Digital Commons Network^™

Chronic Hiv Infection Is Associated With Upregulation Of Proinflammatory Cytokine And Chemokine And Alpha Defensin Gene Expression In Colorectal Mucosa, J. Mait-Kaufman, E. Fakioglu, P. M. Mesquita, J. Elliott, Y. Lo, R. P. Madan

Journal Articles

HIV may induce gastrointestinal (GI) mucosal immune dysregulation similar to inflammation observed in ulcerative colitis (UC). Colorectal biopsies from healthy controls (N=12) and from participants with HIV (N=20) or UC (N=9) were subjected to real time (RT)-PCR for selected cytokines, chemokines, antimicrobial peptides, Toll-like receptors, and inflammatory signaling and epithelial barrier proteins. HIV long terminal repeat relative copy number (RCN) in HIV participant biopsies was quantified by RT-PCR. Mean interleukin (IL)-6 mRNA levels did not differ significantly between HIV and UC participants (p=0.48) but were significantly higher relative to control mRNA levels only for HIV participants (p=0.03). Mean IL-8 and …

At(1)R Blockade In Adverse Milieus: Role Of Smrt And Corepressor Complexes, T. Singh, K. Ayasolla, P. Rai, N. Chandel, S. Haque, R. Lederman, M. Husain, V. Vethantham, A. Chawla, H. Vashistha, M. A. Saleem, G. Ding, P. N. Chander, A. Malhotra, L. G. Meggs, P. C. Singhal

Journal Articles

ANG II type 1 receptor blockade (AT(1)R-BLK) is used extensively to slow down the progression of proteinuric kidney diseases. We hypothesized that AT(1)R-BLK provides podocyte protection through regulation of silencing mediator of retinoic acid and thyroid hormone receptor (SMRT) and vitamin D receptor (VDR) expression under adverse milieus such as high glucose and human immunodeficiency virus infection. Both AT(1)R-BLK and VDR agonists (VDAs) stimulated VDR complex formation that differed not only in their composition but also in their functionality. AT(1)R-BLK-induced VDR complexes contained predominantly unliganded VDR, SMRT, and phosphorylated histone deacetylase 3, whereas VDA-VDR complexes were constituted by liganded VDR …

Rewiring Of Sigm-Mediated Intracellular Signaling Through The Cd180 Toll-Like Receptor, N. Porakishvili, K. Vispute, A. J. Steele, N. Rajakaruna, N. Kulikova, T. Tsertsvadze, R. N. Damle, K. R. Rai, N. Chiorazzi, P. M. Lydyard, +2 Additional Authors

Journal Articles

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) development and progression are thought to be driven by unknown antigens/autoantigens through the B cell receptor (BCR) and environmental signals for survival and expansion including toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands. CD180/RP105, a membrane-associated orphan receptor of the TLR family, induces normal B cell activation and proliferation and is expressed by approximately 60% of CLL samples. Half of these respond to ligation with anti-CD180 antibody by increased activation/phosphorylation of protein kinases associated with BCR signaling. Hence CLL cells expressing both CD180 and the BCR could receive signals via both receptors. Here we investigated cross-talk between BCR and CD180-mediated …

Tlr-9 And Il-15 Synergy Promotes The In Vitro Clonal Expansion Of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia B Cells, P. K. A. Mongini, R. Gupta, E. Boyle, J. Nieto, H. Lee, J. Stein, J. Bandovic, T. Stankovic, J. Barrientos, J. E. Kolitz, S. L. Allen, K. Rai, C. C. Chu, N. Chiorazzi

Journal Articles

Clinical progression of B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) reflects the clone's Ag receptor (BCR) and involves stroma-dependent B-CLL growth within lymphoid tissue. Uniformly elevated expression of TLR-9, occasional MYD88 mutations, and BCR specificity for DNA or Ags physically linked to DNA together suggest that TLR-9 signaling is important in driving B-CLL growth in patients. Nevertheless, reports of apoptosis after B-CLL exposure to CpG oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) raised questions about a central role for TLR-9. Because normal memory B cells proliferate vigorously to ODN+IL-15, a cytokine found in stromal cells of bone marrow, lymph nodes, and spleen, we examined whether this …

