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In Situ Observations Of Fish Associated With Coral Reefs Off Ireland, M. Söffker, K. A. Sloman, J. M. Hall-Spencer

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

The abundance and behaviour of fish on and around coral reefs at Twin Mounds and Giant Mounds, carbonate mounds located on the continental shelf off Ireland (600-1100. m), were studied using two Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) dives. We recorded 30 fish taxa on the dives, together with three species of Scleractinia (Lophelia pertusa, Madrepora oculata and Desmophyllum cristagalli) and a diverse range of other corals (Antipatharia, Alcyonacea, and Stylasteridae). Stands of live coral provided the only habitat in which Guttigadus latifrons was observed whereas Neocyttus helgae was found predominantly on structural habitats provided by dead coral. Significantly more fish were …

Generational Differences In Perceived Lip Protrusion Esthetics., David Butler 1979-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Facial esthetics plays a major part in diagnosis and treatment planning in orthodontics. One aspect of facial esthetics that orthodontist can drastically change, for better or worse, is that of lip position. What is considered esthetic, however, may vary from person to person based on a multitude of variables. Hypothesis: It is hypothesized that the esthetics of lip protrusion differs with age, with a younger layperson preferring a more protrusive lip position than an older person's ideal lip protrusion. Methods: 208 lay people, ages 12+, with no background in the dental field, were surveyed and asked to rank from …

Dna Polymerase Iota Promotes G2/M Checkpoint Activation And Genetic Stability After Uv-Induced Dna Damage., Lindsey Jay Stallons 1983-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Unrepaired DNA damage poses a serious threat to the genetic stability of a replicating cell. One mechanism of tolerating this damage is translesion DNA synthesis (TLS), in which an accessory polymerase synthesizes DNA directly across from a damaged template. TLS is carried out by polymerase ? (Pol ?), 1, K, and REV1 in the Y-family and Pol ? in the B-family. Pol ? has the well-characterized ability to perform accurate bypass of the most common UV-induced DNA lesion; loss of Pol ? results in hypermutability and severely increased risk of skin cancer. The high mutation frequency in Pol ?-deficient cells …

Large-Scale Rnai Screen Of G Protein-Coupled Receptors Involved In Larval Growth, Molting And Metamorphosis In The Red Flour Beetle, Hua Bai, Fang Zhu, Kapil Shah, Subba R. Palli

Entomology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) belong to the largest superfamily of integral cell membrane proteins and play crucial roles in physiological processes including behavior, development and reproduction. Because of their broad and diverse roles in cellular signaling, GPCRs are the therapeutic targets for many prescription drugs. However, there is no commercial pesticide targeting insect GPCRs. In this study, we employed functional genomics methods and used the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, as a model system to study the physiological roles of GPCRs during the larval growth, molting and metamorphosis.

RESULTS: A total of 111 non-sensory GPCRs were identified in …

The Cellular Model Of Eastern Oyster (Grassostrea Virginica) Shell Formation, Andrew S. Mount, Neeraj V. Gohad, Karolyn Hansen, Mary Beth Johnstone, Douglas C. Hansen

Biology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Targeted Multistage Delivery Of Nanoparticles To The Bone Marrow, Aman Mann

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Bone marrow is a target organ site involved in multiple diseases including myeloproliferative disorders and hematologic malignancies and metastases from breast and prostate. Most of these diseases are characterized with poor quality of life, and the treatment options are only palliative due to lack of delivery mechanisms for systemically injected drugs which results in dose limitation to protect the healthy hematopoietic cells. Therefore, there is a critical need to develop effective therapeutic strategies that allow for selective delivery of therapeutic payload to the bone marrow. Nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems provide the opportunity to deliver drugs to the target tissue while …

Significance Of Increased Tissue Transglutaminase In Hormone Refractory Prostate Cancer, Amy L. Han

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The progression of hormone responsive to hormone refractory prostate cancer poses a major clinical challenge in the successful treatment of prostate cancer. The hormone refractory prostate cancer cells exhibit resistance not only to castrate levels of testosterone, but also to other therapeutic modalities and hence become lethal. Currently, there is no effective treatment available for managing this cancer. These observations underscore the urgency to investigate mechanism(s) that contribute to the progression of hormone-responsive to hormone-refractory prostate cancer and to target them for improved clinical outcomes.

