Digital Commons Network^™

Dna Multiplex Hybridization On Microarrays And Thermodynamic Stability In Solution: A Direct Comparison, Daniel J. Fish, M. Todd Horne, Greg P. Brewood, Jim P. Goodarzi, Saba Alemayehu, Ashwini Bhandiwad, Robert P. Searles, Albert S. Benight

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Hybridization intensities of 30 distinct short duplex DNAs measured on spotted microarrays, were directly compared with thermodynamic stabilities measured in solution. DNA sequences were designed to promote formation of perfect match, or hybrid duplexes containing tandem mismatches. Thermodynamic parameters DeltaH degrees , DeltaS degrees and DeltaG degrees of melting transitions in solution were evaluated directly using differential scanning calorimetry. Quantitative comparison with results from 63 multiplex microarray hybridization experiments provided a linear relationship for perfect match and most mismatch duplexes. Examination of outliers suggests that both duplex length and relative position of tandem mismatches could be important factors contributing to …

Imaging Body Structure And Mapping Brain Function: A Historical Approach, Stacey A. Tovino

Faculty Articles

Now in its second decade, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) localizes changes in blood oxygenation that occur in the brain when an individual performs a mental task. Physicians and scientists use fMRI not only to map sensory, motor, and cognitive functions, but also to study the neural correlates of a range of sensitive and potentially stigmatizing conditions, behaviors, and characteristics. Poised to move outside the traditional clinical and research contexts, fMRI raises a number of ethical, legal, and social issues that are being explored within a burgeoning neuroethics literature. In this Article, I place these issues in their proper historical …

Metastatic Disease To The Breast: The Washington University Experience, Aislinn Vaughan, Jill R. Dietz, Jeffrey F. Moley, Mary K. Debenedetti, Rebecca L. Aft, William E. Gillanders, Timothy J. Eberlein, Jon Ritter, Julie A. Margenthaler

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Multiphoton Response Of Retinal Rod Photoreceptors, Vasilios Alexiades, Harihar Khanal

Publications

Phototransduction is the process by which light is converted into an electrical response in retinal photoreceptors. Rod photoreceptors contain a stack of (about 1000) disc membranes packed with photopigment rhodopsin molecules, which absorb the photons. We present computational experiments which show the profound effect on the response of the distances (how many discs apart) photons happen to be absorbed at. This photon-distribution effect alone can account for much of the observed variability in response.

Coupling Coherence Distinguishes Structure Sensitivity In Protein Electron Transfer, Tatiana Prytkova, Igor V. Kurnikov, David Beratan

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Quantum mechanical analysis of electron tunneling in nine thermally fluctuating cytochrome b562 derivatives reveals two distinct protein-mediated coupling limits. A structure-insensitive regime arises for redox partners coupled through dynamically averaged multiple-coupling pathways (in seven of the nine derivatives) where heme-edge coupling leads to the multiple-pathway regime. A structure-dependent limit governs redox partners coupled through a dominant pathway (in two of the nine derivatives) where axial-ligand coupling generates the single-pathway limit and slower rates. This two-regime paradigm provides a unified description of electron transfer rates in 26 ruthenium-modified heme and blue-copper proteins, as well as in numerous photosynthetic proteins.

Lsuhsc Facilities Biweekly Update: January 2007, Lsuhsc Property And Facilities Management

LSUHSC Facilities Biweekly Updates: 2007

LSUHSC Facilities Biweekly Updates from January 5 and 22, 2007.

These updates describe damage and a timeline of repairs at the LSU Health Sciences Center - New Orleans campus due to Hurricane Katrina which made landfall August 29, 2005.

Lsuhsc Facilities Daily Update: January 2007, Lsuhsc Property And Facilities Management

LSUHSC Facilities Daily Updates: 2007

LSUHSC Facilities Daily Updates from January 2007.

These updates describe damage and a timeline of repairs at the LSU Health Sciences Center - New Orleans campus due to Hurricane Katrina which made landfall August 29, 2005.

