Digital Commons Network^™

Formulation Of A Killed Whole Cell Pneumococcus Vaccine - Effect Of Aluminum Adjuvants On The Antibody And Il-17 Response., Harm Hogenesch, Anisa Dunham, Bethany Hansen, Kathleen Anderson, Jean-Francois Maisonneuve, Stanley L. Hem

Department of Comparative Pathobiology Faculty Publications

Background

Streptococcus pneumoniae causes widespread morbidity and mortality. Current vaccines contain free polysaccharides or protein-polysaccharide conjugates, and do not induce protection against serotypes that are not included in the vaccines. An affordable and broadly protective vaccine is very desirable. The goal of this study was to determine the optimal formulation of a killed whole cell pneumococcal vaccine with aluminum-containing adjuvants for intramuscular injection.

Methods

Four aluminium-containing adjuvants were prepared with different levels of surface phosphate groups resulting in different adsorptive capacities and affinities for the vaccine antigens. Mice were immunized three times and the antigen-specific antibody titers and IL-17 responses …

Morphology, Material And Vibratory Properties Of The Swimbladder In The Carp, Cyprinus Carpio, Yasha Mohajer

Theses and Dissertations

The carp Cyprinus carpio has a two-chambered swimbladder and excellent hearing. I explored the hypothesis that the anterior chamber, which connects to Weberian ossicles, is adapted for hearing by testing both chambers for material properties. I also determined displacement and auditory responses to mechanical strikes. Wall stress is higher in the posterior, strain in the anterior and modulus lower in the anterior chamber. Strikes increase pressure followed by a variable rebound that rapidly decays. Displacement and sound amplitude increase with hammer force, and amplitude is similar in both chambers for within chamber strikes but lower across chambers. Normalized for equivalent …

Bridging The Marine-Terrestrial Disconnect To Improve Marine Coastal Zone Science And Management, Benjamin I. Ruttenberg, Elise F. Granek

Biological Sciences

Coastal zone ecosystems sit between larger terrestrial and marine environments and, therefore, are strongly affected by processes occurring in both systems. Marine coastal zone systems provide a range of benefits to humans, and yet many have been significantly degraded as a result of direct and indirect human impacts. Management efforts have been hampered by disconnects both between management and scientific research and across linked marine–terrestrial systems. Management jurisdictions often start or end at the shoreline, and multiple agencies at different levels of government often have overlapping or conflicting management goals or priorities, or suffer from a lack of knowledge or …

Expression And Function Of The Dna Damage Protein Umud Of Acinetobacter Baylyi, And Its Predicted Cleavage And Nucleophilic Activator Residue Mutants In Escherichia Coli, Sabal Adhikari

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science & Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Sabal Adhikari on July 28, 2011.

Vulnerability Of High-Latitude Soil Organic Carbon In North America To Disturbance, G Grosse, Jennifer Harden, Merritt R. Turetsky, A D. Mcguire, Philip Camill, Charles Tarnocai, Steve Frolking, Edward A.G. Schuur, Torre Jorgenson, S Marchenko, Vladimir Romanovsky, Kimberley P. Wickland, Nancy French, Mark Waldrop, Laura Bourgeau-Chavez, Robert G. Striegl

Earth Sciences

This synthesis addresses the vulnerability of the North American high-latitude soil organic carbon (SOC) pool to climate change. Disturbances caused by climate warming in arctic, subarctic, and boreal environments can result in significant redistribution of C among major reservoirs with potential global impacts. We divide the current northern high-latitude SOC pools into (1) near-surface soils where SOC is affected by seasonal freeze-thaw processes and changes in moisture status, and (2) deeper permafrost and peatland strata down to several tens of meters depth where SOC is usually not affected by short-term changes. We address key factors (permafrost, vegetation, hydrology, paleoenvironmental history) …

What Makes An Animal Choose A Forage, Elizabeth A. Burritt, Frederick D. Provenza

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Weekly Challenger, July 28, 2011, The Weekly Challenger, Et Al

Weekly Challenger Newspaper Collection

The July 28, 2011, issue of The Weekly Challenger.

Judiciary And Ethics Committee Meeting Minutes 7/28/2011, University Of South Florida. Student Government Senate

Legislative Branch Publications

Student Government Senate Committee on Judiciary and Ethics meeting minutes for 7/28/2011

Bulletin, Dmacc Marketing

Bulletin

No abstract provided.

