In 2003, Wilson Creek running through Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in central Kentucky was restored to its original winding path through a valley field. Early 20th century settlers had previously redirected this creek to run a straight...
QSOs, providing distant, luminous sources of radiation, provide a means to detect gas by absorption in the interstellar and intergalactic medium. Of particular interest to astronomers studying metal line systems in lines of sight to QSOs are the...
Freshwater zooplankton; Global warming; Nitrogen--Environmental aspects
Aquatic ecosystems face major transformations as humans increasingly alter their environment by introducing exotic species and changing the temperature regime and nutrient availability of freshwater systems. The impacts of such alterations of...
Vascular injury and chronic arterial diseases such as atherosclerosis and restenosis result in exposure of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) to increased concentrations of growth factors triggering a change from a contractile to a synthetic...
Trees in cities--Kentucky--Louisville; Urban forestry--Kentucky--Louisville; Louisville (Ky.)--Environmental conditions
Trees in urban residential neighborhoods provide valuable ecosystem services. Urban trees also face threats from disturbances, such as storms. In 2008, the Urban Forest Effects model was used to estimate abundance and species composition of...
Na,K-ATPase is essential for the regulation of cytoplasmic Na+ and K+ levels in lens cells. Insufficient Na,K-ATPase activity is associated with cataract formation. Based on earlier studies in which Src-tyrosine kinase inhibitors were found to...
Freshwater mussels--Ecology; Freshwater mussels--Blue River (Ind.)
This study assessed life history components for the elephantear freshwater mussel, Elliptio crassidens (Lamarck, 1819). The main focus of this study was to determine the suitability of various fish species as a host for E. crassidens and to...
Embryonic development requires the orchestration of temporally precise genetic events that culminate in the formation of a complete organism. The molecular mechanisms responsible for ontogenesis are regulated by environmental and somatic factors in...
This dissertation explores the physical and biological factors that control zooplankton population growth rates in the Ohio River (USA). I employed both observational studies and a mesocosm experiment to ascertain zooplankton population and...
Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a common complication leading to accelerated cardiovascular failure in diabetic patients. Even though the exact mechanism(s) behind this disease still remain unclear, research from several laboratories including our...
Naja kaouthia is a significant species because it feeds primarily on agricultural pests, causes human mortality, and is commercially exploited. Understanding the life history and demography of harvested populations is essential to providing...
Stream riparian zones are ecotones between terrestrial and aquatic environments. Studying these areas in urban environments is important since they lie adjacent to stream water supplies. I conducted a study of riparian woody and groundcover...
Exocytosis of intracellular granules is critical for conversion of inactive, circulating neutrophils to fully activated cells. The p38 MAPK pathway plays a central role in neutrophil exocytosis, although its mechanism of action is unknown. We used...
Sport organizations face tremendous pressure to secure sponsorship support (Copland et aI., 1996). Professional niche sports face even greater pressure as sponsorship support often determines whether an event can even take place (Sutton, 2009)....
Acrolein--Toxicology; Stem cells--Effect of pollution on
Acrolein is a common pollutant present in ambient air, automobile exhaust, and tobacco smoke. Previous studies show that exposure to acrolein increases cardiovascular disease risk. To determine whether acrolein affect cardiovascular regeneration,...
Donne, John, 1572-1631--Criticism and interpretation; Donne, John, 1572-1631--Knowledge--Mathematics
John Donne wanted to live the leisurely life of a
gentleman undisturbed by financial difficulties, devoting
his life to entertaining his audience with his
witty insights into life and, especially, love. However,
his marriage, which was frowned upon...
Spinal cord injury (SCI) can be divided into two distinct stages, an initial mechanical impact and a later "secondary injury" resulting from a cascade of cytokines triggering a spreading demyelination and apoptosis of neurons and glia...
Green River Valley (Ky.)--History--19th century; Green River Valley (Ky.)--Economic conditions--19th century; Farms, Small--Kentucky--History
This study focuses on the expansion of the Green River's economic and political importance within Kentucky and how it impacted small farmers of the region. It challenges the idea that small farmers played an insignificant role in the agriculture...
Nerves--Regeneration; Spinal cord--Wounds and injuries--Treatment
These studies set out to identify strategies to rescue and repair the adult nervous system. First, we investigated the role of ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) in 5HT1A receptor-induced neurogenesis in the rodent brain. Systemic treatment with an...
Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular pathogen that utilizes a type III secretion system to enter mammalian cells and establish an intracellular niche. TARP, the translocated actin recruitment protein, is a chlamydial invasion protein...
