Digital Commons Network^™

Identification Of Transcriptional Mechanisms Downstream Of Nf1 Gene Defeciency In Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors, Daochun Sun

Wayne State University Dissertations

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) is a type of soft tissue sarcoma that occurs in carriers of mutations in the neurofibromatosis type I gene (Nf1) as well as sporadically. Plexiform neurofibromas in NF1 patients have a significant risk of developing into MPNSTs leading to increased morbidity and mortality from this syndrome. Surgery is the primary intervention but it is not always effective due to the tendency of MPNSTs to infiltrate the surrounding tissue or grow in an inoperable location. Neurofibromin, the protein coded by the Nf1 gene, functions as a GTPase activating protein (GAP) whose mutation leads to constitutive …

Identification Of Cellular Functions Of Cardiolipin As Physiological Modifiers Of Barth Syndrome, Amit Shridhar Joshi

Wayne State University Dissertations

Cardiolipin (CL) is an anionic phospholipid synthesized in the mitochondrial inner membrane. Perturbation of CL metabolism leads to Barth syndrome (BTHS), a life threatening genetic disorder. I utilized genetic, biochemical and cell biological approaches in yeast to elucidate the cellular functions of CL. Understanding the functions of CL is expected to shed light on the pathology and possible treatments for BTHS.

BTHS is caused by mutations in TAZ1, which encodes a CL remodeling enzyme called tafazzin. BTHS patients exhibit a wide range of clinical presentations, indicating that physiological modifiers influence the BTHS phenotype. A targeted synthetic lethality screen was performed …

Reading Between The Numbers: The Colonial Rhetorics Of Fantasy Football And The Illusion Of Control, Robert Kyle Kellam

Wayne State University Dissertations

In this project, I build on existing research in the critical intersection of media, sport, gaming and race to explore how fantasy football, an entertainment byproduct of the National Football League (NFL), rearticulates and recontexualizes the colonial ideology already prolific in the NFL and other products of American media culture. I investigate how fantasy football may represent an innocuous, yet exigent place to study the commodification and consumption of bodies in our contemporary media landscape because of the way that the increasingly popular game operates in a capitalistic logic, where NFL players are almost exclusively valued for their statistical production …

Multifunctional Bioreducible Nanoparticles For Gene Therapy, Jing Li

Wayne State University Dissertations

Gene therapy is a promising therapeutic strategy to treat diseases caused by single or multiple gene mutations. Non-viral gene delivery vectors exhibit many advantages over viral vectors, including enhanced safety, versatility in choosing different types of therapeutic nucleic acids, and ease of formulation. However, low transgene efficiency and lack of targeting ability remain major challenges. Bioreducible polyplexes (polyelectrolyte complexes of disulfide-containing polycations and nucleic acids) utilize the redox potential gradient existing between extracellular space and intracellular environment as a physiological stimulus to enhance delivery of therapeutic nucleic acids to the subcellular space. Bioreducible containing polyplexes undergo intracellular reduction mediated GSH, …

Corporeal Modification In The Hollywood Musical: New Paradigms For Genre Analysis, Christopher Timothy Gullen

Wayne State University Dissertations

This project explores the trend of bodily and identity modification in the contemporary Hollywood musical and calls for a re-reading of the genre away from the standard classification, that of one strictly imbued with wistful nostalgia and heteronormativity. This work argues that several films have abrogated these traditional ideals to create a carnivalesque representation of the societal norms through a genre, and a production code that sought to preserve them. Using the work of Russian semiotician Mikhail Bakhtin, this project reveals that these films feature dark and satirical para-realities of murder, debauchery and cannibalism that act as a catharsis to …

A Role For Reactive Oxygen Species In Photodynamic Therapy, Michael Price

Wayne State University Dissertations

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is based on the ability of certain photosensitizing agents to selectively localize in neoplastic cells and their vasculature. Subsequent irradiation at a wavelength corresponding to a photosensitizer absorbance band excites the photosensitizer molecules, leading to energy transfer reactions and fluorescence. It was initially concluded that the phototoxic effect occurred when energy from the excited state of the photosensitizer was transferred to dissolved oxygen to form singlet oxygen. This product has a very brief half-life and will cause cellular damage only in the immediate vicinity of its formation. But an excited-state photosensitizer can also interact with oxygen to …

