Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Stress On Pain And Daily Living In Fibromyalgia, Meredith Brooke Wessner

ETD Archive

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a condition that is characterized by widespread pain, which occurs in about 2 of the population, and impacts more women than men. This study sought to: 1) determine if stress, pain intensity, and the interference of pain in daily living predict if FM patients are likely to complete the pain rehabilitation program 2) Explore the interrelationship between stress, pain intensity, gender, and the interference of pain in daily living at admission and discharge. This study examined 142 FM patients admitted to the Cleveland Clinic Chronic Pain Rehabilitation Program (CPRP) from January 2007-August 2010 (84.5 female). Logistic regression …

Investigations Of Anatomical Connectivity In The Internal Capsule Of Macaques With Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Kyle Andrew Ignatius Taljan

ETD Archive

Understanding anatomical connectivity is crucial for improving outcomes of deep brain stimulation surgery. Tractography is a promising method for noninvasively investigating anatomical connectivity, but connections between subcortical regions have not been closely examined by this method. As many connections to subcortical regions converge at the internal capsule (IC), we investigate the connectivity through the IC to three subcortical nuclei (caudate, lentiform nucleus, and thalamus) in 6 macaques. We show that a statistical correction for a known distance-related artifact in tractography results in large changes in connectivity patterns. Our results suggest that care should be taken in using tractography to assess …

Intricate Rna : Rna Interactions In U12-Dependent Nuclear Pre-Mrna Splicing, Tupa Basu Roy

ETD Archive

Coding regions or exons of most human genes are interrupted by noncoding intervening regions or introns. Removal of nuclear precursor messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) introns by RNA splicing is an essential step in eukaryotic gene expression. Two types of nuclear pre-mRNA introns are known as U2-dependent or major type and U12-dependent or minor type. Nuclear pre-mRNA introns are removed by two distinct sets of ribonucleoprotein complexes or spliceosomes, which are formed by five small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs) for each spliceosome. U6atac and U12 snRNAs are central to U12-dependent spliceosome and play essential roles in the removal of U12-dependent introns. U6atac and …

Intelligent Controls For A Semi-Active Hydraulic Prosthetic Knee, Timothy Allen Wilmot

ETD Archive

We discuss open loop control development and simulation results for a semi-active above-knee prosthesis. The control signal consists of two hydraulic valve settings. These valves control a rotary actuator that provides torque to the prosthetic knee. We develop open loop control using biogeography-based optimization (BBO), which is a recently developed evolutionary algorithm, and gradient descent. We use gradient descent to show that the control generated by BBO is locally optimal. This research contributes to the field of evolutionary algorithms by demonstrating that BBO is successful at finding optimal solutions to complex, real-world, nonlinear, time varying control problems. The research contributes …

Comparison Of Prototype Bicycle Pedal Vs Traditional, Fixed Pedal And It's Effect On Efficiency And Power Output, Renee B. Goldstein

ETD Archive

Purpose: To determine the prototype pedal's effect on efficiency and power output when compared to a traditional pedal. Methods: Forty cyclists, aged 37.03 years, completed a 15-minute efficiency ride and 30 second Wingate power test on the prototype pedal and traditional bicycle pedal. Efficiency was calculated from a 15-minute ride at a set workload of 150W for females and 175W for males. The subjects rode at a cadence of their choice that represented their training speed. Heart rates were continually monitored during the ride and exercise post oxygen consumption (EPOC) was measured during the 10 minutes of recovery. Energy expenditure …

Factors Affecting Heme Transfer From "Gapdh": A Possible Heme Carrier Protein, Rajesh Vempati

ETD Archive

The aim of my research is to understand the mechanism of heme transfer by carrier proteins into heme proteins. The mechanism of heme insertion into proteins is poorly understood. Previous experiments reported from our lab identified GAPDH as a possible heme carrier protein involved in heme transfer (Ritu Chakravarti et al PNAS). This work focuses on 2 aspects of heme transfer. a.) Rate of transfer of heme from GAPDH to apomyoglobin. We examined the rate of transfer of native proto-heme and the analogue meso-heme. The results showed that the rate of heme transfer was twice as fast for meso-heme compared …

