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Mutational-Kinetic Analysis Reveals The Roles Of Arginines And Aromatics In The Core Of The Gabaa Receptor Ligand-Binding Pocket, Phu Tran

Dissertations (1934 -)

The γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA) receptor is a member of the cys-loop family of ligand-gated ion channels that plays a crucial role in normal brain function by transducing the majority of inhibitory neurotransmission in the central nervous system. The studies documented in this dissertation were aimed at validating and refining the current best model for the interaction of GABA with the GABAA receptor via structure-function perturbation analysis. Mutational-kinetic data was used in conjunction with homology modeling knowledge to draw up architectural and functional roles of the arginines and aromatics in GABA-binding pocket. The results provide interesting new insights.

Two …

Encompassing The Intolerable: Laughter, Memory, And Inscription In The Fiction Of John Mcgahern, John Keegan Malloy

Dissertations (1934 -)

Encompassing the Intolerable examines John McGahern's depiction of individual consciousness struggling with postcolonial Ireland's three dominant and interconnected institutions: nation, family, and the Catholic Church. While McGahern's work, especially the early fiction, is often considered unremittingly bleak, this study argues that his exposure of abuse, repression, and disillusionment within these institutions does not finally entail a pessimistic vision. Instead, through close readings emphasizing character and epiphany, I contend that his texts use the motifs of laughter, memory, and inscription to demonstrate how consciousness can accommodate intolerable realities such as violence and loss rather than becoming defined or controlled by them. …

Intersex And Imago: Sex, Gender, And Sexuality In Postmodern Theological Anthropology, Megan K. Defranza

Dissertations (1934 -)

Christian theologians regularly assume a binary model of human sex differentiation based on the creation narratives found in Genesis. Recent work in theological anthropology has grounded theological concepts such as the social view of the image of God, human personhood, and human relationality on the creation of humans as male and female in heterosexual marital relation. While these anthropologies have merit--particularly in correcting older versions of the imago Dei which privileged the male-- they are inadequate for addressing the phenomena of intersex.

Intersex is a broad term used for persons whose bodies display some physical characteristics of both sexes--historically labeled …

Exploring The Architecture Of The Human Gaba(A) Receptor Ligand Binding Pocket Via Mutational, Electrophysiological, And Kinetic Analysis, Kurt Thomas Laha

Dissertations (1934 -)

The gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA_A) receptor is a member of the cys-loop family of ligand-gated ion channels, and plays a crucial role in normal brain function by providing inhibitory neurotransmission. The objective of my research is to establish the mechanisms that underlie the interaction between the GABA_A receptor and GABA during binding, as well as to provide direct information about the architecture of the ligand binding pocket. To achieve this, a multitude of amino acid residues surrounding the GABA binding pocket were individually mutated and structure-function relationships were explored. Changes in EC_50-GABA, macroscopic kinetics, …

Optimizing Private Land Conservation And Public Land Use Planning/Regulation, Bradford S. Gentry, J. Daniel Oppenheimer, Randal A. Strobo

Yale School of the Environment Publications Series

Report of the 2010 Berkley Workshop

Held at the Pocantico Conference Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund - July 2010

Are Western Australian Waters The Least Productive Waters For Finfish Across Two Oceans? A Review With A Focus On Finfish Resources In The Kimberley Region And North Coast Bioregion, B. W. Molony, S. J. Newman, L. Loll, R C J Lenanton, B. Wise

Fisheries Research Articles

The marine ecosystems of Western Australia, including those in the Kimberley, are classified as being of moderate to low productivity. This is primarily a consequence of the influence of the Leeuwin Current, the eastern boundary current that flows poleward delivering warm, low nutrient waters, and only sporadic short-term upwelling events to shelf habitats off the Western Australian coast. This, coupled with little riverine inflow from old weathered terrestrial systems, results in low levels of primary and secondary production in habitats along most of the coast. The consequence is that finfish fisheries in the Kimberley and throughout the State typically land …

Of Counsel, Volume 13 | Spring 2011, North Carolina Central University School Of Law

Of Counsel

No abstract provided.

