Digital Commons Network^™

Biomarker Validation Of Recent Unprotected Sexual Intercourse In A Prospective Study Of Young Women Engaged In Sex Work In Phnom Penh, Cambodia, J L. Evans, Marie-Claude Couture, E S. Stein, N Sansothy, L Maher, K Page, Young Women’S Health Study Collaborative

Nursing and Health Professions Faculty Research and Publications

Summary—A study of female sex workers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia found self-reported condom use to be of questionable validity, particularly among amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS) users and those with multiple partners.

Background—Accurate measurement of unprotected sex is essential in HIV prevention research. Since 2001, the 100% Condom Use Program targeting female sex workers (FSW) has been a central element of the Cambodian National HIV/AIDS Strategy. We sought to assess the validity of self-reported condom use using the rapid prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test among Cambodian FSW.

Methods—From 2009 to 2010 we enrolled 183 FSW in Phnom Penh in a prospective study of …

Differentiation-Induced Changes In Antioxidant Capacity And Antioxidant Response In Sh-Sy5y Cells: Role Of Nrf2, Akua Afriyie Karikari

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Organisms are exposed to reactive oxygen species from internal metabolism and environmental toxicant exposure, which have been linked to the initiation and progression of many neuronal diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Exposure to reactive oxygen species are counterbalanced by antioxidant defense systems such as the Nrf2-ARE pathway, the primary regulator of endogenous antioxidant response. Whereas neuronal cells are post-mitotic and are particularly susceptible to oxidative stress because of high oxygen consumption, astrocytes are mitotic and rely more on glycolytic metabolism. In this study, the difference in antioxidant response and capacity in mitotic and post-mitotic cells were investigated using …

An In Vitro Study On The Non-Enzymatic Glycation Of Melamine And Serum Albumin By Reducing Sugars, Weixi Liu

Open Access Dissertations

Glycation is a non-enzymatic reaction with reactants including a reducing sugar and a free amino containing molecule such as protein, amino acids, DNA, RNA and lipids. In the initial phase of glycation, the carbonyl group of the reducing carbohydrate condenses with the free amino groups on the target biomolecule to form reversible glycosylamines, which are then converted to more stable Amadori products. Once formed, these Amadori products can with time undergo dehydration, cyclization, oxidation, and rearrangement to form a polymorphic group of compounds collectively referred to as Advanced Glycation Endproducts (AGEs). The accumulation of AGEs in vivo has been implicated …

Late Developing Mammary Tumors And Hyperplasia Induced By A Low-Oncogenic Variant Of Mouse Mammary Tumor Virus (Mmtv) Express Genes Identical To Those Induced By Canonical Mmtv, Robert D. Bruno

School of Medical Diagnostics & Translational Sciences Publications

Background: The canonical milk-transmitted mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) of C3H mice (C3H-MMTV) rapidly induces tumors in 90% of infected animals by 8 months of age. Pro-viral insertions of C3H-MMTV into genomic DNA results in the overexpression of common core insertion site (CIS) genes, including Wnt1/10b, Rspo2, and Fgf3. Conversely, infection by either the endogenous Mtv-1 virus (in C3Hf) or the exogenous nodule-inducing virus (NIV) (in Balb/c NIV) induces premalignant mammary lesions and tumors with reduced incidence and longer latency than C3H-MMTV. Here, we asked whether Mtv-1/NIV affected the expression of core CIS genes.

Findings: We confirmed the presence of …

Embryonic Stem Cells Are Redirected To Non-Tumorigenic Epithelial Cell Fate By Interaction With The Mammary Microenvironment, Corinne A. Boulanger, Robert D. Bruno, David L. Mack, Monica Gonzales, Nadia P. Castro, David S. Salomon, Gilbert H. Smith

School of Medical Diagnostics & Translational Sciences Publications

Experiments were conducted to redirect mouse Embryonic Stem (ES) cells from a tumorigenic phenotype to a normal mammary epithelial phenotype in vivo. Mixing LacZ-labeled ES cells with normal mouse mammary epithelial cells at ratios of 1:5 and 1:50 in phosphate buffered saline and immediately inoculating them into epithelium-divested mammary fat pads of immune-compromised mice accomplished this. Our results indicate that tumorigenesis occurs only when normal mammary ductal growth is not achieved in the inoculated fat pads. When normal mammary gland growth occurs, we find ES cells (LacZ+) progeny interspersed with normal mammary cell progeny in the mammary epithelial structures. We …

