Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ball State University, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Nov. 12, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-145).

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No description available.

The voltage-gated chloride channel, ClC-1, a member of the CLC family of proteins, is expressed predominantly in skeletal muscle cells. In this tissue, ClC-1 contributes to repolarisation and stabilisation of the membrane potential after an action potential. In the absence of ClC-1 function, voltage-gated sodium channels can recover from inactivation before the membrane potential has returned to resting levels, and hence can reopen without further stimulus, resulting in a run of contractions. Clinically, this phenomenon leads to the muscle stiffness disease myotonia. Members of the CLC family of proteins have been identified in many species from bacteria to mammals, and the X-ray crystallographic structure of a bacterial member of this family revealed a complex structure with 17 intramembrane helices. These proteins exist as a functional dimer, with a separate permeation pore within each subunit. There appears to be two separate gating mechanisms; the fast gate which acts on each pore independently and the slow or common gate operating on both pores simultaneously. The aim of this study was to identify functionally important regions within the ClC-1 channel, with the ultimate aim of elucidating the mechanisms involved in gating. / Thesis (PhDHealthSciences)--University of South Australia, 2006.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 292-320).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also in a digital version from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International.

Inaug. - Diss. (Ph. D.)--Zurich.

Doctor of Philosophy / Mathematics / Ilia Zharkov / A smooth affine hypersurface of complex dimension n is homotopy equivalent to a real n-dimensional cell complex. We describe a recipe of constructing such cell complex for the hypersurfaces of dimension 1 and 2, i.e. for curves and surfaces. We call such cell complex a skeleton of the hypersurface. In tropical geometry, to each hypersurface, there is an associated hypersurface, called tropical hypersurface given by degenerating a family of complex amoebas. The tropical hypersurface has a structure of a polyhedral complex and it is a base of a torus fibration of the hypersurface constructed by Mikhalkin. We introduce on the edges of a tropical hypersurface an orientation given by the gradient flow of some piece-wise linear function. With the help of this orientation, we choose some sections and fibers of the fibration.These sections and fibers constitute a cell complex and we prove that this complex is the skeleton by using decomposition of the coemoeba of a classical pair-of-pants. We state and prove our main results for the case of curves and surfaces in Chapters 4 and 5.

No description available.

Growth is associated with the availability of essential nutrients and it seems possible that these nutrients could affect the growth mechanism involved in skeletal development. To test this hypothesis 76 normal human fetuses aged 9 to 20 weeks were collected from therapeutic abortions. Sex, weight, length, head circumference, foot length and a skeletal index were recorded; developmental age was calculated from crown-rump length, and gestational age estimated from the mother's menstrual history. Bones from the right arm and leg were removed and cleaned for biochemical analysis. Calcium, inorganic phosphorus, magnesium, sodium and collagen content of 60 femora and humeri were determined, after length, fresh weight, constant dry weight and fat-free weight were recorded. Length of ossification in the bones of the left arm and leg was measured via silver radiography. Assuming bilateral symmetry, biochemical and physical data could then be compared. All fetal data were grouped according to developmental age: 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, 17-20 weeks. Analysis of variance and Duncan's New Multiple Range Test were performed to determine the significance of group effect. Simple linear regression was executed on the whole range of data to detect which variables best predicted other variables. Maternal information was obtained from an interview and from medical records at Vancouver General Hospital. Age, weight, height, birth weight, parity and gravidity of the mother were recorded. A socio-economic index was calculated. Adequacy of maternal diet during pregnancy was assessed from a daily pattern recall, food frequency and preference questions. These data were used to calculate a total nutrition score and a protein score. Maternal data were coded as potential independent variables and multiple regression analysis performed against fetal dependent variables. As developmental age of the fetuses increased, the fresh length, dry weight and length of ossification also increased in both humerus and femur, as did the calcium and phosphorus content. In most cases long bone growth as measured by these variables advanced proportionately with fetal age. Thus group means of most variables were significantly different from each other when divided into five 2 week age periods. Water content dropped proportionately with age, reflecting bone mineralization. Sodium content fell markedly in fetal bones after 10 weeks. Magnesium and collagen remained constant. Fat extraction did not change the dry weight of the bones. Statistical correlation was found between physical and biochemical data. Generally physical variables were best predicted by other physical variables. Biochemical composition of the femur could best be predicted from corresponding data in the humerus. When gestational age was plotted against physical or biochemical variables, statistical correlation was weaker. The correlation found between fetal variables and maternal age, parity, weight and socio-economic status would indicate a diversity of factors influencing fetal growth. Whereas protein score of maternal diet was not statistically related with fetal parameters, general nutrition score showed a consistent, positive correlation with length and dry weight of the femur and humerus. This relationship was statistically significant when developmental or gestational age remained constant. The results of this study suggest that nutrition of the pregnant woman is positively correlated with some indices of skeletal growth and development of the human fetus. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate