Digital Commons Network^™

Utility Of Feeding Priority As A Measure Of Dominance In Garnett's Bushbaby (Otolemur Garnettii), Kyle Daniel Edens

Master's Theses

The current study examined dominance behaviors in bushbabies and examined whether feeding priority (i.e., first access to a food source) is a viable measure of dominance. Several measures of dominance were employed. Among the measures of dominance investigated were agonistic interactions, grooming, displacement, and deference of space. The results indicated that females initiated more agonistic interactions than males, but the other measures of dominance did not support the hypothesis that females were the dominant sex. The results were partially consistent with the hypothesis that feeding priority is a viable measure of dominance in that females obtained feeding priority in the …

Structure And Expression Of Two Nuclear Receptor Genes In Marsupials: Insights Into The Evolution Of The Antisense Overlap Between The Α-Thyroid Hormone Receptor And Rev-Erbα, Brandon C. Rindfleisch, M. Scott Brown, John L. Vandeberg, Stephen Munroe

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Background: Alternative processing of α-thyroid hormone receptor (TRα, NR1A1) mRNAs gives rise to two functionally antagonistic nuclear receptors: TRα1, the α-type receptor, and TRα2, a non-hormone binding variant that is found only in mammals. TRα2 shares an unusual antisense coding overlap with mRNA for Rev-erbα (NR1D1), another nuclear receptor protein. In this study we examine the structure and expression of these genes in the gray short-tailed opossum, Monodelphis domestica, in comparison with that of eutherian mammals and three other marsupial species, Didelphis virginiana, Potorous tridactylus and Macropus eugenii, in order to understand the evolution and regulatory …

Google Earth In The Middle School Geography Classroom: Its Impact On Spatial Literacy And Place Geography Understanding Of Students, Kerri S.W. Westgard

Theses and Dissertations

Success in today's globalized, multi-dimensional, and connected world requires individuals to have a variety of skill sets – i.e. oracy, numeracy, literacy, as well as the ability to think spatially. Student's spatial literacy, based on various national and international assessment results, indicates that even though there have been gains in U.S. scores over the past decade, overall performance, including those specific to spatial skills, are still below proficiency. Existing studies focused on the potential of virtual learning environment technology to reach students in a variety of academic areas, but a need still exists to study specifically the phenomenon of using …

The Fish Doctor: Autobiography Of A World Fish Parasitologist, Glenn L. Hoffman

Zea E-Books Collection

Described in 1986 as “a living legend,” Glenn Hoffman was one of the world’s foremost authorities on the parasites of fishes. This book narrates his life and 65-year professional career as a scientist, researcher, ambassador, colleague, and family man.
Born in 1918 to “hard working Iowa farm folks,” Dr. Hoffman grew up trapping and fishing for fun and profit. At the University of Iowa, he majored in zoology and worked for the Iowa State Conservation Department. From 1942 through 1946, he served in the U.S. Army as a lab technician, bacteriologist, and parasitologist in France, England, Germany, and Belgium. He …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Fall 2010, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge.

The senior design competition helps to focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects …

Performing Impressionistic Autoethnographic Narrative In Text And Pixels To Explore Fear Of Death In End-Of-Life Care-Giving Contexts, Dena M. Rosko

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study explores fear of death in end-of-life caregiving contexts via impressionistic autoethnographic narrative as performed on a blog with photographs and poems. This study relies on ethical assumptions for communicating dialogue, confirmation, and a performance narrative ethos in end of life. This study employs Terror Management Theory to identify a gap in existing empirical fear and death studies, and fills that gap by embedding its framework and method in the psychotherapeutic tradition to foster creative freedom and psychological safety and so break the cultural silence shrouding grief. Key findings show that the blog coordinated a therapeutic process to assuage …

Early Childhood Abuse And Neglect: Exploring The Consequences, Effects, And Treatment, Kimberly Friedman

