Digital Commons Network^™

Molecular Mechanism Of Autophagy-Based Unconventional Secretion Of Il-Β, Shanya Jiang

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Proteins without signal peptides can still be released into extracellular space via ER/Golgi-independent unconventional secretory pathway(s) that remain to be revealed. A class of leaderless proteins including the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-β (IL-β) is processed in the cytosol by proteolytic machineries such as the inflammasome prior to secretion. Studies in yeast uncovered a new unconventional secretory pathway that is dependent on GRASP (Golgi Reassembly and Stacking Protein) and autophagy proteins. The purpose of this work was to determine whether this autophagy-based unconventional secretory pathway (secretory autophagy) is conserved in mammals, how this secretory autophagy differs from the traditional degradative autophagy, and …

Medical Imaging Specialists And 3d: A Domain Perspective On Mobile 3d Interactions, Teddy Seyed, Frank Maurer, Francisco Marinho Rodrigues, Anthony Tang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

3D volumetric medical images, such as MRIs, are commonly explored and interacted with by medical imaging experts using systems that require keyboard and mouse-based techniques. These techniques have presented challenges for medical imaging specialists: 3D spatial navigation is difficult, in addition to the detailed selection and analysis of 3D medical images being difficult due to depth perception and occlusion issues. In this work, we explore a potential solution to these challenges by using tangible interaction techniques with a mobile device to simplify 3D interactions for medical imaging specialists. We discuss preliminary observations from our design sessions with medical imaging specialists …

A Quantitative Analysis Of Decision Process In Social Groups Using Human Trajectories, Truc Viet Le, Siyuan Liu, Hoong Chuin Lau, Ramayya Krishnan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

A group's collective action is an outcome of the group's decision-making process, which may be reached by either averaging of the individual preferences or following the choices of certain members in the group. Our problem here is to decide which decision process the group has adopted given the data of the collective actions. We propose a generic statistical framework to infer the group's decision process from the spatio-temporal data of group trajectories, where each "trajectory" is a sequence of group actions. This is achieved by systematically comparing each agent type's influence on the group actions based on an array of …

Reel Queer: Emergent Discourses And Contexts Of Queer Youth Identity Constructions And Experiences In Digital Video Projects, Sarah Lindsey Beck

Communication ETDs

My thesis examines the discourses present in digital video projects created by queer youth, ages 13-20, who participated in The Reel Queer Youth video mentorship program between 2009 and 2012. I used textual analysis, specifically discourse and critical technocultural discourse analysis to explore constructions of identity in youth and experiences present in digital video projects and the contexts these discourses were produced within. I identified three overarching discursive themes: (a) call for more complex understandings of queer youth identities and experiences; (b) concern regarding gender binaries; and (c) change and self-responsibility. In addition to the discursive themes, I identified and …

Abiotic Drivers Of Chihuahuan Desert Plant Communities, Laura Marie Ladwig

Biology ETDs

Within grasslands, precipitation, fire, nitrogen (N) addition, and extreme temperatures influence community composition and ecosystem function. The differential influences of these abiotic factors on Chihuahuan Desert grassland communities was examined within the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, located in central New Mexico, U.S.A. Although fire is a natural disturbance in many grasslands, fire during drought temporarily increased forb cover and decreased grass cover for several years. The seasonal timing of fire was not important, rather community recovery was more influenced by the persistent drought conditions. N deposition is increasing worldwide due to human activities, and although additional N increases productivity and …

Spatiotemporal Patterns In The Distribution And Abundance Of The Introduced Redbreast Sunfish (Lepomis Auritus) And Native Longear Sunfish (L. Megalotis; Centrarchidae) In Reservoirs Of The Tennessee River Drainage, Lacey Michelle Genard

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The Redbreast Sunfish (Lepomis auritus) was introduced in the Tennessee River drainage (TRD) in the 1940s, and contemporary anecdotal evidence suggests that L. auritus is possibly displacing the native Longear Sunfish (Lepomis megalotis). This study aimed to characterize temporal patterns in regional abundances of L. auritus and L. megalotis populations in the TRD based on a multiyear analysis of historical and contemporary fish assemblage datasets (percent abundance, density, biomass). Results indicate that L. megalotis abundance declined in reservoirs where L. auritus was found in high or increasing abundances. Also, L. auritus surpassed L. megalotis in mean percent abundance in Nickajack-Chickamauga …

Awakening: Stories, Sarah Ellen Ireland

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

My thesis, Awakening, is a collection of stories that follows a set of protagonists seeking to discover or solidify their identities amidst challenging environments. All three stories feature protagonists struggling to come to terms with some shifting aspect of their character. In “The Great Secret,” the main character must struggle to define a romantic connection to a new friend in a world where revealing one’s biological sex to the public is expressly forbidden. The protagonist of “Awakening” is must change her identity after she is ripped from her former life and taken on an unpredictable journey. In “Family Portrait,” the …

