Life Sciences Commons^™

Feasibility Study Of Trans-Cranial Direct Current Stimulation In Presence Of Brain Tumor, Abhilash Nair

Dissertations and Theses

Trans-cranial Direct Current Stimulation has been shown to modulate cortical neuronal activity. Weak constant current is applied to the scalp using electrodes, leading to sub-threshold changes in neuronal membrane potential. Before actual clinical stimulation is performed, such systems are validated by simulating the stimulation and the resulting current flow patterns using finite element solvers. However, the reliability of such models depends upon the accuracy with which the underlying anatomy has been modeled [1]. In earlier studies it has been shown that the current flow patterns within the brain are altered due to the presence of lesioned brain tissues[2]. Here we …

Slave Drivers; Increased Foraging By Host Workers Under The Slave-Making Ant Plotomognathus Americanus, Kevin Purce

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Pleistocene Climatic Change On The Phylogeography Of Euploea Mulciber (Lepidoptera; Nymphalidae; Danainae), Elva Yang

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Clay Minerals In The Transformation Of E. Coli, Ekaterini Porttellou

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

Glia-Mediated Neurodegeneration In The Drosophila Melanogaster Cns, Ivan J. Santiago

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

Role Of Glia Subsets In Neurodegeneration And Life Span Reduction; Gain-Of-Function Phenotypes Following Glia Specific Overexpression Of Rap/Fzr, An Activator Of The Anaphase-Promoting Complex, Amandeep Kaur

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

Φ 6 Polymerase Conformation; Rna Packaging Portal Stability., Elena Futerman

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

Anatomical Analysis Of The Feedback Projections From Extrastriate Cortex To Area 18 In Ferret Visual Cortex, Moody Saint Louis

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to characterize the cortical inputs to area 18 of ferret visual cerebral cortex. Contrary to feedforward connections, feedback connections are presumed to have a modulatory influence on the responses of lower order neurons providing information already processed. Input from feedback connections can supposedly elicit changes in the response to stimuli within the receptive field and may be involved in the role of discriminating objects relative to the background. The aim of our set of experiments was to fully analyze and compare the anatomical characteristics of feedback connections to area 18 from extrastriate areas as …

The Molecular And Genetic Characterization Of L(3)Hem2 And L(3)Hem1, Putative Novel Alleles Of The Neurogenic Gene, Neuralized, Maria A. Otazo

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

Aging, Stem Cells And The Cancer Stem Cell Hypothesis, Dave Comstock

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

Morphological And Neuroanatomical Changes Associated With The Induction Of Neurodegeneration And Life Span Reduction In Drosophila Melanogaster By Glia Targeted Expression Of Cdh1/Rap/Fzr, An Activator Of The Anaphase Promoting Complex, Israel Nnah

Dissertations and Theses

"The retina aberrant in pattern (rap) gene encodes the Fizzy-related protein (Fzr), an activator of the E3 ubiquitin ligase complex: the Anaphase Promoting Complex/Cyclosome (APC/C). APC/C facilitates the cell cycle stage-specific degradation of cyclins and other mitotic regulators, resulting in the inactivation of Cdk (Cyclin Dependent Kinase) complexes, thus promoting completion of mitosis. Previous studies from our laboratory have shown that Rap/Fzr (the Drosophila homolog of the mammalian Cdh1) regulates glia differentiation and promotes neuron formation. Recent studies have shown that the glia specific over expression of Rap/Fzr causes progressive neurodegeneration and life span reduction preceded by temperature sensitive paralysis, …

The Murine Caecal Microrna Signature Depends On The Presence Of The Endogenous Microbiota, Natasha Singh, Elize A. Shirdel, Levi Waldron, Regan-Heng Zhang, Igor Jurisica, Elena M. Comelli

Publications and Research

The intestinal messenger RNA expression signature is affected by the presence and compo-sition of the endogenous microbiota, with effects on host physiology. The intestine is also characterized by a distinctive micronome. However, it is not known if microbes also impact intestinal gene expression epigenetically. We investigated if the murine caecal microRNA expression signature depends on the presence of the microbiota, and the potential implica-tions of this interaction on intestinal barrier function. Three hundred and thirty four mi-croRNAs were detectable in the caecum of germ-free and conventional male mice and 16 were differentially expressed, with samples from the two groups clustering …

Phylogenomics Of Reichenowia Parasitica, An Alphaproteobacterial Endosymbiont Of The Freshwater Leech Placobdella Parasitica, Sebastian Kvist, Apurva Narechania, Alejandro Oceguera-Figueroa, Bella Fuks, Mark E. Siddall