Problems Associated With Newspaper Management In A Ghanaian University Library, Afia Densi Asare-Kyire, Edward Mensah Borteye Mr., Victor Teye Mr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The paper examined the collection, storage, preservation and other management practices of newspapers at the Serials Department of the KNUST Library. The study was based on the subscription statistics from April 2000 to April 2012, a period of thirteen years available at the Department.Observation was also made to augment data gathered from the newspaper statistics and analyzed descriptively. It was revealed by the statistics that newspapers are subscribed, received and collected on a daily basis (i.e. six days a week) thus creating a huge collection. It was further revealed that the newspapers are bound annually which makes it bulky and …

An Assessment Of The Information Dissemination Channels Used By The Zimbabwe Women’S Resource Centre And Network In The Provision Of Hiv/Aids Information To Women., Nancy Nhendodzashe, Collen Nhendo

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

In light of a high HIV/AIDS prevalence rate among women in Zimbabwe, this study sought to assess the extent to which the Zimbabwe Women’s Resource Centre and Network (ZWRCN) was effective in disseminating HIV/AIDS information to combat the pandemic among women. Literature reviewed that in as much as information was crucial in the fight against HIV/AIDS; there are other strategies that should be employed in combating HIV/AIDS to complement information dissemination activities such as economic empowerment of women and promotion of gender equality. The evaluation research design was used to accomplish the research objectives. The population of the study consisted …

Isolation And Characterization Of A New Family Of Cysteine Rich Proteins Involved In The Assembly Process Of Dragline Silk From The Black Widow Spider, Latrodectus Hesperus, Thanh Due Pham

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Spider silks are protein-based fibers that possess remarkable mechanical properties. Major ampullate silk, also referred to as dragline silk, is renowned for its high tensile strength, extensibility and toughness. Dragline silk is produced from a liquid spinning dope that undergoes chemical and physical changes during extrusion. To date, no proteins that participate in the assembly process of major ampullate silk proteins have been identified. The goal of this project is the identification of such protein products. De novo sequencing of peptides from in pollution tryptic digestion of black widow spider dragline silk identified several novel peptides that were not derived …

Rhob Controls Coordination Of Adult Angiogenesis And Lymphangiogenesis Following Injury By Regulating Vezf1-Mediated Transcription., Damien Gerald, Irit Adini, Sharon Shechter, Carole Perruzzi, Joseph Varnau, Benjamin Hopkins, Shiva Kazerounian, Peter Kurschat, Stephanie Blachon, Santosh Khedkar, Mandrita Bagchi, David Sherris, George C Prendergast, Michael Klagsbrun, Heidi Stuhlmann, Alan C Rigby, Janice A Nagy, Laura E Benjamin

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Mechanisms governing the distinct temporal dynamics that characterize post-natal angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis elicited by cutaneous wounds and inflammation remain unclear. RhoB, a stress-induced small GTPase, modulates cellular responses to growth factors, genotoxic stress and neoplastic transformation. Here we show, using RhoB null mice, that loss of RhoB decreases pathological angiogenesis in the ischaemic retina and reduces angiogenesis in response to cutaneous wounding, but enhances lymphangiogenesis following both dermal wounding and inflammatory challenge. We link these unique and opposing roles of RhoB in blood versus lymphatic vasculatures to the RhoB-mediated differential regulation of sprouting and proliferation in primary human blood versus …

Asymmetric Hydrogenation Of Α, Β-Unsaturated Carboxylic Acid Over Chiral-Modified Palladium Catalyst, Shuai Tan

Theses and Dissertations

The production of optically pure chemicals through enantioselective catalytic reaction plays a key role a variety of industrials (e.g., pharmaceutical, agrochemical). Among several established methods, chiral-modified supported transition metal catalyst has been addressed attentions since past decades due to an environmental concern. Asymmetric hydrogenation of α, β-unsaturated carboxylic acid over Pd catalyst is of particular interest in this area. Nevertheless, the spectroscopic aspect, as well as the kinetic mechanism of such reaction system are still not clearly understood and require further study. In this work, a model catalytic reaction has been investigated from both spectroscopic and kinetic view. To be …

