Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of A Group Counseling Career Intervention On The Hopefulness And Future Orientation Of At-Risk Middle School Students, Amy Kathryn Macey

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a small group counseling career intervention on levels of total hope, willpower (agency), waypower (pathways), and future orientation of at-risk middle school students attending an urban middle school in Southeast Michigan. This true experimental, randomized, pretest-posttest control group design compared the statistical outcomes of a small group counseling career intervention with a control group. Forty-four middle school students in the eighth grade (18 males and 26 females) were randomly selected and participated in the research study. Twenty-two students were randomly assigned to an experimental group and twenty-two students were …

Computer Simulation In Mass Emergency And Disaster Response: An Evaluation Of Its Effectiveness As A Tool For Demonstrating Strategic Competency In Emergency Department Medical Responders, Daniel Joseph O'Reilly

Wayne State University Dissertations

This study examined the capability of computer simulation as a tool for assessing the strategic competency of emergency department nurses as they responded to authentically computer simulated biohazard-exposed patient case studies. Thirty registered nurses from a large, urban hospital completed a series of computer-simulated case studies of virtual biohazard-exposed patients. The completed case studies were assessed by the host computer according to computer-programmed criteria. The same case studies were also assessed by a trio of emergency medicine physicians acting as subject matter experts according to their own criteria. The results of this study demonstrated a significant correlation between computer-assessed and …

Chemotherapy For Lung Cancer: Determinants Of Guideline Adherence And Associated Patient Outcomes, Ramzi George Salloum

Wayne State University Dissertations

Evidence-based guidelines recommend chemotherapy for medically fit patients with stage II-IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Adherence to chemotherapy guidelines has rarely been studied among large populations, mainly because performance status (PS), a key component in assessing chemotherapy appropriateness, is missing from claims-based datasets. Among a large cohort of patients with known PS, this dissertation describes chemotherapy use relative to guideline recommendations and identifies patient factors and outcomes associated with guideline concordant use. Among these patients 29% do not receive guideline recommended chemotherapy treatment, missing opportunities for cure or receiving chemotherapy with more risk of harm than benefit, thereby likely …

Monitoring, Diagnosis, And Control For Advanced Anesthesia Management, Zhibin Tan

Wayne State University Dissertations

Modern anesthesia management is a comprehensive and the most critical issue in medical care. During the past dacades, a large amount of research works have been focused on the problems of monitoring anesthesia depth, modeling the dynamics of anesthesia patient for the purpose of control, prediction, and diagnosis.

Monitoring the anesthesia depth is not only for keeping the patient in adquate anesthesia level but also for preventing the patient from overdosing. Several EEG based indexes have been developed such as the BIS, and Entropy etc. for measuring depth. However, reports mentioned that those indexes in some cases fail in detecting …

Pleiotropic Regulatory Function Of The Lysr Family Transcriptional Regulator Cpsy During Streptococcus Iniae Systemic Infection, Jonathan Paul Allen

Wayne State University Dissertations

The ability of a pathogen to metabolically adapt to the local environment for optimal expression of virulence determinants is a continued area of research. Orthologs of the Streptococcus iniae LysR family regulator CpsY have been shown to regulate methionine biosynthesis and uptake pathways, but appear to influence expression of several virulence genes as well. A S. iniae mutant with an in-frame deletion of cpsY is highly attenuated in a zebrafish infection model. The cpsY deletion mutant displays a methionine-independent growth defect in serum, which differs from the methionine-dependent defect observed for orthologous mutants of S. mutans and S. agalactiae. …

Small Gtp-Binding Proteins In Insulin Secretion, Bhavaani Jayaram

Wayne State University Dissertations

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is marked by a substantial beta-cell failure which is characterized by defective insulin secretion and resistance to insulin. Understanding the molecular events leading to Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion [GSIS] might serve as therapeutic potential towards diabetes. GSIS involves interplay between small G-proteins and their regulatory factors. Herein, I tested the hypothesis that Arf nucleotide binding site opener [ARNO], a guanine nucleotide exchange factor [GEF] for the small G-protein Arf6, mediates the activation of Arf6, and that ARNO/Arf6 signaling axis, in turn, controls the activation of downstream effectors. Salient features of my study are: [i] ARNO/Arf6 is expressed …

