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Title: Affect coding within the therapeutic relationship.
Creator: Luedke, Ashley J., College of Education, Department of Counselor Education
Abstract/Description: This study investigates affect coding within the therapeutic relationship, by exploring the client's and therapist's perception of the relationship and the facial and vocal affect expressed by both parties. A sample of 14 therapy sessions each having 1800 data points was collected. The Working Alliance Inventory Short Form (WAI-S) and Real Relationship Inventory (RRI) were completed after each recorded session. The participants were therapists and clients at a university counseling center in...
Show moreThis study investigates affect coding within the therapeutic relationship, by exploring the client's and therapist's perception of the relationship and the facial and vocal affect expressed by both parties. A sample of 14 therapy sessions each having 1800 data points was collected. The Working Alliance Inventory Short Form (WAI-S) and Real Relationship Inventory (RRI) were completed after each recorded session. The participants were therapists and clients at a university counseling center in South Florida. Data were analyzed using one-tailed t tests, descriptive statistics, scores from RRI and the WAI-S and percentages of negative, neutral and positive affect. Statistically significant relationships were found between seconds of therapist negative affect (t(13)= -2.065, p. <.05) and seconds of therapist neutral affect (t(13)= -1.959, p. <.05) for clients who dropped out of therapy. The seconds of negative affect coded for clients (t(13) = -1.396, p. >.05) was approaching statistical significance for clients who drop out of therapy. This study provides theoretical and empirical support for linking the presence of facial affect in the first session and its effects on the therapeutic relationship and thus client retention or drop out. The clinical implications of these findings are also discussed.
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Date Issued: 2013
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3362484
Subject Headings: Cognitive neuroscience, Interpersonal communication, Body language, Research, Methodology, Affect (Psychology), Psychotherapist and patient
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Cleavage of brain glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 by calpain under pathological conditions.
Creator: Buddhala, Chandana, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description: Brain glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (GAD65) catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the biosynthesis of the major inhibitory neurotransmitter-amino butyric acid (GABA) from the substrate L-glutamic acid. Severe lapse in GABA neurotransmission is one of the etiologies documented in the manifestation of certain neurodegenerative diseases such as epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease etc. Because GAD65 synthesizes GABA, any modulation of GAD65, therefore, has direct implications on...
Show moreBrain glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (GAD65) catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the biosynthesis of the major inhibitory neurotransmitter-amino butyric acid (GABA) from the substrate L-glutamic acid. Severe lapse in GABA neurotransmission is one of the etiologies documented in the manifestation of certain neurodegenerative diseases such as epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease etc. Because GAD65 synthesizes GABA, any modulation of GAD65, therefore, has direct implications on the quanta of GABA released at the synapse. Hence, the major objective of this study was to focus on the regulation of GAD65, with special emphasis on investigating the proteolytic cleavage of fGAD65. Previously, we have shown in vitro that GAD65 was cleaved to form its truncated form (tGAD65), which was more active than the full length form (fGAD65). The enzyme responsible for cleavage was later identified as calpain. Calpain is known to cleave its substrates either under a transient physiologica l stimulus or upon a sustained pathological insult. However, the precise role of calpain cleavage of fGAD65 is poorly understood. In this study, we examined the cleavage of fGAD65 under a range of conditions encompassing both physiological and pathological aspects, including rats under ischemia/reperfusion insult, rat brain synaptosomes or primary neuronal cultures subjected to excitotoxic stimulation with KCl. It was observed that the formation of tGAD65 progressively increased with increasing stimulus concentration. More importantly, cleavage of synaptic vesicle (SV) - associated fGAD65 by calpain was demonstrated, and the resulting tGAD65 harboring the active site of the enzyme was detached from the SVs. Vesicular uptake of the newly synthesized GABA into the SVs was found to be reduced in calpain treated SVs. Furthermore, we also observed that the levels of tGAD65 in the focal cerebral ischemic rat brain tissue increased corresponding to the elevation of local glutamate indica, d by in vivo micro dialysis. Based on these observations, we conclude that calpain cleavage of fGAD65 occurs under pathological conditions.
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Date Issued: 2012
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3342053
Subject Headings: Glutamic acids, Antagonists, Proteolytic enzymes, Research, Cellular signal transduction, Calpain, Glutamic acid, Metabolism
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Cyclic lipodepsipeptides as lead structures for the discovery of new antiobiotics.
Creator: Bionda, Nina., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Abstract/Description: With antimicrobial resistance to current drugs steadily rising, the development of new antibiotics with novel mechanisms of action has become an imperative. The majority of life-threatening infections worldwide are caused by "ESKAPE" pathogens which are encountered in more than 40% of hospital-acquired infections, and are resistant to the majority of commonly used antibiotics. Naturally occurring cyclic depsipeptides, microbial secondary metabolites that contain one or more ester bonds in...
Show moreWith antimicrobial resistance to current drugs steadily rising, the development of new antibiotics with novel mechanisms of action has become an imperative. The majority of life-threatening infections worldwide are caused by "ESKAPE" pathogens which are encountered in more than 40% of hospital-acquired infections, and are resistant to the majority of commonly used antibiotics. Naturally occurring cyclic depsipeptides, microbial secondary metabolites that contain one or more ester bonds in addition to amide bonds, have emerged as an important source of pharmacologically active compounds or lead structures for the development of novel antibiotics. Some of those peptides are either already marketed (daptomycin) or in advanced stages of clinical development (ramoplanin). Structurally simple, yet potent, fusaricidin/LI-F and lysobactin families of naturally occurring antibiotics represent particularly attractive candidates for the development of new antibacterial agents capable of overco ming infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria. These natural products exhibit potent antimicrobial activity against a variety of clinically relevant fungi and Gram-positive bacteria. Therefore, access to these classes of natural products and their synthetic analogs, combined with elucidation of their mode of action represent important initial steps toward full exploitation of their antmicrobial potential. This dissertation describes a general approach toward the solid-phase synthesis of fusaricidin/LI-F and lysobactin analogs and an extensive structure-activity relationship (SAR) study. We have devised a simple and robust preparation strategy based on standard Fmoc solid-phase peptide synthesis protocols., The SAR study revealed key structural requirements for fusaricidin/LI-F and related cyclic lipopeptides antibacterial activity, including the presence of the guanidino moietly at the end of the lipidic tail, hydrophobic amino acid residues, and peptide conformation Moreover, substitution of the ester bond with an amide bond significantly improved stability under physiologically relevant conditions and reduced toxicity. In addition, we have shown that these antibacterial peptides exert their mode of action via a novel mechanism, which invloves bacterial membrane interactions, followed by peptide internalization. Altogether, the research described in this dissertation demonstrates that new antibiotics derived from fusaricidin/LI-F natural products, have the potential to meet the challenge of antibiotic resistance in Gram-positive bacteria.
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Date Issued: 2013
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3360768
Subject Headings: Microbial peptides, Drugs, Design, Peptides, Therapeutic use, Genetic engineering, Antibacterial agents, Peptide antibiotics, Research, Methodology, Peptide antibiotics, Analysis
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Design of a power management model for a solar/fuel cell hybrid energy system.
Creator: Melendez, Rosana., College of Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Abstract/Description: This thesis proposes a Power Management Model (PMM) for optimization of several green power generation systems. A Photovoltaic/Fuel cell Hybrid Energy System (PFHES) consisting of solar cells, electrolyzer and fuel cell stack is utilized to meet a specific DC load bank for various applications. The Photovoltaic system is the primary power source to take advantage of renewable energy. The electrolyzer-fuel cell integration is used as a backup and as a hydrogen storage system with the different...
Show moreThis thesis proposes a Power Management Model (PMM) for optimization of several green power generation systems. A Photovoltaic/Fuel cell Hybrid Energy System (PFHES) consisting of solar cells, electrolyzer and fuel cell stack is utilized to meet a specific DC load bank for various applications. The Photovoltaic system is the primary power source to take advantage of renewable energy. The electrolyzer-fuel cell integration is used as a backup and as a hydrogen storage system with the different energy sources integrated through a DC link bus. An overall power management strategy is designed for the optimization of the power flows among the different energy sources. Extensive simulation experiments have been carried out to verify the system performance under PMM governing strategy. The simulation results indeed demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
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Date Issued: 2010
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/2705074
Subject Headings: Electric power systems, Building-integrated photovoltaic systems, Renewable energy sources, Hydrogen as fuel, Research
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Design of hydrodynamic test facility and scaling procedure for ocean current renewable energy devices.
Creator: Valentine, William., College of Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering
Abstract/Description: Simulations have been carried out to validate a hydrokinetic energy system non-dimensional scaling procedure. The requirements for a testing facility intended to test such devices will be determined from the results of the simulations. There are 6 simulations containing 3 prototype systems and 2 possible model facility depths to give a range of results. The first 4 tests are conducted using a varying current profile, while the last 2 tests use a constant current profile of 1.6 m/s. The 3...
Show moreSimulations have been carried out to validate a hydrokinetic energy system non-dimensional scaling procedure. The requirements for a testing facility intended to test such devices will be determined from the results of the simulations. There are 6 simulations containing 3 prototype systems and 2 possible model facility depths to give a range of results. The first 4 tests are conducted using a varying current profile, while the last 2 tests use a constant current profile of 1.6 m/s. The 3 prototype systems include a: 6 m spherical buoy, a 12 m spherical buoy and a turbine component system. The mooring line used for the simulations is a 6x19 Wire Rope Wire Core of diameter 100 mm and length 1000 m. The simulations are implemented using Orcaflex to obtain the dynamic behavior of the prototype and scaled system.
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Date Issued: 2012
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3356013
Subject Headings: Ocean energy resources, Research, Renewable energy sources, Sustainable engineering, Materials, Deep-sea moorings
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The developmental effect of the presence of a recipient in a modified dictator game.