Keynote: Sustainability And Sovereignty In The 21st Century, Stephen C. Mccaffrey

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Teaching Government Information In Information Literacy Credit Classes, Emily Rogers

Georgia Library Quarterly

This paper reviews the teaching of credit-bearing information literacy courses and government information, reports questionnaire responses from librarians who teach these courses, and argues that revising the ways we teach government information in for-credit courses will help students achieve information literacy. A focus on government information as critical thinking and subject access resources, rather than as unique documents collections or formats, can remove barriers for researchers, particularly in classes that allow students an entire term to develop skills. In addition, librarians will increase their comfort levels addressing government information and develop ways to teach students to use these resources within …

2013 Fall Commencement, Georgia Southern University

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

The Eternal Present: Slow Knowledge And The Renewal Of Time, Douglas E. Christie

Theological Studies Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Developing Defect-Tolerant Demolding Process In Nanoimprint Lithography, Alborz Amirsadeghi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Demolding, the process to separate stamp from molded resist, is most critical to the success of ultraviolet nanoimprint lithography (UV-NIL). In the present study we first investigated adhesion and demolding force in UV-NIL for different compositions of a model UV-curable resist containing a base (either tripropyleneglycol diacrylate with shorter chain length or polypropyleneglycol diacrylate with longer chain length), a cross-linking agent (trimethylolpropane triacrylate) and a photoinitiator (Irgacure 651). The demolding force was measured using a tensile test machine after imprinting the UV resist on a silicon stamp. In general, the shorter monomer shows a larger demolding force. Decreasing the cross-linking …

From Engagement To Alignment : Exploring Enterprise Architecture Through The Lens Of Design Science, Matthew Lloyd Levy

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Information Systems Design Science (ISDS) as a research community is limited by a small number of research frameworks with considerable influence. The small triad of influential ISDS research, consisting of Walls, et al (1992), March and Smith (1995), and Hevner et al (2004) have primarily limited ISDS research to the positivist paradigm and the IT artifact. In contrast, Herbert Simon’s intentions for design science never had such restrictions and intended a broader perspective. This dissertation explores Simon’s intentions for design science, the Simonian stream of thought that includes The Sciences of the Artificial, as well as much of his most …

Size Kinetics And Mechanics Of Clay-Biopolymer Flocs, Hang Yin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The suspended cohesive sediments, mostly clay minerals with negative surface charges, usually interact through an array of intermolecular/surface forces (e.g., Coulomb force, van der Waals attractions, and hydrogen bonding) with waterborne organic matter (e.g., exopolymers) and dissolved salts, resulting in fractal, tenuous, and hybrid organic-inorganic flocs or “marine snow”. A pilot and systematic laboratory and theoretical work have been conducted towards a synthetic nanoscale understanding of the flocculation kinetics and mechanics of the clay-exopolymer micro-sized flocs. This systematic study has achieved two impressive objectives: (1) the effect of exopolymer polarity and concentration on the particle size kinetics of clay-exopolymer mixtures …

A Genetic Study On The Virulence Mechanism Of Burkholderia Glumae And, Rice Resistance To Bacterial Panicle Blight And Sheath Blight, Hari Sharan Karki

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Burkholderia glumae is a rice pathogenic bacterium that causes bacterial panicle blight. Some strains of this pathogen produce dark brown pigments when grown on the casamino-acid peptone glucose (CPG) agar medium. A pigment-positive and highly virulent strain of B. glumae, 411gr-6, was randomly mutagenized with mini-Tn5gus, and the resulting mini-Tn5gus derivatives showing altered pigmentation phenotypes were screened on CPG agar plates to identify the genetic elements governing the pigmentation of B. glumae. In this study, several positive and negative regulators, for the pigmentation of B. glumae were identified. During this study, a novel two-component regulatory system (TCRS) composed of the …

Common Data Set, 2012-2013, Planning, Research, And Policy Analysis

Common Data Set (2001-present)

