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Prevalence Of Urinary Tract Infections In Febrile Children And Role Of Urine Interleukins In Diagnosis, Anne J. Rerimoi

Master of Medicine in Paediatrics and Child Health

Background: Urinary tract infections (UTI) are common in the paediatric age group and can contribute to permanent renal damage. Urine culture takes a minimum of 48 hours, thus delaying treatment in suspect cases. It is also expensive and requires training of laboratory technologists. Early diagnosis is important in prevention of serious sequelae such as hypertension and end stage renal disease. Determination of burden of the problem within a population allows appropriate allocation of diagnostic and management resources. Urine interleukins are postulated to be useful adjuncts in diagnosis of UTI. Objectives: The primary objective was to determine the prevalence of UTI …

Speleo Spiel, No. 379, July-August 2010, Alan Jackson

Speleo Spiel

Contents: Regular Bits -- Trip Reports -- Other Exciting Stuff -- Surveys

Annexin A2 And Microglia/Macrophages In Glioma Progression, Haiyan Zhai

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Gliomas are highly invasive brain tumors with the occurrence of numerous microglia/macrophages (MG/MP) in and around the tumor. Annexin A2 is overexpressed in many cancers and correlates with increased plasmin activity on the tumor cell surface. Plasmin mediates degradation of extracellular matrix and angiogenesis to facilitate tumor growth. In this study, we used a mouse glioma cell line, GL261-EGFP, and stable clones transfected with an annexin A2 knockdown (annA2KD) construct, GL261-EGFP-annA2KD. We found that the annA2KD decreased glioma cell migration in vitro and decreased membrane-bound plasmin activity. In vivo we injected GL261-EGFP cells into the mouse brain and the glioma …

The Role Of Phospholipase D2 In Golgi-Architecture Maintenance, Vesicular Trafficking And Glucose- Stimulated Insulin Release & Validation Of A Novel Non- Invasive Approach To Functional Β-Cell Mass Quantification, Oladapo Olumoroti Yeku

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Phospholipase D (PLD) is essential for different aspects of vesicle trafficking and regulated exocytosis in a variety of biological models. PLD1 and PLD2 are the two major mammalian isoforms and both isoforms localize to different organelles where they generate phosphatidic acid (PA), the effector molecule of PLD activity. The role of PLD1 in glucose-stimulated insulin release (GSIR), a form of regulated exocytosis, has been well characterized. Additionally, the role of PLD1 in anterograde vesicle trafficking from the ER to the cis-golgi and from the trans-golgi to the plasma membrane has also been described. The role of PLD2 in GSIR and …

Power Studies Of Regression-Based Linkage Methods For Selected Sibpairs In The Presence Of Epistasis, Chengrui Huang

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Although the ubiquitousness of epistasis, or gene-gene interactions, is widely acknowledged, many commonly used quantitative-trait-locus (QTL) linkage analysis methods have been developed without explicitly modeling any dominance or epistasis effects. The power of regression-based linkage methods was investigated in this paper under a range of two-locus models of various degrees and types of epistasis. A quantitative trait is studied usually because of its association with some complex disease of interest. Therefore we introduced selection through disease affected probands, which has commonly been used in qualitative trait studies, into our QTL analysis, and compared it to random selection and selection based …

Association Of Blood Dpp5 Level With Cancer Type, Stage, And Survival, Mazyar Javid Roozi

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Introduction: Membrane-bound dipeptidyl peptidase 5 (DPP5) has been linked to tumor invasion and metastasis processes. Its recent isolation as a soluble protein from plasma may indicate a potential role as a biomarker and prognostic factor for tumors, and as a potential therapeutic target. This study aimed to measure the plasma levels of DPP5 and the related member of the family, DPP4, in healthy subjects and cancer patients, and to determine their clinical significance.Methods: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for measuring plasma DPP5 and DPP4 were developed and clinical correlations were made.Results: ELISAs were validated to be sensitive and specific. In the …

Behind The Picture: Theatricality And Gruppe 38'S Production Of I'Ve Got Everything, Amy E. Jensen

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Through the lens of theatricality, this thesis examines the development of the production I've Got Everything by Gruppe 38, a professional Danish theatre company performing for children and adults. The company is introduced in the context of contemporary Danish theatre for young audiences, Josette Feral's 2002 definition of theatricality, and their own principles of theatricality. In application to this production, on the macro- and micro-level, theatricality is both a practical as well as a powerful conceptual tool in generating and evaluating devised work.

