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A Feasibility Analysis Of The Implementation Of Passive Treatment Systems For Remediating Acid Mine Drainage In The Lick Run Watershed, William Joseph Leonetti

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Historical mining operations, mostly coal mining, has left the State of West Virginia with many abandoned mine lands that often produce nonpoint sources of Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) pollution. This work studied a small tributary to the Cheat River, Lick Run, which has been heavily impaired by AMD through legacy coal mining. Field and laboratory water quality testing verified that Lick Run does not meet Water Quality Standards (WQS). The purpose of this research was to evaluate current stream conditions of Lick Run and to provide means of remediation through passive treatment systems to reduce metal and acidity loads.;Lick Run …

Whole Patient Care: Awareness And Attitude Of Babcock University Teaching Hospital Health Caregivers, Aja T. Victoria

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Statement of the Problem.

This study seeks to understand Babcock University Teaching Hospital (BUTH) health caregivers’ awareness of and attitude to whole patient care for the purpose of developing whole patient care at BUTH. I have been tasked to help develop and establish whole person care at BUTH. Babcock University Teaching Hospital is still at a developmental stage. It has not established an institutional definition of whole patient care, nor has it established an institutional office for the promotion and administration of whole patient care or hired a full-time chaplain.

Method.

This study adopted a quantitative (survey) and qualitative (Focus …

Design, Synthesis And Evaluation Of Diphenylamines As Mek5 Inhibitors, Suravi Chakrabarty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) are a family of interrelated signal transduction kinases mediating intracellular responses to extracellular events. They are involved in mediating complex cellular events including, cell differentiation, cell proliferation, and cell death. Extracellular mitogens or the binding of other ligands to cell-surface receptors begin a signaling cascade that activates MEK resulting in phosphorylation of its corresponding and specific and parallel ERK (Extracellular signal-Regulated Kinase) substrate. The MEK5/ERK5 pathway is involved in cell survival, anti-apoptotic signaling, angiogenesis, and cell motility. It is significantly up-regulated in specific tumor types including breast and prostate cancers. A novel series of compounds …

Molecular Evolution Of Hominoid Primates: Phylogeny And Regulation, Ranajit Das

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The complete mtDNA of one eastern gorilla was sequenced to provide the most accurate date for the mitochondrial divergence of gorillas. The most recent common ancestor of eastern lowland and western lowland gorillas existed about 1.9 million years ago, slightly more recent than that of chimpanzee and bonobo. This study also depicts that the eastern and western gorillas show species level genetic divergence.

Hominoid mating systems differ tremendously. The level of sperm competition varies according to the mating system, which presumably imposes unique selective pressures on the seminal proteins of each species. Cartilage acidic protein 1 (CRTAC1) was identified in …

Isolation And Characterization Of Salinivibrio Sp. Strain Lp-1 From An Impoundment Used For Marcellus Shale Waste Waters, Oliver B. Dugas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A euryhalic, gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic bacterium was isolated from an enrichment culture found in an impoundment used for storing Marcellus Shale waste water. Designated strain LP-1, its cells were non-spore-forming, motile, curved rods with a single polar flagellum. Phylogenetic analysis using 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed it is a £^-proteobacerium closely related (98%) to Salinivibrio costicola. Carbohydrates serve as energy sources both aerobically and anaerobically. It grew anaerobically on nitrate with hydrogen, acetate, pyruvate, or lactate but not with formate, and did not use arsenate, sulfate, or thiosulfate as electron acceptors. Strain LP-1 grew optimally at 37°C (range 4-65°C), 10.0% …

Conscience And Community: Exploring The Relationship Between Conscience Formation And Systemic Corruption (In Nigeria), Augustine E. Ebido

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research focuses on the impact of the moral community (or social context) on the formation of conscience and its implication for moral responsibility. It is an interdisciplinary approach to theological reflection that is particularly attentive to psychological, philosophical, sociological, and neurobiological viewpoints showing how these have either distorted or broadened our understanding of conscience in its relation to community and social responsibility, or its formation in relationship to our moral development. It stresses reciprocity of conduct (for we are "responders") and the complementarities of internal and external sanctions. It insists that the influence of conscience on behavior is undermined …

Beneficial Effects Of The Nutritional Supplements On The Development Of Diabetic Retinopathy, Renu A. Kowluru, Qing Zhong, Julia M. Santos, Mangayarkarasi Thandampallayam, Doug Putt, Dennis L. Gierhart

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Purpose

Increased oxidative stress and inflammatory mediators are implicated in the development of diabetic retinopathy, and in rats, its development can be prevented by antioxidants. Carotenoids are some of the powerful antioxidants, and diabetes decreases lutein and zeaxanthin levels in the serum and retina. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of carotenoid containing nutritional supplements (Nutr), which is in clinical trials for ‘Diabetes Vision Function’, on diabetic retinopathy.

