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Total Synthesis Of 6,7-Dimethyl-N-Methyl Aziridinomitosene, Thaaer N. Muhammed

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Mitomycin C (MC) is a naturally occurring antitumor agent isolated from a soil bacterium. MC is effective against solid hypoxic tumors that respond poorly to radiotherapy, such as colorectal, gastric, and lung tumors. Also, it has a role in the treatment of bladder, head and neck, and non-small cell lung cancers in combination with other chemotherapeutic.

MC and other members of the mitomycin family of antitumor agents fight cancer by forming DNA interstrand crosslinks (ICLs), which leads to apoptosis. In order to form ICLs, MC requires a reductive activation step that produces reactive oxygen species. This activation step is proposed …

Nature Inspired Technology: A New Process For Silicification Based On Marine Sponges, Ami Atul Shah

Material Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Silica is used in various industries, ranging from automobile industry for tires to semiconductor industry, paints and coatings, biomedical devices & applications to food & drug industry. The current processing techniques for precipitated silica involve harsh conditions like high temperature and extreme pH conditions. Nature already has highly evolved production techniques for silica. They run at physiological conditions and exhibit intricate control over the synthesis, leading to very pure and ornate siliceous structures. These structures exhibit organized architecture at scales as small as nano-dimensions. The proposed research work is a step, towards development of new techniques that bio-mimic the silica …

Measuring And Predicting Hydroxyl Radical Generation From Irradiated Tio2 Nanoparticles Under Simulated Environmental Conditions And Correlations To Daphnia Magna Toxicity, Jason Alan Coral

All Dissertations

Interest in inclusion of titanium dioxide nanoparticles in a multitude of industrial and personal products has driven production over the past two decades. Concurrent with increases in nanoparticle production, an increase in nanoparticle movement from use to environment can be expected. Particular concern is focused on TiO2 nanoparticles moving to freshwater compartments. Inherent photocatalytic nanoparticle properties generate reactive oxygen species upon exposure to water, oxygen, and ultraviolet light. While this particular feature is utilized for surface-cleaning and pollution mitigating applications, it poses a significant risk to organisms exposed to these nanoparticles. This risk can be difficult to quantify, exhibited by …

The Effects Of Passive Integrated Transponder Tagging On Cortisol Release In The Gulf Killifish, Fundulus Grandis, Ariel Marcelo Hernandez

Senior Honors Theses

Due to its ease of use, low cost, and essentially limitless number of unique codes, PIT tagging has become the favored technique for tagging individuals in biological studies. However, studies employing PIT tagging generally assume that stress due to the implantation and presence of a PIT tag has no influence on the experimental results. This study investigated the effects of PIT tagging on levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the Gulf Killifish, Fundulus grandis, an estuarine fish of the Gulf of Mexico that is prone to daily or seasonal environmental stressors. Cortisol was measured non-invasively by extracting and …

Clinical Applications Of Infrared And Raman Spectroscopy: State Of Play And Future Challenges, Matthew Baker, Hugh Byrne, John Chalmers, Peter Gardner, Royston Goodacre, Alex Henderson, Sergei Kazarian, Francis Martin, Julian Moger, Nick Stone, Josep Sule-Suso

Articles

Vibrational spectroscopies, based on Infrared absorption and/or Raman scattering provide a detailed fingerprint of a material, based on the chemical content. Diagnostic and prognostic tools based on these technologies have the potential to revolutionise our clinical systems leading to improved patient outcome, more efficient public services and significant economic savings. However, despite these strong drivers, there are many fundamental scientific and technological challenges which have limited the implementation of this technology in the clinical arena, although recent years have seen significant progress in addressing these challenges. This review examines (i) the state of the art of clinical applications of infrared …

High Precision Fret To Study Bimolecular Dynamics With High Temporal Resolution, Junyan Ma

All Dissertations

Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) is a promising methodology which is used by researchers in determining structural information of biomolecules. Other methodologies such as X-ray diffraction, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electron microscopy (EM), and X-ray scattering (SAXS) and circular dichroism (CD) can only give snapshots of the functional conformers. In the applications of most cases, FRET can only be used to give a qualitative result such as “yes” or “no” pattern. In our lab, we are able to expand this ability by applying FRET to quantitatively determine the structure and dynamic information in the biological system with high accuracy. …

