In the retina, the receptive fields (RFs) of most neurons are comprised of an excitatory center and a suppressive surround. Retinal ganglion cell (RGC) RF center excitatory input arises from bipolar cell (BC) inputs, while their surround arises...
Anxiety in adolescence; Parent and teenager; Parenting
This dissertation examined the prediction of anxiety symptoms over time during
developmentally significant periods - the transition to middle school (12 years old) and
the transition to high school (15 years old). Specifically, relationships...
Human arylamine N-acetyltransferase (NAT) is a phase II cytosolic enzyme that occurs as two isozymes, NAT1 and NAT2. This family of polymorphic enzymes catalyzes the detoxification and/or activation of many aromatic and heterocyclic amine drugs and...
Background The anthracycline doxorubicin (DOX) is widely used as an effective antineoplastic drug. Cardiotoxicity leading to congestive heart failure is the primary factor limiting the clinical use of DOX. However, although a variety of approaches...
Ribosomal biogenesis failure may contribute to neurodegenerative diseases, while its excessive activation has been shown to drive tumor growth. As ribosomal production is initiated and regulated by the Pol1-mediated transcription of rRNA genes in...
It has been shown that GSK3 β plays a critical role in the inflammation response by differentially regulating MyD88-dependent pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines production in TLR4-stimulated innate immune cells. The work included in this...
Metastasis is a complex process requiring directed migration of metastatic cells to favorable microenvironments. Increased CXCR4 expression has been implicated in more invasive, aggressive and metastatic tumor phenotypes and poor patient survival...
4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE) and propene-2-al (acrolein) are highly reactive á,â-unsaturated aldehydes. 4-HNE and acrolein are generated in vivo as products of lipid peroxidation. These aldehydes are implicated in the onset of several diseases...
Evidence suggests that cortical minicolumns are reduced in size and increased in number in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), especially in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). More specifically minicolumns in individuals with...
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...
Ten algal isolates were obtained from soil into axenic culture and placed into defined media containing from 0 to 50 ppm of DDT, 2, 4-D,2,4,5-T, rotenone, or malathion (in two purities, 95 and 99%). For nine of the isolates, growth was measured...
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...
Anxiety in children; Anxiety--Physiological aspects
Anxiety disorders are prevalent in both adult and child populations, and are associated with significant economic and psychosocial costs. There are clearly familial patterns of transmission within the anxiety disorders, and the inherited risk is...
This dissertation focuses on the mechanisms and implications of perceptual learning of binocular interactions. Perceptual learning is an important means of adapting to the changing environment, demonstrating the possibility of neural plasticity in...
Hepatitis C virus--Research; Interferon--Therapeutic use; Adenosylmethionine
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major cause of chronic liver disease in the United States and is a huge burden on the US healthcare system. The FDA-approved traditional standard of care for HCV is pegylated interferon-alpha (lFNα) combined...
Complement, an early recognition system of innate immunity that senses local tissue damage and infection, cross-talks with and regulates other signaling systems, including Toll-like receptor (TLR) pathways. In the context of periodontitis,...
Arylamine N-acetyltransferase 1 (NAT1) and 2 (NAT2) catalyze the detoxification and/or activation of aromatic and heterocyclic amine carcinogens by two pathways. This metabolism reaction can lead to the detoxification by Nacetylation, or...
The acetogenin annonacin, from the tropical annonaceous plant Annona muricata, is a lipophilic, mitochondrial complex I inhibitor reported to be more toxic than rotenone to mesencephalic neurons. The temperate annonaceous plant Asimina tri/oba...
The chaperone heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) regulates physiologically and
pathological cellular processes, by binding and stabilizing kinases involved in basal
cellular functions and in cellular responses to stress, respectively. I hypothesize...
Green tea--Health aspects; Green tea--Therapeutic use; Polyphenols--Physiological effect; Drug delivery systems; Lungs--Cancer--Treatment
Green tea polyphenols (GTPs) are gaining increasing attention because of their potential anti-tumor effects. However, poor oral bioavailability limits their efficacy in vivo. In this dissertation, two hypotheses were tested: 1) GTPs administered...
