Digital Commons Network^™

Rac1b Regulates The Neurotrophin-3 Mediated Neuronal Commitment Of Bone Marrow Derived Miami Cells, Kevin M. Curtis

Open Access Dissertations

Emerging trends in cell-therapy based tissue repair have focused on the renewable source of adult stem cells including human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs). Due to immunomodulatory properties as well as a potential to differentiate into cells characteristic of all three germ layers, hMSCs provide a source of immature cells for utilization in cell-therapy based treatments. Marrow isolated adult multilineage inducible (MIAMI) cells are a homogeneous sub-population of hMSCs which maintain self-renewal potential during ex vivo expansion, in addition to efficiently undergoing trans-differentiation into neuron-like cells in vitro. Even though hMSCs have the potential to be used for neural …

Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm For Robot Path Planning, Michael Brand, Michael Masuda, Nicole Wehner, Xiao-Hua Yu

Electrical Engineering

Path planning is an essential task for the navigation and motion control of autonomous robot manipulators. This NP-complete problem is difficult to solve, especially in a dynamic environment where the optimal path needs to be rerouted in real-time when a new obstacle appears. The ACO (Ant Colony Optimization) algorithm is an optimization technique based on swarm intelligence. This paper investigates the application of ACO to robot path planning in a dynamic environment. Two different pheromone re-initialization schemes are compared and computer simulation results are presented.

Spatial Spread Of Infectious Diseases, Aaron Mora

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

In this thesis we do a comparative study of diffusive models with non-diffusive models, looking at the effect movements in the form of simple diffusion have on the spreading of infectious diseases. This study is undertaken within the context of the SI and SIR models, two of the most fundamental models for the propagation of infectious diseases. The diffusive SI and SIR models are supplemented with no flux boundary conditions to insure meaningful comparison of the populations predictions. In addition, we use a one dimensional spatial domain for computational simplicity. The comparison of the SI (and SIR) model with its …

Today - June 25, 2010, Loma Linda University

TODAY

Inside this issue:

-- Loma Linda University welcomes new alumni
-- Chapel program highlights global mission efforts by School of Pharmacy
-- Stater Bros. gives $25,000 to benefit breast cancer research
-- Proton patient wins competitive section of May 21 Blue Zone Senior Triathlon
-- Medical Simulation Center celebrates grand opening on May 27
-- LLU nursing students promote helmet safety at local skatepark
-- Organizers celebrate 25 years of Children's Day at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital
-- Two community outreach programs impact the Inland Empire
-- School of Medicine 2010 Commencement Ceremony (pictorial)
-- School of Pharmacy 2010 …

White Matter Integrity In Alcohol Dependence And Remission Using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics, Mollie Monnig

Psychology ETDs

The effects of alcohol on white matter integrity were investigated in a sample of 12 individuals with current alcohol dependence or abuse (AUD-C), 9 individuals with alcohol dependence in remission (AUD-R) for at least one year, and 16 healthy control (HC) participants matched to alcohol groups on age, sex, and smoking status. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neuropsychological data were collected. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data was analyzed using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). Using a standard white matter atlas, fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD) were quantified for three corpus callosum ROIs and …

Accelerating Recovery Of Behavioral And Cognitive Functions Via Single Intracerebral Injection Of Matrigel Containing Neurotrophic Factors After Somatosensory Contusion In Adult Rats, Nariman Arfai

Psychology ETDs

Unilateral sensorimotor contusion injury results in contralateral hindlimb paralysis as well as behavioral & cognitive deficits in rats. In response to cortical injury, adult neural stem cells (NSC) in the subventricular zone (SVZ) proliferate, and generate new neurons & glia that migrate towards injured areas. Thus, they may potentially be harnessed for neural repair. After cortical injury, the number of migratory NSCs to lesioned sites has been shown to be significantly lower than the overall cell loss in rats. To address this issue, in-vitro & in-vivo studies have shown that various growth factors (GF) enhance the rate of proliferation, differentiation …