Psychology and Child Development

With the prevalence of child abuse and neglect in our nation and around the world, the theories of why these types of maltreatment occur are a relevant topic for all to explore. Researchers are interested in how child abuse and neglect affect the individuals who were victims as well as the use and efficacy of treatment procedures. In this project, significant research is examined, detailing the various models of abuse and neglect and how the models are perpetuated through development, as a result of exposure to various environments or social relationships. The consequences of experiencing these forms of maltreatment are …

What Motivates People To Volunteer: A Case Study Using Coastal Cleanup Day In San Luis Obispo, California, Kristine M. Liddie

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Global Demographic Challenges: Case Study Women, Madeline Fox

Social Sciences

Half of the world lives on less than $2 a day. Everywhere men, women and children live in extreme poverty and suffer. Anthropogenic climate change has intensified famines, droughts, floods, hurricanes and other natural disasters. Modern civilization has altered nature and nature has responded to these alterations. Every year approximately 80 million people are added to the
planet, increasing pressure on the land. These added numbers of people require increased food and land resources and produce more pollution. While populations grow, arable lands with high yields do not. It is essential to reduce global consumption of all commodities and reduce …

Development And Validation Of A Light Weight, Energy Dense, Ready To Eat (Rte) Bar, Jacob Wilhelm-Maria Heick

Master's Theses

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A LIGHT WEIGHT, ENERGY DENSE, READY TO EAT (RTE) BAR

Jacob Wilhelm-Maria Heick

Providing additional calories in the form of an RTE bar to endurance athletes will increase performance and muscle re-synthesis, reduce muscle breakdown, and shorten recovery time. An RTE bar containing a blend of dairy proteins and carbohydrates will create a product with superior functionality, including bioactive and immunity enhancing properties from dairy derived ingredients. The protein will provide benefits in the form of easily digestible calories, essential amino acids and physical satiate.

A formulation was developed and optimized, resulting in a final product …

Magazines And The Tablet Interface, Kevin Black

Graphic Communication

No abstract provided.

Description Of The Tadpole Of Proceratophrys Renalis (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920) (Anura: Cycloramphidae), Filipe Augusto C. Do Nascimento, Barnagleison S. Lisboa, Gabriel O. Skuk, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

The tadpole of Proceratophrys renalis is described based on specimens from Maceió, State of Alagoas, northeastern Brazil. At stage 35 the body is slightly dorso-ventrally depressed, ovoid in lateral, dorsal, and ventral views. Oral disc is ventral with lateral emarginations, surrounded by a single row of marginal papillae with a large gap on the upper labium. Labial tooth row formula is 2(2)/3(1 ). The analysis of internal oral anatomy revealed two possible characters that readily distinguish P. renalis from P. boiei, supporting the recent resurrection of P. renal is. Comparisons with available descriptions of the larvae for other species in …

Elucidating Functional Roles For Myogenin In Adult Skeletal Muscle Metabolism, Exercise Capacity, And Regeneration, Jesse Flynn

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The four basic helix-loop-helix myogenic transcription factors, myogenin, Myf5, MRF4, and MyoD are critical for embryonic skeletal muscle development. Myogenin is necessary for the terminal differentiation of myoblasts into myofibers during embryogenesis, but little is known about the roles played by myogenin in adult skeletal muscle function and metabolism. Furthermore, while metabolism is a well-studied physiological process, how it is regulated at the transcriptional level remains poorly understood. In this study, my aim was to determine the function of myogenin in adult skeletal muscle metabolism, exercise capacity, and regeneration. To investigate this, I utilized a mouse strain harboring the Myogflox …

The Immune Inhibitor A1 Protease Of Bacillus Anthracis, Kathryn Pflughoeft

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Bacillus anthracis, an organism ubiquitous in the soil and the causative agent of anthrax, utilizes multiple mechanisms to regulate secreted factors; one example is the activity of secreted proteases. One of the most abundant proteins in the culture supernates of B. anthracis is the Immune Inhibitor A1 (InhA1) protease. Here, I demonstrate that InhA1 modulates the abundance of approximately half of the proteins secreted into the culture supernates, including substrates that are known to contribute to the ability of the organism to cause virulence. For example, InhA1 cleaves the anthrax toxin proteins, PA, LF, and EF. InhA1 also targets …

Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells Sense Skin Injury And Promote Wound Healing Through Type I Interferons, Josh D. Gregorio

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are a rare population of circulating cells, which selectively express intracellular Toll-like receptors (TLR)-7 and TLR-9 and have the capacity to produce large amounts of type I IFNs (IFN-a/b) in response to viruses or host derived nucleic acid containing complexes. pDCs are normally absent in skin but accumulate in the skin of psoriasis patients where their chronic activation to produce IFN-a/b drives the disease formation. Whether pDCs and their activation to produce IFN-a/b play a functional role in healthy skin is unknown. Here we show that pDCs are rapidly and transiently recruited into healthy human and …

Tracking The Flow Of Information Through The Hippocampal Formation In The Rat, Joshua P. Neunuebel

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The hippocampus receives input from upper levels of the association cortex and is implicated in many mnemonic processes, but the exact mechanisms by which it codes and stores information is an unresolved topic. This work examines the flow of information through the hippocampal formation while attempting to determine the computations that each of the hippocampal subfields performs in learning and memory. The formation, storage, and recall of hippocampal-dependent memories theoretically utilize an autoassociative attractor network that functions by implementing two competitive, yet complementary, processes. Pattern separation, hypothesized to occur in the dentate gyrus (DG), refers to the ability to decrease …

The Role Of Post-Translation Regulation Of Twist Expression In The Tumor Progression Of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Of Head And Neck, Ying-Wen Su

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (SCCHN) is the tenth most common cancer in the world. Unfortunately, the survival of patients with SCCHN has not improved in the last 40 years. Therefore new targets for therapy are needed, and to this end we are studying signaling pathways activated by IL-6 which we have found stimulates cell migration and soft agar growth in SCCHN. Our data show that IL-6 increases TWIST expression in a transcription-independent mechanism in many SCCHN cell lines. Further investigation reveals TWIST can be phosphorylated upon IL-6 treatment. By computation prediction (http://scansite.mit.edu/motifscan_seq.phtml ), we found that TWIST …

Analyzing The Role Of Αvβ8 Integrin In Glioma-Induced Angiogenesis, Jeremy H. Tchaicha

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

In this study we aimed to determine the functional roles for αvβ8 integrin in astrocytoma-induced angiogenesis. These studies originate from our analyses of αvβ8 integrin in developmental brain angiogenesis. αv and β8 knockout (KO) mice develop brain-specific vascular phenotypes that resemble vascular pathologies observed in the malignant astrocytoma, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Indeed, a murine xenograft model of astrocytoma suggested a role for the integrin in glioma-induced angiogenesis. Primary mouse astroglia were cultured from wild type (WT) and β8 KO neonates and were immortalized (HPV:E6/E7) and transformed (HRas:G12V). WT and β8 KO transformed astroglia were intracranially injected into athymic mice. WT …

Elucidating The Role Of Cd44 Expression On Mesenchymal Stem Cells Within The Tumor Microenvironment, Erika L. Spaeth

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The tumor microenvironment is comprised of a vast array of heterogeneous cells including both normal and neoplastic cells. The tumor stroma recruitment process has been exploited for an effective gene delivery technique using bone marrow derived MSC. Targeted migration of the MSC toward the tumor microenvironment, while successful, is not yet fully understood. This study was designed to assess the role of CD44 in the migration of MSC toward the tumor microenvironment and to determine the implications of CD44-deficient MSC within the tumor stroma. Inhibition of MSC migration was evaluated through a variety of methods in vitro and in vivo …

14-3-3sigma Negatively Regulates The Stability And Subcellular Localization Of Cop1, Chun-Hui Su