Mechanisms Of Translation Arrest Following Focal Brain Ischemia, Monique K. Lewis

Wayne State University Dissertations

MECHANISMS OF TRANSLATION ARREST FOLLOWING FOCAL BRAIN

ISCHEMIA

by

MONIQUE K. LEWIS

August 2011

Advisor: Dr. Donald DeGracia

Major: Physiology

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

The loss of blood flow to the brain is termed ischemia and the subsequent resumption of blood flow is termed reperfusion. Brain ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) occurs primarily following resuscitation from cardiac arrest and stroke and presents one of the most significant clinical challenges. At present, there are no clinically effective pharmacologic interventions to halt brain damage following I/R. The major Aim of this dissertation will be to investigate possible mechanisms involved in neuron death following …

Axogial Communication Mediated By Soluble Neuregulin-1 And Bdnf, Zhenzhong Ma

Wayne State University Dissertations

During peripheral nervous system development, successful communication between axons and glial cells including Schwann cells in peripheral nervous system and oligodendrocytes in central nervous system, is required for the proper functions of both neurons and glia. Three types of alternatively-spliced proteins belonging to the neuregulin1 (NRG1) gene family of growth and differentiation factors are essential for Schwann cell survival and peripheral nerve development. While membrane-bound NRG1 forms (type III) has been strongly implicated in the regulation of myelination process at late stage of Schwann cell development, little is known about the role of soluble, heparin-binding forms of NRG1 (type I/II) …

Mechanisms Of Regulation Of Islet Function By Nadph Oxidase, Ismail Syed

Wayne State University Dissertations

Glucose stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) involves a series of metabolic and cationic events, leading to translocation of insulin-laden secretory granules from a distal site toward the plasma membrane for fusion and release of insulin into circulation. Vesicular transport and fusion events are tightly regulated by signals which coordinate between vesicle- and membrane-associated docking proteins. It is now being accepted that reactive oxygen species [ROS] plays a second messenger role in islet â-cell function. Further, evidence from multiple laboratories suggests a tonic increase in ROS generation is necessary for GSIS and fatty acid-induced insulin secretion. On the other hand, excessive ROS …

Recognition Of The Transgender Self: An Examination Of The Apologia Of The 'Pregnant Man', Erika Marie Thomas

Wayne State University Dissertations

In 2008, Thomas Beatie, a legally recognized male, transgender man, became pregnant with his first child and approached the American mass media to tell his story and defend his decisions. Shortly thereafter, the public fought against his image, attempting to normalize his body and gender. Beatie's unique gender blurring, his choice for exposure and social recognition, and the resulting public controversy surrounding the incident makes for an important test case to understand Beatie's discursive and visual strategies directed toward the American public.

This study, a rhetorical examination of the discourse and iconic visual image used by Beatie while his pregnant …

The Effect Of Changes In Drug Benefit Design Among Individuals With Diabetes In Large Employer-Sponsored Insurance Plans, Ninee Shoua Yang

Wayne State University Dissertations

THE EFFECT OF CHANGES IN DRUG BENEFIT DESIGN AMONG INDIVIDUALS WITH DIABETES IN LARGE EMPLOYER-SPONSORED INSURANCE PLANS

By

NINEE SHOUA YANG

August 2011

Advisor: Dr. Allen C. Goodman

Major: Economics

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

With spending for prescription drugs rising so rapidly, employers and insurers are seeking different cost-cutting strategies to stem this tide. Given that prescription drugs have become an indispensable means to treat and manage chronic illnesses, the issues of affordability and trade-offs between medications and other health care services are important for chronically ill patients, particularly for patients with diabetes who typically have more than one comorbidity …

Human Trophoblast Survival And Invasion In The Developing Placenta: Autocrine Regulation By Hbegf, Philip Jessmon

Wayne State University Dissertations

HBEGF is a multifunctional protein in early pregnancy that induces cytotrophoblast (CTB) cell differentiation to an invasive phenotype, protects against apoptosis, and is involved in an autocrine signaling mechanism that leads to its own protein synthesis. CTBs exist in a low O₂ environment during the first 10 weeks of implantation, during which they invade the decidualized uterine stroma. Inhibitors of intracellular signaling pathways demonstrated that at 20% O₂ HBEGF induces an increase in cell migration through the ERK, MAPK14, JNK, or PIK3 pathways downstream of signaling through its ERBB receptors. Also downstream of these four pathways, HBEGF induces …