A Needs Assessment Of Knowledge, Skills, And Values For Urban Planning Professionals Based On Competencies Set Forth By Professional Planning Organizations, Chade Saghir

Wayne State University Dissertations

Continuing education and training is pivotal in today's fast-paced technology driven society. A profession is defined by the theories and techniques that competent practitioners utilize in their everyday work. Therefore, determining the competencies that practitioners must possess for any given profession is a prerequisite for a respected profession. Most professions are bounded by competencies that are dictated by professional organizations and education programs, yet the real test is how practitioners view these competencies as they relate to their job. For a profession to reach the ultimate goal of improving society the first step is to align professional organization, education, and …

Talking Circles For Adolescent Girls In An Urban High School: A Restorative Practices Program For Building Friendships And Developing Emotional Literacy Skills, Martha Ann Schumacher

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

TALKING CIRCLES FOR ADOLESCENT GIRLS

IN AN URBAN HIGH SCHOOL: A RESTORATIVE PRACTCES' PROGRAM FOR BUILDING FRIENDHIPS AND DEVELOPING

EMOTIONAL LITERACY SKILLS

by

MARTHA ANN SCHUMACHER

DECEMBER 2012

ADVISOR: Dr. Loraleigh Keashly

MAJOR: Communication

DEGREE: Doctor of Philosophy

Restorative Practices and Restorative Justice programs in schools are a new and emerging field. Meeting in Circles to build community, resolve conflict, and learn interactively are core components of these programs. This ethnographic study, which took place February 2010 to December 2011, evaluates 12 small, out-of-classroom Talking Circles for 60 adolescent girls as part of a Restorative Practices program in an …

Substance P And The Host Immune Response, Megan Elizabeth Foldenauer

Wayne State University Dissertations

This body of work examined the mechanism by which SP regulates host immunity, specifically, its control of growth factors and TLR expression in the P. aeruginosa-infected cornea. The role of mTOR and VIP in corneal infection and inflammation also was tested.

SP has a dual role in bacterial infection, unexpectedly upregulating growth factor production. This was accompanied by macrophage-specific upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, downregulation of anti-inflammatory cytokines, and upregulation of anti-apoptotic genes, as well as a decrease in arginase-producing macrophages (M2 cells), important in stromal healing in these mice. All of these lead to worsened disease, despite the stimulatory effects …

Prevalence And Physiological Significance Of Gene Looping In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Banupriya Mukundan

Wayne State University Dissertations

My Ph.D. dissertation work is focused on studying the role of promoter-bound transcription initiation factors involved in gene looping. In this study we showed that the RNAP II subunit Rpb4 has a significant effect on termination of transcription. Gene looping is disrupted in the absence of Rpb4. Rpb4 shows a strong physical interaction with the Mediator subunit Srb5. Mediator subunit Srb5 crosslinked to the 5' and 3' ends of INO1 and CHA1 genes and is required for proper termination of transcription of these genes. Srb5 affected termination of transcription through its interaction with the CF1 complex. Srb5 interaction with the …

The Effect Of Biodiesel Blends On A Multi-Cylinder Engine And The Impact On Aftertreatment, Amy Peterson

Wayne State University Dissertations

Recently, topics including global warming, increased environmental awareness, recycling, and organically produced meat and vegetables have been prevalent in the media and research arenas. The rapidly increasing cost for fossil fuels and the pursuit of environmental conservation has brought about the interest in a renewable and clean burning fuel, specifically biodiesel. Biodiesel, or vegetable oil ester as it was originally referred to, has been improving and progressing since the early 1900's. Fortunately, significant advancement in the understanding of raw vegetable oil as a fuel as well as converting it to ethyl or methyl esters, now known as biodiesel, has been …

A Case Of Conflict Of Cultures: End-Of-Life Decision Making Among Asian Americans, Pat K. Chew

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

This essay presents a case example of a conflict between two cultures. One culture is the U.S. mainstream culture, as illustrated in a federal statute, the Patient Self-Determination Act. This statute provides legal guidelines for health care providers dealing with individuals' end-of-life decision making. Lawyers and health care providers refer to these guidelines in their counseling and treatments, apparently assuming that these guidelines are in the best interest of those they serve. The other culture is Asian American culture and its approach to end-of-life decision making. As this essay will discuss, Asian Americans have strong and long-established beliefs, values, and …

"There Is A World Elsewhere": Preliminary Studies On Alternatives To Interest-Based Bargaining, F. Peter Phillips

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

We live in an Age of Reason, which our predecessors were pleased to call an Age of Enlightenment. The laws of physics and molecular chemistry, not the appearance of angels to shepherds, define our social expectations. In economics and in politics, we accept the guidance of a collective rationale, an Invisible Hand that, if it doesn't predict, nevertheless records the aggregate of decisions made by millions of social actors, each expressing not the general welfare but their individual self-interest.

