Life Sciences Commons^™

Fishing For Neurocircuitry: Identifying Multi-Sensory Integrating Neurons In The Optic Tectum Of Zebrafish, Suehelen A. Garcia, Adeline Hamilton, Karianne Jex, Erika C. Marks, Jordan T. Yorgason, Tracianne B. Neilsen, Arminda Suli

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

The superior colliculus (SC) is a mammalian midbrain structure involved in multimodal sensory integration and is implicated to have a role in neurodevelopmental disorders. Although the presence of multisensory integrating neurons (MINs) in the SC has been well documented by electrophysiology techniques, little is known about their morphological or molecular characterization. To identify and study MINs, we utilized SC’s non-mammalian homologous structure–the optic tectum (OT)–in the genetically tractable model organism zebrafish. In this process, we generated transgenic lines that allowed for fluorescent detection of neuronal activity by expressing the genetically engineered calcium indicators: cytoRGECO and H2B-jRGECO1a, respectively in mechanosensory hair …

Chasing The Rainbow: Systematics Of New Guinean Rainbow Skinks, Taylor Probst, Alison Whiting

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

Oral Presentation Honorable Mention

• Carlia are known as the “Rainbow skinks” due to their iridescent scales (see Figure 1).

• Carlia are found across Oceania (see figure 2), however only relationships among the Australian species are known.

• New Guinean Carlia are divided into three species groups based on size, distribution, and morphology.

• Species within the Carlia fusca complex have primarily been delineated based on regional color patterns (see Figure 4).

• New Guinea is known for extreme lizard diversity, specifically within skinks.

• Research has shown that many lizard groups underwent a rapid diversification within New Guinea, …

Solving The Hiv Enigma: Investigating Mutant Long-Term Non-Progressor Vpr Strands, Megan Knight, Bradford Berges

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

Different variants of HIV:

➢ Rapid Progressor: aggressive symptoms, quick progression into AIDs

➢ Wild-Type: regular symptoms, regular progression into AIDs

➢ Long-Term Non-Progressor: little-

Examining Cetp Gene Associated With Ad-Related Diseases Of The Hispanic Population In The Rio Grande Valley., Erika Guajardo, Luis Aguillon, Daniela Ollervides-Charles, Kesheng Wang, Gladys Maestre, J. Garza, Chun Xu

Research Symposium

Background: There are currently about 6 million people in the United States that suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and Alzheimer’s Disease related dementia (ADRD). It is a progressive disease beginning with mild memory loss and possibly leading to loss of the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to the environment. Over time, these conditions can cause many different health issues that decrease the quality of life. In addition, Hispanic people are twice as likely to develop AD or AD related dementia than non-Hispanic White people. In our study, we are investigating a known gene, CETP, that directly corresponds …

Evaluation Of Pediatric Genetics Clinics’ Workflows, Efficiencies, & Genetic Counselor Job Satisfaction, Ashlyn M. Keziah

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The organizational structures and workflows of pediatric/general genetics clinics exhibit significant variability across institutions. However, there is a notable lack of studies exploring which structural components within pediatric clinics contribute to increased patient volumes, while concurrently upholding genetic counselor work satisfaction and mitigating burnout risks. To address this gap, this multiple case study delves into the operational dynamics of several pediatric genetics clinics located throughout the state of Florida. We employed surveys and interviews to identify shared patterns and distinctions in clinic workflows and structures, subsequently evaluating efficiency and genetic counselor job satisfaction/burnout at each site. This study includes survey …

Linking Shared Decision Making To Outcomes In Simulated Prenatal Genetic Counseling Sessions, Raquel C. Chavarria

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Shared decision-making (SDM), defined as the collaborative process between patient and healthcare provider to arrive at a values-based clinical decision, may be valuable in genetic counseling (GC) given that patients are often faced with various options. Four published studies have measured or made conclusions about the use of SDM skills in GC settings, but only one study evaluated relationships between third-party observations of SDM in recorded GC sessions and patient-reported outcomes (i.e., anxiety and decisional conflict) and found no correlations between these measures. The purpose of this study was to evaluate relationships between SDM and measures of patient-reported experience (i.e., …

Analyzing The Relationship Between Preeclamptic Severity And Placental Methylation, Mackenzie C. Maggio