Species And Cultural Management Of Earthworms On Golf Course Turf In Arkansas And Oklahoma, Paige Elizabeth Boyle

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As earthworms feed, they can egest soil and nutrient-rich aggregates (casts) on the soil surface. In low-cut turfgrass systems, such as golf course greens, tees, and fairways, surface casting can result in a muddy playing surface, ball roll issues, weed and pest invasion, reduced aesthetics, surface softening, and reduced photosynthesis. Because the use of pesticides for earthworm control is illegal in the U.S., earthworm casting must be managed through cultural practices. Sand topdressing is one method of earthworm control studied for use on golf courses, with the supposition being that the abrasive sand particles will deter the soft-bodied earthworms from …

Immunostimulatory Effects Of Antigen-Conjugated Inp/Zns Quantum Dot Nanoparticles In An Avian Model, Christopher Lyle

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Due to their unique physicochemical and enhanced immunostimulatory properties, quantum dot (QD) nanoparticles have shown increasing promise in biomedical research applications including bioimaging, drug delivery, and as vaccine adjuvants. Toxicity, however, remains a concern for the use of QD in these applications and thus, there is an increased demand for effective in vitro and in vivo systems to measure the bioactivity of QD. In this study in vitro and in vivo chicken models were used to investigate the effects of QD on innate and adaptive immunity. Chicken macrophage cultures were treated in vitro with QD to measure macrophage activation and …

Catalyzed And Uncatalyzed Modifications Of Nucleosides, Synthesis Of Hippadine, And Deuterated 1,2,3-Triazoles, Hari K. Akula

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The C4 amide carbonyl of O-t-butyldimethylsilyl-protected thymidine, 2’-deoxyuridine, and 3’-azidothymidine (AZT) was activated by reaction with (benzotriazol-1-yloxy)tris(dimethylamino) phosphonium hexafluorophosphate (BOP) and 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU) in THF as solvent. This led to the formation of corresponding O⁴-(benzotriazol-1-yl) derivatives, which are reactive intermediates. Substitution at the C4 position was then carried out by reactions with alkyl and aryl amines, and thiols. Typically, reactions were conducted as a two-step, one-pot transformation, and also as a one-step conversion. After examining the reactions, the formation of 1-(4-pyrimidinyl)-1H-benzotriazole-3-oxide derivatives from the pyrimidine nucleosides was identified. However, these too underwent conversion to …

Study On Pyrolysis Characteristic Of The Heat-Not-Burn Reconstituted Tobacco, Ma Pengfei, Li Qiaoling, Lin Kai, Huang Huizhen, Liu Xiucai, Liu Zechun, Xie Wei, Liu Jing, Li Yuefeng

Food and Machinery

In order to study the pyrolysis characteristic of the heat-not-burn reconstituted tobacco, eight kinds of reconstituted tobacco, three kinds of non-tobacco fiber and tobacco own fiber were tested by TGA (Thermogravimetric Analyzer) technology, and the resulting DTG（Derivative Thermogravimetry）data were analyzed by NRMSE (normalized root mean squared error) to calculate the pyrolysis difference degree. The results showed that the pyrolysis behavior of the reconstituted tobacco used in heat-not-burn cigarettes was much different from that in traditional cigarettes and the pyrolysis difference degree was 37.97%. There was an additional peak in DTG curve of the reconstituted tobacco used in heat-not-burn cigarettes, which …

An Ecological Examination Of The Virginia Opossum (Didelphis Virginiana) And Raccoon (Procyon Lotor), Rebecca Michelle Bingham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Interspecific association between two distantly related species, Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) and raccoon (Procyon lotor), in western Tennessee was examined utilizing live-trap data collected over 6 years of work at Ames Plantation and Edward J. Meeman Biological Station. Results showed an overall neutral relationship between the two species with some common habitat features associated with the presence of both species which allows for possible prediction of their co-occurrence utilizing MaxEnt. Models produced from this study were successful in predicting areas of occurrence and co-occurrence. Contributing habitat factors to species presence were similar to those noted in previous investigations. Future work …

Cortical Travelling Waves: Mechanisms And Computational Principles, Lyle Muller, Frédéric Chavane, John Reynolds, Terrence J. Sejnowski

