Digital Commons Network^™

Method And System For Diagnosis Of Lawsonia Intracellularis, Harold F. Stills Jr., David W. Horohov, Allen E. Page

Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics Faculty Patents

A method, system, and kit are provided for diagnosing L. intracellularis infection or exposure in a subject. The method includes purifying whole L. intracellularis from host cells and host debris produced in or on a suitable medium and adhering the purified whole L. intracellularis on a suitable material to form an antigen substrate for determining whether a subject produces L. intracellularis-specific antibodies against the antigen to thereby indicate L. intracellularis exposure or infection in the subject. The kit includes purified whole L. intracellularis produced from host cells and host debris adhered to a suitable material to form an antigen …

Managing Precision Dairy Farming Technologies, Barbara Alice Wadsworth, Amanda Stone, Lauren M. Mayo, Nicky Tsai, Jeffrey M. Bewley

Agriculture and Natural Resources Publications

Precision dairy farming is the use of technologies to measure physiological, behavioral, and production indicators of individual animals to improve management strategies and farm performance. These systems have the potential to detect disease and estrus and to evaluate cow comfort by monitoring activity, feeding time, lying time, mounting activity, real-time location, reticulorumen pH, rumination time, and body temperature.

The data provided by a precision dairy farming device is only valuable if it records the data properly for the right cow and is used by the producer. This factsheet will describe problems that researchers at the University of Kentucky have experienced …

Maintenance Of Brucellosis In Yellowstone Bison: Linking Seasonal Food Resources, Host-Pathogen Interaction, And Life-History Trade-Offs, John J. Treanor, Chris Geremia, Michael A. Ballou, Duane H. Keisler, Patrick J. White, John J. Cox, Phillip H. Crowley

Biology Faculty Publications

The seasonal availability of food resources is an important factor shaping the life-history strategies of organisms. During times of nutritional restriction, physiological trade-offs can induce periods of immune suppression, thereby increasing susceptibility to infectious disease. Our goal was to provide a conceptual framework describing how the endemic level bovine brucellosis (Brucella abortus) may be maintained in Yellowstone bison based on the seasonality of food resources and the life-history strategies of the host and pathogen. Our analysis was based on active B. abortus infection (measured via bacterial culture), nutritional indicators (measured as metabolites and hormones in plasma), and carcass …

Borrelia Burgdorferi Reva Significantly Affects Pathogenicity And Host Response In The Mouse Model Of Lyme Disease, Rebecca Byram, Robert A. Gaultney, Angela M. Floden, Christopher Hellekson, Brandee L. Stone, Amy Bowman, Brian Stevenson, Barbara J. B. Johnson, Catherine A. Brissette

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

The Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, expresses RevA and numerous outer surface lipoproteins during mammalian infection. As an adhesin that promotes bacterial interaction with fibronectin, RevA is poised to interact with the extracellular matrix of the host. To further define the role(s) of RevA during mammalian infection, we created a mutant that is unable to produce RevA. The mutant was still infectious to mice, although it was significantly less well able to infect cardiac tissues. Complementation of the mutant with a wild-type revA gene restored heart infectivity to wild-type levels. Additionally, revA mutants led to increased evidence of arthritis, …

Muscle Weakness During Aging: A Deficiency State Involving Declining Angiogenesis, Charles T. Ambrose

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

This essay begins by proposing that muscle weakness of old age from sarcopenia is due in large part to reduced capillary density in the muscles, as documented in 9 reports of aged persons and animals. Capillary density (CD) is determined by local levels of various angiogenic factors, which also decline in muscles with aging, as reported in 7 studies of old persons and animals. There are also numerous reports of reduced CD in the aged brain and other studies showing reduced CD in the kidney and heart of aged animals. Thus a waning angiogenesis throughout the body may be …

Intracellular Na+ Concentration ([Na+]I) Is Elevated In Diabetic Hearts Due To Enhanced Na+–Glucose Cotransport, Rebekah Lambert, Sarah Srodulski, Xiaoli Peng, Kenneth B. Margulies, Florin Despa, Sanda Despa

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Intracellular Na⁺ concentration ([Na⁺]i) regulates Ca²⁺ cycling, contractility, metabolism, and electrical stability of the heart. [Na⁺]i is elevated in heart failure, leading to arrhythmias and oxidative stress. We hypothesized that myocyte [Na⁺]i is also increased in type 2 diabetes (T2D) due to enhanced activity of the Na⁺-glucose cotransporter.