Tissue transglutaminase (TG2) is a multifunctional pro-inflammatory protein involved in diverse physiological processes such as …

Uptake And Metabolism Of 5’-Amp In The Erythrocyte Play Key Roles In The 5’-Amp Induced Model Of Deep Hypometabolism, Isadora Daniels

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

UPTAKE AND METABOLISM OF 5’-AMP IN THE ERYTHROCYTE PLAY KEY ROLES IN THE 5’-AMP INDUCED MODEL OF DEEP HYPOMETABOLISM

Publication No. ________

Isadora Susan Daniels, B.A.

Supervisory Professor: Cheng Chi Lee, Ph.D.

Mechanisms that initiate and control the natural hypometabolic states of mammals are poorly understood. The laboratory developed a model of deep hypometabolism (DH) initiated by uptake of 5’-adenosine monophosphate (5’-AMP) into erythrocytes. Mice enter DH when given a high dose of 5’-AMP and the body cools readily. Influx of 5’-AMP appears to inhibit thermoregulatory control. In a 15°C environment, mice injected with 5’-AMP (0.5 mg/gw) enter a Phase …

Effects Of Lactate Dehydrogenase Haplotypes And Body Condition On Beef Cow Production, Olfat Taleb Alaamri

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) catalyzes the conversion of the pyruvate to lactate (forward) or lactate to pyruvate (reverse) in the last step of glycolysis. Objectives were to document the effects of LDH haplotypes and its SNPs, found in the promoter and coding sequence site, and body condition on beef cow production. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of LDH-B and Five single nucleotide polymorphisms of LDH-A were detected. Eight haplotypes of LDH-B were assigned with the same order of SNPs: G-348A, A-261G, N-222D, and C541A and four haplotypes of LDH-A were assigned with the same order of SNPs: T-327G, D-263C, G390A, A406G, …

The Development And Application Of Fluorenscent Nanomaterials For Trace Determination Of Analytes, Carrie Lee John

Theses and Dissertations

Rapid development in nanoscience and nanotechnology has led to the dawn of a wide variety of nanomaterials. The properties and applications of these materials have not yet been fully explored. Likewise, the development of new types of nanomaterials is still needed. In particular, there is high demand for new photosensitive nanomaterials for detection of trace amount of analytes. Therefore, this dissertation focuses on the development of new photosensitive nanomaterials, the study of their properties and the application of these nanomaterials in trace analysis. Two types of these nanomaterials were studied, zinc-induced fluorescent silica nanoparticles and gold nanorods. The synthesis and …

Encoding Of Temporal Sound Features In The Rodent Superior Paraolivary Nucleus, Richard A. Felix Ii

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The superior paraolivary nucleus (SPON) is a prominent cell group in the mammalian brainstem. SPON neurons are part of a monaural circuit that encodes temporal sound features in the ascending auditory pathway. Such attributes of acoustic signals are critical for speech perception in humans and likely equally as important in animal communication. While basic properties of SPON neurons have been characterized in some detail, a comprehensive examination of mechanisms that underlie their ability to precisely represent temporal information is lacking. Furthermore, little is known of how the SPON impacts its primary target, the inferior colliculus. Combinations of electrophysiological, pharmacological and …

Sacred Land In The Qur'an And Hadith And Its Symbolic And Eschatological Significance, Maria Massi Dakake

Journal of Scriptural Reasoning

No abstract provided.

