UNT Theses and Dissertations - 73 Matching Results

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Comparison of Aspartate Transcarbamoylase Activity Between Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Which Has One Chromosome and Burkholderia Cepacia Which Has Three Chromosomes

Description: The pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway is essential and similar in all bacteria. The pathway from Pseudomonas is regulated by nucleotides which bind to the upstream region of the pyrBC’ gene complex. Work in our lab mapped the genes and showed that the pyrB and pyrC’ were part of an overlap complex. The Pseudomonas aeruginosa has one circular chromosome. A former Pseudomonas now called Burkholderia cepacia is similar to P. aeruginosa except that it contains three circular chromosomes (CI, CII, … more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Nusair, Arwa Y.
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Partner: UNT Libraries
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A Computer Assisted Micro-Dye Uptake Interferon Assay System

Description: A new rapid computer assisted micro-titer plate interferon assay system was developed and characterized for use in high capacity clinical and research applications. The biological aspect of the assay was a modification of the assay methods of Finter, Armstrong and McManus. It was an application of spectrophotometric quantification of the reduction of viral cytopathic effect (CPE) as reflected by neutral red dye uptake by viable cells. A computer program was developed for the extrapolation of ra… more
Date: August 1981
Creator: Duvall, John C.
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Construction of a Cloning Vector Based upon a Rhizobium Plasmid Origin of Replication and its Application to Genetic Engineering of Rhizobium Strains

Description: Rhizobia are Gram-negative, rod-shaped, soil bacteria with the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia as symbiont bacteroids within nodules of leguminous plant roots. Here, resident Rhizobium plasmids were studied as possible sources of components for the construction of a cloning vector for Rhizobium species.
Date: May 1992
Creator: Jeong, Pyengsoo
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Construction of a Pseudomonas aeruginosa Dihydroorotase Mutant and the Discovery of a Novel Link between Pyrimidine Biosynthetic Intermediates and the Ability to Produce Virulence Factors

Description: The ability to synthesize pyrimidine nucleotides is essential for most organisms. Pyrimidines are required for RNA and DNA synthesis, as well as cell wall synthesis and the metabolism of certain carbohydrates. Recent findings, however, indicate that the pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway and its intermediates maybe more important for bacterial metabolism than originally thought. Maksimova et al., 1994, reported that a P. putida M, pyrimidine auxotroph in the third step of the pathway, dihydroorot… more
Date: August 2003
Creator: Brichta, Dayna Michelle
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Development of a Real-time Pcr Assay for the Detection of Campylobacter Jejuni and Campylobacter Coli.

Description: Campylobacter organisms are the most commonly reported bacterial causes of foodborne infection in the world, with Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli responsible for over 99% of reported infections. Traditionally, Campylobacter species detection is an arduous process, requiring a special incubation environment as well as specific growth media for an extended growth period. The development of a rapid and reliable diagnostic tool for the detection of Campylobacter species would be a valu… more
Date: May 2009
Creator: Lewis, Sally
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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DNA Degradation as an Indicator of Post-Mortem Interval

Description: The question of post-mortem interval (PMI) or time since death is often the most sought after piece of information associated with a medical death investigation. Based on the observation that DNA degradation disproportionately affects the analysis of larger genetic loci, it was proposed that DNA degradation, as a result of autolysis or putrefaction, could prove suitable as a potential rate-of-change indicator of PMI. Nine randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis primers and three se… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Watson, William H.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Dna Profiling of Captive Roseate Spoonbill (Ajaia Ajaja) Populations As a Mechanism of Determining Lineage in Colonial Nesting Birds.

Description: Roseate spoonbills are colonial nesting birds with breeding grounds extending from the United States Gulf coast to the pampas of Argentina. The U.S. population suffered a severe bottleneck from 1890 to 1920. The population's recovery was slow and partially credited to migrations from Mexican rookeries, but a gene pool reduction would be expected. Five polymorphic Spoonbill autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) loci [three (GAT)n, one (AAAG)n and one (GT)n] and one Z/W-linked microsatellite exhibi… more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Sawyer, Gregory M.
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DNA Typing of HLA-B by PCR with Primer Mixes Utilizing Sequence-Specific Primers

Description: The aim of this study was to design a resolution typing system for the HLA-B gene. This technique involves a one-step PCR reaction utilizing genomic DNA and sequence-specific primers to determine the specificity of each allele and to produce a larger primer data base ideal for serological analysis. The application of this technique to serological analysis can improve serology detection which is currently hindered by antibody cross-reactivity and the unavailability of useful typing reagents.
Date: August 1997
Creator: Chiu, Angela Chen-Yen
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Effects of a Methylcholanthrene-Induced Lymphosarcoma on the Blood of DBA/1J Mice