The Quantitative Genetics Of Neurodevelopment: A Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study Of Childhood And Adolescence, James Eric Schmitt

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the causes of individual differences in brain structure may give clues about the etiology of cognition, personality, and psychopathology, and also may identify endophenotypes for molecular genetic studies on brain development. We performed a comprehensive statistical genetic study of anatomic neuroimaging data from a large pediatric sample (N=600+) of twins and family members from the Child Psychiatry Branch at the NIMH. These analyses included variance decomposition of structural volumetric endophenotypes at several levels of resolution, voxel-level analysis of cortical thickness, assessment of gene by age interaction, several multivariate genetic analyses, and a search for genetically-mediated brain-behavioral relationships. These analyses …

Chlorophacinone Baiting For Belding’S Ground Squirrels, Craig A. Ramey, George H. Matschke, Richard M. Engeman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The efficacy of using 0.01% chlorophacinone on steam-rolled oat (SRO) groats applied in CA alfalfa by spot-baiting/hand baiting around burrow entrances (~11.5 g) to control free-ranging Belding's ground squirrels (Spermophilus beldingi) were compared in 6 randomly assigned square treatment units (TUs). Four TUs were given the rodenticide and 2 treated with placebo bait. Each TU was a 0.4 ha square surrounded by a similarly treated 5.5 ha square buffer zone. Baits were applied on May 13 and re-applied, on May 20 and May 22, after 7 days of un-forecasted cool wet weather greatly reduced their above ground activity. Pesticide (EPA …

Exploration Of Computational Methods For Classification Of Movement Intention During Human Voluntary Movement From Single Trial Eeg, Ou Bai, Peter Lin, Sherry Vorbach, Jiang Li, Steve Furlani, Mark Hallett

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Objective: To explore effective combinations of computational methods for the prediction of movement intention preceding the production of self-paced right and left hand movements from single trial scalp electroencephalogram (EEG).

Methods: Twelve naïve subjects performed self-paced movements consisting of three key strokes with either hand. EEG was recorded from 128 channels. The exploration was performed offline on single trial EEG data. We proposed that a successful computational procedure for classification would consist of spatial filtering, temporal filtering, feature selection, and pattern classification. A systematic investigation was performed with combinations of spatial filtering using principal component analysis (PCA), independent component analysis …

Validating Pareto Optimal Operation Parameters Of Polyp Detection Algorithms For Ct Colonography, Jiang Li, Adam Huang, Nicholas Petrick, Jianhua Yao, Ronald M. Summers, Maryellen L. Giger (Ed.), Nico Karssemeijer (Ed.)

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

We evaluated a Pareto front-based multi-objective evolutionary algorithm for optimizing our CT colonography (CTC) computer-aided detection (CAD) system. The system identifies colonic polyps based on curvature and volumetric based features, where a set of thresholds for these features was optimized by the evolutionary algorithm. We utilized a two-fold cross-validation (CV) method to test if the optimized thresholds can be generalized to new data sets. We performed the CV method on 133 patients; each patient had a prone and a supine scan. There were 103 colonoscopically confirmed polyps resulting in 188 positive detections in CTC reading from either the prone or …

Flavin Charge Transfer Transitions Assist Dna Photolyase Electron Transfer, Spiros S. Skourtis, Tatiana Prytkova, David Beratan

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

This contribution describes molecular dynamics, semi-empirical and ab-initio studies of the primary photo-induced electron transfer reaction in DNA photolyase. DNA photolyases are FADH−-containing proteins that repair UV-damaged DNA by photo-induced electron transfer. A DNA photolyase recognizes and binds to cyclobutatne pyrimidine dimer lesions of DNA. The protein repairs a bound lesion by transferring an electron to the lesion from FADH−, upon photo-excitation of FADH− with 350–450 nm light. We compute the lowest singlet excited states of FADH− in DNA photolyase using INDO/S configuration interaction, time-dependent density-functional, and time-dependent Hartree-Fock methods. The calculations identify the lowest singlet excited state of FADH− …

The Pet Food Recall Puzzle: Who, What, Why, And How Much, Roxanne Greitz Miller

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Last spring, North America was gripped in the largest pet food recall in history. News outlets reported tens of thousands of dogs and cats becoming ill, and many dying, as a result of ingesting contaminated pet food. Several pet owners have filed lawsuits against the manufacturers and distributors of the pet food products. I think this is an excellent real-life science story to use with students to show science investigation in action, and to discuss the intersections between the role of regulatory agencies and the public.