Design And Biological Evaluation Of New Nsaids Based Anticancer Agents And Their Controlled Release From An Addressable Hydrogel Based Delivery System, Stancy Jana Joseph

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

In recent years scientific and technological advancements have been made in the research and development of controlled drug delivery systems and new chemopreventive agents. For many potential drug candidates a modified in vivo drug release is desired to improve efficacy, sustain drug effect or minimize drug toxicity. To tackle the problems associated with the delivery of drug, delivery systems (DDS) with multiple functionalities such as environment-sensitive drug release mechanisms have motivated the biomedical community as well as materials chemists for more than a decade. Polymeric drug delivery systems have been extensively studied in an attempt to achieve modified drug release. …

Probing The Mesolimbic Dopamine Reward System: A Common Neurocircuitry In Substance Abuse And Schizophrenia, Eunjoo Lee

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Substance abuse is more prevalent among patients with schizophrenia than in the general population. Interestingly, the pathophysiology of schizophrenia is thought to share many overlapping features with drug addiction, including disruption of the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway. My thesis work was aimed at investigating drug-induced alterations in dopamine function that leads to addiction-related behavior using animal models of substance abuse. In the first part of my studies, I combined small animal imaging with behavioral tests to probe the effects of abused inhalants on overall brain activity and the dopaminergic system in rats. These studies lead me to the second part of …

Dna Damage Response Activates Interferon Signaling, Sabrina Ewa Racine Brzostek

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

The DNA damage response occurs in response to breaks in DNA and can elicit cell signaling pathways that result in cell cycle arrest, DNA repair, or apoptosis in order to maintain the integrity of the genome. The replication of viruses activates the host DNA damage response and many of these viruses have evolved mechanisms to inhibit apoptosis. To understand better the link between DNA damage and cellular defense, the effects of agents that create double-stranded DNA breaks were evaluated on cellular gene expression. Etoposide, a chemotherapeutic drug used to treat various cancers, causes cell cycle arrest and death by apoptosis. …

Physical Characteristics Of Bering Sea Zooplankton And Their Use To Parameterize An Acoustic Scattering Model For Euphausiids, Joy Nicole Smith

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Acoustic assessment of Bering Sea euphausiids and their predators can provide useful data for ecosystem studies if the acoustic scattering characteristics of these animals are known. The amount of acoustic energy that is scattered by different marine zooplankton taxa is strongly affected by the contrast of the animal's density (g) and sound speed (h) with the surrounding seawater. Density and sound speed contrast were measured in the Bering Sea during the summer of 2008 for several different zooplankton and nekton taxa including: euphausiids (Thysanoessa inermis, Thysanoessa raschii, and Thysanoessa spinifera), copepods, amphipods, chaetognaths, gastropods, fish larvae, jellyfish, and squid. Density …

A Variational Framework Of Multivariate Splines And Its Applications, Kexiang Wang

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Multivariate spline technique has proved to be a powerful mathematicaltool for solving variational problems in a great number of researchand engineering tasks, such as computer vision, scientific computing,engineering design, etc. As present, tensor-product B-splines andNURBS are the prevailing industrial standards and have been widelyused in different disciplines. There have been a few new multivariatespline techniques developed recently bestowed with unique andfavorable features, e.g. | triangular B-splines and manifold splines.However, their potentials in facilitating practical scientific andindustrial applications have not yet been fully explored.In this dissertation, we presented a variational framework built upona range of newly proposed multivariate splines, and then …

