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2010

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Travelogue, Delhi-Beijing, Pallavi Aiyar Jan 2010

Travelogue, Delhi-Beijing, Pallavi Aiyar

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The plane burps to a halt and almost immediately everyone is on their feet, jostling to open the over-head lockers, reaching high for their strolleys. My head feels stuffed with lead and I marvel at the nimble alacrity of my fellow travellers, at 3:00 in the morning. Slowly we shuffle off the Air China flight and make it into the inadequately-air conditioned environs of Indira Gandhi International Airport.

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Discovery, Steinman Laboratory Jan 2010

Discovery, Steinman Laboratory

Introduction to Dendritic Cells

Introduction to Dendritic Cells: Discovery

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Characterization Of The Functional Role Of The Intracellular Cholesterol Transporter Stard4 In Knockout Mice, And Investigation Of Epigenetic Modulation Of Apoa-I Transcription, Joshua Riegelhaupt Jan 2010

Characterization Of The Functional Role Of The Intracellular Cholesterol Transporter Stard4 In Knockout Mice, And Investigation Of Epigenetic Modulation Of Apoa-I Transcription, Joshua Riegelhaupt

Student Theses and Dissertations

Cholesterol is crucial for mammalian survival by playing important roles, such as regulating membrane fluidity and as a precursor for the synthesis of steroid and sex hormones, bile acids, and Vitamin D. In addition, cellular and organismal regulation of cholesterol is important for health. For example, increased levels of plasma LDL cholesterol are a risk factor for coronary heart disease and stroke. Intracellular cholesterol levels are regulated by a variety of mechanisms, but numerous studies indicate a very important role for transcriptional regulation by Sterol Regulatory Binding Proteins (SREBPs), Liver X Receptors (LXRs) and Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) or ER …

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Mechanisms For Maintaining Cell Identity In C.Elegans Olfactory Neurons, Bluma J. Lesch Jan 2010

Mechanisms For Maintaining Cell Identity In C.Elegans Olfactory Neurons, Bluma J. Lesch

Student Theses and Dissertations

Maintenance of cell identity is a complex process that depends on developmentally determined transcriptional states and on environmental input. In neurons, which are both highly differentiated and highly sensitive to external stimuli, maintenance of identity is especially challenging. In this thesis, I describe the isolation and characterization of several genes involved in maintaining the identities of two olfactory neuron subtypes, AWCON and AWCOFF, in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The AWCON and AWCOFF identities are specified by a stochastic decision during embryogenesis, but several of the genes involved in this embryonic decision are subsequently downregulated. Additional mechanisms must therefore act to …

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Structural Studies On The Regulation Of Sporulation In Bacillus And Antibiotic Sulfation, Matthew J. Bick Jan 2010

Structural Studies On The Regulation Of Sporulation In Bacillus And Antibiotic Sulfation, Matthew J. Bick

Student Theses and Dissertations

The microbial world is rich with complexity. Bacteria have evolved several mechanisms to help them survive the harshest environments on earth. These range from complex developmental transformations to the synthesis of small molecule antibiotics that can fend off competing species. Both of these topics will be the focus of this thesis, specifically the regulation of endospore formation in Bacillus and the generation of a sulfated small molecule antibiotic from an uncultured soil bacterium. Using standard molecular biology methods and the techniques of X-ray crystallography, synthetic chemistry, and protein semisynthesis, we have: (1) Solved the X-ray crystal structure of a Geobacillus …

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Reconstitution And Characterization Of Human Endogenous Retrovirus-K, Young Nam Lee Jan 2010

Reconstitution And Characterization Of Human Endogenous Retrovirus-K, Young Nam Lee

Student Theses and Dissertations

Retroviruses are a family of clinically significant and scientifically fascinating viruses that infect a wide array of organisms from all vertebrate classes. The two hallmark events in the life cycle of retroviruses are the reverse transcription of the single stranded RNA (ssRNA) genome generating a double stranded DNA (dsDNA) and the integration of this dsDNA into the host genome. Because integration is irreversible and the infected cells are usually difficult to target for elimination in the host, the infection is generally permanent. HIV-1, the most important and well-studied member of all retroviruses, is the causative agent of acquired immune deficiency …

