Digital Commons Network^™

Modulation Of Bcr Signaling By The Induced Dimerization Of Receptor- Associated Syk, Mark L. Westbroek

Open Access Dissertations

Clustering of the B cell antigen receptor (BCR) by polyvalent antigens is transmitted through the SYK tyrosine kinase to the activation of multiple intracellular pathways that determine the physiological consequences of receptor engagement. To explore factors that modulate the quantity and quality of signals sent by the crosslinked BCR, I developed a novel chemical mediator of dimerization to induce clustering of receptor-associated SYK. To accomplish this, I fused SYK with E. coli dihydrofolate reductase (eDHFR), which binds the small molecule trimethoprim (TMP) with high affinity and selectivity, and synthesized a dimer of TMP with a flexible linker. The binding of …

Defining Replication-Coupled Chromatin Assembly Pathways And Their Effect On Silencing And Responses To Dna Damage In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Tiffany J. Young

Open Access Dissertations

The genetic information of a cell is organized in a DNA and protein structure referred to as chromatin. Chromatin consists of repeating units called nucleosomes, which consists of 147 base pairs of DNA wrapped around an octamer of histone proteins. These histone proteins are post-translationally modified at specific residues that are important gene regulation and genomic stability. Altered histone modification patterns are strongly associated with multiple cancers, underlying the importance of better understanding the pathways that regulate these modifications. During DNA replication, chromatin must be disassembled, and then reassembled behind the replication fork. Defects in this process can cause alterations …

Scalable Bayesian Nonparametrics And Sparse Learning For Hidden Relationship Discovery, Shandian Zhe

Open Access Dissertations

Real-world data often encompass hidden relationships, such as interactions between modes in multidimensional arrays (or tensors), subsets of features correlated to specifc responses, and associations between heterogeneous data sources. Uncovering these relationships is a key problem in machine learning and data mining, and relates to numerous applications ranging from information security to imaging genetics and to computational advertisement. However, to mine these relationships, we have to face several signifcant challenges. First, how can we design powerful models to capture the complicated, potentially highly nonlinear patterns in data? Second, how can we develop effcient model estimation algorithms to deal with real-world …

The Regulation Of Calcium Oscillations In Porcine Eggs At Fertilization, Lu Zhang

Open Access Dissertations

As the most abundant mineral in organisms, ionized calcium (Ca2+) plays a crucial role in cellular signaling, regulating a great number of physiological activities. In this study, the Ca2+ entry mechanism that sustains the long-lasting Ca2+ oscillations in fertilized pig eggs was investigated. Porcine eggs matured in vitro were used for the experiments. In some eggs, the intracellular Ca2+ stores were depleted using cyclopiazonic acid (CPA, a SERCA pump blocker), others were inseminated with boar spermatozoa. To identify the mechanism that mediates the Ca2+ influx, various inhibitors of store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) were used. We found that the inhibitors blocked …

Survey Of Legislation: 2017 Arkansas General Assembly, Amie Alexander, Sarah Giammo

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Revisiting The Rationality Assumption Of Disclosure Laws: An Empirical Analysis, Uri Benoliel, Jenny Buchan, Tony Gutentag

Hofstra Law Review

Disclosure laws are based on one central assumption: that disclosees are, by their very nature, rational actors. This article questions the validity of this theoretical assumption. The article empirically shows that franchisees, who are considered sophisticated disclosees, are unrealistically optimistic about disclosed risks. In this empirical study, franchisees (N = 205) completed an online research questionnaire, in which they compared their own chances of experiencing disclosed risks with the chances of their colleagues. It was found that franchisees were optimistically biased. Franchisees believed that the chances that their franchisor might opportunistically terminate their franchise are significantly lower than that of …

Siu Alumni, Siu Alumni Association

SIU Alumni Magazine

No abstract provided.

Long-Term Mark–Recapture Data To Assess Muskellunge Population Characteristics: Application To Two Illinois Reservoirs, Neil Rude, David C. Glover, William D. Hintz, Shawn Hirst, Wayne Herndon, Rob Hilsabeck, Gregory Whitledge

Publications

No abstract provided.

