Digital Commons Network^™

Characterisation Of The Human Thyroid Peroxidase Gene Mutations (S) In Patients With Congenital Dyshormonogenetic Hypothyroidism / Lee Ching Chin, Ching Chin Lee

Student Works (2010-2019)

Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is a public health concern affecting 1 / 3000 - 4000 newborn babies. In reference to this, thyroid peroxidase (TPO) abnormality, typically inherited as autosomal recessive traits was found to be one of the causes of dyshormonogenetic CH. Our group had previously identified a homozygous c.1159G>A mutation in exon 8 of the TPO gene of CHP41. In this study, the TPO gene of CHP41’s family members was screened for the c.1159G>A mutation and the results showed that all family members carried the same mutation either in homozygous or heterozygous forms. In addition, another 20 unrelated …

The Conservation Of Biodiversity In Malaysia: Options For An Integrative Statutory Framework / Sarah Aziz Abdul Ghani Aziz, Abdul Ghani Aziz Sarah Aziz

Student Works (2010-2019)

This thesis lies hinged on the conclusion embedded in the National Biodiversity Policy 1998 (“NBP”), that there is no single comprehensive legislation in Malaysia which relates to biological diversity conservation and management as a whole. The NBP goes on to state that the existing legislative framework is sectoral, to an extent restrictive causing some deficiencies, due to an absence of an ntegrative approach across sectors, lacking consideration of the overall objectives of conservation and comprehensive coverage of biological diversity issues. This stems from the provisions of the Constitution of Malaysia 1957 which has unwittingly led to legislative non-uniformity.

Collaborative Justice: An Analysis Of The Use Of "Justice" In The Writings Of Lisa Sowle Cahill, Dennis W. Feltwell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the role of justice in the writings of Catholic ethicist Lisa Sowle Cahill. Since 1990, Cahill has supported theological voices participating in the public forum, which she describes as a meeting ground for diverse intellectual and religious traditions. Good argumentation is necessary but not sufficient to resolve ethical dilemmas within the politically liberal context in which Cahill makes her claims. Instead, her commitment to justice underwrites those narratives and practices which demand one's fullest possible participation in contributing toward the common good. Cahill's notion of justice develops correlatively to the degree that she integrates the principles of …

Exploring Learning Of Pediatric Burn Patients Through Storytelling, Maryann Godshall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This purpose of this study was to explore if pediatric burn patients learned from an age appropriate discharge teaching book. The Pediatric Burn Book© contained coloring pages and seven main teaching points; taking care of my body, bathing, eating right, exercise, sleep, going to school, and keeping follow up appointments. The children were admitted to a pediatric trauma and burn center in northeastern Pennsylvania over a two year period. Twenty children aged five through ten who had second or third degree burns participated in this study. The children were read the discharge teaching book, asked to draw a picture of …

The Ethical Imagination: A Hermeneutical Study, Jeb Gordon Jungwirth

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research examines and describes the ways psychotherapists address ethical dilemmas through a hermeneutic analysis of how they responded to a portrayal of a therapy session represented in a television series. Interview transcripts were analyzed and assessed for both how therapists navigate difficult ethical terrain, and upon what, thematically, they tend to direct their thought and concern. Moreover, particular consideration is given to the role of imagination in the development of ethical meaning, intention, and understanding in the clinical context, which intersects with a critique of the American Psychological Association's ethics code and its underlying philosophical assumptions. Such theoretical underpinnings …

Psychotherapy As Constitutional Practice: A Detailed Interaction Analysis Of The Change Process In Psychotherapy, Cody L. Maddox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Psychotherapy is concerned with changing individuals: it is a practice devoted to the constitution of certain kinds of subjects. Although the various therapeutic schools have their own explanations of psychotherapeutic change, more empirical work needs to be dedicated to understanding how this process takes place. In this study, a fine grain research methodology is used to produce an account of the change process that occurred over the course of two psychotherapy sessions. The data consists of naturally occurring video recordings of a single therapist and client dyad. The goal of this research is to examine the relationship of mutual formation …

Theological Foundations For An Ethics Of Cosmocentric Transfiguration: Navigating The Eco-Theological Poles Of Conservation, Transfiguration, Anthropocentrism, And Cosmocentrism With Regard To The Relationship Between Humans And Individual Nonhuman Animals, Ryan Patrick Mclaughlin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the past forty years, there has been an unprecedented explosion of theological writings regarding the place of the nonhuman creation in ethics. The purpose of this dissertation is to propose a taxonomy of four paradigms of eco-theological thought that will categorize these writings and facilitate the identification, situation, and constructive development of the paradigm of cosmocentric transfiguration. This taxonomy takes shape within the tensions of three theological foundations: cosmology, anthropology, and eschatology. These tensions establish two categorical distinctions between, on the one hand, conservation and transfiguration, and, on the other, anthropocentrism and cosmocentrism. The variations within these poles yield …