The Influence Of Pallial Mucus From The Oyster, Crassostrea Virginica, On The Virulence Of Its Pathogenic Alveolate, Perkinsus Marinus., Sarah Winnicki

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Perkinsus marinus, a protistan parasite of the Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica), has been a contributing factor to the severe decline of farmed and wild oysters on the East Coast of the United States and the Gulf of Mexico. Recent findings suggest that the pallial organs (mantle, gills) of the Eastern oyster are an important portal of entry for the parasite. In this case, the first contact P. marinus has with its host takes place in mucus covering the mantle and gill tissue. This study consisted of several experiments to investigate the effect of oyster pallial mucus on the growth, expression …

Behavioral Relevance Of Fine Timing In Different Cortical Areas, Yang Yang

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Neurons in sensory cortices can lock with millisecond precision to the fine timing of some stimuli, but it is not known whether or how this precision is used behaviorally. I addressed three issues related to these questions. First I asked whether fine timing differences in neural activity of auditory cortex are sufficient to drive behavior. Second I asked whether different cortical areas are differentially able to exploit timing information behaviorally. Finally I asked whether sensory deprivation affect the ability of resolving cortical timing.I used electrical microstimulation to establish a causal link between cortical timing information and behavior. I implanted two …

A Study Of Cell Death Pathways And Innate Immunity In Cancer Chemotherapy, Jennifer Lynn Guerriero

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Dysregulation of apoptosis is associated with the development of human cancer and resistance to anti-cancer therapy. The ultimate goal of cancer treatment is to selectively induce cancer cell death and to overcome drug resistance. A deeper understanding of how chemotherapy affects tumor cell death is needed in order to develop strategically designed anti-cancer agents. An athymic mouse xenograft tumor system was established utilizing genetically defined cells that are deficient in apoptosis to examine the involvement of multiple forms of cell death induced by a DNA alkylating agent commonly used in chemotherapy. In response to DNA alkylating damage, although apoptosis facilitates …

Nitrogen Mustard Reloaded: Synthesis And Structural Studies Of Dna Interstrand Crosslinks, Angelo Guainazzi

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Many of the drugs used in cancer chemotherapy target DNA to kill malignant cells. Some of them form DNA interstrand crosslinks (ICLs), which are extremely cytotoxic lesions that block essential metabolic process such as replication, transcription and recombination by forming covalent bonds between opposite strands of DNA. Despite the importance of chemotherapeutic agents that rely on ICLs for their efficacy, the mechanisms by which these lesions are repaired remains poorly understood. A major impediment in studying ICLs repair has been the limited availability of well-defined substrates. This dissertation describes the development of a new strategy for the synthesis of defined …

Tissue Plasminogen Activator & Plasminogen System In Chondroitinase-Mediated Axonal Plasticity, Noreen Bukhari

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Following Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) the injured neurons are unable to regenerate as they face an inhibitory external environment and the lack of guidance cues for direct regrowth of severed axons. A component of the inhibitory extracellular environment is the glial scar. Chondroitinase ABC (ChABC) is an enzyme able to degrade the sugar chains of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs), a major constituent of the glial scar, and thus allow for improvements in SCI functional repair. The mechanism underlying this repair remains unclear. Our group has previously reported that ChABC enhances the interaction of the extracellular serine protease, tissue plasminogen activator …

Tremblings, August 2010, Western Aspen Alliance

Tremblings

Tracking contemporary aspen sciences: a critical endeavor for land managers

Ron Ryel

"We know everything there is to know about aspen" has been a long-held and common opinion in the western aspen world. However, we are rapidly learning this is not true, and that management based on some of these opinions may not be appropriate or helpful in restoring or maintaining aspen. New knowledge and perspectives on aspen ecology and management may have profound effects on the future of aspen on western landscapes.