Sparta Training Area Asian Carp Removal Report, Neil Rude, David Coulter, Alison Coulter, Gregory Whitledge

Reports

Aquatic invasive species have long been associated with negative ecological and socioeconomic impacts on freshwater ecosystems. In order to mitigate these potential negative effects of invasive species introductions, management and control techniques must be developed. Asian carp species (Silver Carp, Bighead Carp, Grass Carp, and Common Carp) are a problematic group of invasive species that can cause negative effects on native fish species and freshwater ecosystems through a series of trophic cascades. The current focus of Asian carp management and control techniques is directed at reducing population sizes in the upper Illinois River to reduce probability of invasion further upstream …

Exploring The Relationship Between Silencing The Self And Risky Sexual Behavior In Black Women, Robin Nicole Hardin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Black women are disproportionately affected by HIV. Understanding how sociocultural factors and beliefs contribute to Black women's risky sexual behavior is critical in understanding this health disparity. This study investigated the mediating influence of silencing the self (i.e., putting the needs and wants of a romantic partner before one's own needs) on the relationship between risky sexual behaviors and self-esteem, gender role beliefs, and gender ratio imbalance beliefs and behaviors (GRIBBs) in Black female college students. Participants included 99 female undergraduate students enrolled at a regional Mid-South University. Results demonstrated that risky sexual behavior was not significantly associated wtih the …

A Review Of Epstein Barr Virus Immunity, Pathogenesis And Immunotherapies, Heather Stuart

Senior Honors Projects

Epstein – Barr Virus (EBV), a member of the Herpesviridae family, is commonly known as the cause of infectious mononucleosis. While EBV infection has acute effects, its primary significance in human health stems from its association with multiple cancers resulting from chronic infection. EBV first establishes infection in epithelial cells of the oropharynx, where it is lytic, and later establishes latent infection in B cells, where it exists in latency for remainder of the host’s lifetime. Dendritic cells and natural killer cells are first to control expansion of the infection followed by cytotoxic T cells and helper T cells. Through …

A Context-Free Method Of Visualizing Streaming Object Data For The Purpose Of Identifying Known Events: An Implementation And Analysis, Quinn Gregory Carver

Theses and Dissertations

This year, every second, five gigabytes of new data will be streamed to storage and yet less than half a percent of all this data will ever be analyzed. Much of this muted data is high-variety object data, unnoticed in a void of sorely needed tools to make it readily understandable. A software tool for visualizing streaming object data in a context-free manner can be built, and this tool would aid in finding predictor data for known events which are functions of the data. The design of the tool to support the hypothesis is presented and field results from over …

Hmgcs2 Is A Key Ketogenic Enzyme Potentially Involved In Type 1 Diabetes With High Cardiovascular Risk., Sanket Kumar Shukla, Weijing Liu, Kunal Sikder, Sankar Addya, Amrita Sarkar, Yidong Wei, Khadija Rafiq

Center for Translational Medicine Faculty Papers

Diabetes increases the risk of Cardio-vascular disease (CVD). CVD is more prevalent in type 2 diabetes (T2D) than type 1 diabetes (T1D), but the mortality risk is higher in T1D than in T2D. The pathophysiology of CVD in T1D is poorly defined. To learn more about biological pathways that are potentially involved in T1D with cardiac dysfunction, we sought to identify differentially expressed genes in the T1D heart. Our study used T1D mice with severe hyperglycemia along with significant deficits in echocardiographic measurements. Microarray analysis of heart tissue RNA revealed that the T1D mice differentially expressed 10 genes compared to …

Progress On The Hupo Draft Human Proteome: 2017 Metrics Of The Human Proteome Project., Gilbert S Omenn, Lydie Lane, Emma K Lundberg, Christopher M Overall, Eric W Deutsch

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

The Human Proteome Organization (HUPO) Human Proteome Project (HPP) continues to make progress on its two overall goals: (1) completing the protein parts list, with an annual update of the HUPO draft human proteome, and (2) making proteomics an integrated complement to genomics and transcriptomics throughout biomedical and life sciences research. neXtProt version 2017-01-23 has 17 008 confident protein identifications (Protein Existence [PE] level 1) that are compliant with the HPP Guidelines v2.1 ( https://hupo.org/Guidelines ), up from 13 664 in 2012-12 and 16 518 in 2016-04. Remaining to be found by mass spectrometry and other methods are 2579 "missing …

Cognitive Trajectory Changes Over 20 Years Before Dementia Diagnosis: A Large Cohort Study., Ge Li, Eric B Larson, Jane B Shofer, Paul K Crane, Laura E Gibbons, Wayne Mccormick, J D Bowen, Mary Lou Thompson

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Longitudinal studies have shown an increase in cognitive decline many years before clinical diagnosis of dementia. We sought to estimate changes, relative to "normal" aging, in the trajectory of scores on a global cognitive function test-the Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI).