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Preeclampsia (PE) is a life-threatening hypertensive disorder in pregnancy (HDP) characterized by high blood pressure and proteinuria after 20 weeks of gestation. PE poses significant risks to both maternal and child health. An incomplete etiopathogenesis, diverse disease heterogeneity, and limited intervention and detection strategies further exacerbate and perpetuate PE as a major public health concern. By assessing symptom severity of placental tissues from PE pregnancies and analyzing the DNA methylation differences, this thesis aimed to identify epigenetic variations contributing to disease heterogeneity. Using the publicly available dataset GSE 98224, differentially methylated region (DMR) analysis on placental samples (n=48) revealed increasing …

A Differentially Methylated Region Analysis Between Three Disease States Of Major Depressive Disorder In Primarily African-American Cohorts, Lanie Katelynn Mullins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common and debilitating disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. MDD is a multifactorial disease with no established mechanism currently able to explain all facets of the disease or its etiology. Feedback loop mechanisms have been posited to explain the interactions of psychological and physical components of the disease etiology. Epigenetics, specifically DNA-methylation analyses, can shed light on the interaction between the within-person environment resulting from MDD symptomology, the persistence of the disease, and factors influencing remission. Here, a differentially methylated region analysis was conducted using samples derived from whole blood to interrogate the …

Recent Progress On Gene-Deleted Liveattenuated African Swine Fever Virus Vaccines, Hiep Vu, David Scott Mcvey

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

African Swine Fever (ASF) is a highly lethal viral disease in swine, with mortality rates approaching 100%. The disease has spread to many swine-producing countries, leading to significant economic losses and adversely impacting global food security. Extensive efforts have been directed toward developing effective ASF vaccines. Among the vaccinology approaches tested to date, liveattenuated virus (LAV) vaccines produced by rational deleting virulence genes from virulent African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) strains have demonstrated promising safety and efficacy in experimental and field conditions. Many gene-deleted LAV vaccine candidates have been generated in recent years. The virulence genes targeted for deletion from …

Recent Progress On Gene-Deleted Liveattenuated African Swine Fever Virus Vaccines, Hiep L.X. Vu, David Scott Mcvey

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

African Swine Fever (ASF) is a highly lethal viral disease in swine, with mortality rates approaching 100%. The disease has spread to many swine-producing countries, leading to significant economic losses and adversely impacting global food security. Extensive efforts have been directed toward developing effective ASF vaccines. Among the vaccinology approaches tested to date, liveattenuated virus (LAV) vaccines produced by rational deleting virulence genes from virulent African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) strains have demonstrated promising safety and efficacy in experimental and field conditions. Many gene-deleted LAV vaccine candidates have been generated in recent years. The virulence genes targeted for deletion from …

A Machine Learning Model Of Perturb-Seq Data For Use In Space Flight Gene Expression Profile Analysis, Liam F. Johnson, James Casaletto, Lauren Sanders, Sylvain Costes

Graduate Industrial Research Symposium

The genetic perturbations caused by spaceflight on biological systems tend to have a system-wide effect which is often difficult to deconvolute it into individual signals with specific points of origin. Single cell multi-omic data can provide a profile of the perturbational effects, but does not necessarily indicate the initial point of interference within the network. The objective of this project is to take advantage of large scale and genome-wide perturbational datasets by using them to train a tuned machine learning model that is capable of predicting the effects of unseen perturbations in new data. Perturb-Seq datasets are large libraries of …

Daily Injection Of The Β2 Adrenergic Agonist Clenbuterol Improved Muscle Glucose Metabolism, Glucose-Stimulated Insulin Secretion, And Hyperlipidemia In Juvenile Lambs Following Heat-Stress-Induced Intrauterine Growth Restriction, Rachel L. Gibbs, James Wilson, Rebecca M. Swanson, Joslyn K. Beard, Zena M. Hicks, Haley Beer, Eileen Marks-Nelson, Ty B. Schmidt, Jessica Lynn Petersen, Dustin T. Yates

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Stress-induced fetal programming diminishes β2 adrenergic tone, which coincides with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and lifelong metabolic dysfunction. We determined if stimulating β2 adrenergic activity in IUGR-born lambs would improve metabolic outcomes. IUGR lambs that received daily injections of saline or the β2 agonist clenbuterol from birth to 60 days were compared with controls from pair-fed thermoneutral pregnancies. As juveniles, IUGR lambs exhibited systemic inflammation and robust metabolic dysfunction, including greater (p < 0.05) circulating TNF, IL-6, and non-esterified fatty acids, increased (p < 0.05) intramuscular glycogen, reduced (p < 0.05) circulating IGF-1, hindlimb blood flow, glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, and muscle glucose oxidation. Daily clenbuterol fully recovered (p < 0.05) circulating TNF, IL-6, and nonesterified fatty acids, hindlimb blood flow, muscle glucose oxidation, and intramuscular glycogen. Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion was partially recovered (p < 0.05) in clenbuterol-treated IUGR lambs, but circulating IGF-1 was not improved. Circulating triglycerides and HDL cholesterol were elevated (p < 0.05) in clenbuterol-treated IUGR lambs, despite being normal in untreated IUGR lambs. We conclude that deficient β2 adrenergic regulation is a primary mechanism for several components of metabolic dysfunction in IUGR-born offspring and thus represents a potential therapeutic target for improving metabolic outcomes. Moreover, benefits from the β2 agonist were likely complemented by its suppression of IUGR-associated inflammation.

