Digital Commons Network^™

Enzyme-Based Nitric Oxide Releasing Thin Films And Scaffolds, Mutha Merenna Nuwan Bhagya Gunasekera

ETD Archive

Nitric oxide synthase enzyme (NOS) embedded in thin films and scaffolds, when exposed to a solution of its substrate arginine, a source of reducing equivalents, and other required ingredients of the NOS reaction, can release fluxes of nitric oxide (NO). The latter is a molecule known to counteract platelet aggregation, and thus can prevent the thrombosis cascade on the surfaces of implantable medical devices. Therefore NO antithrombogenic regimens such as active coatings and embedded scaffolds have the potential to increase the lifespan of implantable biomaterials. Layer-by-layer electrostatic adsorption allows for assembly of multi-component protein/polyelectrolytes nanostructured films. Electrospun fiber matrices may …

Ubiquitin-Proteasome System Modulates Platelet Function, Nilaksh Gupta

ETD Archive

Atherothrombotic diseases are responsible for more than 25 of all deaths worldwide. Anti-platelet drugs are the mainstay treatment because of the direct involvement of platelets in the initiation and propagation of thrombosis. However, the currently available anti-platelet drugs, such as antagonists of platelet receptors or of effector systems participating in platelet activation, have their own limitations. A new mode of affecting platelet reactivity may prove to offer unique advantages in a host of clinical settings. Proteasome inhibitors are in clinical use to treat hematologic cancers, but also reduce thrombosis. Whether the proteasome participates in platelet activation or function is opaque …

Acute And Chronic Rejection: Compartmentalization And Kinetics Ff Counterbalancing Signals In Cardiac Transplants, Anupurna Kaul

ETD Archive

Heart disease is the major cause of mortality in the United States and other parts of the world. Heart transplantation is the treatment of choice for patients with end stage heart failure. However, transplanted organs fail due to either acute or chronic rejection. This acute and chronic rejection impacts distinct compartments of cardiac allografts. Acute rejection is characterized by infiltration of mononuclear cells whereas chronic rejection is characterized by progressive narrowing of coronary arteries. In a minor histoincompatibility mismatch mouse model we found hearts transplanted from male to female C57BL/6 mice undergo an acute rejection with diffuse interstitial infiltrates at …

Circadian Regulation Of Mtor Signaling Via Bmal1 Dependent Mechanism, Rohini Vishal Khapre

ETD Archive

Understanding mechanisms of aging is important for the treatment and prevention of age-associated pathologies. However, these mechanisms are not well understood. Recently we have demonstrated that the circadian clock (an internal time keeping system) regulates longevity in mammals, but the molecular mechanisms are not known. The aim of our current study is to investigate a possible interconnection between the circadian clock and mTORC1 (mammalian target of Rapamycin) signaling pathway. mTORC1 pathway is a nutrient response pathway involved in many cellular processes many recent studies indicate a role of mTORC1 pathway in aging. Here we demonstrate that circadian system regulates mTORC1 …

Trypanosoma Brucei Telomere Functions In Antigenic Variation, Unnati M. Pandya

ETD Archive

Trypanosoma brucei is a protozoan parasite that causes sleeping sickness in humans and Nagana in cattle. They evade the host's immune defense by periodically switching their major surface antigen, variant surface glycoprotein (VSG), a phenomenon termed antigenic variation. Inside its mammalian host, bloodstream form (BF) T. brucei monoallelically expresses its major surface molecule VSG from the VSG Expression Sites (ESs) located at subtelomeric loci. Monoallelic VSG expression ensures effective antigenic variation and maximizes the efficiency of T. brucei pathogenesis. In the mid-gut of its insect host (tsetse), procyclic form (PF) T. brucei expresses procyclins as the major surface molecules and …

Study Of Role Of Ribosomal Protein L13a In Resolving Inflammation, Darshana Poddar

ETD Archive

Inflammation is an obligatory attempt of the host immune system to protect the body against infection. However, unregulated synthesis of pro-inflammatory products can have detrimental effects. Though mechanisms which contribute to inflammation are well appreciated, those that resolve inflammation are poorly understood. Therefore, understanding the molecular basis of such pathways will provide an entirely novel approach to treat and prevent inflammatory diseases. Transcript-selective translational control can regulate the expression of a set of inflammatory genes. We have identified one such mechanism in a novel animal model which relies on the abrogation of ribosomal protein L13a-dependent translational silencing by creating macrophage-specific …

Magnesium As A Regulator Of Hepatic Nadph In The Hepatocyte :;Prospective Roles Of Magnesium In Diabetes And Obesity Onset, Chesinta B. Voma

ETD Archive

No abstract provided.