2012 International Advocate For Peace Award Acceptance Speech, John Marks

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

Worldwide, tens of millions of people are caught up in violent conflict, and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, die every year as a direct result. Violence has a profoundly negative impact on the whole planet, even when it occurs in remote places. Where there is violence, lives and livelihoods are shattered; economic development is blocked; human rights are abused; and the environment is devastated. Consequently, preventing violence is a necessary precursor for humanity to move forward in positive ways. Current problems-whether economic, ethnic, or environmental-are too complex and inter-connected to be settled on a violent, adversarial basis. The earth …

Old Problem, New Medium: Deception In Computer-Facilitated Negotiation And Dispute Resolution, Brian Farkas

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

What is the character of deception in computer-facilitated dispute resolution, as compared to the types of deception that scholars have uncovered in face-to-face dispute resolution? And what self-help strategies might exist to mitigate online deception? The answers to these questions address unexplored potential pitfalls within a rapidly expanding platform of conflict resolution. The Note will begin with an overview of recent scholarship on deception in face-to-face ADR across the disciplines of law, business, psychology and public policy. It will then review the current ODR landscape, highlighting common and emerging technologies. Finally, it will analyze current the limited research that has …

Chinese Use Of Administrative Proceedings To Enforce Intellectual Property Rights: Evaluating And Improving Adr In China, Simeng Han

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

Since its entry into the World Trade Organization ("WTO") in 2001, China has significantly reformed its legal system in order to enforce its commitment to protecting Intellectual Property ("IP"). Yet, there remains a lingering suspicion of the actual level of Chinese commitment-as indicated by continuous infringement claims from nations such as the United States. With an increasing number of disputes loading the court dockets and putting pressure on judges, and given China's "deep-rooted historical preference for informal and non-adversarial means of dispute resolution," there is enormous potential for further development of ADR in this field. Indeed, the culturally preferable way …

Red With Envy: Why The Fashion Industry Should Embrace Adr As A Viable Solution To Resolving Trademark Disputes, Erica S. Schwartz

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

This Note proposes that based on the nature of trademark disputes in the fashion industry, discussed in more detail below, alternative dispute resolution may be a viable option to resolve these cases. These alternative methods allow parties to explore mutually beneficial solutions, while avoiding litigation and ensuring the vitality of their brand. This Note also proposes that, based on previously successful programs used by other organizations, the Council of Fashion Designers of America should develop an alternative dispute resolution program to resolve disputes within the fashion industry.

Part II outlines the history of fashion design protection and examines the current …

Expedition E-Recording, First Stop Urpera: How Universal E-Recording Under Urpera Could Revolutionize Real Estate Recording In The United States And Why It Should, Jessica Kopplin Kranz

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

Sci-Tech Book News Reviews, Susan Fingerman

Sci-Tech News

No abstract provided.

Phylogenomic And Functional Domain Analysis Of Polyketide Synthases In Fusarium, Daren W. Brown, Robert A. E. Butchko, Scott E. Baker, Robert A. Proctor

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Fusarium species are ubiquitous in nature, cause a range of plant diseases, and produce a variety of chemicals often referred to as secondary metabolites. Although some fungal secondary metabolites affect plant growth or protect plants from other fungi and bacteria, their presence in grain-based food and feed is more often associated with a variety of diseases in plants and in animals. Many of these structurally diverse metabolites are derived from a family of related enzymes called polyketide synthases (PKSs). A search of genomic sequence of Fusarium verticillioides, Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium oxysporum, and Fusarium solani identified a total of 58 …