Publications and Research

Although several commensal alphaproteobacteria form close relationships with plant hosts where they aid in (e.g.,) nitrogen fixation and nodulation, only a few inhabit animal hosts. Among these, Reichenowia picta, R. ornata and R. parasitica, are currently the only known mutualistic, alphaproteobacterial endosymbionts to inhabit leeches. These bacteria are harbored in the epithelial cells of the mycetomal structures of their freshwater leech hosts, Placobdella spp., and these structures have no other obvious function than housing bacterial symbionts. However, the function of the bacterial symbionts has remained unclear. Here, we focused both on exploring the genomic makeup of R. parasitica and on …

Migration And Invasion Of Brain Tumors, Richard A. Able, Jr., Veronica Dudu, Maribel Vazquez

Publications and Research

Recent advances in molecular biology have led to new insights in the development, growth and infiltrative behaviors of primary brain tumors (Demuth and Berens, 2004; Huse and Holland, 2010; Johnson et al., 2009; Kanu et al., 2009). These tumors are derived from various brain cell lineages and have been historically classified on the basis of morphological and, more recently, immunohistochemical features with less emphasis on their underlying molecular pathogenesis (Huse and Holland, 2010). The detailed molecular characterization of brain tumors has laid the groundwork for augmentation of standard treatment with patient-specific designed targeted therapies (Johnson et al., 2009; Kanu et …

Temporal Sensitivity Changes With Extended Training In A Bisection Task In A Transgenic Rat Model, Bruce L. Brown, Sophie Hohn, Alexis Faure, Stephan Von Horsten, Pascale Le Blanc, Nathalie Desvignes, Nicole El Massioui, Valerie Doyere

Publications and Research

The present study investigated temporal perception in a Huntington disease transgenic rat model using a temporal bisection procedure. After initial discrimination training in which animals learned to press one lever after a 2-s tone duration, and the other lever after a 8-s tone duration for food reward, the bisection procedure was implemented in which intermediate durations with no available reinforcement were interspersed with trials with the anchor durations. Bisection tests were repeated in a longitudinal design from 4 to 8 months of age.The results showed that response latencies evolved from a monotonic step-function to an inverted U-shaped function with repeated …

Prenatal Cocaine Exposure Increases Synaptic Localization Of A Neuronal Rasgef, Grasp-1 Via Hyperphosphorylation Of Ampar Anchoring Protein, Grip, Kalindi Bakshi, Mary Kosciuk, Robert G. Nagele, Eitan Friedman, Hoau-Yan Wang

Publications and Research

Prenatal cocaine exposure causes sustained phosphorylation of the synaptic anchoring protein, glutamate receptor interacting protein (GRIP1/2), preventing synaptic targeting of the GluR2/3-containing alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4- isoxazolepropionic acid-type glutamate receptors (AMPARs; J. Neurosci. 29: 6308–6319, 2009). Because overexpression of GRIP-associated neuronal rasGEF protein (GRASP-1) specifically reduces the synaptic targeting of AMPARs, we hypothesized that prenatal cocaine exposure enhances GRASP-1 synaptic membrane localization leading to hyper-activation of ras family proteins and heightened actin polymerization. Our results show a markedly increased GRIP1-associated GRASP-1 content with approximately 40% reduction in its rasGEF activity in frontal cortices (FCX) of 21-day-old (P21) prenatal cocaineexposed rats. This cocaine effect …

Insightful Problem Solving In An Asian Elephant, Preston Foerder, Marie Galloway, Tony Barthel, Donald E. Moore Iii, Diana Reiss

Publications and Research

The ‘‘aha’’ moment or the sudden arrival of the solution to a problem is a common human experience. Spontaneous problem solving without evident trial and error behavior in humans and other animals has been referred to as insight. Surprisingly, elephants, thought to be highly intelligent, have failed to exhibit insightful problem solving in previous cognitive studies. We tested whether three Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) would use sticks or other objects to obtain food items placed out-of-reach and overhead. Without prior trial and error behavior, a 7-year-old male Asian elephant showed spontaneous problem solving by moving a large plastic cube, on …

Comparative Genomics Of The Pathogenic Ciliate Ichthyophthirius Multifiliis, Its Free-Living Relatives And A Host Species Provide Insights Into Adoption Of A Parasitic Lifestyle And Prospects For Disease Control, Robert S. Coyne, Linda Hannick, Dhanasekaran Shanmugam, Jessica B. Hostetler, Daniel Brami, Vinita S. Joardar, Justin Johnson, Diana Radune, Irtisha Singh, Jonathan H. Badger, Ujjwal Kumar, Milton Saier, Yufeng Wang, Hong Cai, Jianying Gu, Michael W. Mather, Akhil B. Vaidya, David E. Wilkes, Vidyalakshmi Rajagopalan, David J. Asai, Chad G. Pearson, Robert C. Findly, Harry W. Dickerson, Martin Wu, Cindy Martens, Yves Van De Peer, David S. Roos, Donna M. Cassidy-Hanley, Theodore G. Clark

Publications and Research

Background

Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, commonly known as Ich, is a highly pathogenic ciliate responsible for 'white spot', a disease causing significant economic losses to the global aquaculture industry. Options for disease control are extremely limited, and Ich's obligate parasitic lifestyle makes experimental studies challenging. Unlike most well-studied protozoan parasites, Ich belongs to a phylum composed primarily of free-living members. Indeed, it is closely related to the model organism Tetrahymena thermophila. Genomic studies represent a promising strategy to reduce the impact of this disease and to understand the evolutionary transition to parasitism.