Measuring The Environmental Impact Of Embedded/Bankfull Culverts, Joseph A. Pavlick

ETD Archive

Streams are dynamic systems constantly changing over time. The health of a stream system is tied to the amount of sedimentation occurring in a stream. The addition of roadway culverts into a stream has been shown to cause erosion and sedimentation problems if the culvert does not meet stream characteristics of slope, bankfull/width, and channel orientation. This has led to the design of embedded/bankfull culverts. In the State of Ohio, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Army Corps of Engineers now require the Ohio Transportation to install embedded/bankfull culverts at all stream locations during new roadway construction. …

Measurement Of White Matter Structure Changes In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Using Fractal Analysis, Zao Liu

ETD Archive

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is recognized as a motor neuron disorder affecting the structure and function of the brain and neuromuscular system. Very little is known, however, that the nervous system degeneration is dependent on disease phenotypes of ALS. The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of brain white matter (WM) structure degeneration in four ALS patient groups characterized by their clinical signs and neuroimaging measurements. Fractal dimension (FD) of three-dimensional (3D) brain WM images was quantitatively analyzed to evaluate the WM structural complexity, including complexity levels of the WM skeleton, surface and general structures in ALS …

Culturally-Responsive Dance: Building Community One Step At A Time, Jeanette Jackson

ETD Archive

James Catterall's, (1997) report, "Involvement in the Arts and Success in Secondary School", espoused the need for Arts Education. Finding that students who were involved in the arts had increased motivation, school attendance, and positive attitudes, this longitudinal study became a national model of Arts Education advocacy. Landson Billings (1995) assertion that culturally-relevant pedagogy is a pillar for student success is but a further expansion of Ogbu (1987) which stated that "A culturally relevant pedagogy must provide a way for students to maintain their cultural identity while succeeding academically" (p. 155).Although the academic world has reflected and responded to the …

Hopeful Hostility: An Analysis Of The Evolution Of American Naturalism, Amonte Littlejohn

ETD Archive

American Naturalism has a reputation of being a reductive and often times violent genre, but in its brutality exists a lens to examine adverse social conditions and practices of modern and historical society. Evolved from its precursor in European Naturalism, American Naturalism would undergo adaptations to make the genre more relevant to the American audience, authors like Frank Norris and Stephen Crane each tailoring their naturalistic novels to cater to their respective times. Since then, the genre has gone as a style that is as difficult to define as it is to accept, American Naturalism receiving criticisms and detractions with …

Why Unions Matter, 2nd Edition, Victor G. Devinatz

Faculty Publications – Management

At the end of the 21st century’s first decade, the U. S. trade union movement is undoubtedly in crisis. Problems abound, with no easy solutions in sight. Elected in 1995 to lead the American Federation of Labor–Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO), the “New Voice” team headed by John Sweeney buoyed the hopes of trade union reformers that it would overhaul the stultifying bureaucracy of the AFL–CIO, which Lane Kirkland, the previous federation president, did little to dismantle or significantly alter during his 16 years in office. Additionally, Sweeney promised to beef up the resources devoted to union organizing in an …

Biological Activity And Mass Spectrometric Analysis Of Vernonia Amygdalina Fractions, Winston Anderson

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

Vernonia amygdalina (VA) is a tropical African plant of the Asteraceae family used as dietary supplement and as a medicinal herb. In this study, fatty acid esters, fatty acid amide, triterpene, diterpene alcohols and phytostanols were identified as the major chemical groups in the aqueous and organic fractions of VA leaf extracts. Their structures were elucidated, on the basis of GC-MS data, as hexanedioic acid, bis (2-ethylhexyl) ester (2a), erucamide (2b) and squalene (2c) in the water fraction; hexadecanoic acid methyl ester (3a), 9(Z)12(Z)15(Z)-octadecatrienoic acid, methyl ester (3b) and phytol (3c) in methanol fraction; phytol (4a), squalene (4b) and 7,22-ergostadienol …

