Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

X-Ray Diffraction Microscopy: Computational Methods And Scanning-Type Experiments, Jan Felix Steinbrener

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

X-ray Diffraction Microscopy (XDM) has been gaining in popularity for nanoscale imaging of biological and material science samples. Its high penetration depth (compared to electron microscopy) and its good dose efficiency (compared to its lens-based X-ray alternative) make it uniquely suited for imaging whole biological specimens, where radiation damage is a concern. Despite these advantages, XDM is still far from being a routine imaging tool. This is due to the computational challenge of reconstructing an image from recorded diffraction intensities as well as difficult-to-satisfy experimental requirements. I address these challenges by improving on the computational methods and by implementing a …

Associations Between Parental Psychopathology, Temperament, And Error-Related Brain Activity In Young Children, Dana Catherine Torpey

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

The error-related negativity (ERN) is an event-related brain potential that is believed to originate in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and is observed in adults and older children when errors are committed. Evidence is mixed regarding whether or not young children reliably demonstrate an ERN. A number of studies suggest that the amplitude of the ERN is modulated by individual differences, including psychopathology and temperament. The correct-response negativity (CRN) is also a negative-deflection that appears on correct trials and is similar to the ERN in terms of scalp topography and morphology. Less is known about its function and whether individual …

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 …

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 …

Local Adaptation In The Atlantic Silverside (Menidia Menidia): Fine-Scaled Geographic Variation In Vertebral Number And The Adaptive Significance Of Jordan's Rule, Lyndie Ann Hice

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

The Atlantic silverside, Menidia menidia, is a widely distributed marine species along the east coast of North America that has been shown to exhibit local adaptation, despite evidence of high gene flow. This species displays a very strong and spatially fine scale increase in vertebral number with latitude, consistent with Jordan's Rule. Spatial and temporal variability can be seen on a microgeographic scale, potentially due to differences in site-specific developmental temperature and/or mixing among nearby locales. Most of the vertebral number variation is genetic however, and such tight clinal patterns implicate natural selection as the cause but its adaptive significance …

Identification Of L1334, A Unique Glycopeptidolipid Isolated From A M. Smegmatis Msmeg1604 Mutant And Functional Characterization Of Rv3409c From M. Tuberculosis, Jin Gao

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

M. tuberculosis has a cholesterol oxidizing activity that initiates sterol metabolism, which may be related to its virulence. Rv3409c of M. tuberculosis H37Rv was annotated as a putative cholesterol oxidase, an enzyme that catalyzes cholesterol modification, based on low similarities with established cholesterol oxidase genes. The Rv3409c gene was heterologously expressed in Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2 155 and purified. Using established cholesterol oxidase assays, no cholesterol oxidizing activity was detected. The M. smegmatis ortholog MSMEG1604 shares 83% amino acid identity with Rv3409c from M. tuberculosis H37Rv. The M. smegmatis MSMEG1604 transposon mutant (Myc11) oxidized and degraded cholesterol. Therefore, we concluded that …

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 …

Application Of Transition Metal-Catalyzed Reactions In The Synthesis Of N- Heterocyclic Natural Products, Stephen Joshua Chaterpaul

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

Metal-catalyzed carbon-carbon bond forming reactions have become one of the most powerful synthetic reactions of the modern organic chemistry reaction arsenal. These reactions have allowed for easier access to more complex structures, and brought about the development of various catalytic asymmetric and asymmetric transformations. At the core of metal-catalyzed asymmetric synthesis are chiral ligands, which are required for the asymmetric inductions afforded by these reactions. From the very inception of asymmetric reactions, mono- and bidentate phosphorus- based ligands have played a critical role in achieving high enantioselectivity. Although, bidentate ligands have dominated the scene over the past thirty years, monodentate …

Design, Synthesis And Biological Evaluation Of Novel Tumor-Targeting Taxane-Based Drug Delivery Systems, Manisha Das