Applicability Of Fibrous Cellulose –D In Extracting Double-Stranded Rna (Dsrna) Of Tobrfv, Raed Alkow, Reem Hijaz, Beesan Jamoos, Najah Khandaqji, We’Am Daraghmeh, Saja Salah, Alaa Bari, Rahaf Ben Ali, Osama Alabdalla

Jerash for Research and Studies Journal مجلة جرش للبحوث والدراسات

The viral replicative form double strand RNA (dsRNA) is a unique feature to the plant RNA viruses that used for non-specific detection of plant viruses. For decades; fibrous cellulose -11 (CF11) was used for dsRNA purification, but recently was no-more produced. Other fibrous celluloses (CF-A; -B; -C; -D; and –E) were suggested as alternatives to CF11. This study was to evaluate the applicability and reproducibility of using CF-D with two different dsRNA extracting methods: micro-spin column and modified Dodds extraction methods. The best results were recorded on Dodds extraction method over micro-spin one. This results also confirmed the applicability of …

Envisioning Transition From Open Landscapes To Forested Landscapes In The Routt National Forest, Colorado, United States, Brice B. Hanberry, Jacob M. Seidel

Aspen Bibliography

Globally, in remaining wildlands, tree densities and forested cover have increased in grasslands and open forests since European settlement. In the southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado, United States, we determined tree composition and tree cover from historical (years 1875 to 1896) surveys and compared them to current (2002 to 2011) tree composition and current (year 2016) forested land cover for 500,000 ha of the Routt National Forest. Additionally, we examined whether changes in precipitation occurred. Regarding composition, pine (primarily lodgepole pine; Pinus contorta) decreased from 65% to 32% of all trees, with increased subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) …

Prevalence, Morbidity, And Mortality Of Men With Sex Chromosome Aneuploidy In The Million Veteran Program Cohort, Shanlee Davis, Craig Teerlink, Julie Lynch, Bryan Gorman, Meghana Pagadala, Aoxing Liu, Matthew Panizzon, Victoria Merritt, Giulio Genovese, Judith Ross, Richard Hauger

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Papers

IMPORTANCE: The reported phenotypes of men with 47,XXY and 47,XYY syndromes include tall stature, multisystem comorbidities, and poor health-related quality of life (HRQOL). However, knowledge about these sex chromosome aneuploidy (SCA) conditions has been derived from studies in the less than 15% of patients who are clinically diagnosed and also lack diversity in age and genetic ancestry.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of clinically diagnosed and undiagnosed X or Y chromosome aneuploidy among men enrolled in the Million Veteran Program (MVP); to describe military service metrics of men with SCAs; and to compare morbidity and mortality outcomes between men with …

Species Delimitation Of Slimy Salamanders, Plethodon Kisatchie And Plethodon Mississippi, Across The Lower Mississippi River, Brock Hunter Stevenson

Master's Theses

Species are fundamental units of biodiversity yet delimiting species can be challenging. Slimy Salamanders of the Plethodon glutinosus species complex are a classic example of cryptic species for which species boundaries and relationships have proved difficult to determine. Once thought to be a single species ranging across the eastern United States, protein analysis revealed high genetic divergences among geographically distinct groups of populations, leading to 16 species being recognized within the group. Two of these species, the Louisiana Slimy Salamander (Plethodon kisatchie) and the Mississippi Slimy Salamander (Plethodon mississippi), are closely related but occur on opposite sides of the Mississippi …

Genetic Counseling Student Self-Efficacy, Exam Anxiety, And Opinions Related To Study Materials For The Genetic Counseling Board Certification Exam., Jessica F. Stanton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Genetic Counseling Board Examination is a critical assessment for clinical practice in the field. However, the relationship between students’ test-related anxiety, confidence in their ability to study (i.e., self-efficacy), and the use of gamification for board examination preparation remains unexplored. This study compared gamification and traditional quiz-style study methods using two randomized groups of students preparing for the Genetic Counseling Board Examination. The primary objectives were to assess for changes in exam-related anxiety and self-efficacy after completing the respective study materials and to evaluate the acceptability and completion rates of these materials. Ninety-eight genetic counseling students or recent graduates …