Developments In Intervertebral Disc Disease Research: Pathophysiology, Mechanobiology, And Therapeutics, K. T. Weber, T. D. Jacobsen, R. Maidhof, J. Virojanapa, C. Overby, O. Bloom, S. Quraishi, M. Levine, N. O. Chahine

Journal Articles

Low back pain is a leading cause of disability worldwide and the second most common cause of physician visits. There are many causes of back pain, and among them, disc herniation and intervertebral disc degeneration are the most common diagnoses and targets for intervention. Currently, clinical treatment outcomes are not strongly correlated with diagnoses, emphasizing the importance for characterizing more completely the mechanisms of degeneration and their relationships with symptoms. This review covers recent studies elucidating cellular and molecular changes associated with disc mechanobiology, as it relates to degeneration and regeneration. Specifically, we review findings on the biochemical changes in …

Dynamic Reciprocity Between Cells And Their Microenvironment In Reproduction, J. T. Thorne, T. R. Segal, S. Chang, S. Jorge, J. H. Segars, P. C. Leppert

Journal Articles

Dynamic reciprocity (DR) refers to the ongoing, bidirectional interaction between cells and their microenvironment, specifically the extracellular matrix (ECM). The continuous remodeling of the ECM exerts mechanical force on cells and modifies biochemical mediators near the cell membrane, thereby initiating cell-signaling cascades that produce changes in gene expression and cell behavior. Cellular changes, in turn, affect the composition and organization of ECM components. These continuous interactions are the fundamental principle behind DR, and its critical role throughout development and adult tissue homeostasis has been extensively investigated. While DR in the mammary gland has been well described, we provide direct evidence …

American Bar Association Commission On Youth At Risk, Commission On Homelessness And Poverty, Health Law Section Report To The House Of Delegates: Overuse Of Psychotropic Medication Among Children And Youth In State Custody, Allison Flood

Hofstra Law Student Works

Children in foster care and youth involved in the juvenile justice system are prescribed psychotropic medications at alarmingly high rates. Foster children are given psychotropic medications at a rate nine times higher than children not in foster care. And over fifty percent of the youth involved in the juvenile justice system are prescribed psychotropic medications within one month of intake.

While psychotropic medications can be a useful part of a child’s treatment plan, over-medication causes these children and youth to “act like zombies”, contemplate harming themselves, or worse, commit suicide. Additionally, the side effects of over-medication are endless. They can …

Testing The Mediating Role Of Leaders’ Background On The Effects Of Nationality On Global Mindset, Heike Matthes, John E. Barbuto Jr.

Journal of International & Interdisciplinary Business Research (2014-2019)

This study investigated the impact of nationality on the development of global mindset through an online survey administered to 243 leaders in the U.S. and Germany. The study found no statistically significant difference in global mindset between U.S. and German citizens; however, it did find that dual citizens have significantly higher global mindsets than citizens of a single country. The study also found that the effects of nationality on global mindset are mediated by the personal, educational, and professional factors in the leader’s background. These findings suggest that fundamental factors, such as education and experience, are more important to global …

Reliability Of An Fmri Paradigm For Emotional Processing In A Multisite Longitudinal Study, D. G. Gee, S. C. Mcewen, J. K. Forsyth, K. M. Haut, C. E. Bearden, K. S. Cadenhead, H. Mirzakhanian, B. A. Cornblatt, D. Olvet, T. D. Cannon, +14 Additional Authors