METHODS AND RESULTS: To test this hypothesis, we used myocardial tissue from humans with T2D and a rat model of late-onset T2D (HIP rat). Western blot analysis showed increased Na⁺-glucose cotransporter expression in failing hearts from T2D patients compared …

Evolution And Realms Of Service Leadership And Leadership Models, Daniel T. L. Shek, Rachel C. F. Sun, Ting Ting Liu

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

This paper presents a lesson plan in a course entitled “Service Leadership” at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. In that lecture, three basic aspects of the service leadership model are presented. First, the origin of service leadership from an evolutionary anthropology perspective is outlined. Second, three realms of service leadership with reference to self, others and systems are presented. Third, two leadership models (i.e. top-down and bottom-up models) are introduced, and their strengths and weaknesses are examined. Students are also invited to reflect on their assumptions of men with reference to leadership. Several class activities including role-play, self-reflection exercises and …

Albumin Administration In Acute Ischemic Stroke: Safety Analysis Of The Alias Part 2 Multicenter Trial, Michael D. Hill, Renee H. Martin, Yuko Y. Palesch, Claudias S. Moy, Diego Tamariz, Karla J. Ryckborst, Elizabeth B. Jones, David Weisman, L. Creed Pettigrew, Myron D. Ginsberg

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Albumin treatment of ischemic stroke was associated with cardiopulmonary adverse events in previous studies and a low incidence of intracranial hemorrhage. We sought to describe the neurological and cardiopulmonary adverse events in the ALIAS Part 2 Multicenter Trial.

METHODS: Ischemic stroke patients, aged 18-83 and a baseline NIHSS ≥ 6, were randomized to treatment with ALB or saline control within 5 hours of stroke onset. Neurological adverse events included symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, hemicraniectomy, neurological deterioration and neurological death. Cardiopulmonary adverse events included pulmonary edema/congestive heart failure, acute coronary syndromes, atrial fibrillation, pneumonia and pulmonary thromboembolism.

RESULTS: …

Complete Genome Sequence Of Noncytopathic Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus 1 Contaminating A High-Passage Rk-13 Cell Line, Bora Nam, Ganwu Li, Ying Zheng, Jianqiang Zhang, Kathleen M. Shuck, Peter J. Timoney, Udeni B. R. Balasuriya

Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center Faculty Publications

A high-passage rabbit kidney RK-13 cell line (HP-RK-13[KY], originally derived from the ATCC CCL-37 cell line) used in certain laboratories worldwide is contaminated with noncytopathic bovine viral diarrhea virus (ncpBVDV). On complete genome sequence analysis, the virus strain was found to belong to BVDV group 1b.

Recurrent Streptococcus Equi Subsp. Zooepidemicus Bacteremia In An Infant, Joshua R. Watson, Amy Leber, Sridhar Velineni, John F. Timoney, Monica I. Ardura

Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center Faculty Publications

We describe a case of an infant with recurrent bacteremia caused by Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus, likely transmitted from mother to infant. Our case highlights the importance of an epidemiological history and molecular diagnostics in ascertaining insights into transmission, pathogenesis, and optimal management.

Novel Human Abcc9/Sur2 Brain-Expressed Transcripts And An Eqtl Relevant To Hippocampal Sclerosis Of Aging, Peter T. Nelson, Wang-Xia Wang, Bernard R. Wilfred, Angela Wei, James Dimayuga, Qingwei Huang, Eseosa T. Ighodaro, Sergey C. Artiushin, David W. Fardo

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

ABCC9 genetic polymorphisms are associated with increased risk for various human diseases including hippocampal sclerosis of aging. The main goals of this study were 1 > to detect the ABCC9 variants and define the specific 3′ untranslated region (3′UTR) for each variant in human brain, and 2 > to determine whether a polymorphism (rs704180) associated with risk for hippocampal sclerosis of aging pathology is also associated with variation in ABCC9 transcript expression and/or splicing. Rapid amplification of ABCC9 cDNA ends (3′RACE) provided evidence of novel 3′ UTR portions of ABCC9 in human brain. In silico and experimental studies were performed focusing on …

Insecticides Promote Viral Outbreaks By Altering Herbivore Competition, Huipeng Pan, Evan L. Preisser, Dong Chu, Shaoli Wang, Qingjun Wu, Yves Carriére, Xuguo Zhou, Youjun Zhang