Influence Of Maternal Supplementation With Vitamins, Minerals, And (Or) Protein/Energy On Placental Development And Angiogenic Factors In Beef Heifers During Pregnancy, Bethania J. Dávila Ruiz, Carl R. Dahlen, Kacie L. Mccathy, Joel S. Caton, Jennifer L. Hurlbert, Friederike Baumgaertner, Ana Clara B. Menezes, Wellison J. S. Diniz, Sarah R. Underdahl, James D. Kirsch, Kevin K. Sedivec, Kerri A. Bochantin, Pawel P. Borowicz, Sebastián Canovas, Lawrence P. Reynolds

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

The effect of vitamins and minerals supplementation (VTM) and/or two rates of body weight gain (GAIN) on bovine placental vascular development and angiogenic factors gene expression were evaluated in two experiments: In Exp. 1, crossbred Angus heifers (n = 34) were assigned to VTM/NoVTM treatments at least 71 days before breeding to allow changes in the mineral status. At breeding, through artificial insemination (AI), heifers were assigned to low-gain (LG) 0.28 kg/d or moderate-gain (MG) 0.79 kg/d treatments, resulting in NoVTM-LG (Control; n = 8), NoVTM-MG (n = 8), VTM-LG (n = 9), and VTM-MG (n = …

Genetic Drivers Of Heterogeneity In Type 2 Diabetes Pathophysiology, Ken Suzuki, Konstantinos Hatzikotoulas, Lorraine Southam, Henry J Taylor, Xianyong Yin, Kim M Lorenz, Ravi Mandla, Alicia Huerta-Chagoya, Giorgio E M Melloni, Stavroula Kanoni, Nigel W Rayner, Ozvan Bocher, Ana Luiza Arruda, Kyuto Sonehara, Shinichi Namba, Simon S K Lee, Michael H Preuss, Lauren E Petty, Philip Schroeder, Brett Vanderwerff, Mart Kals, Fiona Bragg, Kuang Lin, Xiuqing Guo, Weihua Zhang, Jie Yao, Young Jin Kim, Mariaelisa Graff, Fumihiko Takeuchi, Jana Nano, Amel Lamri, Masahiro Nakatochi, Sanghoon Moon, Robert A Scott, James P Cook, Jung-Jin Lee, Ian Pan, Daniel Taliun, Esteban J Parra, Jin-Fang Chai, Lawrence F Bielak, Yasuharu Tabara, Yang Hai, Gudmar Thorleifsson, Niels Grarup, Tamar Sofer, Matthias Wuttke, Chloé Sarnowski, Christian Gieger, Darryl Nousome, Stella Trompet, Soo-Heon Kwak, Jirong Long, Meng Sun, Lin Tong, Wei-Min Chen, Suraj S Nongmaithem, Raymond Noordam, Victor J Y Lim, Claudia H T Tam, Yoonjung Yoonie Joo, Chien-Hsiun Chen, Laura M Raffield, Bram Peter Prins, Aude Nicolas, Lisa R Yanek, Guanjie Chen, Jennifer A Brody, Edmond Kabagambe, Ping An, Anny H Xiang, Hyeok Sun Choi, Brian E Cade, Jingyi Tan, K Alaine Broadaway, Alice Williamson, Zoha Kamali, Jinrui Cui, Manonanthini Thangam, Linda S Adair, Adebowale Adeyemo, Carlos A Aguilar-Salinas, Tarunveer S Ahluwalia, Sonia S Anand, Alain Bertoni, Jette Bork-Jensen, Ivan Brandslund, Thomas A Buchanan, Charles F Burant, Adam S Butterworth, Mickaël Canouil, Juliana C N Chan, Li-Ching Chang, Miao-Li Chee, Ji Chen, Shyh-Huei Chen, Yuan-Tsong Chen, Zhengming Chen, Lee-Ming Chuang, Mary Cushman, John Danesh, Swapan K Das, H Janaka De Silva, George Dedoussis, Latchezar Dimitrov, Ayo P Doumatey, Shufa Du, Qing Duan, Kai-Uwe Eckardt, Leslie S Emery, Daniel S Evans, Michele K Evans, Krista Fischer, James S Floyd, Ian Ford, Oscar H Franco, Timothy M Frayling, Barry I Freedman, Pauline Genter, Hertzel C Gerstein, Vilmantas Giedraitis, Clicerio González-Villalpando, Maria Elena González-Villalpando, Penny Gordon-Larsen, Myron Gross, Lindsay A Guare, Sophie Hackinger, Liisa Hakaste, Sohee Han, Andrew T Hattersley, Christian Herder, Momoko Horikoshi, Annie-Green Howard, Willa Hsueh, Mengna Huang, Wei Huang, Yi-Jen Hung, Mi Yeong Hwang, Chii-Min Hwu, Sahoko Ichihara, Mohammad Arfan Ikram, Martin Ingelsson, Md Tariqul Islam, Masato Isono, Hye-Mi Jang, Farzana Jasmine, Guozhi