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Dietary Polyphenols And Their Gut Microbiota Metabolites As Potential Treatments For Alzheimer's Disease, Kenneth N. Rose

Open Access Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disorder that has no cure, no therapies to stop the disease progression, and limited palliative care options. As the 6th leading cause of death in the United States, it is necessary to discover therapeutics which can alter disease progression to alleviate the burden on patients, caregivers, and healthcare systems. In the search of therapeutics for AD, dietary polyphenols have become the topic of research as epidemiological evidence suggests that exposure to dietary polyphenols, such as a Mediterranean diet, over one’s life, reduces the risk of dying from AD. Additionally, evidence from rodent models …

Phospholipid- And Gold-Induced Gelation Of Thai Silk Fibroin And Its Applications For Cell And Drug Delivery, Chavee Laomeephol

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Recently, an in situ gelation, which is a rapid sol-to-gel transition under mild conditions, has been employed, allowing an entrapment of cells or substances in 3D structures as well as tailorable geometries and point-of-care uses. Silk fibroin (SF), a natural polymer from Bombyx mori silkworm cocoons, was chosen in this study as a substrate for the in situ hydrogel fabrication, due to self-assembly characteristic and a presence of modifiable functional groups. However, regenerated SF solution poses a slow gelation (several days or weeks) which is impractical for an in situ application. Therefore, a phospholipid, dimyristoyl glycerophosphoglycerol (DMPG), and a gold …

Despite Similar Perceptions And Attitudes, Postbaccalaureate Students Outperform In Introductory Biology And Chemistry Courses, Erin E. Shortlidge, Liz Rain-Griffith, Chloe Shelby, Gwen Shusterman, Jack Barbera

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Embedding active learning is a common mechanism for meeting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education reform goals. Researchers have identified student benefits from such strategies, yet these benefits may not be universal for all students. We sought to identify how students at a nontraditional university perceive introductory biology and chemistry courses, and whether perceptions relate to course type, performance, or student status. We surveyed students (n = 601) using open-ended prompts regarding their perceptions of factors that impact their learning and interest, and about specific learning strategies. Generally, students did not differ in what influenced their learning or …

Restoring Mitofusin Balance Prevents Axonal Degeneration In A Charcot-Marie-Tooth Type 2a Model, Yueqin Zhou, Sharon Carmona, A.K.M.G. Muhammad, Shaughn Bell, Jesse Landeros, Michael Vazquez, Ritchie Ho, Antonietta Franco, Bin Lu, Gerald W. Dorn Ii, Shaomei Wang, Cathleen M. Lutz, Robert H. Baloh

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Soysomes And Other Functional Biomaterials From Sucrose Soyate Derivatives, Ruvimbo Pearl Wright

Coatings and Polymeric Materials

Biomaterials serve as interventional tools in medicine to treat, improve or replace diseased tissues, organs or function of the body. Although several polymeric biomaterials already exist, they often present challenges, at material level, such as non-biodegradability, degradation into acidic by-products or tissue incompatibility, or at functional level such as failure to sustain prolonged release of therapeutic payload for a desired period. Research has been focused on investigating new polymeric candidates to address these problems of current systems. The use of renewable resources to generate smart polymers for biomedical and pharmaceutical purposes presents a new and exciting avenue for biomaterials. As …

Synthesis And Bioevaluation Of Methionine Depletion Agents, Houssine Ikhlef

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The native polyamines (putrescine, spermidine, and spermine) are low molecular weight amines that exist as polycations at physiological pH. These polycations interact with DNA, RNA, and influence many cellular processes. Intracellular polyamine levels are maintained via a balance of polyamine biosynthesis, catabolism, and transport. Ornithine, an amino acid obtained from L-arginine, is decarboxylated by ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) to form putrescine. The biosynthesis of the higher polyamines, spermidine and spermine, requires the addition of an amino-propyl group donated by decarboxylated S-adenosylmethionine (dc-SAM), which itself is derived from the amino acid L-methionine (Met). Tumor cells are heavily reliant on methionine because it …

Asbestos-Related Diseases In Thailand: Past Experiences; Current And Future Perspectives, Somchai Bovornkitti, Manop Pitukpakorn

Asian Medical Journal and Alternative Medicine

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Oleic Acid Vesicles: Formation, Mechanisms Of Reactivity, And Uses In Determination Of Terpene Activity, Laura A. Walther

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

This dissertation will focus on the volatile compounds released upon the burning of incense which are numerous and varied. The first part of this dissertation is the gas chromatography-mass spectral (GC-MS) analysis of burning incense collected via solid phase microextraction (SPME) with the aim of developing a library of compounds found in incense as used in the Orthodox church.

