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2015

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Articles 241 - 270 of 324

Full-Text Articles in Microbiology

Characterization Of A Novel Protease In Staphylococcus Aureus, Adam L. Johnson Jan 2015

Characterization Of A Novel Protease In Staphylococcus Aureus, Adam L. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

A newly discovered cysteine protease, Prp, has been shown to perform an essential, site-specific cleavage of ribosomal protein L27 in Staphylococcus aureus. In Firmicutes and related bacteria, ribosomal protein L27 is encoded with a conserved N-terminal extension that must be removed to expose residues critical for ribosome function. Uncleavable and pre-cleaved variants were unable to complement an L27 deletion in S. aureus, indicating that this N-terminal processing event is essential and likely plays an important regulatory role. The gene encoding the responsible protease (prp) has been shown to be essential, and is found in all organisms …


Increasing The Nutritional Value Of Canola Meal Via Fungal Bioprocessing, Jason R. Croat Jan 2015

Increasing The Nutritional Value Of Canola Meal Via Fungal Bioprocessing, Jason R. Croat

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The main limitation of meals from canola and other Brassica spp. is the presence of glucosinolates (GLS), which are anti-nutritional and can even be toxic at high ingestion levels. Furthermore, large amounts of GLS can reduce palatability for livestock and thus reduce intake and growth rates. For this reason canola was bred to contain lower levels of GLS (<30 >μmol/g) and erucic acid (< 2%). However, feed inclusion rates are still limited to ~30%, and this reduces the value of canola meal. The goal of this thesis was to optimize a pretreatment and fungal conversion process to enhance the nutritional value of canola meal. Various combinations of physical/chemical pretreatments, fungal cultures, and incubation methods were investigated to metabolize GLS into cell mass, CO2, or other non-toxic components. These treatments also served to hydrolyze canola meal fiber into carbohydrates which were then metabolized by the fungi into single cell protein. Solid-state incubation conditions were initially tested, since filamentous fungi are well adapted to grow at lower moisture levels, and this would potentially reduce contamination issues with bacteria. Flask trials were performed using 50% moisture, hexane extracted (HE) or cold pressed (CP) canola meal, with incubation for 168 h at 30ºC. On HE canola meal Trichoderma reesei (NRRL-3653) achieved the greatest increase in protein content (23%), while having the lowest residual levels of sugar (8% w/w) and GLS (0.4 μM/g). On CP canola meal T. reesei (NRRL-3653), Aureobasidium pullulans (NRRL-58522), and …


Self-Cleaning Applications Of Tio2 By Photo-Induced Hydrophilicity And Photocatalysis, Swagata Banerjee, Dionysios Dionysiou, Suresh Pillai Jan 2015

Self-Cleaning Applications Of Tio2 By Photo-Induced Hydrophilicity And Photocatalysis, Swagata Banerjee, Dionysios Dionysiou, Suresh Pillai

Articles

Self-cleaning materials have gained considerable attention for both their unique properties and practical applications in energy and environmental areas. Recent examples of many TiO2-derived materials have been illustrated to understand the fundamental principles of self-cleaning hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. Various models including those proposed by Wenzel, Cassie-Baxter and Miwa-Hashimoto are discussed to explain the mechanism of self-cleaning. Examples of semiconductor surfaces exhibiting the simultaneous occurrence of superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic domains on the same surface are illustrated, which can have various advanced applications in microfluidics, printing, photovoltaic, biomedical devices, anti-bacterial surfaces and water purification.

