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2010

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Apparent Competition With An Invasive Plant Hastens The Extinction Of An Endangered Lupine, Emily M. Dangremond, Eleanor A. Pardini, Tiffany M. Knight Jan 2010

Apparent Competition With An Invasive Plant Hastens The Extinction Of An Endangered Lupine, Emily M. Dangremond, Eleanor A. Pardini, Tiffany M. Knight

Biology Faculty Research

Invasive plants may compete with native plants by increasing the pressure of native consumers, a mechanism known as "apparent competition." Apparent competition can be as strong as or stronger than direct competition, but the role of apparent competition has rarely been examined in biological invasions. We used four years of demographic data and seed-removal experiments to determine if introduced grasses caused elevated levels of seed consumption on native plant species in a coastal dune system in California, USA. We show that the endangered, coastal dune plant Lupinus tidestromii experiences high levels of pre-dispersal seed consumption by the native rodent Peromyscus …


Unique Features Of Ptb Rrms: Insight Into Protein Motions And Rna Binding, Caroline Maynard Jan 2010

Unique Features Of Ptb Rrms: Insight Into Protein Motions And Rna Binding, Caroline Maynard

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Polypyrimidine tract binding protein: PTB) is a highly conserved RNA binding protein comprised of four RRMs: RNA recognition motifs). RRMs are extremely prevalent in all kingdoms of life, and have been very well characterized in terms of structure and RNA binding properties. However, all four RRMs of PTB exhibit unique features that can be exploited to learn more about the RNA selection and binding strategy of PTB, as well more general features involving structure/function relationships and protein unfolding mechanisms. PTB participates in a variety of functions in eukaryotic cells, including alternative splicing, mRNA stabilization, and internal ribosomal entry site: IRES) …


Functional Genomic Examinations Of Interactions Between Common Members Of The Human Gut Microbiota, Michael Mahowald Jan 2010

Functional Genomic Examinations Of Interactions Between Common Members Of The Human Gut Microbiota, Michael Mahowald

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The adult human gut microbiota consists of hundreds to thousands of bacterial species, the majority belonging to the Bacteroidetes and the Firmicutes. Differences in the balance between these phyla has been linked to obesity in mice and humans. However, little is known about their interactions in vivo. I have used comparative and functional genomics, proteomics and biochemical assays to identify the ways they marshal their genomic resources to adapt to life together in the distal gut. I first annotated the complete genome sequences of two human gut Bacteroidetes (Bacteroides vulgatus and Parabacteroides distasonis) and two Firmicutes (Eubacterium rectale and E. …


Exploring Tissue Microstructure In Healthy And Diseased Lung Tissue, Michelle Milne Jan 2010

Exploring Tissue Microstructure In Healthy And Diseased Lung Tissue, Michelle Milne

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

This thesis is divided into two parts. The first part examines diffusion in a number of human lung samples, while the second deals with diffusion in the more simplified environment of a single capillary tube. In the lung study we examine various types of lung samples: healthy and diseased) at a variety of diffusion lengths. Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging: MRI) has been a very useful tool in the study of lungs and lung disease, particularly diffusion MRI using hyperpolarized gases, such as helium or xenon. However, since the polarized gas is difficult to prepare and, once prepared, suffers decay of …


Genetic Influences On Preterm Birth, Jevon Plunkett Jan 2010

Genetic Influences On Preterm Birth, Jevon Plunkett

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Preterm birth: PTB) is a leading cause of mortality and disease burden globally; however, determinants of human parturition remain largely uncharacterized, making prediction and prevention of difficult. Genetic studies are one way in which we can attempt to better understand this disorder. We first sought to develop a model for the genetic influences on PTB to facilitate gene discovery. Study of standard measures of familial aggregation, the sibling risk ratio and the sibling-sibling odds ratio, and segregation analyses of gestational age, a quantitative proxy for preterm birth, lend support to a genetic component contributing to birth timing, since preterm deliveries …


The Role Of The Clock Gene Bmal1 In Female Fertility And Parturition, Christine Ratajczak Jan 2010