Solidarity According To The Thought Of Fr. Pedro Arrupe And Its Application To Jesuit Higher Education Today, James Menkhaus

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J. was elected the 28th superior general of the Society of Jesus in 1965 and served in that role until 1983. As superior general, Arrupe sought to shape the Jesuits in the spirit of the vision of Vatican II, as well as the original charism of the founder of the Jesuit, St. Ignatius. The questions this dissertation seeks to answer is how Fr. Pedro Arrupe understood solidarity in light of his own life and theological perspectives and then how his view continues to shape Jesuit education today.

The first chapter examines solidarity as an element of Catholic …

Metalated Nitriles: Ligand Exchange And Copper-Catalyzed Reactions, Dinesh Nath

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes new methods of carbon-carbon bond formation using metalated nitriles generated via metal exchange reactions. Sulfinylnitriles undergo a sulfinyl-metal exchange to yield lithiated, magnesiated and zincated nitriles, which can trap a range of electrophiles. The sulfinyl-metal exchange is effective with vinylic, quaternary and tertiary substitution patterns and addresses the long-standing problem of alkylating secondary nitriles. This method was then further extended to other oxidation states of sulfur, namely sulfonyl-metal exchange and relatively unknown sulfide-metal exchange. The sulfide metal exchange overcomes the problem related to the propensity of highly substituted sulfinylnitriles to eliminate. Sulfide-metal exchange is synthetically attractive because …

Evaluation Of Dna Barcoding As A Technique For Elucidating The Diet Of Louisiana Waterthrush Nestlings, Brian K. Trevelline

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla) (LOWA) is a Neotropical-Nearctic migrant songbird that annually breeds in the Eastern United States. As an obligate riparian species, it preys upon a diverse community of benthic macroinvertebrates along headwater streams. Fecal material potentially contains residual DNA that can be used to molecularly identify prey species. The objective of this study was to develop a non-invasive technique capable of elucidating the diet of Waterthrush nestlings from residual DNA present in fecal sacs via DNA barcoding. Our limited analysis revealed that the majority of the analyzed fecal sacs were comprised of an acid-sensitive family of Ephemerotperan …

An Exploration Of The Development Of Empathy In A Clinical Sample Of Preschoolers In Relation To Child And Family Factors, Lindsey G Venesky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the current literature base of social-emotional development in early childhood there exists a paucity of research of empathy development due to the complicated nature of empathy in young children. The present study utilizes a preexisting dataset from a local therapeutic preschool program, and its methods include visual analysis, correlations, and independent samples t-tests. Results of the present study found that clinical behavior patterns negatively correlate with empathy development. Further, statistically significant group differences exist in affective empathy for children whose parents have a mental health diagnosis. However, results regarding adaptive skills were not found to be statistically significant. The …

Classical Antifolates: Synthesis Of 5-Substituted, 6-Substituted And 7-Substituted Pyrrolo[2,3-D]Pyrimidines As Targeted Anticancer Therapies, Yiqiang Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation comprises an introduction, background and current research progress in the area of classical antifolates as the targeted anticancer therapies.

In this study, twelve series of classical 5-, 6- and 7-substituted pyrrolo[2, 3-d]pyrimidines were designed and synthesized. Extensive structure modifications of the pyrrolo[2, 3-d] pyrimidine scaffold were investigated to determine selective transport via FR or/and PCFT and tumor targeted antifolates with GARFTase or multiple folate metabolizing enzyme inhibition.

The design strategies employed include: variation of the side chain substitution position (5-, 6- and 7-substituted); variation of the side chain length (n=1-6); isosteric replacement of the 1, 4-disubstituted phenyl ring …

The Effect Of L-Dopa And Natural Products On Age-Related Motor Deficits And Dopaminergic Cell Survival, Erika Nicole Allen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With age, there is a loss of motor coordination leading to an increase in falls. Currently, there are limited therapeutic regimens for age-related motor deficits. However, L-DOPA is used for motor dysfunction in Parkinson's disease (PD). Therefore, we investigated the effect of L-DOPA on motor deficits in young (2 mo) and old (20 mo) mice. We found that L-DOPA reversed age-related motor decline.