Spatial Ecology Of The Palm-Leaf Skeletonizer, Homaledra Sabelella (Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae), James T. Cronin

Faculty Publications

Understanding the processes that determine the distribution of populations is a fundamental goal in ecology. In this study, I determined the relative contribution of space and the biotic and abiotic environment to the distribution of the palm-leaf skeletonizer Homaledra sabalella (PLS; Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae) among patchily distributed dwarf palmettos (Sabal minor; Arecaceae). Based on surveys conducted at two sites in the Sherburne Wildlife Management Area, Louisiana, I found that the distribution of the PLS was primarily related to local environmental conditions - number of PLS increased with palmetto height, was greater in dry versus wet habitats, and varied in an inconsistent …

Novel Feature-Based Methods For Improved Glaucoma Detection And Progression Prediction, Young June June Kim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness worldwide. Since glaucomatous vision loss is irreversible, early detection is essential to prevent or manage this disease. Assessing retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) using imaging technologies plays an important role in early glaucoma detection. However, accurate evaluation of the RNFL using such technologies can be limited due to overlaps. In literature, feature-based techniques such as fast-Fourier analysis and wavelet-Fourier analysis have shown better diagnostic capability over the standard methods. Nevertheless, such techniques may not fully represent local variation and randomness in the RNFL.Similarly, progression prediction is also critical. Assessing visual field (VF) data …

The "Precious" Dilemma: An Investigation Of Race, Childhood Sexual Abuse, And Adult Obesity, Armanthia Nicole Duncan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The critically acclaimed film Precious, depicts poverty, sexual abuse, illiteracy, and obesity. The emotional story of Precious inspires this research on childhood sexual trauma and its long-term effects. I intend to address these issues by investigating the relation between childhood sexual abuse and its relation to obesity using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the subcomponent Adverse Childhood Experience module. Using binary logistic regression models controlling for education, income, healthy lifestyle and health risk behaviors, the odds ratio for sexually abused black female respondents were higher than for sexually abused females of other races. Findings from …

An Assessment Of Differential Susceptibility Of Raccoons (Procyon Lotor) To Capture In Live Traps In Western Tennessee, Erica Hessen Vecchio

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

An Assessment of Differential Susceptibility of Raccoons (Procyon lotor) to Capture in Live Traps in Western Tennessee Spatial and temporal variation in differential susceptibility of male and female raccoons (Procyon lotor) to capture in live traps was investigated during 2001-2005. Initial captures and recaptures were assessed using mark-recapture procedures on 6 spatially-independent grids. Numbers of males captured were always greater than numbers of females spatially and temporally, although not always significantly. In the spatial assessment, initial captures ranged from 86 (56:30 males:females) at Site 1 to 12 (11:1) at Site 4; recaptures ranged from 34 (22:12) at Site 1 to …

Optimization And Management Of Large-Scale Scientific Workflows In Heterogeneous Network Environments: From Theory To Practice, Yi Gu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Next-generation computation-intensive scientific applications feature large-scale computing workflows of various structures, which can be modeled as simple as linear pipelines or as complex as Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs). Supporting such computing workflows and optimizing their end-to-end network performance are crucial to the success of scientific collaborations that require fast system response, smooth data flow, and reliable distributed operation.We construct analytical cost models and formulate a class of workflow mapping problems with different mapping objectives and network constraints. The difficulty of these mapping problems essentially arises from the topological matching nature in the spatial domain, which is further compounded by the …

Genetic Variability Of The Stable Fly, Stomoxys Calcitrans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae) Assessed On A Global Scale Using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism, Kathleen M. Kneeland

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, is a cosmopolitan pest of livestock and humans. It is a major pest in livestock facilities, where exist excellent breeding sites such as spilled feed mixed with manure. The pestiferous nature and painful bite cause stress to cattle and other animals. Cattle perform avoidance behaviors such as bunching together, standing in water, tail swishing, ear flicking and leg stamping. The stress and avoidance behaviors result in reductions in weight gain or milk production, with an estimated annual economic loss of > $1billion. Therefore, the development of more efficient control methods would benefit the global economy, …

Modelling Of Two Wheeler Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicles, Bhanuben Amrutlal Patel

Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this work was to identify and specify the requirements of critical components of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell systems in 2-wheeled vehicles. Specifically, mathematical simulation tools, Matlab, Simulink and ADVISOR were used to explore the viability of both a smaller than 10kW fuel cell and smaller than 10kW hybrid fuel cell scooter. Hydrogen, air, and water consumption as well as heat management were monitored under varying conditions in simulations. Efficiency of the overall system was found to be approximately 50% and highly dependent on the fuel cell auxiliary power source. Due to the existing fuel converter …

Lafora Disease E3-Ubiquitin Ligase Malin Is Related To Trim32 At Both The Phylogenetic And Functional Level, Carlos Romá-Mateo, Daniel Moreno, Santiago Vernia, Teresa Rubio, Travis M. Bridges, Matthew S. Gentry, Pascual Sanz

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Malin is an E3-ubiquitin ligase that is mutated in Lafora disease, a fatal form of progressive myoclonus epilepsy. In order to perform its function, malin forms a functional complex with laforin, a glucan phosphatase that facilitates targeting of malin to its corresponding substrates. While laforin phylogeny has been studied, there are no data on the evolutionary lineage of malin.

