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Medical Image Segmentation Using Gpu-Accelerated Variational Level Set Methods, Nathan Prosser

Theses

Medical imaging techniques such as CT, MRI and x-ray imaging are a crucial component of modern diagnostics and treatment. As a result, many automated methods involving digital image processing have been developed for the medical field. Image segmentation is the process of finding the boundaries of one or more objects or regions of interest in an image. This thesis focuses on accelerating image segmentation for the localization of cancerous lung nodules in two-dimensional radiographs. This process is used during radiation treatment, to minimize radiation exposure to healthy tissue. The variational level set method is used to segment out the lung …

Precipitating Factors And The Outcome Of Hepatic Encephalopathy In Liver Cirrhosis, Khalid Mumtaz, Umair Syed Ahmed, Shahab Abid, Noshaba Baig, Saeed Hamid, Wasim Jafri

Section of Gastroenterology

Objective: To determine precipitants of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) and their impact on hospital stay and mortality.

Study Design: Cross-sectional, analytical study. Place and Duration of Study: The Aga Khan University Hospital, from January 2005 to December 2007.

Methodology: Consecutive patients admitted with different grades of HE were evaluated between January 2005 and December 2007. The precipitants of HE were correlated with the different grades of HE, and length of hospital stay and mortality. Chi-square test was used to compare the proportion of precipitating factors versus hospital stay and grade with significance at p < 0.05.

Results: Of the 404 patients 252 (62%) …

Cloning And Characterization Of Sas1738, A Hypothetical Exported Protein From Community-Associated Strain Of Staphylococcus Aureus, Deepak Kumar Vijaya Kumar

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a group of S. aureus strains that has acquired resistance to a class of beta lactam antibiotics and is the major cause of hospital associated infections. Their discovery goes back to 1960 when the first cases were identified. Recently community associated MRSA infections have emerged and are caused by strains that are independent of those from the hospital environment, related only because they carry some of the same antibiotic resistance genes. Community associated infections (CA) are more severe, producing pus filled lesions that are painful and capable of invasion of deep tissues. Virulence factors …

Climate Change And Globalization In The Americas: Case Studies Of Mitigation And Adaptation, Mary Finley-Brook, Melissa Haeffner, Charmaine Heslop-Thomas, Elma Montaña, Leah Sprain

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Robin Leichenko and Karen O‘Brien have proposed ―double exposure‖ as a conceptual framework to demonstrate how processes of globalization and global environmental change (GEC) redefine risk and encourage new, interrelated responses to social and ecological transitions (O‘Brien and Leichenko, 2000; Leichenko and O'Brien, 2008). In particular, the concept encourages researchers and policy makers to consider interplay between global climate change and globalization and how this is expressed unevenly across space. After reviewing the ways double exposure has been used in the literature, we consider four case studies to investigate the utility of the framework for analyzing and understanding climate change …

Characterization Of Regulatory Mechanisms For Alternative Splicing In Alpha Thyroid Hormone Receptor Mrna, Chao Zhang

Master's Theses (2009 -)

In eukaryotes, alternative splicing is an essential post transcriptional modification process for functional gene expression and a major contributor to protein diversity. The regulation of alternative splicing generally involves the engagements of RNA sequences cis-acting elements) and corresponding protein factors (trans-acting factors). The cisacting RNA motifs can be categorized depending on positional and functional differences. Trans-acting protein factors will then bind to RNA sequences and affect the corresponding splicing activity. Recently, factors associated with 3’ polyadenylation have also been identified to affect alternative splicing.

In mammals, the α-thyroid hormone receptor gene (TRα) produces transcripts for two functionally antagonistic isoforms, TRα1 …

Latinos Safety Behaviors Related To English Literacy As Reported By Dairy Producers In Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, Aerica Opatik, Mary Novak

Journal of Extension

Safety issues related to low English literacy levels of Latinos on dairy farms are a potential concern to employers. A survey of safety behaviors was completed by 19 dairy producers who employ Latinos in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin. At least two-thirds of the respondents rated five of the 10 safety behaviors as of moderate, high, or extreme concern due to their employees' ability to read, write, speak, or understand English. At least half of the respondents reported providing assistance to employees in functional areas such as housing, law enforcement, and schools. Recommendations for dairies, Extension education, and literacy organization were determined.

