Digital Commons Network^™

Metabolic Engineering Of Cyanobacteria For Photosynthetic Production Of Drop-In Liquid Fuels, Bertram Michael Berla

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Cyanobacteria are oxygenic phototrophs with great potential as hosts for renewable fuel and chemical production. They grow very quickly (compared with plants) and can use sunlight for energy and CO2 as a carbon source (unlike yeast or E. coli). While cyanobacteria have been engineered to make many chemicals that are native and non-native parts of their metabolism, this work is concerned with the production of heptadecane in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Heptadecane is in a class of natural products produced by all cyanobacteria, but in quantities insufficient for industrialization. Towards this future goal, we have built enabling systems for the …

Structure-Based Drug Design And Synthesis Of Anti-Infective And Anticancer Agents, Narendran Gummudipundi Dayanandan

Doctoral Dissertations

Resistance to antibiotics is on the rise at an alarming pace. The problem is exacerbated by the lack of new class of therapeutic agents and targets. Modes of resistance include alteration of drug target, modification of ligand, and reduction of the intracellular concentration of drug. Dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) is a validated drug target for the treatment of infectious diseases and cancer. The binding of ligands to DHFR inhibits the downstream folate pathway that is vital for purine and thymidylate synthesis. Trimethoprim (TMP), a clinically used antifolate exhibits resistance in both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. In this thesis, methods have been …

Synthesis, Characterization And Stability Study Of V(Iv), Zr(Iv), Rh(Iii), Pd(Ii), Cd(Ii) And Hg(Ii) Complexes With Pyrazol Derivative, Sinan M. Al-Bayati, Enaam M. Rasheed, Maysoon A Al-Soodani, Sarab M Salah

Baghdad Science Journal

In this work lactone (1) was prepared from the reaction of p-nitro phenyl hydrazine with ethylacetoacetate, which upon treatment with benzoyl chloride afforded the lactame (2). The reaction of (2) with 2-amino phenol produced a new Schiff base (L) in good yield. Complexes of V(IV), Zr(IV), Rh(III), Pd(II), Cd(II) and Hg(II) with the new Schiff base (L) have been prepared. The compounds (1, 2) were characterized by FT-IR and UV spectroscopy, as well as characterizing ligand (L) by the same techniques with elemental analysis (C.H.N) and (1H-NMR). The prepared complexes were identified and their structural geometries were suggested by using …

Toward A Just Food Regime: Consumption, Ideology, And Democratic Strategy, Adam B. Lichtenberger

Journal of Food Law & Policy

United States agricultural policies incentivize the growth and consumption of industrial foods. Industrial foods are linked to a host of social and ecological ills. However, agricultural policies are insulated from political criticism, in part, by the myth that consumers freely and rationally choose industrial foods. This neoliberal myth is congruous with the American preferences for "stealth democracy." That is, the neoliberal myth is an elegant, but ultimately erroneous, reconciliation of conflicting political preferences: Americans do not want to be involved in politics, but they also do not want the political process to be used by special interests or politicians to …

Bilingualism, Executive Function, And Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Carina Ann Beck

Theses

In an era where the diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is as high as 7% in school-aged children, the search for causes and preventions has never been more important. Current research indicates a positive relationship between bilingualism, particularly native bilingualism, and executive function in normally developing individuals. This study served to examine the potential relationship between bilingual education in a public school setting and the presence of ADHD symptoms in that school's students. This was a comparative analysis of students in a South Florida School District's two-way immersion program with the national average in terms of frequency of ADHD …

Materials Science Of Electrochemical Formation Of Tungsten Nanosharp Probes, Maryana I. Nave

All Dissertations

This dissertation is centered on the development of a methodology that aims to engineer millimeter long and ten microns thin nanosharp tungsten probes. The current state of the art of electropolishing techniques is reviewed. We discuss the probes produced by electrochemical etching of a wire until it breaks into two pieces. This process is difficult to control because of the complexity of the associated hydrodynamic flows. These techniques were called convection-limited electropolishing (CLE) because the kinetics of wire etching is controlled by the convective diffusion of ions. We introduced a newly developed technique, precipitation-limited electropolishing (PLE), which enables production of …

Genetic And Chemical Dissection Of Bloodbrain Barrier Development In Zebrafish, Robyn Anne Umans