Several strategies to improve the efficiency of …


The Effects Of Motility And Chemotaxis On Vibrio Cholerae Colonization In Zebrafish, Paula Dietz Jan 2015

The Effects Of Motility And Chemotaxis On Vibrio Cholerae Colonization In Zebrafish, Paula Dietz

Wayne State University Theses

Vibrio cholerae, the cause of the diarrheal disease cholera, is a gram-negative, curved rod-shaped bacterium, with a single polar flagellum. V. cholerae is naturally found in aquatic environments and is highly motile. When it enters a human host, V. cholerae uses flagellar motility to pass through the stomach and into the small intestine. Once in the small intestine, motility genes are downregulated and virulence gene expression is upregulated. V. cholerae motility and chemotaxis effects have not yet been studied in a zebrafish model, a natural host of this bacterium. We hypothesize that V. cholerae in frame deletions of vital motility …


Francisella Tularensis Catalase Restricts Immune Function By Impairing Trpm2 Channel Activity, Nicole Lynn Flaherty Jan 2015

Francisella Tularensis Catalase Restricts Immune Function By Impairing Trpm2 Channel Activity, Nicole Lynn Flaherty

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

As an innate defense mechanism, macrophages produce reactive species that weaken pathogens and serve as secondary messengers to modify signaling responses involved in immune function. The gram-negative bacterium F. tularensis utilizes its antioxidant armature to limit the host immune response but the mechanism behind this suppression has not been defined. Here we establish that F. tularensis limits Ca2+ entry thereby limiting actin reorganization and IL-6 production in a redox-dependent fashion. Wild-type (LVS) or catalase deficient F. tularensis (∆katG) show distinct profiles in their H2O2 scavenging capacity, 1 pM/sec and 0.015 pM/sec, respectively. Murine alveolar macrophages infected with ∆katG display distinct …


Analysis Of Strategies For Successful Identification, Reporting, And Prevention Of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (Cre) In Acute Health Care Facilities In New York State, Christen Leigh Mayer Jan 2015

Analysis Of Strategies For Successful Identification, Reporting, And Prevention Of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (Cre) In Acute Health Care Facilities In New York State, Christen Leigh Mayer

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Background


Whole-Genome Sequencing Of Kaposi’S Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus From Zambian Kaposi’S Sarcoma Biopsy Specimens Reveals Unique Viral Diversity, Landon Olp, Adrien Jeanniard, Clemence Marimo, Charles Wood Jan 2015

Whole-Genome Sequencing Of Kaposi’S Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus From Zambian Kaposi’S Sarcoma Biopsy Specimens Reveals Unique Viral Diversity, Landon Olp, Adrien Jeanniard, Clemence Marimo, Charles Wood

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is the etiological agent for Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS). Both KSHV and KS are endemic in sub-Saharan Africa where approximately 84% of global KS cases occur. Nevertheless, whole-genome sequencing of KSHV has only been completed using isolates from Western countries—where KS is not endemic. The lack of whole-genome KSHV sequence data from the most clinically important geographical region, sub-Saharan Africa, represents an important gap since it remains unclear whether genomic diversity has a role on KSHV pathogenesis. We hypothesized that distinct KSHV genotypes might be present in sub-Saharan Africa compared to Western countries. Using a KSHV-targeted enrichment …


Observed And Expected Incidence Of Cervical Cancer In Lusaka And The Southern And Western Provinces Of Zambia, 2007 - 2012, Mulele Kalima, Kennedy Lishimpi, Jane L. Meza, Shinobu Watanabe-Galloway, Susan C. Msadabwe, Catherine K. Mwaba, Aaron L. Shibemba, Lewis Banda, Charles Wood, Robert M. Chamberlain, Amr S. Soliman Jan 2015

Observed And Expected Incidence Of Cervical Cancer In Lusaka And The Southern And Western Provinces Of Zambia, 2007 - 2012, Mulele Kalima, Kennedy Lishimpi, Jane L. Meza, Shinobu Watanabe-Galloway, Susan C. Msadabwe, Catherine K. Mwaba, Aaron L. Shibemba, Lewis Banda, Charles Wood, Robert M. Chamberlain, Amr S. Soliman

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Objectives—Cervical cancer is increasing but underestimated in developing countries. We calculated the observed and expected incidence of cervical cancer in Lusaka and Southern and Western provinces of Zambia.