Occurrence Of Pediocin Pa-1/Ach-Like Bacteriocin In Native Non-Starter Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus Paracasei And Lactobacillus Rhamnosus From Retail Cheddar Cheese, Mothomang Mlalazi, Angela Winslow, Junia Jean-Gilles Beaubrun, Broderick Eribo

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

Bacteriocin producing Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus rhamnosus were isolated from retail Cheddar cheese and identified by both phenotypic and molecular methods. These isolates were found to produce bacteriocins with broad-spectrum activity against several foodborne pathogens: Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella typhi, E. coli O157:H7, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Further characterization of the bacteriocins showed that they had extremely high thermostability as activity was maintained after boiling for 6.5 h. In addition, autoclaving for 45 minutes had no significant effect on the activity. Similarly, storage at -20 ⁰C, 4 ⁰C, 25 ⁰C, 37 ⁰C and 45 …

Biological Activity And Mass Spectrometric Analysis Of Vernonia Amygdalina Fractions, Broderick Eribo

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

Vernonia amygdalina (VA) is a tropical African plant of the Asteraceae family used as dietary supplement and as a medicinal herb. In this study, fatty acid esters, fatty acid amide, triterpene, diterpene alcohols and phytostanols were identified as the major chemical groups in the aqueous and organic fractions of VA leaf extracts. Their structures were elucidated, on the basis of GC-MS data, as hexanedioic acid, bis (2-ethylhexyl) ester (2a), erucamide (2b) and squalene (2c) in the water fraction; hexadecanoic acid methyl ester (3a), 9(Z)12(Z)15(Z)-octadecatrienoic acid, methyl ester (3b) and phytol (3c) in methanol fraction; phytol (4a), squalene (4b) and 7,22-ergostadienol …

Restoration Of Emergent Sandbar Habitat Complexes In The Missouri River, North Dakota

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

In 2003, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) issued an Amendment to the 2000 Biological Opinion (BiOp) with recommendations for the US Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) operations on the Missouri River Mainstem System (MRMS). The BiOp Amendment was the result of continuing consultation between the Corps and the USFWS under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and supplemented the recommendations given in the previous BiOp (USFWS, 2000). The 2000 BiOp and amendments made in 2003 will be collectively referred to as “BiOp” hereafter. The document found that Corps operations on the Missouri River were not likely to jeopardize …

Protective Immunity To Pre-Erythrocytic Stage Malaria, Robert J. Schwenk, Thomas L. Richie

United States Army: Publications

The development of a vaccine against malaria is a major research priority given the burden of disease, death and economic loss inflicted upon the tropical world by this parasite. Despite decades of effort, however, a vaccine remains elusive. The best candidate is a subunit vaccine termed RTS,S but this provides only partial protection against clinical disease. This review examines what is known about protective immunity against pre-erythrocytic stage malaria by considering the humoral and T cell-mediated immune responses that are induced by attenuated sporozoites and by the RTS,S vaccine. On the basis of these observations a set of research priorities …

Determination Of Threshold Adverse Effect Doses Of Percutaneous Vx Exposure In African Green Monkeys, Raymond F. Genovese, Bernard J. Benton, John L. Oubre, Christopher E. Byers, E. Michael Jakubowski, Robert J. Mioduszewski, Timothy J. Settle, Thomas J. Steinbach

United States Army: Publications

Percutaneous exposure to the chemical warfare nerve agent VX was evaluated in African green monkeys (n = 9). Doses of VX (7.5–100 μg/kg) were applied to the skin for 60 min and residual agent was quantified (before decontamination) to estimate the absorbed dose. Monkeys were evaluated for the presence or absence of clinical signs of toxicity and blood was sampled periodically (30 min–12 weeks) following exposure to measure the degree of circulating acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition. Monkeys were also evaluated for behavioral changes fromVXexposure using a serial probe recognition (SPR) task. The lowest observable adverse effect level (LOAEL) for the production …

Mechanical Response Of Pig Skin Under Dynamic Tensile Loading, Jaeyoung Lim, Jihye Hong, Weinong W. Chen, Tusit Weerasooriya