Journal Articles

Multisite neuroimaging studies can facilitate the investigation of brain-related changes in many contexts, including patient groups that are relatively rare in the general population. Though multisite studies have characterized the reliability of brain activation during working memory and motor functional magnetic resonance imaging tasks, emotion processing tasks, pertinent to many clinical populations, remain less explored. A traveling participants study was conducted with eight healthy volunteers scanned twice on consecutive days at each of the eight North American Longitudinal Prodrome Study sites. Tests derived from generalizability theory showed excellent reliability in the amygdala ( Erho2 = 0.82), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG; …

White Matter Development In The Early Stages Of Psychosis, B. D. Peters, K. H. Karlsgodt

Journal Articles

Schizophrenia has been conceptualized as a disorder of both neurodevelopment and a disorder of connectivity. One important aspect of the neurodevelopmental hypothesis is that schizophrenia is no longer thought to have discrete illness time points, but rather a long trajectory of brain changes, spanning many years, across a series of stages of the disease including the prodrome, first episode, and chronic period. As the disease progresses, there is a complex relationship between age related changes and disease related changes. Therefore, neural changes, and specifically white matter based connectivity changes, in schizophrenia may be best conceptualized based on a lifespan trajectory. …

"The Great Mimicker": An Unusual Etiology Of Cytopenia, Diffuse Lymphadenopathy, And Massive Splenomegaly, M. Zaarour, C. Weerasinghe, E. Moussaly, S. Hussein, J. P. Atallah

Journal Articles

Sarcoidosis is an idiopathic multisystem disease characterized by the formation of noncaseating granulomas. It frequently presents with pulmonary infiltrates and bilateral hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy. Splenic involvement is common, but massive splenomegaly is a rare occurrence. Sarcoidosis is known as "the great mimicker" (or "the great imitator") since it exhibits a myriad of symptoms, mimicking other inflammatory, infectious, and neoplastic conditions, including lymphoma. Herein, we report the case of a 44-year-old male patient who was found to have bicytopenia, hypercalcemia, diffuse lymphadenopathy, and massive splenomegaly, a constellation of findings suggestive of underlying lymphoma. Interestingly, lymph node biopsy showed noncaseating granulomas …

Primary Extranodal Marginal Zone Lymphoma Of The Endometrium: Report Of Four Cases And Review Of Literature, F. C. Tahmasebi, S. Roy, J. E. Kolitz, F. Sen, J. Laser, X. Zhang

Journal Articles

Primary extranodal marginal zone lymphoma of the endometrium (PEMZL-EM) is exceedingly rare and has not been well characterized. Herein, we study the clinicopathological, cytogenetic and molecular features of four cases, the largest case series reported to date. The median age of the four patients was 59 years. Clinical presentations included abnormal vaginal bleeding (three cases) and incidental finding (one case). There were no constitutional symptoms in any of the cases. None of the patients had evidence of lymphoma in any other anatomic sites including bone marrow. Histologically, the lymphoma was characterized by a nodular proliferation of small lymphocytes admixed with …

Book Review: New Heavens And A New Earth: The Jewish Reception Of Copernican Thought, David B. Levy

Touro University Libraries Publications and Research

The author reviews the book New Heavens and a New Earth: The Jewish Reception of Copernican Thought.

Book Review: Scientific Controversies: A Socio-Historical Perspective On The Advancement Of Science, David B. Levy

Touro University Libraries Publications and Research

The author reviews the book Scientific Controversies: A Socio-Historical Perspective on the Advancement of Science.

Desktop Study Report : Linking Management Of Natural Coastal Resources To Socioeconomic Development, Henrik Nilsson, Dariusz P. Fey, Piotr Margonski, Michael Van Laak, Nardine Stybel

HERRING

The HERRING Desktop Study Report links management of natural coastal resources to socioeconomic development.

An Investigation Of The North Carolina Center For The Advancement Of Teaching And Its Possible Influence On Experienced Teacher Retention: A Companion Dissertation, Jennifer Blalock White

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this companion, qualitative case study was to examine the degree to which the residential professional development model at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) possibly influenced the retention of experienced teachers. The researcher sought to discover the ways and to what degree NCCAT had discharged its mission as a program of professional development, as well as understanding what experienced teacher participants’ perceptions were on how the NCCAT experience differed from other forms of professional development.