Effect Of The Infection With Porcine Reproductive And Respiratory Syndrome Virus On The Regulation Of Cytokines: Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha And Interleukin-10, Sakthivel Subramaniam

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) causes late-term abortion in sows and pneumonia in growing piglets. PRRSV evades the host immune response by several mechanisms, including the modulation of cytokine secretions in infected pigs, which is the subject of this dissertation. Particularly, PRRSV reduces the secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) but increases the secretion of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10). The latter effect, however, is PRRSV strain-specific. In this dissertation, we have examined mechanisms by which PRRSV regulates TNF-α and IL-10 expressions. The pathogenic strain FL12, derived from a PRRSV infectious clone, consistently suppressed TNF-α …

Role Of Porcine Reproductive And Respiratory Syndrome Virus Non-Structural Protein 1 In Viral Replications And Pathogenesis, Lalit Kumar Beura

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is an infectious agent of significant concern to the global swine industry. PRRSV infection of pigs is initiated by a long viremia after which the virus enters in an extended persistent phase of 3-4 months that ultimately is resolved by the immune system. The delayed and weak host adaptive response is responsible for the protracted convalescence period. An initial sub-optimal innate immune response is postulated to be the reason behind such meager adaptive immune response. A major focus of the studies undertaken in this dissertation was to identify the viral non-structural proteins (nsps) …

Identification Of Host Proteins Required For Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Infection, Debasis Panda

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Viruses usurp host cell pathways for different stages of their infection. Understanding virus-host interaction will be invaluable to elucidate molecular mechanisms of virus infection and to identify drug targets. In order to identify such critical cellular genes in vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV, a model non-segmented negative strand RNA virus) infection, we developed a stable cell line constitutively expressing replication proteins of VSV. Attempts to establish a cell line replicating a sub-genomic replicon was not successful because of induction of interferon response by replication of viral genomic analog. Subsequently, we used siRNA technology and conducted a genome-wide siRNA screen in HeLa …

Hydrologic Effectiveness And Plant Survivability In The Holmes Lake Rain Garden Pilot Program: Year Three, Marilyn K. Liebsch

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Rain gardens are increasingly being used as small scale stormwater best management practices (BMPs) to reduce stormwater runoff through infiltration and to remove pollutants through filtration. In 2007, as part of a comprehensive water quality restoration process of Holmes Lake in Lincoln, Nebraska, 20 pilot rain gardens were installed in residential and school properties in the watershed. Currently, assessment and monitoring has been limited to participant surveys and cannot be used to determine if hydraulic or vegetative problems exist within the garden area. In this study, visual inspections were conducted to establish a database standard for successful rain gardens, hydraulic …

Remarkable Features Of The Hotdog-Fold Thioesterases Involved In Phylloquinone (Vitamin K1) Biosynthesis, Joshua R. Widhalm

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Phylloquinone (vitamin K₁) is a bipartite molecule, consisting of a naphthoquinone ring attached to a phytyl side chain, that is synthesized by plants and certain cyanobacteria to serve as an electron carrier in photosystem I. The coupling of the ring and isoprenyl moieties relies on the cleavage of the CoA-thioester linkage with 1,4-dihydroxy-2- naphthoate (DHNA). It has long been a mystery if this hydrolysis is an enzymatic or chemical process. Using comparative genomics, protein biochemistry, genetics and metabolic profiling, we identified a cyanobacterial thioesterase responsible for the in vivo hydrolysis of DHNA-CoA. This enzyme bears a signature domain …

Portrayals Of Bullying In Children’S Picture Books And Implications For Bibliotherapy, Emily Moulton, Melissa Allen Heath, Mary Anne Prater, Tina M. Taylor

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Bullying, a serious issue in today’s schools, negatively impacts children. This article summarizes research and emphasizes the need for effective tools, such as bibliotherapy, to deter bullying. To assist professionals in selecting books for bibliotherapy, 38 bully-themed children’s K-3 picture books ranked 1- 4 by The Horn Book Guide (HBG) from January 1, 2004 through January 1, 2010 were analyzed. Comparisons were made between the selected books’ portrayals of bullying and aspects of bullying, and bully prevention described in research literature. Information was summarized, including the following details: (a) gender of bully and victim, (b) type of bullying, (c) location …

Bone Morphogenetic Protein Inhibition Promotes Neurological Recovery After Intraventricular Hemorrhage, Krishna Dummula, Govindaiah Vinukonda, Philip Chu, Yiping Xing, Furong Hu, Sabrina Mailk, Anna Csiszar, Caroline Chua, Peter Mouton, Robert J. Kayton, Joshua C. Brumberg, Rashmi Bansal, Praveen Ballabh