Description: This investigation was concerned with characterizing a tumor line induced and maintained in this laboratory. Various chemical assays, cell counts, and electron microscopy were the methods employed to characterize the blood of mice bearing the tumor at days 3, 6, 9, and 12 after injection of the 1.2 x 10^8 tumor cells.
Date: May 1972
Creator: Lindsey, Jerri Kay
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Effects of a Methylcholanthrene-Induced Lymphosarcoma on Various Tissues of DBA/1J and Swiss White Mice

Description: This investigation was concerned with characterizing effects of this tumor line on lipid metabolism in DBA/lJ mice and serum protein levels and cellular changes in DBA/lJ and Swiss white mice. Total lipids, lipid phosphorus, neutral lipids, and changes in fatty acids were determined in liver, spleen, skin, and tumor of DBA/lJ mice bearing the lymphosarcoma at various days after injection of tumor cells.
Date: May 1973
Creator: Lindsey, Terri Jay
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Electrophysiological and Morphological Analyses of Mouse Spinal Cord Mini-Cultures Grown on Multimicroelectrode Plates

Description: The electrophysiological and morphological properties of small networks of mammalian neurons were investigated with mouse spinal cord monolayer cultures of 2 mm diameter grown on multimicroelectrode plates (MMEPs). Such cultures were viewed microscopically and their activity simultaneously recorded from 2 of any 36 fixed recording sites. The specific aims achieved were: development of techniques for production of functional MMEPs and maintenance of mini-cultures, characterization of the sponta… more
Date: December 1988
Creator: Hightower, Mary H. (Mary Helen)
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Partner: UNT Libraries
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Engineered Microbial Consortium for the Efficient Conversion of Biomass to Biofuels

Description: Current energy and environmental challenges are driving the use of cellulosic materials for biofuel production. A major obstacle in this pursuit is poor ethanol tolerance among cellulolytic Clostridium species. The first objective of this work was to establish a potential upper boundary of ethanol tolerance for the cellulosome itself. The hydrolytic function of crude cellulosome extracts from C. cellulolyticum on carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) with 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25% (v/v) ethanol was dete… more
Date: August 2014
Creator: Anieto, Ugochukwu Obiakornobi
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Evaluation of Zinc Toxicity Using Neuronal Networks on Microelectrode Arrays: Response Quantification and Entry Pathway Analysis

Description: Murine neuronal networks, derived from embryonic frontal cortex (FC) tissue grown on microelectrode arrays, were used to investigate zinc toxicity at concentrations ranging from 20 to 2000 mM total zinc acetate added to the culture medium. Continual multi-channel recording of spontaneous action potential generation allowed a quantitative analysis of the temporal evolution of network spike activity generation at specific zinc acetate concentrations. Cultures responded with immediate concentratio… more
Date: August 2007
Creator: Parviz, Maryam
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Partner: UNT Libraries
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Expression analysis of the fatty acid desaturase 2-4 and 2-3 genes from Gossypium hirsutum in transformed yeast cells and transgenic Arabidopsis plants.

Description: Fatty acid desaturase 2 (FAD2) enzymes are phosphatidylcholine desaturases occurring as integral membrane proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane and convert monounsaturated oleic acid into polyunsaturated linoleic acid. The major objective of this research was to study the expression and function of two cotton FAD2 genes (the FAD2-3 and FAD2-4 genes) and their possible role in plant sensitivity to environmental stress, since plants may increase the polyunsaturated phospholipids in mem… more
Date: August 2008
Creator: Zhang, Daiyuan
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Expression of Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor Gene in Insect Cells by a Baculovirus Vector

Description: The focus of this research is to describe the production and characterization of the human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (hGM-CSF) in insect cells, using Autographa californica buclear polyhedrosis virus (AcNPV) as an expression vector. All three forms of biological activity of hGM-CSF. Following N-glycanase treatment, the two glycosylated hGM-CSF proteins (15.5 and 16.5 KDa) which bound to Concanavalin A affinity column ran as a 14.5-15.5 KDa band on SDS-PAGE. Western blot a… more
Date: December 1989
Creator: Chiou, Chuang-Jiun
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Genetic Analysis of Development and Behavior in Hypoxia and Cellular Characterization of Anoxia Induced Meiotic Prophase Arrest in Caenorhabditis Elegans

Description: It was hypothesized that chronic hypoxia will affect various biological processes including developmental trajectory and behavior. To test this hypothesis, embryos were raised to adulthood in severe hypoxic environments (0.5% O2 or 1% O2, 22°C) and analyzed for survival rate, developmental progression, and altered behaviors. Wildtype hermaphrodites survive chronic hypoxia yet developmental trajectory is slowed. The hermaphrodites raised in chronic hypoxia had different phenotypes in comparison… more
Date: August 2011
Creator: Little, Brent Ashley
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Genetic and Cellular Analysis of Anoxia-Induced Cell Cycle Arrest in Caenorhabditis elegans

