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Characterization Of Two Distinct Hfq Genes In Burkholderia Cenocepacia Hi2424, Samantha Sue Sellers

Theses

Species in the genus Burkholderia are found in a wide variety of environments ranging from plant rhizospheres to the human respiratory tract. Even though they have great biotechnological and bioremediative potential in preventing some plant diseases, promoting crop production, and degrading toxic compounds, some species of Burkholderia can be serious pathogens to those who have compromised immune systems, particularly those with Cystic Fibrosis (CF). Many Burkholderia species have two distinct copies of the hfq gene, a rare phenomenon in bacteria studied to date. As a global regulatory protein, Hfq has been shown to act as an RNA chaperone involved in …

Prion Formation And Polyglutamine Aggregation Are Controlled By Two Classes Of Genes, Anita L. Manogaran, Joo Y. Hong, Joan Hufana, Jens Tyedmers, Susan Lindquist, Susan W. Liebman

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Prions are self-perpetuating aggregated proteins that are not limited to mammalian systems but also exist in lower eukaryotes including yeast. While much work has focused around chaperones involved in prion maintenance, including Hsp104, little is known about factors involved in the appearance of prions. De novo appearance of the [PSI+] prion, which is the aggregated form of the Sup35 protein, is dramatically enhanced by transient overexpression of SUP35 in the presence of the prion form of the Rnq1 protein, [PIN+]. When fused to GFP and overexpressed in [ps2] [PIN+] cells, Sup35 forms fluorescent rings, and cells with these rings bud …

Summers V. Earth Island Institute: Overhauling The Injury-In-Fact Test For Standing To Sue, Margaret Mcdonald

Louisiana Law Review

No abstract provided.

Ensemble Theatre Techniques: Butoh Electra, Jordan Rosin

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

For my Capstone project, I was interested in both creating an original piece of theatre and testing a theory I had developed about the way in which a sense of ensemble is cultivated in a company of actors. I theorized that group training in one or more movement disciplines could generate a sense of ensemble just as easily as games or improvisation while having the added benefit of helping us generate material for the particularly physical piece of theatre which I had envisioned. To test the theory, I wrote an original adaptation of the classical Greek tragedy, Electra by Sophocles. …

Synthetic Dosage Lethality Screen With Actin Cytoskeleton In Yeast, Jessica Cho

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The actin cytoskeleton is a vitally important organizing structure found in the cytoplasm of our cells. It contributes to essential cell functions from growth and cell division, development, signal transduction, adaptation, to gene expression. Interest in how regulation of the actin cytoskeleton---due to actin cytoskeleton's importance to cell function-may contribute to diverse human disease states such as the rampant cell division and metastasis that occurs in cancerous tissues. It has been further elucidated that many human genetic disorders are the result of complex haploinsufficiencies (CHI) and/or altered gene dosages at multiple loci. By reviewing a large number of potential Synthetic …

A Biosynthetic Membrane-Anchor/Protein System Based On A Genetically Encoded "Aldehyde Tag", Chaojie Zhen

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Lipid membranes or bilayers serve as barriers for the cell and its organelles. A distinguishing feature of cellular function is the ability to monitor and process the biochemical information between the cells’ intra and extracellular environments in order to maintain the homeostatic reactions that are essential to life. Surface membrane proteins play a key role in mediating this information exchange by functionalizing the bilayer. As a result of their importance in living systems, proteins are integrated into biomimetic membrane systems to replicate their natural functions in biomedical technologies. Current protein integration methods are limited by the selection of commercially available …

Quantum Dot Biofunctionalization, Nathaniel J. Miska

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

We have shown the efficacy of Quantum Dots (qdots), nano-scale fluorescent particles made of semi-conductive material, as versatile biologically functional research tools. This functionality depends upon a series of chemical transformations that produce stable, aqueous, biomolecule-bound qdots with high quantum yield. We utilize the metal binding and chelating properties of the amino acid histidine to displace hydrophobic surface ligands and to phase-transfer qdots from organic to aqueous media. The intermediate binding strength of histidine to qdot surface facilitates its exchange with a variety of strongly binding thiolated biomolecules. Ligand profiles are subsequently characterized via FTIR, NMR, and gel electrophoresis. Negatively-charged …