Methods

Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (Wistar, male) were fed Purina 5001 supplemented with nutritional supplements containing zeaxanthin, lutein, lipoic acid, omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients, or without …

Recombinant Interleukin-21 Plus Sorafenib For Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Phase 1/2 Study, Shailender Bhatia, Brendan Curti, Marc S. Ernstoff, Michael Gordon, Elisabeth I. Heath, Wilson H. Miller Jr, Igor Puzanov, David I. Quinn, Thomas W. Flaig, Peter Vanveldhuizen, Kelly Byrnes-Blake, Jeremy A. Freeman, Rachel Bittner, Naomi Hunder, Sonia Souza, John A. Thompson

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Despite the positive impact of targeted therapies on metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), durable responses are infrequent and an unmet need exists for novel therapies with distinct mechanisms of action. We investigated the combination of recombinant Interleukin 21 (IL-21), a cytokine with unique immunostimulatory properties, plus sorafenib, a VEGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

Methods

In this phase 1/2 study, 52 mRCC patients received outpatient treatment with oral sorafenib 400 mg twice daily plus intravenous IL-21 (10–50 mcg/kg) on days 1–5 and 15–19 of each 7-week treatment course. The safety, antitumor activity, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic effects of the combination were …

Finality And Rehabilitation, Meghan J. Ryan

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

New science and evolving societal views have led commentators to question the doctrine of finality. This parallels commentators’ embrace of rehabilitation during the middle of the last century. Today, casting off the strictures of finality and embracing rehabilitation are considered complementary positions, but finality has historically been understood as promoting rehabilitation. This shift stems from our changing understandings of rehabilitation. Rehabilitation focuses on offender change — on whether an offender is a final product or, rather, whether he is capable of transformation. Offender change, though, could be either change in character or change in behavior, or a combination of these …

The School Leadership Support On Science Teaching And Learning, Samillah Qadar

Master of Education

Science is an important human tool for taming nature because explanations and predictions that science makes empower human beings to be able to utilize the natural resources that abound in the world. Therefore science considerably touches the personal, social, professional and cultural lives of everyone. Young people’s understanding of science is therefore crucial to prepare to live in a more scientific world than today’s. The school is the ultimate center for such preparations, where learners’ prior-knowledge will be joined with the contextual and scientific knowledge in inquiry and discovery teaching and learning approaches established by competent teachers under effective supportive …

Hiv Viremia And Incidence Of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma In Patients Successfully Treated With Antiretroviral Therapy, Chad J. Achenbach, Ashley L. Buchanan, Stephen R. Cole, Lifang Hou, Michael J. Mugavero, Heidi M. Crane, Richard D. Moore, Richard H. Haubrich, Satish Gopal, Joseph J. Eron, Peter W. Hunt, Benigno Rodriguez, Kenneth Mayer, Michael S. Saag, Mari M. Kiahata

Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Background: The incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–infected patients remains high despite treatment with antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Methods: We evaluated NHL incidence in HIV-infected patients followed in the Centers for AIDS Research Network of Integrated Clinical Systems who started combination ART and achieved suppression of HIV. We estimated the hazard ratio for NHL by time-varying HIV viremia categories, accounting for time-varying CD4 cell count using marginal structural models.

Results: We observed 37 incident NHL diagnoses during 21 607 person-years of follow-up in 6036 patients (incidence rate, 171 per 100 000 person-years; 95% confidence interval [CI], 124–236). …

Contractualizing Custody, Sarah Abramowicz

Law Faculty Research Publications

Many scholars otherwise in favor of the enforcement of family contracts agree that parent-child relationships should continue to prove the exception to any contractualized family law regime. This Article instead questions the continued refusal to enforce contracts concerning parental rights to children’s custody. It argues that the refusal to enforce such contracts contributes to a differential treatment of two types of families: those deemed “intact”—typically consisting of two married parents and their offspring—and those deemed non-intact. Intact families are granted a degree of freedom from government intervention, provided that there is no evidence that children are in any danger of …

Compare Effects Of Diets Made With Different Saturated Fatty Acids On Body Weight Regulation And Metabolism In Wister Rats, Dilruba Fatema

