PHD, Kent State University, 2019, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies

Translation is an invaluable tool for communicating between cultures and for bridging the “knowledge gap.” Based on this fact, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) claims that the purpose of its translations of media content from the Middle East, mainly the Arabic-speaking world, is to bridge the knowledge gap that exists between the West and Middle Eastern countries. Although MEMRI's stated goal is a generous and worthy one, its translations have attracted criticism from major translation scholars such as Mona Baker (2005, 2006, 2010a) and journalists such as Brian Whitaker (2002, 2007), as well as scholars from history and political studies. The main criticism regarding MEMRI's translations revolves around the question of selectivity, or which texts are chosen for translation. However, no study to date has provided comprehensive evidence to support or refute that charge, which this study aims to do. This study focuses on English translations of texts and video clips that were found in the Saudi Arabia translation archive, published and available online on MEMRI's website. By investigating all the Saudi media sources (e.g., newspapers, TV channels, Twitter, YouTube, etc.) from which MEMRI makes its selection of texts for translation, this study provides statistical evidence as to whether MEMRI's translations are representative of what is being circulated in the source culture (Saudi Arabia) media. Supporting evidence is sought in MEMRI's approach to the translation of titles and in its translation of video clips (subtitling).

Committee: Brian Baer (Committee Chair); Judy Wakabayashi (Committee Member); Kelly Washbourne (Committee Member); Babacar M'Baye (Committee Member) Subjects: Language Arts; Linguistics

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2015, Biomedical Engineering

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Early diagnosis of CVD needs robust and accurate measurement of cardiac alterations at both functional and cellular levels. At the cellular level, calcium (Ca2+) influx through the voltage-gated L-type Ca2+ channel (LTCC) is central in cardiac excitation-contraction coupling and is altered in various cardiovascular diseases. The emergence of manganese (Mn2+)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) provides the possibility for in vivo assessment of Ca2+ uptake. In the current project, we first developed a rapid, multi-slice cardiac T1 mapping method to capture the dynamics of Mn2+-induced R1 changes in mouse myocardium. The sensitivity of MEMRI using T1 mapping in detecting subtle changes in altered Ca2+ channel activity was evaluated in a mouse model with dystrophin-glycoprotein complex disruption. In addition, a mathematical compartment model was developed for quantitative assessment of the LTCC activity by least-squares fitting of the model to experimental MEMRI data. At the functional level, the analysis of regional myocardial wall motion has emerged as more sensitive measures of early-stage functional alterations compared with global functional parameters. Displacement-encoding with stimulated echoes (DENSE) MRI provides an accurate tool for noninvasive measurement of regional myocardial function. In this project, DENSE MRI was used to investigate the impact of disruption of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), which causes cystic fibrosis (CF), on cardiac function. Cardiomyocyte contractility and Ca2+ transients were also measured in vitro. Our results show that the disruption of CFTR caused a wide range of changes in heart, including left-ventricular structure, global function, regional mechanics, and stress response. In conclusion, our studies demonstrated the capability of MEMRI and DENSE MRI in detecting cardiac diseases at early stage. (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Xin Yu (Advisor); Chris Flask (Committee Member); Craig Hodges (Committee Member); Rebecca Darrah (Committee Member); Nicole Seiberlich (Committee Member) Subjects: Biomedical Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2011, Biomedical Engineering

Ca2+ cycling between the cellular and subcellular compartments plays an important role in regulating cardiac contraction. Disturbance in Ca2+ handling occurs in heart failure and is closely related to abnormal contractile performance. The influx of extracellular Ca2+ through L-type calcium channel is the trigger and a key player in the Ca2+ cycling process. However, there are limited ways to measure it in vivo. Recently, manganese (Mn2+)-enhanced MRI (MEMRI) has been proposed as a promising probe to assess Ca2+ uptake because Mn2+ also enters the cell through the Ca2+ channels. However, quantitative analysis and substantial validation are still lacking, which has limited the application of MEMRI as an in vivo method for quantitative delineation of the Ca2+ influx rate. In the current thesis project, a quantitative MEMRI method was developed and validated using small animal models. The sensitivity to subtle alterations in Ca2+ influx rate was demonstrated in a qualitative MEMRI study using a genetically manipulated mouse model that manifested slightly altered L-type Ca2+ channel activity. To provide quantitative estimation of Mn2+ dynamics, fast T1 mapping techniques were developed based on the direct linear relationship between Mn2+ concentration and proton R1. An ECG-triggered saturation recovery Look-Locker (SRLL) method and a model-based compressed sensing method was developed and validated, respectively. When these two methods were combined, rapid T1 mapping (< 80s) of both myocardium and blood were achieved at high spatial resolution (234x469 μm2). Subsequently, a kinetic model was developed to determine Ca2+ influx rate from the quantitative MEMRI measurements. The robustness and accuracy of estimated Ca2+ influx rate was validated using perfusion MEMRI datasets with L-type Ca2+ channel activity well controlled by buffer ingredients. In conclusion, the accomplishment of this project provides a robust MEMRI method for in vivo quantification of L-type Ca2+ (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Xin Yu (Committee Chair); Chris Flask (Committee Member); Mark Griswold (Committee Member); David Rosenbaum (Committee Member); David Wilson (Committee Member) Subjects: Biomedical Engineering; Biomedical Research; Medical Imaging; Radiation; Radiology