Gnidia L., also known as the saffron bush, is the largest genus in the family Thymelaeaceae, consisting of about 140 species. It is mainly an African group with approximately 97 species in southern Africa and one third of the species occurring in the Cape Floristic Region. Hilliard and Burtt last revised Gnidia in 1987. Species delimitations within the genus are extremely complex and have led to varying treatments often characterised by substantial confusion in the ranking of some taxa. This study has utilised DNA sequence data to help resolve species delimitations within Gnidia. Parsimony analyses were conducted on nuclear transcribed spacer (ITS) and non-coding plastid trnL-F and rbcL data from a broad sampling of Gnidia and related genera. The most important conclusion drawn from the molecular data is that Gnidia is not monophyletic and comprises at least four distinct lineages, each related to other genera within Thymelaeoideae. / Dr. Michelle van der Bank

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<p>Using antithrombin III-dependent and independent thrombin inhibitors, we evaluated the role of thrombin in (a) reocclusion after successful thrombolysis, and (b) intimal thickening and stenosis induced by injury to a vessel wall. To accomplish this, two animal models were developed in the rat. The first was a model of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) induced-thrombolysis, whereas the second was a carotid model of injury-induced stenosis.</p> <p>In the rat model of tPA-induced thrombolysis, we compared the effects of heparin, hirudin, hirulog (a synthetic hirudin-derived peptide), and D-Phe-Pro-ArgCH₂Cl (PPACK) in doses that produced a 4-fold prolongation of the baseline activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) with saline, in terms of their ability to accelerate thrombolysis and to prevent reocclusion. A thrombus rich in red cells and fibrin was formed in the distal aorta by a combination of vessel injury and stasis. Thrombolysis was induced with tPA (1 mg/kg bolus, followed by 1 mg/kg/hr over 30 min.) and the rats were randomized to receive a concomitant 80 min. infusion of a thrombin inhibitor or saline. Blood flow and pre- and post-stenotic blood pressures were monitored continuously, and the time to clot lysis, the duration of vessel patency, and the number of reocclusions were determined. Compared to saline, heparin had no significant effect on these variables. In contrast, hirudin, hirulog and PPACK significantly (p<0.01) increased the percentage of time that the vessel remained patent from 63.9 ± 7.7 to 90.7 ± 2.2, 94.0 ± 0.9, and 94.7 ± 1.0% respectively, by significantly (p<0.01) decreasing the number of reocclusions. The superiority of the ATIII-independent inhibitors over heparin supports the hypothesis that the limited effectiveness of heparin in this setting reflects its inability to inactivate clot-bound thrombin. Compared to saline, hirulog and PPACK also significantly (p<0.02) accelerated the time to thrombolysis from 10.5 ± 2.3 to 4.4 ± 0.6, and 4.2 ± 0.8 min., respectively, whereas heparin and hirudin did not. The ability of the lower molecular weight inhibitors of thrombin to accelerate lysis may reflect their greater accessibility to clot-bound thrombin. Hirudin, standard heparin, and low molecular weight heparin were compared with saline in terms of their ability to prevent injury-induced stenosis in the rat common carotid artery. After balloon injury, animals were randomized to receive a one week course of subcutaneous treatment with a thrombin inhibitor or saline. All of the thrombin inhibitors were given in concentrations that produced a continuous 6-fold prolongation of the baseline thrombin clotting times, and 2-fold prolongation of the APTT. Two weeks after injury, the animals were euthanized and the extent of stenosis was assessed by a combination of quantitative angiography, resin casting, and planimetry. Compared to saline, only low molecular weight heparin significantly (p<0.01) inhibited injury-induced stenosis as assessed by angiography (from 22.9 ± 3.0% to 8.8 ± 7.8%), resin casting (from 46.7 ± 4.8% to 22.5 ± 8.3%), and by planimetry (from 21.8 ± 3.4% to 11.3 ± 2.1%). (Abstract shortened by UMI.)</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p>Pulsed Photothermal Radiometry (PPTR) is a remote sensing technique which monitors the temperature transient at the surface of a sample following the absorption of a brief optical pulse. In this work, it was used to investigate optical and thermal processes occurring in laser-irradiated, turbid, inhomogeneous media such as tissue. An optical diffusion approximation and heat conduction equation were used to derive the turbid PPTR model, for both homogeneous and layered semi-infinite media. These models were tested experimentally in a series of aqueous gel phantoms of known optical and thermal properties, and were found to be in good agreement. A study of discrete optical absorbers in a transparent medium necessitated the inclusion of the thermal radiative effects as an additional mode of heat transfer, and a corresponding PPTR model was derived and tested experimentally. Studies of intact biomolecules and of in-vivo tissue have also been performed to test and verify the derived formulations, and to determine the practical utility of PPTR for specific biomedical applications. The theoretical and experimental results presented in the thesis lay the groundwork for further inclusion of PPTR into the diagnostic arsenal of laser medicine.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This study on the anatomy of the rabbit was based on dissected material from the biological laboratories of the College of the Pacific. Because of existing errors in many of the present references to rabbit anatomy, the guide was prepared to meet the expressed need for a concise, illustrated outline of basic anatomy of the rabbit which might be used by students in an introductory course in mammalian or human anatomy. Since it is assumed that the guide would be supplemented by a dissection manual, syllabus, or textbook, textural material of such an outline is presented here in outline form.

Typescript (carbon copy). / Digitized by Kansas State University Libraries / c.1 is bound in vol. 2 of K.S.A.C. Masters' theses, 1922.

Typescript, etc. / Digitized by Kansas State University Libraries