Description: The soil-nematode Caenorhabditis elegans survives oxygen deprivation (anoxia < 0.001 kPa of O2, 0% O2) by entering into a state of suspended animation during which cell cycle progression at interphase, prophase and metaphase stage of mitosis is arrested. I conducted cell biological characterization of embryos exposed to various anoxia exposure times, to demonstrate the requirement and functional role of spindle checkpoint gene san-1 during brief anoxia exposure. I conducted a synthetic lethal s… more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Hajeri, Vinita A.
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Genetic and Environmental Factors that Mediate Survival of Prolonged Oxygen Deprivation in the Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans

Description: Ischemic events of even a very short duration are not tolerated Ill in humans. The human cost of ischemia, when looked at as combined cardiovascular disease, dwarfs all other causes of death in the United States. Annually, CVD kills as many people in the US as does cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, accidents, and diabetes mellitus combined. In 2005 (the latest year for which final statistics are available), CVD was responsible for 864,480 deaths or 35.3 percent of total deaths for t… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: LaRue, Bobby Lee, Jr.
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Genetic Characterization of Central and South American Populations of Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao)

Description: The wild populations of the Scarlet Macaw subspecies native to southern Mexico and Central America, A. m. cyanoptera, have been drastically reduced over the last half century and are now a major concern to local governments and conservation groups. Programs to rebuild these local populations using captive bred specimens must be careful to reintroduce the native A. m. cyanoptera, as opposed to the South American nominate subspecies (A. m. macao) or hybrids of the two subspecies. Molecular marker… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Kim, Tracy Ann
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How Do Enzymes Wear Out? Effects of Posttranslational Modifications on Structure and Stability of Proteins; The Triosephosphate Isomerase Model

Description: Triosephosphate isomerase (EC 5.3.1.1., TPI) undergoes specific posttranslational modifications (deamidation and oxidation) which are believed to initiate protein turnover by destabilization of the dimer. The crystal structures, amino acid sequences, and aging related changes of TPI from various species have been independently characterized by several laboratories. TPI has thus become the prototype enzyme for examining the initial steps in protein turnover. The binding of substrate enhances the… more
Date: December 1991
Creator: Sun, An Qiang
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Impaired virulence factor production in a dihydroorotate dehydrogenase mutant (pyrD) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Description: Previous research in our laboratory showed that when knockout mutations were created in the pyrB and pyrC genes of the pyrimidine pathway in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, not only were the resultant mutants auxotrophic for pyrimidines but they were also impaired in virulence factor production. Such a correlation had not been previously reported for P. aeruginosa, a ubiquitous opportunistic pathogen in humans. In an earlier study it was reported that mutants blocked in one of the first three enzymes … more
Date: December 2005
Creator: Ralli, Pooja
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In Situ Hybridization of 70 kD Heat Shock Protein mRNA in a Rat Model of Ethanol Self-Administration

Description: Sucrose fading was used to initiate self-administration of ethanol on an FR4 schedule in male Fischer 344 rats. Rats showed low response rates for ethanol alone. After administration of liquid diet containing ethanol, ethanol intake increased over levels prior to administration of the liquid diet. In situ hybridization compared mRNA for the inducible or constitutive 70 kD heat shock proteins in ethanol and nonethanol rats. Both inducible and constitutive mRNAs were found in nonethanol and ethan… more
Date: December 1994
Creator: Ott-Reeves, Ellen (Ellen Theresa)
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Partner: UNT Libraries
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Investigating the Ability of Pseudomonas aeruginosa pyrE Mutants to Grow and Produce Virulence Factors

Description: Pseudomonas aeruginosa are medically important bacteria that are notorious for causing nosocomial infections. To gain more knowledge into understanding how this organism operates, it was decided to explore the pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway. Pyrimidine synthesis, being one half of the DNA structure, makes it a very important pathway to the organism’s survivability. With previous studies being done on various genes in the pathway, pyrE has not been studied to the fullest extent. To study the fu… more
Date: December 2014
Creator: Niazy, Abdurahman
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Investigation of Strategies for Improving STR Typing of Degraded and Low Copy DNA from Human Skeletal Remains and Bloodstains

Description: Forensic STR analysis is limited by the quality and quantity of DNA. Significant damage or alteration to the molecular structure of DNA by depurination, crosslinking, base modification, and strand breakage can impact typing success. Two methods that could potentially improve STR typing of challenged samples were explored: an in vitro DNA repair assay (PreCR™ Repair Mix) and whole genome amplification. Results with the repair assay showed trends of improved performance of STR profiling of blea… more
Date: August 2014
Creator: Ambers, Angie D.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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