Microbiology Commons^™

การเตรียมฟิล์มวัสดุเชิงประกอบทางชีวภาพระหว่างพอลิไฮดรอกซีบิวทิเรตจาก Cupriavidus Necator สายพันธุ์ A-04 และไมโครคริสตัลลีนเซลลูโลสจากใบสับปะรด, พิชญ์นันท์ สินสุขอุดมชัย

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

พอลิไฮดรอกซีบิวทิเรต (polyhydroxybutyrate, PHB) เป็นพอลิเอสเทอร์ชีวภาพในกลุ่มของพอลิไฮดรอกซีแอลคาโนเอต (polyhydroxyalkanoate, PHAs) ที่ได้รับความสนใจในการศึกษาเพื่อนำมาใช้เป็นวัสดุชีวภาพทางเลือกเพื่อแก้ไขปัญหาสิ่งแวดล้อมจากพลาสติกจากอุตสาหกรรมปิโตรเคมี แม้ว่าจะมีข้อดีที่มากมายแต่ยังมีอุปสรรคในการผลิต PHB ในระดับอุตสาหกรรม เนื่องจากต้นทุนการผลิตที่มีราคาสูง ในงานวิจัยนี้จึงมีจุดประสงค์เพื่อศึกษาการเตรียมฟิล์มวัสดุเชิงประกอบชีวภาพเพื่อลดต้นทุนการผลิต โดยเริ่มจากการผลิต PHB โดย Cupriavidus necator สายพันธุ์ A-04 ในระดับถังหมัก อัตราส่วนระหว่างคาร์บอนและไนโตรเจนเท่ากับ 200 โดยใช้น้ำตาลฟรักโทสเป็นแหล่งคาร์บอน และใช้แอมโมเนียมซัลเฟตเป็นแหล่งไนโตรเจน ได้ปริมาณ PHB สูงสุด 60.54±5.74 เปอร์เซ็นต์ที่ชั่วโมงที่ 60 จากนั้นนำสกัดเซลล์แห้งและทำบริสุทธิ์จะได้เป็นผง PHB บริสุทธิ์ จากนั้นเตรียมไมโครคริสตัลลีนเซลลูโลสจากใบสับปะรดซึ่งเป็นวัสดุเหลือทิ้งทางการเกษตร แต่ไมโครคริสตัลลีนเซลลูโลสละลายได้ในคลอโรฟอร์มใช้เป็นตัวทำละลายในการเตรียมฟิล์มวัสดุเชิงประกอบชีวภาพร่วมกับ PHB จึงต้องดัดแปรโครงสร้างของไมโครคริสตัลลีนเซลลูโลสด้วยปฏิกิริยาเอสเทอริฟิเคชันโดยใช้ลอโรอิลคลอไรด์เป็นสารดัดแปร พบว่าเซลลูโลสลอเรตสามารถละลายได้ในคลอโรฟอร์มและมีการเปลี่ยนแปลงของหมู่ฟังก์ชันเมื่อวิเคราะห์โครงสร้างด้วยเครื่อง FTIR จากนั้นนำผง PHB และเซลลูโลสลอเรตมาขึ้นรูปเป็นแผ่นฟิล์มด้วยวิธีการหล่อขึ้นรูปโดยใช้สารละลายคลอโรฟอร์มที่อัตราส่วนต่างๆ ได้แก่ 100:0, 95:5, 90:10, 85:15, 80:20 และ 0:100 พบว่าแผ่นฟิล์มวัสดุเชิงประกบอชีวภาพที่อัตราส่วนต่างๆ ไม่มีการเปลี่ยนแปลงสมบัติทางความร้อน ในขณะที่ค่ามอดุลัสของยังมีแนวโน้มลดลงอย่างมีนัยสำคัญเมื่อปริมาณของเซลลูโลสลอเรตเพิ่มขึ้น และเมื่อนำไปศึกษาควาสามารถในการย่อยสลายทางชีวภาพพบว่าอัตราส่วน 95:5 ย่อยสลายได้สูงที่สุดเท่ากับ 23.49 เปอร์เซ็นต์ ในวันที่ 35