The Effect Of A 36-Session Cardiac Rehabilitation Program On The Framingham Risk Score, Veronica Gonzales

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

Cardiac Rehabilitation is widely used in the United States to help individuals who have had a cardiac event that is approved by insurance companies. Factors that lead to the development of cardiovascular disease are lack of exercise, tobacco use, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, and diet comprised of high consumption of saturated fats, salt, refined carbohydrates, and low levels of fruits and vegetables (World Health Organization, 2008). The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of a cardiac rehabilitation program in modifying the patients Framingham risk score after 36 sessions of cardiac rehabilitation. This is a …

A Framework For The Development Of Virtual Robotic Games, Paul Ng

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Multiple robotic experiments are inherently high in operating costs. As the number of agents increase, resources in time, cost, and physical space becomes a limiting factor in experimentation. This thesis presents a framework that addresses these problems by virtual reality. The computer gaming industry has made unparalleled advances in computer graphics and dynamic and kinematic modeling. This progress provides a realism that is utilized in virtual robot experiments with close comparability of results with its real-world counterpart. Developing the Virtual Robotic Games framework with the integration of a video game engine produces a testbed for multi-agent experiments while reducing the …

Consumer Opinions And Rfid Implementation, Anna K. Brown

Honors Theses

Radio frequency identification (RFID) has been in use for a number of decades tracking various products and materials in a wide range of industries. The objective of this study was to find simple factors and relationships explaining the usage of Internet shopping and online banking, and the attitudes toward RFID in hospitals. The question being addressed is whether the general population is accepting of the technology application in the tracking of patients and their medical histories in a hospital environment. A randomly selected survey of the population in the Midwest was taken to examine relationships between privacy attitudes and behaviors …

Constructing, Consuming, And Complicating The Human-Nature Binary: Communication Practices In Forest Environmental Education, Elizabeth Dickinson

Communication ETDs

This project combines interdisciplinary conversations within the field of communication to examine environmental meaning systems and communication practices in the context of forest environmental education. Due to concerns over children's environmental alienation, there has been a continued push toward place-based environmental education. One such venture is the North Carolina Educational State Forest system (NCESF), where educators bring K-12 students into forests to help them reconnect with nature, expand environmental knowledge, and tackle what has been recently termed "nature-deficit disorder." When students visit the sites, rangers deliver structured lessons on ecosystems and forest management to children and chaperones--lessons that must adhere …

Probiotic Therapy - Recruiting Old Friends To Fight New Foes, Roy D. Sleator

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

Against a backdrop of increasing antibiotic resistance, and the emergence of new and evolving pathogens, clinicians are increasingly forced to consider alternative therapies - probiotics are one such alternative.

Konsumsi Makanan Dan Kejadian Anemia Pada Siswi Salah Satu Smp Di Kota Makassar, Sri Syatriani, Astrina Aryani

Kesmas

Anemia di kalangan remaja masih merupakan masalah kesehatan yang penting akibat pertumbuhan remaja sangat pesat. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui hubungan konsumsi protein, zat besi, vitamin B12, dan vitamin C dengan kejadian anemia pada siswi salah satu SMP di Makassar. Penelitian ini dengan disain studi cross sectional. Sampel adalah siswi kelas I dan II yang dipilih secara purposive sampling sebanyak 50 orang. Pengumpulan data konsumsi makanan dengan formulir recall 24 jam dan pengukuran kadar Hb dengan alat hemocue. Hasil penelitian dengan analisis chi-square diperoleh ada hubungan antara konsumsi protein (p=0,000), konsumsi zat besi (p=0,002), konsumsi vitamin B 12 (p=0,044), dan …

Pathologically Activated Neuroprotection Via Uncompetitive Blockade Of N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptors With Fast Off-Rate By Novel Multifunctional Dimer Bis(Propyl)-Cognitin, Jialie Luo, Wenming Li, Yuming Zhao, Hongjun Fu, Dik-Lung Ma, Jing Tang, Chaoying Li, Robert W. Peoples, Fushun Li, Qinwen Wang, Pingbo Huang, Jun Xia, Yuanping Pang, Yifan Han