Creator: Grotuss, Jason., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description: Economic game theory has been a challenge to traditional models of selfish human nature. Resource acquisition games, such as the dictator game, which have been primarily played by adults, have revealed that humans are inclined to share even when it is not in their best interest to do so. Few studies have been conducted on the development of resource distribution in children, and fewer still have explored the effect of context and level of involvement of a second player in such games. In the...
Show moreEconomic game theory has been a challenge to traditional models of selfish human nature. Resource acquisition games, such as the dictator game, which have been primarily played by adults, have revealed that humans are inclined to share even when it is not in their best interest to do so. Few studies have been conducted on the development of resource distribution in children, and fewer still have explored the effect of context and level of involvement of a second player in such games. In the current study, 179 children from kindergarten, first, and second grades participated in a modified dictator game with another player. Children were randomly assigned to one of four conditions; a control condition, where they played individually with an anonymous player, or one of three experimental conditions with two players who each played with varying levels of involvement with the second player. It was found that kindergarteners shared significantly less across conditions than first and second graders, with first and second graders sharing similar amounts. The presence of another player significantly increased the amount of sharing for all grades. Additionally, second players shared significantly less than first players. Developmental and contextual patterns of sharing are discussed.
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Date Issued: 2011
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3332258
Subject Headings: Cooperativeness, Behavior evolution, Game theory, Social interaction, Economics, Moral and ethical aspects, Economics, Psychological aspects, Negotiation, Research, Strategic planning
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Does size really matter: how synchrony and size affect the dynamic of aggression between two sympatric species of dolphin in the Bahamas.
Creator: Cuksick, Jessica A., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description: Bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus) and spotted (Stenella frontalis) dolphins are sympatric species, resident to Little Bahama Bank, Bahamas. A unique, dynamic methodology quantified how interspecific aggression changed over time in terms of the individuals participating, context, and behaviors used. The timing of human observation relative to the onset of aggression did not result in differences in the proportion of behaviors observed. Highly intense behaviors were used most often. The...
Show moreBottlenose (Tursiops truncatus) and spotted (Stenella frontalis) dolphins are sympatric species, resident to Little Bahama Bank, Bahamas. A unique, dynamic methodology quantified how interspecific aggression changed over time in terms of the individuals participating, context, and behaviors used. The timing of human observation relative to the onset of aggression did not result in differences in the proportion of behaviors observed. Highly intense behaviors were used most often. The synchronous state of spotted dolphin groups, not the presence alone, was a crucial factor in determining the onset and progression of aggression. When synchronous, spotted dolphins successfully dominated the larger bottlenose dolphins. Two levels of dominance were observed. Within a single encounter ("encounter level"), one species did dominate the other. When all aggressive encounters were considered collectively over the long term ("gross level"), one species did not dominate the other. The combination of contextual factors best determined the dynamic of interspecific aggression.
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Date Issued: 2012
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3342044
Subject Headings: Bottlenose dolphin, Behavior, Research, Atlantic spotted dolphin, Behavior, Research, Mammals, Behavior, Aggressive behavior in animals
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Effects of bio-diesel fuel blends on the performance and emissions of diesel engine.
Creator: Bastiani, Sergio., College of Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering
Abstract/Description: This study presents an experimental investigation into the effects of running biodiesel fuel blends on conventional diesel engines. Bio fuels provide a way to produce fuels without redesigning any of the engine technology present today, yet allowing for green house emissions to decrease. Bio-diesel is one of these types of emerging bio-fuels, which has an immediate alternative fuel aspect to it, while providing a decrease in green house emissions, as well as a solution to recycling used Waste...
Show moreThis study presents an experimental investigation into the effects of running biodiesel fuel blends on conventional diesel engines. Bio fuels provide a way to produce fuels without redesigning any of the engine technology present today, yet allowing for green house emissions to decrease. Bio-diesel is one of these types of emerging bio-fuels, which has an immediate alternative fuel aspect to it, while providing a decrease in green house emissions, as well as a solution to recycling used Waste Vegetable Oils which are other wise disposed. This study shows how by blending bio-diesel with petroleum diesel at intervals of B5, B10, B15, and B20 decrease green house emissions can significantly while maintaining similar performance output and efficiency with respect to 100% petroleum diesel.
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Date Issued: 2008
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/166446
Subject Headings: Biodiesel fuels, Research, Biodiesel fuels, Environmental aspects, Diesel motor, Alternative fuels, Testing, Greenhouse effect, Atmospheric
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Effects of glycosylation on melanoma interactions with type IV collagen models.
Creator: Aukszi, Beatrix., Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Abstract/Description: Tumor cells interact with basement membrane collagen at the site of extravasation through distinct cellular receptors, including the α2β1 and α3β1integrins. These receptors are known to be differentially expressed in metastatic tumors, relative to the normal cells, depending on tumor type and stage of progression. The binding sites within type IV collagen for the α2β1 andα3β1 integrins have been identified. Since both of the integinspecific sequences possess at least one glycosylated Hyl...