Jiang, Jost B Jonas, Torben Jørgensen, Frederick K Kamanu, Fouad R Kandeel, Anuradhani Kasturiratne, Tomohiro Katsuya, Varinderpal Kaur, Takahisa Kawaguchi, Jacob M Keaton, Abel N Kho, Chiea-Chuen Khor, Muhammad G Kibriya, Duk-Hwan Kim, Florian Kronenberg, Johanna Kuusisto, Kristi Läll, Leslie A Lange, Kyung Min Lee, Myung-Shik Lee, Nanette R Lee, Aaron Leong, Liming Li, Yun Li, Ruifang Li-Gao, Symen Ligthart, Cecilia M Lindgren, Allan Linneberg, Ching-Ti Liu, Jianjun Liu, Adam E Locke, Tin Louie, Jian'an Luan, Andrea O Luk, Xi Luo, Jun Lv, Julie A Lynch, Valeriya Lyssenko, Shiro Maeda, Vasiliki Mamakou, Sohail Rafik Mansuri, Koichi Matsuda, Thomas Meitinger, Olle Melander, Andres Metspalu, Huan Mo, Andrew D Morris, Filipe A Moura, Jerry L Nadler, Michael A Nalls, Uma Nayak, Ioanna Ntalla, Yukinori Okada, Lorena Orozco, Sanjay R Patel, Snehal Patil, Pei Pei, Mark A Pereira, Annette Peters, Fraser J Pirie, Hannah G Polikowsky, Bianca Porneala, Gauri Prasad, Laura J Rasmussen-Torvik, Alexander P Reiner, Michael Roden, Rebecca Rohde, Katheryn Roll, Charumathi Sabanayagam, Kevin Sandow, Alagu Sankareswaran, Naveed Sattar, Sebastian Schönherr, Mohammad Shahriar, Botong Shen, Jinxiu Shi, Dong Mun Shin, Nobuhiro Shojima, Jennifer A Smith, Wing Yee So, Alena Stančáková, Valgerdur Steinthorsdottir, Adrienne M Stilp, Konstantin Strauch, Kent D Taylor, Barbara Thorand, Unnur Thorsteinsdottir, Brian Tomlinson, Tam C Tran, Fuu-Jen Tsai, Jaakko Tuomilehto, Teresa Tusie-Luna, Miriam S Udler, Adan Valladares-Salgado, Rob M Van Dam, Jan B Van Klinken, Rohit Varma, Niels Wacher-Rodarte, Eleanor Wheeler, Ananda R Wickremasinghe, Ko Willems Van Dijk, Daniel R Witte, Chittaranjan S Yajnik, Ken Yamamoto, Kenichi Yamamoto, Kyungheon Yoon, Canqing Yu, Jian-Min Yuan, Salim Yusuf, Matthew Zawistowski, Liang Zhang, Wei Zheng, Leslie J Raffel, Michiya Igase, Eli Ipp, Susan Redline, Yoon Shin Cho, Lars Lind, Michael A Province, Myriam Fornage, Craig L Hanis, Erik Ingelsson, Alan B Zonderman, Bruce M Psaty, Ya-Xing Wang, Charles N Rotimi, Diane M Becker, Fumihiko Matsuda, Yongmei Liu, Mitsuhiro Yokota, Sharon L R Kardia, Patricia A Peyser, James S Pankow, James C Engert, Amélie Bonnefond, Philippe Froguel, James G Wilson, Wayne H H Sheu, Jer-Yuarn Wu, M Geoffrey Hayes, Ronald C W Ma, Tien-Yin Wong, Dennis O Mook-Kanamori, Tiinamaija Tuomi, Giriraj R Chandak, Francis S Collins, Dwaipayan Bharadwaj, Guillaume Paré, Michèle M Sale, Habibul Ahsan, Ayesha A Motala, Xiao-Ou Shu, Kyong-Soo Park, J Wouter Jukema, Miguel Cruz, Yii-Der Ida Chen, Stephen S Rich, Roberta Mckean-Cowdin, Harald Grallert, Ching-Yu Cheng, Mohsen Ghanbari, E-Shyong Tai, Josee Dupuis, Norihiro Kato, Markku Laakso, Anna Köttgen, Woon-Puay Koh, Donald W Bowden, Colin N A Palmer, Jaspal S Kooner, Charles Kooperberg, Simin Liu, Kari E North, Danish Saleheen, Torben Hansen, Oluf Pedersen, Nicholas J Wareham, Juyoung Lee, Bong-Jo Kim, Iona Y Millwood, Robin G Walters, Kari Stefansson, Emma Ahlqvist, Mark O Goodarzi, Karen L Mohlke, Claudia Langenberg, Christopher A Haiman, Ruth J F Loos, Jose C Florez, Daniel J Rader, Marylyn D Ritchie, Sebastian Zöllner, Reedik Mägi, Nicholas A Marston, Christian T Ruff, David A Van Heel, Sarah Finer, Joshua C Denny, Toshimasa Yamauchi, Takashi Kadowaki, John C Chambers, Maggie C Y Ng, Xueling Sim, Jennifer E Below, Philip S Tsao, Kyong-Mi Chang, Mark I Mccarthy, James B Meigs, Anubha Mahajan, Cassandra N Spracklen, Josep M Mercader, Michael Boehnke, Jerome I Rotter, Marijana Vujkovic, Benjamin F Voight, Andrew P Morris, Eleftheria Zeggini