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Synaptic Specificity In The Zebrafish Lateral Line, Aaron Nagiel Jan 2010

Synaptic Specificity In The Zebrafish Lateral Line, Aaron Nagiel

Student Theses and Dissertations

The proper wiring of the vertebrate brain represents an extraordinary developmental challenge, requiring billions of neurons to select their appropriate synaptic targets. In view of this complexity, simple vertebrate systems provide necessary models for understanding how synaptic specificity arises. The posterior lateral-line organ of larval zebrafish consists of polarized hair cells organized in discrete clusters known as neuromasts. Here I show that each afferent neuron of the posterior lateral line establishes specific contacts with hair cells of the same hair-bundle polarity. I quantify this specificity by modeling the neuron as a biased selector of hair-cell polarity and find evidence for …

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Structural And Molecular Correlates Of Individual Differences In Anxiety Behavior And The Stress Response, Melinda Miller Jan 2010

Structural And Molecular Correlates Of Individual Differences In Anxiety Behavior And The Stress Response, Melinda Miller

Student Theses and Dissertations

Although many people are exposed to stressful experiences during their lifetime, only 5-35% will be diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). While most animal models of stress are effective at producing behavioral changes in an entire group of animals, they fail to account for individual differences in the human stress response or for the variability in baseline anxiety. Animal models of acute and chronic stress increase anxiety behavior and induce structural and neurochemical changes in brain regions necessary for learning, memory, fear responses, and executive function; the hippocampus, amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). In the following experiments, we measured …

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Regulation Of Surface Proteins Assembly On The Wall Of Gram-Positive Bacteria, Assaf Raz Jan 2010

Regulation Of Surface Proteins Assembly On The Wall Of Gram-Positive Bacteria, Assaf Raz

Student Theses and Dissertations

Cell wall peptidoglycan-anchored surface proteins are essential virulence factors in many Gram-positive bacteria. Attachment of these proteins to the peptidoglycan is achieved through a transpeptidation reaction, whereby sortase cleaves a conserved Cterminal LPXTG motif and attaches the protein to the peptidoglycan precursor lipid II. This thesis deals with the spatial regulation of the sorting reaction, and the role sortase localization plays in the correct distribution of surface proteins. We have introduced a new immunofluorescence procedure to study the distribution of sub-surface antigens in Streptococcus pyogenes, which utilizes the phage lysin PlyC to permeabilize the cell wall of to antibodies. We …

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The Impact Of Host Factors On Retroviral Evolution And The Identification Of A Novel Receptor That Was Used By An Ancient Primate Retrovirus, Steven J. Soll Jan 2010

The Impact Of Host Factors On Retroviral Evolution And The Identification Of A Novel Receptor That Was Used By An Ancient Primate Retrovirus, Steven J. Soll

Student Theses and Dissertations

The resurrection of inactive endogenous retroviruses allows us to learn about interactions between extinct pathogens and their hosts that occurred millions of years ago. Two of these paleoviruses, chimpanzee endogenous retrovirus 1 and 2 (CERV1 and CERV2), are relatives of modern murine leukemia viruses that are found in the genomes of a variety of old world primates, but are absent from the human genome. The nonexistence of human CERV1 and CERV2 homologues is peculiar given the numerous apparent cross-species transmissions that occurred between ancestors of old world monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees. It is possible that antiviral proteins were able to …

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Genome-Wide Decoding Of Mrnp And Mirna Maps, Sung Wook Chi Jan 2010

Genome-Wide Decoding Of Mrnp And Mirna Maps, Sung Wook Chi

Student Theses and Dissertations

The limited number of primary transcripts in the genome has promoted interest in the possibility that much of the complexity in the regulation of gene expression may be determined by RNA regulation controlled by RNA-binding proteins (RNABPs) and/or microRNAs (miRNAs). However, applying biochemical methods to understand such interactions in living tissues is major challenge. Here we developed a genome-wide means of mapping messenger ribonucleoprotein (mRNP) sites in vivo, by high-throughput sequencing of RNA isolated by crosslinking immunoprecipitation (HITS-CLIP). HITS-CLIP analysis of the neuron-specific splicing factor Nova provides genome-wide maps of Nova-RNA interactions in vivo and leads to a new finding …

