Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Queensland, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Worcester Polytechnic Institute. / Keywords: Ependymin; anti-oxidative enzyme SOD. Includes bibliographical references (p. 65-69).

Mikroglia sind residente Makrophagen-artige Zellen des Zentralnervensystems (ZNS), die das Gewebe kontinuierlich auf Anzeichen homöostatischer Störungen überwachen. Als die wesentlichen immunkompetenten Effektorzellen im Hirnparenchym exprimieren sie eine Vielzahl von Rezeptoren für pathogen-assoziierte molekulare Strukturmuster (pathogen-associated molecular patterns, PAMPs). Zu diesen Rezeptoren zählt der Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4, der nicht nur Reaktionen der Mikroglia auf bakterielle Infektionen, sondern auch auf Gewebe Schädigungen ermöglicht. Stimulation des TLR4 mit bakteriellem Lipopolysaccharid (LPS) und endogenen schädigung-sassoziierten molekularen Strukturen (damage-associated molecular patterns, DAMPs), die durch Gewebebeeinträchtigung freigesetzt werden, löst sowohl TRIF- als auch MyD88-abhängige Signalkaskaden aus. Die damit induzierte Freisetzung von Zytokinen und Chemokinen rekrutiert und instruiert periphere Immunzellen für eine Protektion und unterstützende Geweberegeneration des ZNS. Wir zeigen hier, dass der TLR4-Korezeptor CD14 ein essenzieller gate keeper für die Generierung von Immunantworten im ZNS ist, die durch LPS oder E. coli-Verabreichung, aber auch durch mechanisches Trauma und ischämischen Schlaganfall ausgelöst werden. In gewissem Gegensatz zu extraneuralen Makrophagen nutzen Mikroglia CD14 zur Erlangung einer extremen Sensitivität gegenüber sehr geringen LPS-Mengen. Gleichzeitig schützt CD14 Mikroglia vor überschießenden Reaktionen auf hohe LPS-Dosen und verhindert dabei insbesondere die exzessive Produktion von CXCL1, eines chemoattraktiven Signals für neutrophile Granulozyten. Entsprechend unterstützt CD14 die ZNS-Rekrutierung von Monozyten und Neutrophilen durch niedrige LPS-Dosen, während es die verstärkte Einwanderung von Neutrophilen durch hohe Dosen von LPS oder E. coli verhindert. Als eine besonders wichtige Funktion beschreiben wir dabei die absolute CD14-Abhängigkeit DAMP-ausgelöster und TLR4-vermittelter Immunreaktionen. CD14-Defizienz (unter cd14-/--Bedingungen) oder CD14 Blockade (durch Antikörper) löschen mikrogliale Reaktionen, die durch Plasma-Fibronektin (als repräsentatives DAMP-Molekül) ausgelöst werden können, komplett aus und beeinträchtigen die Leukozyten-Infiltration nach ZNS-Trauma. Bei einer ischämischen ZNS-Schädigung weisen cd14-/--Mäuse im Gehirn nicht nur weniger Monozyten auf, sondern gleichzeitig ein vergrößertes Infarktvolumen. Wir konnten für Interferon (IFN) b eine Schlüsselfunktion in der CD14-vermittelten Eindämmung der CXCL1-Synthese darstellen, die auf eine negative CD14/TLR4-TRIF-IFNβ-INAR1-Jak- Rückkopplung für MyD88-getriebene Chemokine schließen lässt. Obwohl CD14 somit TLR4-vermittelte Reaktionen auf infektiöse und nicht-infektiöse Agenzien orchestriert, wird seine Expression durch verschiedene TLR-Liganden und Zytokine reguliert. Letztlich unterliegen damit CD14-kontrollierte Funktionen selbst einer komplexen Kontrolle durch ZNS-residente und eingewanderte periphere Zellen. Diese Regulationen können über die Einbeziehung oder den Ausschluss der Kapazitäten des TLR4-Komplexes für eine Schadenserkennung während der ZNS-Reaktionen in unterschiedlichsten pathologischen Szenarien entscheiden.

This thesis examines the various approaches which have been taken to investigate the concrete/abstract word distinction both in normal subjects and in patients who, as a result of brain damage, have an impairment of lexical semantic representations. The nature of the definition task as a tool for assessing the semantic representations of concrete and abstract terms was examined. It was found that definitions for abstract words differed from those of concrete words only in style, not in semantic content. The metalinguistic demands of the definition task therefore make it inappropriate for assessing the semantic representations of concrete and abstract terms in patients with any form of language impairment. The performance of four patients with semantic impairments was examined using a variety of tasks designed to assess concrete and abstract word comprehension. While some of the data can be accommodated within the framework of several theories, no single theory can adequately account for the patterns of performance in all four patients. An alternative model of semantic memory is therefore proposed in which concreteness and frequency interact at the semantic level. Jones' Ease of Predication Hypothesis, which states that the difference between concrete and abstract terms can be explained in terms of disproportionate numbers of underlying semantic features (or "predicates") was also investigated. It was found that the ease of predication variable does not accurately reflect either predicate or feature distributions, and is simply another index of concreteness. As such, the validity of this concept as the basis of theories of semantic representation should be questioned. Models based on the assumption of a "richer" semantic representation for concrete words (e.g.: Plaut & Shallice, 1993) are therefore undermined by these data. The possibility that concrete and abstract concepts can be accessed from their most salient predicates and/or features was examined in a series of semantic priming experiments. It was concluded that it is not possible to prime either concrete or abstract concepts from their constituent parts. Significant facilitation only occurred for items in which the prime and target were synonymous and therefore map onto concepts which share almost identical semantic representations. In summary, it is apparent that no current theory of semantic representation can adequately account for the range of findings with regard to the concrete/abstract word distinction. The most plausible account is some form of distributed connectionist model. However, such models are based on unsubstantiated assumptions about the nature of abstract word representations in the semantic network. Alternative proposals are therefore discussed.