A Beef Calf Retention Decision Tool, Kellie Curry Raper, Eric A. Devuyst, Damona Doye

Journal of Extension

This article describes a calf retention decision tool designed for use by Extension educators and by cow-calf producers. Cow-calf producers in the U.S. Southern Plains have multiple options regarding post-weaning marketing strategies for beef calves, due in part to the availability of fall and winter grazing. This software tool aids cow-calf producers in estimating the profitability of marketing weaned calves at various decision points. The tool allows producers to choose from marketing and retention scenarios based on ranch resources and price forecasts. It is available to Extension educators and cow-calf producers in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

Building And Sustaining Small Acreage Programs, Stephanie Etter, Kevin Laughlin, K Scott Jensen, Karen Frusti

Journal of Extension

Living on the Land (LOL), a Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education curriculum for small acreage landowners, has been successfully used in Southwest Idaho for 8 years. During that time, Extension organizers have built and sustained a small acreage learning community using systems thinking, team teaching, alumni participation, and community partners. These concepts could be applied to other small acreage and natural resource Extension programs to keep the programs relevant, useful, and functioning for an extended period of time.

The Great And Marvelous Change: An Alternate Interpretation, Clifford P. Jones

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

The customary interpretation of 3 Nephi 11:1 has been that those around the temple in Bountiful were showing one another the “ great and marvelous change” that had taken place in the land. However, Jones argues that those people were discussing instead the change that had taken place in their hearts. By examining the context in which this scripture appears and by interpreting other scriptures, especially ones emphasizing the way in which most revelation is received, Jones shows that the atonement of Jesus Christ and the individuals’ subsequent change of heart would have been the main topic of their discussion …

Poland, Gretchen Berkemeier

Blog Archive: River Reflections at the University of Dayton

This summer I went to Poland with my family for my cousin's wedding. After the three day wedding, my Polish relatives took us around and showed us Poland. One place we visited was the Hel Peninsula--this is located in northern Poland in the water's of the Baltic Sea. Along the boardwalk there were several posters that had pictures that showed the effects of people not taking care of land, water, and animals. Even though I can't read Polish, I got the point because 'a picture speaks a thousand words'. I thought my fellow River Stewards might also appreciate these pictures. …

Do Regional Trade Areas Improve Export Competitiveness? - A Case Of Indonesia, Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti

Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking

Indonesia has involved in quite many regional trade agreements, since more than a decade ago. Theoritically, Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are very beneficial to the countries, as resources are more efficiently allocated due to production specialization. However, presence of asymmetric information, market inefficiency, and economic distortion in the real world have led to a deviation of FTAs benefits from its theoritical framework. This paper studies whether Indonesian export competitiveness is improving after Indonesia involves in ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) and ASEAN-Cina Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA). Export competitiveness are measured by some trade indicators, such as: trade intensity index, market …

The Early Christian Prayer Circle, Hugh Nibley

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

A practice that was eventually condemned by the church because of its Jewish affinities—being found, for example, in the Testaments of Abraham and Job and in the writings of Philo—the prayer circle has a long and complex history in Christian practice. This practice was considered one of the “ mysteries” and therefore was protected from all who weren’t initiated. For the initiated participants, this was a very sacred practice, which demanded unity between all those involved. The prayer circle, generally referred to as a “ dance,” often included hymns, prayers for the living and the dead, and gestures that would …

The Wheel And The Cross., Paul Carus

The Open Court

No abstract provided.

The Apostate Of The Talmud., Bernard M. Kaplan

The Open Court

No abstract provided.

Ubiquitylation Of Neuronal Pentraxin With Chromo Domain By The E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Mayven/Klhl2 And Effects On Aggresome Formation And Neuronal Cytotoxicity, Leinweih Andrew Tseng

Open Access Dissertations

Neuronal pentraxin with chromo domain (NPCD) belongs to a family of neuronally-expressed pentraxin proteins thought to be involved in synaptic refinement and plasticity. One isoform of Npcd, neuronal pentraxin receptor (NPR), is a type-II transmembrane protein responsible for the clustering of related neuronal pentraxins 1 and 2. However, recently identified cytosolic NPCD isoforms with no known function were discovered through their interaction with the intracellular domain of a receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase PTPRO. PTPRO is a signaling molecule known to be involved in the development of the nervous system. Additionally, upregulated expression of neuronal pentraxins has been implicated in neuronal …