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Dynamic And Integrative Properties Of The Primary Visual Cortex, Justin N. J. Mcmanus Jan 2010

Dynamic And Integrative Properties Of The Primary Visual Cortex, Justin N. J. Mcmanus

Student Theses and Dissertations

The ability to derive meaning from complex, ambiguous sensory input requires the integration of information over both space and time, as well as cognitive mechanisms to dynamically shape that integration. We have studied these processes in the primary visual cortex (V1), where neurons have been proposed to integrate visual inputs along a geometric pattern known as the association field (AF). We first used cortical reorganization as a model to investigate the role that a specific network of V1 connections, the long-range horizontal connections, might play in temporal and spatial integration across the AF. When retinal lesions ablate sensory information from …

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Mechanisms Of Presynaptic Cav2 Calcium Channel Localization In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Yasunori Saheki Jan 2010

Mechanisms Of Presynaptic Cav2 Calcium Channel Localization In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Yasunori Saheki

Student Theses and Dissertations

Neurotransmitter release at nerve terminals is a fundamental aspect of communication in the nervous system. Voltage changes in the presynaptic membrane are sensed by presynaptic voltage-gated calcium channels that mediate calcium influx at the nerve terminals to execute exocytosis of various kinds of neurotransmitters. Defects in presynaptic calcium channels lead to many neurological disorders, emphasizing the importance of these channels in the regulation of neuronal activities in the brain. Previous physiological studies have focused on opening kinetics of the channels and their modulation by auxiliary subunits. Cell biological questions such as trafficking and clustering of the channels at the presynaptic …

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Localization And Function Of Rna Interference In The Cerebral Cortex, John T. G. Pena Jan 2010

Localization And Function Of Rna Interference In The Cerebral Cortex, John T. G. Pena

Student Theses and Dissertations

During the course of adult cortical plasticity, a number of signal transduction mechanisms are brought into play. To study regulatory genes implicated in this process, we inhibited gene expression by harnessing the machinery of RNA interference (RNAi) pathway via small hairpin RNAs (shRNA) delivered by viral vectors. Using this technology we sought to influence plasticity of the mouse vibrissal barrel cortex. In this model system, chronic whisker plucking reliably leads to the expansion of the cortical representation of the adjacent non-deprived whiskers. The mechanism underlying this process involves changes in synaptic efficacy and sprouting of axon collaterals. Initial studies describing …

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Characterization Of A Novel Chromatin-Induced Mechanism That Couples Microtubule Disassembly And Nuclear Re-Formation, Eileen Madeleine Woo Jan 2010

Characterization Of A Novel Chromatin-Induced Mechanism That Couples Microtubule Disassembly And Nuclear Re-Formation, Eileen Madeleine Woo

Student Theses and Dissertations

Upon completion of mitosis, the disassembly of spindle components and reassembly of nuclear structures occur simultaneously around chromatin. Previous studies have suggested that an important step in this process is the inactivation of the Aurora B kinase by the Triple A-ATPase Cdc48/p97, which physically extracts the protein from chromatin at anaphase. Aurora B is the catalytic subunit of the Chromosome Passenger Complex (CPC), which promotes microtubule polymerization and spindle formation from mitotic chromosomes. Removal of the CPC from chromosomes at anaphase is required for proper nuclear reassembly, but the molecular basis for this requirement remains unclear. On the whole, the …

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Structural And Functional Characterization Of B. Anthracis Udp-Glcnac 2-Epimerase And Salmonella Secreted Effector I, Shyam Bhaskaran Jan 2010

Structural And Functional Characterization Of B. Anthracis Udp-Glcnac 2-Epimerase And Salmonella Secreted Effector I, Shyam Bhaskaran