Metalloporphyrin-Catalyzed Reduction Reactions Of Hexavalent Chromium, Rong Zhang

All Theses

Previous studies have demonstrated that the reduction of oxidized organic and inorganic contaminants could be catalyzed by electron shuttle systems, which generally were biological organic macrocycle complexes with transition metals. Metalloporphyrins (MPs) and their derivatives are well known electron shuttles for many biogeochemical systems. The objective of this research was to study the catalytic capabilities of selected MPs for the reduction of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in the presence of reducing agents. Zero valent iron (ZVI) was chosen as the primary electron donor in the experimental systems. Protoporphyrin IX (Proto) and Uroporphyrin I (Uro) are naturally occurring porphyrins produced during heme …

An Investigation Of Sliced Inverse Regression With Censored Data., Daniel W. Riggs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The complexity of high-dimensional data creates a number of concerns when trying to analyze it. This data often consists of a response or survival time and potentially thousands of predictors. These predictors can be highly correlated, and the sample size is often very small and right censored. Sliced inverse regression (SIR) is a method of reducing the dimension of the data, while preserving all the regression information. Sliced inverse regression with regularizations was developed to work when the number of predictors exceeds the sample size, and to deal with highly correlated predictors as well. In this study we investigated the …

Queer Tension : Le Teuer Inside Me., Nicholas Ryan Wood 1986-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The film High Tension (2005) is a complex and powerfully threatening portrait of queer monstrosity and negativity. Upon its release, the film's twist ending garnered widespread derision, but there is a mad method, so to speak, in its insistence on purposeful irreconcilability. This thesis aims to tease out the nuances of High Tension's subversive twist. It examines the makeup and history of the slasher sub-genre of horror, as well as relevant 'criticism in the field, in order to locate High Tension's specific contribution. The film presents an image of queer monstrosity that performs what Michael Moon calls sexual disorientation, as …

The Role Of Hsl7 In Morphology And Pathogenicity And Its Interaction With Other Signaling Components In The Plant Pathogen Ustilago Maydis., Charles Ben Lovely 1977-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dimorphism is a highly conserved process in fungi in which a transition between a unicellular, yeast-like growth form and either a unicellular or multicellular, filamentous growth form occurs in response to several different environmental cues. The phytopathogenic fungus Usti/ago maydis undergoes the dimorphic transition from a yeast-like saprobic growth form to a unicellular, hyphal growth form in response to successful mating and subsequent host cues. In addition, U maydis can also undergo haploid filament formation in response to several environmental cues including low ammonium conditions and growth in lipids or acid pH. On solid media deficient in ammonium (SLAD), U …

Female Gothic, Chinese And American Styles : Zhang Ailing's Chuanqi In Comparison With Stories By Eudora Welty And Carson Mccullers., Zuqiong Caroline Ma 1980-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study seeks to situate our understanding of Zhang Ailing's Chuanqi as part of global women's efforts to establish a voice of their own by way of hijacking patriarchal literary heritage. In order to show Zhang Ailing as a conscious weaver of female Gothic, Chinese style, my study pursues two parallel routes of argument. First, proceeding from Zhang's unique vision of human experience as an interplay of the ordinary and the extra-ordinary, my dissertation delineates her indebtedness to and rebellion against traditional Chinese "Gothic," especially the genre of Chuanqi. To illuminate the common raison d’être of Zhang's modem romances in …

Substance P And The Tectothalamic Pathway., Sean Phillip Masterson 1974-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cortical and tectal inputs to the caudal LPN in the rat were examined using anatomical and physiological techniques. Pyramidal cells in layer 6 of the visual cortex and wide-field vertical cells in the stratum opticum of the superior colliculus (SC) project to the caudal LPN. Ultrastructural examination revealed that cortical terminals within the caudal LPN were small, contacted small dendrites, and could be identified through vGLUT1 immunohistochemistry. In contrast, tectal terminals were much larger, contacted large dendrites, and could be identified through vGLUT2 immunohistochemistry. In whole cell current clamp recording, stimulation of corticothalmic fibers elicited EPSPs that showed a frequency …