Spring 2011, Dan Davis, Elizabeth Marlow, Sarah Gillespie

The Vehicle

Special Features Preview Issue

Perspectives, Spring 2011, Western New England University School Of Law

Perspectives Alumni Magazine

No abstract provided.

Bionic Technologies Transforming The Science Of Healthcare Delivery, Scott A. Waldman , M.D., Ph.D, Andre Terzic , M.D., Ph.D

Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Faculty Papers

Individualization of patient care is creating an envisioned future in which practitioners wield a new doctor’s bag deploying individual molecular, genetic, cellular, and systems profiles.  These emerging tools are refining traditional paradigms of disease palliation into nuanced patient management algorithms employing prognostic risk stratification, therapeutic response prediction, and adverse event avoidance. Advancing technologies are enabling a shift to more proximal nodes along the continuum of pathobiology. Innovations in biomarker platforms, genomic profiling, and molecular imaging reveal the earliest stages of pathophysiology, limiting systems disruption to cells and tissues while preserving integrated organ function, enabling risk mitigation and disease prevention.  At …

Spring 2011: Together On The Journey, St. Norbert College

St. Norbert College Magazine 2007-2012

Research partnerships open up new fields of possibility
It can start with a conversation in a hallway and lead to the furthest limits of the earth. Work undertaken jointly invites new perspectives, wider exploration and deeper understanding. In this issue, we explore scholarly partnerships that are based on mutual respect, enthusiasm and appreciation for learning.

On the cover: This January saw Tim Flood (Geology), Nicole Bader ’11 and Kathy Licht ’92 undergo rigorous survival training on the way to their five-person research campsite in the heart of Antarctica. Flood took our cover photo while the group was learning how to …

Exploring Identity Through Genetic And Genealogical Research: Development Of A Collaborative Course Between Humanities And Biology, Emily F. Schmitt Lavin, James Doan

Biology Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Role Of Breastfeeding And Current Lifestyle On Maternal Long-Term Weight Change, Denise R. Hinds

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background: Evidence suggests that prolonged and exclusive breastfeeding is associated with health benefits to children and nursing mothers beyond the period of breastfeeding. Studies that support the role of breastfeeding in postpartum weight change primarily focused on short-term weight change (within 12 to 24 months postpartum) (Binns et al. 2003; Lederman 2004; Johnson et al. 2006), while few focused on the association between breastfeeding and long-term weight change (5 years or more postpartum) (Rooney, Schauberger et al. 2005).

Purpose: This study investigated the role of breastfeeding in long-term weight change, specifically 1) whether breastfeeding protects against weight gain, and 2) …

Characterization Of The Threshold For Nad(P)H:Quinone Oxidoreductase Activity In Intact Sulforaphane-Treated Pulmonary Arterial Endothelial Cells, Robert D. Bongard, Gary S. Krenz, Adam J. Gastonguay, Carol L. Williams, Brian J. Lindemer, Marilyn P. Merker

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

Treatment of bovine pulmonary arterial endothelial cells in culture with the phase II enzyme inducer sulforaphane (5 μM, 24 h; sulf-treated) increased cell-lysate NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1) activity by 5.7 ± 0.6 (mean ± SEM)-fold, but intact-cell NQO1 activity by only 2.8 ± 0.1-fold compared to control cells. To evaluate the hypothesis that the threshold for sulforaphane-induced intact-cell NQO1 activity reflects a limitation in the capacity to supply NADPH at a sufficient rate to drive all the induced NQO1 to its maximum activity, total KOH-extractable pyridine nucleotides were measured in cells treated with duroquinone to stimulate maximal NQO1 activity. NQO1 activation …

A Confusion Of Tongues, David Simpson

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

Don DeLillo's 'Falling Man' alludes with subtle indirection to the Babel myth, without endorsing a crude reading of the fall of the towers as justifiable punishment. The apparent chronology of the biblical myth itself, with its strong distinction between before and after the building and abandoning of the towers, is already scrambled by repetitions and prefigurings in the Authorized Version (King James) narrative. DeLillo also suggests that linguistic coherence was absent before 9/11, so that what has happened since is coherent with what came before. Often, the protagonists' comments cannot be clearly defined as before or after 9/11. Names are …

