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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Calcium Intake, Bone Mineral Density, And Percent Body Fat Of University Students, Beth Peterson May 2006

Calcium Intake, Bone Mineral Density, And Percent Body Fat Of University Students, Beth Peterson

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.


Mitoxantrone Represses Markers Of Microglial Activation And Inflammation, Cameron A. Tull Jan 2006

Mitoxantrone Represses Markers Of Microglial Activation And Inflammation, Cameron A. Tull

Honors Theses

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by an autoimmune attack against myelin sheaths in the central nervous system (CNS). Resulting debilitations vary from sensory, motor, and coordination abnormalities to visual difficulties as well as bowel, bladder, sexual, and cognitive dysfunction (Fox, 2006). Mitoxantrone (Novantrone) is an FDAapproved drug used to treat the secondary-progressive form ofMS due to its demonstrated immunosuppressive properties. While the mechanism of action of mitoxantrone is not yet well understood, and is limited in its use due to cardiotoxicity, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of mitoxantrone on microglial and astrocyte …


Resistance Of Forest Community Types To Structural And Compositional Change Following Beech Bark Disease Infestation, Sarah Ann Hoskinson Jan 2006

Resistance Of Forest Community Types To Structural And Compositional Change Following Beech Bark Disease Infestation, Sarah Ann Hoskinson

Honors Theses

Pathogens change forest composition and structure by selectively eliminating susceptible individuals and species. Caused by a complex between an exotic scale insect and fungi, beech bark disease has infected mature American beech (Fagus grandifolia) trees through most of the species range. Before succumbing to the disease, infected trees generate root sprouts, transforming beech from a dominant canopy species into an abundant subcanopy species. Root sprouting can create dense beech thickets that interfere with the regeneration of other species. Exclusion of species from the understory has ecological and economic implications. This study compared forest community types for their resistance to compositional …


A Broad-Spectrum Mer Operon In A Multi-Drug Resistant Strain Of The Fish Pathogen, Aeromonas Salmonicida, Erin Parry Jan 2006

A Broad-Spectrum Mer Operon In A Multi-Drug Resistant Strain Of The Fish Pathogen, Aeromonas Salmonicida, Erin Parry

Honors Theses

Aeromonas salmonicida AS03, a potential fish pathogen, was isolated from Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, in 2003. This strain was found to be resistant to ≥1000 mM HgCl2 and ≥32 mM phenylmercuric acetate as well as multiple antimicrobials. Mercury (Hg) and antibiotic resistance genes are often located on the same mobile genetic elements, so the genetic determinants of both resistances and the possibility of horizontal gene transfer were examined. Specific PCR primers were used to amplify and sequence distinctive regions of the mer operon. A. salmonicida AS03 was found to have a pDU1358-like broad-spectrum mer operon, containing merB as well as …


The Effects Of P53 Status And Egf On Timp-2 And Other Proteins Related To Migration In Human Glioblastoma Cell Cultures, Lisa M. Lint Jan 2006

The Effects Of P53 Status And Egf On Timp-2 And Other Proteins Related To Migration In Human Glioblastoma Cell Cultures, Lisa M. Lint

Honors Theses

The effects of epidermal growth factor (EGF) on proteins that have been implicated in the migration of the Grade IV brain tumor, glioblastoma multiforme, were investigated in this study. Differential expression levels of TIMP-2, MMP-2, and MT1-MMP in response to EGF treatment were compared by immunoprecipitation, and immunoblotting. This study involved two different cultured glioma cell lines, U87, which expresses wild-type p53, and T98, which has a mutation in the p53 gene, in order to determine if the status of the p53 tumor suppression gene is a factor in the regulation of proteins involved in this migration pathway. It was …


Development Of Proliferation Assays To Explore The Role Of Calcium Activated Potassium Channels In Cell Proliferation, Sean Foster Jan 2006

Development Of Proliferation Assays To Explore The Role Of Calcium Activated Potassium Channels In Cell Proliferation, Sean Foster

Honors Theses

Due to the large variety of Kchannel families implicated in cancer cell proliferation, it is desirable to develop techniques capable of quickly and reliably screening a variety of potential channels for a role in proliferation. While there are many established cell counting procedures, the time-consuming nature of such protocols limits their usefulness in broadly identifying particular channels in uncharacterized cell lines. For this reason, a primary goal of the present research was the development of techniques capable of implicating particular ion channels in proliferation with both qualitative and quantitative data. Once this goal was accomplished, the project sought …


The Presence, Prevalence And Antibiotic Resistance Of Microbes In The Pamunkey River Basin, Christina Mcdowell Jan 2006

The Presence, Prevalence And Antibiotic Resistance Of Microbes In The Pamunkey River Basin, Christina Mcdowell

Honors Theses

This project examined the presence, prevalence and antibiotic resistance of Coliforms (mainly Escherichia coli), Staph/occocus aureus, fecal Streptococcus, andEnterobacteriacae found in the water samples taken from three selected sites on the North Anna, South Anna, and Little Rivers of the Pamunkey River Basin. The diversity and concentration of the microbes isolated from these sites was evaluated in late January and late March allowing for a comparison of the occurrence of microbes at different times and between the different sites. Over the course of two months the concentration of colonies increased based on colony counts from Nutrient agar. The rate of …


The Effect Of Tgf-B And Egf On Mmp-2 Activation And Mt1-Mmp Phosphorylation In U87mg And T98g Human Glioma Cells, Jacquelyn B. Knupp Jan 2006

The Effect Of Tgf-B And Egf On Mmp-2 Activation And Mt1-Mmp Phosphorylation In U87mg And T98g Human Glioma Cells, Jacquelyn B. Knupp

Honors Theses

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a high-grade, malignant brain tumor of astrocyte origin, invades normal brain tissue and most often results in death ofthe patient withinayearofdiagnosis. In order to invade the surrounding tissue and thereby metastasize, these tumor cells must migrate through the extracellular matrix. The pmpose ofthis research project is to investigate the family ofmatrix metalloproteinases responsible for extracellular degradation. Specifically, this investigation looks at MMP-2 activation via MT 1-MMP and the possible importance of phosphorylation of the tyrosine residue on the cytoplasmic tail of MTl-MMP. U87wildtypegliomacellsaswellasT98 p53 mutant glioma cells were treated with transforming growth factor beta (TGF-P). Preliminary results …