Metal Containing Nucleosides That Function As Therapeutic Diagnostic Agents Against Brain Cancer, Jennifer Nicole Williams

ETD Archive

Nucleoside transporters are essential components for the hyperproliferative capabilities of brain cancer cells. These transporters play important roles to increase nucleoside metabolism which is necessary for higher levels of DNA and RNA synthesis. The goal here is to use a series of metal containing nucleoside (MCN) analogues as novel chemical agents to study how nucleosides are imported into cells. In addition, we expect that these MCNs will ultimately function as therapeutic and/or diagnostic agents for brain cancer. Concentrative nucleoside transporters (CNTs) and equilibrative nucleoside transporters (ENTs) represent the two classes of transporters that allow MCNs to travel in (and out) …

Dispersal Capabilities Of Two Plecopteran Species And Macroinvertebrate Community From Four Watersheds In Northeast Ohio, Alison L. Yasick

ETD Archive

This dissertation focused on the insect order Plecoptera, and hypothesized that Allocapnia recta populations would have lower genetic diversity than Leuctra tenuis between adjacent Chagrin and Grand Rivers due to wing structure and season of terrestrial adult emergence. Genetic variations within the 16s rRNA region of mtDNA in A. recta, a winter emerging adult with rudimentary wing structure, and L. tenuis, a summer emerging adult with fully developed wings, were compared and revealed significant genetic variability between A. recta samples from the two rivers (FST = 0.20) but not between L. tenuis samples (FST = 0.07). Further genetic variation investigation …

The Role Of Rnase L In Thymic Homeostasis And Humoral Responses, Lin Zhang

ETD Archive

RNase L is highly expressed in the spleen, thymus, and multiple immune cells, suggesting that it may play an important role in the immune system against microbes. Previous studies in the lab have shown that deficiency of RNase L results in enlarged thymuses in mice at young age. However, relatively little is known about its influence on the thymic development and adaptive immunogenicity. The present Ph.D. study focuses on investigating the role of RNase L in the thymic homeostasis and humoral immune responses, thereby gaining new insights into the molecular aspects in thymocyte development, maturation and adaptive immunity.By using RNase …

Mineral Uptake Rates And Yield Coefficients Of The Green Microalgae Scenedesmus Dimorphus, Grace N. Mahfouz

ETD Archive

The need for renewable sources of energy has become critical as fossil fuel resources, which include oil, coal, and natural gas, are known to contribute to climate change and will eventually be depleted. Biofuels that originate from the fat of plants, animals, microalgae, and bacteria are an attractive alternative. Microalgae, in particular, are strong candidates for biofuel production since they have a high growth rate and lipid content (up to 50 in some species). The goal of this research was to optimize 3N-BBM+V recipe (Bold Basal Medium with 3-fold Nitrogen and Vitamins) in an effort of reducing the amount of …

Evolutionary Optimization Of Atrial Fibrillation Diagnostic Algorithms, Aref Smiley

ETD Archive

The goal of this research is to introduce an improved method for detecting atrial fibrillation (AF). The foundation of our algorithm is the irregularity of the RR intervals in the electrocardiogram (ECG) signal, and their correlation with AF. Three statistical techniques, including root mean squares of successive differences (RMSSD), turning points ratio (TPR), and Shannon entropy (SE), are used to detect RR interval irregularity. We use the Massachusetts Institution of Technology / Beth Israel Hospital (MIT-BIH) atrial fibrillation databases and their annotations to tune the parameters of the statistical methods by biogeography-based optimization (BBO), which is an evolutionary optimization algorithm. …

Structural And Symbolic Parallels Within The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn And The Catcher In The Rye, David G. Polster

ETD Archive

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Catcher in the Rye are both quest narratives in which the youthful protagonist begins his story trapped within a paradigm that oppresses him and -in order to escape- dies a symbolic death, descending to the underworld to learn a sacred truth that will be revealed at novel's end. The structure and symbolism are quite similar and follow the archetypal hero's journey, which I closely examine. In my thesis, I seek to prove that by descending to the "hell" of the Antebellum South and the conformist/materialistic world of post-war America, both Huck and Holden …

Effects Of Environmental Heavy Metals On Neural Stem Cell Survival And Differentiation, Sameera S. Clev Tasneem

ETD Archive

No abstract provided.