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) maintains a homeostatic environment as well as prohibits the entrance of xenobiotics into the brain. Because of these qualities, drug delivery is a fundamental challenge for the treatment of many diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). Along with limiting the access of therapeutics into the brain, the BBB is also impaired in CNS pathologies. Understanding the molecular cues that are essential for healthy BBB development and integrity may reveal targets for drug delivery leading to decreased progression or possible treatment of many detrimental CNS diseases. While the central features of the BBB have been accepted, …

Computer-Aided Drug Design And Discovery, Screening And Synthesis Of Small Molecule Inhibitors Of Nucleoside Transporters, Hilaire Colleen Playa

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Using prior biological data, pharmacophore models were made for hCNT1, hCNT3, hENT1, and hENT4. The hCNT3 and hCNT1 pharmacophore were used to select compounds for biological testing. The NBMPR analogue and dipyridamole analogue hENT1 pharmacophores were compared to each other and to a combined pharmacophore for hENT1. The dipyridamole analogue pharmacophore better predicted non-nucleoside small molecule inhibitors, and as such appears to be the better tool for aiding in the design of new small molecule inhibitors. The hCNT3 pharmacophore failed to select active compounds and as such must be redesigned. The hCNT1 pharmacophore succeeded in identifying two moderately active compounds …

High Frequency Devices And Circuit Modules For Biochemical Microsystems, Jiwei Sun

All Dissertations

This dissertation investigates high frequency devices and circuit modules for biochemical microsystems. These modules are designed towards replacing external bulky laboratory instruments and integrating with biochemical microsystems to generate and analyze signals in frequency and time domain. The first is a charge pump circuit with modified triple well diodes, which is used as an on-chip power supply. The second is an on-chip pulse generation circuit to generate high voltage short pulses. It includes a pulse-forming-line (PFL) based pulse generation circuit, a Marx generator and a Blumlein generator. The third is a six-port circuit based on four quadrature hybrids with 2.0~6.0 …

Synthesis Of Structurally Diverse Major Groove Dna Interstrand Crosslinks, Shivam Mukherjee

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

DNA Interstrand Cross-links (ICLs) are extremely cytotoxic lesions caused by a variety of endogenous and exogenous agents. ICLs prevent the separation of two DNA strands and hence block essential cellular functions such as DNA transcription and replication. ICL causing agents are widely used in cancer chemotherapy and the removal of ICLs is associated with the resistance to anticancer agents. Despite the clinical importance of ICLs, the details of the pathways by which these lesions are repaired remain poorly understood. This dissertation focuses on the synthesis of structurally diverse major groove DNA ICLs that induce different degrees of distortion into the …

The Use Of Biomaterials For Cell Function Enhancement: Acceleration Of Fibroblast Migration And Promotion Of Stem Cell Proliferation, Sisi Qin

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Wound healing and tissue regeneration proceed via fibroblast migration along three dimensional scaffolds composed of fibers with different diameters, spacing, and junction angles. In order to understand how each of these factors influences fibroblast migration, a technique for preparation of three dimensional fibrillar scaffolds was developed where the fiber diameters and the angles between adjacent fiber layers could be precisely controlled. In order to study the en-mass migration process, the agarose droplet method was chosen since it enabled accurate determinations of the dependence of the migration speed, focal adhesion distribution, and nuclear deformation on the fiber structures. Results showed that …

Daily Activity Budgets Reveal A Quasi-Flightless Stage During Non-Breeding In Hawaiian Albatrosses, Sarah Gutowsky, Lee Gutowsky, Ian Jonsen, Marty Leonard, Maura Naughton, Marc Romano, Scott A. Shaffer

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

Background Animals adjust activity budgets as competing demands for limited time and energy shift across life history phases. For far-ranging migrants and especially pelagic seabirds, activity during breeding and migration are generally well studied but the “overwinter” phase of non-breeding has received less attention. Yet this is a critical time for recovery from breeding, plumage replacement and gaining energy stores for return migration and the next breeding attempt. We aimed to identify patterns in daily activity budgets (i.e. time in flight, floating on the water’s surface and active foraging) and associated spatial distributions during overwinter for the laysan Phoebastria immutabilis …

Evolution Of Acyl-Substrate Recognition By A Family Of Acyl-Homoserine Lactone Synthases, Quin H. Christensen, Ryan M. Brecht, Dastagiri Dudekula, E. Peter Greenberg, Rajesh Nagarajan