Show moreTumor cells interact with basement membrane collagen at the site of extravasation through distinct cellular receptors, including the α2β1 and α3β1integrins. These receptors are known to be differentially expressed in metastatic tumors, relative to the normal cells, depending on tumor type and stage of progression. The binding sites within type IV collagen for the α2β1 andα3β1 integrins have been identified. Since both of the integinspecific sequences possess at least one glycosylated Hyl residue, we questioned whether glycosylation could modulate integrin binding. Triple-helical peptides with and without Lys substituted by glycosylated Hyl for Lys543 and Lys540 from the human a1(IV)531-543 gene sequence (α3β integrin-specific) and Lys393 from the human a1(IV)382-393 gene sequence (α2β1 integrin-specific) were synthesized and utilized in the present study., Cellular response to these triple helical ligands was tested with a primary melanoma cell line, WM-115, and three highly metastatic melanoma cell lines , WM-266-4, M14#5, and SK-MEL-2. Cell adhesion and cell spreading assays yielded differing results depending on whether the ligands contained glycosylated Hyl residues or not. In general, a decrease in cellular affinity toward the ligands was observed when glycosylated Hyl was present. Differences in the levels of adhesion and spreading between cell lines representing different stages of melanoma were also observed. Neutral B-galactosidase activity was detected in all four cell lines. Enzymatic activity levels were comparable for the three metastatic cell lines, whereas distinctively higher activity was detected for cells originating from a primary lesion. This acitivity can signal the potential of tumor cells to enhance and recover their invasive abilities., The ability of each cell line to remove the galactose from the peptide ligands has been investigated, to test whether tumor cells can reestablish binding relationships between the α2β1 and α3β1 integrins and type IV collagen that are reduced by glycosylation.
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Date Issued: 2008
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/186335
Subject Headings: Animal cell biotechnology, Combinatorial chemistry, Integrins, Research, Methodology, Cell adhesion molecules, Physiological effect
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Engineered and natural TIMP mutations.
Creator: Hamze, Asmaa Bilal., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description: Tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) comprise a family of four proteins in humans that modulate the turnover of the extracellular matrix by regulating the activities of endopeptidases that catalyze its degradation, especially the matrix metalloproteinases (MMP). In general, the four TIMPs are broad-spectrum tight binding inhibitors of MMPs with individual differences in specificity. In this study, we attempted to understand the basis of such variation by using membrane type-1 MMP ...
Show moreTissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) comprise a family of four proteins in humans that modulate the turnover of the extracellular matrix by regulating the activities of endopeptidases that catalyze its degradation, especially the matrix metalloproteinases (MMP). In general, the four TIMPs are broad-spectrum tight binding inhibitors of MMPs with individual differences in specificity. In this study, we attempted to understand the basis of such variation by using membrane type-1 MMP (MT1-MMP) as a model, since it is inefficiently inhibited by TIMP-1 in contrast with the other TIMPs. We designed and engineered mutations in the N-domain of TIMP-1, based on current knowledge of TIMP interactions. By measuring inhibition levels of each mutant against several MMPs, including MT1-MMP, we were able to obtain a triple mutant with an vii improved affinity for MT1-MMP., Our results, along with previous data, confirm that multiple residues in the critical interface segments between TIMPs and MMPs, namely at positions 2, 4, 5, 6, and 98, are key in determining the basic interaction between the two molecules. The second part of this work focused on naturally occurring mutations in TIMP-3 which cause an early form of macular degeneration called Sorsby's Fundus Dystrophy (SFD). The TIMP-3 mutants identified so far share certain features but the mechanism by which they result in macular disease is not yet understood. As an initial step, we expressed recombinant TIMP-3 carrying a truncation mutation, glutamic acid 139 to a stop codon (E139X), and assessed its activity towards representative MMPs and tumor necrosis factor-(Sa (Bconverting enzyme, another metalloproteinase normally inhibited by TIMP-3. Our results indicate that this mutation does not impair the inhibitory activity of TIMP-3., Expression of this mutant in mammalian retinal cells revealed a difference in localization between wild-type and E139X mutant TIMP-3. Therefore, we concluded that the SFD mutations may actually influence the processing and/or binding properties of TIMP-3 in the retina.
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Date Issued: 2008
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/186296
Subject Headings: Proteolytic enzymes, Extracellular matrix proteins, Metalloproteinases, Inhibitors, Apoptosis, Retinal degeneration, Research
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Expression of autophagy transcripts and proteins in the ocular lens suggests a role for autophagy in lens cell and cellular differentiation.
Creator: Mattucci, Lyndzie., Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Department of Biomedical Science
Abstract/Description: The lens is an avascular organ that focuses light onto the retina where neural signals are transmitted to the brain and translated into images. Lens transparency is vital for maintaining function. The lens is formed through a transition from organelle-rich epithelial cells to organelle-free fiber cells. Lens cell differentiation, leading to the lack of organelles, provides an environment optimal for minimizing light scatter and maximizing the ability to focus light onto the retina. The...