A National Survey Of Managed Honey Bee 2010-11 Winter Colony Losses In The Usa: Results From The Bee Informed Partnership, Dennis Vanengelsdorp, Dewey Caron, Jerry Hayes, Robyn Underwood, Mark Henson, Karen Rennich, Angela Spleen, Michael Andree, Robert Snyder, Kathleen Lee, Karen Roccasecca, Michael Wilson, James Wilkes, Eugene Lengerich, Jeffrey S. Pettis

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

This study records the fifth consecutive year that winter losses of managed honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies in the USA have been around 30%. In April 2011, a total of 5,441 US beekeepers (an estimated 11% of total US beekeepers) responded to a survey conducted by the Bee Informed Partnership. Survey respondents reported that they had lost an average of 38.4% of their colonies, for a total US colony loss of 29.9% over the winter of 2010-11. One-third of respondents (all classified as backyard beekeepers, i.e. keeping fewer than 50 colonies) reported no winter loss. There was considerable variation …

Resistance Of Soil-Bound Prions To Rumen Digestion, Samuel E. Saunders, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Jason C. Bartz

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Before prion uptake and infection can occur in the lower gastrointestinal system, ingested prions are subjected to anaerobic digestion in the rumen of cervids and bovids. The susceptibility of soil-bound prions to rumen digestion has not been evaluated previously. In this study, prions from infectious brain homogenates as well as prions bound to a range of soils and soil minerals were subjected to in vitro rumen digestion, and changes in PrP levels were measured via western blot. Binding to clay appeared to protect noninfectious hamster PrPc from complete digestion, while both unbound and soil-bound infectious PrP^Sc proved highly resistant …

Discovery, Isolation, And Identification Of Antimalarials From Fungal Endophytes, Andrekeus Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We examined fungal endophytes for their ability to inhibit bacterial, fungal and protozoal pathogens. Once antimalarial activity was discovered and confirmed, we sought to isolate and identify the active constituent(s) of our extracts. Bioassay-guided fractionation techniques were used to isolate our active compound, the structure of which was elucidated using 1H- and 13C-NMR. 2D-NMR and LC-MS analyses helped confirm that our endophytes were indeed producing artemisinin. Growth versus production studies were conducted to optimize our growth and extraction conditions while several other variables, like temperature and culture medium, were evaluated in an effort to improve our yields. Artemisinin production under …

Discovery Of Small-Molecule Natural Products That Target Cellular Bioenergetics, Sandipan Datta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Molecular-targeted antitumor therapy has found favor in antitumor drug discovery programs. Hypoxia (< 5% oxygen) is a comfeature of solid tumors and hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) represents an important antitumor target. Bioenergetic homeostasis is typically altered in tumor cells and HIF-1 plays an important role to produce a glycolytic phenotype. Glycolysis inhibitors are an emerging class of potential tumor-selective adjuvant therapeutic agents. Natural product aerobic glycolysis inhibitors may enhance the effectiveness of current therapies. Mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation inhibitors in botanical dietary supplements (BDS) possess a potential health hazard which should be identified and appropriately regulated. Chapter one briefly reviews the molecular-targeted natural product antitumor drug discovery process. Descriptions of tumor hypoxia, HIF-1, HIF-1 regulatory pathways and the effect of HIF-1 on tumor cell bioenergetics are presented. Cellular bioenergetic pathways and natural products that inhibit HIF-1 by interfering with cellular bioenergetics are discussed. Mitochondriotoxic small-molecule natural products reported previously are further reviewed. Chapter two discusses the effect of chromatographic media on molecular-targeted antitumor drug discovery. A panel of crude extracts was eluted through columns of various chromatographic media using a step gradient method. Total recoveries from the various columns and various elution protocols were compared and statistically analyzed. The crude extracts and column eluates were evaluated for HIF-1 inhibitory activity. Chapter three discusses the development of a bioenergetics-based screening method to screen crude extracts for glycolysis inhibitors. Crude extracts (10,648) were screened and seven hits (hit rate 0.72%) were identified. Bioassay-guided isolation of Moronobea coccinea crude extract resulted in isolation of a protonophoric compound moronone (1) (false positive). The structure of 1 was determined by a combination of spectroscopic and spectrometric means. The protonophoric compounds must be rapidly dereplicated for successful discovery of glycolysis inhibitors. Chapter four discusses the screening of BDS products and pure compounds for mitochondrial uncouplers or electron transport chain inhibitors. The blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) extract and three saponins cauloside A (3), saponin PE (4) and cauloside C (5) permeabilize the mitochondrial membrane. Sesamin (6) and guggulsterol III (7) and guggul (Commiphora wightii) extract inhibit mitochondrial complex I. These extracts and compounds are cytotoxic in nature.