ผลของเซลลูโลสดัดแปรต่อสมบัติทางกายภาพและความสามารถในการย่อยสลายทางชีวภาพของฟิล์มวัสดุเชิงประกอบชีวภาพที่เตรียมจากพอลิไฮดรอกซีบิวทิเรตผลิตโดย Cupriavidus Necator สายพันธุ์ A-04 และไมโครคริสตัลลีนเซลลูโลสจากกากมันสำปะหลัง, ภัสราภรณ์ ธีระสีมาธรรม

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

งานวิจัยนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์ในการเตรียมแผ่นฟิล์มวัสดุเชิงประกอบชีวภาพระหว่าง PHB ซึ่งผลิตโดย Cupriavidus necator สายพันธุ์ A-04 และไมโครคริสตัลลีนเซลลูโลสที่เตรียมจากกากมันสำปะหลังเพื่อปรับปรุงเสถียรภาพทางความร้อนและสมบัติเชิงกลของ PHB เริ่มจากการเพาะเลี้ยง C. necator สายพันธุ์ A-04 ในระดับถังหมัก ได้ปริมาณ PHB เท่ากับ 59.66 ± 5.92 เปอร์เซ็นต์ต่อน้ำหนักเซลล์แห้ง จากนั้นสกัดและทำบริสุทธิ์ PHB จากเซลล์แห้ง แล้วนำไปวิเคราะห์หมู่ฟังก์ชันในโครงสร้างและสมบัติทางความร้อนของ PHB ที่สกัดได้พบว่า PHB มีหมู่ฟังก์ชันและสมบัติความร้อนที่สอดคล้องกับ PHB มาตรฐาน จึงยืนยันได้ว่าเป็นพอลิเมอร์ชนิด PHB ต่อมาเตรียมไมโครคริสตัลลีนเซลลูโลสและดัดแปรโครงสร้างทางเคมีด้วยปฏิกิริยาเอสเทอริฟิเคชันโดยใช้บิวทิริลคลอไรด์เป็นสารดัดแปรพบว่าไมโครคริสตัลลีนเซลลูโลสบิวทิเรตมีการเปลี่ยนแปลงของหมู่ฟังก์ชันเนื่องจากมีการแทนที่ของสายโซ่อะลิฟาติกในหมู่ไฮดรอกซิล มีขนาดของอนุภาคที่ใหญ่ขึ้นและสามารถละลายได้ในตัวทำละลายคลอโรฟอร์ม จากนั้นเตรียมแผ่นฟิล์มวัสดุเชิงประกอบระหว่าง PHB และไมโครคริสตัลลีนเซลลูโลสบิวทิเรต โดยแปรผันอัตราส่วนของไมโครคริสตัลลีนเซลลูโลสบิวทิเรตพบว่าแผ่นฟิล์มวัสดุเชิงประกอบมีการเปลี่ยนแปลงสมบัติทางความร้อนและมีการเพิ่มขึ้นของค่าความทนแรงดึงและการยืดตัว ณ จุดขาดของแผ่นฟิล์มวัสดุเชิงประกอบชีวภาพที่อัตราส่วน 95 ต่อ 5 และ 90 ต่อ 10 หลังการทดสอบการย่อยสลายทางชีวภาพในดินของแผ่นฟิล์มวัสดุเชิงประกอบชีวภาพพบว่าแผ่นฟิล์มวัสดุเชิงประกอบชีวภาพยังคงมีความสามารถในการย่อยสลายทางชีวภาพ

Trends In Antibiotic Resistance And Correlations Of Antibiotic Use And Antibiotic Resistance In A Small Hospital In El Paso, Texas 2013-2015, Christopher Olivas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Antibiotic resistance is a serious public health threat, primarily, resulting from the excess and inappropriate use of antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance and antibiotic consumption trends may differ along the U.S-Mexico border from the rest of the U.S. due to geographical and cultural differences unique to the border region. The objectives of this study were: 1.) To examine the trends in antibiotic resistance among E. coli, ESBL producing E. coli, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, and MRSA over a 3-year period (2013, 2014, 2015) in a U.S.-Mexico border area hospital; 2.) To examine the trends in antibiotic consumption among aztreonam, cefazolin, cefepime, ceftriaxone, …