Student and Faculty Publications

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a heterogeneous disease that develops through diverse pathophysiological processes1,2 and molecular mechanisms that are often specific to cell type3,4. Here, to characterize the genetic contribution to these processes across ancestry groups, we aggregate genome-wide association study data from 2,535,601 individuals (39.7% not of European ancestry), including 428,452 cases of T2D. We identify 1,289 independent association signals at genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10-8) that map to 611 loci, of which 145 loci are, to our knowledge, previously unreported. We define eight non-overlapping clusters of T2D signals that are characterized by distinct profiles of cardiometabolic trait associations. These clusters are differentially enriched for cell-type-specific regions of open chromatin, including pancreatic islets, adipocytes, endothelial cells and enteroendocrine cells. We build cluster-specific partitioned polygenic scores5 in a further 279,552 individuals of diverse ancestry, including 30,288 cases of T2D, and test their association with T2D-related vascular outcomes. Cluster-specific partitioned polygenic scores are associated with coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease and end-stage diabetic nephropathy across ancestry groups, highlighting the importance of obesity-related processes in the development of vascular outcomes. Our findings show the value of integrating multi-ancestry genome-wide association study data with single-cell epigenomics to disentangle the aetiological heterogeneity that drives the development and progression of T2D. This might offer a route to optimize global access to genetically informed diabetes care.

Investigating The Mechanisms Of Surface Sensing Using Motility Appendages By Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Pa14, Christopher James Geiger

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Biofilms are surfaced attached communities of cells encased in an extracellular matrix. The transition from free-swimming planktonic cells to a surface attached biofilm begins with cellular changes that occur after surface contact. This process is known as "surface sensing" and the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14 uses its two motility appendages, type IV pili (T4P) and a single, polar flagellum to sense and traverse surfaces. The first cellular changes to occur within this organism upon surface contact is an increase in the second messengers cAMP and cdi- GMP. While the genes involved in surface sensing by P. aeruginosa are known, …

Diagnostic Yield Of Exome Sequencing In Prenatal Agenesis Of Corpus Callosum: Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, H. J. Mustafa, J. P. Barbera, E. V. Sambatur, G. Pagani, Y. Yaron, C. D. Baptiste, R. J. Wapner, C. J. Brewer, A. Khalil

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVES: To determine the incremental diagnostic yield of exome sequencing (ES) after negative chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) in cases of prenatally diagnosed agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC) and to identify the associated genes and variants.

