Digital Commons Network^™

Design And Analysis Of Cloaked Fluorophores For Rapid Detection And Visualization Of Cancer Cells Containing Nad(P)H:Quinone Oxidoreductase-1, William Silvers

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The development of fluorogenic substrates for real-time tumor cell detection has led to a vastly expanding field for personal oncology. Fluorophores have been studied as appendages to larger scaffolds leading to accumulation of these dyes in tumor cells or their surrounding environment, taking advantage of tumor anatomy. A new class of fluorophores has been developed in which the dye is an active participant in the mechanism of cancer cell detection. These dyes have been conjugated such that their fluorescence has been eliminated or altered and will undergo a change to reveal their fluorescent signal upon activation by a mechanism that …

Invasion Of Smooth Brome Into North American Tall-Grass Prairies: Impact On Native Plant/Herbivore Species And Mechanisms Responsible For Successful Invasion, Forrest Paul Dillemuth

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Research in invasion ecology has focused on developing ecological theory that can predict how invasive species interact with invaded communities. However, empirical support for theoretical predictions has been inconsistent. Inconsistencies may be attributed to the lack of data in three core areas; (1) field data with enough resolution to determine population dynamics of invasive species in relation to native species, (2) manipulative field experiments that encapsulate natural variation found among micro-habitats, and (3) field data that incorporate effects of invasive species within and among spatial scales. This dissertation has addressed these concerns by examining the mechanisms responsible for the successful …

Detection And Characterization Of Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals (Epfrs) In Soils And Sediments From Superfund Sites, Albert Leo N. Dela Cruz

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) from combustion-generated PM have been demonstrated to form via reactions of molecular precursors with redox-active transition metals at 150-500C thermal reactions in a few seconds reaction times. While ambient temperatures are much lower, soils/sediments contain similar transition metals, and reaction times of contaminants in soils/sediments are years, rather than seconds. This questions whether EPFRs could be formed at ambient temperatures in soils/sediments from Superfund sites that are contaminated with hazardous materials. Superfund soils contaminated with PCP from Georgia and Montana, and sediments contaminated with PAHs from Washington. Using EPR spectroscopy, EPFR concentrations and structural assignments …

Investigating The Physiological Roles Of Yqja And Yghb: Members Of The Conserved Deda Membrane Protein Family In Escherichia Coli, Rakesh Sikdar

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The aim of this dissertation is to characterize the physiological roles of E. coli YqjA and YghB, which belong to the ancient and conserved DedA protein family of hitherto unknown functions. YqjA and YghB are inner membrane (IM) proteins with 61% amino acid identity and share partially redundant functions. Such characterization is achieved by addressing the phenotypes exhibited by strain BC202 with in-frame deletions of yqjA and yghB. BC202 exhibits cell division defects, inability to grow at temperatures above 42°C and an altered phospholipid composition. The cell division defect of BC202 is attributed to the inefficient secretion of periplasmic amidases …

Environmental And Landscape Determinants Of Population Genetic Structure And Diversity Of The Great Fruit-Eating Bat, Artibeus Lituratus, In Atlantic Forest Remnants In South America, Eve Sutherland Mcculloch

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Ecologists and evolutionary biologists attempt to understand processes that determine distribution, abundance, and diversification of taxa through space and time. Genetic variation can provide insight into mechanisms governing the distribution and structure of natural populations, and population responses to environmental change, which in turn can have important consequences for the maintenance of species diversity. For my dissertation, I studied genetic variation of a seed-dispersing bat, Artibeus lituratus (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae), in a heterogeneous landscape in South America, with the objective of understanding environmental and spatial forces responsible for the distribution and dynamics of populations. First, I designed thousands of primer pairs …

Family Relationship Analysis In Photos, Xiaolong Wang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Family relationship analysis has many potential applications, ranging from homeland security through to image search and social activity analysis. In our work, we present five computational problems for family relationship analysis in face photos. Studying these challenging problems is important and useful for semantic image understanding and social context extraction. In our study, the familial traits are learned from pairs of salient local facial parts using discriminative approaches. It is motivated by human perception studies on kinship recognition and the existence of familial traits through genetic inheritance. Second, kinship verification is performed on a pair of faces by integrating the …