Common Data Set 2012-2013 for Illinois State University

Phytoforensics On Energetics: Novel Plant Tissue Measure Approach And Modeling, Yuan Yuan

Doctoral Dissertations

"Explosives and energetics are common soil and groundwater pollutions. This research was to develop novel phytoforensics approaches on energetics. Four different plants species, including woody perennial trees and monocot grasses, were planted both in soil and sand reactors with continuous exposure to a mixture of explosives in the greenhouse. Time dependent assessments were carried out to determine kinetic mechanisms of uptake, transport and accumulation. Plant concentrations were analyzed by both traditional solvent extraction and novel sap analysis methods. A dynamic soil-plant system model was developed to quantify the relationship between tissue concentration and soil pore water concentration for non-volatile organic …

Quantum Phase Transitions In Impurity Models And Percolating Lattices, Manal M. Al-Ali

Doctoral Dissertations

"This thesis investigates the influence of random disorder and dissipation on zero-temperature quantum phase transitions. Both phenomena can fundamentally change the character of the phases of a quantum many-particle system and of the transitions between them. If dissipation and disorder occur simultaneously in a system undergoing a quantum phase transition, particularly strong effects can be expected. In the first paper reproduced in this thesis, we study a single quantum rotor coupled to a sub-Ohmic dissipative bath. We find that this system undergoes a quantum phase transition from a delocalized phase to a localized phase as the dissipation strength is increased. …

Nanoscale Metal Oxide And Supported Metal Catalysts For Li-Air Battery, Kan Huang

Doctoral Dissertations

"The dissertation work focuses on research and development of durable nanoscale catalysts and supports for rechargeable Li-air batteries that use aqueous catholytes. Transition metal oxides, TiO₂ and Nb₂O₅ in particular, were prepared from a sol-gel process in the form of nanocoatings (5~50 nm) on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and studied as catalyst supports. Carbon doping in the oxides and post annealing significantly increased their electronic conductivity. Pt catalyst on the support with TiO₂ (Pt/c-TiO₂/CNTs) showed a much better oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity than a commercial Pt on carbon black (Pt/C). Negligible loss ( …

Creating New Superconducting & Semiconducting Nanomaterials And Investingating The Effect Of Reduced Dimensionality On Their Properties, Sukhada Mishra

Doctoral Dissertations

"The field of nanomaterials has continued to attract researchers to understand the fundamentals and to investigate potential applications in the fields of semiconductor physics, microfabrication, nanomedicine, surface sciences etc. One of the most critical aspects of the nanomaterials research is to establish synthetic protocols, which can address the underlying product requirements of reproducibility, homogenous morphology and controlled elemental composition. We have focused our research in exploring synthetic routes for the synthesis of superconducting and semiconducting nanomaterials and analyze their structure--property relationship through detailed characterizations. The first part of dissertation is focused on the synthesis of superconducting FeSe nanostructures using catalyst …

Bio-Inspired Design, Fabrication And Testing Of Bipolar Plates For Pem Fuel Cells, Nannan Guo

Doctoral Dissertations

"The flow field of a bipolar plate distributes reactants for polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells and removes the produced water from the fuel cells. It greatly influences the performance of fuel cells, especially the concentration losses. Two approaches were developed to improve flow field designs in this dissertation. One is inspired by the biological circulatory structures and called bio-inspired designs, which have great potential to transport reactant efficiently and hence improve fuel cell performance. Another way is using a network-based optimization model to optimize the conventional flow field configurations, i.e., pin-type, parallel and serpentine designs, to improve flow distributions …

Behavior And Effects Of Nanoparticles In Complex Fluid Systems, Chen Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

"The development of nanoscale technologies has greatly expanded the scientific and engineering horizons and also has the potential to turn molecular discoveries into worldwide benefits on multiple fronts. Despite recent extensive efforts, the focus of nanoparticle studies has been on their synthesis and various possible derivatives. In this dissertation, molecular based modeling and simulation studies have been performed to characterize and understand the behavior, properties, and effects of nanoparticles in some important material systems. The results show that small nanoparticles that are highly faceted have significant shape effects, which are not captured by classical continuum-based approaches. When dissolved in confined …