Show moreThe lens is an avascular organ that focuses light onto the retina where neural signals are transmitted to the brain and translated into images. Lens transparency is vital for maintaining function. The lens is formed through a transition from organelle-rich epithelial cells to organelle-free fiber cells. Lens cell differentiation, leading to the lack of organelles, provides an environment optimal for minimizing light scatter and maximizing the ability to focus light onto the retina. The process responsible for orchestrating lens cell differentiation has yet to be elucidated. In recent years, data has emerged that led our lab to hypothesize that autophagy is likely involved in lens cell maintenance, cell differentiation, and maintenance of lens transparency. As a first step towards testing this hypothesis, we used RT-PCR, western blot analysis, immunohistochemistry, confocal microscopy, and next generation RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) to examine autophagy genes expressed by the lens to begin mapping their lens function.
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Date Issued: 2013
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3360958
Subject Headings: Cell differentiation, Protein binding, Research, Cellular control mechanisms, Apoptosis
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: An extraction optimization and determination of the absolute configuartion of clathric acid.
Creator: Rueda de Leon, Rolando, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Abstract/Description: Current research in natural products has heavily focused on the identification of potent biologically active compounds, specifically for drug development. The project detailed in this thesis focuses on the extraction of compounds from marine invertebrates as well as defining the absolute configuration for a compound. Utilizing marine invertebrates, the sonications method developed in this thesis provides an alternative approach to rapidly extract compounds for primary screening. This method...
Show moreCurrent research in natural products has heavily focused on the identification of potent biologically active compounds, specifically for drug development. The project detailed in this thesis focuses on the extraction of compounds from marine invertebrates as well as defining the absolute configuration for a compound. Utilizing marine invertebrates, the sonications method developed in this thesis provides an alternative approach to rapidly extract compounds for primary screening. This method is viable compared to a traditional overnight extraction method, without suffering compound degredation... Previously, clathric acid was isolated from an unknown Clathria sp. This compound is a bibyblic C-21 terpenoid shown to have mild antimicrobial activity against gram positive bacteria. With only its relative configuration established, additional amounts of clathric acid were required to define the overall absolute configuration. Identifying the Clathria sp. to be Clathria compressa, through spicule analysis, additional sponge tissues were then collected off the coast of Boca Raton, Florida to isolate additional quatities of clathric acid. The absolulte configuration was determined through circular dichroism and the octant rule to establish a final configuration for clathric acid's four carbon stereocenters to be: (3S, 7S, 8R, and 12S).
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Date Issued: 2012
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3355874
Subject Headings: Organic compounds, Analysis, Extraction (Chemistry), Natural products, Therapeutic use, Marine biotechology, Marine resources, Research, Sponges, Ecology
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Gene selection for sample sets with biased distribution.
Creator: Kamal, Abu Hena Mustafa., College of Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Abstract/Description: Microarray expression data which contains the expression levels of a large number of simultaneously observed genes have been used in many scientific research and clinical studies. Due to its high dimensionalities, selecting a small number of genes has shown to be beneficial for many tasks such as building prediction models from the microarray expression data or gene regulatory network discovery. Traditional gene selection methods, however, fail to take the class distribution into the...
Show moreMicroarray expression data which contains the expression levels of a large number of simultaneously observed genes have been used in many scientific research and clinical studies. Due to its high dimensionalities, selecting a small number of genes has shown to be beneficial for many tasks such as building prediction models from the microarray expression data or gene regulatory network discovery. Traditional gene selection methods, however, fail to take the class distribution into the selection process. In biomedical science, it is very common to have microarray expression data which is severely biased with one class of examples (e.g., diseased samples) significantly less than other classes (e.g., normal samples). These sample sets with biased distributions require special attention from researchers for identification of genes responsible for a particular disease. In this thesis, we propose three filtering techniques, Higher Weight ReliefF, ReliefF with Differential Minority Repeat and ReliefF with Balanced Minority Repeat to identify genes responsible for fatal diseases from biased microarray expression data. Our solutions are evaluated on five well-known microarray datasets, Colon, Central Nervous System, DLBCL Tumor, Lymphoma and ECML Pancreas. Experimental comparisons with the traditional ReliefF filtering method demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods in selecting informative genes from microarray expression data with biased sample distributions.
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Date Issued: 2009
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/186330
Subject Headings: Gene expression, Research, Methodology, Medical informatics, Apoptosis, Molecular aspects, DNA microarrays, Research
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Heterologous expression and purification of cell function components -: an effort towards developing an antigen-capture ELISA diagnostics for metastatic cancers.
Creator: Irvine, Michael., Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Department of Biomedical Science
Abstract/Description: Metastatic cancers are problematic because they spread throughout the body. A crucial step in cancer metastasis is the separation of the cancer cells from their surrounding normal cells. This occurs due to suppression or destruction of cell adhesion molecules such as E-cadherin, occludin, and various claudins. The Snail and Slug transcription factors play a direct role in suppressing these cell adhesion molecules through their SNAG repression domain. We explored the possibility of developing...