United States Army: Publications

Uniaxial tensile experiments were performed on pig skin to investigate the tensile stressestrain response at both quasi-static and dynamic rates of deformation. A Kolsky tension bar, also called a split Hopkinson tension bar (SHTB), was modified to conduct the dynamic experiments. Semiconductor strain gages were used to measure the low levels of the transmitted signal from pig skin. A pulse shaper technique was used for generating a suitable incident pulse to ensure stress equilibrium and approximate constant strain rate in the specimen of a thin skin sheet wrapped around the ends of the bars for minimizing radial inertia. In order …

Detection Of Six Serotypes Of Botulinum Neurotoxin Using Fluorogenic Reporters, Daniel R. Ruge, F. Mark Dunning, Timothy M. Piazza, Brian E. Molles, Michael Adler, Füsûn N. Zeytin, Ward C. Tucker

United States Army: Publications

Methods that do not require animal sacrifice to detect botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are critical for BoNT antagonist discovery and the advancement of quantitative assays for biodefense and pharmaceutical applications. Here we describe the development and optimization of fluorogenic reporters that detect the proteolytic activity of BoNT/A, B, D, E, F, and G serotypes in real time with femtomolar to picomolar sensitivity. Notably, the reporters can detect femtomolar concentrations of BoNT/A in 4 h and BoNT/E in 20 h, sensitivity that equals that of animal-based methods. The reporters can be used to determine the specific activity of BoNT preparations with intra- …

Prophylaxis With Human Serum Butyrylcholinesterase Protects Guinea Pigs Exposed To Multiple Lethal Doses Of Soman Or Vx, Ashima Saxena, Wei Sun, James M. Fedorko, Irwin Koplovitz, Bhupendra P. Doctor

United States Army: Publications

Human serum butyrylcholinesterase (Hu BChE) is currently under advanced development as a bioscavenger for the prophylaxis of organophosphorus (OP) nerve agent toxicity in humans. It is estimated that a dose of 200 mg will be required to protect a human against 2 × LD₅₀ of soman. To provide data for initiating an investigational new drug application for the use of this enzyme as a bioscavenger in humans, we purified enzyme from Cohn fraction IV-4 paste and initiated safety and efficacy evaluations in mice, guinea pigs, and non-human primates. In mice, we demonstrated that a single dose of enzyme that …

Comment: Additional Barriers To Breaking The Silence: Issues To Consider When Representing A Victim Of Same-Sex Domestic Violence, Satoko Harada

University of Baltimore Law Forum

No abstract provided.

Commencement Exercises, Texas A&M University-Commerce

All Commencement Programs

A color program for the Summer 2011 commencement ceremony at Texas A&M University-Commerce. It includes a program of events, a list of graduating students, and biographical information for Louise Tobin, recipient of an Honorary Doctorate. It includes a signature from Louise Tobin thanking the Special Collections staff.

Suicide And Suicide Risk In Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender Populations: Review And Recommendations, Ann P. Haas, Mickey Eliason, Vickie M. Mays, Robin M. Mathy, Susan D. Cochran, Anthony R. D'Augelli, Morton M. Silverman, Prudence W. Fisher, Tonda Hughes, Margaret Rosario, Stephen T. Russell, Effie Malley, Jerry Reed, David A. Litts, Ellen Haller, Randall L. Sell, Gary Remafedi, Judith Bradford, Annette L. Beautrais, Gregory K. Brown, Gary M. Diamond, Mark S. Friedman, Robert Garofalo, Mason S. Turner, Amber Hollibaugh, Paula J. Clayton

Publications and Research

Despite strong indications of elevated risk of suicidal behavior in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, limited attention has been given to research, interventions or suicide prevention programs targeting these populations. This article is a culmination of a three-year effort by an expert panel to address the need for better understanding of suicidal behavior and suicide risk in sexual minority populations, and stimulate the development of needed prevention strategies, interventions and policy changes. This article summarizes existing research findings, and makes recommendations for addressing knowledge gaps and applying current knowledge to relevant areas of suicide prevention practice.

