Capital punishment--Public opinion; Murder victims' families--Attitudes; Murder victims' families--Psychology
Two common assumptions are that the family members of murder victims will achieve closure and perceive a sense of justice following the execution of their loved one's murderer. These assumptions, however, may be unfounded. Using family member...
DNA microarrays--Statistical methods; Gene expression--Statistical methods
Data derived from gene expression microarrays are frequently used to identify candidate genes which can characterize and distinguish between two biological phenotypes. A key step in this process is the selection of an appropriate test statistic to...
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level by repressing translation or stimulating mRNA degradation. In this study, I tested the hypothesis that miRNAs are differentially expressed in antiestrogen-sensitive MCF-7...
Neurosphere forming cells (NSFCs) have been derived from cultures of adult olfactory neuroepithelium obtained from patients and cadavers in serum rich medium. These neural progenitors remain undifferentiated when maintained in serum rich medium but...
Night vision--Genetic aspects; Vision disorders--Genetic aspects
Mutations in the NYX gene, encoding the novel protein nyctalopin, cause human congenital stationary night blindness type 1 (CSNB1). CSNB1 is an X-linked recessive condition and is identified by a loss of the electroretinogram (ERG) b-wave while the...
T lymphopoiesis has been an intense focus of immunological research since the discovery of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and T cell mediated transplant rejection. Additionally, researchers have long appreciated the role of T cells, and...
Mucin 1 (MUC1) is a plasma membrane-bound glycoprotein that plays a protective role in corneal epithelial cells. Two full-length splice variants of MUCl: MUCl/B and MUCl/A, that differ by the inclusion of 27 bp from intron 1 and a SNP in MUCl/A,...
Females have a higher incidence of autoimmune diseases than males for reasons that are currently unknown. CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells play an important role in the maintenance of immunological homeostasis and self-tolerance by suppressing...
Hypoxia is characterized by an inadequate oxygen supply to the tissues in
proportion to their metabolic needs, and is a primary factor in traumatic CNS
injury, strokes, cardiopulmonary diseases, and obstructive sleep apnea. The
cAMP-dependent...
Interactions between chemokines and their receptors are involved in organ- specific homing and propagation of metastatic breast cancer (BrCa) cells. BrCa cells express higher levels of CXCR4 and CXCR7 mRNA and cell surface protein, than normal...
Arsenic--Physiological effect; Cardiovascular system--Diseases; Liver--Effect of arsenic on; Arsenic--Toxicology
Chronic arsenic exposure is associated with increased cardiovascular disease (CVD). Prenatal arsenic exposure at 49 ppm arsenic accelerates atherosclerosis underlying CVD in ApoE-/- mice, but the mechanism is unknown. This dissertation examines the...
Monoclonal antibodies directed toward tumor associated antigens are FDA approved anticancer reagents used commonly in the clinic. Administered antibodies initiate tumor cell death through several mechanisms. Improving immune mediated mechanisms,...
The lipid aldehydes, 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE) and propene-2-al (acrolein) are reactive α,β-unsaturated aldehydes generated during the peroxidation of lipids and are implicated in the pathogenesis of several oxidative-stress mediated diseases,...
Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is an electrokinetic force capable of attracting or repelling neutrally charged particles due to a non-uniform electric field [1, 2]. Positive dielectrophoresis attracts particles in the region of the highest electric field...
Tobacco smoke is a strong and independent risk factor for several chronic systemic diseases and also increases susceptibility to a multitude of bacterial infections, including periodontal infections. Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease...
Reperfusion of the ischemic lung causes pulmonary arteriolar vasoconstriction and reduces alveolar perfusion. Lung ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury leads to platelet and leukocyte activation which could contribute to decreased alveolar perfusion...
T cells; Disease susceptibility; Lupus; Sex factors in disease
Females are more susceptible to autoimmune disease than males. In several mouse models of disease, castration of males exacerbates disease while androgen treatment ameliorates disease. These data suggest hormones can have an influence on disease...
Congenital stationary night blindness 1 (CSNBl) is a genetic disorder characterized in humans by night blindness, low visual acuity and myopia. CSNB 1 is caused by defects in genes that are involved in signaling between photoreceptors and...
Soon after the atomic theory was established, it was found that the plant uses as sources of food not only the air and water, but also different constituents of the soil, dissolved in the soil moisture—the mineral nutrients. Ashes of different...
Bcl-2 proteins are major regulators of cellular responses to various apoptotic stimuli. Among them, overexpression of the anti-apoptotic BcI-2 protein BcI-xL modulates organelle-specific apoptotic pathways. To understand the mechanisms by which...