The Role Of The Clock Gene Bmal1 In Female Fertility And Parturition, Christine Ratajczak

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Successful reproduction is essential for survival of species. For humans, reproductive problems can cause large emotional and medical burdens. Evidence in both humans and rodents indicates that circadian rhythmicity is important for supporting reproductive function. A molecular clock orchestrates circadian rhythmicity. Impairment in fertility and parturition are observed in female mice expressing a mutant form of Clock, suggesting critical roles for clock genes in reproduction. Since the clock gene Bmal1, but not Clock, is necessary for the generation of circadian rhythmicity, exploring the role of Bmal1 in reproduction may yield a better understanding of the importance of the molecular clock …


Geochemical Conditions Affecting Uranium(Vi) Fate And Transport In Soil And Groundwater In The Presence Of Phosphate, Abhas Singh Jan 2010

Geochemical Conditions Affecting Uranium(Vi) Fate And Transport In Soil And Groundwater In The Presence Of Phosphate, Abhas Singh

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Soil and groundwater contamination with actinides like uranium is a serious environmental concern. Phosphate addition to uranium-contaminated soil and groundwater can potentially provide long-term in-situ U(VI) immobilization by precipitation of low solubility U(VI)-phosphates. Reactions at the iron: oxy)hydroxide-water interface can control macroscopic transport and long-term stability of uranium. First, the interactions among phosphate, U(VI), and goethite: alpha-FeOOH) were investigated in a year-long batch experimental study. Dissolved U(VI) and phosphate concentrations were interpreted within a reaction-based modeling framework. U(VI) uptake mechanism varied with the aqueous composition. For most initially supersaturated conditions, chernikovite, H3O(UO2)(PO4)*3H2O(s), nucleated homogeneously, but heterogeneous nucleation probably occurred in …


Synthesis And Characterization Of Microspheres For Controlled Release, Gurpartap Singh Sandhu Jan 2010

Synthesis And Characterization Of Microspheres For Controlled Release, Gurpartap Singh Sandhu

Masters Theses

"Synthetic hydroxyapatite (HAp, (Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂) has always been of interest in medical applications because of its similarities to inorganic bone matrix. It has been used in biomedical applications for bone repair and substitution due to its biocompatibility. However, there are some differences in the stoichiometry, composition, and mechanical properties of human bone as compared to pure HAP. HAp particles have been successfully used as drug delivery carriers which deliver the drug to the affected part of the body and the remaining apatite gets degraded by the physiological processes in the body. In the present work, emphasis was on developing mechanically stronger …


Implicit And Explicit Racial Attitudes: Moderation Of Racial Typicality Evaluations, Elena Stepanova Jan 2010

Implicit And Explicit Racial Attitudes: Moderation Of Racial Typicality Evaluations, Elena Stepanova

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Previous research has shown that racial images representing more typical Afrocentric phenotypic characteristics result in more negative evaluations, whether assessed by explicit or implicit attitudes measures. However, the factors that define and moderate the perception of racial typicality have not been sufficiently explored. The current research investigated additive and interactive influences of skin tone and facial physiognomy on racial typicality evaluations, as well as the degree to which those effects were moderated by explicit and implicit racial attitudes, ethnicity of participants, and availability of cognitive resources. Using a 6-point scale ranging from very African American to very Caucasian, participants: N …


Discovery And Identification Of New Dna Photoproducts And Investigation Of The Redox Mechanism Of Human Apurinic/Apyrimidinic Endonuclease 1 (Hape1) Protein, Dian Su Jan 2010

Discovery And Identification Of New Dna Photoproducts And Investigation Of The Redox Mechanism Of Human Apurinic/Apyrimidinic Endonuclease 1 (Hape1) Protein, Dian Su

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Exposure of cells to ultraviolet light results in the formation of DNA photoproducts, many of which have been linked to skin cancer. The majority of these photoproducts arise from a photoreaction between two pyrimidines. Irradiation of double stranded B form DNA under physiological conditions mainly produces adjacent dimers. Nonadjacent photodimers of both intrastrand and interstrand types are much rarer. Intrastrand-type nonadjacent dimers form when one or more nucleotides between two pyrimidines become extrahelical owing to the formation of single strand DNA or a slipped structure. This allows the two pyrimidines to photodimerize in a colinear arrangement, as if the intervening …