In order to understand the case, you first have to know the facts. We'll …

Reducing Liver Cancer Disparities: A Community-Based Hepatitis-B Prevention Program For Asian-American Communities

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: Several Asian-American groups are at a higher risk of dying of liver diseases attributable to hepatitis-B infection. This culturally diverse community should be well informed of and protected against liver diseases. The present study assesses the knowledge of hepatitis B before and after a hepatitis-B educational program and determines the infection status of an Asian community.

METHODS: Nine Asian communities of Montgomery County, MD, enrolled in the hepatitis-B prevention program between 2005 and 2006. They attended culturally tailored lectures on prevention, completed self-administered pre- and posttests, and received blood screening for the disease.

RESULTS: More than 800 Asian Americans …

A Spatial-Temporal Approach To Surveillance Of Prostate Cancer Disparities In Population Subgroups

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer mortality disparities exist among racial/ethnic groups in the United States, yet few studies have explored the spatiotemporal trend of the disease burden. To better understand mortality disparities by geographic regions over time, the present study analyzed the geographic variations of prostate cancer mortality by three Texas racial/ethnic groups over a 22-year period.

METHODS: The Spatial Scan Statistic developed by Kulldorff et al was used. Excess mortality was detected using scan windows of 50% and 90% of the study period and a spatial cluster size of 50% of the population at risk. Time trend was analyzed to examine …

Towards A Hybrid Method To Categorize Interruptions And Activities In Healthcare, James P. Turley, Vimla L. Patel, Jiajie Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

ObjectiveInterruptions are known to have a negative impact on activity performance. Understanding how an interruption contributes to human error is limited because there is not a standard method for analyzing and classifying interruptions. Qualitative data are typically analyzed by either a deductive or an inductive method. Both methods have limitations. In this paper a hybrid method was developed that integrates deductive and inductive methods for the categorization of activities and interruptions recorded during an ethnographic study of physicians and registered nurses in a Level One Trauma Center. Understanding the effects of interruptions is important for designing and evaluating informatics …

Computer Simulation Of Glioma Growth And Morphology, Paul Macklin, Elaine L. Bearer, Vittorio Cristini

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Despite major advances in the study of glioma, the quantitative links between intra-tumor molecular/cellular properties, clinically observable properties such as morphology, and critical tumor behaviors such as growth and invasiveness remain unclear, hampering more effective coupling of tumor physical characteristics with implications for prognosis and therapy. Although molecular biology, histopathology, and radiological imaging are employed in this endeavor, studies are severely challenged by the multitude of different physical scales involved in tumor growth, i.e., from molecular nanoscale to cell microscale and finally to tissue centimeter scale. Consequently, it is often difficult to determine the underlying dynamics across dimensions. New techniques …

Predictive Oncology: A Review Of Multidisciplinary, Multiscale In Silico Modeling Linking Phenotype, Morphology And Growth, Elaine L. Bearer, Vittorio Cristini

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Empirical evidence and theoretical studies suggest that the phenotype, i.e., cellular- and molecular-scale dynamics, including proliferation rate and adhesiveness due to microenvironmental factors and gene expression that govern tumor growth and invasiveness, also determine gross tumor-scale morphology. It has been difficult to quantify the relative effect of these links on disease progression and prognosis using conventional clinical and experimental methods and observables. As a result, successful individualized treatment of highly malignant and invasive cancers, such as glioblastoma, via surgical resection and chemotherapy cannot be offered and outcomes are generally poor. What is needed is a deterministic, quantifiable method to enable …

High-Resolution Vascular Imaging Of The Rat Spine Using Liposomal Blood Pool Mr Agent, P A Narayana

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: High-resolution, vascular MR imaging of the spine region in small animals poses several challenges. The small anatomic features, extravascular diffusion, and low signal-to-noise ratio limit the use of conventional contrast agents. We hypothesize that a long-circulating, intravascular liposomal-encapsulated MR contrast agent (liposomal-Gd) would facilitate visualization of small anatomic features of the perispinal vasculature not visible with conventional contrast agent (gadolinium-diethylene-triaminepentaacetic acid [Gd-DTPA]). METHODS: In this study, high-resolution MR angiography of the spine region was performed in a rat model using a liposomal-Gd, which is known to remain within the blood pool for an extended period. The imaging …