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Members of the LuxI protein family catalyze synthesis of acyl-homoserine lactone (acyl-HSL) quorum sensing signals from S-adenosyl-L-methionine and an acyl thioester. Some LuxI family members prefer acyl-CoA, and others prefer acyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) as the acyl-thioester substrate. We sought to understand the evolutionary history and mechanisms mediating this substrate preference. Our phylogenetic and motif analysis of the LuxI acyl-HSL synthase family indicates that the acyl-CoA-utilizing enzymes evolved from an acyl-ACP-utilizing ancestor. To further understand how acyl-ACPs and acyl-CoAs are recognized by acyl-HSL synthases we studied BmaI1, an octanoyl-ACP-dependent LuxI family member from Burkholderia mallei, and BjaI, an …

Caspase-3 Mediates The Pathogenic Effect Of Yersinia Pestis Yopm In Liver Of C57bl/6 Mice And Contributes To Yopm's Function In Spleen, Zhan Ye, Amanda A. Gorman, Annette M. Uittenbogaard, Tanya Myers-Morales, Alan M. Kaplan, Donald A. Cohen, Susan C. Straley

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

The virulence protein YopM of the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis has different dominant effects in liver and spleen. Previous studies focused on spleen, where YopM inhibits accumulation of inflammatory dendritic cells. In the present study we focused on liver, where PMN function may be directly undermined by YopM without changes in inflammatory cell numbers in the initial days of infection, and foci of inflammation are easily identified. Mice were infected with parent and ΔyopM-1 Y. pestis KIM5, and effects of YopM were assessed by immunohistochemistry and determinations of bacterial viable numbers in organs. The bacteria were found …

Hydrolytically Stable Analogues Of Sugar Phosphates And A Miniaturized In Situ Enzymatic Screen, Xiang Fei

Department of Chemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The glmS riboswitch undergoes self-cleavage upon binding its metabolic product GlcN6P, thereby providing a negative feedback mechanism limiting translation of the glmS protein when GlcN6P is abundant. As a first step toward the development of novel antimicrobials, we have synthesized a series of GlcN6P analogues bearing phosphatase-inert surrogates in place of the natural phosphate ester functionality. The self-cleavage assay identified two such compounds that display significant riboswitch actuator activity; namely those bearing a 6-phosphonomethyl group or a 6-O-malonyl ether. These two analogues exhibit a 22-fold and a 27-fold higher catalytic efficiency, respectively, than does glucosamine. Docking experiments were …

Publication Trends In Model Organism Research, Michael Dietrich, Rachel Ankeny, Patrick Chen

Dartmouth Scholarship

In 1990, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) gave some organisms special status as designated model organisms. This article documents publication trends for these NIH-designated model organisms over the past 40 years. We find that being designated a model organism by the NIH does not guarantee an increasing publication trend. An analysis of model and nonmodel organisms included in GENETICS since 1960 does reveal a sharp decline in the number of publications using nonmodel organisms yet no decline in the overall species diversity. We suggest that organisms with successful publication records tend to share critical characteristics, such as being well …

Study The Quality Of Groundwater Of Al-Zoroup Area In Mahdah State, The Sultanate Of Oman, Fahad Khalifa Rashid Al-Shidi

Theses

The groundwater is the most important source of water in the Sultanate of Oman. Accordingly, the Oman Government has paid great attention commensurate with the importance of water resource in terms of their sources, quality, and ways to rationalize consumption to remain under the term of sustainability and validity of present and future generations. This study was conducted in Al Buraymi at Mahdah State in Al-Zoroub area targete a groundwater quality for 20 wells in private farms. The water samples were taken from these wells and subjected to analysis for microbial and geochemical aspects. For this analysis, the assorted devices …

Documentation Of The Black-Footed Ferret, Mustela Nigripes On The Standing Rock Indian Reservation, Mobridge, South Dakota, Michael P. Gutzmer, Jeffrey C. Kelly

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Since 1991, 19 specific black-footed ferret reintroduction projects have been conducted across 8 States, Canada, and Mexico. All five of the first ferret reintroductions (from 1991 to 1996) continue to be occupied by ferrets. The photographs of October 31 and November 1 are the first unequivocal documentation of black-footed ferrets on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. Ferrets observed on Standing Rock may be dispersals from the nearby Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation to the south. The nearest re-introduction site for ferrets is approximately 20 miles away, in Whitehorse, South Dakota, and the observation of ferrets on Standing Rock could document …

Recent Advances In The Field Of Bionanotechnology: An Insight Into Optoelectric Bacteriorhodopsin, Quantum Dots, And Noble Metal Nanoclusters, Christopher Knoblauch, Mark Griep, Craig Friedrich