Monitoring The Influx Of Marine Derived Nitrogen And Characterizing Soil Food Webs Of Riparian Zones Of The Elwha River Watershed, Wa, Usa., Wendal R.H. Kane

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Nitrogen is often the most limiting nutrient to productivity in terrestrial ecosystems, and can have large effects on ecosystem processes. Two sources of nitrogen to Pacific Northwest riparian areas are marine derived nitrogen (MDN) via anadromous pacific salmon and symbiotic nitrogen fixation via Alnus rubra. The recent removal of two large dams on the Elwha River, WA, opened up ~60 km of previously inaccessible river habitat for pacific salmon. I used naturally abundant stable nitrogen isotopes (denoted as ‰ δ15N) to establish baseline data to monitor the influx of MDN to riparian zones of Elwha River tributaries, post dam removal. …

Discovery Of New Antimicrobial Options And Evaluation Of Aminoglycoside Resistance Enzyme-Associated Resistance Epidemic, Selina Y. L. Holbrook

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacy

The extensive and sometimes incorrect and noncompliant use of various types of antimicrobial agents has accelerated the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In fact, AMR has become one of the greatest global threat to human health in this era. The broad-spectrum antibiotics aminoglycosides (AGs) display excellent potency against most Gram-negative bacteria, mycobacteria, and some Gram-positive bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus. The AG antibiotics amikacin, gentamicin, kanamycin, and tobramycin are still commonly prescribed in the U.S.A. for the treatment of serious infections. Unfortunately, bacteria evolve to acquire resistance to AGs via four different mechanisms: i) changing in membrane permeability to …

Pcb Disruption Of Gut And Host Health: Implications Of Prebiotic Nutritional Intervention, Jessie Baldwin Hoffman

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences

Exposure to environmental pollutants poses numerous risk factors for human health, including increasing incidence of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Persistent organic pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been strongly linked to the development of these chronic inflammatory diseases and the primary route of exposure is through consumption of contaminated food products. Thus, the gastrointestinal tract is susceptible to the greatest levels of these pollutants and is an important facet to study.

The first two hypotheses of this dissertation tested that exposure to PCBs disrupts gut microbiota directly (in vitro) and within a whole body system. PCB exposure …

Identifying Mechanisms Of Host Plant Specialization In Aphis Craccivora And Its Bacterial Symbionts, Thorsten Hansen

Theses and Dissertations--Entomology

Many insects form close relationships with microbial symbionts. Insect symbionts can provide novel phenotypes to their hosts, including influencing dietary breadth. In the polyphagous cowpea aphid, Aphis craccivora, the facultative symbiont Arsenophonus improves aphid performance on one host plant (locust), but decreases performance on other plants. The goal of my thesis was to investigate the mechanism by which Arsenophonus facilitates use of locust. First, I assembled an Aphis craccivora-Arsenophonus-Buchnera reference transcriptome to conduct RNAseq analysis, comparing gene expression in aphids feeding on locust and fava, with and without Arsenophonus infection. Overall, few transcripts were differentially …

Developmental Stage Influences Chromosome Segregation Patterns And Arrangement In The Extremely Polyploid, Giant Bacterium Epulopiscium Sp. Type B, Elizabeth Hutchison

Biology

Few studies have described chromosomal dynamics in bacterial cells with more than two complete chromosome copies or described changes with respect to development in polyploid cells. We examined the arrangement of chromosomal loci in the very large, highly polyploid, uncultivated intestinal symbiont Epulopiscium sp. type B using fluorescent in situ hybridization. We found that in new offspring, chromosome replication origins (oriCs) are arranged in a three-dimensional array throughout the cytoplasm. As development progresses, most oriCs become peripherally located. Siblings within a mother cell have similar numbers of oriCs. When chromosome orientation was assessed in situ by …

Draft Genome Sequence Of Streptomyces Sp. Strain Jv178, A Producer Of Clifednamide-Type Polycyclic Tetramate Macrolactams, Yunci Qi, John M. D’Alessandro, Joshua A.V Blodgett

Biology Faculty Research

Here, we report the draft genome sequence of Streptomyces sp. JV178, a strain originating from Connecticut (USA) garden soil. This strain produces the polycyclic tetramate macrolactam compounds clifednamides A and B. The draft genome contains 10.65 Mb, 9,045 predicted protein coding sequences, and several natural product biosynthetic loci.