Methods/Materials—Data for 2007-2012 was obtained for the 3 provinces. Data included age, residence, year of diagnosis, marital status, occupation, HIV, stage, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Expected incidence in Southern and Western provinces was calculated based on observed incidence for Lusaka province, adjusting for HIV.

Results—Crude and age-standardized incidence rates (ASR) in Lusaka were 2-4 times higher than incidence in the other 2 provinces. Lusaka had a rate of 54.1/105 and ASR of …


Crf07_Bc Strain Dominates The Hiv-1 Epidemic In Injection Drug Users In Liangshan Prefecture Of Sichuan, China, Lin Li, Daying Wei, Wan-Ling Hsu, Tianyi Li, Tao Gui, Charles Wood, Yongjian Liu, Hanping Li, Zuoyi Bao, Siyang Liu, Xiaolin Wang, Jingyun Li Jan 2015

Crf07_Bc Strain Dominates The Hiv-1 Epidemic In Injection Drug Users In Liangshan Prefecture Of Sichuan, China, Lin Li, Daying Wei, Wan-Ling Hsu, Tianyi Li, Tao Gui, Charles Wood, Yongjian Liu, Hanping Li, Zuoyi Bao, Siyang Liu, Xiaolin Wang, Jingyun Li

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

The Liangshan prefecture in Sichuan province is an area in China severely affected by the HIV epidemic, with intravenous drug use (IDU) as the main risk factor. No reports on HIV subtypes prevalent in IDUs in Liangshan prefecture could be found. In this study, we have characterized the genotypes of HIV-1 in the IDU population in Liangshan prefecture and further determined the phylogenetic relationship of the CRF07_BC strains to HIV-1 sequences from the other regions of China, including Xinjiang and Yunnan provinces, to explore the pattern and possible diffusion pathway of HIV-1 in these regions. HIV-1-seropositive drug-naive IDUs identified in …


Hiv Integrase Mechanisms Of Resistance To Raltegravir, Elvitegravir, And Dolutegravir, Kyla Nicole Ross Jan 2015

Hiv Integrase Mechanisms Of Resistance To Raltegravir, Elvitegravir, And Dolutegravir, Kyla Nicole Ross

Wayne State University Theses

ABSTRACT

HIV INTEGRASE MECHANISMS OF RESISTANCE TO RALTEGRAVIR, ELVITEGRAVIR, AND DOLUTEGRAVIR

by

KYLA ROSS

December 2015

Advisor: Dr. Ladislau Kovari

Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Degree: Master of Science

HIV-1 integrase (HIV-1 IN or IN) is a multimeric enzyme that integrates the HIV-1 genome into the chromosomes of infected CD4+ T-cells. Currently there are three FDA approved HIV-1 IN strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) used in clinical practice: raltegravir (RAL), elvitegravir (ELV), and dolutegravir (DTG). The [Q148H], [Q148H, G140S], [Q148R], [Q148R, G140A] and [N155H, E92Q] mutations decrease IN susceptibility to RAL and ELV and may result in therapeutic failure. As an …


Antimicrobial-Resistant Listeria Species From Retail Meat In Metro Detroit, Liziane Da Rocha Jan 2015

Antimicrobial-Resistant Listeria Species From Retail Meat In Metro Detroit, Liziane Da Rocha

Wayne State University Theses

A total of 138 Listeria isolates, including 58 Listeria welshimeri, 44 Listeria monocytogenes, and 36 Listeria innocua, from retail meat were characterized by antimicrobial susceptibility tests against nine antimicrobials. In addition, the 44 L. monocytogenes were analyzed by serotype identification using PCR and genotyping using pulsed-filed gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Resistance to one or two antimicrobials was observed in 32 Listeria (23.2%). No multidrug resistance was identified. Tetracycline resistance was the most common resistance phenotype and identified in 22 Listeria isolates. Low prevalence of resistance to ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, gentamicin, and vancomycin was also detected. L. innocua demonstrated the highest overall prevalence …


