Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

Persistence Of Mycobacterium Bovis Bacillus Calmette– Guerin (Bcg) Danish In White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) Vaccinated With A Lipid-Formulated Oral Vaccine, M. V. Palmer, T. C. Thacker, W. R. Waters, S. Robbe-Austerman, F. E. Aldwell

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

Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of tuberculosis in animals, has a broad host range, including humans. Historically, public health concerns prompted programs to eradicate tuberculosis from cattle in many nations. Eradication efforts decreased the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis; nevertheless, some countries encountered significant obstacles, not least of which was a wildlife reservoir of M. bovis. Efforts to decrease the size of the affected wildlife populations have neither eliminated disease nor eliminated transmission to cattle. Consequently, the use of a vaccine for wildlife is being explored. The vaccine most studied is M. bovis BCG, an attenuated live vaccine, first …

Identification Of A Response Regulator Involved In Surface Attachment, Cell–Cell Aggregation, Exopolysaccharide Production And Virulence In The Plant Pathogen Xylella Fastidiosa, Tanja M. Voegel, Harshavardhan Doddapaneni, Davis W. Cheng, Hong Lin, Drake C. Stenger, Bruce C. Kirkpatrick, M. Caroline Roper

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

Xylella fastidiosa, the causal agent of Pierce’s disease of grapevine, possesses several two-component signal transduction systems that allow the bacterium to sense and respond to changes in its environment. Signals are perceived by sensor kinases that autophosphorylate and transfer the phosphate to response regulators (RRs), which direct an output response, usually by acting as transcriptional regulators. In the X. fastidiosa genome, 19 RRs were found. A site-directed knockout mutant in one unusual RR, designated XhpT, composed of a receiver domain and a histidine phosphotransferase output domain, was constructed. The resulting mutant strain was analysed for changes in phenotypic traits …

Antibacterial Activity Of Cinnamaldehyde And Sporan Against Escherichia Coli O157:H7 And Salmonella, Nadine Yossa, Jitendra Patel, Dumitru Macarisin, Patricia Millner, Charles Murph, Gary Bauchan, Y. Martin Lo

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

The in vitro antimicrobial effect of cinnamaldehyde and Sporan in combination with acetic acid against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella was investigated in Luria-Bertani broth (7 log cfu/mL) containing cinnamaldehyde or Sporan (800 and 1,000 ppm) alone or in combination with 200 ppm acetic acid, and incubated at 37C for up to 6 h. Surviving populations of test pathogens were determined by spiral plating on selective media. E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella were undetectable after 1 h in the presence of 800 ppm cinnamaldehyde. A 1,000 ppm Sporan significantly reduced Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 populations by 1.83 and 3.02 …

Using Eastern Gamagrass To Construct Diets That Limit Intake And Caloric Density For Dairy Replacement Heifers, W. K. Coblentz, P. C. Hoffman, N. M. Esser, M. G. Bertram

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

Previous research has shown that eastern gamagrass (EGG; Tripsacum dactyloides L.) will survive winter climatic conditions common throughout central Wisconsin, and will produce yields of dry matter (DM) ranging approximately from 7,000 to 10,000 kg/ha annually when managed with a 1-cut harvest system. The objective of this research was to determine whether the fibrous nature of this perennial warm-season grass could be effective in reducing the caloric density and DMI of corn silage/alfalfa haylage diets for replacement dairy heifers. A total of 120 Holstein dairy heifers were blocked by body weight (heavy, 424 ± 15.9 kg; medium, 369 ± 11.8 …

Elevated Co2 Affects Plant Responses To Variation In Boron Availability, Sasmita Mishra, Scott A. Heckathorn, Jonathan M. Frantz

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

Aim Effects of elevated CO₂ on N relations are well studied, but effects on other nutrients, especially micronutrients, are not. We investigated effects of elevated CO₂ on response to variation in boron (B) availability in three unrelated species: seed geranium (Pelargonium x hortorum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), and water fern (Azolla caroliniana).