Microbial Diversity In The Thermal Springs Within Hot Springs National Park, E. Taylor Stone, Richard Murray, Matthew D. Moran

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The thermal water systems of Hot Springs National Park (HSNP) in Hot Springs, Arkansas exist in relative isolation from other North American thermal systems. The HSNP waters could therefore serve as a unique center of thermophilic microbial biodiversity. However, these springs remain largely unexplored using culture-independent next generation sequencing techniques to classify species of thermophilic organisms. Additionally, HSNP has been the focus of anthropogenic development, capping and diverting the springs for use in recreational bathhouse facilities. Human modification of these springs may have impacted the structure of these bacterial communities compared to springs left in a relative natural state. The …

Prospective Study Of The Feasibility Of Point-Of-Care Testing Strategy For Carbapenem-Resistant Organism Detection, Rahul Pannala, Bruce Baldwin, Vijay Aluru, Thomas E. Grys, Jordan Holmes, Laurence J. Miller, M. Edwyn Harrison, Cuong C. Nguyen, Fred C. Tenover, David Persing, Douglas O. Faigel

Biology Faculty Publications

Background/aims: In an investigator-initiated, prospective study, we evaluated the feasibility of a five-gene sequence point-of-care (POC) testing strategy (Xpert CARBA-R Assay, Cepheid Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, USA), compared to reference laboratory PCR (48 – 72 hours turnaround time, two gene sequences), in patients undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and in a hospital outbreak investigation.

Methods: After informed consent, patients undergoing ERCP (September 2015 – April 2016, n = 191) at Mayo Clinic and potential hospital contacts (n = 9) of an index carbapenem-resistant organism (CRO)-positive inpatient were included. Two rectal swabs, one each for reference and POC assays were obtained. The …

Range Expansion And The Origin Of Usa300 North American Epidemic Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, Lavanya Challagundla, Isabella A. Tickler, Xavier Didelot, David C. Coleman, Anna C. Shore, Geoffrey W. Coombs, Daniel O. Sordelli, Eric L. Brown, Robert Skov, Anders Rhod Larsen, Jinnethe Reyes, Iraida E. Robledo, Guillermo J. Vazquez, Paul Rivera, Paul D. Fey, Kurt Stevenson, Shu-Hua Wang, Barry N. Kreiswirth, Jose R. Mediavilla, Cesar A. Arias, Paul J. Planet, Rathel L. Nolan, Fred C. Tenover, Richard V. Goering, D. Ashley Robinson

Biology Faculty Publications

The USA300 North American epidemic (USA300-NAE) clone of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus has caused a wave of severe skin and soft tissue infections in the United States since it emerged in the early 2000s, but its geographic origin is obscure. Here we use the population genomic signatures expected from the serial founder effects of a geographic range expansion to infer the origin of USA300-NAE and identify polymorphisms associated with its spread. Genome sequences from 357 isolates from 22 U.S. states and territories and seven other countries are compared. We observe two significant signatures of range expansion, including decreases in genetic diversity …

Antibody Dependent Enhancement Of Visceral Leishmaniasis, Alan K. Mcnolty

All Master's Theses

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by protozoans of the genus Leishmania. This vector-born disease, transmitted by biting phlebotomine sandflies, typically manifests in one of three ways. The cutaneous form of the disease is characterized by localized lesions of the skin and is by far the most common manifestation. The visceral form of the disease is caused by parasitic infiltration of internal organs, particularly the spleen, liver, and bone marrow. The mucocutaneous form is caused by parasitic infection of the mucosa in the nose or mouth. While cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is often self-healing, visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is fatal if …