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

Cancer continues to be a leading cause of death in the U.S. after heart disease and has become the leading cause of death for people younger than 85. Cancer chemotherapy relies on the hypothesis that rapidly proliferating cancer cells will be the more likely target of cytotoxic agents. However, cytotoxic agents have very little or no specificity towards cancer cells leading to systemic toxicity causing severe undesirable side effects. A tumor-targeting drug delivery system (DDS) that can distinguish between normal and cancer cells by utilizing their physiological and/or morphological differences is amongst the most promising protocols. Tumor cells overexpress many …

Expression And Function Of Rest In Oligodendrocyte Lineage Cells, Lisa Marie Dewald

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

The RE1-silencing transcription factor (REST) regulates the expression of neural specific genes by acting as a transcriptional repressor in non-neuronal cells. REST binds to repressor elements (RE1s) in the DNA and recruits histone deacetylases (HDACs) and other histone modifying and chromatin remodeling proteins through its corepressors mSin3 and CoREST. RE1s are located on a large number of genes that are required for the development and maintenance of the neuronal phenotype and are normally repressed in non-neural cells. By regulating gene expression, REST participates in the orderly developmental transition from a neuroepithelial precursor or stem cell to a functional neuron. Glial …

The Effect Of Chr16p11.2 Microdeletions And Microduplications On Gene Expression In Autism Spectrum Disorders And Schizophrenia., Mary Kusenda

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

The number of rare variants found to be associated with multiple psychiatric disorders is growing. One such locus is a recurrent ~600kb copy number variant (CNV) at 16p11.2, occurring in approximately 1% of autism and 0.3% of schizophrenia cases, as compared to 0.01% of the general population. (Sebat 2007, Kumar 2007, Weiss 2008, McCarthy 2009). This mutation has been found at a higher frequency in autistics and schizophrenics, but is also found in patients with developmental delay without an autistic diagnosis, and is also rarely seen in healthy individuals. Head circumference is observed to be smaller in deletion cases versus …

A Nuanced Perspective Of Sexual Orientation And Its Relationship With Well-Being: Differentiating Sexual And Non-Sexual Attractions In Heterosexual And Sexual Minority Women And Men, Athena Yoneda

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

Research has demonstrated that violating the norm of heterosexuality by endorsing a sexual minority identity is associated with poorer psychological well-being. Such studies have failed to take into account the multifaceted nature of sexual orientation, looking primarily at identity, and failing to examine other components, namely same-sex attractions. The present study examined same-sex and other-sex sexual and non-sexual (emotional, romantic) attractions in an Internet sample of 532 adults (n = 244 heterosexual, n = 288 sexual minority). Findings established preliminary support for a measure of sexual and non-sexual attractions, and demonstrate that sexual and non-sexual attractions can be differentiated in …

Conflict Resolution In Mexican-Origin Couples: Culture, Gender, And Marital Quality, Lorey A. Wheeler, Kimberly A. Updegraff, Shawna M. Thayer

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

This study examined associations between Mexican-origin spouses’ conflict resolution strategies (i.e., nonconfrontation, solution orientation, and control) and (a) gender-typed qualities and attitudes, (b) cultural orientations, and (c) marital quality in a sample of 227 couples. Results of multilevel modeling revealed that Mexican cultural orientations were positively associated with solution orientation, and Anglo cultural orientations were negatively associated with nonconfrontation. Expressive personal qualities were negatively associated with control, whereas instrumental qualities were positively related to control. Links between conflict resolution and marital quality revealed that control and nonconfrontation were associated with spouses’ ratings of marital negativity. In some cases, different patterns …

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.

The Current Volume 21 : Issue 3, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

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 …

Exploring The Use Of Video-Teleconferencing For On-Duty Training In The St. Charles Fire Department And St. Louis Metropolitan Emergency Response Community, Robb F. Watkins

Dissertations

This study was conducted because the St. Charles Fire Department needed to identify a way to change its training delivery system to accommodate training in quarters for on-duty companies. St. Charles was experiencing: budget reductions, staffing shortages, delayed responses due to training, and increasing response times. The department identified video teleconferencing (VTC) as a possible solution to their training delivery dilemma. This study was a qualitative study including surveys and interviews that evaluated the VTC implementation process. The research question was, “How can fire department training be constructed to enhance the frequency and adequacy of training and reduce the need …

52nd Rocky Mountain Conference On Analytical Chemistry

Rocky Mountain Conference on Magnetic Resonance

Final program, abstracts, and information about the 52nd annual meeting of the Rocky Mountain Conference on Analytical Chemistry, co-endorsed by the Colorado Section of the American Chemical Society and the Society for Applied Spectroscopy. Held in Snowmass, Colorado, August 1-5, 2010.