Methods Plants were grown at two levels of CO₂ (370, 700 ppm) and low, medium, and high B. Treatment effects were measured on biomass, net photosynthesis (P_n) and related variables, tissue nutrient concentrations, and B transporter protein BOR1. …

Showy Partridge Pea [Chamaecrista Fasciculata (Michx.) Greene] With Potential For Cultivation As A Multi-Functional Species In The United States, J.B. Morris

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

Showy partridge pea, Chamaecrista fasciculata is used in the USA for cover cropping, ornate flowers in native gardens, honey crop, as an annual reseeding legume for restoration and conservation plantings, and wildlife food. However, its greatest potential may be as a bio-control plant for the control of mole crickets, cactus moth, and additional pest species. The United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Plant Genetic Resources Conservation Unit (USDA, ARS, PGRCU) conserves 36 accessions originating from the USA.

A Note On Acoustic Propagation In Power-Law Fluids: Compact Kinks, Mild Discontinuities, And A Connection To Finite-Scale Theory, Dongming Wei

Mathematics Faculty Publications

Acoustic traveling waves in a class of viscous, power-lawfluids are investigated. Both bi-directional and unidirectional versions of the one-dimensional (1D), weakly-nonlinear equation of motion are derived; traveling wave solutions (TWS)s, special cases of which take the form of compact and algebraic kinks, are determined; and the impact of the bulk viscosity on the structure/nature of the kinks is examined. Most significantly, we point out a connection that exists between the power-law model considered here and the recently introduced theory of finite-scale equations.

Influence Of Damping On Hyperbolic Equations With Parabolic Degeneracy, Katarzyna Saxton, Ralph Saxton

Mathematics Faculty Publications

This paper examines the effect of damping on a nonstrictly hyperbolic 2 x 2 system. It is shown that the growth of singularities is not restricted as in the strictly hyperbolic case where dissipation can be strong enough to preserve the smoothness of solutions globally in time. Here, irrespective of the stabilizing properties of damping, solutions are found to break down in finite time on a line where two eigenvalues coincide in state space.

Environmental Adventures Course: An Analysis Of Student Writing To Guide Curriculum Development, Chuck Santiago Delpier

All NMU Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Metafiction And B. S. Johnson’S Albert Angelo, Olivia Maureen Olson

All NMU Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Single And Paired Suppressive Strains Of Streptomyces Species To Reduce Soilborne Pathogenic Populations Of Streptomyces Scabies And Reduce Symptoms And Occurrence Of Potato Scab Disease, Michael Jay Peters

All NMU Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Effects Of 1Α,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 (Calcitriol) On Cultured Glioblastoma Multiforme Cells, Justine M. Pinskey

All NMU Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Working Toward A Pedagogy Of Awareness: Multimodality And Universal Design For Learning In The First-Year Composition Classroom, Virginia M. Schminke-Yaussy

All NMU Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Inhibition Of Mir26a Microrna Restores Sensitivity To Temozolomide, Angela G. Stewart

All NMU Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Applicability Of Video Self-Modeling For Adults With Developmental And Intellectual Disabilities, Lauren Elizabeth Cox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Video Self-Modeling (VSM) has shown to be an effective intervention in modifying maladaptive behaviors in children, particularly those with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities (ID/DD). Although the effectiveness of VSM with children with ID/DD has been well established in the extant literature, considerably fewer studies have addressed the applicability of VSM with adults of the same population. Thus, the goal of the current study was to examine the utility of VSM with three adults with ID/DD, specifically targeting table manners as the behavior of interest for the intervention. Two aspects of table manners were measured utilizing a multiple baseline design: food …

Six Days Of Twenty-Four Hours: The Scopes Trial, Antievolutionism, And The Last Crusade Of William Jennings Bryan, Kari Lynn Edwards

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The academic study of the Scopes Trial has always been approached from a traditional legal interpretation. This project seeks to reframe the conventional arguments surrounding the trial, treating it instead as a significant religious event, one which not only altered the course of Christian Fundamentalism and the Creationist movement, but also perpetuated Southern religious stereotypes through the intense, and largely negative, nationwide publicity it attracted. Prosecutor William Jennings Bryan's crucial role is also redefined, with his denial of a strictly literal interpretation of Genesis during the trial serving as the impetus for the shift toward ultra-conservatism and young-earth Creationism within …

