Digital Commons Network^™

Multiplex Functional Assessment Of Variant Effect In The Retinal Transcription Factor Crx, James Lewis Shepherdson

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The transcription factor Cone-Rod Homeobox (CRX) is a master regulator of photoreceptor cell fate. Sequence variants in CRX can cause Retinitis Pigmentosa, Cone-Rod Dystrophy, and Leber Congenital Amaurosis, all inherited causes of vision loss and blindness. CRX is the only gene implicated in the pathogenesis of all three of these diseases, which present with both rod- and cone-centric phenotypes of varying age of onset and severity. Several CRX variants have been reported to cause severe dominant disease through antimorphic genetic interactions with wild-type CRX, and yet these mutations are adjacent to variants which are benign or only cause mild, recessive …

Humin-Based Bioadhesives For Manufacturing Particleboard Panels, Papiya Bhowmik, Reza Hosseinpourpia

Michigan Tech Publications

This study focused on a novel approach to combine humin, derived from fructose-based biorefinery processes, with two-dimensional graphene nanoparticles and glyoxal, a bio-based crosslinker, to formulate functional bioadhesives for manufacturing particleboards. Five different single-layer 8 mm particleboard panels were prepared using the developed humin-based adhesive formulas with and without graphene and tested by means of their mechanical properties and thickness swelling in accordance with the EN 310 and EN 319standards. The results were compared with panels bonded with commercial melamine-urea-formaldehyde (MUF), showing that the mechanical properties of particleboards bonded with humin reinforced with graphene nanoparticles were almost comparable to those …

Assessment Of Fecal Indicator Bacteria And Vendors' Handling Practices For Safety Of Salads And Raw Leafy Vegetables In Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, Gloria B. Mrisho, Thomas J. Lyimo, Godwill D. Mrema

Tanzania Journal of Science

Fresh leafy vegetables have gained popularity in Tanzanian cities due to their nutritional benefits and increased promotion by health practitioners. Assessment of their microbiological quality and safety is essential for determination of associated health risks. This study enumerated Fecal Indicator Bacteria (FIB) for determination of microbiological quality and safety of fresh leafy vegetable salads sold by street vendors and raw leafy vegetables obtained from Sinza market in Dar es Salaam. Handling practices, awareness and consumer satisfaction on the safety of leafy vegetable salads was also assessed among salad street vendors and consumers. Samples were collected from four stations and analyzed …

Fortification Of Flour Cultivated In The Territory Of The Republic Of Uzbekistan With Own Iron And Zinc, Nodira B. Kurbanova, Gulnoza Z. Djakhangirova, Bakhtiyar I. Kurbanov, Dase D. Klava

CHEMISTRY AND CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

The aim of the study is to investigate the regional characteristics of iron and zinc content in wheat and flour produced in Uzbekistan using instrumental neutron activation analysis, and on this basis to provide a scientific justification for effective approaches to flour fortification and the preservation of micronutrients during grain processing. The study analyzed wheat flour produced from grain grown in five regions of Uzbekistan (Khorezm, Surkhandarya, Bukhara, Tashkent, and Fergana). Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) was applied for the first time in Uzbekistan to comprehensively assess the microelement composition of flour. It was found that fortification using natural sources …

Preparation Of Semi-Hard Cacciota Cheese From Local Milk And Analysis Of Its Physicochemical And Microbiological Properties, Shahnoza U. Yuldasheva, Dilshod P. Rakhimov, Dilrabo Q. Maksumova, Shahlo I. Akhmedova, Asaloy U. Narimonova

CHEMISTRY AND CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Including cheese products in daily diet will give tangible results, enriching body with nutrients rich in high-quality proteins. The aim of the research is to create an Italian semi-hard cheese, caciotta, from local cow's milk. In the experiment, pepsin of the CHY-MAX® Powder Plus NB brand was used. The resulting product contained 1.46 mg/kg zinc (Zn), which is approximately 34 times lower than the permissible limit (50 mg/kg), which is considered a high quality indicator. From a biological safety point of view, no aflatoxin M1 was detected in the cheese (0.0 mg/kg), indicating the absence of mycotoxin contamination of cow's …

Effect Of Variety And Seaweed Extract Spray In The Content Of Some Medically Active Phenolic Compounds In Grape Fruits, Ali Ahmed Hussein Almyali, Salim Kadhim, Ali S. Hassoon, Ameer Al Fatlawy