Design, Synthesis And Characterization Of Synthetic Ion Receptors As Biologically Functional Ion Carriers And Channels, Carl Yamnitz Jan 2010

Design, Synthesis And Characterization Of Synthetic Ion Receptors As Biologically Functional Ion Carriers And Channels, Carl Yamnitz

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The study of proteins and natural molecules that transport cations and anions across biological membranes has been a major focus of biochemistry and cellular biology for more than a century. The function of ion transporters is vital for all known forms of life. Natural and synthetic transporters can have applications as antimicrobial agents, in nerve impulse transduction and cell signaling. The current work was performed to further the understanding of a diverse array of novel and previously-studied synthetic molecules as membrane-active ion transporters. In the process, important facets such as ion binding capacity, aggregation behavior, ion transport functionality, and antimicrobial …


The Role Of Aerobic Glycolysis In The Resting Human Brain, Sanjeev Vaishnavi Jan 2010

The Role Of Aerobic Glycolysis In The Resting Human Brain, Sanjeev Vaishnavi

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The human brain accounts for 2% of total body weight, though it consumes 20% of the body's energy supply. Most of this energy is provided by the complete oxidation of glucose to carbon dioxide and water, though some fraction of glucose undergoes aerobic glycolysis without concomitant oxidative phosphorylation. Elevation in neuronal activity increases aerobic glycolysis due to the disproportionate increase in blood flow and glucose utilization greater than oxygen consumption. Since aerobic glycolysis produces significantly less energy than complete oxidation of glucose, its role in cellular activities has been overlooked, though its presence in the resting brain has been known …


An Improved Plasmid Vector System For Genetic Engineering Of Synechocystis Sp Pcc 6803, Arul Varman Jan 2010

An Improved Plasmid Vector System For Genetic Engineering Of Synechocystis Sp Pcc 6803, Arul Varman

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

No abstract provided.


Assessing Effects Of Symmetry On Motif Finding, Lala Motlhabi Jan 2010

Assessing Effects Of Symmetry On Motif Finding, Lala Motlhabi

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Identifying protein DNA binding sites like transcription factor binding sites is a key component of gene regulatory networks. The challenging task of predicting and identifying DNA binding sites both experimentally, and computationally suffers from high false positive due to various contributing factors, including misinterpretation of DNA binding site sequence symmetry. Our study seeks to model and compare the ability of three methods of a motif-finding program, consensus, taking into account orientation to accurately predict variable symmetric/asymmetric true binding site models. The three consensus methods included the c0 method which ignores the complement of a sequence. In this particular experiment it …


Latest Quaternary Paleoclimate Reconstruction Utilizing Stable Isotopic And Trace Element Proxies In A Stalagmite From Culverson Creek Cave, West Virginia, Ashley Nicole Gilbert Jan 2010

Latest Quaternary Paleoclimate Reconstruction Utilizing Stable Isotopic And Trace Element Proxies In A Stalagmite From Culverson Creek Cave, West Virginia, Ashley Nicole Gilbert

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

A reconstruction of regional climate variability in southern West Virginia that spans the last glacial/interglacial transition is presented. Paleoclimate interpretations obtained from the 50-cm long stalagmite provide key insights regarding the timing, magnitude, and forcing mechanisms responsible for past climate variability. Stable isotopic (δ18O and δ13C) and trace element (Ba, Sr, Mg) signatures from samples contiguously milled along the growth-axis of a 230Th-dated stalagmite which grew between approximately 20 and 5 thousand years before present (kyr BP) provide critical constraints for above-cave mean annual temperature, seasonality of moisture mean annual precipitation, and potential vegetation shifts. …


Igf-I Releasing Plga Scaffolds For Growth Plate Regeneration, Sharath Kumar Chinnakavanam Sundararaj Jan 2010

Igf-I Releasing Plga Scaffolds For Growth Plate Regeneration, Sharath Kumar Chinnakavanam Sundararaj

