Digital Commons Network^™

Conservation Of Oxidative Protein Stabilization In An Insect Homologue Of The Parkinsonism-Associated Protein Dj-1, Jiusheng Lin, Janani Prahlad, Mark A. Wilson

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

DJ-1 is a conserved, disease-associated protein that protects against oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage in multiple organisms. Human DJ-1 contains a functionally essential cysteine residue (Cys106) whose oxidation is important for regulating protein function by an unknown mechanism. This residue is well conserved in other DJ-1 homologues, including two (DJ-1α and DJ-1β) in Drosophila melanogaster. Because D. melanogaster is a powerful model system for studying DJ-1 function, we have determined the crystal structure and impact of cysteine oxidation on Drosophila DJ-1β. The structure of D. melanogaster DJ-1β is similar to that of human DJ-1, although two important residues in …

Computational Modeling And Numerical Methods For Spaciotemporal Calcium Cycling In Ventricular Myocytes, Robert Rovetti

Mathematics, Statistics and Data Science Faculty Works

Intracellular calcium (Ca) cycling dynamics in cardiac myocytes is regulated by a complex network of spatially distributed organelles, such as sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), mitochondria, and myofibrils. In this study, we present a mathematical model of intracellular Ca cycling and numerical and computational methods for computer simulations. The model consists of a coupled Ca release unit (CRU) network, which includes a SR domain and a myoplasm domain. Each CRU contains 10 L-type Ca channels and 100 ryanodine receptor channels, with individual channels simulated stochastically using a variant of Gillespie’s method, modified here to handle time-dependent transition rates. Both the SR domain …

Identification Of Latent Subgroups Of Obese Adolescents Enrolled In A Healthy Weight Management Program, Cassie Brode

Theses and Dissertations

In obesity research, it is assumed that the population is homogeneous. While this approach has yielded important insights, testing this supposition might reveal information that could impact our understanding of the phenomena and its treatment. In this study, data from obese teenagers (N = 248, Mean BMI percentile = 99%; Mean age = 13.9, SD = 1.8) who were predominantly minority (n = 182), female (n = 169), and enrolled in a weight loss intervention were analyzed. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to segment patients into groups based on their scores on PedsQL 4.0 scales (physical-, emotional-, social-, and …

Szilard Engine Reversibility As Quantum Gate Function, F. Matthew Mihelic

Faculty Publications

A quantum gate is a logically and thermodynamically reversible situation that effects a unitary transformation of qubits of superimposed information, and essentially constitutes a situation for a reversible quantum decision. A quantum decision is a symmetry break, and the effect of the function of a Szilard engine is a symmetry break. A quantum gate is a situation in which a reversible quantum decision can be made, and so if a logically and thermodynamically reversible Szilard engine can be theoretically constructed then it would function as a quantum gate. While the traditionally theorized Szilard engine is not thermodynamically reversible, if one …

Efficacy Of Reach Forgiveness For Foreign And Virginia Students, Yin Lin

Theses and Dissertations

People agree that forgiveness is a virtue in essentially all countries. However, different cultures have different ideas about how willing one should forgive and under what circumstances. Although the study occurred in the USA, I recruited both foreign-extraction and Virginia born-and-raised female college students (N=102) to participate a six-hour REACH forgiveness intervention, promoting their forgiveness through psychoeducational groups. In my thesis, I investigated whether students of foreign extraction and Virginia-born students would respond similarly to the intervention. I operationalized culture in two ways—by country and by individual self-reported self-construal. I measured forgiveness using two measures—decisional forgiveness and emotional forgiveness. I …

Dna Methylation Arrays As Surrogate Measures Of Cell Mixture Distribution, Eugene Houseman, William P. Accomando, Devin C. Koestler, Brock C. Christensen, Carmen J. Marsit

Dartmouth Scholarship

There has been a long-standing need in biomedical research for a method that quantifies the normally mixed composition of leukocytes beyond what is possible by simple histological or flow cytometric assessments. The latter is restricted by the labile nature of protein epitopes, requirements for cell processing, and timely cell analysis. In a diverse array of diseases and following numerous immune-toxic exposures, leukocyte composition will critically inform the underlying immuno-biology to most chronic medical conditions. Emerging research demonstrates that DNA methylation is responsible for cellular differentiation, and when measured in whole peripheral blood, serves to distinguish cancer cases from controls.

Will The Empire State Strike Back At Commercial Polluters? A Proposal For A Transaction-Triggered Hazardous Waste Cleanup Statute In New York, Nancy G. Feeney, Jorin G. Rubin

Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development

No abstract provided.

Dna Fingerprinting: Dick Tracy Of The '90s, Nancy Slater

Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development

No abstract provided.