ประสิทธิภาพของกลุ่มแบคทีเรียจากดินตะกอนบริเวณอ่าวไทยในการย่อยสลายเชิงชีวภาพของพอลิไซคลิกแอโรแมติกไฮโดรคาร์บอนแบบผสม, พลอยชนก จันทร์เอี่ยม Jan 2015

ประสิทธิภาพของกลุ่มแบคทีเรียจากดินตะกอนบริเวณอ่าวไทยในการย่อยสลายเชิงชีวภาพของพอลิไซคลิกแอโรแมติกไฮโดรคาร์บอนแบบผสม, พลอยชนก จันทร์เอี่ยม

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

อ่าวไทยเป็นจัดเป็นแหล่งทรัพยากรที่มีความอุดมสมบูรณ์และมีความสำคัญในด้านการคมนาคมทางน้ำ การขุดเจาะน้ำมัน การทำประมง รวมไปถึงเป็นแหล่งท่องเที่ยวที่สำคัญ ทำให้มีโอกาสเกิดการปนเปื้อนและการตกค้างของ PAHs ในดินตะกอน งานวิจัยนี้จึงมีเป้าหมายเพื่อทดสอบประสิทธิภาพกลุ่มแบคทีเรียที่คัดแยกจากตัวอย่างดินตะกอนอ่าวไทยในการย่อยสลาย PAHs ผสม โดยเริ่มจากตรวจนับจำนวนแบคทีเรียโดยวิธี MPN พบจำนวนแบคทีเรียทั้งหมดและแบคทีเรียย่อยสลาย PAHs ใน 22 ตัวอย่าง พบว่ามีค่าอยู่ในช่วง 1.77x108 - 8.30x109 และ 3.00 x104 ถึง 1.10x107 MPN/กรัมดินเปียก ตามลำดับ เมื่อรวมตัวอย่างดินตะกอนตามลักษณะทางกายภาพของพื้นที่และดินตะกอน ได้เป็น 7 ตัวอย่าง (G1-G7) และเพิ่มจำนวนแบคทีเรียย่อยสลาย PAHs ผสมด้วยวิธีเอนริชเมนท์ พบว่ากลุ่มแบคทีเรีย G7 มีประสิทธิภาพในการย่อยสลาย PAHs ผสมได้สูงที่สุด โดยย่อยสลาย PAHs ผสม 4 ชนิด ได้แก่ ฟีแนนทรีน แอนทราซีน ฟลูออแรนทีน และไพรีน ความเข้มข้นชนิดละ 50 มิลลิกรัม/ลิตรได้ 82, 92, 62 และ 50% ตามลำดับ ใน 14 วัน นอกจากนี้ในการย่อยสลาย PAHs 5 ชนิด กลุ่มแบคทีเรีย G7 ยังสามารถย่อยสลายเบนโซ[เอ]ไพรีนซึ่งมีความเป็นพิษสูง ได้ถึง 38% จากความเข้มข้นเริ่มต้น 10 มิลลิกรัม/ลิตร ในขณะที่ยังคงรักษาประสิทธิภาพในการย่อยสลาย PAHs ผสม 4 ชนิดเดิมไว้ได้ อีกทั้งมีประสิทธิภาพในการย่อยสลาย PAHs ผสม 7 ชนิด ได้แก่ อะซีแนพธีน อะซีแนพธิลีน ฟลูออรีน ฟีแนนทรีน แอนทราซีน ฟลูออแรนทีน และไพรีน ซึ่งเพิ่ม PAHs ชนิดมวลโมเลกุลต่ำที่ความเข้มข้นสุดท้ายชนิดละ 30 มิลลิกรัม/ลิตรได้ นอกจากนี้ กลุ่มแบคทีเรีย …


Characterisation And Applications Of Natural Lactic Acid Bacteria With Emphasis On Weissella Cibaria And Associated Exopolysaccharide, Kieran M. Lynch Jan 2015