METHODS: A systematic search was performed to identify relevant studies published up until June 2022 using four databases: PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science and The Cochrane Library. Studies in English reporting on the diagnostic yield of ES following negative CMA in prenatally diagnosed partial or complete ACC were included. Authors of cohort studies were contacted for individual participant data and extended cohorts were provided …

Agrobacterium-Mediated Genetic Transformation And Plant Regeneration From Cotyledons In Philippine Eggplant (Solanum Melongena L.) Acc. ‘Ph 11424’, Mark Gabriel Sagarbarria, John Albert Caraan, Patrick Lipio, Ian Bien Oloc-Oloc, Kazuo Watanabe, Desiree Hautea

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist

Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is one of the most important vegetables grown and consumed in the Philippines hence, continuous breeding programs are vital to maintain the supply of this economically important crop. This study demonstrates the first successful Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation and plant regeneration of the Philippine eggplant cultivar ‘PH 11424’, also known as ‘Mistisa’. Cotyledons from 2-wk-old seedlings were used as explants, which were transformed with disarmed Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404 harboring a binary vector for CRISPR/Cas9 expression and hygromycin phosphotransferase (HPT), an antibiotic selection marker. Growth of shoot primordia from the agro-infected explants was observed during selective culture …

African Swine Fever Virus Early Protein Pi73r Suppresses The Type-I Ifn Promoter Activities, Danh C. Lai, Jayeshbhai Chaudhari, Hiep L.X. Vu

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

African swine fever virus is known to suppress type-I interferon (IFN) responses. The main objective of this study was to screen early-expressed viral genes for their ability to suppress IFN production. Out of 16 early genes examined, I73R exhibited robust suppression of cGAS-STING-induced IFN-β promoter activities, impeding the function of both IRF3 and NF-κB transcription factors. As a result, I73R obstructed IRF3 nuclear translocation following the treatment of cells with poly(dA:dT), a strong inducer of the cGAS-STING signaling pathway. Although the I73R protein exhibits structural homology with the Zα domain binding to the left-handed helical form of DNA known as …

Development Of An In Vitro Model Of Mitochondrial Dna Copy Number Depletion Via Stable Inducible Expression Of D1135a Mutant Dna Polymerase Gamma, Amanda L. Morin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Mitochondria are responsible for several crucial cellular processes and contain their own DNA (mtDNA) that exists in several copies. Variation of mtDNA copy number (mtDNA-CN) alters energy metabolism and can modify the epigenome and transcriptome. We hypothesized that inducible expression of polymerase-deficient D1135A dominant-negative DNA polymerase gamma (DN-POLG) would result in mtDNA-CN depletion. Here, an in vitro model expressing D1135A POLG was created using the Flp-InTM T-RExTM-293 stable inducible expression system. Stable integration was confirmed with PCR amplification and Sanger sequencing of post-integration genomic sequences. D1135A POLG expression was confirmed with Western blot of the FLAG-tag antibody. Induction of D1135A …

Current Strategies For Increasing Knock-In Efficiency In Crispr/Cas9-Based Approaches, Andrés Felipe Leal, Angelica María Herreno-Pachón, Eliana Benincore-Flórez, Amali Karunathilaka, Shunji Tomatsu

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Papers

Since its discovery in 2012, the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) system has supposed a promising panorama for developing novel and highly precise genome editing-based gene therapy (GT) alternatives, leading to overcoming the challenges associated with classical GT. Classical GT aims to deliver transgenes to the cells via their random integration in the genome or episomal persistence into the nucleus through lentivirus (LV) or adeno-associated virus (AAV), respectively. Although high transgene expression efficiency is achieved by using either LV or AAV, their nature can result in severe side effects in humans. For instance, …

Relationship Of Tissue Dimensions And Three Captive Bolt Application Sites On Cadaver Heads From Mature Swine (Sus Scrofa Domesticus) < 200 Kg Body-Weight, Karly N. Anderson, Ashlynn A. Kirk, Jennifer Berger, Arquimides A. Reyes, Ruth Woiwode, Perle E. Zhitnitskiy, Kurt D. Vogel