Deformable Meshes For Shape Recovery: Models And Applications, Chang Liu

Wayne State University Dissertations

With the advance of scanning and imaging technology, more and more 3D objects become available. Among them, deformable objects have gained increasing interests. They include medical instances such as organs, a sequence of objects in motion, and objects of similar shapes where a meaningful correspondence can be established between each other. Thus, it requires tools to store, compare, and retrieve them. Many of these operations depend on successful shape recovery. Shape recovery is the task to retrieve an object from the environment where its geometry is hidden or implicitly known. As a simple and versatile tool, mesh is widely used …

Autonomic Management Of Virtualized Resources In Cloud Computing, Jia Rao

Wayne State University Dissertations

The last five years have witnessed a rapid growth of cloud computing in business, governmental and educational IT deployment. The success of cloud services depends critically on the effective management of virtualized resources. A key requirement of cloud management is the ability to dynamically match resource allocations to actual demands, To this end, we aim to design and implement a cloud resource management mechanism that manages underlying complexity, automates resource provisioning and controls client-perceived quality of service (QoS) while still achieving resource efficiency.

The design of an automatic resource management centers on two questions: when to adjust resource allocations and …

Expression Of Microbial Rhodopsins In Retinal Neurons With Subcellular Targeting Motifs: For The Study Of The Structure/Function Of Aii Amacrine Cells And For Vision Restoration, Chaowen Wu

Wayne State University Dissertations

Protein-targeting motifs serve as addresses for subcellular protein localization. This feature of targeting-motifs was used to study the retina. The first part of the dissertation reports in the axonless spiking AII amacrine cell of the mammalian retina a dendritic process sharing organizational and functional similarities with the axon initial segment, the typical site of action potential initiation. This process was revealed through viral-mediated expression of channelrhodopsin-2-GFP (ChR2-GFP) with the AIS-targeting motif of sodium channels (NavII-III) and was shown to be the site of spike initiation. The second part of the dissertation aimed to improve microbial rhodopsin-mediated gene therapy for vision …

Sons, Daughters, And Arab-American Family Dynamics: Does A Child's Gender Matter?, Sanaa Al Harahsheh

Wayne State University Dissertations

SONS, DAUGHTERS, AND ARAB-AMERICAN FAMILY DYNAMICS: DOES A CHILD'S GENDER MATTER?

by

SANAA ALHARAHSHEH

December 2011

Advisor: Dr. Mary Sengstock

Major: Sociology

Degree:Doctor of Philosophy

Gender differences exist in families in all societies and cultures, but expectations are often different from one society/culture to another. Children's gender and its implications for family behavior have recently received a great deal of scholarly attention, especially in western societies; however, the influence of a child's gender on Arab-American family dynamics has not been investigated. Therefore, this study is the first to examine the impact of the gender of the child in selected Arab-American …

La Patria Perdida O Imaginada: Translating Teodoro Torres In "El Mexico De Afuera", Ethriam Cash Brammer

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

LA PATRIA PERDIDA O IMAGINADA: TRANSLATING TEODORO TORRES

IN "EL MÉXICO DE AFUERA"

by

ETHRIAM CASH BRAMMER

December 2011

Advisor: Dr. Renata Wasserman

Major: English

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

One resent result of the Recovery of the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project has been the "rediscovery" of the novel La patria perdida (1935), written by acclaimed Mexican journalist Teodoro Torres while in exile in the United States. This novel is a kind of Mexican-American Horacio Algiers tale, detailing the success story of Luis Alfaro, who is eventually able to create a utopian Mexican-American hacienda, called Buenavista, outside of Kansas …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Non-Normal Distributions On Tests Of Equivalence, Linda Ellington

Wayne State University Dissertations

Statistical theory and its application provide the foundation to modern systematic inquiry in the behavioral, physical and social sciences disciplines (Fisher, 1958; Wilcox, 1996). It provides the tools for scholars and researchers to operationalize constructs, describe populations, and measure and interpret the relations between populations and variables (Weinbach & Grinnell, 1997; Wilcox, 1996). Given that the majority of real data analysis in the behavioral and social sciences is comprised of non-normally distributed data, it is important that researchers be aware of the effects of non-normal distributions on the probability of detecting equivalence between populations.