Biomedical Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Uncompetitive N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists with fast off-rate (UFO) may represent promising drug candidates for various neurodegenerative disorders. In this study, we report that bis(propyl)-cognitin, a novel dimeric acetylcholinesterase inhibitor and γ-aminobutyric acid subtype A receptor antagonist, is such an antagonist of NMDA receptors. In cultured rat hippocampal neurons, we demonstrated that bis(propyl)-cognitin voltage-dependently, selectively, and moderately inhibited NMDA-activated currents. The inhibitory effects of bis(propyl)-cognitin increased with the rise in NMDA and glycine concentrations. Kinetics analysis showed that the inhibition was of fast onset and offset with an off-rate time constant of 1.9 s. Molecular docking simulations showed moderate …

Is Pet-Love Caused By A Virus Of The Mind?, Harold Herzog

'Animals and Us' Blog Posts

Is my cat a brain worm?

Invasive Species And Public Investment In The Green Economy, Invasive Species Advisory Committee

National Invasive Species Council

Invasive Species and Public Investment in the Green Economy, approved by ISAC on June 24, 2010

ISSUE

Invasive species are intricately linked to the economy. Trade, travel, and transport facilitate their spread. Invasive species management requires extensive human and financial resources. The impacts of invasive species can substantially undermine economic growth and sustainable development. United States Executive Order (EO) 13112 defines invasive species as “alien [non-native] species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health” and states that Federal agencies should …“not authorize, fund, or carry out actions that are likely …

Marine Bioinvasions And Climate Change, James T. Carlton, Sandra C. Lindstrom, Celia M. Smith, Jennifer E. Smith

National Invasive Species Council

BACKGROUND

Invasive species are second only to habitat destruction as the greatest cause of species endangerment and global biodiversity loss. Invasive species can cause severe and permanent damage to the ecosystems they invade. Consequences of invasion include competition with or predation upon native species, hybridization, carrying or supporting harmful pathogens and parasites that may affect wildlife and human health, disturbing ecosystem function through alteration of food webs and nutrient recycling rates, acting as ecosystem engineers and altering habitat structure, and degradation of the aesthetic quality of our natural resources. In many cases we may not fully know the native animals …

Ospie1, The Rice Ortholog Of Arabidopsis Photoperiod-Independent Early Flowering1, Is Essential For Embryo Development, Yonghan Xu, Minjuan Deng, Jianfei Peng, Zhanghua Hu, Lieming Bao, Junming Wang, Zhi-Liang Zheng

Publications and Research

Background The SWR1 complex is important for the deposition of histone variant H2A.Z into chromatin necessary to robustly regulate gene expression during growth and development. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the catalytic subunit of the SWR1-like complex, encoded by PIE1 (PHOTOPERIOD-INDEPENDENT EARLY FLOWERING1), has been shown to function in multiple developmental processes including flowering time pathways and petal number regulation. However, the function of the PIE1 orthologs in monocots remains unknown. Methodology/Findings We report the identification of the rice (Oryza sativa) ortholog, OsPIE1. Although OsPIE1 does not exhibit a conserved exon/intron structure as Arabidopsis PIE1, its encoded protein is highly similar to …

Daily Eastern News: June 24, 2010, Eastern Illinois University

June

No abstract provided.

The Weekly Challenger, June 24, 2010, The Weekly Challenger, Et Al

Weekly Challenger Newspaper Collection

The June 24, 2010, issue of The Weekly Challenger.

Shirley Edwards V. A H Cornell And Son, Inc.

2010 Decisions

USDC for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Knowlton V. Wood River Medical Center Respondent's Brief 1 Dckt. 37360

Idaho Supreme Court Records & Briefs, All

No abstract provided.