Chronic L-DOPA use produces involuntary movements or dyskinesias. Interestingly, natural foods, such as wild blueberries (WBB), and isolated compounds, such as resveratrol and pinostilbene, have beneficial effects on several physiological processes with few side effects. Therefore, to …

Differential Expressions Of Nodal-Signal Transducers And Global Transcriptional Repression Commit Vegetal Cells In Eleutherodactylus Coqui To Form Nutritional Endoderm, Suman Chatterjee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The vegetal core cells of a Xenopus laevis embryo commit to mesendoderm via the Nodal-signaling pathway. In Eleutherodactylus coqui, a direct developing frog, mesendoderm is specified at the marginal zone of the early gastrulae and vegetal core cells transform into nutritional endoderm. It is a novel tissue consisting of transient, yolk rich cells that provide nutrition, but do not differentiate into adult tissues. We hypothesized that a disruption of Nodal-signaling is responsible for committing vegetal core cells to nutritional endoderm. I report a dual regulation involved in the generation of nutritional endoderm. First, differential expression of Nodal-signaling components like Smad2 …

Penggunaan Multimedia Dalam Pengajaran Bahasa Arab : Satu Kajian Kes / Sharifah Fatimah Binti Wan Jamel, Sharifah Fatimah Wan Jamel

Student Works (2010-2019)

Tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk membincangkan tentang penggunaan multimdedia dalam pengajaran bahasa Arab. Tinjauan terhadap persepsi guru dan pelajar tentang penggunaan perisian serta perintegrasian multimedia dalam pedagogi pengajaran bahasa Arab serta tinjauan terhadap persepsi pelajar tentang penggunaannya dalam penguasaan kemahiran belajar telah dijalankan berdasarkan objektif khusus kajian. Elemen-elemen multimedia yang berkesan dalam pengajaran al-Qawā'id al-'Arabiyyah yang sesuai dengan pangajaran dan pembelajaran di dalam bilik darjah juga dibincangkan untuk mengukuhkan dapatan. Metodologi kajian ini adalah berbentuk kualitatif dan kuantitatif. Temu bual dan pemerhatian digunakan untuk pengumpulan data daripada informan untuk mendapatkan maklumat tentang proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran bahasa Arab yang dijalankan …

Bioactive Glass Scaffolds For The Regeneration Of Load-Bearing Bone, Xin Liu

Doctoral Dissertations

"Biocompatible scaffolds that replicate the structure and function of bone would be ideal bone substitutes for structural bone loss, provided they have the requisite mechanical properties for reliable long-term loading. In this dissertation, strong porous scaffolds of silicate 13-93 bioactive glass, created with two different microstructures, were evaluated to determine their mechanical properties and their capacity to regenerate bone in a rat calvarial defect model. Scaffolds with an oriented microstructure of columnar pores were prepared by unidirectional freezing of camphene-based suspensions, followed by thermal annealing and sintering. By optimizing the freezing conditions, annealing time, and sintering temperature, constructs (porosity = …

Social-Context Based Routing And Security In Delay Tolerant Networks, Roy A. Cabaniss

Doctoral Dissertations

"Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs) were originally intended for interplanetary communications and have been applied to a series of difficult environments: wireless sensor networks, unmanned aerial vehicles, and short-range personal communications. There is a class of such environments in which nodes follow semi-predictable social patterns, such as wildlife tracking or personal devices. This work introduces a series of algorithms designed to identify the social patterns present in these environments and apply this data to difficult problems, such as efficient message routing and content distribution. Security is also difficult in a mobile environment. This is especially the case in the event that …

Effect Of Dense Heat Exchanging Internals On The Hydrodynamics Of Bubble Column Reactors Using Non-Invasive Measurement Techniques, Mohammed Khloofh Al Mesfer

Doctoral Dissertations

"Given their efficiency and capital cost reduction, bubble/slurry bubble column reactors are the reactors of choice for Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis, offering clean alternative fuels and chemicals. FT synthesis is an exothermic process that requires many heat exchanging tubes in order to remove heat efficiently and maintain the desired temperature and isothermal operating condition. The impact of the heat exchanging tubes (internals) on the hydrodynamics is not fully understood. Reliably designing and scaling up bubble column reactors requires proper understanding of hydrodynamics, as well as heat and mass transfer parameters.

