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Prevalence And Distribution Of Ranavirus, Chytrid Fungus, And Helminths In North Dakota Amphibians, Melanie Paige Firkins

Theses and Dissertations

Worldwide reports of population declines and extinctions of amphibians have continued for at least two decades. Factors frequently reported in association with these declines include habitat loss, infectious diseases, and environmental degradation. Three sources of disease have been a concern for amphibians: chytrid fungus, Ranavirus, and some helminth parasites. Much of the existing reporting on disease results from anecdotal accounts associated with localized outbreaks, but understanding the scope and dynamics of infectious agents in host populations requires a regional perspective. My objectives were to estimate geographic distribution and prevalence of Ranavirus, chytrid fungus, and helminths in amphibians across the state …

Characterization Of Dopamine Transporter Palmitoylation, Danielle Elizabeth Rastedt

Theses and Dissertations

The dopamine transporter (DAT) is an integral membrane protein that mediates the reuptake of synaptic dopamine and thus regulates the spatio-temporal dynamics of dopaminergic neurotransmission. DAT is also the target of powerful addictive psychostimulants, including cocaine and methamphetamine that resulted in dysregulation of dopaminergic signaling. Complex control of DAT is exerted by various regulatory processes, including posttranslational modifications. We previously found that DAT is palmitoylated via the addition of a 16-carbon palmitic acid moiety to Cys 580. Pharmacological and mutagenic studies determined that depalmitoylation conditions led to reductions in Vmax and transporter levels, suggesting palmitoylation controls one or more functions …

The Unique N- And C-Terminal Domains Of Metallothionein-3 Influence The Growth And Differentiation Of Breast Cancer Cells, Brent Jeffrey Voels

Theses and Dissertations

Toxic insult from the heavy metal cadmium is known to induce the expression of metallothioneins (MT) which are cysteine-rich heavy metal binding proteins six to seven kilodaltons in size. Previous research demonstrates that over-expression of MT-3 occurs in the majority of breast cancers and is associated with poor patient outcome. Furthermore, MT-3 has been shown to inhibit the growth of breast cancer and prostate cancer cell lines. Studies have shown that the MT-3 protein contains 7 additional amino acids that are not present in any other member of the MT gene family, a 6 amino acid C-terminal sequence and a …

Effect Of Extrusion Pre-Treatment On Physical Properties And Sugar Recovery Of Cold Press And Solvent Extracted Canola, Camelina And Carinata Meal, Jasmeen Kaur

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Canola/rapeseed meal (CM) ranks second behind soybeans in global production of protein from oil cakes and meals. Commercial CM has been investigated as a feed ingredient in diets of a number of fish species. Camelina (Camelina sativa) has been a potential oilseed crop. The fat extracted meal contains over 40% protein. Camelina yields an average of 420–640 L/ha, and the protein and fiber content in its meal byproduct is comparable to that of soybean meal. Brassica carinata possesses many positive agronomic traits, and it can grow well in hot, dry, and semiarid climates and seed oil from these species and …

Bridging In Vi Tro & In S Il Ico Techniques: Uncovering The Structural Characteristics And Light-Dependent Modifications Of The Light-Response Btb Proteins In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Nicholas Reitz

Masters Theses

The conjugation of the NEDD8 protein has been found to cause a wide range of changes to the overall function of a protein. The addition of NEDD8 to a conserved lysine on Cul proteins has been found to provide Cul with increased flexibility, while the transcription factor protein p53 was prevented from binding to DNA after NEDD8 conjugation. Using Arabidopsis thaliana, we investigated the potential conjugation of NEDD8 to the AtLRB1 and AtLRB2 proteins, which are both members of Cul3-RING E3 Ubiquitin Ligase complexes, using both in vitro and in silico techniques. The AtLRBs are negative regulators of the red …

Analysis Of Ground Vibrations Produced By An 80 In3 Water Gun In The Chicago Sanitary And Ship Canal, Lemont, Illinois, Carolyn Michelle Koebel

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Since its completion in 1910, the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) has become a pathway for invasive species (and potentially Asian carp) to reach the Great Lakes. Currently, an electric barrier is used to prevent Asian carp migration through the canal, but the need for a secondary method is necessary, especially when the electric barrier undergoes maintenance. The underwater Asian carp "cannon" (water gun) provides such a method. Analysis of the ground movement produced by an 80 in3 water gun in the CSSC was performed in order to establish any potential for damage to the either the canal or …