RESULTS: After an extensive search for malin orthologs, we found that malin is present in all vertebrate species and a cephalochordate, in contrast with the broader species distribution previously reported for laforin. These data suggest that in addition to forming …

A Rice Plastidial Nucleotide Sugar Epimerase Is Involved In Galactolipid Biosynthesis And Improves Photosynthetic Efficiency, Chunlai Li, Yiqin Wang, Linchuan Liu, Yingchun Hu, Fengxia Zhang, Sod Mergen, Guodong Wang, Michael Schläppi, Chengcai Chu

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Photosynthesis is the final determinator for crop yield. To gain insight into genes controlling photosynthetic capacity, we selected from our large T-DNA mutant population a rice stunted growth mutant with decreased carbon assimilate and yield production named photoassimilate defective1 (phd1). Molecular and biochemical analyses revealed that PHD1 encodes a novel chloroplast-localized UDP-glucose epimerase (UGE), which is conserved in the plant kingdom. The chloroplast localization of PHD1 was confirmed by immunoblots, immunocytochemistry, and UGE activity in isolated chloroplasts, which was approximately 50% lower in the phd1-1 mutant than in the wild type. In addition, the amounts of …

The Role Of Metallothionein-3 In The Regulation Of Cell Differentiation, Chandra Sekhar Bathula

Theses and Dissertations

Metallothioneins, a group of low molecular weight, cysteine rich, intracellular proteins, are known to sequester heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd+2) and mercury and provide protection against their toxic effects. Previous studies from this laboratory have shown that the third isoform of metallothionein (MT-3) is expressed in the human kidney in situ, including the cultures of human proximal tubule (HPT) cells. The stable expression of MT-3 in the immortalized proximal tubule cell line that lacks its expression restored dome formation in these cells, suggesting that MT-3 may have a role in differentiation and vectorial active transport. This study further investigated …

Mineralogical Characterizations Of Asteroids In/Near The 3:1 Kirkwood Gap, Sherry K. Fieber-Beyer

Theses and Dissertations

This research program initiated a systematic visible-near-infrared (VNIR) spectroscopic survey to search for links between twenty-seven asteroidal bodies adjacent to the 3:1 resonance and meteorite types in the terrestrial collections. The 3:1 Kirkwood gap located at 2.5 AU is a potential major source for meteorites and near-Earth asteroids. This research program utilized observations using the NASA IRTF SpeX instrument to obtain high signal-to-noise NIR spectra (0.8–2.5 μm) of asteroids in a zone centered on the 3:1 resonance. The spectra were used to mineralogically characterize asteroids in the zone to identify their meteorite analogs (if any). The mineralogy, petrology, isotope chemistry, …

Quantitative Analysis Of The Reaction Between Gliadin And Citric Acid Under Weak Acidic And Weak Alkaline Conditions, Wei Li

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Gliadin was reacted with citric acid under weak acidic and weak alkaline conditions in both wet and dry states and the reaction mechanism was studied. The low morphological stability in an aqueous environment and inferior mechanical properties have restricted the applications of plant proteins, although these materials possess a unique structure, biocompatibility and biodegradability. Carboxylic acids such as citric acid are inexpensive and nontoxic chemicals and are preferred for crosslinking proteins and cellulose to improve the desired properties of the materials.