The second part of this dissertation has the aim of developing a method for forming oleic acid bilayer vesicle membranes and a fluorescence spectroscopy method by which the reactivities of these vesicles can be analyzed. These reactivities include permeability, fluidity, aggregation, …

The Revolution Will Be Open-Source: How 3d Bioprinting Can Change 3d Cell Culture, Robert D. Bruno, John Reid, Patrick C. Sachs

School of Medical Diagnostics & Translational Sciences Publications

(First paragraph) The development of three-dimensional culture scaffolds represents a revolutionary step forward for in vitro culture systems. Various synthetic and naturally occurring substrates have been developed that support 3D growth of cells. In most fields, including mammary gland biology and tumorigenesis, the two most common substrates used are the basement membrane rich extracellur matrix (ECM) isolated from EngelbrethHolm-Swarm (EHS) mouse sarcomas (e.g. Matrigel) and collagen extracted from rat-tails. The processes of 3D culture in these two substrates has remained unchanged for nearly half a century: cells are either mixed with unpolymerized matrix to disperse them randomly throughout the substrate …

Determination Of Transforming Growth Factor-Β Signaling Targets In Activated T Cells, Ramiah Jacks

Dissertations

T lymphocytes are a critical component of the adaptive immune system and their responses in pathogenic and steady state conditions require strict regulation. One mechanism involved in this regulation is Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β) signaling. TGF-β can act on activated T cells to facilitate the differentiation of TGF-β dependent T helper subsets or the suppression of T cell activation and proliferation. However, the molecular mechanism(s) by which TGF-β signaling controls T cell differentiation vs T cell suppression remain poorly understood.TGF-β signaling is propagated by initially binding to the TGF-β type II receptor, which subsequently activates TGF-β type I receptor (TGF-βRI) …

Gonadal Development And Fecundity Of Bogue Boops Boops (Linnaeus, 1758) (Sparidae) On The Central Algerian Coast, Soumia Amira, Zakia Alioua, Kamel Harchouche

Turkish Journal of Zoology

Boops boops sexuality was studied in 664 females, 201 males, and 103 hermaphrodites collected from central Algerian coast ports between December 2013 and November 2014. Histoanatomical observations were performed to describe the sexual pattern of B. boops. Observation of the evolution of sexual maturity stages as well as the gonadosomatic report have established the breeding period of B. boops as between February and June. The B. boops population fished here is in favor of females, with a percentage of 76.76% against 23.34% for males. Thus, the female to male ratio (F:M) of the sample was calculated as 1:3.3. According to …

Fungi In Aquatic Ecosystems, Hans Peter Grossart, Den Wyngaert S Van, Maiko Kagami, Christian Wurzbacher, Michael Cunliffe, Keilor Rojas-Jimenez

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Some New Generalized Distribution Via Lindley-Weibuli And Lindley-Log-Logistic Distributions With Applications, Soliu A. Raheem

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In this thesis, new generalized distributions, namely Beta Lindley-Log-Logistic (BLLLoG) distribution, Marshall-Olkin Lindley-Weibull (MOLW) distribution, and Gamma LindleyWeibull (GLW) distribution as well as related sub-distributions are proposed. Series expansion of the densities are obtained. Statistical properties of these distributions, including hazard function, reverse hazard function, moments, reliability, quantile function, mean deviations, Bonferroni and Lorenz curves, entropy and Fisher information are derived. Method of maximum likelihood is used to estimate the parameters of the new distributions. Monte Carlo simulation is employed to examine the performance of the proposed distributions. Applications of the generalized distributions to real lifetime data are presented to …

The Nuclear Receptor Rev-Erbα Modulates Th17 Cell-Mediated Autoimmune Disease, Christina Chang, Chin-San Loo, Xuan Zhao, Laura A. Solt, Yuqiong Liang, Sagar P. Bapat, Han Cho, Theodore M. Kamenecka, Mathias Leblanc, Annette R. Atkins, Ruth T. Yu, Michael Downes, Thomas P. Burris, Ronald M. Evans, Ye Zheng

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Variability In German Cockroach Extract Composition Greatly Impacts T Cell Potency In Cockroach-Allergic Donors, Avraham Beigelman, Leonard B. Bacharier, Et Al

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Phytochemicals With Α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activity From Cissus Javana, Dendrobium Christyanum, Gastrochilus Bellinus And Huberantha Jenkinsii, Htoo Tint San

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Phytochemical investigations of Cissus javana DC., Dendrobium christyanum Rchb. f., Gastrochilus bellinus Rchb. f. Kuntze and Huberantha jenkinsii (Hook. f. & Thomson) Chaowasku led to the isolation of twenty-seven compounds, six of which were new naturally occurring compounds. From Cissus javana, three known compounds were isolated, including bergenin, stigmast-4-en-3-one, and β-sitosterol. From Dendrobium christyanum, thirteen known compounds were identified, namely, n-eicosyl trans-ferulate, n-docosyl 4-hydroxy-trans-cinnamate, 4,5-dihydroxy-2-methoxy-9,10-dihydrophenanthrene, moscatilin, aloifol I, gigantol, batatasin III, dendrosinen B, coniferyl aldehyde, methyl haematommate, atraric acid, vanillin and diorcinolic acid. From Gastrochilus bellinus, four new compounds, comprising three phenanthropyrans and a phenanthrene derivative, were isolated and structurally …