Project Overview And Research Findings, Kimberly Cassidy, Jennifer L. Spohrer

Blended Learning in the Liberal Arts Conference

Provost Kim Cassidy and Jennifer Spohrer give an overview of the blended learning study funded by the Next Generation Learning Challenges Wave I grant. They explain the origins of the project, introduce some of the blended courses developed to date, and mechanisms for measuring their impact. They will also present preliminary findings from the research done on fall-semester courses and discuss opportunities and support available for faculty at partner institutions who want to develop and teach blended courses in AY2012-2013 as part of the project.

Clearing The Air Of Environmental Sovereign Immunity: Ohio V. United States Department Of Energy, Louise M. Gleason, Marie I. Goutzounis

Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development

No abstract provided.

Justice Scalia's Due Process Model: A History Lesson In Constitutional Interpretation, Bethany A. Cook, Lisa C. Kahn

Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development

No abstract provided.

Federal Superlien: An Alternative To Lender Liability Under Cercla, John Andrew Maher, Kathryn C. Hoefer

Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development

No abstract provided.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome: The Case For Anonymous Limited Discovery, Mark G. Pedretti, Vincent L. Gallo Jr.

Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development

No abstract provided.

A Music Recommendation System Based On User Behaviors And Genre Classification, Yajie Hu

Open Access Theses

This thesis presents a new approach to recommend suitable tracks from a collection of songs to the user. The goal of the system is to recommend songs that are preferred by the user, are fresh to the user's ear, and fit the user's listening pattern. ``Forgetting Curve'' is used to assess freshness of a song and the user log is used to evaluate the preference. I analyze user's listening pattern to estimate the level of interest of the user in the next song. Also, user behavior is treated on the song being played as feedback to adjust the recommendation strategy …

Formation And Prediction Of The Singing Perceptions Of Self-Labeled Singers And Non-Singers, Elizabeth Gaile Stephens

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate predictors of self-labeled singers and non-singers’ beliefs about singing, with the additional goal of exploring a conceptualization of singing perceptions. A researcher-created Singing Perception and Participation survey was used to collect information about the singing perceptions of university students (N = 171). A factor analysis was run to determine if singing identity, singing self-efficacy, and singing attitudes of students were factors of singing perceptions. To examine common participant singing perceptions, descriptive analyses were also conducted. A multiple regression was used to determine if the independent variables of home environment, music learning environment, …

Water And Carbon Balances Of Deciduous And Evergreen Broadleaf Trees From A Subtropical Cloud Forest In Southwest China, Yongjiang Zhang

Open Access Dissertations

Evergreen and deciduous trees are conspicuous growth forms across most forest ecosystems around the world. The competition or coexistence between deciduous and evergreen tree species is an old but important ecological topic. The relative advantages of being deciduous or evergreen and the environmental constraints on tree and ecosystem level carbon assimilation in subtropical forests are poorly understood. Evergreen broadleaf trees dominate the forests from elevations of 1000 to 2600 m in the subtropical area of Southwest China, while the subtropical forests from Southeast China at similar elevations are dominated by deciduous trees. The eco-physiological mechanism in explaining this distribution pattern …

Brainstorm: Brain Development, Part 1: Of Mops And Brain Cells And Human Behavior, John J. Medina Ph.D.

Brainstorm

We have been discussing in equal measure the contributions that both natureand nurture make in the creation of human behavior. In this entry and the next, we are going to focus on the nature side of the discussion, summarizing a few features about how the human brain develops in the womb.

Conformational Switching And Graph Grammar: Abstract Models Of Self-Assembly, Arnab Dutta

Math Theses

Abstract models of self-assembly are mathematical models that capture the behavior of natural or artificial self-assembling systems. In 1995, conformational switching in self-assembling mechanical systems was introduced and an abstract model of self-assembling systems, conformational switching model, was later developed where assembly instructions are written as rules representing the conformational changes of self-assembling components. In 2004, another abstract model named graph grammar was developed to self-assemble a prespecified graph structure by generating a grammar or a set of rules. We first provide the concepts related to the abstract models of self-assembly, followed by a brief history of the development of …

Spartan Daily May 7, 2012, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 138, Issue 50

Korsgaard And Non-Sentient Life, Gregory L. Bock

Between the Species

Christine Korsgaard argues for the moral status of animals and our obligations to them. She grounds this obligation on the notion that we share a common identity, our animal nature, with them and that animal pain represents a public reason that binds us; nevertheless, her distinctive attempt to enlist Kantian arguments to account for our obligations to animals has a startling implication that she fails to adequately consider: that we have direct duties to plants as well.

Ua12/2/1 Best Of The Hill, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

Special awards edition of the College Heights Herald.