Characterisation And Applications Of Natural Lactic Acid Bacteria With Emphasis On Weissella Cibaria And Associated Exopolysaccharide, Kieran M. Lynch

Theses

The work presented in this thesis characterises natural cereal-derived lactic acid bacteria and examines their potential application in the dairy fermentation area, with special emphasis on the sourdough isolate, Weissella cibaria MGl and its associated glucan homoexopolysaccharide. This strain is notable for its high-level production of dextran, being termed a “hyper-producef’. Genome sequencing and analysis of a number of IV. cibaria strains was performed in the context of available genomic data for other Weissella species, with special focus on the metabolic traits of W. cibaria MGl, and the results represent the first study to explore members of the Weissella genus …


Development Of Novel Fluorescent Tools For Investigating Virulence Factors And Drug Susceptibility In Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, Kaley Wilburn Jan 2015

Development Of Novel Fluorescent Tools For Investigating Virulence Factors And Drug Susceptibility In Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, Kaley Wilburn

HIM 1990-2015

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is the causative agent of Tuberculosis (TB), a life-threatening disease primarily affecting the lungs that infects about one third of the world's population and causes 1.3 million deaths annually. It is estimated that TB has been infecting humans for around 70,000 years and has killed more people than any other infectious disease. The highly effective, persistent, and multifaceted virulence strategies that have allowed Mtb to continue to spread and thrive for so long are still poorly understood at the molecular level. This lack of knowledge contributes to ongoing challenges to curing TB. Although drugs capable of killing …


Detection Of Drug-Resistance Conferring Snps In Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Using Binary Dnazymes, Marina Addario Jan 2015

Detection Of Drug-Resistance Conferring Snps In Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Using Binary Dnazymes, Marina Addario

HIM 1990-2015

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is the pathogen that causes Tuberculosis (TB) and is responsible for an average of 1.5 million deaths annually. Although a treatment regimen does exist, Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR-TB) and eXtremely Drug Resistant (XDR-TB) TB strains are becoming a more prevalent concern partly due to failure of patient compliance with the current six to nine month drug treatment regimen. The current diagnostic methods are not able to identify these MDR and XDR-TB strains efficiently therefore more effective point-of-care (POC) diagnostics and drug susceptibility testing (DST) are urgently needed to detect drug resistance and facilitate prompt, appropriate treatment plans. In …


Elucidating The Molecular Pathway Of Atypical Plasmodium Falciparum Kinases Through Substrate Characterization, Daniel Segarra Jan 2015

Elucidating The Molecular Pathway Of Atypical Plasmodium Falciparum Kinases Through Substrate Characterization, Daniel Segarra

HIM 1990-2015

Plasmodium falciparum, the organism responsible for the most prevalent and most virulent cases of malaria in humans, poses a major burden to the developing world. The parasite is increasingly developing resistance to traditional therapies, such as chloroquine, so the need to determine novel drug targets is more prevalent than ever. One such method involves targeting proteins unique to the malarial proteome that do not have homologues in humans. An especially promising group of targets are protein kinases, which are involved in many different biochemical pathways within the cell. Eukaryotic cell cycle progression is moderated by a family of protein kinases …


Developing Microbial Biomarkers To Non-Invasively Assess Health In Wild Elk (Cervus Canadensis) Populations, Samuel B. Pannoni Jan 2015

Developing Microbial Biomarkers To Non-Invasively Assess Health In Wild Elk (Cervus Canadensis) Populations, Samuel B. Pannoni

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

The composition of the intestinal bacterial community (intestinal microbiome) of mammals is associated with changes in diet, stress, disease and physical condition of the animal. The relationship between health and the microbiome has been extensively demonstrated in studies of humans and mice; this provides strong support for its potential utility in wildlife. When managing elk (Cervus canadensis), federal and state agencies currently must rely on invasive sampling and coarse demographic data on which to base their decisions. By developing microbiome-based biomarkers that vary as a function of elk body condition and disease (i.e. microbial biomarkers), we hope to …


Chemoenzymatic Studies To Enhance The Chemical Space Of Natural Products, Jhong-Min Chen Jan 2015

Chemoenzymatic Studies To Enhance The Chemical Space Of Natural Products, Jhong-Min Chen

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacy

Natural products provide some of the most potent anticancer agents and offer a template for new drug design or improvement with the advantage of an enormous chemical space. The overall goal of this thesis research is to enhance the chemical space of two natural products in order to generate novel drugs with better in vivo bioactivities than the original natural products.