Conexão Subterrânea, No. 79, June 24, 2010, Daniel Menin, Leda Zogbi, Ricardo Coelho

KIP Articles

Nesta edição você saberá mais sobre os seguintes assuntos: - Estudo das cavernas quartzíticas em Itambé do Mato Dentro, Minas Gerais - Pedro Leopoldo inaugura oParque do Sumidouro - O Parque Estadual de Intervales chega aos 15 anos - Pesquisa busca revelar Pré-história de mamíferos em Ubajara - 5º Emespe - Encontro Mineiro de Espeleologia - Fotógrafo de cavernas fará palestras e workshops no Brasil - Lançado o livro Biology of Subterranean Fishes - Toro Toro guarda segredos sobre as alterações climáticas - "Cavernautas": astronautas podem morar em cavernas de Marte - Arqueólogos descobrem o sapato mais velho do mundo, …

The Pan American (2010-06-24), Brian Silva

UTPA Archives - The Pan American Newspaper

Vol. 66, No. 29

Entry And Fusion Of Emerging Paramyxoviruses, Rebecca Ellis Dutch

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Paramyxoviruses are a family of non-segmented RNA viruses that includes major human pathogens such as measles virus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and significant animal viruses like rinderpest. In recent years, several new paramyxoviruses have been identified, further increasing the breadth and importance of this viral family. While many elements of the fusion and entry mechanisms of these recently identified pathogens are conserved, there are interesting differences, including variations in receptor binding, cell tropism, fusion (F) protein proteolytic activation, and triggering of membrane fusion. Thus, study of their entry mechanisms has highlighted the diversity of these critical events in the …

School Psychologists Engagement In Parent Training/Education Activities With The Parents Of Children With Chronic Behavior Problems, Rebecca K. Sarlo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this research were to determine the rate at which school psychologists engage in parent training/education with the parents of children with chronic behavior problems and to determine the relationships between school psychologists’ demographic variables, professional practice, training, and perception of barriers and their engagement in such activities. These variables have been found to be related to types of service delivery practices and were hypothesized to also be related to the rate and type of engagement in parent training/education activities by school psychologists.

Five hundred school psychologists were randomly sampled from the membership of the National Association of …

A Nearer View Of Coufit Leo Tolstoi., Elizabeth E. Evans

The Open Court

No abstract provided.

Interview With Chad Topaz, Professor Of Mathematics, Chad Topaz

Math, Stats, and Computer Science Department Oral Histories

No abstract provided.

The Vision Of Toxicity Testing In The 21st Century: Moving From Discussion To Action, Melvin E. Andersen, Daniel Krewski

Toxicology and Animal Models in Research Collection

Over the past year, a series on commentaries have appeared in the Toxicological Sciences Forum Series related to the 2007 National Research Council (NRC) publication, Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: A Vision and A Strategy. The first article in the series provided an overview of the vision and was accompanied by an editorial by the three editors of Toxicological Sciences. During the past year, eight invited commentaries from the academic, industrial, and regulatory sectors have provided diverse perspectives on the vision, noted challenges to its implementation, and highlighted aspects of toxicity testing that were not addressed in …

We Are...Marshall, June 23, 2010, Office Of Marshall University Communications

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

No abstract provided.

Association Of Elevated Blood Pressure And Impaired Vasorelaxation In Experimental Sprague-Dawley Rats Fed With Heated Vegetable Oil, X.F. Leong, Mohd Rais Mustafa, S. Das, K. Jaarin

Research Publications (2006 to 2010)

Background: Poor control of blood pressure leads to hypertension which is a major risk factor for development of cardiovascular disease. The present study aimed to explore possible mechanisms of elevation in blood pressure following consumption of heated vegetable oil. Methods: Forty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were equally divided into six groups: Group I (control) - normal rat chow, Group II - fresh soy oil, Group III - soy oil heated once, Group IV - soy oil heated twice, Group V - soy oil heated five times, Group VI - soy oil heated ten times. Blood pressure was measured at the baseline …