Wayne State University Theses

Animal fats are known to cause elevated blood total and low-density- lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in humans and animals. This study was designed to investigate the effects of both the quality (coconut oil and a modified beef tallow with reduced saturated fatty acid content) and quantity (low and high) of dietary fat in body weight regulation and alteration of blood cholesterol levels in an animal model. Forty two male Wister rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: Control Low Fat (CLF, n=10), Control High Fat (CHF, n=10), Modified Low Fat (MLF, n=11), and Modified High Fat (MLF, n=11). They were …

Comparative Phenolic Content And Antioxidant Activities Of Blueberry (Vaccinium Corymbosum) Afected By In Vitro Digestion, Sonia Gharbi

Wayne State University Theses

Abstract

COMPARATIVE PHENOLIC CONTENT AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES OF BLUEBERRY (VACCINIUM CORYMBOSUM) AFECTED BY IN VITRO DIGESTION

By

SONIA GHARBI

May 2014

Adviser: Dr. Kevin Zhou

Major: Nutrition and Food Science

Degree: Master of Science

The biological properties of antioxidants depend on their release from the food matrix during the digestion process. Blueberry contains a wide range of phenolic compounds which are of great significance due to their antioxidant activity. In vitro digestion is a rapid and inexpensive method used to determine the availability of nutrients involved in the absorption studies with humans. Total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of Vaccinium …

Resilience As A Predictor Of Postpartum Quality Of Life In A Sample Of Women With A History Of Trauma, Jessica Lee Irwin

Wayne State University Theses

Changes in economic, social, and living situations make the postpartum period especially challenging. Despite the growing need to study postpartum mothers' quality of life to determine how to buffer against risk, a vast majority of studies in this area have focused on what negatively impacts quality of life. The current study sought to determine whether factors such as positive parenting, family functioning and resilience positively predict quality of life when controlling for annual household income, depressive symptomatology and posttraumatic stress symptomatology. Using hierarchical regression, it was confirmed that positive parenting and family functioning significantly contribute to quality of life, but …

Antimicrobial Activity Of Essential Oil Emulsions And Possible Synergistic Effect On Food Borne Pathogens, Varun Tahlan

Wayne State University Theses

The objective of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of essential oil emulsions against food borne pathogenic bacteria and determine potential applications. The oils used for this study were cinnamon, oregano, clove, thyme, rosemary, sage, bergamot, nutmeg, lemon grass and bay. Oil in water emulsions were prepared using Tween 80 as an emulsifying agent, with a stock oil concentration in the emulsions of 20,000 ppm. Essential oil emulsions were individually screened against E. coli (ATCC 25922), E. coli (ATCC 700927), L. monocytogens (ATCC 19115), L. innocua (ATCC 33090) and S. Typhimurium (ATCC 19585) using the broth micro dilution …

Synthesis Of 4'-O-Glycopyranosyl Paromomycin Aminoglycoside Antibiotics: Influence Of The Glycoside On Antiribosomal, Antibacterial Activity And Utilization Of Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry To Evaluate Reactivity Of Glycosyl Phosphate, Weiwei Chen

Wayne State University Theses

The data in this thesis is trying to address two problems. The first problem is paromomycin associated ototoxicity; the second problem is the lack of precise reactivity data of glycosyl donors in one-pot synthesis.

Paromomycin is out of the market as an antibiotic due to its ototoxicity. Previous work done by Vasella and Böttger's groups identified 4'-O position of paromomycin as a promising site of modification to reduce the side effect. A series of 4'-O-glycopyranosyl paromomycin has been synthesized and tested for their biological activity and selectivity. From the results of anti bacterial ribosomal activity, anti hybrid ribosomal activity and …

Approaches To Improving Detection Of Invasive Fish Species In Western Lake Erie Through Analysis Of Monitoring Efficiencies And Metrics Of Community Distribution, Joshua Alan Southern

Wayne State University Theses

Efficient monitoring programs are essential for the early detection of invasive species. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) monitoring program encompassing 21 years of fish survey data from western Lake Erie was evaluated using Chao biodiversity analysis to determine the efficiency and precision of collection strategies of trawl and gillnet sampling, at detecting rare or non-native species. Overall, ODNR sampling annually accounted for ~80% of extant fish species, leaving gaps in coverage where rare and invasive species may be overlooked and proliferate.Obtaining 90% efficiency would require an estimated doubling of previous sampling effort. Computer simulations calculating different proportions of …