A Study On The Debris Found In A Pervious Concrete Sample, Charles W. Sanford

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

In an effort to determine how and what debris clogs well-aged pervious concrete, a fourteen-year-old pervious concrete parking lot was cored and the samples investigated. First, a falling head test was performed to determine the infiltration rates on the samples, and the distribution was such that the infiltration rates were inversely proportional with the areas of greatest flow during a rainfall. The samples were then swept and the falling head test was performed again; and then the samples were pressure washed and the tests were performed one final time. Sweeping removed little debris from the surface, but did significantly increase …

Art-Based Cultural Competency And Empathy Building In Medical Education, Gabrielle Mormile

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

Research in the medical field has emphasized the importance of positive patient-doctor relationships for improving treatment outcomes and quality of care. This has included a call for integrated cultural competency and empathy-building components in medical education. This study used art-based methods developed from the field of art therapy in one large class experience with 144 first-year medical students, as well as six 90-minute group sessions with four volunteers from the same group. Data analysis for the large class included an online survey and a pretest and posttest Health Beliefs Attitudes Survey (HBAS). In addition, the small group participants completed a …

Density Functional Theory Study Of The Thermodynamics Of Catalytic Remediation Of Nitrate In Water, Lizzie Bollmann

All Theses

Over 1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water and 5,000 people die each day due to drinking contaminated water. With the development of new industries, new substances and chemicals are entering the waters every day, and the current water treatment processes are unable to remove them entirely. For example, agriculture is the world's heaviest consumer of water, and nitrates and nitrites from fertilizers are washed away with the water to rivers and streams. These chemicals can cause problems to humans and to the environment. To humans, they can cause methemoglobinemia, also known as 'blue baby syndrome'. To …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Polymeric Micelle Delivery System As A Drug And, Justin Nice

All Theses

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. There is currently no effective therapeutic for the treatment of TBI. Primary injury, from the initial injury, causes contusions and hemorrhaging at the site of impact. Diffuse damage is caused throughout the brain from the impact; this includes axonal injury, hypoxic brain damage, brain swelling and vascular injury. Brain damage continues as the secondary injury; which is characterized by hypoxia, hypotension, amino acid excitotoxicity and ionic imbalance. All of these conditions cause additional cell death and damage. Inflammation, brought about by reduced cyclic AMP levels is also …

Ear Contour Detection And Modeling Using Statistical Shape Models, Satish Ravindran

All Theses

Ear detection is an actively growing area of research because of its applications in human head tracking and biometric recognition. In head tracking, it is used to augment face detectors and to perform pose estimation. In biometric systems, it is used both as an independent modality and in multi-modal biometric recognition. The ear shape is the preferred feature used to perform detection because of its unique structure in both 2D color images and 3D range images. Ear shape models have also been used in literature to perform ear detection, but at a cost of a loss in information about the …

Investigations Of Novel Mechanisms Of Action For Anti-Bacterial And Anti-Cancer Agent Development, Jenson Verghese

Theses and Dissertations

The development of drugs and therapeutic agents for combating infections and human malignancies continues to be a forefront area in both academic and industrial research. This is driven by the rapid emergence of multi-drug resistant bacterial strains and accumulating mutations in cancer targets that is quickly rendering our current arsenal of drugs ineffective for these therapies. Unless new drugs with novel mechanisms of action are identified and developed at a faster pace, we face a losing battle in managing these diseases. The first part of this work concerns with the natural product Simocyclinone D8 (SD8). Simocyclinone D8 is an angucyclinone …

Commence With Leadership, Selwyn M. Vickers Md

Browse All News

No abstract provided.

Flexible Slosh Diaphragm Modeling And Simulation In Propellant Tanks, Darren Vaughn Levine

Theses and Dissertations

iquid sloshing and propellant distribution is an important field of research for aerospace applications such as launch vehicles and spacecraft. The propellant mass behavior can greatly influence vehicle dynamics, altering trajectories and structural loading distributions. In order to combat these concerns some propellant tanks employ thin elastomeric diaphragms to separate the fuel from the gas volumes and restrict the fluid's motion. The diaphragm’s flexible behavior is generally highly nonlinear, and various propellant fill levels and acceleration conditions can cause large deflections resulting in complex buckling and folding patterns. When complex and non-uniform deformations occur, there is potential for diaphragm wear …

Analyzing Thermal And Mechanical Effects Of Pulsed Laser Irradiation On Tissues, Mohit Ganguly