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Growth plate is a highly organized cartilaginous tissue found at the end of long bones and is responsible for longitudinal growth of the bones. Growth plate fracture leads to retarded growth and unequal limb length, which might have a lifelong effect on a person’s physical stature. This research is a tissue engineering approach for the treatment of growth plate injury. Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), which can stimulate cartilage formation, was encapsulated within PLGA microspheres that were then used to form porous scaffolds. The release profile of the IGF-I from the PLGA scaffold showed a biphasic release pattern. In vitro …


Feasibility Of Using 15N-Enriched Escherichia Coli As A Bacterial Tracer In The Cane Run/Royal Spring Basin, Kentucky, John G. Warden Jan 2010

Feasibility Of Using 15N-Enriched Escherichia Coli As A Bacterial Tracer In The Cane Run/Royal Spring Basin, Kentucky, John G. Warden

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

A novel tracer method has used 15N to label Escherichia coli and track the transport of bacteria, a common contaminant, through karst aquifers. Use of this method could provide valuable insight into the movement of bacteria in aquifers, which would help improve remediation methods and strategies. A wild strain of E. coli was isolated from the Cane Run/Royal Spring basin in the Inner Bluegrass region of Kentucky. The strain was serotyped O-:H- and virulence testing showed the strain did not have virulence factors of E. coli commonly pathogenic to humans. Five karst microcosms were filled with …


Strategic Process Integration Of Energy And Environmental Systems In Wastewater Treatment Plants, Bharath Kumar Gangichetty Jan 2010

Strategic Process Integration Of Energy And Environmental Systems In Wastewater Treatment Plants, Bharath Kumar Gangichetty

Masters Theses

"Green environmental practices are increasingly important in combating serious global energy and environmental issues. Most wastewater treatment facilities were built when energy costs were not a concern; however, an increasing demand for energy, changing climatic conditions, and constrained energy supplies have resulted in the need to apply more energy-conscious choices in the maintenance or upgrade of existing wastewater treatment facilities. A detailed analysis of the majority of water and wastewater treatment services shows that most facilities operate far below the efficiency levels needed for effective energy use. Failure to comply with regulated environmental standards is also a problem. Although standards …


The Effects Of Personal Protective Equipment Level A Suits On Human Task Performance, Yvette L. Simon Jan 2010

The Effects Of Personal Protective Equipment Level A Suits On Human Task Performance, Yvette L. Simon

Masters Theses

"First response teams dealing with hazardous substances often require the highest level of protection provided by Level A suits. These suits are fully encapsulating, bulky, and heat retentive. The effect of these suits on the wearer's ability to perform various tasks is of interest when it comes to human performance analysis. This research effort examined the effect of the Level A suit on fine motor and gross motor dexterity. Seven members of the National Guard's Civil Support Team (CST) performed a battery of six tasks designed to test these abilities. Tasks comprised the Minnesota Dexterity test and the Mirror Tracer …


The Placement Of Remediation Amendments Into Contaminated Sediments Via Waterjet Technologies, Gavin Hunter Ray Risley Jan 2010

The Placement Of Remediation Amendments Into Contaminated Sediments Via Waterjet Technologies, Gavin Hunter Ray Risley

Masters Theses

"The use of amendments to perform in situ remediation of contaminated sediments is a technique that is relatively mature. The need exists to develop a method of amendment delivery that will efficiently place the amendments into the contaminated zone at depth with minimal impacts to the benthic communities and contaminant resuspension. Waterjets have been used for hundreds of years as an excavation, cutting, and cleaning tool, but they can also be used to inject remediation amendments into contaminated sediments if setup properly. In order to test this concept, a waterjet amendment injection system and nozzle have been developed and tested. …


Detection Of Explosive Threats By Using Embedded Wireless Sensor Based Networks, Jake Daniel Hertenstein Jan 2010

Detection Of Explosive Threats By Using Embedded Wireless Sensor Based Networks, Jake Daniel Hertenstein