DESIGN: A prospective cohort study.

SETTING: Community-dwelling members of a U.S. health maintenance organization.

PARTICIPANTS: Individuals aged 65 and older who had no dementia diagnosis at baseline and had at least two visits with valid CASI test score (N = 4,315).

MEASUREMENTS: Average longitudinal trajectories, including changes in trajectory before clinical diagnosis in those who would be diagnosed …

Influence Of Social And Economic Factors On Elementary Student Health In Northwest Arkansas, Megan Marks

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

A child’s wellbeing is influenced by many factors related to the environment they are raised in. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between a child’s social and economic factors and his or her health. A convenience sample of 588 2nd and 4th grade children was taken from three elementary schools in Springdale Independent School District. Health status was represented by calculations of each child’s body mass index (BMI) and number of days counted absent from school. Socioeconomic and demographic factors examined include the child’s grade level, gender, ethnicity, number of parents over the household, number of …

Modifiable Factors Impeding Nurses’ Willingness To Report In A Disaster, Kate Hutchison

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research project investigates what modifiable factors impede nurses’ willingness to report to work during a disaster. The survey sample were nurses in the United States. Survey methodology was a snowball sampling initiated among nurses attending a PhD Program at the University of Texas at Tyler as well as the utilization of Facebook to recruit participants. The survey instrument determined likelihood of nurses reporting to work in various types of disasters and factors that may impede them from responding to such disasters. The online survey asked thirty-five “select all that apply” type questions and the results will be used to …

Modeling Acoustic Microfluidic Phenomena In Unconventional Geometries, Andrew Ledbetter

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

In this work, the performance of a piezoelectrically-actuated ultrasonic droplet generator is analyzed by modeling the harmonic response of a two-dimensional representation of the device cross-section. Observed vibrational and acoustic resonances provide insight into optimal design conditions to achieve efficient, robust droplet ejection. Numerical simulations highlight the importance of the coupled electrical and mechanical behavior of the resonator assembly and show that elastic modes can effectively amplify or dampen acoustic modes within the fluid chamber. Experimentally-validated modeling results guide development of an optimization strategy to further improve device performance. In addition, the standing acoustic field that is the focus of …

Biological Condition Of Money Pont Benthic Communities, Southern Branch Of The Elizabeth River (2010, 2013, 2016), Daniel M. Dauer

Elizabeth River Reports

Executive Summary

This report summarizes the ecological condition of the subtidal macrobenthic communities off Money Point in the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River based upon quantitative sampling in summer 2016. The designated Money Point study area was part of a sediment contaminant remediation effort. The primary objectives were to: (1) characterize the biological health of the benthos of Money Point comparing pre-remediation condition (2010) to post-remediation condition in 2013 and again in 2016, and (2) assess the effectiveness of the sediment contamination remediation efforts with respect to the ecological condition of the Money Point benthos.

Prior to sediment contaminant …

Ethnic Pride, Self-Esteem, And School Belonging: A Reciprocal Analysis Over Time, Maciel M. Hernández, Richard W. Robins, Keith F. Widaman, Rand D. Conger

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

School belonging (i.e., social connectedness to school) has positive implications for academic achievement and well-being. However, few studies have examined the developmental antecedents of school belonging, particularly for students of Mexican origin. To address this gap in the research literature, the present study examined reciprocal relations between school belonging and two self-affirmation beliefs—self-esteem and ethnic pride—using data from a longitudinal study of Mexican-origin students followed from fifth to ninth grade (N = 674, Mage at Wave 1 = 10.4 years, 50% girls). Furthermore, we evaluated whether the associations were stronger for boys than girls. Using multiple group analysis in a …

Second Look Commission 2017 Annual Report, Tennessee. Commission On Children And Youth.

Second Look Commission Annual Report

No abstract provided.

Epiphanies, Bill Elgersma

Pro Rege

No abstract provided.