I Don't Need To Read, I'M Gonna Play Football: Male Collegiate Athletes' Perception Of Reading, Anna Kathryn Suggs

Honors Theses

My research is comprised of data collected from surveys and interviews to gain a better understanding of how college athletes, especially those from low-income backgrounds, perceive their past experience with reading. I surveyed ninety-three freshmen male athletes. I then narrowed my research to focus specifically on male freshmen athletes from all sports and football players of all years, since football has the highest percentage of athletes from low-income backgrounds. I then interviewed six student athletes on the football team. I found that whether or not a student athlete is read to as a child, enjoyed reading as a child, and …

Exploration Of Cannabinoid And Opioid Agents From Plants Used In Traditional Medicine, John Fitzpatrick

Honors Theses

Ten plants, with known medicinal uses, were gathered to study for their possible production of secondary metabolites that act as opioid and cannabinoid agents. All plants were subjected to in vitro bioassays testing for their affinity for the opioid and cannabinoid receptors. Banisteriopsis caapi extracts displayed the greatest affinity for both opioid and cannabinoid receptors. B. caapi extracts underwent column fractionation yielding fractions that were subjected to further in vitro studies. We discovered that the ethanolic extract of this plant (foliage) binds to all three opioid receptors (µ, κ and δ) and cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) with values ranging …

Machismo In Chilean Politics: A Case Study Of The 2005 And 2013 Presidential Elections, Laura Bridges

Honors Theses

This thesis will answer the following question: Is there a relationship between the election of Bachelet in 2005 and 2013 and machismo? What, if any, influence did machismo have on her election? Chile is one of the more socially conservative countries in Latin America -- divorce was illegal until 2004, abortion is still illegal, etc. When Michelle Bachelet ran for the office of President in 2005, the arguments from her male opponents criticized her abilities based on gendered ideas of the roles of men and women should play in society. For example, they implied that because she was a woman, …

The Dimerization Kinetics Of Ncad12 With A Mutated Cis-X-Pro Bond, Victoria Mcclearn

Honors Theses

VICTORIA RAE McCLEARN: DIMERIZATION KINECTICS OF NCAD12 P16A (Under the direction Dr. Susan Pedigo) Calcium binding causes a conformational change into a strand swapped dimer for the cadherins. However, regardless of the sequence similarity for Epithelial Cadherin (ECAD) and Neural Cadherin (NCAD), they respond to the presence of calcium differently. For NCAD, the rate of assembly and disassembly depends upon the presence of calcium, whereas for ECAD the rate of exchange is independent of calcium. Studies into a kinetic model to explain the differences between the rates have been recently conducted. It is believed that ECAD uses an X-dimer intermediate …

Beam Manipulation And Acceleration With Dielectric-Lined Waveguides, Francois Lemery

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The development of next-generation TeV+ electron accelerators will require either immense footprints based on conventional acceleration techniques or the development of new higher--gradient acceleration methods. One possible alternative is beam-driven acceleration in a high-impedance medium such as a dielectric-lined-waveguide (DLW), where a high-charge bunch passes through a DLW and can excite gradients on the order of GV/m. An important characteristic of this acceleration class is the transformer ratio which characterizes the energy transfer of the scheme. This dissertation discusses alternative methods to improve the transformer ratio for beam-driven acceleration and also considers the use of DLWs for beam manipulation at …

Biodegradation And Idealized Modeling Of Drilling Fluids, South Mcmurdo Sound, Antarctica, Ellen Lynn Raimondi

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This project explored the potential fate and transport of seawater-based drilling fluid used in the Antarctic Drilling Program (ANDRILL) South McMurdo Sound project (SMS). The SMS drilling reported a loss of 5.6 x 10 5 liters of drilling fluid to the surrounding formation throughout a borehole depth of 1139m. The introduction of these drilling fluids raise concerns of potential contamination to a pristine, isolated environment. The volume of fluid lost to the subsurface is unrecoverable and will only break down through natural attenuation processes, such as biodegradation. The objectives of this study are to estimate the extent of fluid migration …

Gene Expression And Alzheimer's Disease: Evaluation Of Gene Expression Patterns In Brain And Blood For An Alzheimer's Disease Mouse Model, Amanda Hazy