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Molecular sensors and molecular electronics are a major component of a recent research area known as bionanotechnology, which merges biology with nanotechnology. This new class of biosensors and bioelectronics has been a subject of intense research over the past decade and has found application in a wide variety of fields. The unique characteristics of these biomolecular transduction systems has been utilized in applications ranging from solar cells and single-electron transistors (SETs) to fluorescent sensors capable of sensitive and selective detection of a wide variety of targets, both organic and inorganic. This review will discuss three major systems in the area …

Tps Mutational Status Is A Potential Marker For Risk Stratification In Wilms Tumour With Diffuse Anaplasia, Mariana Maschietto, Richard D. Williams, Tasnim Chagtai, Sergey D. Popov, Neil J. Sebire, Gordan Vujanic, Elizabeth Perlman, James R. Anderson, Paul Grundy, Jeffrey S. Dome, Kathy Pritchard-Jones

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Purpose

The presence of diffuse anaplasia in Wilms tumours (DAWT) is associated with TP53 mutations and poor outcome. As patients receive intensified treatment, we sought to identify whetherTP53 mutational status confers additional prognostic information.

Patients and Methods

We studied 40 patients with DAWT with anaplasia in the tissue from which DNA was extracted and analysed for TP53 mutations and 17p loss. The majority of cases were profiled by copy number (n = 32) and gene expression (n = 36) arrays. TP53 mutational status was correlated with patient event-free and overall survival, genomic copy number instability and gene expression profiling. …

The Cosm Newsletter

COSM Newsletter

• The College of Science and Mathematics Welcomes New Administration in the Dean’s Office
• COSM Faculty and Staff Recognized at College and University Levels
• College Awards
• University Awards
• Summer SOAR Project: Books for Back Pack Buddies
• COSM Alum Honored in Promotion Ceremony at the Pentagon
• Altrusa partners with Georgia Southern Pre-Vet Students for First Annual Dog Wash
• Two COSM Undergrads selected for Prestigious Summer Research Programs
• The Department of Biology Welcomes New Faculty
• Dr. Ed Mondor Named 2014 Outstanding Advocate for First Year Students
• Distinguished Alumnus Chosen
• Honor’s Day Ceremony Resumes
• Professor Gives Talk at 11th Congress on the Biology of …

But Who Will Get Billy? The Effect Of Child Custody Laws On Marriage, Elaina Rose, Crystal (Ho Po) Wong

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

Under the tender years doctrine in effect until the 1970’s, custody was virtually always awarded to the mother upon divorce. Gender-neutral custody laws introduced beginning in the 1970’s provided married fathers, in principle, equal rights to custody. Subsequent marriage-neutral laws extended the rights to unmarried fathers. We develop a theoretical model of the effect of custody regime on marriage and test the model’s predictions using a unique data set that merges custody law data with data from the Current Population Survey and Vital Statistics. We find that, under marriage non-neutrality, the introduction of gender-neutral laws reduced the hazard into marriage …

Characterization Of Metal-Reducing Microorganisms In Walker Lake: A Terminal Saline Desert Lake, Memona Khan

Honors College Theses

Metal-reducing microorganisms are increasingly being recognized as an essential component of aquatic microbial ecosystems involved in decomposition of organic matter. Alkaliphilic microbial reduction from alkaline lakes is a little studied field and one particular ecosystem, Walker Lake, presents the opportunity to investigate alkaliphilic metal reducers in their native ecological setting. Walker lake is a terminal, saline, desert lake with pH 9.4, Walker Lake samples of surface and deep sediments and water column samples from 0, 10, 5, 15, 17.5, 19 m depths were cultured by serial dilution in synthetic Walker Lake medium and supplemented separately with Hydrous Ferric Oxide (HFO), …

Why Full Implementation Is Long Overdue, Merril Sobie

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In 1980, the American Bar Association (ABA) promulgated a far-reaching comprehensive body of Juvenile Justice Standards, thereby providing a blueprint for the reform of a system that had serious deficiencies. Developed in partnership with the Institute of Judicial Administration (IJA) at New York University, the standards address the entire juvenile justice continuum, from police handling and intake to adjudication, disposition, juvenile corrections, and ancillary functions. Approximately 300 professionals collaborated for a decade to produce the 23 volumes approved by the ABA House of Delegates.