Polycarcin V (PV) is a gilvocarcin-type antitumor agent with similar structure and comparable bioactivity with the principle compound of this group, gilvocarcin V (GV). Modest modifications of the polyketide-derived tetracyclic core of GV had been accomplished, but the most …


An Examination Of Eisenia Fetida Coelomic Fluid For Antimycobacterial Activity, Christopher William Meiers Jan 2015

An Examination Of Eisenia Fetida Coelomic Fluid For Antimycobacterial Activity, Christopher William Meiers

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem with real world consequences to human health and no known solution. The genus Mycobacterium contains several bacteria that can cause serious illnesses including tuberculosis and Johne’s disease. Some of these pathogens also have resistance to several antibiotics. This project sought to find antimycobacterial activity related to the phagocytic coelomocytes or soluble substances in the coelomic fluid of the earthworm Eisenia fetida. The phagocytic activity was determined by observing the adherence of phagocytes to Mycobacterium smegmatis (strain mc2155) bacteria. The antimycobacterial ability of the coelomic fluid was assessed by comparison of viable plate counts after …


An Analysis Of Microbial Involvement In Biospeleogenesis Within Lechuguilla Cave System, Garrett Sonntag Jan 2015

An Analysis Of Microbial Involvement In Biospeleogenesis Within Lechuguilla Cave System, Garrett Sonntag

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Caves are geologic systems, shaped by inorganic chemical processes (speleogenesis). Nonetheless, there is increasing evidence that biological processes also play a role in the origin and development of caves (biospeleogenesis). In order to examine the role that microorganisms may play in secondary passage enlargement we collected samples from Lechuguilla Cave, a deep cave system that is largely shielded from human impact. Samples were collected from areas where rock corrosion was obvious. In order to determine if microorganisms were involved with the observed corrosion, we used scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to identify apparent microbial pitting of the rock surface. To establish …


Atmospheric Cold Plasma As A Tool For Microbiological Control, Dana Ziuzina Jan 2015

Atmospheric Cold Plasma As A Tool For Microbiological Control, Dana Ziuzina

Doctoral

Outbreaks of foodborne human illnesses resulting from contaminated raw or minimally processed fruits and vegetables have been widely reported globally. The microbiological challenges associated with fresh produce are diverse and respond differently to minimal processing technologies. Atmospheric cold plasma is a relatively new technology and represents a potential alternative to traditional methods for decontamination of foods. The objective of this work was to determine the influence of extrinsic atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) treatment control parameters and to optimize treatment parameters for decontamination with respect to different forms of key safety challenges pertinent to fresh produce.

The optimisation studies demonstrated that …


Humboldt Journal Of Microbiology: Volume 17, Number 1- May 2015, Press Humboldt Jan 2015

Humboldt Journal Of Microbiology: Volume 17, Number 1- May 2015, Press Humboldt

Humboldt Journal of Microbiology

No abstract provided.