Prospective Comparison Of Point-Of-Care Device And Standard Analyzer For Monitoring Of International Normalized Ratio In Outpatient Oral Anticoagulant Clinic, Bushra Moiz, Ahmed Raheem, Anila Rashid, Muhammad Hasan, Lena Jafri

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Point-of-care testing (POCT) coagulometers are increasingly being used in the hospital setting and patients’ self-testing. We determined the agreement of prothrombin time international normalized ratio (INR) results by POCT coagulometer and laboratory instrument through a comparative analysis and investigated whether the results of POCT coagulometer can reliably be used without being confirmed by standard laboratory analyzer. A total of 200 INR measurements by POCT coagulometer (CoaguChek XS Pro) and laboratory analyzer (Sysmex CS2000i) were compared using Passing-Bablok regression analysis and Bland-Altman plot. Agreement of the INR measurement was further analyzed in relation to dosing decision. The correlation of INR measurements …

Microbial Community Response To Light And Heavy Crude Oil In Freshwater Systems, Timothy M. Butler

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

With increased demand for oil, there is an increased risk for oil spills in many environments. A number of pipelines transport oil near or across freshwater systems including the Great Lakes. Microbes are capable of breaking down oil and have thus been proposed as tools for oil spill response through bioremediation. There is a need to understand the microbial response to diverse oil types in freshwater environments due to the lack of research into this topic. This study’s main objectives are to understand how the freshwater microbial communities respond to oil, and how the bacterial communities may respond to different …

Market Integration Predicts Human Gut Microbiome Attributes Across A Gradient Of Economic Development, Keaton Stagaman, Tara J. Cepon-Robins, Melissa A. Liebert, Theresa E. Gildner, Samuel S. Urlacher, Felicia C. Madimenos, Karen Guillemin, J. Josh Snodgrass, Lawrence C. Sugiyama, Brendan J. M. Bohannan

Publications and Research

Economic development is marked by dramatic increases in the incidence of microbiome-associated diseases, such as autoimmune diseases and metabolic syndromes, but the lifestyle changes that drive alterations in the human microbiome are not known. We measured market integration as a proxy for economically related lifestyle attributes, such as ownership of specific market goods that index degree of market integration and components of traditional and nontraditional (more modern) house structure and infrastructure, and profiled the fecal microbiomes of 213 participants from a contiguous, indigenous Ecuadorian population. Despite relatively modest differences in lifestyle across the population, greater economic development correlated with significantly …

Genome-Wide Screening Of Potential Rnase Y-Processed Mrnas In The M49 Serotype Streptococcus Pyogenes Nz131, Zhiyun Chen, Rahul Raghavan, Fengxia Qi, Justin Merritt, Jens Kreth

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

RNase Y is a major endoribonuclease in Group A streptococcus (GAS) and other Gram‐positive bacteria. Our previous study showed that RNase Y was involved in mRNA degradation and processing in GAS. We hypothesized that mRNA processing regulated the expression of important GAS virulence factors via altering their mRNA stabilities and that RNase Y mediated at least some of the mRNA‐processing events. The aims of this study were to (1) identify mRNAs that were processed by RNase Y and (2) confirm the mRNA‐processing events. The transcriptomes of Streptococcus pyogenes NZ131 wild type and its RNase Y mutant (Δrny) were …

Effects Of Voluntary Physical Rehabilitation On Neurogenesis In Svz And Functional Recovery After Ischemic Stroke, Anuranjani Balakrishnan

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Stroke is the leading cause of long-term disability and 87% of all strokes are due to ischemic strokes. In this current study, we examined whether voluntary physical rehabilitation can influence neurogenesis (measured by Doublecortin) in the subventricular zone and show improved motor functional recovery in 10-12 month female rats after ischemia. We saw a significant increase in the neurogenesis (measured by doublecortin) of all three regions (anterior, middle and posterior) of SVZ in the rehab animals compared to control group when using a two-way variance ANOVA test, although we were unable to see significant differences in paired t-tests of similar …

Size-Dependent Inhibitory Effects Of Antibiotic Drug Nanocarriers Against Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Feng Ding, Preeyaporn Songkiatisak, Pavan Kumar Cherukuri, Tao Huang, Xiao-Hong Nancy Xu