Field study observational data, participant interview data, individual journal entry data, and document analysis informed this study. Themes …

An Evaluation Of Champs: A Classroom Management Program, Holly J. Minnear

Education Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation was designed to examine the impact of Conversation, Help, Activity, Movement, Participation, Success (CHAMPS), a classroom management program in elementary schools in a district in North Carolina. The participants included principals and teachers who attended a 2-day training course and implemented the CHAMPS program at their schools.

The researcher used Stufflebeam’s Context, Input, Process, Product (CIPP) model to examine the impact of CHAMPS on classroom management practices and student behavior. Specifically, the researcher utilized the Process and Product components of the CIPP model. The Process Evaluation sought to answer the question, “To what extent was the CHAMPS program …

Program Evaluation Of Bridges To Success Program, Michael Cory

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the alternative education model, the Bridges to Success Program, and the program’s impact on teachers teaching within the program in a middle school in the Upstate of South Carolina. The Bridges to Success Program was initiated in September 2009 for at-risk students in eighth grade with a history of poor attendance, behavior issues, and low math and reading academic performance.

The evaluation model used was the Logic Model. The research questions set the framework for this study. Research questions focused on short-term outcomes that evaluated how teacher knowledge of …

A Study Of The Social And Emotional Growth And Development Of Students With Disabilities In An Inclusive Setting In An Inner-City Middle School, Heather Rachelle Lemmons

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this retrospective, explanatory sequential mixed-methods study was to determine the impact of an inclusive educational setting on the behavioral, social, and emotional growth and development of students with various disabilities. Many aspects of a student’s educational experiences can be affected by a proper placement in an inclusive setting with non-disabled peers including discipline rates and referrals, need for behavioral goals and plans, and perceptions concerning personal social growth and development.

The setting for this research study was an inner-city middle school serving Grades 7 and 8 in western North Carolina. Eighth-grade middle school students identified as students …

The Impact Of Repeated Reading As An Intervention For Middle Grades Sixth- And Seventh-Grade Students On Reading Fluency, Christopher Dion Stocks

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the effects of repeated reading on readers identified as below grade in sixth and seventh grade. The study was set in a rural middle school located in the foothills of North Carolina.

Students selected for the study were identified utilizing Lexile levels to identify them as below grade level for sixth and seventh grade. Once students were identified, the teachers used Curriculum Based Measures (CBMs) to determine their current fluency levels. Oral reading fluency and MAZE CBMs were employed to measure speed, accuracy, rate, and comprehension. Classroom teachers also used a prosody …

Across The Great Divide: The Effects Of Technology In Secondary Biology Classrooms, Johnny Howard Worley

Education Dissertations and Projects

This study investigates the relationship between technology use and student achievement in public high school across North Carolina. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a digital divide (differences in technology utilization based on student demographics of race/ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and municipality) exists among schools and whether those differences relate to student achievement in high school biology classrooms. The study uses North Carolina end-of-course (EOC) data for biology to analyze student demographic data and assessment results from the 2010-2011 school year from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The data analyses use descriptive and factorial univariate …

Β2m Antibody Is A Suitable Antibody To Detect Major Histocompatibility Complex Class Ι As Well As Α Chain Antibody In Healthy Tissues And Tissues Infected With Mouse Parvovirus 1, Sana Mahmoud Alhawsawi

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Major histocompatibility complex-Ι (MHC Ι) is an essential protein located on the plasma membrane of every nucleated cell; it contributes to the immune system's ability to defend against bacteria and virus. MHC Ι displays foreign antigens on the cell surface in a manner that encourages CD8+ T cytotoxic cells (CTLs) to respond against these antigens by killing the infected cells. MHC Ι is composed of two chains: a light chain (β-macroglobulin; β2m) and a heavy chain (α chain with 3 domains). The α chain genes have different haplotypes, dependent on the strain of mouse. H-2Kb/ H-2Db is the gene for …