Commencement Convocation Program, Lakeland Campus, May 7, 2012, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

Outstanding Faculty - Aryn Bush; Outstanding Graduate - Kathryn Bevilacqua

Proteome-Wide Analysis Of Single-Nucleotide Variations In The N-Glycosylation Sequon Of Human Genes, Raja Mazumder, Krishna Sudeep Morampudi, Mona Motwani, Sona Vasudevan, Radoslav Goldman

Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

N-linked glycosylation is one of the most frequent post-translational modifications of proteins with a profound impact on their biological function. Besides other functions, N-linked glycosylation assists in protein folding, determines protein orientation at the cell surface, or protects proteins from proteases. The N-linked glycans attach to asparagines in the sequence context Asn-X-Ser/Thr, where X is any amino acid except proline. Any variation (e.g. non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism or mutation) that abolishes the N-glycosylation sequence motif will lead to the loss of a glycosylation site. On the other hand, variations causing a substitution that creates a new N-glycosylation sequence motif can …

Faculty Senate Meeting Agenda And Minutes, May 7, 2012

Faculty Senate Minutes and Agendas

Agenda and minutes from the Wright State University Faculty Senate Meeting held on, May 7, 2012.

Daily Experiences Of Older Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment, Elizabeth Hahn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rationale and study aims: Persons with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) experience declines in everyday functioning and cognitive performance greater than what is experienced in normal aging but less than that of dementia. Daily stress and daily memory complaints associated with cognitive deficits may contribute to greater psychological distress in the day-to-day experiences of persons with MCI. However, research examining the occurrence of daily stressors, daily memory complaints and psychological distress in MCI is limited, and it is not clear how the daily processes of stress and affect in persons with MCI compare to cognitively healthy older adults. This dissertation examined …

Inducible Cre Transgenic Mouse Strain For Skeletal Muscle-Specific Gene Targeting, John J. Mccarthy, Ratchakrit Srikuea, Tyler J. Kirby, Charlotte A. Peterson, Karyn A. Esser

Center for Muscle Biology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The use of the Cre/loxP system for gene targeting has been proven to be a powerful tool for understanding gene function. The purpose of this study was to create and characterize an inducible, skeletal muscle-specific Cre transgenic mouse strain.

METHODS: To achieve skeletal muscle-specific expression, the human α-skeletal actin promoter was used to drive expression of a chimeric Cre recombinase containing two mutated estrogen receptor ligand-binding domains.

RESULTS: Western blot analysis, PCR and β-galactosidase staining confirmed that Cre-mediated recombination was restricted to limb and craniofacial skeletal muscles only after tamoxifen administration.

CONCLUSIONS: A transgenic mouse was created that allows …

The Conundrum Of Functional Brain Networks: Small-World Efficiency Or Fractal Modularity, Lazaros K. Gallos, Mariano Sigman, Hernán A. Makse

Publications and Research

The human brain has been studied at multiple scales, from neurons, circuits, areas with well-defined anatomical and functional boundaries, to large-scale functional networks which mediate coherent cognition. In a recent work, we addressed the problem of the hierarchical organization in the brain through network analysis. Our analysis identified functional brain modules of fractal structure that were inter-connected in a small-world topology. Here, we provide more details on the use of network science tools to elaborate on this behavior. We indicate the importance of using percolation theory to highlight the modular character of the functional brain network. These modules present a …

The Collegian (2012-05-07), Rene Cardona Jr.

UTB/TSC Archives - The Collegian [Newspaper]

Vol. 64, No. 30

Function Of Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 7 (Igfbp7) In Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Dong Chen

Theses and Dissertations

Title of Dissertation: FUNCTION OF INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR BINDING PROTEIN 7(IGFBP7) IN HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA By Dong Chen. Purpose: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly virulent malignancy with no effective treatment, thus requiring the development of innovative and effective targeted therapies. The oncogene Astrocyte Elevated Gene-1 (AEG-1) plays a seminal role in hepatocarcinogenesis and profoundly downregulates Insulin-like Growth Factor Binding Protein-7 (IGFBP7). The present study focuses on analyzing potential tumor suppressor functions of IGFBP7 in HCC and the relevance of IGFBP7 downregulation in mediating AEG-1 function. Experimental Design: IGFBP7 expression was detected by immunohistochemistry in HCC tissue microarrays by real-time PCR …

Exploring The Connections Between Science And Spirituality: Conversations About The Afterlife, Ellen Jackson

Staff Scholarship

This research explores the possibilities, through literature and the experience of others, that the physical body is the container for “something” often referred to as the soul or ethereal substance which lives beyond the body after death. My work examines the intersection of science and spirituality related to conversations and writings about the afterlife. This investigation was conducted relying on the findings and the beliefs/opinions of ancient and modern philosophers, scientists and spiritual leaders’ concepts of death and the possibility that other worlds (or dimensions) exist. Despite many centuries of exploration, there is no conclusive scientific evidence of an afterlife; …