Masters Theses

"This thesis focuses on the development of novel schemes for the detection of unintended electromagnetic emissions (UEE) from passive radio frequency (RF) receivers and chemical and biological (CB) agents for the purpose of locating explosive threats (ET) to improve survivability for equipment and personnel in the surrounding environment. The methods and architectures used in this work were developed for use with wireless sensor networks (WSNs). While previous work has shown that highly sensitive equipment is capable of long-range detection of UEE the intention of this work is to develop a network of small, low cost smart sensor nodes (SSNs) capable …


The Makapansgat Hominins: A Descriptive And Comparative Morphological Study, Tafline Arbor Jan 2010

The Makapansgat Hominins: A Descriptive And Comparative Morphological Study, Tafline Arbor

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The primary focus of this thesis is to extensively describe the cranial, mandibular, and dental specimens from Makapansgat and to compare the assemblage to other South African early hominin samples. The fossils examined here include previously undescribed fossils from the fossiliferous ex-situ breccia piles of the Makapansgat Limeworks. Data analyses incorporated extant humans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and macaques to provide a comparative base with which to discuss intraspecific and interspecific variation in currently recognized taxa of South African Australopithecus. Results support previous assertions that the Makapansgat specimens share morphological similarities with both Australopithecus africanus and Australopithecus robustus and that these taxa …


Development Of Atomistic Potentials For Silicate Materials And Coarse-Grained Simulation Of Self-Assembly At Surfaces, Brian Barnes Jan 2010

Development Of Atomistic Potentials For Silicate Materials And Coarse-Grained Simulation Of Self-Assembly At Surfaces, Brian Barnes

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

This thesis is composed of two parts. The first is a study of evolutionary strategies for parametrization of empirical potentials, and their application in development of a charge-transfer potential for silica. An evolutionary strategy was meta-optimized for use in empirical potential parametrization, and a new charge-transfer empirical model was developed for use with isobaric-isothermal ensemble molecular dynamics simulations. The second is a study of thermodynamics and self-assembly in a particular class of athermal two-dimensional lattice models. The effects of shape on self-assembly and thermodynamics for polyominoes and tetrominoes were examined. Many interesting results were observed, including complex clustering, non-ideal mixing, …


Regulation Of Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Type 1 Infection And Replication, Gunjan Choudhary Jan 2010

Regulation Of Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Type 1 Infection And Replication, Gunjan Choudhary

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Retroviruses have evolved complex mechanisms to regulate their cellular tropism and gene expression. It is generally accepted that productive infections proceed via interactions between viral envelope molecules and specific receptors on the host cell surface. Currently, there is no known receptor for HTLV-1, though a number of factors that enhance entry have been identified. In an effort to identify a cellular receptor or attachment factor for HTLV-1, we carried out a retroviral cDNA library screen, in which cDNA from permissive HeLa S3 cells was introduced into poorly susceptible NIH 3T3 cells. These cells were selected after infection with HTLV-1 envelope …


The Effect Of Equal Channel Angular Extrusion (Ecae) And Boron Additions On The Mechanical Properties Of A Biomedical Ti-Nb-Zr-Ta (Tnzt) Alloy, Gian Colombo Jan 2010

The Effect Of Equal Channel Angular Extrusion (Ecae) And Boron Additions On The Mechanical Properties Of A Biomedical Ti-Nb-Zr-Ta (Tnzt) Alloy, Gian Colombo

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

New metastable-beta type titanium alloys based on the biocompatible elements Ti-Nb-Zr-Ta: TNZT) have been developed to address the shortcomings: e.g. incomplete biocompatibility, high modulus, etc.) of the traditionally used materials in joint replacement prostheses. Equal channel angular extrusion: ECAE) processing has the capability to improve the mechanical properties of these alloys to broaden their potential biomedical applications. The focus of this investigation is to evaluate and optimize the ECAE process to produce maximum property improvement, and explore the effectiveness of boron as a grain refining agent. Deformation mechanisms are identified for various processing conditions, and the strain distribution induced during …


Stress Reactivity, Stress Appraisal And Coping Responses In Schizophrenia, Zainab Delawalla Jan 2010