Graduate

In-vitro mutagenicity assays have traditionally been used for first line identification of potential genotoxic hazard, purporting to chemical carcinogenesis and heritable genetic damage. The recent advances m combinatorial chemistry and high throughput screening technologies have led to a massive explosion in numbers of possible therapeutic candidates being produced at the early stages of drug discovery. This rapid increase in the number of chemicals to be classified results in a greater need for to acquire alternative methods for the prediction of toxicity. Quantitative StructureActivity Relationships (QSAR) can till this need for early hazard identifications by elucidating the physicochemical basis of biological activity. The assumption with predictive QSARs for toxicity is that "biological activity may be described as a function of chemical constitution". This thesis focuses on the Ames mutagenicity assay data for two compound sets; one of 90 compounds, with limited structural flexibility, comprising a range of chemical classes (non-congeneric series), the second, a set of 30 flavonoid compounds. Three physicochemical descriptor sets were generated: EV A, a theoretical molecular descriptor based on the normal co-ordinate modes of vibration; WHIM, derived from weighting functions applied to the 3D-structural molecular co-ordinates; and TSAR, a series of hydrophobic, electronic and steric parameters traditionally associated with the production of biological QSARs. Various "unsupervised" data pre-treatment methods were adopted, to reduce the level of degeneracy within the individual descriptor sets, prior to the calculation of stepwise linear discriminant classification functions. Good predictive models for Ames mutagenicity, as determined by leave-one-out (jackknife) cross-validation, were obtained with each of the three physicochemical descriptor sets. An increase in the predictive ability was observed following the combination of variables from the individual descriptor sets, inferring that some unique information associated with mutagenic activity is contained within each descriptor set. The predictive stability of the models produced was assessed via independent compound predictions, with a poor overall success rate determined. This failure in external prediction was investigated and fundamental differences in physicochemical data space occupancy revealed. Conclusions on training set composition and general model applicability are made with consideration to individual model physicochemical data space coverage.

published_or_final_version / Paediatrics / Master / Master of Philosophy

Tissue engineering is an emerging field aimed to combine biological, engineering and material methods to create a biomimetic three dimensional (3D) environment to control cells proliferation and functional tissue formation. In such an artificial structural environment, a scaffold, made from biomaterial(s), plays an essential role by providing a mechanical support and biological guidance platform. Hence, fabrication of tissue scaffolds is of a fundamental importance, yet a challenging task, in tissue engineering. This task becomes more challenging if living cells need to be encapsulated in the scaffolds so as to fabricate scaffolds with structures to mimic the native ones, mainly due to the issue of process-induced cell damage. This research aims to develop novel methods to model the process of fabricating cell-encapsulated scaffolds and process-induced cell damage. Particularly, this research focuses on the scaffold fabrication process based on the dispensing-based rapid prototyping technique - one of the most promising scaffold fabrication methods nowadays, by which a 3D scaffold is fabricated by laying down multiple, precisely formed layers in succession. In the dispensing-based scaffold fabrication process, the flow behavior of biomaterials solution can significantly affect the flow rate of material dispensed, thus the structure of scaffold fabricated. In this research, characterization of flow behavior of materials was studied; and models to represent the flow behaviour and its influence on the scaffold structure were developed. The resultant models were shown able to greatly improve the scaffold fabrication in terms of process parameter determination. If cells are encapsulated in hydrogel for scaffold fabrication, cell density can affect the mechanical properties of hydrogel scaffolds formed. In this research, the influence of cell density on mechanical properties of hydrogel scaffolds was investigated. Furthermore, finite element analysis (FEA) of mechanical properties of scaffolds with varying cell densities was performed.The results show that the local stress and strain energy on cells varies at different cell densities. The method developed may greatly facilitate hydrogel scaffolds design to minimize cell damage in scaffold and promote tissue regeneration. . In the cell-encapsulated scaffold fabrication process, cells inevitably suffer from mechanical forces and other process-induced hazards. In such a harsh environment, cells deform and may be injured, even damaged due to mechanical breakage of cell membrane. In this research, three primary physical variables: shear stress, exposure time, and temperature were examined and investigated with regard to their effects on cell damage. Cell damage laws through the development phenomenal models and computational fluidic dynamic (CFD) models were established; and their applications to the cell-encapsulated scaffold fabrication process were pursued. The results obtained show these models and modeling methods not only allow one to optimize process parameters to preserve cell viability but also provide a novel strategy to probe cell damage mechanism in microscopic view.

No description available.

No description available.