In this study, gliadin was chosen as a model of plant proteins to react with citric acid. However, previous …

Development Of A 3-Body:Many-Body Integrated Fragmentation Method For Weakly Bound Clusters And Application To Water Clusters (H2o) N=3-10, 16, 17, Desiree M. Bates, Joshua R. Smith, Tomasz Janowski, Gregory S. Tschumper

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

A 3-body:many-body integrated quantum mechanical (QM) fragmentation method for non-covalent clusters is introduced within the ONIOM formalism. The technique captures all 1-, 2-, and 3-body interactions with a high-level electronic structure method, while a less demanding low-level method is employed to recover 4-body and higher-order interactions. When systematically applied to 40 low-lying (H₂O)_n isomers ranging in size from n = 3 to 10, the CCSD(T):MP2 3-body:many-body fragmentation scheme deviates from the full CCSD(T) interaction energy by no more than 0.07 kcal mol-1 (or < 0.01 kcal mol-1 per water). The errors for this QM:QM method increase only slightly for various low-lying isomers of (H₂O)₁₆ and (H₂O)₁₇ (always within 0.13 kcal mol^{-1 …}

Regulation Of Stomatal Tropism And Infection By Light In Cercospora Zeae-Maydis: Evidence For Coordinated Host/Pathogen Responses To Photoperiod?, Hun Kim, John B. Ridenour, Larry D. Dunkle, Burton H. Bluhm

Department of Botany and Plant Pathology Faculty Publications

Cercospora zeae-maydis causes gray leaf spot of maize, which has become one of the most widespread and destructive diseases of maize in the world. C. zeae-maydis infects leaves through stomata, which is predicated on the ability of the pathogen to perceive stomata and reorient growth accordingly. In this study, the discovery that light was required for C. zeae-maydis to perceive stomata and infect leaves led to the identification of CRP1, a gene encoding a putative blue-light photoreceptor homologous to White Collar-1 (WC-1) of Neurospora crassa. Disrupting CRP1 via homologous recombination revealed roles in multiple aspects of pathogenesis, including …

Functional Characterization Of The Streptococcus Sanguinis Com Regulon, Jill Callahan

Theses and Dissertations

Streptococcus sanguinis is an important component of the dental plaque biofilm and is believed to play a beneficial role in the oral cavity. S. sanguinis is also a leading cause of infective endocarditis (IE), a potentially lethal infection of the cardiac valves. S. sanguinis possesses genetic competence, the ability to acquire exogenous DNA into its genome. In the well characterized system of S. pneumoniae, genetic competence requires a quorum sensing system encoded by the early comCDE genes, as well as late genes controlled by the alternate sigma factor, ComX. Previous studies in other streptococcal species have suggested functions for the …

2011 Uab Summer Research Expo, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

Expo Programs

Catalog of undergrauate student research poster presentations with abstracts.

Exploring The Relationship Between Myers-Briggs Type And Instructional Perspectives Among College Faculty Across Academic Units, Pamela Jean Moehl

Dissertations

Education has the opportunity to play an integral role in sustaining the health of our economy in an increasingly competitive, global market. A review of the issues and trends impacting higher education reveals growing pressure placed on faculty to advance instructional outcomes among more diverse populations. Imbedded is the challenge to create new knowledge about how to improve instruction. As diversity among college students in terms of age, gender, and ethnicity continues to increase, psychological type provides a means for examining important differences in choice of academic discipline(s), persistence, learning style, and teaching style preferences. Faculty members face increasing pressure …

Ethnic/Racial Differences In The Experience Of Burden And Psychological Outcomes For Caregivers Of Patients With Schizophrenia: The Influence Of Family Cohesion And Interdependence, Giulia C. Suro

Open Access Theses

Research has demonstrated that taking care of a patient with schizophrenia has serious mental health costs to caregivers including high levels of burden and poorer overall mental health. Research also indicates that caregivers from certain ethnic/racial groups may fare better in this process. Specifically, prior research indicates that African American and Hispanic caregivers often exhibit better mental health than their Caucasian counterparts. Using a sample of 176 caregivers of patients with schizophrenia, the present study was specifically aimed at examining whether three variables (caregiver burden, family cohesion and interdependence) may account for part of the formerly observed ethnic/racial differences in …

07-27-2011 Swosu Announces Summer 2011 Graduates, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

THE BARK ARCHIVE 2011

A total of 154 students at Southwestern Oklahoma State University completed requirements for either associate, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degrees this summer on the Weatherford and Sayre campuses.

The Cord (July 27, 2011)

The Cord

No abstract provided.

The Levels Of Analysis Revisited., Scott A Macdougall-Shackleton

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

The term levels of analysis has been used in several ways: to distinguish between ultimate and proximate levels, to categorize different kinds of research questions and to differentiate levels of reductionism. Because questions regarding ultimate function and proximate mechanisms are logically distinct, I suggest that distinguishing between these two levels is the best use of the term. Integrating across levels in research has potential risks, but many benefits. Consideration at one level can help generate novel hypotheses at the other, define categories of behaviour and set criteria that must be addressed. Taking an adaptationist stance thus strengthens research on proximate …