Magnetic Nanoparticles For Bio-Analytical Applications, Sri Lakshmi Yedlapalli

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Magnetic nanoparticles are widely being used in various fields of medicine, biology and separations. This dissertation focuses on the synthesis and use of magnetic nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery and analytical separations. The goals of this research include synthesis of biocompatible surface modified monodisperse superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) by novel techniques for targeted drug delivery and use of SPIONs as analytical sensing tools. Surface modification of SPIONs was performed with two different co-polymers: tri block co-polymer Pluronics and octylamine modified polyacrylic acid.;Samples of SPIONs were subsequently modified with 4 different commercially available, FDA approved tri-block copolymers (Pluronics), covering a …

Overexpression Of A Plasma Membrane Protein Gene, Sapmp3, From Spartina Alterniflora L. Enhances Salinity Tolerance In Rice (Oryza Sativa L.), Hanamareddy Biradar

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Salinity continues to be a major abiotic stress limiting crop productivity. As rice is staple food for nearly half of the world population, improvement in its salt tolerance will have a major impact on global food security. Compared to rice and other field crops, halophytes have evolved special physiological mechanisms to withstand high salinity. The overall goal of this study was to characterize plasma membrane protein 3 genes, SaPMP3-2 and SaPMP3-1, from a halophyte, Spartina alterniflora L., and evaluate their potential in single gene as well as pyramided transgenic plants in combination with the vacuolar ATPase subunit c1 (SaVHAc1) gene …

Investigation Of Electroosmotic Flow Dynamics And Reproducibility In Capillary Electrophoresis, Funda Kizilkaya

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation is to investigate electroosmotic flow (EOF) and electric field dynamics during capillary electrophoresis (CE) experiments using methods based on periodic photobleaching of fluorophores added to the separation buffer at nanomolar concentrations. The methods provide time resolved EOF and local electric field information during an experiment, which can be applied to fundamental studies to provide better understanding of CE techniques. The potential of the EOF monitoring method to improve CE migration reproducibility was investigated in Chapter 2. The EOF monitoring method and four other methods from the literature were applied to the same electrophoretic separations, and …

Pmi 5011 Regulates The Ubiquitin Proteasome System In Skeletal Muscle, Heather Christianne Kirk-Ballard

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes is associated with impaired glucose and protein metabolism in skeletal muscle. The impaired insulin signaling in skeletal muscle affects muscle mass by tilting the balance between skeletal muscle protein synthesis and degradation toward degradation, a process that is primarily regulated by the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Studies have shown that an extensively characterized ethanol extract of Artemisia dracunculus L (Russian Tarragon), termed PMI 5011, enhances insulin signaling in human primary skeletal muscle cells and in a rodent model of insulin resistance. The aim of this project is to determine if the effect of PMI 5011 on …

A Study Of Turnaround Efforts In High-Poverty Schools: Characteristics Of High Reliability Organizations That Determine Why Some Efforts Succeed And Others Fail, Angela Renee Lee

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The inception of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has focused national attention on improving the academic achievement of all students. In response to this federal legislation, educators, policymakers and others have sought remedies to turnaround chronically low-performing schools. The academic achievement outcomes of implementing such strategies have been mixed. Some schools have experienced clear, unambiguous growth. Others have remained stagnant. Others have regressed. Because of these mixed results, the research was designed to ascertain the factors that determine what makes these strategies succeed or fail. The researcher took a qualitative approach, the multiple case study design. Using the characteristics of …

High-Throughput Sperm Cryopreservation Of Aquatic Species, E Hu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation was to integrate multiple disciplines for application of high-throughput sperm cryopreservation to aquatic species. The blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus was selected for research due to its role in production of hybrid catfish with eggs from channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus. A high-throughput cryopreservation pathway was developed by systematically evaluating each process factor and using automated processing systems. Large quantities of cryopreserved sperm produced from this protocol were evaluated in commercial-scale hatcheries in cooperation with aquaculture producers. To develop production for commercial requirements, quality characteristics of materials and products were identified and recorded during processing and analyzed …

A Simple Approach For Synthesis, Characterization And Bioactivity Of Bovine Bones To Fabricate The Polyurethane Nanofiber Containing Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles, Faheem A. Sheikh, M. A. Kanjwal, Javier Macossay-Torres, N. A. M. Barakat, H. Y. Kim

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Chemistry)