Show moreMetastatic cancers are problematic because they spread throughout the body. A crucial step in cancer metastasis is the separation of the cancer cells from their surrounding normal cells. This occurs due to suppression or destruction of cell adhesion molecules such as E-cadherin, occludin, and various claudins. The Snail and Slug transcription factors play a direct role in suppressing these cell adhesion molecules through their SNAG repression domain. We explored the possibility of developing an ELISA diagnostics capable of detecting soluble E-cadherin, occludin, and claudin fragments in the serum of cancer patients. Using several bioinformatics tools, unique extracellular antigenic sequences were identified on claudins-1, 4, 16, occludin, and E-cadherin. These sequences were cloned as GST fusion proteins, expressed, and purified in large quantities to raise antibodies. In parallel, expression profiling of metastatic cancer cell lines was carried out to derive a correlation between Snail-Slug expression and suppression of cell adhesion molecules.
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Date Issued: 2009
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/369191
Subject Headings: Cellular signal transduction, Extracellular matrix proteins, Genetic transcription, Research, Metalloproteinases, Inhibitors
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Hypoxia-regulated glial cell-specific gene therapy to treat retinal neovascularization.
Creator: Biswal, Manas Ranjan., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences
Abstract/Description: Diabetic retinopathy is an ischemic retinal neovascular disease causing vision loss among adults. The studies presented involve the design and testing of a gene therapy vector to inhibit retinal revascularization, similar to that found in diabetic retinopathy. Gene therapy has proven to be an effective method to introduce therapeutic proteins to treat retinal diseases. Targeting a specific cell type and expression of therapeutic proteins according to the tissue microenvironment should have an...
Show moreDiabetic retinopathy is an ischemic retinal neovascular disease causing vision loss among adults. The studies presented involve the design and testing of a gene therapy vector to inhibit retinal revascularization, similar to that found in diabetic retinopathy. Gene therapy has proven to be an effective method to introduce therapeutic proteins to treat retinal diseases. Targeting a specific cell type and expression of therapeutic proteins according to the tissue microenvironment should have an advantage over traditional gene therapy by avoiding unwanted transgene expression. Hypoxia plays a significant role in the pathophysiology of many retinal ischemic diseases. Retinal Mèuller cells provide structural and functional support to retinal neurons, as well as playing a significant role in retinal neovascularization. Targeting Mèuller cells may be an effective strategy to prevent retinal neovascularization under pathological conditions. ... The hypoxia regulated, glial specific vector successfully reduced the abnormal neovascularization in the periphery by 93% and reduced the central vasobliterated area by 90%. A substantial amount of exogenous endostatin was produced in the retinas of P17 OIR mice. A significant increase in human endostatin protein and reduced vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were identified by Western blot and ELISA, respectively. These findings suggest hypoxia-regulated, glial cell-specific scAAV mediated gene expression may be useful to prevent blindness found in devastating retinal diseases involving neovascularization.
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Date Issued: 2012
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3359290
Subject Headings: Diabetic retinopathy, Research, Methodology, Gene therapy, Retinal degeneration, Treatment, Neovascularization inhibitors, Mitochondrial pathology, Retina, Cytology, Gene mapping
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Identification of MicroRNA biomarkers for cancer by combining multiple feature selection techniques.
Creator: Kotlarchyk, Alex J., College of Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Abstract/Description: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) may serve as diagnostic and predictive biomarkers for cancer. The aim of this study was to identify novel cancer biomarkers from miRNA datasets, in addition to those already known. Three published miRNA cancer datasets (liver, breast, and brain) were evaluated, and the performance of the entire feature set was compared to the performance of individual feature filters, an ensemble of those filters, and a support vector machine (SVM) wrapper. In addition to confirming many...
Show moreMicroRNAs (miRNAs) may serve as diagnostic and predictive biomarkers for cancer. The aim of this study was to identify novel cancer biomarkers from miRNA datasets, in addition to those already known. Three published miRNA cancer datasets (liver, breast, and brain) were evaluated, and the performance of the entire feature set was compared to the performance of individual feature filters, an ensemble of those filters, and a support vector machine (SVM) wrapper. In addition to confirming many known biomarkers, the main contribution of this study is that seven miRNAs have been newly identified by our ensemble methodology as possible important biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinoma or breast cancer, pending wet lab confirmation. These biomarkers were identified from miRNA expression datasets by combining multiple feature selection techniques (i.e., creating an ensemble) or by the SVM-wrapper, and then classified by different learners. Generally speaking, creating a subset of features by selecting only the highest ranking features (miRNAs) improved upon results generated when using all the miRNAs, and the ensemble and SVM-wrapper approaches outperformed individual feature selection methods. Finally, an algorithm to determine the number of top-ranked features to include in the creation of feature subsets was developed. This algorithm takes into account the performance improvement gained by adding additional features compared to the cost of adding those features.