The Black Blood Of The Tennysons: Rhetoric Of Melancholy And The Imagination In Tennyson's Poetry, Vanessa Jakse

ETD Archive

Critics of Tennyson view his melancholy poetics as a self-evident manifestation. However, not until recently have scholars examined melancholy as a rhetorical structure in Tennyson's poetry. To address this particular gap in scholarly research, this thesis examines the use of black, similar images, and descriptive language in Tennyson's "Mariana and the Moated Grange," "Mariana in the South," and "The Lady of Shalott." From a close reading of the text and a comparative analysis of Tennyson's poetry, common connections between the four poems become clear. These connections emerge through the contextual evidence for melancholy existing in the imagery, diction, and syntax …

Taming The Perfect Beast: The Monster As Romantic Hero In Contemporary Fiction, Lara Klaber

ETD Archive

This thesis examines the contemporary phenomenon of the paranormal romance, as exemplified by Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. Although immensely popular, the series has drawn harsh criticism for its writing style and for the sexual politics portrayed in the novels. Readers of the series have been subjected to similar harsh criticism for enjoying these works in spite of the aforementioned issues. Careful examination of the books, however, reveals that the source of their popularity draws from several factors: the use of a narrative structure known as the Rebirth scenario, particularly popular in romance novels an inverted form of the traditional Beauty …

The Rise And Fall Of The Black King: Girardian Thought In The Tragedy Of Macbeth, Matthew Tarnovecky

ETD Archive

Theorist Rene Girard, in his A Theatre of Envy: William Shakespeare (1991), creates a near-perfect compendium of his critical thoughts by exploring numerous plays and poems of Shakespeare's. Curiously, however, the tragedy of Macbeth is left out of Girard's many thorough analyses. Herein discussed is an analysis of Macbeth utilizing the Girardian model, intending to demonstrate that Shakespeare's Scottish tragedy may benefit from such a reading as equally as the plays and poems Girard himself has already examined. By drawing upon the concepts generated by Girard in his Violence and the Sacred (1972), one may note how Macbeth is filled …

Piscataqua Region Environmental Planning Assessment 2015, Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership

PREP Reports & Publications

This is the second assessment of land use regulations and planning practices in our watershed, and provides an important understanding of how we are managing our community’s natural resources. Although progress in protecting water quality has been made, management actions are inconsistent across the watershed and even within sub watersheds. In order to protect the places we live, and accommodate growth. It is clear that purposeful coordination and consistency is critical to success in improving water quality and minimizing community costs associated with pollution and impacts from intensifying weather events.

Looking And Liking: Applying Information Processing To Facebook Ads, Jennie A. Ford

ETD Archive

This study applied the Limited Capacity Model (Lang, 2000) to understand how individuals' process their Facebook pages. It is an eye tracking study that collected data from students at a Midwestern university to analyze how individuals process, encode, store and retrieve posts from their Facebook pages, specifically suggested/sponsored posts that are integrated into their newsfeed and targeted to them based on known information. The individuals explored their Facebook pages and were asked to recall the brands or advertisements they were first exposed to on their page. The results from eye tracking were used to analyze how they oriented to and …

The Civilizing Machine, Michael Matthews

University of Nebraska Press: Sample Books and Chapters

In late nineteenth-century Mexico the Mexican populace was fascinated with the country’s booming railroad network. Newspapers and periodicals were filled with art, poetry, literature, and social commentaries exploring the symbolic power of the railroad. As a symbol of economic, political, and industrial modernization, the locomotive served to demarcate a nation’s status in the world. However, the dangers of locomotive travel, complicated by the fact that Mexico’s railroads were foreign owned and operated, meant that the railroad could also symbolize disorder, death, and foreign domination.

In The Civilizing Machine Michael Matthews explores the ideological and cultural milieu that shaped the Mexican …

That Dream Shall Have A Name, David L. Moore

University of Nebraska Press: Sample Books and Chapters

The founding idea of “America” has been based largely on the expected sweeping away of Native Americans to make room for EuroAmericans and their cultures. In this authoritative study, David L. Moore examines the works of five well-known Native American writers and their efforts, beginning in the colonial period, to redefine an “America” and “American identity” that includes Native Americans.

That Dream Shall Have a Name focuses on the writing of Pequot Methodist minister William Apess in the 1830s; on Northern Paiute activist Sarah Winnemucca in the 1880s; on Salish/Métis novelist, historian, and activist D’Arcy McNickle in the 1930s; and …

You Will Never See Any God, Ervin D. Krause

University of Nebraska Press: Sample Books and Chapters

A farmer perishing under a fallen tractor makes a last stab at philosophizing: “There was nothing dead that was ever beautiful.” It is a sentiment belied not only by the strange beauty in his story but also in the rough lives and deaths, small and large, that fill these haunting tales. Pulp-fiction grim and gritty but with the rhythm and resonance of classic folklore, these stories take place in a world of shadowy figures and childhood fears, in a countryside peopled by witches and skinflints, by men and women mercilessly unforgiving of one another’s trespasses, and in nights prowled by …

Freshwater Passages, David Chapin Chapin

University of Nebraska Press: Sample Books and Chapters

Peter Pond, a fur trader, explorer, and amateur mapmaker, spent his life ranging much farther afield than Milford, Connecticut, where he was born and died (1740–1807). He traded around the Great Lakes, on the Mississippi and the Minnesota Rivers, and in the Canadian Northwest and is also well known as a partner in Montreal’s North West Company and as mentor to Alexander Mackenzie, who journeyed down the Mackenzie River to the Arctic Sea. Knowing eighteenth-century North America on a scale that few others did, Pond drew some of the earliest maps of western Canada.