Student Theses and Dissertations

Structural biology has been an exceptionally powerful tool in the study of bacterial pathogenesis, not only in elucidating the molecular basis of disease as the first step towards the design of therapeutics but also in many cases leading to insights into hostpathogen biology that would not have been possible otherwise (Remaut & Waksman 2004). In this work such an approach has been taken towards the study of the Bacillus anthracis cell-wall enzyme UDP-GlcNAc 2-Epimerase and the Salmonella secreted virulence effector SseI. UDP-GlcNAc 2-Epimerase is an essential B. anthracis enzyme required for formation of the peptidoglycan cell wall precursor UDP-ManAc. We …

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A Molecular Mechanism For Endocytic Recycling Of The M5 Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptor, Jacob T. Bendor Jan 2010

A Molecular Mechanism For Endocytic Recycling Of The M5 Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptor, Jacob T. Bendor

Student Theses and Dissertations

Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (MRs), a family of five G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), play an essential role in the regulation of mammalian physiology. In the brain, MR-mediated neurotransmission is required for the control of movement and motivated behavior by the basal ganglia, and MR dysfunction may contribute to schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, and motor disorders. Functional studies of the muscarinic receptors have been hampered by a lack of selective pharmacology, poor receptor immunoreactivity and a wide, overlapping pattern of expression. MRs are characterized by the presence of a large third intracellular loop domain (i3), the sequence of which is divergent between MR …

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Identification And Characterization Of Apobec1 Mrna Editing Targets: A Transcriptomics Approach, Brad Randall Rosenberg Jan 2010

Identification And Characterization Of Apobec1 Mrna Editing Targets: A Transcriptomics Approach, Brad Randall Rosenberg

Student Theses and Dissertations

RNA editing is generally defined as the alteration of an RNA sequence from that encoded by the genome through nucleotide insertion, deletion or modification. The Apolipoprotein B mRNA Editing Catalytic polypeptide 1 (APOBEC1) cytidine deaminase is an mRNA editing enzyme that modifies a specific cytidine in the apolipoprotein B (apoB) transcripts of small intestine enterocytes. APOBEC1-mediated cytidine to uridine editing generates an inframe stop codon and results in translation of a truncated apoB isoform with distinct functions in lipid transport. Other physiological mRNA targets of APOBEC1 editing have remained largely unknown. This thesis presents the development of an RNA-Seq method …

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Lipid Chemistry And Mechanical State Of The Membrane Modulate Ion Channel Function, Daniel Schmidt Jan 2010

Lipid Chemistry And Mechanical State Of The Membrane Modulate Ion Channel Function, Daniel Schmidt

Student Theses and Dissertations

My research focused on voltage-dependent K+ (Kv) channels. Kv channels serve many different functions in different cells, but most notably underlie action potentials in electrically excitable cells, such as neurons and muscle (Hodgkin and Huxley, 1952, 1945). Kv channel gating is governed by the transmembrane voltage, they are therefore voltage-dependent switches for ionic current (Hille, 2001). Changes in the transmembrane voltage are sensed by the channel's voltage sensor domains, which contain charged amino acids (most often arginines) called gating charges. Shortly before I started to work on my PhD project, the crystal structure of the eukaryotic Kv1.2 channel had …

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Genome-Wide Localization And Novel Deposition Pathways Of Histone Variant H3.3 In Embryonic Stem And Neuronal Precursor Cells, Aaron David Goldberg Jan 2010

Genome-Wide Localization And Novel Deposition Pathways Of Histone Variant H3.3 In Embryonic Stem And Neuronal Precursor Cells, Aaron David Goldberg

Student Theses and Dissertations

The eukaryotic genome is composed of chromatin, a complex polymer of genomic DNA, RNA, and closely associated proteins. Histone proteins form the core of the nucleosome, the fundamental repeating unit of chromatin. Variant histone proteins play critical roles in the epigenetic regulation of gene expression and in the development of multicellular organisms. In this thesis, I describe the first genome-wide profiles of histone H3 variants in pluripotent mammalian embryonic stem (ES) cells, and I establish the dependence and independence of these patterns on the histone chaperone Hira. To distinguish H3 variants, I use designed zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) to rapidly …