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Date Issued: 2011
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3332260
Subject Headings: Gene silencing, Biochemical markers, Cancer, Diagnosis, Data processing, Cancer, Diagnosis, Research, Gene expression, Tumor markers, Diagnostic use
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Individual profiling of perceived tinnitus by developing tinnitus analyzer software.
Creator: Chaudbury, Baishali., College of Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Abstract/Description: Tinnitus is a conscious perception of phantom sounds in the absence of external acoustic stimuli, and masking is one of the popular ways to treat it. Due to the variation in the perceived tinnitus sound from patient to patient, the usefulness of masking therapy cannot be generalized. Thus, it is important to first determine the feasibility of masking therapy on a particular patient, by quantifying the tinnitus sound, and then generate an appropriate masking signal. This paper aims to achieve...
Show moreTinnitus is a conscious perception of phantom sounds in the absence of external acoustic stimuli, and masking is one of the popular ways to treat it. Due to the variation in the perceived tinnitus sound from patient to patient, the usefulness of masking therapy cannot be generalized. Thus, it is important to first determine the feasibility of masking therapy on a particular patient, by quantifying the tinnitus sound, and then generate an appropriate masking signal. This paper aims to achieve this kind of individual profiling by developing interactive software -Tinnitus Analyzer, based on clinical approach. The developed software has been proposed to be used in place of traditional clinical methods and this software (as a part of the future work) will be implemented in the practical scenario involving real tinnitus patients.
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Date Issued: 2010
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/1927612
Subject Headings: Medical care, Technological innovations, Tinnitus, Diagnosis, Aids and devices, Hearing disorders, Diagnosis, Technological innovations, Psychoacoustics, Research
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The influence of motion type on memory of simple events.
Creator: Berger, Johanna D., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description: This experiment investigated an individual's memory of specific motion events, unique actor, intrinsic motion, and extrinsic motion combination. Intrinsic motions involve the movement of an individual's body parts in a specific manner to move around, while extrinsic motions specify a path in reference to an external object. Participants viewed video clips, each depicting an actor performing a unique extrinsic and intrinsic motion combination. One week later, they viewed a different series of...
Show moreThis experiment investigated an individual's memory of specific motion events, unique actor, intrinsic motion, and extrinsic motion combination. Intrinsic motions involve the movement of an individual's body parts in a specific manner to move around, while extrinsic motions specify a path in reference to an external object. Participants viewed video clips, each depicting an actor performing a unique extrinsic and intrinsic motion combination. One week later, they viewed a different series of retrieval video clips consisting of old (identical to encoding), extrinsic conjunction (extrinsic motion previously performed by different actor), intrinsic conjunction (intrinsic motion previously performed by different actor), and new (novel extrinsic or intrinsic motion) video clips. Participants responded "yes" to viewing the old video clips the most often, followed by conjunction video clips, and then new video clips. Furthermore, there were a greater number of "yes" event memory recognition responses for extrinsic conjunction items than intrinsic conjunction items.
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Date Issued: 2009
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/186673
Subject Headings: Recollection (Psychology), Context effects (Psychology), Memory, Research, Human information processing, Research, Transference (Psychology), Motion segmentation
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Influence of small conductance calcium-activated potassium channels (SK,Kca2) on long-term memory: global and local analysis across time- and task- dependent measures.
Creator: Vick, Kyle A., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description: Small conductance calcium-activated potassium (SK) channels are found ubiquitously throughout the brain and modulate the encoding of learning and memory. Systemic injection of 1-ethyl-2-benzimidalzolinoe (EBIO), a SK channel activator, impairs the encoding of novel object memory and locomotion but spares fear memory encoding in C57BL/6NHsd mice. The memory impairments discovered were not due to non-cognitive performance confounds such as ataxia, anxiety, attention or analgesia. Further...
Show moreSmall conductance calcium-activated potassium (SK) channels are found ubiquitously throughout the brain and modulate the encoding of learning and memory. Systemic injection of 1-ethyl-2-benzimidalzolinoe (EBIO), a SK channel activator, impairs the encoding of novel object memory and locomotion but spares fear memory encoding in C57BL/6NHsd mice. The memory impairments discovered were not due to non-cognitive performance confounds such as ataxia, anxiety, attention or analgesia. Further investigation with intra-hippocampal application of EBIO revealed SK channels in dorsal CA1 contribute to the encoding deficits seen systemically, but do not account for the full extent of the impairment. Concentrated activation of dorsal CA1 SK channels do not influence fear memory encoding or locomotor impairments. Taken together, these data indicate SK channels, especially in the dorsal hippocampus, have a modulatory role on novel object memory encoding, but not retrieval; however, pharmacological activation of hippocampal SK channels does not appear to influence fear memory encoding.
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Date Issued: 2009
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/192991
Subject Headings: Mice as laboratory animals, Cellular signal transduction, Memory, Research, Biological transport, Research, Potassium channels, Physiological effect
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Integrity and reflections of the past: a phenomenographic analysis.