Theses and Dissertations

Pulsed lasers are known for their spatial and temporal specificity in delivering heat energy to the tissues. This is useful in laser ablation treatment mechanism where damage to the healthy tissues is highly undesired. However, the efficacy of the process is limited by the damage caused by the pulsed laser. A pulsed laser has both photothermal and photomechanical interaction with tissues. Photothermal interaction is caused by the rise in temperature due to the laser irradiation. This includes the denaturation of proteins, increased mitochondrial membrane permeability and ultimately vaporization. Photomechanical interaction causes the generation of pressure waves produced as a result …

Mri Characterization Of Cobalt Dichloride-N-Acetyl Cysteine (C4) Contrast Agent Marker For Prostate Brachytherapy, Tze Yee Lim, R. Jason Stafford, Rajat J. Kudchadker, Madhuri Sankaranarayanapillai, Geoffrey Ibbott, Arvind Rao, Karen S. Martirosyan, Steven J. Frank

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Brachytherapy, a radiotherapy technique for treating prostate cancer, involves the implantation of numerous radioactive seeds into the prostate. While the implanted seeds can be easily identified on a CT image, distinguishing the prostate and surrounding soft tissues is not as straightforward. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) offers superior anatomical delineation, but the seeds appear as dark voids and are difficult to identify, thus creating a conundrum. Cobalt dichloride-N-acetylcysteine (C4) has previously been shown to be promising as an encapsulated contrast agent marker. We performed spin-lattice relaxation time (T1) and spin-spin relaxation time (T2) measurements of C4 solutions with varying cobalt dichloride …

Young Supporters Funds Young Researcher Studying Cancer Disparities, Tyler Greer

Browse All News

No abstract provided.

Interleukin-6 And Soluble Interleukin-6 Receptor Levels In Posttraumatic Stress Disorder : Associations With Lifetime Diagnostic Status And Psychological Context., Tamara L. Newton, Rafael Fernandez-Botran, James J. Miller, Vicki Ellison Burns

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

This study correlated lifetime PTSD diagnostic status with interleukin-6 (IL-6) and soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) levels, and tested whether these correlations are sensitive to psychological context. Midlife women attended two research visits where blood was drawn (beginning of visits) and saliva and oral mucosal transudate were collected (beginning and end of visits) to measure IL-6 and sIL-6R. Women were classified as PTSD−/− (past and current symptoms below subsyndromal levels), PTSD+/− (past symptoms at or above subsyndromal levels), or PTSD +/+ (past and current symptoms at or above subsyndromal levels). PTSD+/+ women, compared to the other women, showed more negative emotion …

Characterization Of Biomechanical Properties Of Mitral Valve Chordae Tendineae, Keping Zuo

Master's Theses

Objective: Mitral regurgitation and prolapse are the two most common diseases of the mitral valve and result in the leakage of blood back into the left atrium during systole. Rupture of the chordae tendinae is the most common cause of mitral insufficiency. The goal of this study was to characterize the biomechanical properties of the mitral valve chordae tendineae of aged human and ovine hearts.

Materials and Methods: A total of 115 chordae specimens from fresh ovine hearts (n=18, weight = 374.833 47.947g, age of 1-2 year old), and 152 from human hearts (n=14, weight = 516.538 125.718g, mean age …

Plant Responses To Increased Experimental Nitrogen Deposition In A Boreal Peatland, Meaghan Petix

Theses

Increased nitrogen (N) deposition onto boreal peatlands and forests is anticipated with further expansion of Alberta's oil sands industry and consequently, an increase in sources of nitrogen oxide emissions. Increased N deposition has the potential to affect peatland flora and alter N cycling patterns in peatlands, therefore it is imperative to investigate at what level of excess N deposition these effects take place. This thesis discusses results from the first two years of a five year N fertilization study being conducted at a peatland complex near the hamlet of Mariana Lake in northeastern Alberta, Canada aimed at quantifying the N …

Dynamics Of Early-Season Weed Management And Soybean Nutrition, Nick T. Harre

Theses

The popularity of growers using only postemergence (POST) herbicides for weed management in soybean was enabled by the commercialization of glyphosate-resistant soybean. The efficacy and flexibility provided by this technology diminished the use of soil residual herbicides and arguably, increased soybean yield loss from early-season weed competition. While, the rapid evolution and biogeographical spread of herbicide-resistant weeds, especially glyphosate-resistant biotypes, has renewed interest into the use of soil residual products, herbicide-resistant soybean technologies continue to be developed that may once again entice growers into POST-only weed management systems. The commercial interest in soybean yield advancements justifies further characterizing the benefits …