To this day, the standards remain relevant and reformist. Several have been implemented in whole or …

Probabilistic Uncertainty Quantification And Experiment Design For Nonlinear Models: Applications In Systems Biology, Vu Cao Duy Thien Dinh

Open Access Dissertations

Despite the ever-increasing interest in understanding biology at the system level, there are several factors that hinder studies and analyses of biological systems. First, unlike systems from other applied fields whose parameters can be effectively identified, biological systems are usually unidentifiable, even in the ideal case when all possible system outputs are known with high accuracy. Second, the presence of multivariate bifurcations often leads the system to behaviors that are completely different in nature. In such cases, system outputs (as function of parameters/inputs) are usually discontinuous or have sharp transitions across domains with different behaviors. Finally, models from systems biology …

Knowledge Of Saudi Female University Students Regarding Cervical Cancer And Acceptance Of The Human Papilloma Virus Vaccine, Ghadeer K. Al-Shaikh, Eman M. Almussaed, Amel A. Fayed, Farida H. Khan, Sadiqa B. Syed, Tahani N. Al-Tamimi, Hala N. Elmorshedy

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVES: To assess the level of knowledge regarding cervical cancer and the acceptance of the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine among Saudi female students in health colleges. METHODS: This cross-sectional study of a convenient sample encompassed 1400 students in Health Colleges at Princess Nora Bint Abdul Rahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was conducted between December 2013 and February 2014. A self-administrated questionnaire was distributed to all participants. Data collected included socio-demographic data, knowledge of cervical cancer risk factors and clinical presentation, Pap smear, and HPV vaccine acceptance. The questionnaire reliability as tested by Cronbach’s alpha was 0.82. RESULTS: The response …

The Cosm Newsletter, Georgia Southern University

College of Science & Mathematics: News & Publications (2012-2022)

• The College of Science and Mathematics Welcomes New Administration in the Dean’s Office
• COSM Faculty and Staff Recognized at College and University Levels
• College Awards
• University Awards
• Summer SOAR Project: Books for Back Pack Buddies
• COSM Alum Honored in Promotion Ceremony at the Pentagon
• Altrusa partners with Georgia Southern Pre-Vet Students for First Annual Dog Wash
• Two COSM Undergrads selected for Prestigious Summer Research Programs
• The Department of Biology Welcomes New Faculty
• Dr. Ed Mondor Named 2014 Outstanding Advocate for First Year Students
• Distinguished Alumnus Chosen
• Honor’s Day Ceremony Resumes
• Professor Gives Talk at 11th Congress on the Biology of …

Synthesis And Evaluation Of Sensitizer Drug Photorelease Chemistry: Micro-Optic Method Applied To Singlet Oxygen Generation And Drug Delivery, Goutam Ghosh

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis summarizes a new micro-optic method for singlet oxygen generation and sensitizer drug delivery, which include i) synthesis and evaluation of a first generation device for drug delivery from native and fluorinated silica probe tips, ii) synthesis of PEG conjugated sensitizers to study phototoxicity in ovarian cancer cells, and iii) synthesis and evaluation of tris-PEGylated chlorin conjugated fluorinated silica for its future integration into the device to use as a 2nd generation device. A first generation micro-optic device was developed that works by sparging O2 gas and light generating cytotoxic singlet oxygen that cleaves the covalently attached drug (sensitizer) …

Component Trees For The Exploration Of Macromolecular Structures In Biology, Lucas Oliveira

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Understanding the three-dimensional structure of a macromolecular complex is essential for understanding its function. A component tree is a topological and geometric image descriptor that captures information regarding the structure of an image based on the connected components determined by different grayness thresholds. This dissertation presents a novel interactive framework for visual exploration of component trees of the density maps of macromolecular complexes, with the purpose of improved understanding of their structure. The interactive exploration of component trees together with a robust simplification methodology provide new insights in the study of macromolecular structures. An underlying mathematical theory is introduced and …

Towards A Dynamic View Of Genetic Networks: A Kalman Filtering Framework For Recovering Temporally-Rewiring Stable Networks From Undersampled Data, Jehandad Khan

Theses and Dissertations

It is widely accepted that cellular requirements and environmental conditions dictate the architecture of genetic regulatory networks. Nonetheless, the status quo in regulatory network modeling and analysis assumes an invariant network topology over time. We refocus on a dynamic perspective of genetic networks, one that can uncover substantial topological changes in network structure during biological processes such as developmental growth and cancer progression. We propose a novel outlook on the inference of time-varying genetic networks, from a limited number of noisy observations, by formulating the networks estimation as a target tracking problem. Assuming linear dynamics, we formulate a constrained Kalman …