Results

We report the sequencing, assembly and annotation …

Group 11 Metal Compounds With Tripodal Bis(Imidazole) Thioether Ligands. Applications As Catalysts In The Oxidation Of Alkenes And As Antimicrobial Agents, Fangwei Liu, Reema Anis, Eunmi Hwang, Rafael Ovalle, Armando Varela-Ramírez, Renato J. Aguilera, María Contel

Publications and Research

New group 11 metal complexes have been prepared using the previously described tripodal bis(imidazole) thioether ligand (N-methyl-4,5-diphenyl-2- imidazolyl)2C(OMe)C(CH3)2S(tert-Bu) ({BITOMe,StBu}, 2). The pincer ligand offers a N2S donor atom set that can be used to coordinate the group 11 metals in different oxidation states [AuI , AuIII, AgI , CuI and CuII]. Thus the new compounds [Au{BITOMe,StBu}Cl][AuCl4]2 (3), [Au{BITOMe,StBu}Cl] (4), [Ag{BITOMe,StBu}X] (X = OSO2CF3 - 5, PF6 - 6) and [Cu{BITOMe,StBu}Cl2] (7) have been synthesized from reaction of 2 with the appropriate metal precursors, and characterized in solution. While attempting characterization in the solid state of 3, single crystals of the …

Bone Morphogenetic Protein Inhibition Promotes Neurological Recovery After Intraventricular Hemorrhage, Krishna Dummula, Govindaiah Vinukonda, Philip Chu, Yiping Xing, Furong Hu, Sabrina Mailk, Anna Csiszar, Caroline Chua, Peter Mouton, Robert J. Kayton, Joshua C. Brumberg, Rashmi Bansal, Praveen Ballabh

Publications and Research

Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) results in neural cell death and white matter injury in premature infants. No therapeutic strategy is currently available against this disorder. Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling suppresses oligodendrocyte development through basic-helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors and promotes astrocytosis. Therefore, we hypothesized that IVH in premature newborns initiates degeneration and maturation arrest of oligodendrocyte lineage and that BMP inhibition alleviates hypomyelination, gliosis, and motor impairment in the survivors of IVH. To test the hypotheses, a rabbit model of IVH was used in which premature rabbit pups (E29) are treated with intraperitoneal glycerol at 2 hours of age to induce …

Transcription And Translation Of Human F11r Gene Are Required For An Initial Step Of Atherogenesis Induced By Inflammatory Cytokines, Bani M. Azari, Jonathan D. Marmur, Moro O. Salifu, Yigal H. Ehrlich, Elizabeth Kornecki, Anna Babinska

Publications and Research

Background - The F11 Receptor (F11R; aka JAM-A, JAM-1) is a cell adhesion protein present constitutively on the membrane surface of circulating platelets and within tight junctions of endothelial cells (ECs). Previous reports demonstrated that exposure of ECs to pro-inflammatory cytokines causes insertion of F11R molecules into the luminal surface of ECs, ensuing with homologous interactions between F11R molecules of platelets and ECs, and a resultant adhesion of platelets to the inflamed ECs. The main new finding of the present report is that the first step in this chain of events is the de-novo transcription and translation of F11R molecules, …

“What” And “Where” In Auditory Sensory Processing: A High-Density Electrical Mapping Study Of Distinct Neural Processes Underlying Sound Object Recognition And Sound Localization, Victoria M. Leavitt, Sophie Molholm, Manuel Gomez-Ramirez, John J. Foxe

Publications and Research

Functionally distinct dorsal and ventral auditory pathways for sound localization (WHERE) and sound object recognition (WHAT) have been described in non-human primates. A handful of studies have explored differential processing within these streams in humans, with highly inconsistent findings. Stimuli employed have included simple tones, noise bursts, and speech sounds, with simulated left–right spatial manipulations, and in some cases participants were not required to actively discriminate the stimuli. Our contention is that these paradigms were not well suited to dissociating processing within the two streams. Our aim here was to determine how early in processing we …

Pulsed Out Of Awareness: Eeg Alpha Oscillations Represent A Pulsed-Inhibition Of Ongoing Cortical Processing, Kyle E. Mathewson, Alejandro Lleras, Diane M. Beck, Monica Fabiani, Tony Ro, Gabriele Gratton