Al-Bahir

Grape (Vitis vinifera L.) is one of the most economically significant fruit crops which has a large adaptive range, nutrition and medicine effect. A variety of 70 types of grapes are planted on more than 11.6 million plants in Iraq, generating a total annual output of more than 421,000 tons. Increasing grape quality, and particularly the phenolic composition recently has been of major interest. Leaf nutrition – particularly seaweed extracts, being rich in amino acids, trace elements and growth promoting substances – has proved to be a potential tool to enhance plant growth and fruit biochemical quality. The …

From Fair To Cure: Guidelines For Computational Models Of Biological Systems, Herbert M. Sauro, Eran Agmon, Michael L. Blinov, John H. Gennari, Joseph L. Hellerstein, Adel Heydarabadipour, Bartholomew E. Jardine, Elebeoba May, David P. Nickerson, Lucian P. Smith, Gary D. Bader, Frank T. Bergmann, Patrick M. Boyle, Andreas Dräger, James R. Faeder, Song Feng, Juliana Freire, Fabian Fröhlich, James A. Glazier, Thomas E. Gorochowski, Tomas Helikar, Henning Hermjakob, Stefan Hoops, Peter Hunter, Princess I. Imoukhuede, Sarah M. Keating, Matthias König, Reinhard Laubenbacher, Leslie M. Loew, Carlos F. Lopez, William W. Lytton, Rahuman S. Malik-Sheriff, Andrew Mcculloch, Pedro Mendes, Lealem Mulugeta, Chris J. Myers, Jerry G. Myers, Anna Niarakis, David D. Van Niekerk, Brett G. Olivier, Alexander A. Patrie, Ellen M. Quardokus, Nicole Radde, Johann M. Rohwer, Sven Sahle, James C. Schaff, Falk Schreiber, T. J. Sego, Janis Shin, Jacky L. Snoep, Rajanikanth Vadigepalli, H. Steven Wiley, Dagmar Waltemath, Ion I. Moraru

Computational Medicine Center Faculty Papers

Guidelines for managing scientific data have been established under the FAIR principles, requiring that data be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. In many scientific disciplines, especially computational biology, both data and models are key to progress. For this reason, and recognizing that such models are a very special type of "data", we argue that computational models, especially mechanistic models prevalent in medicine, physiology and systems biology, deserve a complementary set of guidelines. We propose the CURE principles, emphasizing that models should be Credible, Understandable, Reproducible, and Extensible. We delve into each principle, discussing verification, validation, and uncertainty quantification for model …

Assessing The Impact Of Lampenflora Growth On Invertebrate Distribution And Food Resource Use In Ryusen-Do Cave, Japan, Kazuhide Nakajima, Kanato Ando, Shuji Watanabe, Masuo Komukai

International Journal of Speleology

Subterranean spaces, such as caves with openings to the surface, represent unique environments characterized by limited resources derived from photosynthetic primary production. Consequently, organic inputs from organisms inhabiting above- and belowground habitats, such as bats, play a crucial role in maintaining cave ecosystems. However, in show caves converted into tourist attractions, environmental changes have progressed without sufficient ecological assessment. One important factor is the impact of photosynthetic organisms colonizing around artificial lights, known as lampenflora, on cave ecosystems. Lampenflora growth may influence invertebrate distribution and resource use; however, its impact on both aspects has been poorly evaluated. In this study, …

Interview With Orca Award Winner David Hage, Unl Chemistry; Drug-Protein Interactions, Mark Griep, David Hage

UNL ORCA Interview Series

Prof. David Hage was awarded the ORCA in 2018. He was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and earned a bachelor’s in chemistry at the University of Wisconsin in La Crosse. Next, he earned a doctorate from Iowa State University and did postdoctoral work at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. In 1989, he joined UNL as an assistant professor of chemistry and quickly rose through the ranks. He has won many awards and, for the past 13 years, has been the James Hewet University Professor of Chemistry. Allow me to share some remarkable facts about Dave before we get into …

Research Process Toward The Creation Of Transgenic Beetles, Abraham B. Alton, Nathan Dauk, Jonah Jex, Brian D. Jensen, Sandra Hope

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2026

Honorable Mention - Poster Design

Create a generalizable, reliable, and efficient procedure for insect genetic modification.

Insects born parasitic diseases such as malaria cause hundreds of millions of deaths each year. Many of these diseases could be eliminated if we had a reliable method for genetically modifying insects.

Enhancing Metabolic Fitness Of Car T-Cells By Removing Cd6, Nate Neyman, Alka Guar, Annie Joy-Larson, Collin Mickelson, Scott Weber

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2026

Honorable Mention - Poster Design

CAR T-cell therapy is a highly effective cancer treatment involving engineering the patient’s T-cells to recognize and kill cancerous cells. This therapy has shown great success for blood cancers but has faced many challenges against solid tumors.