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Penetrating captive bolt (PCB) is a common method of euthanasia for swine but has not been evaluated for mature swine < 200 kg body weight (BW). The objectives were to determine tissue depth, brain contact plane, and visible brain tissue damage (brain damage[BD]) for the common FRONTAL (F) and alternative TEMPORAL (T) and BEHIND EAR (BE) placements for PCB use on sows and boars weighing < 200 kg. Cadaver heads were obtained from 30 sows and 30 boars (estimated BW, mean ± SD; sows: 165.8 ± 22.4 kg; boars: 173.6 ± 21.4 kg) from a slaughter establishment after electrical stunning and exsanguination. Heads were cooled at 2 to 4 °C for approximately 64 h. A Jarvis PAS-Type P 0.25R PCB with a Long Stunning Rod Nosepiece Assembly and a 3.5 GR power load was used for all PCB applications at the following placements: F–3.5 cm superior to the optic orbits at midline, T–at the depression posterior to the lateral canthus of the eye within the plane between the lateral canthus and the base of the ear, or BE–directly caudal to the pinna of the ear on the same plane as the eyes and targeting the middle of the opposite eye. For sows, the bolt path was in the brain for 10/10 (100.0%, 95% CI: 69.2% to 100.0%) F, T, and BE heads. In heads that could reliably be assessed for BD, BD was detected in 10/10 (100.0%, 95% CI: 69.2% to 100.0%) F heads, 9/9 (100.0%, 95% CI: 66.4% to 100.0%) T heads, and 0/10 (0.0%, 95% CI: 0.0% to 30.1%) BE heads. For boars, the bolt path was in the plane of the brain for 8/9 (88.9%, 95% CI: 51.8% to 99.7%) F heads, 9/10 (90.0%, 95% CI: 55.5% to 99.7%) T heads, and 11/11 (100.0%, 95% CI: 71.5% to 100.0%) BE heads. In heads that could reliably be assessed for BD, BD was detected in 8/9 (88.9%, 95% CI: 51.7% to 99.7%) F heads, 7/10 (70.0%, 95% CI: 34.8% to 93.3%) T heads, and 4/11 (36.4%, 95% CI: 10.9% to 69.2%) BE heads. Tissue depth was reported as mean ± SE followed by 95% one-sided upper reference limit (URL). For sows, total tissue thickness differed (P < 0.05) between placements (F: 49.41 ± 2.74 mm, URL: 70.0 mm; T: 62.83 ± 1.83 mm, URL: 76.6 mm; BE: 84.63 ± 3.67 mm; URL: 112.3 mm). Total tissue thickness differed (P < 0.05) between placements for boars (F: 54.73 ± 3.23 mm, URL: 77.6 mm; T: 70.72 ± 3.60 mm, URL: 96.3 mm; BE: 92.81 ± 5.50 mm; URL: 135.3 mm). For swine between 120 and 200 kg BW, the F placement may have the greatest likelihood for successful euthanasia due to the least total tissue thickness and may present less risk for failure than the T and BE placements.

Sox On Tumors, A Comfort Or A Constraint?, Junqing Jiang, Yufei Wang, Mengyu Sun, Xiangyuan Luo, Zerui Zhang, Yijun Wang, Siwen Li, Dian Hu, Jiaqian Zhang, Zhangfan Wu, Xiaoping Chen, Bixiang Zhang, Xiao Xu, Shuai Wang, Shengjun Xu, Wenjie Huang, Limin Xia

Student and Faculty Publications

The sex-determining region Y (SRY)-related high-mobility group (HMG) box (SOX) family, composed of 20 transcription factors, is a conserved family with a highly homologous HMG domain. Due to their crucial role in determining cell fate, the dysregulation of SOX family members is closely associated with tumorigenesis, including tumor invasion, metastasis, proliferation, apoptosis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, stemness and drug resistance. Despite considerable research to investigate the mechanisms and functions of the SOX family, confusion remains regarding aspects such as the role of the SOX family in tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) and contradictory impacts the SOX family exerts on tumors. This review summarizes …

Can The Impact Of Gravel Roads On Organic Layer Thickness Explain The Distribution Of Populus Tremuloides Along Road Networks In The Boreal Forest Of Eastern Canada?, Mathilde Marchais, Dominique Arseneault, Yves Bergeron

Aspen Bibliography

Roads are known to alter environmental conditions and the composition of road edge plant communities, particularly when exogenous materials are used as road surfacing. In this study, we evaluate the impact of gravel roads on the organic layer thickness (OLT) and aspen distribution in a boreal forest landscape of Eastern Canada. The OLT and aspen distribution were compared at different distances from the roads (0 m, 10 m, and >10 m) to determine whether a reduction in the OLT along the roads could explain the distribution of aspen along the road network, and in particular the role of the roads …

Educating Primary Care Providers On Use Of Pharmacogenetic Testing In Pain Management, Providence Sey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Oystershell Scale (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) Population Growth, Spread, And Phenology On Aspen In Arizona, Usa, Connor D. Crouch, Richard W. Hofstetter, Amanda M. Grady, Nylah N.S. Edwards, Kristen M. Waring

Aspen Bibliography

Oystershell scale (OSS; Lepidosaphes ulmi L.) is an invasive insect that threatens sustainability of aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) in the southwestern United States. OSS invasions have created challenges for land managers tasked with maintaining healthy aspen ecosystems for the ecological, economic, and aesthetic benefits they provide. Active management is required to suppress OSS populations and mitigate damage to aspen ecosystems, but before management strategies can be implemented, critical knowledge gaps about OSS biology and ecology must be filled. This study sought to fill these gaps by addressing 3 questions: (i) What is the short-term rate of aspen mortality in …