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Mammalian constitutive photomorphogenic 1 (COP1), a p53 E3 ubiquitin ligase, is a key negative regulator for p53. DNA damage leads to the translocation of COP1 to the cytoplasm, but the underlying mechanism remains unknown. We discovered that 14-3-3σ controlled COP1 subcellular localization and protein stability. Investigation of the underlying mechanism suggested that, upon DNA damage, 14-3-3σ bound to phosphorylated COP1 at S387, resulting in COP1 translocation to the cytoplasm and cytoplasmic COP1 ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. 14-3-3σ targeted COP1 for degradation to prevent COP1-mediated p53 degradation, p53 ubiquitination, and p53 transcription repression. COP1 expression promoted cell proliferation, cell transformation, and …

Dynamic Remodeling Of The Stressed Heart: Role Of Protein Degradation Pathways, Deborah Vela

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The heart is a remarkable organ. In order to maintain its function, it remodels in response to a variety of environmental stresses, including pressure overload, volume overload, mechanical or pharmacological unloading and hormonal or metabolic disturbances. All these responses are linked to the inherent capacity of the heart to rebuild itself. Particularly, cardiac pressure overload activates signaling pathways of both protein synthesis and degradation. While much is known about regulators of protein synthesis, little is known about regulators of protein degradation in hypertrophy. The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) selectively degrades unused and abnormal intracellular proteins. I speculated that the UPS may …

Effects Of Combined Bevacizumab And Paclitaxel On Tumor Interstitial Fluid Pressure In A Preclinical Breast Cancer Model, Ricardo Hugo Alvarez

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Effects of Combined Bevacizumab and Paclitaxel on Tumor Interstitial Fluid Pressure in a Preclinical Breast Cancer Model by Ricardo H. Alvarez Several mechanisms of cell resistance are often accountable for unsuccessful chemotherapy against cancer. Another reason, which has received increased attention, is the inefficient transport of anticancer drugs into tumor tissue. These impaired transports of chemotherapy into the tumor have been attributed to abnormal microvasculature and to pathologically increased tumor hypertension also called: interstitial fluid pressure (IFP). The pathophysiological processes leading to elevated tumor IFP are poorly understood. Here, in a preclinical breast cancer model, it is argued that a …

Mcam/Muc18 Regulates Melanoma Progression By Modulating The Expression Of Id-1, Maya Zigler

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The acquisition of the metastatic melanoma phenotype is associated with increased expression of the melanoma cell adhesion molecule MCAM/MUC18 (CD146). However, the mechanism by which MUC18 contributes to melanoma metastasis remains unclear. Herein, we stably silenced MUC18 expression utilizing lentivirus-incorporated small hairpin RNA, in two metastatic melanoma cell lines, A375SM and C8161, and conducted cDNA microarray analysis. We identified and validated that the transcriptional regulator, Inhibitor of DNA Binding-1 (Id-1), previously shown to function as an oncogene in several malignancies, was downregulated by 5.6-fold following MUC18 silencing. Additionally, we found that MUC18 regulated Id-1 expression at the transcriptional level via …

Chemical Composition And Antioxidant Properties Of Maya Nut (Brosimum Alicastrum), Hatice Kubra Tokpunar

All Theses

ABSTRACT
Maya nut was investigated in term of its moisture, ash content, antioxidant activities, phenolic components by high pressure liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detector (HPLC-UV) and fatty acid composition by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID). The results showed that Maya nut was mainly composed of 55.06% linoleic acid (C18:2 n6), 27.2% palmitic acid (C16:0), 6.26% stearic acid (C18:0), 9.9% linolenic acid (C18:3 n3), and 3.36% Cis-11-Eicosenoic (C20:1). Maya nut possesses a higher content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) (linoleic and linolenic acid), but lower content of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) than canola oil and olive oil. The antioxidant capacities and total phenolic …

In Vitro Boosting And Expansion Of Tumor Infiltrating Killer T Cells, Chunlei Mei

All Theses

Immune cell tumor infiltration represents one of the mechanisms that the immune system responds to tumor cells. The tumor infiltrated immune cells include lymphocytes (TIL), dendritic cells (DCs), macrophages, and natural killer (NK) cells. Although TILs have been extensively studied in order to develop adoptive transfer based immunotherapies, how to effectively isolate, culture, and in vitro boosting the killer cells from TILs remains a challenge. Meanwhile, OK-432, a heat and penicillin-treated lyophilized preparation of the low-virulence strain of Streptococcus pyogenes, has been shown to exhibit immunomodulatory activities and potential antitumor therapeutic function, including the activation of DCs, neutrophils, macrophages, lymphocytes, …

The Synthesis, Characterization, And Electrochemical Study Of Tris(Pyrazolyl)-Type Iron(Ii) Complexes, Iron(Ii) Sulfur- And Selenium-Containing Complexes, And Tris(Pyrazolyl)-Type Ruthenium(Ii) Complexes, Christopher Underwood

All Theses

Highly reactive radical species such as hydroxyl radical cause oxidative stress, resulting in chronic or degenerative diseases. In the biological Fenton reaction, iron(II) generates hydroxyl radical, OH, but only within a specific electrochemical potential window (-324 mV to 640 mV). Selenium and sulfur compounds have been extensively studied for their antioxidant properties, and they may exert their effects by binding iron(II) and shifting its electrochemical potential out of this window. This work has investigated the synthesis and electrochemical characterization of iron(II) chalcogenate complexes and iron(II) chalcogenone complexes. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) of [Fe(EPh)4][(PPh4)2] (E = S, Se) complexes shows Fe2+/3+ redox …

Femoral Loading Mechanics In Virginia Opossums (Didelphis Virginiana): Torsion And Mediolateral Bending In Mammalian Parasagittal Locomotion, William Gosnell

All Theses

Studies of limb bone loading in terrestrial mammals have typically found anteroposterior bending to be the primary loading regime, with torsion contributing minimally. However, previous studies have focused on large, cursorial eutherian species in which the limbs are held essentially upright. Recent in vivo strain data from the Virginia opossum Didelphis virginiana, a marsupial that uses a crouched rather than upright limb posture, have indicated that its femur experiences moderate torsion during locomotion as well as strong mediolateral bending. The elevated femoral torsion and strong mediolateral bending observed in opossums (compared to other mammals) might result from external forces such …

Characterization Of Transgenic Plum Lines Expressing Gastrodia Antifungal Protein (Gafp)-1, Hetalben Kalariya

All Theses

The Gastrodia antifungal protein (GAFP-1) is a mannose-binding lectin originating from the Asiatic orchid Gastrodia elata. It has potential for conferring resistance to fungal and non-fungal pathogens in other plants which is currently being investigated. The goals of this research project were to determine (i) the potential movement of GAFP-1 protein from transgenic rootstocks into the non-transgenic scion of chimeric-grafted trees (ii) the levels of GAFP-1 protein in lines of the cultivar Bluebyrd expressing the gene gafp-1 under the control of the polyubiquitin promoter bul409, and (iii) the susceptibility of selected lines to the root pathogens Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands and …

Isolation, Characterization And Application Of Bacteriophage To Treat Hydrogen Sulfide Producing Bacteria In Raw Animal Materials Destined For The Rendering Process, Chao Gong

All Theses

In the United States, billions of pounds of animal by-products are generated by the food processing industry every year. Hydrogen sulfide producing bacteria (SPB) can utilize the sulfur-containing proteins and amino acids in the raw animal materials destined for the rendering process to produce harmful hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas rapidly under the ambient conditions, resulting in hazardous working environments and inferior quality of finished products. In this study, the application of bacteriophage was explored as an effective solution for the elimination of H2S production in the rendering industry. The objectives of this study were to: 1) isolate and characterize strains …

Experiencing Transition, Kara Renfro

All Theses

ABSTRACT
My sculpture offers visual cues and displayed experiences for the viewer to reflect
upon past experiences and recognize the transitions that have occurred throughout their
lives because of those memories or adventures that become important due to their fragile and brief nature. These transitions from one place to another shed light on our past and unfold a journey that leads us through the inevitably constant changing circumstances of everyday life.
The artifacts and documents displayed throughout this body of work speak to the
human need to memorialize the past through collecting, documenting, and performing. It
is through observing this …