Exploratory Study Of Seasonal Indoor Bioaerosols And The Associated Health Outcomes In Low-Income Communities In El Paso, Texas, 2014, Eric Martinez Jan 2015

Exploratory Study Of Seasonal Indoor Bioaerosols And The Associated Health Outcomes In Low-Income Communities In El Paso, Texas, 2014, Eric Martinez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Introduction: Structural degradation, moisture levels, and building failures can influence poor indoor air quality and create a good environment for bioaerosols. People spend much of their time indoors and can potentially be exposed to these bioaerosols. Several studies have correlated exposures to high concentrations of bioaerosols to various health problems, severe allergies, asthma, or other respiratory illness. Objectives: The objectives of this study are to describe bioaerosol concentrations, meteorological factors, and health outcomes during the summer and fall seasons; characterize bioaerosols (bacteria and fungi) collected in low-income communities; compare bioaerosol concentrations by season; compare meteorological factors to bioaerosol concentrations by …


Ph Dependent Antibiotic Resistance Of An Alkaliphilic, Halotolerant Bacterium Isolated From Soap Lake, Washington, Tiffany Charlynn Edwards Jan 2015

Ph Dependent Antibiotic Resistance Of An Alkaliphilic, Halotolerant Bacterium Isolated From Soap Lake, Washington, Tiffany Charlynn Edwards

Masters Theses

"Soap Lake, located in Washington State, is a meromictic, soda lake. Many bacterial isolates retrieved from Soap Lake have been noted to possess resistance to multiple antibiotics. A likely explanation for the wide range of antibacterial resistance exhibited by these strains is due to the impact of high alkalinity on the antibiotics themselves and not due to the presence of antibiotic resistance genes. The aim of our study was to determine if select antibiotics are effective against Halomonas eurialkalitoleranis, a bacterium capable of growth over a wide range of neutral to alkaline pH values, to investigate the influence of alkalinity …


Hiv Prevalence In Blood Donors And Recipients In Pakistan: A Meta-Analysis And Analysis Of Blood-Bank Data, Bushra Moiz, Barkat Ali, Muhammad Hasnain Chatha, Ahmed Raheem, Hasan Abbas Zaheer Jan 2015

Hiv Prevalence In Blood Donors And Recipients In Pakistan: A Meta-Analysis And Analysis Of Blood-Bank Data, Bushra Moiz, Barkat Ali, Muhammad Hasnain Chatha, Ahmed Raheem, Hasan Abbas Zaheer

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background:
The first instances of HIV-antibody detection in donated blood in Pakistan were reported in 1988. Since then, documentation of HIV in blood donors and of rates of transmission via transfusion has been limited. Previously assumed to have a low prevalence, HIV is an increasing health concern in Pakistan. Since there is no national, centralized blood-banking system, there are no reliable data on which to base estimated risks of transfusion-associated HIV infection. This study was therefore conducted to estimate the prevalence of HIV in blood donors and recipients in Pakistan between 1988 and 2012.
Methods:
Meta-analyses were undertaken of reported …


Mammary-Type Myofibroblastoma Of The Right Thigh: A Case Report And Review Of The Literature, Jamshid Abdul-Ghafar, Nasir Ud Din, Zubair Ahmad, Steven D. Billings Jan 2015

Mammary-Type Myofibroblastoma Of The Right Thigh: A Case Report And Review Of The Literature, Jamshid Abdul-Ghafar, Nasir Ud Din, Zubair Ahmad, Steven D. Billings

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Introduction:
Mammary-type myofibroblastoma of the soft tissue is a very rare, benign, mesenchymal neoplasm with myofibroblastic differentiation. To date, 20 cases of extra-mammary myofibroblastoma have been described in literature. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest extra-mammary myofibroblastoma described in the literature, and the first case reported in this location.
Case Presentation:
A 50-year-old Pakistani man presented with a long history of a painless, huge lump on his right thigh. His clinical examination showed normal-looking skin and there was no inguinal lymphadenopathy. The mass was excised with a clinical impression of soft tissue sarcoma. Gross examination showed …


Effects Of Sex And Mycorrhizal Fungi On Gas Exchange In The Dioecious Salt Marsh Grass Distichlis Spicata, Kassandra Reuss-Schmidt, Todd N. Rosenstiel, Sally R. Rogers, Allie G. Simpson, Sarah M. Eppley Jan 2015

Effects Of Sex And Mycorrhizal Fungi On Gas Exchange In The Dioecious Salt Marsh Grass Distichlis Spicata, Kassandra Reuss-Schmidt, Todd N. Rosenstiel, Sally R. Rogers, Allie G. Simpson, Sarah M. Eppley

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Premise of research. In dioecious plant species, males and females often differ in physiology, and mycorrhizal fungal relationships are likely to influence these differences. However, few data are available on the potential role of mycorrhizal fungi in altering sex-specific physiology and population sex ratios of dioecious plant species.