Farm Animals Are Not Humans In Sheep Clothing, Lorenz Gygax, Christian Nawroth

Animal Sentience

Research on the mental lives of farm animals is crucial to assess not only their physical but also their psychological wellbeing. Their current housing and handling practices are highly unlikely to meet their cognitive needs and demands, but our knowledge of their mental capacities is still limited. Although folk wisdom often refers to farm animals as dull and inflexible, recent studies show they have a rich interpretation of their environment and can solve complex problems. Yet an uncritical and anthropomorphic assessment of farm animal cognition and behaviour may lead to the attribution of an exaggerated amount of cognitive flexibility. Contrary …

Standardization Of Leaf And Stem Of Thunbergia Laurifolia And Quantitative Analysis Of Rosmarinic Acid In Selected Thai Medicinal Plants, Parichart Hongsing

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Rang-Jued or Thunbergia laurifolia Lindl. is a species in family Thunbergiaceae. In Thailand, leaf and stem of T. laurifolia are used to treat fever, inflammation, as well as antidotes. Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton or Nga-Kee-Mon belongs to Labiatae family. The leaf of P. frutescens is used to treat allergy, fever and inflammation. Rosmarinic acid is the active compound in both plants which was used as a standard marker in this study. Quantification of rosmarinic acid in the three samples using TLC-densitometry and TLC-image analysis were not statistically significantly different (P > 0.05). The pharmacognostic specification of T. laurifolia leaf and stem …

Epidemiological Surveillance Of Feline Morbillivirus Infection In The Aspects Of Polymerase Chain Reaction, Indirect Elisa And Immunohistochemistry, Surangkanang Chaiyasak

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Feline morbillivirus (FeMV), a relatively new virus, has been discovered in domestic cats and associated with kidney diseases since 2012 in Hong Kong. The FeMV study gained widely attentions in many countries whereas the pathogenesis remains elusive. These studies aimed to provide the FeMV knowledge in Thai domestic cat by performing the genetic-based, serological-based and pathological-based studies of FeMV-infected in Thai cats. Additionally, the indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and rabbit polyclonal antibody against FeMV matrix (FeMV-M) protein was produced for seroprevalence and viral localization by immunohistochemistry (IHC) techniques, respectively. Our results revealed the FeMV RNA prevalence at 11.9% …

Chemical Modifications Of Α-Mangostin For Cytotoxic Study On Lung Cancer Cell Lines, Nan Yadanar Lin Pyae

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

α-Mangostin is a natural oxygenated and prenylated xanthone, which is mainly isolated from the pericarps of Garcinia mangostana. It possesses numerous pharmacological properties and promising therapeutic effects. However, the limitations of α-mangostin such as highly hydrophobicity and poor bioavailability hider its therapeutic applications. To overcome these drawbacks of α-mangostin, chemical modifications have been performed to discover the improved analogs. Herein, two semi-synthetic approaches to obtain new α-mangostin derivatives were investigated by the modifications of the phenolic hydroxy groups at C-3 and C-6 positions involving Smiles rearrangement to install amine functional groups and the addition reaction of isocyanate to form the …

Designing Bio-Ink For Extrusion Based Bio-Printing Process, Md Ahasan Habib

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Tissue regeneration using in-vitro scaffold becomes a vital mean to mimic the in-vivo counterpart due to the insufficiency of animal models to predict the applicability of drug and other physiological behavior. Three-dimensional (3D) bio-printing is an emerging technology to reproduce living tissue through controlled allocation of biomaterial and cell. Due to its bio-compatibility, natural hydrogels are commonly considered as the scaffold material in bio-printing process. However, repeatable scaffold structure with good printability and shape fidelity is a challenge with hydrogel material due to weak bonding in polymer chain. Additionally, there are intrinsic limitations for bio-printing of hydrogels due to limited …

Synthesis And Development Of Nanocomposites Of Magnetic Nanoparticles-Silica-Mannan As Vaccine Adjuvants, Kamonlatth Rodponthukwaji

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Over the past years, vaccination has been considered as an effective treatment against a wide range of pathogens and diseases. Despite a promising outcome, the lack of strong immune response of some types of vaccines is still challenging. Therefore, targeting and activating dendritic cells (DCs) using nanomaterial-based vaccine adjuvant is of our interest. Herein, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) have been exploited as directing agents to the targeted dendritic cells (DCs). In addition, mannan extracted from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was used as targeting molecules for targeting DCs. Nanocomposites of silica-magnetic nanoparticles-mannan (S-SPION-MN) were successfully fabricated. The synthesized particles were morphologically and …