Publications and Research

Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) results in neural cell death and white matter injury in premature infants. No therapeutic strategy is currently available against this disorder. Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling suppresses oligodendrocyte development through basic-helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors and promotes astrocytosis. Therefore, we hypothesized that IVH in premature newborns initiates degeneration and maturation arrest of oligodendrocyte lineage and that BMP inhibition alleviates hypomyelination, gliosis, and motor impairment in the survivors of IVH. To test the hypotheses, a rabbit model of IVH was used in which premature rabbit pups (E29) are treated with intraperitoneal glycerol at 2 hours of age to induce …

A Role For Mir-296 In The Regulation Of Lipoapoptosis By Targeting Puma., Sophie C. Cazanave, Justin L. Mott, Nafisa A. Elmi, Steven F. Bronk, Howard C. Masuoka, Michael R. Charlton, Gregory J. Gores

Journal Articles: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Saturated free fatty acids (FFA) induce hepatocyte lipoapoptosis, a key mediator of liver injury in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Lipoapoptosis involves the upregulation of the BH3-only protein PUMA, a potent pro-apoptotic protein. Given that dysregulation of hepatic microRNA expression has been observed in NAFLD, we examined the role of miRNA in regulating PUMA expression during lipotoxicity. By in silico analysis, we identified two putative binding sites for miR-296-5p within the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of PUMA mRNA. Enforced miR-296-5p levels efficiently reduced PUMA protein expression in Huh-7 cells, while antagonism of miR-296-5p function increased PUMA cellular levels. Reporter gene …

A User Evaluation Of A Decision-Support System: The Community Assessment Model For Odor Dispersion (Cam), John C. Tyndall, Jay D. Harmon, Steven J. Hoff, Nancy Grudens-Schuck

Journal of Extension

This article introduces to the agricultural Extension community a decision-support system—the Community Assessment Model for Odor Dispersion (CAM)—that is helping Iowa swine producers minimize potential odor conflict. Additionally, we share our rationale and approach to evaluating both CAM and its outreach approach. CAM accounts for local conditions and helps producers assess odor risk from new facilities. Based on a user survey, 75% of producers rated CAM as "useful" to "very useful" in decision-making. Results suggest that CAM has passed the primary test of applied science as measured by usefulness to producers in making better decisions.

Immunoregulation Of Liver Regeneration By The Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor: Role Of Lymphocytes And Interferon-Gamma, Christopher John Horras

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is a persistent environmental contaminant that elicits toxicity by activating the aryl hydrocarbon receptor. The toxic effects associated with TCDD exposure include immunotoxicity and dysregulated cell cycle control, although the mechanisms are poorly understood. A previous report indicates that exposure to TCDD suppresses hepatocyte proliferation in a mouse model of liver regeneration induced by 70% partial hepatectomy (PH). Based on reports that liver regeneration is negatively regulated by interferon (IFN)-γ produced by activated natural killer (NK) cells, along with the well-established immunotoxic effects of TCDD in other model systems, we hypothesized that TCDD treatment attenuates liver …

Phylogeography Of A Vanishing North American Songbird: The Painted Bunting (Passerina Ciris), Connie Ann Herr

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Studies of genetic variation within and between species can provide insights into their evolutionary history as well as important information for conserving biodiversity. An understanding of population processes can assist in the conservation of biodiversity by contrasting current versus historical patterns, and the processes that have generated these patterns. Genetic differentiation often coincides with significant geological or climatic changes that have shaped the sizes and locations of the species geographic range and altered the connectivity between populations over time. Phylogenetic and population genetic analyses can also provide a statistical framework for the investigation of how human processes such as habitat …