In this meticulous biography, David Chapin …

Film And Everyday Eco-Disasters, Robin L. Murray, Joseph K. Heumann

University of Nebraska Press: Sample Books and Chapters

Eco-disasters such as coal-mining accidents, oil spills, and food-borne diseases appear regularly in the news, making them seem nearly commonplace. These ecological crises highlight the continual tensions between human needs and the environmental impact these needs produce. Contemporary documentaries and feature films explore environmental-human conflicts by depicting the consequences of our overconsumption and dependence on nonrenewable energy.

Film and Everyday Eco-disasters examines changing perspectives toward everyday eco-disasters as reflected in the work of filmmakers from the silent era forward, with an emphasis on recent films such as Dead Ahead, an HBO dramatization of the Exxon Valdez disaster; Total Recall …

A Grizzly In The Mail And Other Adventures In American History, Tim Grove

University of Nebraska Press: Sample Books and Chapters

For more than twenty years, Tim Grove has worked at the most popular history museums in the United States, helping millions of people get acquainted with the past. This book translates that experience into an insider’s tour of some of the most interesting moments in American history. Grove’s stories are populated with well-known historical figures such as John Brown, Charles Lindbergh, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and Sacagawea—as well as the not-so-famous. Have you heard of Mary Pickersgill, seamstress of the Star-Spangled Banner flag? Grove also has something to say about a few of our cherished myths, for instance, the lore …

Prairie Forge, James J. Kimble

University of Nebraska Press: Sample Books and Chapters

In the wake of Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt called for the largest arms buildup in our nation's history. A shortage of steel, however, quickly slowed the program’s momentum, and arms production fell dangerously behind schedule. The country needed scrap metal. Henry Doorly, publisher of the Omaha World-Herald, had the solution. Prairie Forge tells the story of the great Nebraska scrap drive of 1942—a campaign that swept the nation and yielded five million tons of scrap metal, literally salvaging the war effort itself. James J. Kimble chronicles Doorly’s conception of a fierce competition pitting county against county, business against business, …

Deep Map Country, Susan Naramore Maher

University of Nebraska Press: Sample Books and Chapters

Taking its name from the subtitle of William Least Heat-Moon’s PrairyErth (a deep map), the “deep-map” form of nonfiction and environmental writing defines an innovative and stratigraphic literary genre. Proposing that its roots can be found in Great Plains nonfiction writing, Susan Naramore Maher explores the many facets of this vital form of critique, exploration, and celebration that weaves together such elements of narrative as natural history, cultural history, geography, memoir, and intertextuality. Maher’s Deep Map Country gives readers the first book-length study of the deep-map nonfiction of the Great Plains region, featuring writers as diverse as Julene Bair, …

Hemingway On A Bike, Eric Freeze

University of Nebraska Press: Sample Books and Chapters

A collage-like mash-up of personal anecdote, popular culture, masculinity, sports, and parenting, Hemingway on a Bike takes readers through the many and varied twists and turns of the life and mind of its author, Eric Freeze. Delving into obsessions and experiences, Freeze’s essays display a keen intelligence with insights on topics as diverse as Mormonism and foosball, Angry Birds and professional wrestling, superheroes and freebirthing, Ernest Hemingway andStar Trek.

“Carnecopia” mashes experiences fishing and snorkeling with an exhibit at Monaco’s oceanographic museum to comment on how human beings unwittingly enact harm on their environment. “Bolt” explores the author’s …

The Horse Lover, H. Alan Day

University of Nebraska Press: Sample Books and Chapters

He already owned and managed two ranches and needed a third about as much as he needed a permanent migraine: that’s what Alan Day said every time his friend pestered him about an old ranch in South Dakota. But in short order, he proudly owned 35,000 pristine grassy acres. The opportunity then dropped into his lap to establish a sanctuary for unadoptable wild horses previously warehoused by the Bureau of Land Management. After Day successfully lobbied Congress, those acres became Mustang Meadows Ranch, the first government-sponsored wild horse sanctuary established in the United States.

The Horse Lover is Day’s personal …

Young Widower, John W. Evans

University of Nebraska Press: Sample Books and Chapters

John W. Evans was twenty-nine years old and his wife, Katie, was thirty. They had met in the Peace Corps in Bangladesh, taught in Chicago, studied in Miami, and were working for a year in Romania when they set off with friends to hike into the Carpathian Mountains. In an instant their life together was shattered. Katie became separated from the group. When Evans finally found her, he could only watch helplessly as she was mauled to death by a brown bear.

In such a love story, such a life story, how could a person ever move forward? That is …