Creator: Rio, Germina Emily Risos., Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing
Abstract/Description: The graying of America as a sociological and health care phenomenon continues to dictate the demand for creative and innovative interventions that can directly influence the quality of life of nursing home residents. Creative Reminiscence is a program that fosters the active reliving of the past through narration, such as in story-telling, and the use of creative art expression to uncover meaningful life events or valuable life experiences. The purpose of this study was to investigate and...
Show moreThe graying of America as a sociological and health care phenomenon continues to dictate the demand for creative and innovative interventions that can directly influence the quality of life of nursing home residents. Creative Reminiscence is a program that fosters the active reliving of the past through narration, such as in story-telling, and the use of creative art expression to uncover meaningful life events or valuable life experiences. The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the meaningful life events elicited by the experience of Creative Reminiscence using a phenomenographic approach. Existing (archived) data-transcribed interviews, poetry and painting on planters that were obtained from 20 participants of the Creative Reminiscence program entitled Le Jardin de Sante were analyzed. Five variations of meaningful memories evoked by Creative Reminiscence were identified. These are described as follows: (a) memories that rejuvenate the elder's sense of connectio n; (b) memories that revive the elder's sense of love and intimacy; (c) memories that restore the elder's sense of being; (d) memories that reassert the elder's sense of control; and (e) memories that reinstitute the elder's sense of purpose. In a caring interaction with Creative Reminiscence, the nursed are able to transcend, moving back in time (past) to appreciate segment(s) of their lives, with triumphs and disappointments that give meaning to their inner conflict/human struggle (present), and integrate a sense of confidence and acceptance of their lives to sustain well-being and a sense of wholeness. This research highlights the similarities and differences in the description of memories by the nursing home residents evoked during Creative Reminiscence., The results of the study support Erikson's notion of the circular nature of the life cycle, wherein there is an inherent need at the last stage of life to re-integrate ascendant psychosocial themes.Taking into account the meaning that nursing home residents ascribe to their experiences provided data on strategies nurses and caregivers can use effectively to help these elders transcend despair. Further research is recommended using a more diverse sample and in more diverse geographical locations. Current standardized instruments may be revised to quantify effects on the ascendant psychosocial themes.
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Date Issued: 2008
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/177012
Subject Headings: Aging, Psychological aspects, Memory in old age, Analysis, Nursing, Philosophy, Depression in old age, Research, Reminiscing in old age
Format: Document (PDF)

Methodology (8)	+ -
Cellular signal transduction (6)	+ -
Apoptosis (4)	+ -
Analysis (3)	+ -
Cognitive neuroscience (3)	+ -

Memory (3)	+ -
Nursing (3)	+ -
Proteolytic enzymes (3)	+ -
Psychological aspects (3)	+ -
Therapeutic use (3)	+ -
Antagonists (2)	+ -
Cellular control mechanisms (2)	+ -
Data processing (2)	+ -
Decision making (2)	+ -
Diagnosis (2)	+ -
Ecology (2)	+ -
Extracellular matrix proteins (2)	+ -
Gene expression (2)	+ -
Glutamic acids (2)	+ -
Human information processing (2)	+ -
Hydrogen as fuel (2)	+ -
Inhibitors (2)	+ -
Marine resources (2)	+ -
Medical informatics (2)	+ -
Medicine (2)	+ -
Metalloproteinases (2)	+ -
Moral and ethical aspects (2)	+ -
Natural products (2)	+ -
Philosophy (2)	+ -

Bahamas (1)	+ -
Little Bahama Bank (1)	+ -
United States (1)	+ -

Charles E. Schmidt College of Science (16)	+ -
College of Engineering and Computer Science (10)	+ -
Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (7)	+ -
Department of Psychology (6)	+ -
Department of Biomedical Science (4)	+ -

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (4)	+ -
Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine (3)	+ -
Department of Biological Sciences (3)	+ -
Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering (3)	+ -
Berger, Johanna D. (2)	+ -
Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences (2)	+ -
Aukszi, Beatrix. (1)	+ -
Bastiani, Sergio. (1)	+ -
Bionda, Nina. (1)	+ -
Biswal, Manas Ranjan. (1)	+ -
Buddhala, Chandana (1)	+ -
Chaudbury, Baishali. (1)	+ -
Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing (1)	+ -
College for Design and Social Inquiry (1)	+ -
College of Education (1)	+ -
Cuksick, Jessica A. (1)	+ -
Department of Counselor Education (1)	+ -
Dupont, Alice Norm. (1)	+ -
Florida Atlantic University (1)	+ -
Grotuss, Jason. (1)	+ -
Hamze, Asmaa Bilal. (1)	+ -
Hollar, T. Lucas. (1)	+ -
Irvine, Michael. (1)	+ -
Kamal, Abu Hena Mustafa. (1)	+ -
Kotlarchyk, Alex J. (1)	+ -

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