Multinucleated Giant Cell Formation And Phenotype, Kevin Lewis Trout

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Multinucleated giant cells (MGC) are homotypic macrophage syncytia associated with granulomas. Despite their correlation with pathology, MGC functional contributions to inflammation are relatively unknown. The objective of this work was to gain an understanding of MGC phenotype. First, techniques were developed to better enable the study of these cells in vitro. Second, inorganic particles known to cause inflammation were observed to cause MGC formation in the lungs. Finally, the particle that resulted in the highest macrophage fusion was used together with the in vitro system to compare MGC and macrophage phenotype in response to stimulation. The results contribute to fundamental …

Chemical Synthesis Of Galacto-Oligosaccharides And Evaluation Of Their Prebiotic Properties, Pranpariya Ponpakdee

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) are composed of galactose and glucose between 2–8 units or disaccharide comprising 2 units of galactose linked by glycosidic bonds. GOS exhibits prebiotic activity and widely used in infant formula. Commercial GOS was achieved as mixture by enzymatic synthesis of lactose with β-galactosidase. Due to the nature of the enzymatic derived-GOS, the structure-activity relationship of GOS and prebiotic activity is mainly ambiguous. In this work, we presented the development towards a production of GOS by chemical synthesis starting from lactose. First, lactose was isolated from liquid whey with 3.90% w/v recovery. Lactose was then hydrolyzed to produce galactose …

Monitoring Collagenolysis Utilizing Triple Helical Peptide Probes, Michal Tokmina-Roszyk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Collagen is the major structural scaffold in the body and serves as barrier between tissues, and thus its turnover is tightly regulated. Collagen triple-helical structure renders it resistant to general proteolysis. Several proteases are capable of cleaving the triplehelical regions of collagen, including several mammalian matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and bacterial collagenases. MMP-mediated collagenolysis is associated with numerous diseases and some bacterial collagenases have found clinical application use due to their efficiency in the hydrolysis of the collagen triple-helix. A selective Förster resonance energy transfer triple-helical peptide (fTHP) probe for monitoring the activity of Clostridial collagenase has been developed. The fTHP …

Real-Time Classification Of Multivariate Olfaction Data Using Spiking Neural Networks, Arnup Vanarse, Adam Osseiran, Alexander Rassau, Therese O'Sullivan, Jonny Lo, Amanda Devine

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Recent studies in bioinspired artificial olfaction, especially those detailing the application of spike-based neuromorphic methods, have led to promising developments towards overcoming the limitations of traditional approaches, such as complexity in handling multivariate data, computational and power requirements, poor accuracy, and substantial delay for processing and classification of odors. Rank-order-based olfactory systems provide an interesting approach for detection of target gases by encoding multi-variate data generated by artificial olfactory systems into temporal signatures. However, the utilization of traditional pattern-matching methods and unpredictable shuffling of spikes in the rank-order impedes the performance of the system. In this paper, we present an …

Segmentation And Generalisation For Writing Skills Transfer From Humans To Robots, Chunxu Li, Chenguang Yang, Cinzia Giannetti

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Undergraduate Research Experiences On The Development Of Biology Students’ Domain Knowledge, Domain Interest, And Career Aspirations, Amy Haddock Keagy

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Federal and state agencies in the United States have pressured institutions in higher education to increase the number of graduates in STEM disciplines and supply an educated workforce for the increasing shortages in the STEM economy. Undergraduate research experience is one potential mechanism for supporting retention and student success within STEM disciplines. Most evaluations of the impact of undergraduate research to this point have been qualitative research studies. The purpose of this study was to use a quantitative model to examine domain knowledge, domain interest, and career aspirations in undergraduate biology majors and how participation in research experiences may impact …

Research News. Publications, 2018. Volume 2, University Of Mississippi. School Of Pharmacy, Soumyajit Majumdar

Publications (2015-)

Publications that appeared during the period July 1 through December 31, 2018

2006 - Salinas Valley Integrated Regional Water Management Functionally Equivalent Plan Summary Document Update

Miscellaneous Monterey and San Luis Obispo County Documents and Reports

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) are encouraging local and regional water management planners to establish integrated regional water management plans through the collaboration of planning efforts and project coordination. The intent is to encourage planners to implement projects focused on meeting multiple water resources needs on a regional basis. Jointly, both agencies are soliciting grant applications for Proposition 50 Chapter 8 grant funding, which was established to provide a fiscal tool to support integrated regional water management. In order to take advantage of this funding opportunity, Monterey County Water Resources …