Ubiquitylation Of Neuronal Pentraxin With Chromo Domain By The E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Mayven/Klhl2 And Effects On Aggresome Formation And Neuronal Cytotoxicity, Leinweih Andrew Tseng

Open Access Dissertations

Neuronal pentraxin with chromo domain (NPCD) belongs to a family of neuronally-expressed pentraxin proteins thought to be involved in synaptic refinement and plasticity. One isoform of Npcd, neuronal pentraxin receptor (NPR), is a type-II transmembrane protein responsible for the clustering of related neuronal pentraxins 1 and 2. However, recently identified cytosolic NPCD isoforms with no known function were discovered through their interaction with the intracellular domain of a receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase PTPRO. PTPRO is a signaling molecule known to be involved in the development of the nervous system. Additionally, upregulated expression of neuronal pentraxins has been implicated in neuronal …

Mcnair Scholars End Summer Research With Presentations, Winthrop University

Winthrop News 2010

• Winthrop’s first class of 25 McNair Scholars have wrapped up six weeks conducting summer research on a particular topic, from economics to art therapy to the life sciences.
• The scholars presented their findings at a July 30 symposium at Plowden Auditorium in the Withers/W.T.S. Building.

Exploration Into Human Polyandry: An Evolutionary Examination Of The Non-Classical Cases, Kathrine E. Starkweather

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Polyandry has occurred all over the world, among human societies at all levels of social stratification, employing all types of economic strategies. While the classical cases that appear in Southeast Asia among stratified, agricultural societies have been thoroughly studied, very little has been written on the non-classical cases. This thesis surveys fifty-two non-classical cases of polyandry and investigates the conditions under which non-classical polyandry most often occurs. This thesis also tests the following five sets of hypotheses, which were derived from theories related to both classical and non-classical polyandry: the Imbalanced Sex Ratio Hypotheses; the Prolonged Male Absence Hypotheses; the …

Structural Characterization Of Hiv Gp41 With The Membrane-Proximal External Region, Wuxian Shi, Jen Bohon, Mark R. Chance

Faculty Scholarship

Human immunodeficiency virus, type 1 (HIV-1) envelope glycoprotein (gp120/gp41) plays a critical role in virus infection and pathogenesis. Three of the six monoclonal antibodies considered to have broadly neutralizing activities (2F5, 4E10, and Z13e1) bind to the membrane-proximal external region (MPER) of gp41. This makes the MPER a desirable template for developing immunogens that can elicit antibodies with properties similar to these monoclonal antibodies, with a long term goal of developing antigens that could serve as novel HIV vaccines. In order to provide a structural basis for rational antigen design, an MPER construct, HR1-54Q, was generated for x-ray crystallographic and …

Are Pictures Always Worth A Thousand Words? Interactions Between Reader, Text, And Diagrams In Multimodal Comprehension, Adam M. Renner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

This study investigates the influence of diagrams and spatial layout on interactive effects of text cohesion, domain knowledge, and reading skill on the comprehension of multimodal science text. College undergraduates read either a low or high-cohesion text about cell mitosis that was or was not augmented with diagrams, and then answered text-based and bridging-inference comprehension questions. Results showed overall effects of diagrams and cohesion, but these effects largely depended on an integrated configuration as well as on ability level. Low-knowledge and less-skilled readers benefited from cohesion when the text did not contain diagrams, and only benefited from diagrams when presented …

07/29/2010 Obituary Records, Hawaii Obituaries

Obituaries

List of Obituaries for individuals who passed away on 07/29/2010. Scroll down to see the names and obituary description.

Cameron Diaz And I Are In Love, Edward Porter

Booth

Cameron Diaz and I are in love. She calls me when she is in New York. We don't meet at her hotel because it's surrounded by photographers and reporters. She escapes them and meets me at a diner. I ask her how she pulls off the escape, but she won't tell me. She likes having secrets. "If I wanted to," she says, "I could walk through the hotel lobby, no sunglasses, no wig, right past all of them, and they'd never even look at me. That's not how I did it, but I could. If I wanted to."