The Tragic Mulatto Revisited: Post 9/11 Pakistani-American Identities In H. M. Naqvi’S Home Boy And Mohsin Hamid’S The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Bidhan Chandra Roy

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

South Asian diasporic fiction has been widely celebrated for its representation of culturally hybrid characters that challenge fixed conceptions of ethnic and racial identity. Two recent novels by Pakistani diasporic writers, however, expose the political limits of discourses of cultural hybridity following the events of 9/11. This paper explores 9/11 as a seminal event in the representation of South Asian diasporic identity in H. M. Naqvi’s Home Boy and Moshin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist. It proposes that following 9/11 the marginality of Pakistani diasporic identity is more profitably read in light of a precursor to the hybrid - the …

Addressing The Technology Gap In Counselor Education: Identification Of Characteristics In Students That Affect Learning In College Classrooms, Isaac Burt, Tiphanie Gonzalez, Jacqueline Swank, David L. Ascher

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

As advancements in technology continue to revolutionize the field of counseling, certain populations of students still encounter difficulties incorporating technology in the classroom. Non-traditional students, many who possesses years of professional experience, struggle academically due to a lack of technological expertise and knowledge. Low technological expertise potentially decreases students’ self-efficacy, enjoyment, and performance (Baturay & Bay, 2010). Consequently, it is imperative that counselor educators use a variety of strategies with non-traditional students struggling with technology. Thus, the purpose of this article is to propose guidelines encompassing self-efficacy, the evolution of technology and competencies required for assisting students in the classroom.

Xenopus Laevis Transgenic Lines And Their Use In The Study Of Lymph Heart Musculature Development, Diana M. Filtz

Honors Theses

Lymph hearts are pulsatile organs present in lower vertebrates that propel lymph throughout the body and into the venous system, assisting in the maintenance of fluid homeostasis. In organisms such as frogs, several pairs of lymph hearts develop amidst the somites during the early tadpole stages. Due to the unique structure and function of lymph heart musculature—exhibiting characteristics of both skeletal and cardiac muscle—the origin of these cells remains highly controversial. Studies have found that in Xenopus, the engrailed gene is expressed explicitly in lymph heart muscle cells throughout development. Through designing a transgenic …

Characterization Of Microbial Community Structure In The Octocoral Leptogorgia Virgulata, Blair E. Armistead

Honors Theses

The process of spicule formation in L. virgulata results in a drop in pH, which, if left unregulated, could lead to demineralization and subsequent animal death. Carbonic anhydrase has been suggested as a possible pH regulatory mechanism in L. virgulata tissues. This study focuses on an additional hypothetical mechanism of pH regulation involving the production of urease by endosymbiotic bacteria living within L. virgulata tissue. PCR and DGGE are used as culture-independent methods to characterize facets of microbial community structure on L. virgulata in order to identify one …

Scout's Daughters : Race And Creative Development In Contemporary Adolescent Literature, Amanda Malloy

Honors Theses

At the heart of what Roberta S. Trites titles ―adolescent literature‖ – works written both for and about young adults—is a question of agency (Disturbing 7). In Disturbing the Universe: Power and Repression in Adolescent Literature, Trites asserts that adolescent novels attempt to answer the question of young adults who wonder if they ―should or even can affect the world in which they live‖ (1). Trites‘ argument is based on the idea that the distinguishing characteristic of adolescent literature is its focus on ―the social forces‖ that …

The Image Of God Of Christian, Non-Christian And Clinical Populations: A Lacanian Psychoanalytic Perspective, Mihaela E. Bernard

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

The study investigated the God image (Rizzuto, 1970) of Christian, non-Christian and clinical population of individuals, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder in a remission state of the illness, from a Lacanian psychoanalytic perspective. Participants were recruited from local mental health agencies and one local university. Their images of God were measured with the God Image Inventory (Lawrence, 1991) on eight scales - Presence, Challenge, Acceptance, Benevolence, Influence, Providence, Faith and Salience. The inventory was administered in a paper-in-pencil version and online via a web-based online scoring program of the GOd Image inventory (Gattis, 2001). The …

Determination Of Dna Methylation Levels At Specific Genomic Loci, Rebecca Garrett

Senior Honors Theses

Alzheimer's disease is a devastating disease, affecting millions. There is some familial evidence of an inheritance pattern from a genetic basis in Alzheimer's disease patients, but even with revelation of the genetic linkage and genes associated with Alzheimer's disease, the inheritance pattern is too complicated to be properly explained. It is necessary to investigate other causes of the debilitating disease. To investigate further, the epigenome was studied - the regulation of the genome by methyl group addition.