Identification, Cloning And Fluorescent-Tagging Of Protamines Of The Flour Beetle, Tribolium Castaneum, Kristina Martimucci

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The genome of eukaryotes is associated with chromosomal proteins that fold the DNA into ordered arrangements. The most abundant of these are the histones. Four of these (H2A, H2B, H3 and H4) form the nucleosomal core around which DNA is wrapped. Other proteins can associate with chromatin and fold it into higher order structures. During spermatogenesis in many organisms the standard chromatin configuration undergoes a transition to a highly condensed form in which small, highly basic proteins called protamines replace the histones. It is thought that protamine-based chromatin is more resistant to mutational damage.

Previous work by the Renkawitz-Pohl group …

Sustainability And The Future: A Case Study On Environmental Perspectives Of The Future Generation Of Scientists, Abby Jane Davidson

Master's Theses

In the natural sciences, countless studies have sought to quantify the environmental impacts of varying anthropogenic activities and have predicted and modeled future scenarios for the natural world under the siege of human forces. Faith for the study of and action to ameliorate environmental impacts is often put in the hands of scientists. However, little research has been conducted to look at the attitudes and perceptions future scientists have towards the environment with regard to anthropogenic environmental impacts, sustainability, and the future. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to take an intensive look at one such group …

Design Of A Factorial Experiment With Randomization Restrictions To Assess Medical Device Performance On Vascular Tissue, Wiebke Diestelkamp, Carissa M. Krane, Margaret Pinnell

Biology Faculty Publications

Background: Energy-based surgical scalpels are designed to efficiently transect and seal blood vessels using thermal energy to promote protein denaturation and coagulation. Assessment and design improvement of ultrasonic scalpel performance relies on both in vivo and ex vivo testing. The objective of this work was to design and implement a robust, experimental test matrix with randomization restrictions and predictive statistical power, which allowed for identification of those experimental variables that may affect the quality of the seal obtained ex vivo.

Methods: The design of the experiment included three factors: temperature (two levels); the type of solution used to perfuse the …

Endo-Porter–Mediated Delivery Of Phosphorodiamidate Morpholino Oligos (Pmos) In Erythrocyte Suspension Cultures From Cope's Gray Treefrog Hyla Chrysoscelis, Venkateshwar Mutyam, Matthew V. Puccetti, James Frisbie, David L. Goldstein, Carissa M. Krane

Biology Faculty Publications

Cope's gray treefrog, Hyla chrysoscelis, is a freeze-tolerant anuran that accumulates cryoprotective glycerol during cold acclimation. H. chrysoscelis erythrocytes express the aquaglyceroporin HC-3, which facilitates transmembrane glycerol and water movement. Aquaglyceroporins have no pharmacological inhibitors, and no genetic knockout tools currently exist for H. chrysoscelis. A phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligo (PMO)–mediated expression knockdown approach was therefore pursued to provide a model for testing the role of HC-3. We describe a novel procedure optimized for specific, efficient knockdown of HC-3 expression in amphibian erythrocyte suspensions cultured at nonmammalian physiological temperatures using Endo-Porter. Our protocol includes three critical components: pre-incubation at 37°C, …

An Evaluation Of The Succession Law Changes Introduced By The Civil Partnership And Certain Rights And Obligations Of Cohabitants Act 2010, Niamh Dennehy

Dissertations

The Succession Act 1965 introduced a curb on a person‘s freedom of testation and gave protection to spouses and children on the death of a husband/wife, mother or father. As a result, certain relationships took precedence over others in the distribution of an estate, e.g. a surviving spouse‘s legal right share to a deceased spouse‘s estate is absolute. Since that legislation was enacted Irish society has changed greatly with a new variety and complexity of family structures. The provisions introduced by the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 are an attempt to keep pace with …