Redefining Security In Sub-Saharan Africa, Winta Sintayehu Gebremariam

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

New and challenging threats to humans are currently on the rise. These threats to human well being have been neglected and ignored within the traditional conception of security. Security studies have mainly focused on traditional threats, mostly military and political. Although still important, this perspective lacks the ability to address nontraditional threats that are killing and injuring millions each year. Each year, millions die of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, hunger, and water related diseases among others. Although these threats are widespread throughout the world, Sub-Saharan Africa bears the brunt of these threats. This thesis proposes an ecological approach …

Cultural Perspectives On The Interactions Between Nutrition, Health, And Psychological Functioning, Frances E. Aboud

Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

Food and nutrition occupy the daily thoughts of most people, particularly the 178 million children who are malnourished and have been since their first birthday. While malnutrition is directly and indirectly responsible for one-third of child deaths in developing countries, overweight has been declared the number one health problem in other countries. More food is therefore not necessarily better when talking about health. This reading presents information on the major nutrients important for health and psychological functioning, including energy, protein, vitamin A, zinc, iron, and iodine. It also discusses how cultures differ in their food preferences and their beliefs about …

Fragipan Influence On Hydropedological Properties Of Benchmark Soilscapes In West Virginia, John F. Beck

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Soil wetness and the interactions between soil and water influence the potential uses of soil and must be considered when making decisions regarding soil use and management. The strategic placement of hydrologic monitoring instrumentation on a benchmark soilscape is critical toward providing the users of soil information with reliable predictability of water movement at the soil-water interface.;A hydropedologically significant study site that satisfies the benchmark soilscape criteria as defined by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) was selected for this research. Because of the high cost of performing investigations and research, benchmark soils are targeted and the information gleaned from …

The Association Of Markers Of Endothelial Dysfunction And Incident Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension, Chronic Kidney Disease And Cardiovascular Mortality, Loretta Rena Cain

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In recent years several mechanistic animal studies have proposed new insights, including the role of endothelial dysfunction, in the pathogenesis of common cardiometabolic disorders such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, few studies in humans have followed up these emerging leads from animal models. Because traditional risk factors have been shown not to completely explain all the observed risk of cardiometabolic outcomes in the general population, there is a need to examine novel mechanisms such as endothelial dysfunction in population-based studies, so as to identify new ways of preventing and/or treating these diseases. …

Effect Of Intravenous Treatment With The Oxytocin Antagonist Atosiban On Circulating Progesterone In The Ewe, Todd M. Ramboldt

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Effects of oxytocin on the ovine corpus luteum have been controversial for a number of years. The present study investigated the effects of atosiban, a combined oxytocin and vasopressin 1A antagonist, administered systemically to ewes on post estrus day 8 to 10. Atosiban was given in four bolus intravenous injections at 0, 60, 120 and 180 minutes with blood sampling every 15 minutes from -60 through 480 minutes. Concentrations of serum progesterone ng/ml were measured via radioimmunoassay. A log10 transformation of progesterone values was conducted to account for the heterogeneity of variance of the values. During the treatment interval (0 …

The Effect Of Conjugated Linoleic Acid (Cla) On Feed Efficiency And Carcass Composition In Barrows, Natasha R. Winslow

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to determine if conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) would have an effect on feeding efficiency and carcass composition of 20 finishing barrows obtained from the West Virginia University Animal Science Farm. A posttest experimental design was used to obtain data for the study. The barrows were matched for weight and placed two in a pen. The pens were randomly assigned to a diet consisting of either a 1% CLA oil or 1% soybean oil. The six week study found that weight gain, average daily feed intake, muscle lipids, loin eye area, and color were not …

The Role Of Landscape In The Distribution Of Deer-Vehicle Collisions In Two Counties In South-Central Mississippi, Jacob Jeremiah Mckee

Master's Theses

The number of deer killed by vehicle collisions each year in the United States exceeds the number of deer killed annually through hunting. Deer-vehicle collisions (DVCs) have a vast negative impact on the economy, traffic safety, and general wellbeing of otherwise healthy deer populations. To mitigate DVCs, it is imperative to gain a better understanding of the factors that play a role in their spatial distribution. Much of the existing research has been inconclusive, pointing to a variety of factors that cause DVCs that are specific to study site and region. Very little DVC research has been undertaken in the …