Comparitive Study On Antioxidant Properties Of Dendrobium Officinale (Tiepishihu), Wenjun Zhu

Wayne State University Theses

For ages, Chinese herbs, such as Dendrobium Officinale (DO), have been used in Asian regions for treating various illnesses due to the high medicinal value. In this study, the DO plant Acetone and Ethanolic extracts possibly containing antioxidants were tested using different methodologies for comparison and determination of specific antioxidant capacity. The total phenolic content assay expressed as Gallic Acid Equivalent showed 9.43±;0.23 mg GAE /g of extract. Further analysis using DPPH· assay indicated that antioxidants presented in the sample were able to significantly scavenge 37% and 44% radicals at the concentrations of 25mg/ml and 50mg/mL respectively, after a period …

Bacteriophage Isolated From The Environment And E. Coli Of Meat Origin As A Reservoir Of Antibiotic Resistance, Manisha Polur

Wayne State University Theses

ABSTRACT

BACTERIOPHAGE ISOLATED FROM THE ENVIRONMENT AND E. COLI OF MEAT ORIGIN AS A RESERVOIR OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE

by

MANISHA POLUR

April 2014

Advisor: Dr. Yifan Zhang

Major: Nutrition and Food Science

Degree: Master of Science

This study was aimed to determine the extent of antibiotic resistance reservoir in bacteriophage. Bacteriophages were isolated and purified from waste water treatment plants, Detroit river, Belle Isle, Urban Garden soils and examined for the presence of beta-lactam antibiotic resistance genes. Thirty E. coli isolates from retail meat were analyzed for the presence of beta-lactam antibiotic resistance genes. 95% of E. coli them carried …

Real-Time High Resolution Integrated Optical Micro-Spectrometer, Sabarish Chandramohan

Wayne State University Theses

A real-time integrated planar single-mode waveguide grating micro-spectrometer with high resolution of 0.5 nm in 120 nm wide range of visible spectrum, from 525 nm to 645 nm is demonstrated. A CMOS sensor is used for capturing the output image of micro-spectrometer. A f = 1cm lens is used to focus the diffracted monochromatic light onto the CMOS sensor. An algorithm is developed using simple polynomial equation which uses two known reference wavelengths to convert x-pixel numbers of the CMOS sensor to wavelength spectrum. The output of micro-spectrometer in this design has comparatively less noise than usual spectrometric measurements. This …

Development And Evaluation Of Plga-S-S-Peg Micelles Coencapsulating Curcumin Difluorinated And Paclitaxel For Synergistic Therapeutic Efficacy, Lakshmi Deepika Cheemalakonda

Wayne State University Theses

ABSTRACT

DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF PLGA-S-S-PEG MICELLES COENCAPSULATING CURCUMIN DIFLUORINATED AND PACLITAXEL FOR SYNERGISTIC THERAPEUTIC EFFICACY

by

LAKSHMI DEEPIKA CHEEMALAKONDA

August 2014

Advisor: Dr. Joshua Reineke Major: Pharmaceutical Sciences Degree: Master of Science

Solid tumors like pancreatic tumor has unique property of forming a dense desmoplastic layer around the tumor cells making it difficult for the drug to transport across this layer. Multi drug resistance is also one of the major limitation of chemotherapy. Therefore the aim of this project was to make PLGA-SS-PEG micelles encapsulating CDF and paclitaxel for synergistic cancer therapy. CDF was found to have 16-fold better …

The Rna Newton Polytope And Learnability Of Energy Parameters, Elmirasadat Forouzmand

Wayne State University Theses

Computational RNA secondary structure prediction has been a topic of much research interest for several decades now. Despite all the progress made in the field, even the state-of-the-art algorithms do not provide satisfying results, and the accuracy of output is limited for all the existent tools. Very complex energy models, different parameter estimation methods, and recent machine learning approaches had not been the answer for this problem. We believe that the first step to achieve results with high quality is to use the energy model with the potential for predicting accurate output. Hence, it is necessary to have a systematic …

Desk Jockey: A Device To Increase Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (Neat) In Adults, Jiangqi Tang

Wayne State University Theses

Increased sedentary behavior, just like reduced physical activity, has been shown to increase the risk of obesity and chronic diseases. This is mostly due to increased time spent sitting at the office desk. There is limited research studying how to decrease such risk in office workers (OW). This study was to investigate a portable device "Desk Jockey" (DJ) on increasing NEAT and reducing sedentary behavior in a simulated office environment. Participants whose daily work requiring long sitting hours were recruited (mean sitting hours/day: 8.6 ± 3 hr, mean age: 25 ± 7 yr, 54% male, 15% obese). Metabolic rates (METs), …

