Digital Commons Network^™

An Ever-Growing Web: Spider Silk In Medicine, Andrew Watts

Osmosis Magazine

For decades, graduates from the University of Richmond have crafted a robust web of alumni spanning various regions and professions. Much like its graduates, Richmond’s famed spider mascot has been capitalizing on the strength of its own web and engineering solutions to the most pressing problems in a new and rather unexpected territory–medicine.

Spider silk has unique chemical and physical properties that allow it to be used in many different capacities.

Re-Captcha, Isabel Dilandro

Osmosis Magazine

They tried to warn us of what would come, but we didn’t listen. Why should we? For years the world had told us that we were smarter than everything else. Better. More advanced. The very science of biology existed to remind us that we were the superior race. We were untouchable. Until now. If only we hadn’t ignored the warning signs. Perhaps we could have stopped the madness before it began. Unfortunately, we neglected to put a leash on the dog because we assumed it wouldn’t bite.

Osmosis Magazine - Fall 2022

Osmosis Magazine

Osmosis is a student read, led, and written publication from the University of Richmond, focusing on all aspects of healthcare and science.

Ormeloxifene-Mediated Attenuation Of Β-Catenin Signaling In Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression, Mohammed Sikander, Shabnam Malik, Daniel Zubieta, Anyssa Rodriguez, Molly Vela, Sheema Khan, Fathi T. Halaweish, Murali M. Yallapu, Meena Jaggi, Subhash C. Chauhan

Research Symposium

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most prevalent form of primary liver cancer, with approximately 41,000 new cases and 29,000 deaths annually in the U.S. The management of HCC poses significant challenges due to severe toxicity and inadequate responses to existing chemotherapeutic agents. Aberrant β-catenin signaling is recognized as a crucial factor influencing the differentiation grades of HCC patients. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify more effective and non-toxic β-catenin inhibitors for cancer treatment. Notably, ormeloxifene (ORM), a clinically approved selective estrogen receptor modulator with a favorable therapeutic index, has demonstrated remarkable anticancer activity, making it a promising …

The Science Of Tattoos, Isabel Dilandro

Osmosis Magazine

From face paint to temporary stick-on tattoos, children are taught that art on bodies is something beautiful and playful, associated with memories of fun and joy. Why is it then that tattoos get such an infamous reputation? The answer is pretty simple: tattoos are not temporary. But why? How does the ink get there? How does it stay put? In order to understand this process a bit more, it is important to have a basic understanding of the skin’s structure and function.

Late! I’M Late For A Very Important Physics Update I’M Late! I’M Late For A Very Important Physics Update, Caterina Erdas

Osmosis Magazine

Modern physics is my only class where half the students are consistently late. It’s not a forgivable one or two minutes late, but five to fifteen. I say this as a culprit myself; I slept in late on the third day of class and didn’t go. It’s ironic, considering we spend a good portion of lecture re-defining time.

A Creature That Has Seen It All, Dusan Vukcevic

Osmosis Magazine

What if there was a creature that is so indecisive about its habitat, that it decides to live both in rainforests and in the Antarctic? What if this creature was taking a swim in the Mariana Trench, and warming itself up at the bottom of a mud volcano? Their appearance gave them many names, so today we call them water bears, moss piglets or simply, Tardigrades. Be that as it may, the number of their names is negligible compared to the number of harsh conditions they are able to withstand. Just how resilient are these creatures?

Osmosis Magazine - Fall 2021

Osmosis Magazine

Osmosis is a student read, led, and written publication from the University of Richmond, focusing on all aspects of healthcare and science.

Biochemical, Structural, And Conformational Characterization Of A Fungal Ethylene-Forming Enzyme, Shramana Chatterjee, Joel A. Rankin, Mark A. Farrugia, Simahudeen Bathir J S Rifayee, Christo Z. Christov, Jian Hu, Et. Al.

Michigan Tech Publications

The ethylene-forming enzyme (EFE) from the fungus Penicillium digitatum strain Pd1 was heterologously produced in Escherichia coli and its properties were compared to the extensively characterized bacterial enzyme from Pseudomonas savastanoi strain PK2. Both enzymes catalyze four reactions: the conversion of 2-oxoglutarate (2OG) to ethylene and CO₂, oxidative decarboxylation of 2OG coupled to _L-arginine (_L-Arg) hydroxylation, uncoupled oxidative decarboxylation of 2OG, and the production of 3-hydroxypropionate (3-HP) from 2OG. The strain Pd1 enzyme exhibited a greater ratio of ethylene production over _L-Arg hydroxylation than the PK2 strain EFE. The uncoupled decarboxylation of 2OG and …