Senior Honors Theses

Previous studies have established a causative role for altered gene expression in development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). These changes can be affected by methylation and miRNA regulation. In this study, expression of miRNA known to change methylation status in AD was assessed by qPCR. Genome-wide expression changes were determined by RNA-sequencing of mRNA from hippocampus and blood of control and AD mice. The qPCR data showed significantly increased expression of Mir 17 in AD, and sequencing data revealed 230 genes in hippocampus, 58 genes in blood, and 8 overlapping genes showing significant differential expression (p value ≤ 0.05). Expression data …

Comparison Of Endometrial Biopsies Of Fertile Women And Womenwith Repeated Implantation Failure At The Ultrastructural Level, Leyla Bahar, Semra Kahraman, Nazan Eras, Caroline Pirkevi

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Background/aim: The aim of this study was to compare the cellular properties of endometrial tissues from fertile patients and patients having at least 3 previous in vitro fertilization failures, during the implantation window. The ultrastructural evaluation of the endometrium in the implantation window may shed light on the complexity of the implantation failure paradigm. Materials and methods: The study involved 23 women, 14 infertile with a clinical diagnosis of repeated implantation failure (RIF) and 9 fertile, defined as the control group. Endometrial samples were examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Results: In the control group, secretory vacuoles and cytoplasmic projections …

Esophageal Replacement By Hydroxylated Bacterial Cellulose Patch In A Rabbit Model, Changlai Zhu, Fang Liu, Wenbo Qian, Yingjie Wang, Qingsheng You, Tianyi Zhang, Feng Li

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Background/aim: To repair esophageal defects by hydroxylated and kombucha -synthesized bacterial cellulose (HKBC) patch in a rabbit model. Materials and methods: Semicircular esophageal defects 1 cm in length of the cervical esophagus were initially created in 18 Japanese big-ear rabbits and then repaired with HKBC patch grafts. The clinical outcomes including survival rate, weight change, food intake, and hematological and radiologic evaluation were observed. After X-ray evaluation, the rabbits were sacrificed sequentially at 1, 3, and 6 months for histopathologic analysis with light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Results: Survival rate during the first month was 88.9% (n = 16). …

Effects Of Turkish Propolis On Expression Of Hogg-1 And Neil-1, İbrahi̇m Turan, Orhan Değer, Yüksel Ali̇yazicioğlu, Seli̇m Demi̇r, Kağan Kilinç, Ayşegül Sümer

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Background/aim: Propolis is a bee product with antioxidative, antimutagenic, and other beneficial properties, and it is used as a natural drug. It is rich in polyphenolic compounds. Its composition varies depending on the particular geographical region. Oxidative stress is caused by an imbalanced free radical production and antioxidant system. The effects of flavonoids on the expression of DNA repair enzymes have been examined previously; however, no study has investigated the effects of propolis. This study investigated the effects of ethanolic extracts of Turkish propolis (EEP) on the expression of DNA repair enzymes. Materials and methods: The effects of EEP and …

Immunogenicity Of Conserved Cork And Ss-Barrel Domains Of Baumannii Acinetobactin Utilization Protein In An Animal Model, Yaqub Hajiaghatabar Sangroodi, Iraj Rasooli, Shahram Nazarian, Walead Ebrahimizadeh, Fatemeh Sefid

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Background/aim: The uptake of the ferric-acinetobactin complex into the periplasmic space relies on the baumannii acinetobactin utilization (BauA) protein. BauA is composed of cork and the β-barrel domains. We constructed a recombinant protein from conserved antigenic domains of cork and the β-barrel of BauA to evaluate their immunogenic role in an animal model. Materials and methods: The selected bauA domains were amplified from a purified genome of Acinetobacter baumannii ATCC 19606. The domains were then cloned into pET28a and the proteins expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) were purified using nickel nitrilotriacetic acid chromatography. Mice and rabbits were immunized with …

Effect Of Ph And Temperature On Halogenated Dbps, Sm Shamimur Rahman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Water scarcity is one of the most challenging issues in the world in the 21st century. It is estimated that there are more than one billion of people without adequate access to freshwater and facing water shortages and water deficits. People are forced to drink polluted water despite the risk of consuming pathogenic microorganisms in the water that transmit waterborne diseases such as bacterial infections, protozoal infections and viral infections. The water disinfection process is one of the most important environmental technological advances in the 20th century which inactivates microbial contaminants in drinking water. Disinfection byproducts (DBPs) are a group …