Publications and Research

Alpha oscillations are ubiquitous in the brain, but their role in cortical processing remains a matter of debate. Recently, evidence has begun to accumulate in support of a role for alpha oscillations in attention selection and control. Here we first review evidence that 8–12 Hz oscillations in the brain have a general inhibitory role in cognitive processing, with an emphasis on their role in visual processing. Then, we summarize the evidence in support of our recent proposal that alpha represents a pulsed-inhibition of ongoing neural activity. The phase of the ongoing electroencephalography can influence evoked activity and subsequent processing, and …

Transplantation Of Adult Mouse Ips Cell-Derived Photoreceptor Precursors Restores Retinal Structure And Function In Degenerative Mice, Budd A. Tucker, In-Hyun Park, Sara D. Qi, Henry J. Klassen, Caihui Jiang, Jing Yao, Stephen Redenti, George Q. Daley, Michael J. Young

Publications and Research

This study was designed to determine whether adult mouse induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), could be used to produce retinal precursors and subsequently photoreceptor cells for retinal transplantation to restore retinal function in degenerative hosts. iPSCs were generated using adult dsRed mouse dermal fibroblasts via retroviral induction of the transcription factors Oct4, Sox2, KLF4 and c-Myc. As with normal mouse ES cells, adult dsRed iPSCs expressed the pluripotency genes SSEA1, Oct4, Sox2, KLF4, c-Myc and Nanog. Following transplantation into the eye of immunecompromised retinal degenerative mice these cells proceeded to form teratomas containing tissue comprising all three germ layers. At …

Saturday In The Park With Franz And Joyce, Julie Trachman, William A. Casari, Nelson Nunez-Rodriguez, Flor Henderson, Yoel Rodriguez, Jason Libfeld

Touchstone

No abstract provided.

Micropropagation And Medium-Term Conservation Of Rosa Pulverulenta, Somayeh Kavand, Maryam Jafarkhani Kermani, Ali Haghnazari, Pegah Khosravi, Mohamad Reza Azimi

Publications and Research

In Iran, a large number of Rosa species have been exposed to extinction and therefore preservation techniques are necessary to safeguard their future. In the present investigation, the objectives were to optimize the micropropagation and medium-term conservation of one of these wild species, Rosa pulverulenta. At proliferation stage, the maximum number of new leaves (9.6) were produced on the medium containing 4 µM BAP + 0 µM GA₃, whereas the maximum number of axillary shoots (4.1) were observed in the medium containing 4 µM BAP + 3 µM GA₃. The results for rooting experiments suggested …

Polycationic Glycosides, Robert Engel, Ishrat Ghani, Diego Montenegro, Marie Thomas, Barbara Klaritch-Vrana, Alejandra Castaño, Laura Friedman, Jay Leb, Leah Rothman, Heidi Lee, Craig Capodiferro, Daniel Ambinder, Eve Cere, Christopher Awad, Faiza Sheikh, Jaimelee Rizzo, Lisa-Marie Nisbett, Erika Testani, Karin Melkonian

Publications and Research

Cationic lipids have long been known to serve as antibacterial and antifungal agents. Prior efforts with attachment of cationic lipids to carbohydrate-based surfaces have suggested the possibility that carbohydrate-attached cationic lipids might serve as antibacterial and antifungal pharmaceutical agents. Toward the understanding of this possibility, we have synthesized several series of cationic lipids attached to a variety of glycosides with the intent of generating antimicrobial agents that would meet the requirement for serving as a pharmaceutical agent, specifically that the agent be effective at a very low concentration as well as being biodegradable within the organism being treated. The initial …

Antibodies Elicited In Response To Ebna-1 May Cross- React With Dsdna, Pragya Yadav, Hoa Tran, Roland Ebegbe, Paul Gottlieb, Hui Wei, Rita H. Lewis, Alice Mumbey-Wafula, Atira Kaplan, Elina Kholdarova, Linda Spatz

Publications and Research

Background:Several genetic and environmental factors have been linked to Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). One environmental trigger that has a strong association with SLE is the Epstein Barr Virus (EBV). Our laboratory previously demonstrated that BALB/c mice expressing the complete EBNA-1 protein can develop antibodies to double stranded DNA (dsDNA). The present study was undertaken to understand why anti-dsDNA antibodies arise during the immune response to EBNA-1.

Methodology/Principal Findings: In this study, we demonstrated that mouse antibodies elicited in response to EBNA-1 cross-react with dsDNA. First, we showed that adsorption of sera reactive with EBNA-1 and dsDNA, on dsDNA cellulose …

Dr. Faith Liebl Works To Explain What Cells Do, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

What Happens When Life Goes Wild, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.