Roles Of Vamp3 In Melanoma Cell Migration And Integrin Trafficking., Yaman Babi 1981-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Integrins are major receptors for cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix, and play key roles in various cellular processes including adhesion, migration, proliferation and survival. Apart from developmental and physiological events, integrins are involved in many pathological conditions including cancer metastasis. During cell migration, the exocytosis of integrins at the cell front contributes to the formation and stabilization of protrusions. Previous studies showed that VAMP3, a SNARE protein that mediates exocytosis, is important in integrin trafficking and cell migration. However, the mechanism by which VAMP3 participates in integrin trafficking is not clear. Since VAMP3 is over expressed in melanoma, the …

Motor Observation, Motor Performance, And Motor Imagery : An Erp Study., Eric Brian

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Two major theoretical models, Direct Mapping and Functional Equivalence, suggest that the observation of action and imagery of action, respectively, involve activation of similar motor related areas. Despite the wealth of evidence that supports these two perspectives, the degree to which these motor-related actions overlap is still only vaguely defined. The present investigation sought to assess both the spatial and temporal characteristics of the brain activity involved in these motor related conditions. Specifically, the present study used ERP technology to assess the neural substrates of Motor Observation, Motor Performance, and Motor Imagery. Participants viewed images depicting two human grasping motions, …

Identification And Biochemical Characterization Of The Chlamydia Trachomatis Type Iii Secretion Chaperone, Slc1, And Its Role In The Translocation Of The Invasion-Associated Effector Tarp., Amanda J. Brinkworth

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular pathogen that utilizes a type III secretion system to enter mammalian cells and establish an intracellular niche. TARP, the translocated actin recruitment protein, is a chlamydial invasion protein known to be type III secreted by the metabolically inert elementary body upon docking to the mammalian cell surface. Because immediate secretion of TARP into host cells is necessary for entry, I hypothesized that a chlamydial chaperone binds to TARP and facilitates its translocation through the type III secretion apparatus. Most effector-binding type III secretion chaperones are small (14-18 kDa), have an acidic pI, and share …

An Immediate Survival Focus : Linking Substance Abuse, Fight, Flight, And Prosocial Behavior., George B. Richardson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the United States substance abuse takes a toll that is costly in both economic and human terms. In 2005 we paid 467.7 billion dollars to address the consequences of substance abuse, and each year we have lost an estimated 537,000 of our fellows to substance abuse related causes. It is important that we identify and intervene upon the mechanisms translating risk factors for substance abuse into the related behaviors. This study synthesized life history theory and dual process models of cognition to produce an adaptive and cognitive framework for explaining substance abuse. An immediate survival focus was proposed as …

Biomechanics And Injury Assessment Of Household Falls In Children : Clinical, Anthropomorphic Surrogate, And Computer Simulation Studies., Angela Knight Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pediatric short-distance falls, especially from beds or other furniture, are common false histories given by caretakers to cover up abusive trauma. However, short-distance falls are also a common occurrence in young children. Knowledge of the types and severity of injuries that can result from these short falls can aid clinicians in distinguishing between inflicted and non-inflicted injuries. Early detection of abuse may lead to prevention of further escalating injuries and, in some cases, prevent the death of the child. The purpose of this study was to describe relationships between biomechanical measures and injury potential in short-distance household falls. This study …

The Association Between Body Mass Index And Dental Caries In Hispanic Elementary School Children, Mary Creske

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background: Dental caries is the most common chronic disease of children ages 6 to 11. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 41% of the children in this age group experience decay in their primary teeth. Since 1980 the number of overweight children ages 6 to 11 has doubled. Childhood obesity is currently the most prevalent nutritional condition of children in the U.S.

Purpose: The purpose of this observational study was to determine if there is an association between childhood dental caries and childhood obesity. The study also explored the effects of diet and other covariates.