Surrounding tumor cells there is a lack of essential nutrients (oxygen, glucose) for T-cells to metabolize efficiency. Additionally, there is a buildup of excess waste products that directly impair T-cell function (1). To overcome these obstacles, scientists are working on developing longer lasting T-cells with improved metabolism to improve efficacy against cancer cells.

Discovery Of Short Antimicrobial Peptides In A Periplasmic Expression System, Joel Griffitts, Adam Dunn, Caleb Parker, Matthew Steed

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2026

Short Antimicrobial peptides (sAMPs) have the potential to make a significant impact in the ongoing battle against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In this project, we aim to discover new sAMPs using a novel peptide expression system in E. coli. Using this system, we have successfully identified various sAMPs by testing both rationally designed peptides and randomized peptide libraries.

Colorful Proteins: Engineering A Palette Of Novel Chromoprotein Variants, Blake Olson, Anna Bowman, Kyler Fullmer, Joel Griffitts

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2026

2nd Place - Poster Design

• Chromoproteins (CP) are naturally occurring proteins originating from corals or other marine invertebrates that exhibit colors determined by their chromophore region.1
• CPs have applications as biosensors, teaching tools, and agar art; therefore, there is a need for a wide variety of CPs.2
• Hypothesis: Editing amino acid residues around the chromophore will change the chromophore’s conformation, leading to a change in color.

Cd6-Knockout Car-T Cells Display Enhanced Cytotoxicity Against Lymphoma Cell Line, Annie Larson, Alka Gaur, Nate Neyman, Collin Mickelson, K. Scott Weber

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2026

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells are genetically engineered T cells that target surface antigens on cancer cells, showing remarkable effectiveness in treating blood cancers [1]. However, CAR-T cells are currently not effective in treating solid tumors, as the tumor microenvironment poses physical and metabolic barriers to effective CAR-T cell function. A notable strategy for increasing CAR-T cell cytotoxicity in a tumor microenvironment is knocking out or overexpressing some genes of the T cell.

Role Of Wadsley Defects And Cation Disorder To Enhance Monb12O33 Diffusion, Cj Sturgill, Manish Kumar, Nima Karimitari, Iva Millisavljevic, Coby S. Collins, Aaron Hegler, Hsin-Yun Joy Chao, Santosh Kiran Balijepalli, Scott T. Misture, Christopher Sutton, Morgan Stefik

Faculty Publications

Wadsley-Roth (WR) niobates have emerged as high-rate anode materials that can combine rapid ionic diffusion with good electronic conductivity. WR compounds have been defect-enhanced by limited annealing, however, such materials often contain multiple types of defects. In particular, both Wadsley defects (variable block size) and transition metal disorder have the potential to modify transport rates, however the corresponding effects are not well understood mechanistically. Here, MoNb12O33 (MNO) was calcined at two different temperatures to compare a defect-rich condition (MNO-800) with a proximal order-rich condition (MNO-900) as assessed through XRD, XANES, EXAFS, and STEM characterizations. Galvanostatically cycled lithium half cells of …

Curriculum For A Two Semester Calculus Course Specializing In Life Science And Data Science, Patrick Mcclain

LSU Master's Theses

Traditionally, introductory calculus has been designed for engineering and physics students, often leaving students majoring in data science or life sciences with a curriculum that lacks professional relevance and is overly reliant on problems that focus on computational fluency. This thesis proposes a two-semester sequence, called MATH 153X and MATH 154X, specifically tailored for the Louisiana State University (LSU) Dual Enrollment program and university-level data science and life sciences majors. By integrating modern computational tools—such as symbolic calculators and artificial intelligence (AI) tools—the proposed curriculum shifts the pedagogical focus from procedural symbolic manipulation toward conceptual literacy.

Through a series …

Sprinkler Package Runoff Risk Tool For Center Pivot Irrigation Systems, Will Bowers

Spring Runoff Conference

Center pivots in Utah 

• 403,524 acres = 67% of sprinkler irrigated fields in the open in Utah 
• Considered one of the most effective sprinkler systems available with technological advancements over the years

Evaluating Alternative Water Conservation Scenarios For Alfalfa In The Great Salt Lake Basin Using Integrated Climate Model Projections, Saddy Pineda-Castellanos, Masoumeh Hashemi

Spring Runoff Conference

Elevation of Great Salt Lake North and South Arms (1903-2026)

An Estimation Of Crop Evapotranspiration Using Soil Water Balance In Vineyards, Tarique Aziz, Burdette Barker, Michael Caron, Michael Pace

Spring Runoff Conference

Breakout Session presentation given at the 2026 Spring Runoff Conference

Immersive Modeling To Generate Holistic Strategies To Get More Water To Great Salt Lake, Hadia Akbar

Spring Runoff Conference

How to get more water to GSL?