“Mutual Comfort”: Courtly Love And Companionate Marriage In The Poetry Of Sir Philip Sidney And Edmund Spenser, Amanda Taylor

Quidditas

The interaction between courtly love poetry and the development of companionate marriage has received little critical attention. Rather, critics of courtly love poetry focus on authorial ambition and self-presentation. This paper explores how the revision of the courtly love genre in the poetry of Sir Philip Sidney and Edmund Spenser participated within the societal transformation toward companionate marriage. The individualized female characters in their poetry shatter courtly stereotypes, but the relationship options presented either fragment the sequence, as in Sidney’s Astrophil and Stella, or enable it to drive forward to completion, as in Spenser’s Amoretti and Epithalamion. I …

Become The Change Newsletter For January 2011, Center For Nonviolence And Peace Studies

Center for Nonviolence & Peace Studies

The January 2011 issue of the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies newsletter, Become the Change, is a periodical with articles written by faculty, ongoing research projects, upcoming course offerings and Center events.

Aboard Gso: A Newsletter For Alumni And Friends Of The University Of Rhode Island’S Graduate School Of Oceanography For Winter 2011, Uri Graduate School Of Oceanography

Graduate School of Oceanography Publications

The Winter 2011 (Volume 9, Issue 2) issue of Aboard GSO: A Newsletter for Alumni and Friends of the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography, a periodical about GSO events, faculty research and essays by alumni.

Aboard Gso: A Newsletter For Alumni And Friends Of The University Of Rhode Island’S Graduate School Of Oceanography For Spring 2011, Uri Graduate School Of Oceanography

Graduate School of Oceanography Publications

The Spring 2011 (Volume 9, Issue 1) issue of Aboard GSO: A Newsletter for Alumni and Friends of the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography, a periodical about GSO events, faculty research and essays by alumni.

Molecular Characterization Of Novel Sulfotransferases From The Tick, Ixodes Scapularis, Sivakamasundari Pichu, Emine Bihter Yalcin, José Mc Ribeiro, Roberta S. King, Thomas N. Mather

Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Ixodes scapularis, commonly known as the blacklegged or deer tick, is the main vector of Lyme disease in the United States. Recent progress in transcriptome research has uncovered hundreds of different proteins expressed in the salivary glands of hard ticks, the majority of which have no known function, and include many novel protein families. We recently identified transcripts coding for two putative cytosolic sulfotransferases in these ticks which recognized phenolic monoamines as their substrates. In this current study, we characterize the genetic expression of these two cytosolic sulfotransferases throughout the tick life cycle as well as the …

Nmr Solution Structures Of Two Hairpins Of E. Coli 16s Rrna: The Effects Of Mutations And Chemical Modifications On Structure And Function Of Rrna, Yu Liu

Wayne State University Dissertations

The structures of two functional mutants, the UC (G690U, U697C) and the QM mutants (G690A, G693C, A695C, U697A) of the 690 hairpin of E. coli 16S ribosomal RNA were determined by NMR. The UC mutant and the QM mutant with high biological function are able to fold into structures that are isomorphous with the wild-type 690 hairpin sequence. The structural comparisons among the functional mutants and the wild-type provides structural validation for previously identified specific functional groups that are crucial for maintaining function of the 690 hairpin. The key groups for maintaining the structure and function of the 690 loop …

Exploring Potential Drug Target Sites In The Ribosome Using Cisplatin And Its Analogues, Keshab Rijal

Wayne State University Dissertations

Cis-diamminodichloridoplatinum (II), cisplatin, is an antitumor drug that has been used to treat several types of cancers. The reaction of cisplatin with DNA has been studied and discussed extensively in the literature; however, the effects of cisplatin on RNA function are poorly understood. In this thesis, two aspects of cisplatin, its preferred sites of interaction with RNA and its use as a chemical probe to gain accessibility information, were explored.

To understand the site-selectivity of cisplatin with RNA, model RNA constructs and full-length 16S rRNA were employed. The binding studies revealed a cisplatin preference for guanosine-rich sequences. Primer extensions in …