Method: …

Self-Reported Exercise And Risk Of Osteoporosis In Prostate Cancer Patients Receiving Androgen Deprivation Therapy, Lori J. Mennen-Winchell

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Prostate cancer is stimulated to grow in response to testosterone. Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) leads to chemical castration and suppression of prostate cancer cell production. Testosterone levels less then 300ng/ml decreases bone mineral density and could result in osteoporosis. Studies have shown that during the first year of ADT, fracture risk, mainly in hips and spine increases about 50%. In men, 40% of hip fractures result in death. Exercise may reduce the risk of osteoporosis and thus contribute to the prevention of hip and other fractures. There is limited data regarding whether exercise is associated with a reduced risk of …

Factors That Inhibit Or Enhance Maternal Coping With Stillbirth In Chhattisgarh, India, Lisa R. Roberts

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background: Over half of the known stillbirths occur in four highly populated countries—India among them. While acknowledged as a significant public health issue in western societies, little is known about maternal coping with stillbirth in developing countries. The purpose of this mixed methods study is to explore how issues of gender and power, social support, coping efforts, and religious beliefs influence perinatal grief outcomes among poor women in rural Chhattisgarh, India.

Methods: In Phase 1 of this mixed methods study, grounded theory methods were used to explore perceptions regarding stillbirth. A de-identified medical records review of 536 deliveries at Christian …

Live Cell Kinetics Of Erbb Dimerization Reveals Influences Of Activation State And Membrane Organization, Shalini T. Low-Nam

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

The erbB1 receptor regulates cellular programs including proliferation, migration, and differentiation and is the prototypical receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK). The erbB family consists of four homologous transmembrane receptors (erbB1/HER1/EGFR, erbB2/HER2, erbB3/HER3, erbB4). Canonically, ligand binding leads to an extracellular conformational change that promotes the formation of a receptor-mediated back-to-back dimer, asymmetric orientation of the catalytic kinase domains, and downstream transphosphorylation of cytoplasmic tyrosine residues. Exceptions to this paradigm are the orphan erbB2 and the kinase defective erbB3. The erbB receptors are implicated in mechanisms of carcinogenesis and are, thus, important therapeutic targets. Antibodies and small molecule inhibitors have been used …

Carbonylation Of Neuronal Cytoskeletal Proteins And Their Proteolytic Degradation In Acute Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis, Suzanne Smerjac

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Oxidative stress and its damage resulting in carbonylation of proteins is known to take place in the CNS tissue of multiple sclerosis patients and of mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), and has been implicated in the pathophysiology of these diseases. In order to investigate the possible consequences of this protein damage during acute myelin basic protein (MBP) -directed autoimmune neuroinflammation the first goal of this thesis was to characterize oxidative stress and protein carbonylation, including identification of the major oxidized protein species, in the Lewis rat model of EAE. I discovered that there is significant oxidative stress in the …

Delineating The Mechanism(S) Of Bdnf/Trkb Mediated Proliferation In Neuroblastoma, Timothy C. Graham

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Delineating the mechanism(s) of BDNF/TrkB mediated proliferation in Neuroblastoma

Timothy Christopher Graham, B.S.

Supervisory Professor: Patrick Zweidler-McKay, MD/PhD

Neuroblastoma is the most common extra-cranial solid tumor in children, arising from neural crest precursor cells.  The neurotrophin receptors (TrkA/B/C) have been implicated as important prognostic markers, linking the biology of the tumor to patient outcome.  High expression of TrkA and TrkC receptors have been linked to favorable biological features and high patient survival, while TrkB is expressed in unfavorable, aggressive tumors.  Several studies suggest that high levels and activation of TrkB by its ligand brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) stimulates tumor cell …