Energy Drinks: Factors That Influnce College Students' Consumption, Nameer Nassir Faris

Theses

The purposes of this study were: To assess factors that influence energy drink consumptions among college students. To analyze the reasons behind consuming energy drinks as well as the reasons for not consuming them. And to evaluate the participants' knowledge regarding energy drinks' ingredients, safety, and side effects. A total of 417 undergraduate students who registered in 101 general education classes during the Fall 2013 semester at the departments of Health Education, Kinesiology, and Nutrition at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale participated in the study. Energy drink use was associated with the number of the paid employment hours (p= .000). …

The Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Degradation Potential Of Gulf Of Mexico Native Coastal Microbial Communities After The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Anthony D. Kappell, Yin Wei, Ryan J. Newton, Joy D. Van Nostrand, Jizhong Zhou, Sandra L. Mclellan, Krassimira R. Hristova

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) blowout resulted in oil transport, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to the Gulf of Mexico shoreline. The microbial communities of these shorelines are thought to be responsible for the intrinsic degradation of PAHs. To investigate the Gulf Coast beach microbial community response to hydrocarbon exposure, we examined the functional gene diversity, bacterial community composition, and PAH degradation capacity of a heavily oiled and non-oiled beach following the oil exposure. With a non-expression functional gene microarray targeting 539 gene families, we detected 28,748 coding sequences. Of these sequences, 10% were uniquely associated with the severely oil-contaminated beach …

Context-Dependent Remodeling Of Rad51–Dna Complexes By Srs2 Is Mediated By A Specific Protein–Protein Interaction, Anna K. Lytle, Sofia S. Origanti, Yupeng Qiu, Jeffrey Vongermeten, Sua Myong, Edwin Antony

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

The yeast Srs2 helicase removes Rad51 nucleoprotein filaments from single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), preventing DNA strand invasion and exchange by homologous recombination. This activity requires a physical interaction between Srs2 and Rad51, which stimulates ATP turnover in the Rad51 nucleoprotein filament and causes dissociation of Rad51 from ssDNA. Srs2 also possesses a DNA unwinding activity and here we show that assembly of more than one Srs2 molecule on the 3′ ssDNA overhang is required to initiate DNA unwinding. When Rad51 is bound on the double-stranded DNA, its interaction with Srs2 blocks the helicase (DNA unwinding) activity of Srs2. Thus, in different …

May 1, 2014, The Daily Mississippian

Daily Mississippian (all digitized issues)

No abstract provided.

Congenital Pituitary Stalk Deformity, Maura Bucciarelli Do, Gretchen Perilli Md

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

Three-Dimensional Reconstruction Of Marine Clay Nano- And Microstructure By Transmission Electron Microscopy: Analysis Of Fabric And Pore Network, Jessica Rae Gardner Douglas

Master's Theses

Three-dimensional reconstructions of marine fine-grained sediment open a new dimension for studying nano- and microscale organo-clay fabric important to improving and advancing organic matter (OM) sequestration and fluid flow dynamics modeling. I created 3-D reconstructions of clay fabric and pore pathways from serial sections and photographic mosaics obtained using transmission electron microscopy. These reconstructions show aggregations of clay domains, surrounding OM, and pore networks. I examined a Model sample (laboratory consolidated) with 1% OM and a Natural sample (polychaete fecal pellet) with high levels of OM. Three-dimensional reconstructions were segmented into 300 nm cube subsamples to make highly localized qualitative …

Adaptive Method Of Approximate Particular Solution For One-Dimensional Differential Equations, Yichuan Dong

Master's Theses

An adaptive algorithm for the Method Approximate Particular Solution (MAPS) using radial basis functions for solving boundary value problems is discussed in this work. The goal of the adaptive algorithm is to construct an optimal collocation points distribution that gives the required accuracy with the smallest number of degrees of freedom. I proposed the formulation of the adaptive MAPS for second order boundary value problems in an arbitrary dimensional setting. Then I applied this method to three different boundary value problems in one-dimensional setting. The performance of the adaptive method has been demonstrated by numerical experiments.

A Paleopathological Analysis Of The Moran French Colonial Cemetery, Jennifer Lynn Funkhouser

Master's Theses

This research examines the health experiences of early eighteenth-century European immigrants to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Most were low-status individuals forcibly expulsed from France and brought to Biloxi to colonize Louisiana. Historical records report the immigration effort was poorly provisioned and that large numbers died from malnutrition and disease soon after arrival. The remains of 30 adults, presumably colonists from this period based on collagen dating and grave goods, have been recovered at the Moran site (22HR511). DNA analysis (n = 8) suggests all are European. Most are males, and only one lived past age 40. Estimated mean height is …