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Multidrug membrane transporters (efflux pumps) are responsible for multidrug resistance (MDR) and the low efficacy of therapeutic drugs. Noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) possess a high surface-area-to-volume ratio and size-dependent plasmonic optical properties, enabling them to serve both as imaging probes to study sized-dependent MDR and as potential drug carriers to circumvent MDR and enhance therapeutic efficacy. To this end, in this study, we synthesized three different sizes of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), 2.4 ± 0.7, 13.0 ± 3.1, and 92.6 ± 4.4 nm, functionalized their surface with a monolayer of 11-amino-1-undecanethiol (AUT), and covalently conjugated them with antibiotics (ofloxacin, Oflx) …

Better Living Through Chemistry: Addressing Emerging Antibiotic Resistance, Nathan P. Coussens, Ashley L. Molinaro, Kayla J. Culbertson, Tyler Peryea, Gergely Zahoránszky-Köhalmi, Matthew D. Hall, Dayle A. Daines

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The increasing emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria is recognized as a major threat to human health worldwide. While the use of small molecule antibiotics has enabled many modern medical advances, it has also facilitated the development of resistant organisms. This minireview provides an overview of current small molecule drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in humans, the unintended consequences of antibiotic use, and the mechanisms that underlie the development of drug resistance. Promising new approaches and strategies to counter antibiotic-resistant bacteria with small molecules are highlighted. However, continued public investment in this area is critical …

Photosynthetic Activity Under Low Light, Danijela Lonco

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Are bacteria capable of undergoing oxygenic photosynthesis under low-light conditions inside of caves? Inside of an Australian cave, Chlorophyll f was recently discovered. This chlorophyll pigment was found to demonstrate the capability for photosynthesis, suggesting that Chlorophyll f extends the spectrum of usable light needed for oxygenic photosynthesis (Lars, 2015). Due to the findings in this study, a team went to Carlsbad Caverns to see if there were any bacteria capable of undergoing oxygenic photosynthesis under low light.

Investigating The Role Of Parp-1 In Hiv-1 Replication, Sara Garcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Poly (ADP-ribose) Polymerase 1 (PARP-1) is a cellular protein that that has multiple roles in the cell including DNA repair and transcription. PARP-1 has also proven by our laboratory to impair HIV-1 replication in T cells infected with HIV-1 strains entering via CD4/CXCR4. The goal of my Thesis is to increase our understanding of the mechanism implicated in the anti-HIV-1 activity of PARP-1. Initially, I focused my research in deciphering the impact of PARP-1 on the replication of HIV-1 strains entering the cell through the alternative pathway CD4/CCR5. However, technical difficulties prevented answering this question. Nevertheless, aided by the technical …

Novel Therapeutic Approaches For Trypanosoma Cruzi Infection, Caresse Lynn Torres

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) is the causative agent of Chagas disease (ChD), an emerging illness prevalent in South and Central America. Presently, benznidazole and nifurtimox are the only two clinically available drugs against T. cruzi, which have high toxicity and limited efficacy in the chronic phase of the disease. This ailment affects 8-10 million people and has become an emerging concern in the U.S leading to an urgent need for the discovery of new treatments. Despite all efforts, there is no human vaccine available. Therapeutic vaccines are a possible option for chronic ChD in which the vaccine is used after …

Tracking A Tree-Killer: Improving Detection And Characterizing Species Distribution Of Phytophthora Cinnamomi In Appalachian Forests, Kenton L. Sena

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Phytophthora cinnamomi is a soil-borne oomycete pathogen causing root rot in susceptible host species. P. cinnamomi is thought to have originated in Southeast Asia, but has since been introduced to many regions around the world, where it causes dramatic declines in many forest tree species. In the eastern US, the primary susceptible tree species of concern are American chestnut (Castanea dentata), white oak (Quercus alba), and shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata). American chestnut, functionally eliminated in the early 1900s by the rapidly acting chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica), has been the subject of decades-long …

Molecular Candidates For Blocking The Transmission Of Vector-Borne Diseases, Ashish Naresh Vora