Rates And Modes Of Sequence Evolution In Various Lineages Within Chenopodiaceae, James Andrew Naeger

Wayne State University Theses

Sexual dimorphism in domesticated spinach, Spinacia oleracea, is thought to be determined by differential expression of floral organ identity genes. We examined the floral organ morphologies of seven species in the Chenopodiaceae, including two wild species of spinach, in order to gain insight into the evolution of floral reproductive strategy in this clade. The species within the Anserineae demonstrate extensive evolution in floral morphology and reproductive strategy, and Spinacia is unique for having been domesticated rather recently and for being dioecious. We found C. album to be hermaphroditic, C. foliosum and M. nuttalliana to be gynomonoecious, while C. bonus-henricus …

In Vitro Characterization Of Serine 47 Phosphorylated Cytochrome C, Ashwathy Mary Varughese

Wayne State University Theses

Cytochrome c is a 12.4kDa ubiquitously expressed protein known to be involved in many physiological processes of the cell such as respiration and apoptosis. The goal of our lab is to increase our knowledge of the regulation of cytochrome c in these opposite activities, and our working model posits that cytochrome c is decisively regulated by phosphorylation. When phosphorylated, cytochrome c leads to an "optimal" functioning in the electron transport chain by lowering electron flux, preventing harmful high mitochondrial membrane potentials and thus ROS production under healthy conditions. However, under cellular stress cytochrome c might be dephosphorylated favoring high mitochondrial …

Functional Studies Of 5-Carboxyaminoimidazole Ribonucleotide Synthetase And Mutase From Thermotoga Maritima, Mingyang Zhao

Wayne State University Theses

De novo purine biosynthesis is divergent depending upon the organism. In bacteria, yeasts and plants, 5-aminoimidazole ribonucleotide (AIR) is converted to 4-carboxyaminoimidazole ribonucleotide (CAIR) by N5-carboxyaminoimidazole ribonucleotide (N5-CAIR) synthetase (PurK) and N5-CAIR mutase (Class I PurE). In animals, AIR is converted into CAIR by AIR carboxylase (Class II PurE). The distinction makes PurK and Class I PurE good targets in design of antimicrobial drugs. N5-CAIR is chemically unstable with t1/2 of about 0.9 minutes at pH 7.8 and 37 °C. If the production of N5-CAIR is not regulated relative to its conversion to CAIR, ATP utilization can rapidly become non-stoichiometric. …

Biophysical Studies Of Mutant H69 Rna Constructs, Daya Nidhi Kharel

Wayne State University Theses

The importance of helix 69 (H69) of the large ribosomal subunit is emphasized by its location in the ribosome and key contacts with protein factors and tRNAs during different steps of protein synthesis. The presence of three highly conserved pseudouridine modifications in H69 has a significant impact on modulation of the ribosome conformations. Specific nucleotides of H69 may be necessary for the function of this helix-loop RNA, as some mutations are deleterious to bacterial growth. In this study, we investigated the effects of single nucleotide mutations in a 19-nucleotide H69 construct with and without pseudouridines on the RNA stability and …

Predictors Of Positive And Negative Affect Following Casual Sex, Jacqueline Woerner

Wayne State University Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of positive and negative affect following a recent casual sex experience in a sample of 585 men and women using a cross-sectional design. Structural Equation Modeling analyses identified sexual satisfaction, sexual assertiveness, belief in traditional gender roles, impulsivity, alcohol use, sex-related alcohol expectancies, and peer approval of casual sex as significant predictors of positive and negative affect. Support for hypotheses regarding gender differences were found: men reported greater positive affect and sexual satisfaction, and some predictors were significant for one gender but not the other. Practical implications for emotional and sexual …

Effect Of Folate Deficiency On Mtor Signaling Network On The Liver Of Wild Type Mice, Essra Moussawi

Wayne State University Theses

Through various studies of dietary nutrients on the affects of the physiological and molecular pathways are a key study in understanding the interaction between dietary nutrients and the human genome that may severely impact the development of various cancers. A primary approach is observing the dietary nutrients, that we consume and how it plays a role in the cellular pathway of our bodies through experimental methods. Folate deficiency (FD) has shown, through studies, to play a role anti-cancer progression. Our goal was to observe the autophagy related proteins in the mTOR signaling pathway as it was suggested that mTOR may …