When Justice Demands Inequality, John Thrasher, Keith Hankins

Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research

In Rescuing Justice and Equality G.A. Cohen argues that justice requires an uncompromising commitment to equality. Cohen also argues, however, that justice must be sensitive to other values, including a robust commitment to individual freedom and to the welfare of the community. We ask whether a commitment to these other values means that, despite Cohen’s commitment to equality, his view requires that we make room for inequality in the name of justice? We argue that even on Cohen’s version of egalitarianism equality, freedom, and welfare are not always compatible. Justice will require trade-offs between these values. Sometimes, equality will need …

Working Within The Tensions Of Disability And Education In Post-Colonial Kenya: Toward A Praxis Of Critical Disability Studies, Brent C. Elder, Alan Foley

College of Education Departmental Research

This paper explores emerging and evolving critical approaches to inclusive education development work in the postcolonial, global South context of Kenya. Taking an ontoformative (Connell, 2011) perspective of disability, we view disability as a dynamic process inherently tied to social contexts and their fluid effects on disabled bodies. Thus, not all impairments are a natural form of human diversity, and many are imposed on bodies in underdeveloped countries through oppressive imported Western practices. In this paper we present our work not as models of ‘what to do’ or ‘what not to do’ in development work. Rather we offer a reflection …

Conflict Of Laws Aspects In Same-Sex Relationships In Africa: A Comparative Study, Solomon Frimpong Amoateng

LLM Theses

Same-sex relationships will likely be in violation of the laws of most African countries. In Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya, a same-sex relationship is either explicitly prohibited or there is legislation which can be interpreted to prohibit the union. However, the growing trend of the institutionalization of same-sex marriage around the world means that even countries that do not domestically recognize same-sex relationships may be confronted with the challenge of dealing with it in a conflict of laws context. The discussion shows that the strict application of the rule of non-recognition, where the court gives no legal effect to a foreign …

The Constitutional Limitation On Trademark Propertization, Peter J. Karol

Law Faculty Scholarship

The following article seeks to apply the retrenchment in constitutional Commerce Clause jurisprudence of the last few decades to the phenomenon of trademark propertization, the expansive and largely federal movement towards protecting trademarks as assets apart from any connection to referent goods and services. Trademark scholars have filled the trademarks literature with critiques of propertization that generally object, on policy and historical grounds, to the trend and offer constructions of the Lanham Act designed to check its progress. With the notable exception of an article published in 2000 by Professor Kenneth Port, however, the literature has largely avoided addressing the …

Integrating The Internet, Brad Areheart

College of Law Faculty Scholarship

This Article argues that the paradigmatic right of people with disabilities “to live in the world” naturally encompasses the right “to live in the Internet.” It further argues that the Internet is rightly understood as a place of public accommodation under antidiscrimination law. Because public accommodations are indispensable to integration, civil rights advocates have long argued that marginalized groups must have equal access to the physical institutions that enable one to learn, socialize, transact business, find jobs, and attend school. The Web now provides all of these opportunities and more, but people with disabilities are unable to traverse vast stretches …

2014 Annual Reports Of The Town Officers Of The Town Of Canterbury, New Hampshire Comprising Those Of The Selectmen, Treasurer, Town Clerk, Tax Collector, Health Officers, Road Agent, Library Trustees, Trustees Of The Trust Funds, Planning Board, Board Of Adjustment, Conservation Commission, Cemetery Trustees, Historical Society, Police, Fire, And Highway Departments., Canterbury Town Representatives

Canterbury, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

Annual Report And Vital Statistics For The Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2014., Sutton Town Representatives

Sutton, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

Annual Report For Year Ended 2014., Woodstock Town Representatives

Woodstock, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.