The present study examined the effects …

Observational Study Of Children With Autism Who Have Participated In Hyperbaric Oxgen Therapy, Tamela Marie Powell

Wayne State University Dissertations

Autism is the fastest growing disability ever. With the growth comes a lot of questions as to the etiologies and treatment of this condition, often putting parents, schools, and traditional medical personnel at odds with what treatments have efficacy. As the popularity of alternative treatments increase, so does the need for research.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is one alternative treatment parents are seeking for their child with autism. When one looks at the science behind hyperbaric oxygen therapy and the physical condition of a child with autism the rationale behind the treatment becomes clear. Research has shown that children with autism …

International Student Navigation Through U.S.-American Colleges And Universities: An Autoethnographic Analysis Of Discourse, Nick James Romerhausen

Wayne State University Dissertations

As the population of international students continues to rise at U.S. colleges and universities, the difficulties that international students may face becomes more present and apparent. Intervention strategies used to assist international students in the past have shown remarkable success; however, these strategies have primarily included face-to-face interactions. I explore the role that mediated discourse plays in supporting international students with navigating paths through U.S. colleges and universities by examining ten institutions' assistance handbooks. From inspiration from autoethnography, discourse analysis, and critical education perspectives, I also use an autoethnographic analysis of discourse to understand the types of experiences colleges and …

Functional In Vitro Analyses Of Lipid Raft-Associated Cathepsin B: Implication For The Invasive Phenotype Of Inflammatory Breast Cancer, Bernadette Caroline Victor

Wayne State University Dissertations

FUNCTIONAL IN VITRO ANALYSES OF LIPID RAFT-ASSOCIATED CATHEPSIN B: IMPLICATION FOR THE INVASIVE PHENOTYPE

OF INFLAMMATORY BREAST CANCER

by

BERNADETTE C. VICTOR

December 2011

Advisor: Dr. Bonnie F. Sloane

Major: Cancer Biology

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is an aggressive, metastatic and

highly angiogenic form of locally advanced breast cancer. Breast

cancer invasion has been linked to proteolytic activity at the tumor

cell surface. We observed that uPA, uPAR and enzymatically active

cathepsin B were all present in caveolae fractions isolated from

SUM149 cells. Using a live-cell proteolysis assay, we demonstrated

that both IBC cell lines degrade …

Identification, State Estimation, And Adaptive Control Of Type I Diabetic Patients, Ali Mohamad Hariri

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

IDENTIFICATION, STATE ESTIMATION, AND ADAPTIVE CONTROL OF TYPE I DIABETIC PATIENTS

by

ALI MOHAMAD HARIRI

May 2012

Advisor: Dr. Le Yi Wang

Major: Electrical Engineering

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

During the past few decades, biomedical modeling techniques have been applied to improve performance of a wide variety of medical systems that require monitoring and control. Diabetes is one of the most important medical problems. Most of the existing techniques assume the system to be time-invariant, and the original minimal model was modified by deleting some important parameters. In this research, the original minimal model that consists of three differential …

Mechanical Forces And Tumor Cells: Insight Into The Biophysical Aspects Of Cancer Progression, Indrajyoti Indra

Wayne State University Dissertations

Mechanical forces play an important role in the regulation of cellular behavior and physiological processes including adhesion, migration, proliferation, tissue repair, embryogenesis and development. In addition, a number of diseases including cancer, have been linked to changes in cellular and extracellular mechanical properties. However, whether a correlation exists between the progression of cancer towards metastasis and mechanical factors has not been clearly defined. Additionally, how a cell responds to changes in extracellular mechanical cues as it gains metastatic abilities is poorly understood. To address these questions, we have utilized a panel of murine breast cancer cell lines with progressive metastatic. …

Mechanisms Of Persistent Translation Arrest Following Global Brain Ischemia And Reperfusion, Jill Theresa Jamison

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

MECHANISMS OF PERSISTENT TRANSLATION ARREST FOLLOWING GLOBAL BRAIN ISCHEMIA and REPERFUSION

by

JILL T. JAMISON

December 2011

Advisor: Donald J. DeGracia, Ph.D.