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Multichannel recording technologies have revealed travelling waves of neural activity in multiple sensory, motor and cognitive systems. These waves can be spontaneously generated by recurrent circuits or evoked by external stimuli. They travel along brain networks at multiple scales, transiently modulating spiking and excitability as they pass. Here, we review recent experimental findings that have found evidence for travelling waves at single-area (mesoscopic) and whole-brain (macroscopic) scales. We place these findings in the context of the current theoretical understanding of wave generation and propagation in recurrent networks. During the large low-frequency rhythms of sleep or the relatively desynchronized state of …

Balancing Biology And A Busy Family, Kim Wall

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

The Innate Immune Response To Ischemic Injury: A Multiscale Modeling Perspective., Elena Dimitrova, Leslie A Caromile, Reinhard Laubenbacher, Linda H Shapiro

Faculty Research 2018

BACKGROUND: Cell death as a result of ischemic injury triggers powerful mechanisms regulated by germline-encoded Pattern Recognition Receptors (PRRs) with shared specificity that recognize invading pathogens and endogenous ligands released from dying cells, and as such are essential to human health. Alternatively, dysregulation of these mechanisms contributes to extreme inflammation, deleterious tissue damage and impaired healing in various diseases. The Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a prototypical family of PRRs that may be powerful anti-inflammatory targets if agents can be designed that antagonize their harmful effects while preserving host defense functions. This requires an understanding of the complex interactions and consequences …

Hemodynamic And Hormonal Responses To An Exercise Test In Parkinson's Disease Patients Without Orthostatic Hypotension, Kirk B. Roberson

Open Access Dissertations

The aim of this investigation was to examine how heart rate, hemodynamics, and norepinephrine are affected by an exercise stress test in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. Fourteen individuals with PD (mean age, 68±12 yrs; Hoehn and Yahr stage 1-3) and sixteen healthy individuals (mean age, 66±7 yrs) performed a sub-maximal exercise test on a cycle ergometer. Heart rate (HR), norepinephrine (NE), blood pressure (BP), and other hemodynamic variables including cardiac output (Q), stroke volume (SV), systemic vascular resistance (SVR), and end-diastolic volume (EDV) were measured in a fasted state during supine rest, active standing, exercise, and supine recovery in all …

Opportunities And Obstacles For Deep Learning In Biology And Medicine, Travers Ching, S Joshua Swamidass, Et Al

2010-2019 OA Pubs

Deep learning describes a class of machine learning algorithms that are capable of combining raw inputs into layers of intermediate features. These algorithms have recently shown impressive results across a variety of domains. Biology and medicine are data-rich disciplines, but the data are complex and often ill-understood. Hence, deep learning techniques may be particularly well suited to solve problems of these fields. We examine applications of deep learning to a variety of biomedical problems-patient classification, fundamental biological processes and treatment of patients-and discuss whether deep learning will be able to transform these tasks or if the biomedical sphere poses unique …

Chemiluminescent Agents For In Vivo Imaging, Jian Cao

Chemistry Theses and Dissertations

Chemiluminescence is the light production directly from a highly exothermic chemical reaction by generating electronically excited species, and the light will be generated upon relaxation to the ground state. We utilize this light as the readout to construct imaging agents for reactive species. Chemiluminescence as an imaging modality has many advantages compared with current widely used imaging modalities, such as fluorescence and bioluminescence. The main advantages are the elimination of extraneous light excitation or genetic modification, which are required for fluorescence and bioluminescence imaging. Therefore, chemiluminescence as a imaging modality holds great potential for in vivo imaging.

In this dissertation, …

3d Bioprinting Systems For The Study Of Mammary Development And Tumorigenesis, John Reid

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Understanding the microenvironmental factors that control cell function, differentiation, and stem cell renewal represent the forefront of developmental and cancer biology. To accurately recreate and model these dynamic interactions in vitro requires both precision-controlled deposition of multiple cell types and well-defined three-dimensional (3D) extracellular matrix (ECM). To achieve this goal, we hypothesized that accessible bioprinting technology would eliminate the experimental inconsistency and random cell-organoid formation associated with manual cell-matrix embedding techniques commonly used for 3D, in vitro cell cultures. The first objective of this study was to adapt a commercially-available, 3D printer into a 3D bioprinter. Goal-based computer simulations were …