Corrigendum To “ Phylogenomics Of The Tribe Leonureae Reveals A New Genus: Paraleonurus (Lamiaceae, Lamioideae) , [Turkish Journal Of Botany 48 (Si-1) 2024 427-440] “, Mei-Lin Qian, Ya-Ping Chen, Tuncay Di̇rmenci̇, Yue Zhao, Guo-Xiong Hu, Fei Zhao, Ferhat Celep, Bo Li, Chunlei Xiang

Turkish Journal of Botany

This corrigendum is written to correct an error in our previous publication. The term “ Yi Mu Cao Shu (益母草属; Chinese name).” was incorrectly spelled as “Jia Yi Mu Cao Shu (假益母草属; Chinese name)” in the article. The correct term should be “Yi Mu Cao Shu (益母草属; Chinese name)”. The authors apologize for any inconvenience caused and state that the scientific conclusions are unaffected.

Link to the original article: https://doi.org/10.55730/1300-008X.2825

Complete Genome Characterizations Of Two Novel Mitoviruses Hosted By The Hypogeous, Mycorrhizal Fungi Statesia Pompholyx And Tuber Sp., Ilgaz Akata, Gülce Edi̇ş, Eda Kumru, Emre Keski̇n, Ergi̇n Şahi̇n

Turkish Journal of Botany

The study of viral diversity in uncultivated fungi, including those involved in mycorrhizal relationships, alongside research on viral communities in phytopathogenic and economically important fungi, is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of mycovirus diversity and evolution. Mycorrhizal fungi host various viruses, contributing to our understanding of virus diversity and evolution. Here, we report on the identification and complete genome characterization of two novel mitoviruses that naturally infect the hypogeous, mycorrhizal fungi Statesia pompholyx and Tuber sp. The identified viruses, denominated as “Statesia pompholyx mitovirus 1” (SpMV1) and Tuber mitovirus 3 (TruMV3), have genome lengths of 2549 and 3292 nucleotides and …

Benzothiadiazole Maintains Redox Balance And Promotes Defense Against Sitobion Avenae (F.) In Wheat By Fine-Tuning The Antioxidant System, Secondary Metabolism, And Osmolyte Accumulation., Fayyaz Ahmed, Samina Tanwir, Jam Nazeer Ahmad, Aysha Kiran, Faiz Ahmad Joyia

Turkish Journal of Botany

Aphids are destructive cereal pests causing serious yield losses in the wheat crop. Since wheat is a staple food for more than 75% of the human population, therefore, proper management of insect pests is crucial to enhance its productivity and ensure food security. Aphid herbivory induces highly coordinated defense responses in plants at the cellular and molecular level. This innate plant defense system is activated by a signal transduction pathway mediated by plant hormones like Salicyclic acid (SA). In the present investigation an attempt was made to explore the impacts of Benzothiadiazole (BTH), an analogue of SA on wheat plants …

Hypericum Chishuiense (Hypericaceae, Sect. Ascyreia), A New St. John's Wort Species From Guizhou, China, Ruizhi Bai, Zheng-Lin He, Ferhat Celep, Lu Wang, Chunlei Xiang

Turkish Journal of Botany

Hypericum chishuiense (Hypericaceae), a new species from Chishui County, Guizhou Province, China, is described and illustrated. Molecular phylogenetic analyses, based on five plastid DNA markers (psbA-trnH, psbC-trnS, rbcL, trnL-trnF, and trnS-trnG), place the new species within H. sect. Ascyreia. Morphologically, the new species is closely related to H. stellatum and H. rotundifolium, but it can be distinguished by several features, including broadly ovate, ovate-elliptic to subcircular leaves (vs. oblong-lanceolate or lanceolate to narrowly ovate leaves of H. stellatum) and broadly elliptic, ovate to triangular-ovate sepals (vs. narrowly lanceolate and rare markedly leaf-like sepals H. stellatum), and it can be distinguished …

Noccaea Bulutii (Brassicaceae): A New Species From Northeast Anatolia, Bariş Özüdoğru, Hayri̇ Duman

Turkish Journal of Botany

Noccaea bulutii is described as a new species from Artvin, in NE Anatolia. It resembles N. phyrgia, N. aptera, N. kovatsii and N. ochroleuca, but easily distinguished from all these species by its dentate basal leaves and elongated sterile shoots. Phylogenetic analyses using the nuclear-encoded ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region placed N. bulutii and closely related species in a large polytomic clade, but none of these species formed a subclade with N. bulutii, demonstrating that these species are clearly distinct from each other. The species is described with diagnostic characters, detailed photographs, and taxonomic comments provided. The morphological similarities …

Effects Of Humic Acid And Salt Stress On Growth, Physiological Parameters And Mineral Substance Uptake In Artemisia Dracunculus L. (Tarragon), Serhat Seven, Şener Akinci

