Digital Commons Network^™

Human Cytomegalovirus Us17 Locus Fine-Tunes Innate And Intrinsic Immune Responses, Stephen James Gurczynski

Wayne State University Dissertations

HCMV employs numerous strategies to combat, subvert, or co-opt host immunity. One evolutionary strategy for this involves "capture" of a host gene and then its successive duplication and divergence, forming a gene family, many of which have immunomodulatory activities. The HCMV US12 family consists of ten tandemly arranged sequence-related genes in the unique short region of the HCMV genome (US12-US21). Each gene encodes a protein possessing seven predicted transmembrane domains, and patches of sequence similarity with cellular GPCRs and the bax inhibitor-1 family of anti-apoptotic proteins. We show that one member, US17, plays an important role during virion maturation. Microarray …

Platyrrhine Phylogenetics With A Focus On Callitrichine Life History Adaptations, Natalie Mae Jameson

Wayne State University Dissertations

The life history of a species is highly impacted by their reproductive strategy. In my dissertation I address the changing reproductive strategies in callitrichine New World monkeys and their genetic underpinnings using a phylogenetic approach. The necessity for a resolved phylogeny is universal to any comparative genomic study. Here we have constructed a reliable phylogenetic framework from which reproductive strategy could be studied in callitrichines. First, to determine the most recent common ancestor of Anthropoid primates we took a phylogenomic approach, using the publicly available whole genome sequences of 17 mammal species. With high confidence, we determined here that Tarsier …

An Exploration Of The Perceived Academic Self-Efficacy And Locus Of Control Of Urban Students With Learning Disabilities, Olukayode Abimbola Nuga

Wayne State University Dissertations

The search for an answer to the question of the achievement gap between Black and other minority students and their White counterparts has been pervasive. This study, however, reframes the question not by using the White student as a frame of reference against which to make the comparison but by using the Black student himself. Therefore, relying on some scholarly work that found that studies of achievement within ethnic groups yielded far more significant results than between groups, the study focused on a comparison of the academic achievement between urban Black students with learning disabilities and their typical peers. The …

Analysis Of The Structure And Function Of A Timp-1/Cd63 Complex And Its Relationship To An Mt1-Mmp/Cd63 Complex, Richard B. Warner

Wayne State University Dissertations

The relationship of the extra-cellular matrix (ECM) and secreted proteins to intra-cellular functions has an important impact on disease progression. The tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs), of which there are four, are known for their broad metalloprotease inhibitory abilities. TIMP-1 has been widely studied as an inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and therefore as a molecule that prevents ECM degradation and proteolytic cleavage of extra-cellular molecules, processes thought to be critical for tumor invasion and metastasis. However, TIMP-1 has shown in the clinic to have increased expression in cases of disease progression; especially, it is associated with poor prognosis in …

An Investigation Into The Role Of Cfia 3' End Processing Complex In The Termination And Initiation/Reinitiation Of Transcription, Nadra Al-Husini

Wayne State University Dissertations

In budding yeast, as in higher eukaryotes, transcription of protein coding genes is executed by a highly specialized, conserved polymerase called RNA polymerase II (RNAPII). The transcription cycle of RNAPII has four major steps: initiation, elongation, termination, and reinitiation. The successful accomplishment of each of these steps requires a number of accessory factors. Many of these factors operate at multiple steps in the transcription cycle. The major focus of this study was to examine the function of Clp1, which is an RNA processing factor operating at the 3′ end of genes, in the transcription cycle. Clp1 is one of the …

Single-Stranded Dna Scanning And Deamination With Single-Molecule Resolution, Padhuk Gamarala Senavirathne

Wayne State University Dissertations

SINGLE-STRANDED DNA SCANNING AND DEAMINATION WITH SINGLE-MOLECULE RESOLUTION

by

GAYAN SENAVIRATHNE

December 2013

Advisor: Dr. David Rueda & Dr.Ashok Bhagwat

Major: Chemistry (Analytical)

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

APOBEC3G (Apo3G) and Activation-Induced cytidine Deaminase (AID) are the most notable members of APOBEC enzymes, a family of cytidine (C) deaminases with crucial functions in the immune system. In T cells, Apo3G deaminates C in viral cDNA to halt the replication of HIV 1 strains lacking viral infectivity factor (vif). In B cells, AID is required for the diversification of antibodies through initiation of somatic hypermutation (SHM), and class switch recombination (CSR), by …