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Exosporium Morphogenesis In Bacillus Cereus And Bacillus Anthracis, Monica Maria Fazzini Bellinzona Jan 2010

Exosporium Morphogenesis In Bacillus Cereus And Bacillus Anthracis, Monica Maria Fazzini Bellinzona

Student Theses and Dissertations

Bacillus cereus is a Gram-positive spore-forming bacteria that can cause food poisoning and its close relative, Bacillus anthracis is the etiological agent of anthrax. In both cases, the spore, a differentiated cell type in a dormant state, starts the infection process. Thus, the exosporium, which constitutes the surface of the spore, plays an important role during natural infection of both B. cereus and B. anthracis. Proteins from the exosporium of B. cereus ATCC 4342, a B. anthracis-like strain, were extracted with 2% β-mercaptoethanol under alkaline conditions and identified by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. A novel cell surface …

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Visualizing Synaptic Specificity With Grasp, Evan H. Feinberg Jan 2010

Visualizing Synaptic Specificity With Grasp, Evan H. Feinberg

Student Theses and Dissertations

A maxim of modern neuroscience holds that the structures of neural circuits dictate their function. Circuit assembly requires each neuron to exercise remarkable precision as it selects a unique ensemble of synaptic partners from a vast array of potential targets. Visualization of individual synapses in the central nervous system is difficult in some contexts and impossible in others, and the ability to rapidly monitor connectivity in living animals would greatly facilitate deeper understanding of synaptic specificity. In this thesis, I describe the development of a method, GFP reconstitution across synaptic partners (GRASP), that allows visualization of defined synapses in vivo, …

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The Role Of Lysogenic Bacteriophage In Virulence And Survival Of Streptococcus Pyogenes, Chad W. Euler Jan 2010

The Role Of Lysogenic Bacteriophage In Virulence And Survival Of Streptococcus Pyogenes, Chad W. Euler

Student Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the interactions of lysogenic bacteriophage with Streptococcus pyogenes. We were specifically interested in elucidating novel ways in which the prophage influence GrAS virulence and survival either within the host cell or within the bacterial population. In turn, we also hoped to determine how the bacteria (and possibly other integrated phage) might influence prophage activity or gene expression. Our studies focused on two polylysogenized GrAS strains, a M6 serotype (MGAS10394) and a M1 serotype (SF370). In our M6 studies, we chose a streptococcal strain lysogenized by a chimeric bacteriophage element (Φ10394.4), which contains the erythromycin resistance gene mefA, …

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Seeing Through The Invisible Pink Unicorn, Andrew Stuart Abel, Andrew P. Schaefer Jan 2010

Seeing Through The Invisible Pink Unicorn, Andrew Stuart Abel, Andrew P. Schaefer

Sociology

This paper explores the quasi-religious aspects of the Invisible Pink Unicorn (IPU), an internet based spoof of religion. IPU message boards situate a moral orientation in an ongoing interactional process that sacralizes parody and an idealized form of “free thinking.” We employ content analysis and grounded theory to argue that IPU writers’ parody of religion serves as a ritual act and conclude our discussion by considering the implications of the findings for the literature on ritual.

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An Exemplary Heroine In The Hippolytos, Corinne Ondine Pache Jan 2010

An Exemplary Heroine In The Hippolytos, Corinne Ondine Pache

Classical Studies Faculty Research

In this paper I examine the link between cultic and dramatic heroes, and more particularly the status of cult heroes as exemplary figures for protagonists in tragedy. A hero in ancient Greek cultural terms is a human being who becomes heroized after death, a figure of cult, that is, who requires worship and sacrifice. Heroes are also central to epic and tragedy, yet because of the local nature of hero cults, heroes' status as objects of worship is rarely explicit in poetry. Poets typically avoid references to particular local practices, and focus instead on the figure of the hero before …