Development Of Novel Thermosensitive Polymers For Bioresponsive Drug Delivery, Vivek Kumar Garripelli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Stimuli-responsive polymers have already shotremendous promise in controlled and self-regulated drug delivery. Successful construction of responsive polymers requires amalgamation of chemical, physical and biological principles. For careful therapy, a great deal of advantages offered by stimuli-responsive polymers is essential. A small or modest change in the environmental condition (e.g. temperature, pH, light) brings a sharp change in the properties of the responsive polymers. 'Smart' drug delivery systems utilize these principles to mimic the biological response behavior to a certain extent. Synthetic polymers incorporated with stimuli-responsive behavior would be amenable to overcome some of the systemic and intracellular delivery barriers. Development …

Functional Morphology Of The Sphyrnid Shark Cephalofoil: An Assessment Of The Hydrodynamic Lift Hypothesis Using Computational Fluid Dynamics, Matthew K. Gaylord

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The hammerhead sharks (Family: Sphyrnidae) are all characterized by a conspicuous lateral expansion and dorsoventral flattening of the head forming a structure known as a cephalofoil, however, there is substantial morphological variation within the clade. Many theories have been proposed regarding the functional aspects of this structure. One of these is that it may produce beneficial dynamic lift as the shark swims (in similar fashion to the cambered wings found on many modern-day aircraft). As sharks do not possess a swim bladder, part of their energy intake is expended on simply maintaining vertical station in the water column. If indeed …

Preprocessing Of Biomass Using Mechanical, Chemical And Microbial Techniques, Swetha Mahalaxmi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biomass-derived fuels have acquired a lot of attention recently due to increasing emphasis on energy independence, efforts to utilize abundance of green resources and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. Grasses, agricultural residues, animal residues and waste, used oils, etc., can be used as starting materials in the production of biofuels. Various preprocessing techniques used in the preprocessing of biomass, such as microbial preprocessing, mechanical preprocessing and chemical pretreatment, are used for enhancing the digestibility of biomass to sugars for ethanol production. In this work, studies were conducted to improve the microbial, chemical and mechanical preprocessing of switch grass by decreasing …

Admicellar Polymerization To Compatibilize Calcium Carbonate With Oil-Based Drilling Mud, Olugbenga Samuel Ojo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Weighting agents like calcium carbonate (CC) are added to drilling mud to improve mud properties and performance during oil and gas drilling operations. Oil-based mud (OBM), a more preferred drilling mud, being hydrophobic is particularly non-compatible with hydrophilic CC. This work explored an economically viable admicellar polymerization technique to surface-modify the high energy hydrophilic CC surface to a low energy hydrophobic surface by polymerizing organic styrene monomer within an admicelle of nonionic surfactant Triton X-100 adsorbed on the CC surface. BET N2 particle size analysis, Soxhlet extraction of the coated polymer, Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) spectra analysis, and …

Distressed Sales And Housing Prices: A Metro And Regional Analysis, Katherine Westbrook

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Housing literature has consistently found a statistically significant, inverse relationship between foreclosures and housing prices. Such research has been primarily focused on specific, local markets. This thesis expands on the literature, featuring housing and macro data for 127 metropolitan areas. This thesis constructs hypotheses on the relationships between distressed sales and foreclosures in order to structure potential relationships between distressed sales and housing prices. Using dynamic panel models and time series analysis, this thesis finds both inverse and positive relationships between distressed sales and house prices. Additionally, this thesis finds that changes in distressed sales are only predictive of future …

Valproic Acid-Induced Teratogenesis In Japanese Rice Fish (Oryzias Latipes) Embryogenesis, Mengmeng Wu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Valproic acid (VPA) was introduced as an antiepileptic in 1967 in France and it has become the most prescribed anticonvulsive drug therapy worldwide since then. In the clinic, valproic acid is selected to treat absence seizures, myoclonic seizures, generalized tonic-clonic seizures, atonic attacks and partial seizures. Epilepsy is the second most comneurologic disorder that affects pregnant women (0.5%–1%). Approximately 1 out of 250 pregnant women are taking antiepileptic drugs. Valproic acid is designated as a human teratogen, which induces major congenital anomalies, facial dysmorphic features, and autistic-like behaviors, which affect verbal, cognitive, communicative, and social abilities of affected children. We …