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 …

Comparison Of Different Methods For Longitudinal Data With Missing Observations., Lin Sun

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Longitudinal studies occupy an important role in scientific researches and clinical trials. When taking the analysis of longitudinal data, investigators are often confronted with missing data which will produce potential biases, even in well-controlled condition. In the literature, missing data could be classified as missing completely at random (MCAR), missing at random (MAR) and missing not at random (MNAR). Generalized estimating equations (GEE), Linear mixed effects model (LME) and Pattern-mixture effect model (PME) are the commonly used analysis methods for longitudinal data. In the current work, we carried out simulations on evaluating the performances of the different methods on analyzing …

Carbon Nanotube Thin Film Transistors For Biomedical Applications., Vanessa Velasco

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The application of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has captivated the curiosity of today's experts due to the escalating potential in the field of electronic detection of biomolecules. Their extreme environmental sensitivity and small size make them ideal candidates for future biosensing technologies. Recent studies have shown that the binding of receptor proteins (biomolecules located at the membrane of cells) with their corresponding antibodies immobilized on a carbon nanotube surface causes changes in the electrical properties of carbon nanotubes and have been measured with a carbon nanotube field effect transistor (CNTFET). This specific molecular interaction and sensitivity is promising for the direct …

Systemic And Strength Effects : Experimental Concentrations Of Topical Menthol., Lee Jordan Winchester 1984-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Menthol has been regularly utilized as a treatment in sports related injuries for many years, yet little is known about its physiological interactions or its effect on performance. Our previous study indicates that topically applied menthol may cause an acute decrease in blood flow and may improve strength capabilities. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of two different concentrations of menthol (3.5% and 10%) on systemic blood flow and strength. 16 subjects participated in this 4 week study examining blood flow and strength effects after menthol or control treatment. Results indicate that the 3.5% menthol causes …

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 …

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 …

Inference For Time To Event And Sojourn Time Data Under Right Censoring Using Reweighting Approaches., Jie Fan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation research, we aim to solve problems of two types of survival data, clustered survival data with potentially informative cluster size and sojourn time data. The methods for these two types of data are different. However, both data have right censored observations, and we use reweighting approaches to deal with the censoring issue. In the first part of the dissertation research, we consider marginal AFT models for correlated survival data with potentially informative cluster size. Informative cluster size means that the size of the correlated groups may be predictive of their survival characteristics. Two competing proposals, cluster-weighted AFT …

Determination Of In Silico Rules For Predicting Small Molecule Binding Behavior To Nucleic Acids In Vitro., Patrick Andrew Holt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The vast knowledge of nucleic acids is evolving and it is now known that DNA can adopt highly complex, heterogeneous structures. Among the most intriguing are the G-quadruplex structures, which are thought to play a pivotal role in cancer pathogenesis. Efforts to find new small molecules for these and other physiologically relevant nucleic acid structures have generally been limited to isolation from natural sources or rationale synthesis of promising lead compounds. However, with the rapid growth in computational power that is increasingly becoming available, virtual screening and computational approaches are quickly becoming a reality in academia and industry as an …

Nyctalopin Is Required For Localization Of The Trpm1 Channel To The Retinal Depolarizing Bipolar Cell Dendrites., Jillian Nydam Pearring

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mutations in the NYX gene, encoding the novel protein nyctalopin, cause human congenital stationary night blindness type 1 (CSNB1). CSNB1 is an X-linked recessive condition and is identified by a loss of the electroretinogram (ERG) b-wave while the a-wave remains intact (Miyake et al., 1986). The b-wave in normal patients is generated by the depolarization of one class of bipolar cells, which receive signals from the photoreceptors. This indicates that CSNB1 is a loss of signaling from the photo receptors to the depolarizing bipolar cells. Normal stimulation of photoreceptors by light causes the photoreceptors to hyperpolarize and reduce the amount …