Design, Synthesis, Biological Evaluation And Molecular Modeling Studies Of Novel Multifunctional Neuroprotective Drugs For The Treatment Of Parkinson's Disease: An Effort Towards The Improvement Of In Vivo Efficacy And Modulation Of Alpha Synuclein Aggregation Property Of The Neuroprotective Parent, Gyan Prakash Modi

Wayne State University Dissertations

DESIGN, SYNTHESIS, BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION AND MOLECULAR MODELING STUDIES OF NOVEL MULTIFUNCTIONAL NEUROPROTECTIVE DRUGS FOR THE TREATMENT OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE: AN EFFORT TOWARDS THE IMPROVEMENT OF IN VIVO EFFICACY AND MODULATION OF ALPHA SYNUCLEIN AGGREGATION PROPERTY OF THE NEUROPROTECTIVE PARENT MOLECULE (D-264)

by

GYAN PRAKASH MODI

May 2014

Advisor: Dr. Aloke K. Dutta

Major: Pharmaceutical Sciences

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive age-related neurodegenerative disorder of the central nervous system that is characterized by gradual loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra region of the brain. The research from the past two decades in PD area …

The Transcriptional Regulation Of Flagellin-Induced Innate Protection Of The Cornea: Role Of Irf1 And Atf3, Gi Sang Yoon

Wayne State University Dissertations

Pre-exposure of the cornea to TLR5 ligand flagellin induces profound mucosal innate protection against infections by reprogramming gene expression. This study explored the flagellin-induced modifications of transcription factor expression and function, specifically of IRF1 and ATF3 in corneal epithelial cells to elucidate the transcriptional mechanisms underlying the protective function of flagellin on the cornea.

Initially we used Superarray to screen for transcription factors and identified Interferon Regulatory Factor (IRF) 1 and Activating Transcription Factor (ATF) 3 as the most drastically affected genes by flagellin pretreatment in P. aeruginosa challenged human corneal epithelial cells (CEC). However, flagellin pretreatment had opposite effects …

A Relevance Feedback-Based System For Quickly Narrowing Biomedical Literature Search Result, Massuod Hassan Alatrash

Wayne State University Dissertations

The online literature is an important source that helps people find the information. The quick increase of online literature makes the manual search process for the most relevant information a very time-consuming task and leads to sifting through many results to find the relevant ones. The existing search engines and online databases return a list of results that satisfy the user's search criteria. The list is often too long for the user to go through every hit if he/she does not exactly know what he/she wants or/and does not have time to review them one by one. My focus is …

Assessment Of Attention In Vasopressin-Deficient Brattleboro Rats Using A Five-Choice Serial Reaction Time Task, Michael D. Berquist Ii

All NMU Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Headbanging By Pigeons Iii. A Systematic Replication And Extension Of An Animal Model Of Psychopathology, Darin Allen Casler

All NMU Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Fluvial And Adfluvial Brook Trout (Salvelinus Fontinalis) Movement Patterns Within Sevenmile Creek And Mosquito River, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan, Robert L. Cross

All NMU Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Ecological Aspects Of Chewing Lice In A Northern Michigan Population Of Brown-Headed Cowbirds, Emily Shea Durkin

All NMU Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Overwintering Of Brook Trout (Salvelinus Fontinalis) In Sevenmile Creek, Lake Superior, Michigan, Usa, Chris R. Gagnon

All NMU Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Urbanization Effects On Overwintering Brook And Brown Trout: Fish Condition And Movement, Rachael A. Guth

All NMU Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Practice And Memory Load In A Dual Visual Working Memory Task, Joshua Louis Hoelter

All NMU Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Diet Comparison Among Native And Introduced Salmonids In A Tributary To Lake Superior, Julie L. Howard

All NMU Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Use Of An Anionic Polyacrylamide Blend To Control The Cyanobacteria Microcystis Aeruginosa, Kyla Jayne Iwinski

All NMU Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Dog-Faced Deflores: Disability In Early Modern Literature, Rebecca A. Kahl

All NMU Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Reflections Of Middle School Students By Gender And Race/Ethnicity On Obtaining A Successful Science Education, Bethany Mihalik

All NMU Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Antidepressant Drugs On The Schedule-Induced Polydipsia, Sean Mooney-Leber

All NMU Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Genetic Investigation Of Brook Trout (Salvelinus Fontinalis) Population Structure In Lake Superior Tributaries Located In Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan, Usa, Jonathan J. Pearce

