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Population Structure Of River Herring In Albemarle Sound, North Carolina, Inferred From Geometric Morphometrics And Otolith Shape Analysis
(East Carolina University, 2015)
Alewife Alosa pseudoharengus and Blueback Herring Alosa aestivalis, collectively known as River herring, use tributaries of the Albemarle Sound, North Carolina as spawning and nursery habitats. Stocks of these anadromous ...
Reproductive Plasticity In Two Subspecies Of A Cleistogamous Plant, Triodanis Perfoliata
(East Carolina University, 2015)
Dimorphic cleistogamy is an intriguing reproductive strategy in which a plant produces both closed (cleistogamous), obligately selfing flowers and open (chasmogamous) flowers. Phenotypic plasticity in the production of ...
Assessing The Monophyly Of Red Algae And Green Plants Via Core Conserved Informational Genes
(East Carolina University, 2015)
For well over a century the existence of a monophyletic relationship between red algae and green plants has been debated. Many scholars have sought to address this issue, however, a consistent solution to the problem has ...
Neurological Effects Of A Single Low Level Blast Overpressure Exposure : Behavior And Micro RNA Mechanisms Of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury In A Rodent Model
(East Carolina University, 2015)
The increased use of explosive devices within warfare and acts of terrorism has allowed blast overpressure exposure (BOE) to become a significant concern. The most common wound sustained by BOE is blast-induced mild traumatic ...
Comparison of ZnO nanoparticles and ZnCl₂ induced germ cell apoptosis in Caenorhabditis elegans
(East Carolina University, 2014)
There is inadequate research data available on manufactured ZnO nanoparticles. Manufactured nanoparticles are widely used in various products and production of manufactured nanoparticles is becoming increasingly abundant. ...
Expression of microRNA in Alveolar Macrophages Deficient in PPARy
(East Carolina University, 2014)
The nuclear transcription factor Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) is a negative regulator of macrophage activation and inflammatory mediators. Alveolar macrophages of healthy individuals constitutively express PPARgamma Decreased activity and expression of PPARgamma are observed in the alveolar macrophages from patients suffering from inflammatory conditions such as pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) and sarcoidosis. These finding suggest that PPARf× activity may have an integral role in maintaining lung homeostasis. This study tested the hypothesis that microRNA expression would be dysregulated in murine alveolar macrophages deficient in PPARgamma. microRNA (miR) are small non-coding RNA molecules that post-transcriptionally regulate the expression of messenger RNA. Evaluation of microRNA in the murine model of PAP, the GM-CSF-KO mouse, demonstrates the elevation of miR-27a and miR-27b which target PPARgamma. The deficiency of PPARgamma and the lipid transporters ABCA1 and ABCG1 have been shown to contribute to the pathology of PAP. The microRNA miR-33-3p and miR-33-5p, which target these lipid transporters, were also elevated in GM-CSF-KO mice. Pulmonary granulomas comparable to those observed in pulmonary sarcoidosis are induced by instillation of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) in C57Bl/6 mice. These animals have decreased PPARgamma activity and show elevated expression of miR-27a and miR-27b. It was also observed that the expression of the transporters ABCA1 and ABCG1 were decreased in MWCNT instilled mice. Expression of miR-33-3p and miR-33-5p was elevated in MWCNT instilled animals. The expression of microRNA that affects the activity of NF-£eB is also elevated in both murine models. We next investigated the use of PPARgamma agonist rosiglitazone on the expression of microRNA and messenger RNA. The use of rosiglitazone altered the expression of microRNA in both GM-CSF-KO and C57Bl/6+MWCNT mice. Rosiglitazone treatment altered the expression of the lipid transporter ABCA1and ABCG1 in C57Bl/6+MWCNT mice. The elevation of proinflammatory cytokines was also observed. Taken together, these observations support the hypothesis that PPARgamma activity effects the microRNA and gene expression in alveolar macrophages which is critical to overall lung homeostasis. Understanding the relationship between PPARgamma and microRNA in alveolar macrophage biology will provide insight into the regulation of the lung environment and possible therapeutic targets. ...
Investigation of NADPH-Dependent Thioredoxin Reductase-C (NTRC) In Chloroplast Lipid Metabolism
(East Carolina University, 2022-07-01)
Redox reactions are ubiquitous within plant metabolism and critical for the sustainment of photosynthesis within thylakoid membranes. Specialized glycerolipids that make up these membranes in turn require redox reactions ...
Repair of Clustered DNA Lesions in Double Strand Break Repair Deficient Human Tumor Cells
(East Carolina University, 2010)
DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) is a holoenzyme of three subunits, Ku70, Ku80, and the DNA-Pk catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs). DNA-PK serves a role in non-homologous end joining to repair double stranded breaks, and ...
Photofrin-Mediated Electroporation-Assisted Photodynamic Therapy of MCF-7 Human Breast Cancer and B16-F10 Mouse Melanoma Cells
(East Carolina University, 2011)
Photodynamic therapy is a relatively new player on the field of cancer treatment that involves the injection of a nontoxic light-sensitive drug followed by light excitation, creating reactive oxygen species that cause ...
A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF MICROBES IN SERPENTINITE-HOSTED SUBSURFACE ENVIRONMENTS
(East Carolina University, 1/13/16)
Over the last two decades, serpentinizing environments have been studied with regards to the biogeochemistry of these habitats, but significantly less is known about the microbiology within these environments. Serpentinization ...