Must Address

• Complex water rights
• Competing water needs
• Historical legacies
• Variable and arid hydrology
• Infrastructure limitations and opportunities
• Lack of trust

What Makes Smart Irrigation Work? Lessons From Producers In The Upper Colorado River Basin, Tejinder Singh, Matt Yost, Elisa Flint, Burdette Barker, Jessica Ulrich-Schad, Silas Ekadu

Spring Runoff Conference

Colorado River Basin Water Crisis

• Water allocations in the Colorado River Basin were set during wetter periods and now exceed current river flows, creating a gap between water supply (12.5 maf yr^-1) and demand (15 maf yr^-1).
• River flow has declined 19% since 2000.

Making Water Visible: Neutral, Verification-First Infrastructure For Basin-Scale Water Accountability, Eric Mcculley

Spring Runoff Conference

Every Tool Tells You What the Lake Level WAS.

None Tell You What It WILL BE.

• Current monitoring is retrospective — USGS gauges and DWR reports show only historical data
• Decision lag: By the time you see the problem, it’s too late to adjust
• 2024–2025 season: GSL dropped to record lows before upstream conservation kicked in
• Agricultural users, municipalities, and GSL all compete for limited supply with imperfect information

Leasing Water For Great Salt Lake: Water Savings And Producer Impacts, Conner Harwood

Spring Runoff Conference

Great Salt Lake Water Leasing

• Utah is working to increase inflows to GSL through voluntary water leasing from agriculture
• But key information is missing:
• How much water can leases save at the field level?
• At what price should farmers be compensated?
• This project:

1. Estimates field-level consumptive water use
2. Estimates the value of water in agricultural production
3. Evaluates water savings and producer impacts across leasing strategies

Meteorological Monitoring With Real-Time Data Processing Using Uas, Htoo Poe Sar, Cal Coopmans, Sierra Young

Spring Runoff Conference

Background and Motivation 

• Agricultural water management requires information about crop water use and water consumption 
• Remote sensing methods are used to model and estimate environmental processes – but they require weather data 

Utah Prototype For Visualizing Vulnerabilities Downstream Of Dams, Courtney Flint, Michael Englert, Nicolas Holden

Spring Runoff Conference

The climate question 

• Overtopping = 1/3^rd of all dam failures (ASDSO) 
• Drought concerns and supply uncertainty motivate keeping reservoirs full 
• Overtopping likelier if extreme storm when reservoir full 
• Over much of the country the probability of the annual daily maximum rainfall > 100-year event and the preceding 30-day rainfall >10-year event are going up (Hwang & Lall 2024) 

The Reform Of Prior Appropriation And The Fate Of Great Salt Lake, Christopher L. Lant, Rocky Seeley, Beth Parker, Andrew Follett

Spring Runoff Conference

Legal Issues Raised by the Decline of Great Salt Lake

• Violations of Clean Air Act from dust threaten federal intervention
• Petition to list Wilson’s Phalarope as an endangered species

Nutrient Inputs, Crop Removal, And Residual Soil Nitrogen Under Automated Surge Irrigation In Northen Utah, Ngoni Mufute

Spring Runoff Conference

Introduction

• Increasing pressure on already water scarce resources due to

• Climate Change and or variability

• Increasing demand and competition for water. E.g. due to -urban expansion

• Environmental concerns (Especially concerning the Great Salt Lake (GSL)-

• the shrinking of water levels in the GSL,

• increasing pollution levels in the GSL and

• the impact of these issues on industry,

• dust from the drying lakebed,

• increasing threat to both aquatic life and land animals

The Physical, Legal, And Modeling Infrastructure For Water Resource Management Has Reached A Tipping Point, Paul Brooks

Spring Runoff Conference

Addressing these challenges requires improved predictions of water supply

Supporting The Great Salt Lake: M&I Water Conservation Opportunities, Easton Hopkins

Spring Runoff Conference

Analysis of historical M&I water use, depletion, and conservation strategies to reduce anthropogenic impact on Great Salt Lake (GSL) while supporting M&I water needs.

Impacts Of Biochar And Fe/Zn-Doped Biochar On The Degradation And Transformation Of Pfas In Wastewater Biosolids Compost, Chase Fry, R. Ryan Dupont, Joan Mclean

Spring Runoff Conference

Background

• >5.8 million dry metric tons of biosolids were produced in 2018.
• It is difficult & expensive to landfill all biosolids produced.
• Biosolids are increasingly used as an agricultural fertilizer and soil amendment.