All NMU Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Muscle-Synthesized Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (Bdnf) In The Health And Maintenance Of Motorneurons, Emily J. Pomeroy

All NMU Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Nt1 Receptor Agonism In Discriminative Stimulus Properties Of A D1 Or D2 Dopamine Receptor Agonist, Kristoffer R. Rusch

All NMU Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Modeling 400 Million Years Of Plant Hydraulics, Jonathan P. Wilson

Biology Faculty Scholarship

Mathematical models of fluid flow thorough plant stems permit quantitative assessment of plant ecology using anatomy alone, allowing extinct and extant plants to be measured against one another. Through this process, a series of patterns and observations about plant ecology and evolution can be made. First, many plants evolved high rates of water transport through the evolution of a diverse suite of anatomical adaptations over the last four hundred million years. Second, adaptations to increase hydraulic supply to leaves tend to precede, in evolutionary time, adaptations to increase the safety margin of plant water transport. Third, anatomical breakthroughs in water …

Linking The Functional Diversity Of Ectomycorrhizal Fungal Species To Soil Carbon And The Genetics Of A Foundational Tree Species, Nicole Marie Hergott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere continues to increase, leading to an enhanced interest in the potential for ecosystems to sequester carbon. Soil could have a high potential to store carbon in these forests, but there is still a great deal to learn about how carbon storage in soils is influenced by ectomycorrhizal fungi. In this symbiosis, the plant host provides the vast majority of C for fungal growth. As a consequence, ECM fungi may provide one of the major pathways for C from trees to soils. Ectomycorrhizal fungal species produce extracellular enzymes that may degrade soil carbon and may differ …

Method Development Using Laser Ablation And Solution Icpms And Their Application In Environmental Science And Forensic Provenance Studies, Kaixuan Bu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) is an analytical technique that can be used to determine multiple elements and isotope ratios in a wide variety of samples. In this work, four projects are described that involve the method development using laser ablation (LA) and solution-based ICPMS and their application in environmental science and forensic (provenance) investigations. In the first project, plutonium (Pu) concentrations and 240Pu/ 239Pu atom ratios were measured in kelp, lichen, aquatic moss, and horse mussel collected on or near Amchitka Island, a former nuclear test in Alaska, and at a background site. The Pu in terrestrial and …

The Song We Sing: Negotiating Black Nationalism And Queerness In James Baldwin's Late Novels, Elliot N. Long

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite his exclusion from the Black Arts Movement, James Baldwin includes in his later novels many elements of Black Nationalism, including a focus on black communities, black music, Pan-Africanism, and elements of separatism. In his inclusion of queer sexuality, Baldwin pushes against the typical bounds of Black Arts writings, expanding the limits of the genre. Contrary to the philosophy of Black Nationalism, which depends upon solid definitions of blackness, heterosexuality, and masculinity, is Baldwin's tearing down of identity categories through queering sexuality, gender, and race. This thesis examines James Baldwin's late novels, which remain undervalued and under-read, in terms of …

The Epitome And Portrait Of Modern Society: Ouida As Social Barometer Of The Victorian Era, Lorraine Michelle Dubuisson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Victorian Era was one of great social flux; tremendous advances in science and technology called into question deeply held religious beliefs while the changing legal status of women threatened to undermine traditional views of gender roles. Industrialization and the driving economic force of capitalism led to rapid urbanization as well as contributing to shifting class boundaries. In addition, the purpose and responsibilities of the Artist/Poet and, indeed, of art itself were closely scrutinized and hotly contested. Most frequently, historians and scholars of literature have looked to authors such as Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Oscar Wilde, and Alfred, Lord Tennyson …

Scaffold Perception, Compharmacophore Model Development, And Quantitative Structure-Affinity Relationships Of Sigma Site Ligands, David Enos Watson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sigma receptors are endogenous proteins with potential utility in treating psychological disorders, ischemia, the psychological and convulsive effects of drugs of abuse, and as an imaging agent for cancerous tissues, among others. Drug design efforts targeting these receptors have been hindered by a lack of structural information of the receptors themselves. Traditional ligand-based approaches have succeeded in generating many compounds with high affinity, and quite a few with selectivity for σ-1 receptors. There are few selective ligands for use as pharmacological probes for the σ-2 receptor. Much effort has gone into exploring the structure activity relationships of ligands targeting these …