Methodology. In this study, we measured leaf gas exchange in a multifactorial greenhouse experiment with and without mycorrhizal fungal additions and under field conditions in Distichlis spicata, a dioecious C4 salt marsh grass, displaying extreme spatial sex ratio variation.

Pivotal results. We found a significant interaction between gas exchange, plant sex, and …


Mcl1 Enhances The Survival Of Cd8+ Memory T Cells After Viral Infection, Jingang Gui, Zhuting Hu, Ching-Yi Tsai, Tian Ma, Yan Song, Amanda Morales, Li-Hao Huang, Ethan Dmitrovsky, Ruth Craig, Edward Usherwood Jan 2015

Mcl1 Enhances The Survival Of Cd8+ Memory T Cells After Viral Infection, Jingang Gui, Zhuting Hu, Ching-Yi Tsai, Tian Ma, Yan Song, Amanda Morales, Li-Hao Huang, Ethan Dmitrovsky, Ruth Craig, Edward Usherwood

Dartmouth Scholarship

Viral infection results in the generation of massive numbers of activated effector CD8+ T cells that recognize viral components. Most of these are short-lived effector T cells (SLECs) that die after clearance of the virus. However, a small proportion of this population survives and forms antigen-specific memory precursor effector cells (MPECs), which ultimately develop into memory cells. These can participate in a recall response upon reexposure to antigen even at protracted times postinfection. Here, antiapoptotic myeloid cell leukemia 1 (MCL1) was found to prolong survival upon T cell stimulation, and mice expressing human MCL1 as a transgene exhibited a skewing …


Exploiting Bacteriophages And Associated Peptidoglycan Hydrolases With Potential For Biocontrol In Food Related Applications, Lorraine Endersen Jan 2015

Exploiting Bacteriophages And Associated Peptidoglycan Hydrolases With Potential For Biocontrol In Food Related Applications, Lorraine Endersen

Theses

The work presented in this thesis describes the isolation and characterisation of novel bacteriophages, and the subsequent exploitation of their bactericidal properties against two opportunistic food related pathogens, Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) and Cronobacter sakazakii.

MAP is a proven animal pathogen known to cause Johne’s disease in cattle but has been implicated as a causative agent of Crohn’s disease in humans. Despite the fact that this association has yet to be proven, significant focus has been directed towards evaluating the consequences of consuming milk contaminated with MAP. Accordingly, six mycobacteriophages were isolated and characterised in terms of temperature and …


Identification Of The Molecular Mechanisms Governing The Osmotolerance Of The Emerging Gastrointestinal Pathogen Cronobacter Sakazakii, Audrey Feeney Jan 2015

Identification Of The Molecular Mechanisms Governing The Osmotolerance Of The Emerging Gastrointestinal Pathogen Cronobacter Sakazakii, Audrey Feeney

Theses

Cronobacter sakazakii is an organism which has been associated with severe life- threatening diseases in infants and neonates. Mortality rates of up to 80% have been recorded in infants infected with Cronobacter sakazakii. Infants often suffer from septicaemia, necrotising enterocolitis and meningitis as a result of infection. A characteristic feature of the opportunistic foodborne pathogen Cronobacter sakazakii is its ability to survive in extremely arid environments such as powdered infant formula, making it a dangerous opportunistic pathogen of neonates. Herein, we provide a brief overview of the pathogen; clinical manifestations, environmental reservoirs and our current understanding of stress response mechanisms …