Non-Invasive Picosecond Pulse System For Electrostimulation, Ross Aaron Petrella

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Picosecond pulsed electric fields have been shown to have stimulatory effects, such as calcium influx, activation of action potential, and membrane depolarization, on biological cells. Because the pulse duration is so short, it has been hypothesized that the pulses permeate a cell and can directly affect intracellular cell structures by bypassing the shielding of the membrane. This provides an opportunity for studying new biophysics. Furthermore, radiating picosecond pulses can be efficiently done by a compact antenna because the antenna size is comparable to the pulse width. However, all of the previous bioelectric studies regarding picosecond pulses have been conducted in …

Photoremovable Protecting Groups Based On Electrocyclization With Leaving Group Expulsion Via A Proposed Zwitterion, Gilbert Ndzeidze

Dissertations (1934 -)

The triplet excited state of thioxanthone produced by photolysis undergoes reversible triplet energy transfer with a trimethylene - linked benzothiophene-2-carboxanilide ring system. The ensuing electrocyclic ring closure of the anilide moiety produces a putative zwitterionic intermediate that is capable of expelling leaving groups (LG-) from the C-3 position of the benzothiophene ring. Stern-Volmer quenching studies with cyclohexadiene as quencher furnish the rate constants for the triplet excitation transfer in the forward and reverse directions, which can be expressed as an equilibrium constant K = 0.058. Overall, the rate of triplet excited state reaction becomes K x kr = 5.7 x …

Characterization Of Ambient Noise, Rachel C. Ramirez

Theses and Dissertations

An Air Force sponsor is interested in improving an acoustic detection model by providing better estimates on how to characterize the background noise of various environments. This would inform decision makers on the probability of acoustic detection of different systems of interest given different levels of noise. Data mining and statistical learning techniques are applied to a National Park Service acoustic summary data set to find overall trends over varying environments. Linear regression, conditional inference trees, and random forest techniques are discussed. Findings indicate only sixteen geospatial variables at different resolutions are necessary to characterize the first ten ⅓ octave …

Bio-Inspired Hybrid Vibration Control Methodology For Intelligent Isolated Bridge Structures, Mariantonieta Gutierrez Soto

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Inspired by evolutionary game theory, the biological game of replicator dynamics is investigated for vibration control of bridge structures subjected to earthquake excitations. Replicator dynamics can be interpreted economically as a model of imitation of successful individuals. This paper uses replicator dynamics to reduce vibrations while optimally allocating the control device forces. The control algorithm proposed is integrated with a patented neural dynamic optimization algorithm to find optimal growth rate values with the goal of achieving satisfactory structural performance with minimum energy consumption. A model is described for hybrid vibration control of smart highway bridge structures subjected to earthquake loading.

15000 Miles Later Svoboda Contributing To Family Tree Of Passionflowers, Ohio University College Of Arts & Sciences

All Forum Articles

No abstract provided.

Acute Loss Of Iron-Sulfur Clusters Results In Metabolic Reprogramming And Generation Of Lipid Droplets In Mammalian Cells, Daniel R. Crooks, Nunziata Maio, Andrew N. Lane, Michal Jarnik, Richard M. Higashi, Ronald G. Haller, Ye Yang, Teresa Whei-Mei Fan, W. Marston Linehan, Tracey A. Rouault

Center for Environmental and Systems Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Iron–sulfur (Fe-S) clusters are ancient cofactors in cells and participate in diverse biochemical functions, including electron transfer and enzymatic catalysis. Although cell lines derived from individuals carrying mutations in the Fe-S cluster biogenesis pathway or siRNA-mediated knockdown of the Fe-S assembly components provide excellent models for investigating Fe-S cluster formation in mammalian cells, these experimental strategies focus on the consequences of prolonged impairment of Fe-S assembly. Here, we constructed and expressed dominant–negative variants of the primary Fe-S biogenesis scaffold protein iron–sulfur cluster assembly enzyme 2 (ISCU2) in human HEK293 cells. This approach enabled us to study the early metabolic reprogramming …

Establishment And Long-Term Maintenance Of Primary Intestinal Epithelial Cells Cultured From The Rainbow Trout,Oncorhynchus Mykiss., Laura M. Langan, Stewart F. Owen, Awadhesh N. Jha