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Outside, Hidden And In Between: Locating The Migrant Exotic Dancer In Canadian Legal Discourse And Regulatory Practice, Carolina Santos Ruiz Austria Jan 2010

Outside, Hidden And In Between: Locating The Migrant Exotic Dancer In Canadian Legal Discourse And Regulatory Practice, Carolina Santos Ruiz Austria

Comparative Research in Law & Political Economy

This article examines how objections against commercial sex, re-positioned from religious and moral to secular and modernist stances, converge with Canada’s broader economic and immigration policies. It focuses specifically on immigrant women in exotic dancing and on the exotic dancer visa alongside other temporary work permits issued to women in the “dirty, dangerous and difficult” or “3-D” sectors. This intervention in feminist legal theory draws upon spatial analysis to provide a more profound engagement of the law’s discursive power beyond the rhetorical and symbolic by drawing attention to how law creates and shapes spaces in material terms.

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Body Polluted: Questions Of Scale, Gender And Remedy, Dayna Nadine Scott Jan 2010

Body Polluted: Questions Of Scale, Gender And Remedy, Dayna Nadine Scott

Comparative Research in Law & Political Economy

This paper offers a critique of tort remedies grounded in feminist theory of the body. It demonstrates how tort law is invested in a notion of an individuated legal subject, which fails to capture the critical interconnectedness of bodies in a social, political, historical, and colonial context. Taking the ‘injury’ of endocrine disruption in a Canadian aboriginal community as an example of a contemporary pollution harm, the analysis considers various torts on a conceptual level, and what they might offer the Aamjiwnaang First Nation in the way of remedies. In each case, what the tort can do depends on how …

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Extraterritoriality By Other Means: How Labor Law Sneaks Across Borders, Conquers Minds, And Controls Workplaces Abroad, Harry W. Arthurs Jan 2010

Extraterritoriality By Other Means: How Labor Law Sneaks Across Borders, Conquers Minds, And Controls Workplaces Abroad, Harry W. Arthurs

Comparative Research in Law & Political Economy

This Article challenges the state-centered description of labor law and impoverished view of extraterritoriality. It suggests that transnational flows of technology and capital, goods and services, and ideas and information have brought in their wake changes in political economy and social relations that have transformed regimes of public and workplace governance in all countries. It proposes that the extraterritoriality doctrine operates, if at all, only in the formal sense of not allowing one state to overtly project its law into the territory of another. But extraterritoriality does little to prevent the rules governing employment relations in one country from taking …

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Making Space For Grandma: The Emancipation Of Traditional Knowledge And The Dominance Of Western-Style Intellectual Property Rights Regimes, Ikechi Mgbeoji Jan 2010

Making Space For Grandma: The Emancipation Of Traditional Knowledge And The Dominance Of Western-Style Intellectual Property Rights Regimes, Ikechi Mgbeoji

Comparative Research in Law & Political Economy

The question that this paper seeks to tackle is whether the patent system is of any relevance or pertinence to the search for mechanisms for the protection of traditional knowledge (TK) of the medicinal uses of biodiversity possessed by traditional knowledge practitioners across different parts of the world. Allegations of biopiracy have been made against researchers, bioprospectors and other entities actively scouring indigenous peoples’ cornucopia for the next miracle drug. The objective of this paper will be achieved through two main approaches. The first analyzes the historical and philosophical roots of the divide between dominant regimes of intellectual property rights …

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A Critical Legal Pluralist Analysis Of The Begum Case, Amy Jackson Jan 2010

A Critical Legal Pluralist Analysis Of The Begum Case, Amy Jackson

Comparative Research in Law & Political Economy

This paper considers the advantages of a critical legal pluralist analysis of the English case R (on the application of Begum) v. Headteacher and Governors of Denbigh High School [2007] 1 AC 100. The case concerns whether a state school’s decision to exclude a pupil (Shabina Begum) for wearing an Islamic veil (a jilbab, which is a long coat-like garment which covers the whole body except the hands and face) infringed her right to manifest her religion and her right to an education protected under Articles 9 and 2 (of the First Protocol) of the European Convention of Human Rights …

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