Preservation Ethics In The Case Of Nebraska's Nationally Registered Historic Properties, Darren Michael Adams

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation focuses on the National Register of Historic Places and considers the geographical implications of valuing particular historic sites over others. Certain historical sites will either gain or lose desirability from one era to the next, this dissertation identifies and explains three unique preservation ethical eras, and it maps the sites which were selected during those eras. These eras are the Settlement Era (1966–1975), the Commercial Architecture Era (1976–1991), and the Progressive Planning Era (1992–2010). The findings show that transformations in the program included an early phase when state authorities listed historical resources pertaining to the settlement of the …

Central Florida Future, Vol. 42 No. 49, July 29, 2010

Central Florida Future

Social work class gives back; Uncover Thursdays; Bringing the heat; Plus: Jersey eyesore; Full Circle; Blood drive pits police against firefighters; Guns and hoses blood drive; Shooting behind a different lens.

The Weekly Challenger, July 29, 2010, The Weekly Challenger, Et Al

Weekly Challenger Newspaper Collection

The July 29, 2010, issue of The Weekly Challenger.

Poxa, Yjek And Elongation Factor P Coordinately Modulate Virulence And Drug Resistance In Salmonella Enterica, William Wiley Navarre, Shicong Zou, Hervé Roy, Jinglin Lucy Xie, Alexei Savchenko, Alexander Singer, Elena Edvokimova, Lynne R. Prost, Runjun Kumar, Michael Ibba, Ferric C. Fang

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

We report an interaction between poxA, encoding a paralog of lysyl tRNA-synthetase, and the closely linked yjeK gene, encoding a putative 2,3-β-lysine aminomutase, that is critical for virulence and stress resistance in Salmonella enterica. Salmonella poxA and yjeK mutants share extensive phenotypic pleiotropy, including attenuated virulence in mice, an increased ability to respire under nutrient-limiting conditions, hypersusceptibility to a variety of diverse growth inhibitors, and altered expression of multiple proteins, including several encoded on the SPI-1 pathogenicity island. PoxA mediates posttranslational modification of bacterial elongation factor P (EF-P), analogous to the modification of the eukaryotic EF-P homolog, eIF5A, with …

Lost Angeles: Los Angeles, California, Usa, Irena Gagulic

Architecture Theses and Projects

A social resource center and emergency crisis intervention shelter for unclaimed runaway youth attempting to reclaim their identity within society, and a memorial dedicated to the individuals who lie unclaimed or unidentified because they never received that opportunity.

A Genome-Wide Analysis Reveals No Nuclear Dobzhansky-Muller Pairs Of Speciation Genes Between S. Cerevisiae And S. Paradoxus, But Suggests More Complex Incompatibilities, Katy Kao, Katja Schwartz, Gavin Sherlock

Faculty Publications

The Dobzhansky-Muller (D-M) model of speciation by genic incompatibility is widely accepted as the primary cause of interspecific postzygotic isolation. Since the introduction of this model, there have been theoretical and experimental data supporting the existence of such incompatibilities. However, speciation genes have been largely elusive, with only a handful of candidate genes identified in a few organisms. The Saccharomyces sensu stricto yeasts, which have small genomes and can mate interspecifically to produce sterile hybrids, are thus an ideal model for studying postzygotic isolation. Among them, only a single D-M pair, comprising a mitochondrially targeted product of a nuclear gene …

The Impact Of Adolescent Nicotine Exposure On Drug Dependence In Adulthood, Mai Alajaji

Theses and Dissertations

Nicotine is one of the first and most commonly abused drugs in adolescence. According to The Center for Disease Control, every day more than 6000 adolescents try their first cigarette and over 3000 of them become daily smokers. Smoking among adolescents is a strong predictor of future drug abuse and dependence in adulthood. A number of studies has suggests that adolescents pre-exposed to nicotine may suffer permanent disruption of the brain’s reward systems through changes in dopamine receptor function. We hypothesize that nicotine exposure during adolescence causes long lasting neurobiological alterations that increase the likelihood of cocaine use in adulthood. …

Neuropsychological Performance After Unilateral Subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation In Parkinson's Disease, Ilona Buscher Marion

Open Access Dissertations

The current study examined cognitive effects of unilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. Neuropsychological evaluations were conducted at baseline and follow-up. Data was collected from 28 unilateral STN DBS patients (15 English- and 13 Spanish-speaking), and 15 English-speaking matched PD control patients. English-speaking DBS patients demonstrated significant declines in verbal fluency and attention/executive function, whereas PD control patients did not experience significant cognitive decline. Cognitive performance did not differ based on side of DBS. Spanish-speaking DBS patients experienced significant declines in verbal fluency, confrontational naming and visuospatial abilities. Among Spanish-speaking DBS patients, older …