Enhancement Of Copd Biological Networks Using A Web-Based Collaboration Interface, Stephanie Boue, Brett Fields, Julia Hoeng, Jennifer Park, Manuel C. Peitsch, Walter K. Schlage, Vladimir Bondarenko

College of Osteopathic Medicine (TUN) Publications and Research

The construction and application of biological network models is an approach that offers a holistic way to understand biological processes involved in disease. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive inflammatory disease of the airways for which therapeutic options currently are limited after diagnosis, even in its earliest stage. COPD network models are important tools to better understand the biological components and processes underlying initial disease development. With the increasing amounts of literature that are now available, crowdsourcing approaches offer new forms of collaboration for researchers to review biological findings, which can be applied to the construction and verification …

Reducing Early Neonatal Heat Loss In Low Resourced Context An Indian Exemplar, Ramalingam Sindhu, P. V. Ramachandran, Clara M. Jothi, C. Susila, Pammla Petrucka

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

Background: Although there has been a favorable trend in the Infant Mortality Rate in India in the last decade, the country is still unlikely to meet the Millennium Development Goal #4. Of significance, there has been minimal improvement in the early neonatal mortality rate, which is an indicator of quality of perinatal care. In the efforts to address this aspect, a range of efforts and interventions have been considered. One such effort is in addressing and reducing hypothermia in neonates. Two low tech strategies, professional mummying/swaddling (PM/S) and ‘Kangaroo mother care’ (KMC), are seen as critical in the continuum …

Psychobiobehavioral Model For Preterm Birth In Pregnant Women In Low- And Middle-Income Countries, Shahirose S. Premji, Ilona S. Yim, Aliyah Dosani (Mawji), Zeenatkhanu Kanji, Salima Sulaiman, Wangira Musana, Pauline Samia, Kiran Shaikh, Nicole Letourneau

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

Preterm birth (PTB) is a final common outcome resulting from many interrelated etiological pathways; of particular interest is antenatal psychosocial distress (i.e., stress, anxiety, and depression). In LMI countries, both exposure to severe life stressors and rate of PTB are on average greater when compared with high-income countries. In LMI countries women are exposed to some of the most extreme psychosocial stress worldwide (e.g., absolute poverty, limited social resources). High prevalence of antenatal stress and depression have been observed in some studies from LMI countries. We propose a psychosocial, biological, and behavioral model for investigating the complex multisystem interactions in …

Pedagogy And Culture: An Educational Initiative In Supporting Uae Nursing Graduates Prepare For A High-Stakes Nurse Licensing Examination, Sharon Brownie, Ged Williams, Kate Barnewall, Suzanne Bishaw, Jennifer L. Cooper, Walter Robb, Neima Younis, Dawn Kuzemski

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

Graduates of an Abu Dhabi transnational nursing degree struggled with the mandatory national licensing examination. Poor pass rates undermine graduate career futures and impact on the workforce capacity building contributions of the partnering transnational educational providers. This paper describes how the design and delivery of an intensive examination preparation program dramatically reversed this trend. The objectives of this educational initiative involved the design, delivery and evaluation of a program that would align with cultural learning preferences and which improve the success rates of graduates attempting the national nurse licensing examination. To achieve these objectives, the program combined a range of …

Identification Of Key Proteins In Human Epithelial Cells Responding To Bystander Signals From Irradiated Trout Skin, Hayley Furlong, Richard Smith, Jiaxi Wang, Colin Seymour, Carmel Mothersill, Orla L. Howe

Articles

Radiation-induced bystander signaling has been found to occur in live rainbow trout fish (Oncorhynchus mykiss). This article reports identification of key proteomic changes in a bystander reporter cell line (HaCaT) grown in low-dose irradiated tissue-conditioned media (ITCM) from rainbow trout fish. In vitro explant cultures were generated from the skin of fish previously exposed to low doses (0.1 and 0.5 Gy) of X-ray radiation in vivo. The ITCM was harvested from all donor explant cultures and placed on recipient HaCaT cells to observe any change in protein expression caused by the bystander signals. Proteomic methods using 2-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis …

Connections Newsletter Winter 2015, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Connections Newsletter

Table of Contents

• Faculty Institutes: Partnering with Faculty, Ensuring Student Success
• From the Dean
• Eileen and Tom Raney Give the Gift of Education
• Scholarship Boot Camps Help Students Secure Funding, Complete Their Degrees
• Staff Spotlight: Xan Goodman
• Planning a Health Sciences Library for Southern Nevada
• Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project Honorees
• General Announcements