The main objective of this work is to advance the understanding …

Critical Comparison Of Intravenous Injection Of Tio2 Nanoparticles With Waterborne And Dietary Exposures Concludes Minimal Environmentally-Relevant Toxicity In Juvenile Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus Mykiss., D Boyle, Ga Al-Bairuty, Tb Henry, Rd Handy

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

A critical comparison of studies that have investigated tissue accumulation and toxicity of TiO2-NPs in fish is necessary to resolve inconsistencies. The present study used identical TiO2-NPs, toxicological endpoints, and fish (juvenile rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss) as previous studies that investigated waterborne and dietary toxicity of TiO2-NPs, and conducted a critical comparison of results after intravenous caudal-vein injection of 50 μg of TiO2-NPs and bulk TiO2. Injected TiO2-NPs accumulated only in kidney (94% of measured Ti) and to a lesser extent in spleen; and injected bulk TiO2 was found only in kidney. No toxicity of TiO2 was observed in kidney, …

Nuclear Translocation Of Cardiac G Protein-Coupled Receptor Kinase 5 Downstream Of Select Gq-Activating Hypertrophic Ligands Is A Calmodulin-Dependent Process., Jessica I Gold, Jeffrey S Martini, Jonathan Hullmann, Erhe Gao, J Kurt Chuprun, Linda Lee, Douglas G Tilley, Joseph E Rabinowitz, Julie Bossuyt, Donald M Bers, Walter J. Koch

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

G protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) kinases (GRKs) play a crucial role in regulating cardiac hypertrophy. Recent data from our lab has shown that, following ventricular pressure overload, GRK5, a primary cardiac GRK, facilitates maladaptive myocyte growth via novel nuclear localization. In the nucleus, GRK5's newly discovered kinase activity on histone deacetylase 5 induces hypertrophic gene transcription. The mechanisms governing the nuclear targeting of GRK5 are unknown. We report here that GRK5 nuclear accumulation is dependent on Ca(2+)/calmodulin (CaM) binding to a specific site within the amino terminus of GRK5 and this interaction occurs after selective activation of hypertrophic Gq-coupled receptors. Stimulation …

Programa De Rescate De Miembrosque Han Desertadode La Iglesia Adventista Central De Cali, Colombia, Juan Caicedo Solis

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem. The Central Seventh-day Adventist Church in Cali, Colombia, was a successful church in the past, boasting a membership of almost 300 active parishioners. Unfortunately, for several years, many members have left this church. In 2010, the Central Church had only 50 members. This research was done with the purpose of developing a program that would help church pastors and leaders as well as the local Conference leaders to understand and to deal with the issue, and to obtain positive results.

Methodology. The research explains the causes, characteristics, and consequences of leaving the church. A Bible-based program was designed, focusing …

Coping Strategies For Members Of The Zion Seventh-Day Adventist Church Who Experienced Multiple Losses And Complex Grief After A Major Crisis, Jean-Renaud Joseph

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

This dissertation explored the prevalence of trauma exposure, complicated grief, and related symptoms among survivors and members of Zion Seventh-day Adventist Church who had lost family members in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Method

The sample included participants who were members of Zion Seventh-day Adventist Church (n =39) who had either personally witnessed the 2010 Haiti earthquake and/or had lost family members in this traumatic event. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to explore the relations between the scale items of the IES (Impact of Event Scale) as well as between the subscales and other variables of interest. …

Modeling Undesirable Factors In Efficiency Evaluation With An Application To The Malaysian Manufacturing Sector / Noor Asiah Bt Ramli, Noor Asiah Ramli

Student Works (2010-2019)

Efficiency measurement must reflect the realities of production activities. In the manufacturing sector, emissions from fossil fuel combustion, which are acknowledged as being undesirable outputs, should be taken into account in efficiency measurement, since they are produced jointly with desirable outputs. This type of measurement is referred to as eco-efficiency. To analyze eco-efficiency, the Directional Distance Function (DDF) has been a popular approach. However, there is a drawback to the DDF model where the direction vector to the production boundary is fixed arbitrarily, and, hence, may not provide the best efficiency measures. The main purpose of this study is twofold. …

Toxinological Characterizations Of The Venom Of Hump-Nosed Pit Viper (Hypnale Hypnale) / Tan Choo Hock, Choo Hock Tan

Student Works (2010-2019)

Hump-nosed pit viper (Hypnale hypnale) is a medically important snake in Sri Lanka and Western Ghats of India. Envenomation by this snake still lacks effective antivenom clinically. The species is also often misidentified, resulting in inappropriate treatment. The median lethal dose (LD50) of H. hypnale venom varies from 0.9 μg/g intravenously to 13.7 μg/g intramuscularly in mice. The venom shows procoagulant, hemorrhagic, necrotic, and various enzymatic activities including those of proteases, phospholipases A2 and L-amino acid oxidases which have been partially purified. The monovalent Malayan pit viper antivenom and Hemato polyvalent antivenom (HPA) from Thailand effectively cross-neutralized the venom’s lethality …

Investigating The Expression And Functional Activities Of The Proteins That Are Involved In Uterine Fluid Ph Regulation At Different Stages Of The Oestrous Cycle And In Steroid Replaced Ovariectomized Rats / Khadijeh Gholami, Khadijeh Gholami