Curcumin Reactivates Epigenetically Silenced Tumor Suppressor Gene Tissue Factor Pathway Inhibitor-2 In Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells., Akshata Moghe 1983-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer worldwide and the third most fatal, with a rising incidence in the US as a result of the increase in alcoholic liver disease and obesity. Current therapeutic strategies are unsatisfactory with poor treatment outcomes and efficacious therapies are acutely needed for better management of this deadly disease. Curcumin, a phenolic compound from the rhizome of the plant Curcuma longa has been shown to inhibit growth and induce cell death in various types of cancer cells including HCC. However, the anti-HCC mode of action of curcumin has not yet been elucidated. In …

Munc13-3 Mutation Prevents Critical Period Neuronal Plasticity In Visual Cortex., James Geoffrey Morris 1984-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Through differential display PCR, Munc13-3 was identified as a gene whose relative expression in the visual cortex corresponds to critical period plasticity. Expression of the gene was low at the peak of the critical period and expression was high in the weeks near the end of the critical period. Expression of the gene also shifted during dark rearing, a process known to delay the time course of the critical period. Using electrophysiology and monocular deprivation (MD) in mice at different points within the critical period, it is possible to compare normal MD mice's visual evoked potentials to Munc13-3 mutant MD …

Design, Fabrication, And Testing Of A Microfluidic System For Cardiac Cell Culture., Mai-Dung Thi Nguyen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States and accounts for nearly 1,372,000 deaths each year. In addition, ~81 million Americans suffer from some form of CVD. Understanding the molecular basis of various manifestations of CVD requires cellular-level studies. However, current technologies for cell culture, fail to recreate the in-vivo environment where cells are subject to pressure and stretch as a consequence of normal hemodynamic loading and unloading. Therefore, to study cardiac cells with physiological relevance, the mechanical loading environment needs to be accurately replicated in-vitro. In order to create an appropriate platform for cardiac …

Glycine Receptor Subunits -A2 And A3 Participate In Different Inhibitory Circuits That Alter The Receptive Field Organization Of On- And Off-Center Retinal Ganglion Cells., Regina D. Nobles

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the retina, the receptive fields (RFs) of most neurons are comprised of an excitatory center and a suppressive surround. Retinal ganglion cell (RGC) RF center excitatory input arises from bipolar cell (BC) inputs, while their surround arises from lateral inhibitory inputs. Because of the availability of selective antagonists the role of GABAergic inputs has been well defined. In contrast, the role of individual glycine receptor (GlyR) subunit inhibition is less clear because the antagonist, strychnine, blocks all GlyR subunit combinations. To define individual retinal circuits that utilize specific glycinergic subunits, I examined maintained and visually-evoked responses of ON- and …

Emission Difference Between Natural Gas Usage And Digester Gas Usage., Mahyar Ghorbanian 1986-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is important to burn the air toxics and harmful gases which come from water and wastewater treatment processes. In common practice, instead of natural gas, digester gas is used for economical reasons. This burning process takes place in the Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer (RTO). The current research was conducted to identify if there exists any differences between natural gas and digester gas in outlet emission. The location of the experiment was at Morris Forman Wastewater Treatment Plant of Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) of Jefferson County, Kentucky, USA. In this experiment, the RTO was run in two cases: one fueling by …

The Role Of Matrix Metalloproteinases Induced Angiogenesis During Transition From Compensatory Cardiac Hypertrophy To Cardiac Failure : Therapeutic Effects Of Hydrogen Sulfide., Srikanth Givvimani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Although matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMPs) play a vital role in tumor angiogenesis and TIMP-3 causes apoptosis, their role in cardiac angiogenesis is unknown. Interestingly, a disruption of coordinated cardiac hypertrophy and angiogenesis contributes to the transition to heart failure, however, the proteolytic and anti-angiogenic mechanisms of transition from compensatory hypertrophy to decompensatory heart failure are unclear. Previous studies have shown the cardio protective role of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in myocardial ischemia, infarction and heart failure, but its role during transition from compensatory cardiac hypertrophy to heart failure is yet to be unveiled. We hypothesize …