Decoding The Neural Circuitry Of Reward Behavior, Ernesto H. Bedoy, James M. Hyman

McNair Poster Presentations

Classical conditioning demonstrates that rewards can be used to train behavior by pairing a stimulus, known as a prompt, with reinforced behavior. At a neuronal level, this association strengthens the connections between the neurons involved, making communication easier the next time. Enhanced communication is identified with learning, allowing an organism to anticipate a reward with a prompt so that it can perform the desired behavior to successfully obtain the reward (Noonan et al., 2011). In this study, we created a computational model to represent a neural circuit with synaptic plasticity during reward, no-reward and anticipation states. Our results confirmed our …

Quality Of Life In Youth With Bipolar Disorder And Trauma, Irma De Santiago, Andrew J. Freeman

McNair Poster Presentations

Background:Epidemiological work suggests that youth with histories of trauma or bipolar disorder have lower quality of life (QoL) than generally healthy youth without a history of bipolar disorder or trauma.

Aim: To evaluate whether trauma and bipolar disorder have a negative effect in youth seeking services for emotional and behavioral difficulties.

Method & Sample: Participants were 596 youths and caregiver dyads from an urban community mental health center and an academic medical center in Cleveland, OH. Diagnoses were based on semi-structured interviews of the parent and youth. The KINDL-R measured Total, Emotional, Self-esteem, Family, Friend, School, and Physical QoL. …

Examining The Relationship Between Emotion Perception And Bullying: A Proposal, Marielle Leo, Kimberly A. Barchard

McNair Poster Presentations

Bullying and aggressive behaviors have adverse effects on many children. Violent behavior among children occurs most commonly in the school setting and may lead to negative emotional outcomes later in life (Kub & Feldman, 2015). According to a study conducted by Baroncelli et al. (2014), boys who have been found to be high in aggression have a difficult time perceiving relevant social cues such as fear and anger. However, boys were prone to frequently identify happiness and fear in faces when a different emotion was expressed. For girls, Baroncelli and colleagues did not find any significant relationships. The purpose of …

Alternate Germinants Of C. Difficile, A Leading Hospital Pathogen, Sean Tanzey, Ernesto Abel-Santos

McNair Poster Presentations

Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) are the leading nosocomial infections worldwide. Humans are asymptomatic carriers of C. difficile spores in the intestinal tract. The process known as germination occurs when otherwise harmless C. difficile spores are converted to toxin-producing cells upon recognition of bile salts in humans. This distinctive transition ultimately leads to the onset of disease and recurrent CDI. Germination profiles will be characterized in response to peptidoglycan (PG) fragments isolated from various bacterial species. These specific peptidoglycan fragments contain different amino acid residues that may induce different germination responses. Purification and structural determination of the peptidoglycan fragments will be …

Study Of Cuinte2 Quantum Dots Under Extreme Conditions, Howard Yanxon, Ravhi Kumar

McNair Poster Presentations

In recent years, Quantum Dot (QD) materials have attracted considerable interest due to their versatile properties and potential applications in electronics, biology, and optoelectronics, i.e. photovoltaic solar cell materials [1-2].

In 2000, RincÓn et al. reported an extensive study of the bulk material of CuInTe₂ along with its comparison to its ordered defect compounds [3]. The chalcopyrite structure consists of eight atoms per unit cell. This means there are 24 vibrational modes expected for the tetragonal structure. Out of the 24 modes, 21 vibrational modes belong to optical modes, and the other 3 modes are acoustical modes. The irreducible …

The Interaction Between Nicotine And Negative Symptoms In Schizophrenia And Bipolar Disorder, Bernajane Palisoc, Daniel N. Allen

McNair Poster Presentations

• Individuals with psychiatric conditions, such as schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorders (BD), have a higher rate of smoking and have lower quit rates compared to the general population.
• As a dopamine agonist, nicotine may help alleviate negative symptoms by increasing abnormally low levels of dopamine in the prefrontal cortex and mesolimbic system consistent with the dopamine deficit hypothesis
• The purpose of the study is to further explore the interactions of nicotine and negative symptoms in a diverse population of individuals with serious mental illness.
• Furthermore, research examining interactions of nicotine and negative symptoms for individuals with schizophrenia compared to individuals …