Student Works (2010-2019)

Precise control of the uterine luminal fluid pH is important for a number of key reproductive events. We hypothesized that sex-steroid could participate in this control via affecting the expression of H+ and HCO3- transporters as well as the enzyme that is involved in their generation. In view of this, we investigate the expressions and functional activities of few membrane transporters including CFTR, SLC26A6, NBC and NHE as well as CA enzyme in the uterus. Adult female WKY rats were divided into two main groups; (i) ovariectomized, steroid-replaced and (ii) intact rats at different phases of the oestrous cycle. The …

A Semantic Analysis Of Modal Verbs In Barack Obama’S 2012 Presidential Campaign Speeches / Huang Wen, Wen Huang

Student Works (2010-2019)

The main idea of this research is to analyze the English modals in Obama’s speech semantically. Therefore, the main objectives of this research are (i) to determine the frequency count of modal auxiliaries in the selected texts (ii) to analyze selected modal auxiliaries identified in selected Obama’s campaign speeches based on Coates’ (1983) semantic clusters. A total of fifteen Obama’s campaign speeches were selected as the primary data and the modal auxiliaries selected for analysis include WILL, WOULD, CAN, COULD, SHOULD, MUST, OUGHT, SHALL, MAY and MIGHT. All the modal auxiliaries are interpreted based on the framework of Coates’ (1983) …

Selected Malaysian Honey And Its Efficacy Towards Excisional Wound Healing / Tan Mui Koon, Mui Koon Tan

Student Works (2010-2019)

Skin is involved in protection, sensory transduction, thermoregulation and metabolic functions. Thus, wound on the skin needs to be effectively addressed and treated. Wound healing process is a complex, systematic and overlapping process that leads to restoration of tissue integrity and also its functions. This complicated wound healing process involves several phases including inflammatory phase, proliferative phase and remodelling phase. Fundamental to wound healing research is the search for best wound healing experimental model and for the substance that best treats wounds. Honey, which in natural state is mildly acidic, is one of the potential candidates for wound treatment. It …

Isolation And Characterization Of Indigenous Microorganisms From Agricultural Soil / Mahsa Ansari, Mahsa Ansari

Student Works (2010-2019)

Microorganisms have many properties include the ability to degrade waste products. In this study Haemolysis was used as an initial selection criterion for the primary isolation of surfactant-producing bacteria. Only β and γ Haemolytic activity were detected in this study which as the presence of a definite clear zone around a colony. From this study, Out of 139 (49 %) hemolytic colonies were observed in this study had shown strong haemolytic activity. The Gram stain results had showed: cocci and bacilli shapes. The colony morphology identification had shown rough, smooth and mucoid appearance. 120 of 139 (86%) isolates possessed biocleaner …

Adsorption Of Parabens In Aqueous Solution Onto Β-Cyclodextrin Cross-Linked Polymer / Chin Yuk Ping, Yuk Ping Chin

Student Works (2010-2019)

β-cyclodextrin cross-linked polymers were prepared from hexamethylene diisocyanate (HMDI) and toluene-2,6-diisocyanate (TDI) as a cross-linker. Two types of polymers were synthesized, namely β-CD-HMDI and β-CD-TDI. The polymers were characterized and β-CD-TDI with the molar ratio of 1:7 for β-CD:TDI was chosen for further studies as it gave the highest adsorption of parabens. The adsorption mechanisms were studied with adsorption kinetic models and adsorption isotherm models. Kinetic study was done for single paraben solutions and a mixture of four parabens solution. For the kinetic study, the experimental data were analysed using pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and intraparticle diffusion kinetic models. Adsorptions follow pseudo-second-order …

Acid Denaturation Of Aspergillus Niger Glucoamylase And Structural Transitions Induced By Various Alcohols And Polyols / Mohammed Suleiman Mohammed Zaroog, Mohammed Suleiman Mohammed Zaroog

Student Works (2010-2019)

Acid denaturation of Aspergillus niger glucoamylase was studied using different conformational probes. Both far-UV CD spectral signal (MRE222nm) and tryptophan fluorescence remained unchanged in the pH range, 7.0–3.0 but decreased significantly below pH 3.0, whereas the ANS fluorescence showed a marked increase below pH 1.5. Maximal changes in the MRE222nm value and the ANS fluorescence were noticed at pH 1.0. The acid-denatured state of glucoamylase at pH 1.0 retained a significant amount of secondary structure as reflected from the far-UV CD spectra but showed a deformed tertiary structure with significant exposure of the nonpolar groups as well as the tryptophan …