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) require urgent attention as they have a high mortality rate, with 700,000 people dying in a year as of 2017. So far, extremely few reliable vaccination strategies and solutions have emerged. Transmission blocking vaccines are one among many solutions available to manage the control of VBDs. These require identification of both vector and pathogen molecules that play important roles in the transmission, dissemination and establishment of VBDs. Our strategy is to characterize these candidates that play important roles in vector-host-pathogen interactions. This manuscript presents two such studies identifying the participation of two arthropod molecules in vector-host-pathogen interactions. …

The Role Of Neurokinin Receptors And Satellite Glial Cells In Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Latency, Andrew Jerome

Wayne State University Dissertations

The ability of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) to establish a lifelong infection in neurons of the trigeminal ganglion (TG) make it a constant public health threat. Viral reactivation from its latent state is currently the leading cause of viral induced blindness in the United State, as well as the leading cause of herpes simplex encephalitis. Unfortunately, how the virus is able to both establish and maintain its latent state in the TG is not well understood. The purpose of this work was to better understand how neuropeptide signaling through neurokinin receptors, as well as how satellite glial cells (SGCs) …

The Impact Of Lemongrass, Oregano, And Thyme Essential Oils On Candida Albicans' Virulence Factors, Jennifer Marie Eddins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Increased systemic infections and growing resistance of Candida species in immunosuppressed people have prompted research for additional treatment options. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the potential of lemongrass, oregano, and thyme essential oils tested individually, combined, and combined with the antifungal agents fluconazole and caspofungin to kill Candida albicans isolates in a controlled laboratory setting. This study was grounded on the theoretical concepts of the epidemiologic triangle model. The experimental data collected were used to investigate risk factors related to age, gender, race, and comorbidities. Kill rates of lemongrass, oregano, and thyme essential oils individually and …

Hsv-1 Replication In Different Raw 264.7 And J774.1 Macrophage Phenotypes And Macrophage Viability Following Hsv-1 Infection, Yousef Nifaj Alanazi

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

HSV-1 is a ubiquitous virus capable of causing lifelong latent infection. The virus contains a large double strand DNA genome covered by an icosahedral capsid. HSV-1 is a cytolytic virus which can cause a lethal infection. The virus possesses critical protein ICP0 which is capable of interfering with host cell signaling and eventually prevent cell apoptosis. Innate immunity plays a crucial role in defense against HSV-1 infection and macrophage plays a significant role in the innate immune system. Macrophage cells can alter their behavior depending upon certain stimuli and tissue environments. Naive macrophage (M0) cells can be polarized to a …

The Impact Of Cytokines And Hsv-1 On Rab5 Protein Expression, F-Actin Cytoskeleton Rearrangement, And Cell Viability Of Uninfected And Virus-Infected M0, M1, And M2 Raw264.7 Murine Macrophages, Muhannad Falah Alruwaili

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The endocytic pathway in all eukaryotic cells is necessary to maintain cellular functions, such as initiating transport of intracellular cargos and ingesting pathogens. The main regulator of this process is a member of small GTPase family, Rab5 protein. Rab5 protein plays a key role in the endocytic dynamic delivery of molecules, receptors, and pathogens from the cell membrane to cytoplasmic vesicles.as well as in the exocytic delivery of cellular products to the cell's exterior (Bonifacino & Glick, 2004). Many pathogens have exploited this protein to enter cells. Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 (HSV-1) enters most cells by fusion or utilizes …

Neurological Involvement Associated With Plasmodium Vivax Malaria From Pakistan, Yousaf Abdullah Khan, Usman Hameed Mian, Najia Karim Ghanchi, Ali Bin Sarwar Zubairi, Mohammad Asim Beg

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Plasmodium vivax is the most common specie causing malaria outside Africa with approximately 13.8 million reported cases worldwide. We report case of P. vivax infection with cerebral involvement. A nine year old boy presented with high grade fever accompanied by projectile vomiting and abnormal behavior later he developed seizures, shock, and unconsciousness. P. vivax monoinfection was diagnosed based on peripheral smears and PCR. After antimalarial therapy, patient made full recovery. Current case highlights increasing trend of cerebral complications caused by P. vivax.