In the present study, we had introduced polyurethane (PU) nanofibers that contain hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanoparticles (NPs) as a result of an electrospinning process. A simple method that does not depend on additional foreign chemicals had been employed to synthesize HAp NPs through the calcination of bovine bones. Typically, a colloidal gel consisting of HAp/PU had been electrospun to form nanofibers. In this communication, physiochemical aspects of prepared nanofibers were characterized by FE-SEM, TEM and TEM-EDS, which confirmed that nanofibers were well-oriented and good dispersion of HAp NPs, over the prepared nanofibers. Parameters, affecting the utilization of the prepared nanofibers in …

Bismuth Nitrate-Induced Microwave-Assisted Expeditious Synthesis Of Vanillin From Curcumin, Debasish Bandyopadhyay, Bimal K. Banik

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Chemistry)

Background: Curcumin and vanillin are the two useful compounds in food and medicine. Bismuth nitrate pentahydrate is an economical and ecofriendly reagent.

Method: Bismuth nitrate pentahydrate impregnated montmorillonite KSF clay and curcumin were subjected to microwave irradiation.

Results: Microwave-induced bismuth nitrate-promoted synthesis of vanillin from curcumin has been accomplished in good yield under solvent-free condition. Twenty-five different reaction conditions have been studied to optimize the process.

Conclusion: The present procedure for the synthesis of vanillin may find useful application in the area of industrial process development.

Revisiting The Mutual Embeddedness Of Culture And Mental Illness, David Lackland Sam, Virginia Moreira

Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

In this paper, we discuss the intricate relationship between culture and mental illness. Our central position is that there cannot be mental illness without culture. We argue that our limited knowledge to the onset, manifestation, course and outcome of mental illness is due in part to the cross-cultural psychological conceptualization of culture, where culture is seen as an independent variable influencing mental illness, the dependent variable. This is in addition to the limitations of the biomedical model in accounting for the origins of mental illness. Using depression and schizophrenia as examples, we argue for the need to see culture and …

Application Of Genetic And Statistical Tools For Improvement Of Louisiana Rice, James Silva Garcia

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Breeding for grain quality traits and resistance to sheath blight (SB), a disease caused by Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn, are important objectives for the rice (Oryza sativa L.) industry. Grain quality traits and SB resistance play an important role in the economic prosperity of commercial rice markets. The objectives of our research were to: (1) Explore performance and stability for SB resistance among doubled-haploid (DH) lines of the SB2 mapping population using GGE biplots (2) Exploit whole genome sequences of 13 inbred lines to identify non-synonymous SNPs (nsSNPs) and candidate genes for SB resistance. Genotype-by-environment interaction for SB analysis was performed …

Greenhouse Gas Emissions And Nutrients Dynamics In Restored Wetlands Of The Mississippi River Basin, Christopher Lundberg

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Greenhouse gases were sampled during spring and summer months in 2010 and 2011 at two sites in the Mississippi River Basin: a riparian forested wetland under restored flood pulsing near Memphis, TN and a coastal estuarine marsh complex impacted by a river diversion at Caernarvon, LA. Mean methane fluxes at Caernarvon (-0.09 g CH4-C m-2 d-1) were lower than those at Memphis (0.53 g CH4-C m-2 d-1), and did not differ between seasons. Nitrous oxide fluxes were generally below detection limits. Fluxes were uncorrelated with water depth, soil temperature, and ambient air temperature, though sampling occurred over a narrow range …

Biological Activities Of Natural Phellinus Spp. Mushroom In Human Cancer Cells, Surapol Natakankitkul, Papawee Suabjakyong, Toshihiko Toida, Kyohei Higashi, Hiromi Sato, Koichi Ueno, Frankie Chan

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

No abstract provided.

Fabrication Of Lipospheres For Paclitaxel And Assessment Of In Vitro Cytotoxicity Against U373 Cancer Cell Lines, Nilakshi Nerkar, Amrita Bajaj, Shruti Shrikhande, Darshana Jain

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Paclitaxel is an antineoplastic drug, effective for various complex cancers especially ovarian and breast cancer. Due to its high hydrophobicity, an adjuvant such as polyethoxylated castor oil (Cremophor EL) has to be used in its clinical administration; however, it causes serious side-effects. Inclusion of paclitaxel in lipid matrix (lipospheres) has been proved to be a good approach to eliminate the need for Cremophor EL and to prolong the release of the drug. This paper describes the development of lipospheres as carriers for paclitaxel. Lipospheres constituted of bioacceptable and biodegradable lipids were fabricated and characterised. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning …

Simultaneous Spectrophotometric Determination Of Difloxacin And Enrofloxacin In Urine Samples By Partial Least Squares Regression (Pls) And Direct Orthogonal Signal Correction-Partial Least Squares Regression (Disc-Ols) Methods, Kuldeep Kaur, Ashok Kumar Malik, Baldev Singh, M. Godarzi

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Simultaneous determination of difloxacin and enrofloxacin using two chemometric methods, partial least squares regression (PLS) and direct orthogonal signal correction-partial least squares regression (DOSC-PLS) is described in this paper. The simultaneous determination of these drugs is difficult due to spectral interferences. The calibration graphs were linear in the range of 1-10 μg mL-1 and 1-9 μg mL-1 with detection limits of 0.52 and 0.15 μg mL-1 for difloxacin and enrofloxacin, respectively. The experimental calibration matrix was designed with 25 mixtures of these drugs. The PLS and DOSC-PLS were used for multivariate calibration of spectrophotometric data. The root mean square error …

Facile Derivative Uv Spectroscopy Method: Simultaneous Estimation Of Tinidazole And Fluconazole In Combined Tablet Dosage Form, Saurabh Pandey, Preeti Pandey, Shaifali Dubey, Udisha Chaturvedi, Awani K. Rai

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Two derivative spectrophotometric methods have been developed for simultaneous determination of tinidazole and fluconazole in pharmaceutical formulations. The first method depends on utilization of first derivative UV spectrophotometry, with zero-crossing and peak-to-base measurement at 260.57 & 264.23 nm for fluconazole and 263.86 & 318.85 nm for tinidazole. The second method, compensation technique depends on first derivative of the ratio-spectra by measurements of the amplitudes for tinidazole and fluconazole. Calibration graphs were established for tinidazole and fluconazole in the range of 10-100 μg ml-1 and 2-20 μg ml-1, respectively. All proposed methods have been extensively validated. The results were found to …

Simultaneous Estimation Of Cefixime And Cloxacillin In Human Plasma By Reversed Phase-Hplc With Uv Detection, Sommath D. Bhinge, Sharangouda M. Malipatil, Lalit V. Sonawane

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

An accurate, rapid and simple reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method was developed and validated for simultaneous estimation of cefixime, cloxacillin and for chloramphenicol (internal standard) in human plasma. Chromatographic separation was accomplished using CAPCELL PAK C8 (4.6 mm Ó 250 mm, 5 μm) analytical column using phosphate buffer, methanol and acetonitrile (40:45:15) as eluent. Detection and quantification were performed by UV/Vis detection at 225 nm. The lower limit of detection and quantification were 0.01 μg†mL-1 and 0.25 μg†mL-1 for cefixime, 0.03 μg†mL-1 and 0.39 μg†mL-1 for cloxacillin. The calibration curves were linear over the concentration range 0.5 to …

Thrombolytic Activity Of Some Spices And Plants Available In Bangladesh, Md. Rakib Ai-Manun, Nabiha Amrin, Jahura Begum, Md. Abdul Mazid

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Thrombolytic activities of some plants, namely Tamarindus indica (Fabaceae), Flemingia congesta (Fabaceae), Lawsonia inermis (Lythraceae), Mesua nagassarium (Clusiaceae, and spices, namely Coriandrum sativum (Apiaceae), Curcuma longa (Zingiberaceae), Cinnamomum tamala (Lauraceae), Nigella sativa (Ranunculaceae), Eugenia aromaticum (Myrtaceae), available in Bangladesh, were evaluated using an in vitro model. The thrombolytic activity in terms of percentage of weight loss of in vitro formed clots were found as C. sativum 43.25 ± 7.18%, C. longa 53.32 ± 4.96%, C. tamala 22.10 ± 3.18%, N. sativa 28.49 ± 3.72%, E. aromaticum 32.18 ± 3.10%, T. indica 28.91 ± 2.29%, F. congesta 35.27 ± 7.35%, L. …

Application Of A Stability-Indicating Hptlc Method For Simultaneous Determination Of Chloramphenicol And Dexamethasone Sodium Phosphate In Eye Drop, Yimer Seid, Araya Hymete, Adnan A. Bekhit

