in any variable-treatment combination. An additional study was conducted at a commercial tortilla mill in Guadalajara, Mexico using masa prepared from fresh nixtamal. Commercial nixtamal was fortified with one of two different micronutrient premixes, containing iron, zinc, riboflavin, thiamin, niacin and either unencapsulated or lipid-encapsulated folic acid. A batch of each …

An Investigation Of Middle School Student Interest, Perception, And Attitude Toward Technology And Engineering, Kari Marie Cook

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate middle school student perception and attitude toward technology and engineering and to better understand how the gender of the teacher, gender of the student, and information provided in technology classes affected their perception and attitude. To accomplish this, the Technology Attitude Scale, and the Pupil's Attitudes Toward Technology—United States assessment instruments were used to form the basis of a new survey instrument focused on technology and engineering perception, use, and interest. The new survey instrument is called the Technology and Engineering Attitude Scale (TEAS) survey. Multiple 7th grade technology engineering classes from …

Motivation In Learners Of Japanese As A Foreign Language: An Analysis Of Profiles And Behaviors, Britainy Dawn Sorenson

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines motivation in English L1 learners of Japanese as a Foreign Language (JFL) by analyzing the students' responses to a questionnaire modeled after Dörnyei's research and an observational instrument called the Motivation Behaviors of Language Learning (MBLL) modeled after Guilloteaux and Dörnyei's (2008) research on motivational teaching strategies on behaviors. The data from the questionnaires were subjected to a discriminative analysis of students answers in relation to a high grade (receiving a B- or higher) or lower (C+ or lower) in their Japanese classes. A Factor Analysis of the data was also carried out. The discriminative results could …

Co-Occurrence With A Congeneric Species Predicts Life History And Morphological Diversification In The Mexican Livebearing Fish Poelicopsis Baenschi, Laura E. Scott

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding why some species coexist and others do not remains one of the fundamental challenges of ecology. While several lines of evidence suggest that closely related species are unlikely to occupy the same habitat because of competitive exclusion, there are many cases where closely related species do co-occur. Research comparing sympatric and allopatric populations of co-occurring species provides a framework to understand the role of phenotypic diversification in species coexistence. In this study I focus on the livebearing fish Poeciliopsis baenschi and ask if differences in phenotypic traits among populations can be explained by the presence or absence of the …

An Evaluation Of Bacterial And Fungal Contributions To Organic Matter Decomposition Along A Soil Moisture Gradient, Morgan Rawls

Theses and Dissertations

The decomposition of plant litter is a critical biological function that aids in nutrient cycling and energy transfers within and between ecosystems. The primary decomposers of dead leaf material are bacteria and fungi, though there is no consensus as to which of these groups is dominant, nor is it known how the abundance and composition of these communities changes over time. The objectives of this study were to examine the relative contributions of bacterial and fungal populations to leaf organic matter (OM) decomposition and to consider the effect of moisture availability on the microbial community. The study was conducted across …

Intracellular Targets Of Sphingosine-1-Phosphate, Graham Michael Strub

Theses and Dissertations

The bioactive lipid mediator sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) has emerged as a key regulator of a variety of important physiological functions, including cell growth, cell survival, cell motility, angiogenesis, lymphocyte trafficking, and mast cell function. S1P is formed by two different sphingosine kinases (SphKs) and binds to a family of 5 differentially expressed G-protein coupled receptors (S1PRs). The majority of research to date has focused on the activation of these receptors, but there is compelling evidence to suggest that S1P exerts intracellular functions independent of S1PRs. However no bona fide intracellular targets of S1P have been identified. In my dissertation, I have …

Glycosylation Modulates Cardiac Excitability By Altering Voltage-Gated Potassium Currents, Tara A. Schwetz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Neuronal, cardiac, and skeletal muscle electrical signaling is achieved through the highly regulated activity of several types of voltage-gated ion channels to produce an action potential (AP). Voltage-gated potassium (K_v) channels are responsible for repolarization of the AP. K_v channels are uniquely and heavily glycosylated proteins. Previous reports indicate glycosylation modulates gating of some K_v channel isoforms; often, terminal sialic acid residues alter K_v channel gating. Here, we questioned whether alterations in glycosylation impact K_v channel gating, thus altering APs and cardiac excitability. ST3Gal-IV, a sialyltransferase expressed at uniform levels throughout the heart, adds …

Helping Our Toddlers, Developing Our Children’S Skills (Hot Docs): An Investigation Of A Parenting Program To Address Challenging Behavior In Young Children, Jillian Leigh Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated outcomes of a parent training curriculum: Helping Our Toddlers Developing Our Children's Skills (HOT DOCS), using secondary analyses of existing data collected between May 2007 and March 2009. The evaluation studied the impact of specific components of the parent training program on both participants' knowledge and attitudes and their perceptions of target children's behavior. Caregivers (n = 334) of children between the ages of 18 months and 5.11 years of age who were participants in the parent training program were included in the study. Measures included a pre/post knowledge test, pre/post rating scales of child …

R992c (P.R1192c) Substitution In Collagen Ii Alters The Structure Of Mutant Molecules And Induces The Unfolded Protein Response., Hye Jin Chung, Deborah A. Jensen, Katarzyna Gawron, Andrzej Steplewski, Andrzej Fertala

Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology Faculty Papers

We investigated the molecular bases of spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia (SED) associated with the R992C (p.R1192C) substitution in collagen II. At the protein level, we analyzed the structure and integrity of mutant molecules, and at the cellular level, we specifically studied the effects of the presence of the R992C collagen II on the biological processes taking place in host cells. Our studies demonstrated that mutant collagen II molecules were characterized by altered electrophoretic mobility, relatively low thermostability, the presence of atypical disulfide bonds, and slow rates of secretion into the extracellular space. Analyses of cellular responses to the presence of the mutant …