Mechanisms Regulating The P120-Catenin/Kaiso Pathway, Ji Yeon Hong

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The Wnt pathways contribute to many processes in cancer and developmental biology, with β-catenin being a key canonical component. P120-catenin, which is structurally similar to β-catenin, regulates the expression of certain Wnt target genes, relieving repression conferred by the POZ/ zinc-finger transcription factor Kaiso. In my first project, employing Xenopus embryos and mammalian cell lines, I found that the degradation machinery of the canonical Wnt pathway modulates p120-catenin protein stability, especially p120 isoform-1, through mechanisms shared with b-catenin. Exogenous expression of destruction-complex components such as GSK3b or Axin promotes p120-catenin degradation, and consequently, is able to rescue developmental phenotypes resulting …

Δnp63 Regulates A Complex Network Of Target Genes In Limb And Epidermal Development, Min Soon Cho

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The skin is composed of two major compartments, the dermis and epidermis. The epidermis forms a barrier to protect the body. The stratified epithelium has self-renewing capacity throughout life, and continuous turnover is mediated by stem cells in the basal layer. p63 is structurally and functionally related to p53. In spite of their structural similarities, p63 is critical for the development and maintenance of stratified epithelial tissues, unlike p53. p63 is highly expressed in the epidermis and previously has been shown to play a critical role in the development and maintenance of the epidermis. The study of p63 has been …

Atm Signaling To Tsc2: Mechanisms And Implications For Cancer Therapy, Angela Alexander

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) is a critical component of the cellular response to DNA damage, where it acts as a damage sensor, and signals to a large network of proteins which execute the important tasks involved in responding to the damage, namely inducing cell cycle checkpoints, inducing DNA repair, modulating transcriptional responses, and regulating cell death pathways if the damage cannot be repaired faithfully. We have now discovered that an additional novel component of this ATM-dependent damage response involves induction of autophagy in response to oxidative stress. In contrast to DNA damage-induced ATM activation however, oxidative stress induced ATM, occurs …

Role Of Synapsin In Long-Term Synaptic Facilitation In Aplysia, Anne Hart

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Enhanced expression of the presynaptic protein synapsin has been correlated with certain forms of long-term plasticity and learning and memory. However, the regulation and requirement for enhanced synapsin expression in long-term memory remains unknown. In the present study the technical advantages of the marine mollusc Aplysia were exploited in order to address this issue. In Aplysia, learning-induced enhancement in synaptic strength is modulated by serotonin (5-HT) and treatment with 5-HT in vitro of the sensorimotor synapse induces long-term facilitation (LTF) of synaptic transmission, which lasts for days, as well as the formation of new connections between the sensory and …

Volume 18, Number 1 (Spring 2011), Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

A Mark–Recapture Technique For Monitoring Feral Swine Populations, Matthew M. Reidy, Tyler A. Campbell, David G. Hewitt

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Techniques to monitor populations of feral swine (Sus scrofa) relative to damage control activities are needed on rangelands. Our objectives were to describe and assess a mark–recapture technique using tetracycline hydrochloride (TH) for monitoring feral swine populations. We established bait stations at study sites in southern and central Texas. During 1 d, we replaced normal soured corn bait with bait containing TH and counted the number of feral swine that consumed bait with observers. We conducted feral swine removal using box-style traps and helicopters, at which time we collected teeth for TH analysis. In southern Texas, we estimated …

Variation In The Modified First Metatarsal Of A Large Sample Of Tapirus Polkensis And The Functional Implications For Ceratomorphs., Patrick Lawrence Hawkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Mio-Pliocene age Gray Fossil Site of northeastern Tennessee has the largest collection of tapir postcranial skeletons in the world. Though representing a single species, a few localized structures show high variability. This paper deals with variation of the first metatarsal, which in tapirs was reduced as an early adaptation for running and then retrofitted to serve as a special origin for flexors and adductors of the proximal phalanges. The first metatarsal connects the medial ankle with a posterior process of the third metatarsal in tapiroids. In Tapirus indicus, T. webbi, and 6 out of 31 T. polkensis …