Why The Patently Offensive Just Became More Offensive: The “Pole Tax” And The Texas Supreme Court’S Expansion Of The Secondary Effects Doctrine In Combs V. Texas Entertainment Ass’N, Frances Taylor Bishop

Catholic University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Identification And Characterization Of A Spore-Like Morphotype In Chronically Starved Mycobacterium Avium Subsp. Paratuberculosis Cultures, Elise A. Lamont, J. P. Bannantine, Anibal Armien, Don Sanjiv Ariyakumar, Suelee Robbe-Austerman

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Mycobacteria are able to enter into a state of non-replication or dormancy, which may result in their chronic persistence in soil, aquatic environments, and permissive hosts. Stresses such as nutrient deprivation and hypoxia provide environmental cues to enter a persistent state; however, a clear definition of the mechanism that mycobacteria employ to achieve this remains elusive. While the concept of sporulation in mycobacteria is not novel, it continues to spark controversy and challenges our perceptions of a non-replication. We investigated the potential role of sporulation in one-year old broth cultures of Mycobacterium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP). We show that dormant cultures …

Genomics Of Tropical Fruit Tree Crops, R. S. Arias, James W. Borrone, Cecile L. Tondo, David N. Kuhn, Brian M. Irish, Raymond J. Schnell

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The genetic improvement of tropical fruit trees is limited when compared to progress achieved in temperate fruit trees and annual crops. Tropical fruit tree breeding programs require significant resources to develop new cultivars that are adapted to modern shipping and storage requirements. The use of molecular markers in tropical fruit tree breeding is greatly assisting in solving a number of difficult challenges for breeders such as the development of complex family structures for recombination mapping and for recurrent selection. A review of the literature on molecular markers development and new techniques for increasing single-nucleotide polymorphic markers is discussed. The development …

Reproductive Potential Of Stable Flies (Diptera: Muscidae) Fed Cattle, Chicken, Or Horse Blood, Kristina M. Friesen, Gregory D. Johnson

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Reproductive potential was assessed for stable fly cohorts fed cattle, chicken, or horse blood. Flies provided chicken blood oviposited20%moreeggs per day than did those fed cattle or horse blood. However, flies provided cattle or horse blood were fecund 50% longer. When both egg viability and number of eggs produced were considered, lifetime reproductive potential was almost twice as high for flies fed cattle or chicken blood than for flies fed horse blood. Maternal investment, which took egg production and volume into account, was higher in cohorts fed cattle blood (70 mm³) when compared with the other treatments (chicken …

Effects Of Pyriproxyfen And Buprofezin On Immature Development And Reproduction In The Stable Fly, S.S. Liu, A.Y. Li, K. H. Lohmeyer, A.A. Perez De Leon

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae), is one of the most significant biting flies that affect cattle. The use of traditional insecticides for stable fly control has only a limited success owing to the insect’s unique feeding behaviours and immature development sites. A laboratory study was conducted to evaluate the effects of two insect growth regulator (IGR) products, pyriproxyfen and buprofezin, on the development of the immature stages of the stable fly and the effects of pyriproxyfen on oviposition and egg hatch. Both pyriproxyfen and buprofezin had significant inhibitory effects on immature development. The LC₅₀s of …

Effects Of Pyriproxyfen And Buprofezin On Immature Development And Reproduction In The Stable Fly, Steven S. Xu, Andrew Y. Li, Kimberly Hutchinson Lohmeyer, Adalberto A. Perez De Leon

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae), is one of the most significant biting flies that affect cattle. The use of traditional insecticides for stable fly control has only a limited success owing to the insect’s unique feeding behaviours and immature development sites. A laboratory study was conducted to evaluate the effects of two insect growth regulator (IGR) products, pyriproxyfen and buprofezin, on the development of the immature stages of the stable fly and the effects of pyriproxyfen on oviposition and egg hatch. Both pyriproxyfen and buprofezin had significant inhibitory effects on immature development. The LC₅₀s of …