To study the epigenome of an Alzheimer's disease-like state, isoschizomer enzymes were used to cleave CC*GG regions. Comparing the cleaved DNA sequences produced …

2011 Annual Operating Plan, U.S. Department Of The Interior, Bureau Of Reclamation

Law of the Rio Chama

No abstract provided.

Intraseasonal Management Strategies For Deficit Irrigation, Isaac I. N. Mortensen

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Reduced availability of irrigation water to producers has led to the need for intraseasonal management strategies that efficiently use the limited supply of irrigation water.  Historical weather data was used to develop a range of conditions experienced at the location.  Sound weather data improves the dependability of management strategies.  Data from weather stations on the Automated Weather Data Network and the Colorado AgMet network were evaluated based upon net radiation and dew point temperature observations expected in an irrigated agricultural setting.  This weather data was used to create a relationship between the Penman-Montieth evapotranspiration (ET) and Hargreaves ET and …

Preference Of White-Tailed Deer For Corn Hybrids And Agricultural Husbandry Practices During The Growing Season, Joshua A. Delger, Kevin L. Monteith, Lowell E. Schmitz, Jonathan A. Jenks

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Damage to field corn (Zea mays) by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) can be substantial, resulting in millions of dollars lost annually. Numerous methods exist to minimize deer depredation, but all have met with varying degrees of success. Currently, little information is available on preference of white-tailed deer for corn hybrids during the growing season and how that preference might affect depredation patterns. We used adult female white-tailed deer in captivity to study the effect of herbicide treatments on deer-use (treatment versus no treatment) of corn in 2005 and to document preference among specific corn hybrids in …

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Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Bad Girls And Biopolitics: Abortion, Popular Fiction, And Population Control, Karen Weingarten

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

An Implementation Of A Multi-Touch Draw-A-Secret Password Schema For Windows-Based Computers., Matthew Lichtenberger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Draw A Secret password systems have recently come into vogue, primarily in the role of protecting a user’s cellular smart phone from external infiltration in lieu of a password. However, these password systems are only enabled for single touch operation; that is to say, a user may only draw one pattern, with only one finger. Brute forcing these passwords thereby becomes trivial in the context of password complexity. This thesis implements a Draw A Secret system utilizing consumer-grade video hardware to collate multiple patterns synchronously and then authenticate the user at a later point. Care has been given to properly …

Are Scores On The Ppt Useful In Determination Of Risk Of Future Falls In Individuals With Dementia?, Mary K. Farrell, Richard A. Rutt, Michelle M. Lusardi, Ann K. Williams

All PTHMS Faculty Publications

Individuals with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease (AD), exhibit both a progressive decline in cognitive function and accumulating difficulty with physical function.¹ As cognitive impairment begins, individuals will initially demonstrate difficulties with short-term memory and with instrumental activities of daily living. As the dementia progresses, individuals will increasingly demonstrate difficulties with long-term memory, communication, and basic activities of daily living.

Environmental Harms, Use Conflicts, And Neutral Baselines In Environmental Law, Todd S. Aagaard

Duke Law Journal

Accounts of environmental law that rely on concepts of environmental harm and environmental protection oversimplify the tremendous variety of uses of environmental resources and the often complex relationships among those uses. Such approaches are analytically unclear and, more importantly, insert hidden normativity into putatively descriptive claims. Instead of thinking about environmental law in terms of preventing environmental harm, environmental problems can be understood more specifically and more meaningfully as disputes over conflicting uses of environmental resources. This Article proposes a use-conflict framework as a means of acquiring a deeper understanding of environmental problems and lawmaking without favoring any particular normative …