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

A novel method for the establishment and long-term maintenance ofex vivocultures from intestinal regions of the rainbow trout,Oncorhynchus mykiss(Walbaum), is reported. Adherence of cells was observed within hours, epithelial island formation recorded at 48 h and rapid proliferation with confluence achieved between 9-14 days. In addition to metabolic characterisation, basic morphology of growing cells was characterised using histology, immunofluorescence, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER). Regional differences in intestinal ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) and 7-ethoxycoumarin-O-deethylation (ECOD) activities in these primary grown enterocytes were compared following exposure to model inducers [i.e.α-NF,β-NF, B(a)P] which demonstrated significant differences. Regional differences in dietary …

The Walking Dead Genealogy: Unsubstantiated Criticisms Of Qualitative Data Analysis Software (Qdas) And The Failure To Put Them To Rest, Kristi Jackson, Trena Paulus, Nicholas H. Woolf

The Qualitative Report

The authors conduct an exposé on the deterministic denunciations of Qualitative Data Analysis Software (QDAS) and how citation errors keep these criticisms alive. They use a zombie metaphor to describe more than two decades of battling these seemingly mindless assessments of QDAS that keep coming –despite their decay – and simply will not die. Focusing exclusively on the criticism of separation/distancing, which alleges that the computer and the software interfere with the researcher’s familiarity with the data, the authors trace one current strand of this criticism through a literature genealogy. Three citation errors (half-truth, proxy, and hearsay) are identified to …

Lpa Signaling Is Regulated Through The Primary Cilium: A Novel Target In Glioblastoma, Yuriy V. Loskutov, Caryn L. Griffin, Kristina M. Marinak, Andrey Bobko, Naira V. Margaryan, Werner J. Geldenhuys, Jann N. Sarkaria, Elena N. Pugacheva

Clinical and Translational Science Institute

The primary cilium is a ubiquitous organelle presented on most human cells. It is a crucial signaling hub for multiple pathways including growth factor and G-protein coupled receptors. Loss of primary cilia, observed in various cancers, has been shown to affect cell proliferation. Primary cilia formation is drastically decreased in glioblastoma (GBM), however, the role of cilia in normal astrocyte or glioblastoma proliferation has not been explored. Here we report that loss of primary cilia in human astrocytes stimulates growth rate in a lysophosphatidic acid (LPA)-dependent manner. We show that lysophosphatidic acid receptor 1 (LPAR1) is accumulated in primary cilia. …

A Review Of The Ambush Bugs (Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Phymatinae) Of Michigan: Identification And Additional Considerations For Two Common Eastern Species, Daniel R. Swanson

The Great Lakes Entomologist

A review of the two species of Phymatinae found in Michigan is presented, along with an identification key, distribution maps, and relevant literature. Also included are brief discussions concerning natural history, variation, distribution, past records, and two additional eastern species.

Pentatomoidea (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae, Scutelleridae) Associated With The Dioecious Shrub Florida Rosemary, Ceratiola Ericoides (Ericaceae), A. G. Wheeler Jr.

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Florida rosemary (Ceratiola ericoides), an ericaceous shrub with needlelike leaves, is characteristic of Florida scrubs and certain other xeric plant communities of well-drained sands. The plant is dioecious, its inconspicuous male and female flowers borne on separate individuals. From 2003 to 2012 (mainly 2007–2012), rosemary was sampled periodically (with all months included at least once during the period) in sand ridges of peninsular Florida and two riverine dunes in southeastern Georgia. Branches of male and female plants were tapped separately into a beating net. Sampling during the final three years was female-plant-biased to facilitate work on fruit- and seed-feeding …

Description Of A New Species Of Atanycolus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) From Michigan Reared From The Emerald Ash Borer, Agrilus Planipennis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Agrilinae), Paul M. Marsh, John S. Strazanac, Stephanie Y. Laurusonis

The Great Lakes Entomologist

A new species of Braconidae, Atanycolus cappaerti Marsh and Strazanac, is described from Michigan where it has been reared from emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), galleries in ash (Fraxi- nus spp.). Molecular evidence (analysis of fragments of the mitochondrial genes COI and 16S and the nuclear genes wingless and elongation factor 1-alpha) is presented to support the distinction of this new species from A. hicoriae Shenefelt that has been documented as a parasitoid of several ash borers.