Stress Reactivity, Stress Appraisal And Coping Responses In Schizophrenia, Zainab Delawalla

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Psychosocial factors have long been recognized as important to the etiology of schizophrenia. According to the stress-vulnerability model, the experience of stress is critical to the onset and/or maintenance of schizophrenia. Although there is no conclusive evidence to suggest that people with schizophrenia experience more stressful events than the general population, there is ample evidence that stress is linked with the course of illness. Traditionally, two lines of research have examined stress processing mechanisms: one focusing on the biological response to stress by studying the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal: HPA) axis and the other focusing on the psychological mechanisms delineated in the transactional …


Role Of The Ajuba Lim Proteins In Epithelial Growth Regulation, Meghna Das Thakur Jan 2010

Role Of The Ajuba Lim Proteins In Epithelial Growth Regulation, Meghna Das Thakur

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The mammalian Ajuba LIM proteins: Ajuba, LIMD1, WTIP) are cytosolic adapter proteins recruited to nascent epithelial adherens junctions, where they are thought to contribute to junctional assembly and/or stability. They also shuttle into the nucleus acting as corepressors of the Snail family of transcriptional repressors, thereby contributing to epithelial mesenchymal transition. As such they have the potential to communicate cell adhesive events with nuclear responses to remodel epithelia. Determining their role(s) in vivo, however, has been challenging due to shared interacting proteins, overlapping tissue expression and functional redundancy in cells. Thus, we turned to the Drosophila model system where a …


Analysis Of Eurycea Hybrid Zone In Eastern Missouri, Bonnie Jean Beasley Jan 2010

Analysis Of Eurycea Hybrid Zone In Eastern Missouri, Bonnie Jean Beasley

Masters Theses

"Evolutionary mechanisms are often difficult to observe in action because evolution generally works slowly over time. Hybrid zones provide a unique opportunity to observe many evolutionary processes, such as reinforcement, because of the rapid changes that tend to occur in these zones. Salamanders provide an ideal model for examining the rapid changes in populations that result from hybridization because many closely-related species lack reproductive barriers. In Missouri, a well-documented hybridization zone exists among the two subspecies Eurycea longicauda longicauda (long-tailed salamander) and E. L. melanopleura (dark-sided salamander). These salamanders inhabit caves, limestone creek beds, and abandoned mine shafts. A closely …


Representation And Validation Of Domain And Range Restrictions In A Relational Database Driven Ontology Maintenance System, Patrick Garrett. Edgett Jan 2010

Representation And Validation Of Domain And Range Restrictions In A Relational Database Driven Ontology Maintenance System, Patrick Garrett. Edgett

Masters Theses

"An ontology can be used to represent and organize the objects, properties, events, processes, and relations that embody an area of reality [1]. These knowledge bases may be created manually (by individuals or groups), and/or automatically using software tools, such as those developed for information retrieval and data mining. Recently, the National Science Foundation funded a large collaborative development project for the semi-automated construction of an ontology of amphibian anatomy (AmphibAnat [2]). To satisfy the extensive community curation requirements of that project, a generic, Web-based, multi-user, relational database ontology management system (RDBOM [3]) was constructed, based upon a novel theoretical …


Brain Insulin Action Regulates Hypothalamic Glucose Sensing And The Counterregulatory Response To Hypoglycemia, Kelly Diggs-Andrews Jan 2010

Brain Insulin Action Regulates Hypothalamic Glucose Sensing And The Counterregulatory Response To Hypoglycemia, Kelly Diggs-Andrews

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The brain is the primary organ that senses blood glucose levels and initiates a stress response when blood glucose levels are too low: hypoglycemia). Insulin-dependent people with Type 1 diabetes: T1DM) have an impaired ability to sense hypoglycemia and an impaired ability to activate this counterregulatory response: CRR) to hypoglycemia. As a result, T1DM are at a greater risk of experiencing insulin induced severe hypoglycemic episodes, which can result in seizures, brain damage, or even death. Since hypoglycemia is a major barrier that limits intensive blood glucose control, important research initiatives are needed to prevent or reduce the burden of …