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

A high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of dexamethasone sodium phosphate and chloramphenicol in eye drop. The HPTLC separation was achieved on an aluminum-backed layer of silica gel 60F254 using acetonitrile: water: ammonia (10:3:0.5 v/v/v), pH adjusted to 7.8 with 1M HCl, as a mobile phase. The densitometric determination of dexamethasone phosphate and chloramphenicol was carried out at 262 nm. Calibration curves for dexamethasone phosphate and chloramphenicol were linear in the range of 80-300 ng and 400-1400 ng, respectively. The method was validated according to International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines …

Fp-12-09 Fatherhood In The U.S.: The Decoupling Of Marriage And Childbearing, Krista K. Payne

National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles

No abstract provided.

Methylxanthine-Induced Neuroprotection In Neural Stem Cells, Stacy I. Ejem

All ETDs from UAB

Neonatal brain injury is a significant health concern of premature low birth weight babies that often leads to devastating developmental complications. Many of these babies do not survive and those that survive could end up with social and mental disorders. Premature babies are susceptible to brain injury due to their unique and underdeveloped anatomy. The insufficiency of the neonatal defense and antioxidant system prevents the body from buffering against ROS, causing oxidative stress. Adenosine, known as a modulator of cerebral blood flow, has been shown to be neuroprotective; it prevents excessive neuronal firing. However, depending on the cell type and …

Novel Device To Quantify The Mechanical Properties Of Electrospun Nanofibers, Timothy John Fee

All ETDs from UAB

Electrospun biomaterials are gaining popularity as scaffolding for engineered tissues. These fibrous scaffolds of natural or synthetic polymers can mimic the nano-scale properties of the natural extra-cellular matrix. It is becoming clear that the mechanical deformation of any electrospun matrix plays an important role in cell signaling. However, electrospun biomaterials have inherently complex geometries due to the random deposition of fibers during the electrospinning process. This complex fiber geometry complicates any attempt at quantifying forces exerted on adherent cells during electrospun matrix deformation. In order to quantify the mechanical properties of arrays of individual electrospun fibers in physiological conditions, a …

Distribution/Localization And Relative Quantitation Of C-Terminal Αa-Crystallin Truncation Products Within Lenses Of Icr/F Rats Treated With Dietary Supplemented Genistein, Kyle Anthony Floyd

All ETDs from UAB

The ocular lens functions to focus light coming into the eye onto the retina. Lens development begins in utero, and continues over an individual's lifetime. Lens fiber cells and their proteins are only synthesized once and have no repair mechanisms, so they remain for an individual's lifetime. The α-crystallins, the most abundant lens proteins, act as chaperones to keep damaged/unfolded proteins in-solution. Cataract disease is associated with protein damage, leading to a light scattering opacity. It has been suggested that truncation of αA-crystallin leads to a loss of chaperone function. Cataract disease is the leading cause of blindness in the …

Functional Collaboration Between Igf-1 Receptor And Growth Hormone Signaling Pathway, Yujun Gan

All ETDs from UAB

GH receptor (GHR) binds GH in its extracellular domain (ECD) to activate the GHR-associated cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase, JAK2. IGF-1 binds IGF-1R, a disulfide-linked heterotetramer with tyrosine kinase activity in its intracellular domain (ICD). Classically, IGF-1 is a GH effector in a “linear” GH→GHR→IGF-1→IGF-1R pathway. Our recent studies suggest IGF-1R also subserves GH signaling in several novel ways: 1) GH induces a GHR-JAK2-IGF-1R complex, whose formation is independent of tyrosine phosphorylation of any of the partners; 2) Cotreatment with IGF-1 augments acute GH signaling; 3) deletion of IGF-1R in primary osteoblasts or human prostate cancer cells blunts acute GH signaling. In …

Parental Influences On Driving Behavior In Adolescents With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Annie Artiga Garner

All ETDs from UAB

Drivers with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are approximately six times more likely to become involved in a motor vehicle crash (MVC) than drivers without the disorder. Moreover, adolescent drivers with ADHD are likely at greater risk because their attention regulation difficulties are exacerbated by their driving inexperience. Research has primarily focused on the impact of ADHD on driving outcomes among adults. Thus, there is little literature assessing the role of parents in influencing driving outcomes of adolescents with ADHD. The present study was conducted to examine the impact of parenting practices during middle adolescence on the driving outcomes of adolescents with …