Major: Physiology

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

The information presented here studies the mechanisms that underlie persistent translation arrest (TA) following global brain ischemia and reperfusion (I/R). To summarize the main findings I have discovered a new mechanism for prolonged post-ischemic TA that correlated exactly with in vivo translation rates and correlated precisely with cell outcome. Through the extensive colocalization studies, my results indicate that the mRNA granules are ribonomic structures involved with mRNA regulation. This finding is …

Slavery And Abortion: The Paradox Of American Liberalism, Mark A. Ladd

Wayne State University Dissertations

Louis Hartz proposed that America possesses a liberal tradition that works toward a Lockean equality for all people. I argue that Hartzs' theory is still applicable to America even though illiberal institutions have and do exist. My contention is that it is the paradox of liberalism that allows for this. Slavery is the quintessential illiberal institution, yet liberal concepts allowed it to exist in America for over 200 years. It is my contention that abortion is another illiberal institution that is being promoted by the paradox of liberalism. With the use of John Rawls theory of distributive justice abortion can …

Processing Random Signals In Neuroscience, Electrical Engineering And Operations Research, Kalyan Raman

Wayne State University Dissertations

The topic of this dissertation is the study of noise in electrical engineering, neuroscience, biomedical engineering, and operations research through mathematical models that describe, explain, predict and control dynamic phenomena. Noise is modeled through Brownian Motion and the research problems are mathematically addressed by different versions of a generalized Langevin equation. Our mathematical models utilize stochastic differential equations (SDEs) and stochastic optimal control, both of which were born in the soil of electrical engineering. Central to this dissertation is a brain-physics based model of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics, whose structure is fundamentally determined by an electrical circuit analogy. Our general …

Impairment Of Na/K-Atpase Signaling In Renal Proximal Tubule Contributes To Dahl Salt-Sensitive Hypertension, Jiang Liu, Yanling Yan, Lijun Liu, Zijian Xie, Deepak Malhotra, Bina Joe, Joseph I. Shapiro

Pharmaceutical Science and Research

We have observed that, in renal proximal tubular cells, cardiotonic steroids such as ouabain in vitro signal through Na/K-ATPase, which results in inhibition of transepithelial 22Na transport by redistributing Na/K-ATPase and NHE3. In the present study, we investigate the role of Na/K-ATPase signaling in renal sodium excretion and blood pressure regulation in vivo. In Sprague-Dawley rats, high salt diet activated c-Src and induced redistribution of Na/K-ATPase and NHE3 in renal proximal tubules. In Dahl salt sensitive (S) and resistant (R) rats given high dietary salt, we found different effects on blood pressure but, more interestingly, different effects on renal salt …

Citizen David Tames Gas Goliaths On The Marcellus Shale Stage: Citizen Action As A Form Of Dispute Prevention In The Internet Age, Elisabeth N. Radow

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

"Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink." This could soon become the lament of millions of people who derive their drinking water from sources located near the latest natural gas boom site in the East, known as the "Marcellus Shale" region. Drilling is underway in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, but not yet in New York. The focus here is New York.

2010 Annual Symposium: Keynote Speech, Joseph A. Siegel

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

Thank you very much to the Board of the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution for inviting me here today. I am honored to be speaking at this conference and participating in an event with so many distinguished experts in the conflict resolution field. I spend most of my time working on the challenging issue of climate change and, as we all know, energy is both a significant part of the problem and a significant part of the solution. I often have the opportunity to speak at and attend conferences on climate and energy and I like to monitor over time …

The Brains Behind Mediation: Reflections On Neuroscience, Conflict Resolution And Decision-Making, Daniel Weitz

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

On September 13, 1848, an explosives charge sent a three-foot tamping iron about an inch in diameter through the head of Phineas Gage. Although Gage survived, the tamping iron, which entered just under the left eye and exited through the frontal portion of his head, destroyed his prefrontal cortex. Prior to the accident, Gage was a popular foreman of a railroad construction crew. After the accident, he was a tactless, profane, and impulsive man with a dramatically altered personality.