Turkish Journal of Botany

In this study, the physiological changes in Artemisia dracunculus L. plants under salinity stress and the remediative roles of leonardite-derived liquid humic acid (HA) were investigated. Salt stress caused a significant decrease in measured growth parameters (plant height, fresh weight of leaves and stems, dry weight of leaves and stems, number of leaves and leaf area). HA had a positive effect on growth parameters at 75 mM NaCl concentration, except for leaf number, but its effect was limited at 150 mM NaCl concentration. The total amount of protein was found to be lower in the leaves of seedlings grown under …

A New Species From Türkiye:Ferula Erzincanica (Ferulinae, Apiaceae), Mehmet Sağiroğlu, Bariş Bani̇, Hayri̇ Duman

Turkish Journal of Botany

In this study, Ferula erzincanica, a new species from East Anatolia, is described and illustrated. The new species shows significant differences from F. rigidula and F. divaricata, particularly by in the dissection of basal leaves, the length and orientation of the inflorescence branches, the length of the pedicels, the undulation of the dorsal wings of the mericarps, and the number of commissural vittae, as well as in the micromorphology of fruits as analyzed by SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy). In addition, Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian Inference (BI) phylogenetic analyses based on the nrDNA ITS gene region were performed to determine …

Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase Activating Polypeptide And Its Receptor As Novel Therapeutic Targets For Opioid Induced Hyperalgesia, Elizaveta Mangutov

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Opioids are commonly prescribed for the treatment of pain and headache disorders. However, chronic opioid use can result in a paradoxical increased sensitivity to pain as well as an extension of pain area known as opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH). One field OIH has been clearly identified is migraine, known as medication overuse headache (MOH). While opioids may provide acute relief, chronic use results in increased migraine pain severity and progression of migraine from an episodic to chronic state. The primary treatment is opioid cessation, which is difficult to implement as patients are reluctant to stop treatment they believe is helping them, …

Consensus Recommendations For An Integrated Diagnostic Approach To Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors Arising In The Setting Of Neurofibromatosis Type 1, Calixto-Hope G Lucas, Andrea M Gross, Carlos G Romo, Carina A Dehner, Alexander J Lazar, Markku Miettinen, Melike Pekmezci, Martha Quezado, Fausto J Rodriguez, Anat Stemmer-Rachamimov, David Viskochil, Arie Perry

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Consensus recommendations published in 2017 histologically defining atypical neurofibromatous neoplasm of uncertain biologic potential (ANNUBP) and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) were codified in the 2021 WHO Classification of Tumors of the Central Nervous System and the 2022 WHO Classification of Tumors of Soft Tissue and Bone. However, given the shift in diagnostic pathology toward the use of integrated histopathologic and genomic approaches, the incorporation of additional molecular strata in the classification of Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1)-associated peripheral nerve sheath tumors should be formalized to aid in accurate diagnosis and early identification of malignant transformation and enable appropriate intervention …

Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase Activating Polypeptide And Its Receptor As Novel Therapeutic Targets For Opioid Induced Hyperalgesia, Elizaveta Mangutov

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Opioids are commonly prescribed for the treatment of pain and headache disorders. However, chronic opioid use can result in a paradoxical increased sensitivity to pain as well as an extension of pain area known as opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH). One field OIH has been clearly identified is migraine, known as medication overuse headache (MOH). While opioids may provide acute relief, chronic use results in increased migraine pain severity and progression of migraine from an episodic to chronic state. The primary treatment is opioid cessation, which is difficult to implement as patients are reluctant to stop treatment they believe is helping them, …

Assessment Of Physiological & Biochemical Changes In Tomato Plants Treated With Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (Pgpr) Under Salinity Stress Conditions, Mohammed Sharif Alhosani

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) can effectively mitigate the negative impacts of salt stress on plants. The present study reports the isolation of PGPRs from a high-saline mangrove ecosystem in Abu Dhabi, with isolates exhibiting ACC deaminase (ACCD) activity to reduce stress-induced ethylene, along with additional plant growth-promoting (PGP) characteristics, including phosphate solubilization (P+). A total of 57 salt-tolerant bacterial isolates from the mangrove rhizosphere were initially screened for ACCD and P+ activities. Of these, 24 isolates tested positive for PGP characteristics and were further evaluated for their ability to enhance salt stress tolerance in tomato seedlings. In addition, seedlings inoculated …

Computational Biology: Revealing The Secrets Of Dna, Yağmur BingüL

Osmosis Magazine

Science is exponentially growing. It gets millions of times better than its previous self each year. In 2000, when we published the first draft of the complete human genome to develop new ways to treat, cure, or even prevent the thousands of diseases that afflict humankind, it cost 3 billion dollars. Six years later, in 2006, it cost only $14 million to generate a “complete” human genome, to find out every single gene in the human DNA. And now, we can develop a complete human genome for only $1,500 - $4000.

