Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

The purpose of this research was to determine the relationship of the slime layer antigen(s) to the "101" or LPS antigens and to attempt to evaluate the role of antibodies against the latter in protection against experimental infections in mice with the homologous strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Results from agglutination tests, chromatographic separations, passive protection tests, and characterizations of the antigens by gel double diffusion do not support the concept that LPS is a necessary portion of the immunogenic material. The immunogenicity of LPS can be attributed to co-purification of residual amounts of slime layer antigens on the washed cells from which LPS was extracted.

Bibliography: leaves 218-233. / xiii, 233 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / This thesis identifies a strong relationship between Zn nutrition of medics and severity of disease by R. solani (AG8) which may be a major factor contributing to the current decline in medic pastures observed in Australia. The effect of seed nutritional value had a profound impact on the growth of medics and may also be a key factor in poor medic growth. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Plant Science, 1998

Zinc (Zn) is an essential trace element and its deficiency is known to compromise a wide range of functions, including vascular function and immune function. The hypothesis of the thesis was that suboptimal Zn status would induce changes in the vascular system, thus raising the potential risk of developing atherosclerosis. After 2 wk, aorta was taken from male adult rats fed by either acute Zn deficient (AZD, <1mg Zn/kg), Zn adequate Pair fed of AZD (PF, 35mg Zn/kg), or Zn adequate control (ZA, 35mg Zn/kg, fed ad libitum) diet. It was found most genes which were significantly regulated between AZD and PF aorta belong to cytoskeleton remodelling. Plasma from the same rats was used to incubate primary VSMC in vitro. Dramatic changes of gene expression in pathways associated with immune function. While AZD plasma induced marked changes in VSMC gene expression in vitro, no significant change was found by depleting Zn from PF plasma. Therefore it is possible that a Zn deficiency induced humoral factor was responsible for influencing VSMC gene expression. By semi-purifying plasma using gel filtration and molecular filtration, it was confirmed that the humoral factor has a molecular weight of around 2kDa and is thought to be a peptide hormone, which could serve as a potential biomarker of Zn status. Splenocytes and whole blood were taken from rats and used to measure cytokine secretion before and after either LPS or ConA treatment. Different concentrations of several cytokines, such as IL2, IL6, TNFα and IFNγ were found from different Zn status. Overall the thesis emphasises the participation of Zn in several aspects of the vascular system, such as regulating cytokine production and maintaining vascular structure. It provides important evidence of the role that Zn plays in the development of atherosclerosis.

No description available.

The ability of human growth hormone (hGH) to alleviate the effects of zinc deficiency on growth was investigated in the rat. Human GH treatment had no significant effect on food consumption, growth parameters or plasma IGF-I. Food consumption, tail length, liver weight, and tibia weight were significantly lower in the zinc deficient group. Body weight was significantly reduced in the zinc deficient and pair fed groups compared to the control. A significant interaction between zinc and hGH was found for tibial epiphyseal cartilage width but there were no significant differences between the groups receiving hGH and the respective shams. Tissue zinc content and plasma alkaline phosphatase were significantly decreased by the dietary zinc deficiency. Plasma zinc was higher in the groups receiving hGH. Significant interactions between zinc and hGH was found for liver iron, tibial zinc, and tibial copper. Copper and iron showed a competitive interaction with zinc and were lower in the rats receiving the control diet. Both lowered zinc and food intake contributed to the effects of the zinc deficiency; however, these effects were not equally distributed. Food intake had the greater effect on growth and plasma IGF-I while tissue mineral content showed a greater effect for zinc intake.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Plant Science, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 218-233).

Thesis (M.Ag.Sc.) - Dept. of Agronomy, University of Adelaide, 1983. / Typescript (photocopy).

Thesis (D.Sc.) --University of Adelaide, 1958.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on April 27, 2009) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.