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 …

The Relationship Between Faculty Salary Outlays And Student Retention In Public Four-Year Universities In The Sixteen States Of The Southern Regional Education Board, Belinda Powell Aaron

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to determine if the allocation of faculty salary expenditures has an influence on first-time, full time freshmen retention rates. The population for this study was all public degree granting undergraduate four-year postsecondary institutions accredited by the Southern Region Education Board in the 16 member states with information reported to the U.S Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System database. An inverse relationship exists between first-time, full time student retention and average undergraduate student age. A model exists to predict student retention rates using the regional comparable wage index to suggest this variable can …

Designing A Cost Effective Microalgae Harvesting Strategy For Biodiesel Production With Electrocoagulation And Dissolved Air Flotation, Adam James Dassey

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Microalgal harvesting strategies for biodiesel production have been a major setback in the industry with high energy estimates of $3400/ton biomass by centrifugation. The present study utilized effective mass and energy balances to reduce these large operating costs. The energy for Stage 1 centrifugation was reduced by 82% when harvesting 28.5% of biomass at 18 L/min as opposed to 95% harvesting at 1 L/min. This strategy was further confirmed using electrocoagulation (EC) with Nannochloris and Dunaliella algae with perforated aluminum and iron electrodes at low (< 6 mg/L) metal ion concentrations. Despite 20% lower harvesting efficiencies, the iron electrodes were more energy and cost efficient with operating costs less than $0.03/L oil when flocculating and settling Nannochloris and Dunaliella cultures. Furthermore, a continuous multistage algae harvester using EC and dissolved air flotation (DAF) for Stage 1 harvesting and centrifugation for Stage 2 dewatering was designed. It was determined throughout the testing that greater EC costs for improved harvesting efficiencies were necessary to offset the large energy requirements of the DAF. The multistage system dewatered a low density (100 mg/L) Nannochloris to 20% solids for a final energy requirement of 1.536 kWh/kg algae ($138/ton). Using the data collected from this research and existing literature, a life cycle analysis was assembled to judge the sustainability of microalgal biofuels in Louisiana. High and low energy estimates for culturing (mixing, CO2, nutrients), harvesting, lipid extraction and energy conversion were compared with the current research. Scaling the EC/DAF system for a full size facility was expected to reduce the harvesting costs to 1.133 kWh/kg algae, resulting as $0.44/L oil for a culture with 20% lipids. Despite this improvement in harvesting costs, the production of algal for the sole purpose of biodiesel was not economically viable. Considering a system with a growth rate of 15 g/m2/day and lipid content of 20%, the energy inputs exceeded the outputs from biodiesel production by 36% under the most ideal conditions. However, incorporating additional revenue through wastewater treatment and biogas production from residual biomass could improve sustainability and profitability of algal biodiesel to an 18.5% energy surplus at its current state.

Recovery Of Understory Bird Movement In Post-Pasture Amazonia, Luke L. Powell

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

I sought to understand how forest fragmentation and secondary growth affect avian movement at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP) near Manaus, Brazil. When deforested areas are abandoned, secondary forests regenerate, allowing rainforest animals to gradually recovery their ability to use formerly inhospitable habitat. My colleagues and I captured 2773 understory birds of ten foraging guilds along the edges of primary forest fragments and variable secondary forest. Age of secondary forest along edges was the most important variable driving capture rates on primary/secondary edges. Mean recovery to pre-isolation capture rates was 26 years after abandonment, but terrestrial insectivores …

The Development Of Capillary Electrophoresis Assays To Study Enzyme Inhibition, Sherrisse Kelly Bryant

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

New methods for studying enzymes and enzyme inhibition using capillary electrophoresis (CE) were developed and applied. Because CE is a separation technique, spectral interference is minimized by separation of substrates, products, inhibitors, and sample matrix components. Two types of CE enzyme assays were explored in this dissertation research. The first assay was based on optically gated vacancy capillary electrophoresis (OGVCE) with laser-induced fluorescence detection (LIF). This approach involves periodic photobleaching of fluorescent substrates and products. The initial goal of the study was to develop an assay for adenosine deaminase (ADA). A fluorescent ADA substrate was synthesized; however, the substrate was …