A Model Of Late Long-Term Potentiation Simulates Aspects Of Memory Maintenance

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Late long-term potentiation (L-LTP) denotes long-lasting strengthening of synapses between neurons. L-LTP appears essential for the formation of long-term memory, with memories at least partly encoded by patterns of strengthened synapses. How memories are preserved for months or years, despite molecular turnover, is not well understood. Ongoing recurrent neuronal activity, during memory recall or during sleep, has been hypothesized to preferentially potentiate strong synapses, preserving memories. This hypothesis has not been evaluated in the context of a mathematical model representing ongoing activity and biochemical pathways important for L-LTP. In this study, ongoing activity was incorporated into two such models - …

A Descriptive Survey Of Undergraduate Nursing Students' Perceptions Of Desirable Leadership Qualities Of Nurse Preceptors, Melanie Zilembo

Theses : Honours

Leadership in the nursing profession has gained much attention over the previous decade. However, there is a paucity of literature examining the context of leadership within the clinical preceptor/undergraduate nursing student relationship and the relevance of this to the clinical learning environment. Globally, the nursing profession is experiencing a climbing attrition rate, an accelerating ageing workforce and a trend toward part-time employment. Practical experience is based upon a preceptored model of supervision creating a potential for inconsistencies for student supervision and assessment within this mode of education. The purpose of this study was to explore, from the perspective of the …

College Of Dental Medicine 2007, Nova Southeastern University

Health Professions Divisions Course Catalogs and Course Descriptions

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of The Characteristics Of Pressure-Time Curve Under Peak Metatarsal Plantar Pressure Site Of Healthy Adults, Jiunn-Horng Kang, Shih-Ching Chen, Jin-Shin Lai, Wei-Li Hsi

Rehabilitation Practice and Science

The purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics of the pressure-time curve under the peak metatarsal pressure site during walking. Plantar pressures were measured at the forefoot area of 30 healthy adults during walking using high resolution transducers with the first step method. The pressure data at each time frame under the peak metatarsal pressure site were extracted and analyzed. A mathematic model was calculated to approximate this curve with the least square residual. The patterns of pressure-time curves under the peak metatarsal pressure sites were very similar in all subjects. After forefoot contact, it was an increasing …

A Likelihood Based Method For Real Time Estimation Of The Serial Interval And Reproductive Number Of An Epidemic, Laura Forsberg White, Marcello Pagano

Harvard University Biostatistics Working Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Sisters In Science: Conversations With Black Women Scientists On Race, Gender, And Their Passion For Science, Diann Jordan

Purdue University Press Books

Author Diann Jordan took a journey to find out what inspired and daunted black women in their desire to become scientists in America. Letting 18 prominent black women scientists talk for themselves, Sisters in Science becomes an oral history stretching across decades and disciplines and desires. From Yvonne Clark, the first black woman to be awarded a B.S. in mechanical engineering to Georgia Dunston, a microbiologist who is researching the genetic code for her race, to Shirley Jackson, whose aspiration led to the presidency of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Jordan has created a significant record of women who persevered to become …

Glycosylation Regulates Turnover Of Cyclooxygenase-2., Mary B. Sevigny, Chai-Fei Li, Monika Alas, Millie Hughes-Fulford

Natural Sciences and Mathematics | Faculty Scholarship

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the prostanoid biosynthesis pathway, converting arachidonic acid into prostaglandin H(2). COX-2 exists as 72 and 74kDa glycoforms, the latter resulting from an additional oligosaccharide chain at residue Asn(580). In this study, Asn(580) was mutated to determine the biological significance of this variable glycosylation. COS-1 cells transfected with the mutant gene were unable to express the 74kDa glycoform and were found to accumulate more COX-2 protein and have five times greater COX-2 activity than cells expressing both glycoforms. Thus, COX-2 turnover appears to depend upon glycosylation of the 72kDa glycoform.

A Computer Simulation Model Of The Human Head-Neck Musculoskeletal System, Jun Yan

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Objective. The objective of this research was to develop a muscle-driven biomechanical model of the human head-neck system that could be used to simulate neck movements under muscle control. This model can further be modified to enable input from an external stimulus, such as EMG data.

Summary of background data. Utilizing computer aided design (CAD) and dynamic simulation software programs, the Joint Implant Biomechanics Laboratory at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center developed a virtual model of the human cervical spine to simulate the in vitro biomechanical experiments. This in vitro model did not include any muscle …

Acknowledgements, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Mcnair Scholars Program, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Message From The Provost, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.