The Hidden Faces Behind The Covid-19 Vaccine, Julia Brittain

Osmosis Magazine

When you think about the COVID-19 vaccine, the names Pfizer or Moderna probably come to mind. It’s no surprise that these companies are often mentioned in discussions of the COVID- 19 vaccine. After all, in December 2020, Pfizer-BioNTech became the first biopharmaceutical company to receive emergency use authorization for their COVID-19 vaccine from the FDA, and Moderna followed shortly after.

Osmosis Magazine - Spring 2021

Osmosis Magazine

Osmosis is a student read, led, and written publication from the University of Richmond, focusing on all aspects of healthcare and science.

The Reaction Of Eragrostis Curvula To N And K Fertilization, N.F G. Rethman, C C. De Witt

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Fertilization programmes for grass pastures in Southern Africa have placed emphasis on N and Pin the past. With the depletion of soil K, however, K fertilization is becoming increasingly important. Reliable response data for N and K fertilization is needed optimize fertilization level.

Efficacute De La Fertilization Minerale Des Prairies En Sol Alluvial, L Solimowski, R Lyszczarz, R Dembek

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Le sol alluvial de la vallee basse de la Vistule offre des lieux naturels favorables a la culture des herbages (Cieslinski et Raszeja, 1983). On pratique assez souvent la seule fertilisation azotee, consideree comme la plus rentable. L'objectif de notre essai etait d'etudier !'influence des differents elements fertili­sants apportes pendant plusieurs annees sur la culture, !'evolu­tion de la composition botanique de la prairie, de la teneur en elements nutritifs de l'herbe et de la fertilite du sol.

Effects Of Fertilization And Liming On The Improvement Of Native Pastures, Maria E.V Lourenco, R.J. M. De Carvalho, Maria De L.A.P Da Silva

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Native pastures in Portugal have relatively low productivity. The yield and botanical composition of such grasslands, where some legumes species are present, can be improved by fertilization with phosphorus application and/or also liming (Carter, 1983). The presence of legumes in pasture can also be improved by molybdenum application (Lattan et al., 1984). Significant increases of phosphorus concentration in plants (Garden et al., 1978) and on soil available phosphorus (Gregan et al., 1980) due to phosphorus application have also been reported.

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the potential of such treatments on the improvement of native pastures.

Influence Of Npk Fertilizer On Chrysopogon-Agrostis Swards, T Totev, V Vulkov

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The Chrysopogon gryllus-Agrostis capillaris transitional association is commonly found in Bulgaria natural meadows. The aim of our investigation was, by applying different rates and proportions, to determine NPK fertilizer influence on the productivity, botanical composition and crude protein yield of the sward.

Derivation And Testing Of Nutrient Norms For White Clover, Marta J. Rodreiguez

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Foliar analysis has been practiced widely to diagnose the nutrient status of crops in order to give fertilizer recommenda­tions. The changing nature of plant tissue mineral concentra­tions imposes limitations on the use of foliar analysis for diag­nostic purposes. In this way, sampling of particular plant parts at particular stages of development is required to assess the nutrient status of crop and forage plants. The Diagnosis and Recommendations Integrated System (DRIS) was developed by Beaufils (1973), based on a holistic experimental approach, as a means of coping with the problems derived of the dynamic nature of foliar composition. Three concepts are …

Influence De La Fertilization Sur La Repartition De La Biomasse Vegetale En Prairie Temporaire, R Lyszczarz

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

L'influence de la fertilisation minerale et organique sur le rendement et la composition botanique de la partie recoltable de la prairie est bien connue. Cependant nous n'en savons pas autant en ce qui concerne !'action de cette fertilisation sur Jes autres parties de la biomasse vegetale. Une etude approfondie de sa productivite, structure, composition chimique et reparti­tion permettrait d'evaluer son importance dans l'ecosysteme agricole (Hurto et al., 1980; Lutke, 1983).

Liming And Phosphate Fertilization On Forage Production, Mineral Composition And Nodulation On Pigeonpea (Cajanus Cajan (L.) Millsp.), V T. Paulino, N L. Costa, C.G S. Pedreira

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

For legume forage plant contribute effectively to grassland improvement, mainly through high herbage yields and fixation of atmospheric N, it is necessary to have a better knowledge of its nutritional requirements, since pigeonpea does not grow well on acidic soils with high levels of Al and poor in Ca, Mg and P. Ogunwale and Olaniyi (1978) reported a significant increase on forage production and P and Ca uptake for pigeonpea as a result of phosphate fertilization, while Abrufi.a et al., (1984) observed that lime improved growth, nodulation and P and Ca uptake, but with little effect on crude protein con­tent. …