Guidelines For The Diagnosis, Evaluation, And Management Of Sports-Related Concussions In Adolescent Athletes: Translating Evidenced-Based Recommendations Into Primary Care Practice, Julie Greenwood

Doctoral Scholarly Projects & Capstones

Sports-related concussions in adolescent athletes are a significant health concern. Evidence demonstrates that despite increased published literature on concussions, many providers are still practicing with outdated information that is not evidenced-based. This puts adolescent athletes at risk for potentially detrimental consequences such as second impact syndrome. This syndrome can result in devastating results such as collapse, death, permanent neurological damage, respiratory failure, and loss of consciousness. Since second-impact syndrome can result from a second injury before complete symptom resolution from the initial concussion, it is imperative for providers to ensure adequate recovery and prevent the athlete from returning to play …

A Constitutional Jurisprudence Of Children’S Vulnerability, Lois A. Weithorn

UC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Zika Virus Encoding Nonglycosylated Envelope Protein Is Attenuated And Defective In Neuroinvasion, Arun S. Annamalai, Aryamav Pattnaik, Bikash R. Sahoo, Ezhumalai Muthukrishnan, Sathish Kumar Natarajan, David Steffen, Hiep Vu, Gustavo Delho, Fernando Osorio, Thomas M. Petro, Shi-Hua Xiang, Asit K. Pattnaik

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Zika virus (ZIKV), a mosquito-transmitted flavivirus responsible for sporadic outbreaks of mild and febrile illness in Africa and Asia, reemerged in the last decade causing serious human diseases, including microcephaly, congenital malformations, and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Although genomic and phylogenetic analyses suggest that genetic evolution may have led to the enhanced virulence of ZIKV, experimental evidence supporting the role of specific genetic changes in virulence is currently lacking. One sequence motif, VNDT, containing an N-linked glycosylation site in the envelope (E) protein, is polymorphic; it is absent in many of the African isolates but present in all isolates from the recent …

Missouri S&T Magazine Fall/Winter 2017, Missouri S&T Marketing And Communications Department, Miner Alumni Association

Missouri S&T Magazine

No abstract provided.

Association Mapping For Traits Related To Nitrogen Use Efficiency In Tropical Maize Lines Under Field Conditions, Júlia Silva Morosini, Leandro De Freitas Mendonça, Danilo Hottis Lyra, Giovanni Galli, Miriam Suzane Vidotti, Roberto Fritsche-Neto

Faculty Publications

Aims: Nitrogen deficiency is one of the most critical abiotic stresses for maize (Zea mays) cultivation worldwide. For a productive and sustainable scenario, developing genotypes more efficient in nitrogen use is essential. This study aimed to identify single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers associated with nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) traits under field conditions and candidate genes related to these markers by genome-wide association study (GWAS). Methods: Sixty-four tropical maize inbred lines were evaluated in ideal and low nitrogen conditions for total root length (TRL) and low nitrogen tolerance index (LNTI). GWAS was performed using a fixed and random model circulating probability …

An Analysis Of Prevalence Of Chytrid Fungus In An Amphibian Assemblage In Middle Tennessee, Cameron Brocco

Honors Theses

Chytridiomycosis is an infectious, fungal disease largely seen in amphibians, which is caused by the highly virulent, zoosporic, pathogenic, single-celled fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). It is known to cause epidermal hyperplasia, hyperkeratosis, skin ulcerations, and fatalities by asystolic cardiac arrest either from shifts in electrolytes or increased acidity in the blood plasma. Previous research has demonstrated that urban water bodies have a higher prevalence of chytrid fungus than rural water bodies. Researchers have also found that chytrid is more prevalent in open canopy habitats than closed canopy habitats. Furthermore, it is implicated in global population declines and local extinctions in …

The Effect Of Auditory Stimuli On Test Performance: Testing The Arousal Hypothesis, Ian Thomas Kells

Masters Theses

Since the publication of Rauscher, Shaw, and Ky’s study in 1993 on the “Mozart Effect”, the study of music and its effect on cognition and performance has gained significant attention. Roth and Smith (2008) investigated this “Mozart Effect” and suggested a continuation of research and interpretation through an arousal theory. This study examined the effects of a subject-identified arousing stimulus on performance on the Verbal Reasoning portion of the GRE, analyzed through an arousal theory framework. A sample of 24 non-music Western Michigan University students took part in one 60-minute testing period using subject-preferred music, which was then analyzed across …

Finite Element Analysis Of Tibiofemoral Contact Mechanics, Erika Fojtik

Masters Theses

The effects of lateral meniscus posterior root avulsions (LMPRA) have been studied in combination with meniscofemoral ligament (MFL) deficiencies. The purpose of this study is to validate a set of biomechanical finite element analyses against previously reported experimental results to predict the contact area and peak contact pressure in the lateral tibiofemoral compartment of the knee during lateral meniscal root avulsions in combination with MFL deficiencies. Patient specific MRI data was used to develop finite element models for three distinct testing conditions: 1) intact, 2) lateral meniscus posterior root avulsion, and 3) lateral meniscus posterior root avulsion with deficient meniscofemoral …