Entomology Faculty Publications

While the management of biological invasions is often characterized by a series of single-specieg decisions, invasive species exist within larger food webs. These biotic interactions can alter the impact of control/eradication programs and may cause suppression efforts to inadvertently facilitate invasion spread and impact. We document the rapid replacement of the invasive Bemisia Middle East-Asia Minor I (MEAM1) cryptic biotype by the cryptic Mediterranean (MED) biotype throughout China and demonstrate that MED is more tolerant of insecticides and a better vector of tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) than MEAMJ. While MEAM1 usually excludes MED under natural conditions, insecticide application …

Population Dynamics Of Empoasca Fabae (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) In Central Iowa Alfalfa Fields, L. A. Weiser Erlandson, John J. Obrycki

Entomology Faculty Publications

Adults and nymphs of Empoasca fabae Harris (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) and adults of predatory species in the families Coccinellidae, Anthocoridae, Nabidae, Chrysopidae, and Hemerobiidae were sampled in Iowa alfalfa fields from June to September in 1999 and 2000. The relationship between each predatory taxa and E. fabae was examined using regression analysis. In 2000, all predators were found to be positively correlated with the presence of E. fabae during all periods sampled and most likely contributed to mortality. Orius insidiosus (Say) (Hemiptera: Anthoridae) was the most numerous insect predatory species; population numbers ranged from 0 to 1 and 0.1 to 3.7 …

Summer Research And Creativity Grants, Uk Office Of Undergraduate Research

Kaleidoscope

The abstracts in this section were submitted by students who received Research and Creativity Awards for the summer of 2009. Many are not final reports because the projects were still in process when the submissions were due. Rather, they are progress reports. However, these abstracts provide a clear and wonderfully diverse picture of the broad range of scholarly activities being undertaken by undergraduates at the University of Kentucky.

Beckman Scholar 2008-09, Lesley Mann

Kaleidoscope

No abstract provided.

Insights Into Alzheimer’S Disease: The Levels Of Signaling Proteins In Brain Of Control Subjects Versus Brain From Subjects With Mild Cognitive Impairment, Georgianne F. Tiu

Kaleidoscope

The purpose of this study was to measure the expression levels of key signaling proteins in brain tissue from subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) compared to control subjects. MCI is considered to be the beginning phase of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), nuclear factor kappa beta (NF-κβ), phospho Bad (pBad), and ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-L1 (UCH-L1) are four of the proteins that were investigated. Trends of either decreases or increases in protein expression levels in MCI vs. control brain were investigated. Western blot analysis was used in order to identify these trends. These signaling protein levels are …

Power And Pride: The Mythologization Of The Cossack Figure In Russian History And Its Impact On Modern Russian National Identity, Rachael Ulrich

Kaleidoscope

Our expedition traveled to the Don Cossack Ust- Khopiorskaia Stanitsa to record mythologized cultural practices in the form of rituals and performances. Located on the banks of the Don and Khopior River junction, about 1,500 people reside in a village consisting of several streets of wooden and stone houses, a cultural center, a school, and a few small markets. Most remaining residents in the village are pensioners, who support their meager incomes with backyard gardens. The young who have finished primary school leave for the nearest city, Volgograd, to find work or pursue further studies, because opportunities for neither exist …

Development Of Transgenic Lines To Support Plant Cell Biology Research, Kristin Kopperud

Kaleidoscope

Viruses pose a threat to humans in a variety of ways — from direct infection to imposing devastating effects on the agriculture industry. Prevention of such infection requires knowledge of the mechanisms of viral infection, both in animal- and plant-infecting species. The goal of this project was to identify plant factors that interact with viral proteins in the course of infection leading to disease. Sonchus yellow net virus (SYNV) and Potato yellow dwarf virus (PYDV) were used to test the hypothesis that the viruses utilize different subsets of host factors in order to infect Nicotiana benthamiana, despite both being …

The Agricultural Footprints On The Environment, Philip Houtz

Kaleidoscope

Industrialized agricultural systems have given America a convenient and affordable means to supply a surplus of food products to its citizens. Transgenic technology, synthesized fertilizers, advanced pesticides, concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), and the use of farm machinery have all contributed to humanity’s ability to feed the world’s rapidly growing population. However, the energy-intensive food operation of today may not be as ideal as we assume. Fossil fuels are burned to meet the energy requirements for the continual production of large quantities of fertilizer and to keep farm machines operational. Fertilizer and pesticide runoff from farmland ultimately drains into rivers …

Kidney-Specific Reduction Of Oxidative Phosphorylation Genes Derived From Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat, Jason A. Collett, Jiffin K. Paulose, Vincent M. Cassone, Jeffrey L. Osborn

Biology Faculty Publications

Mitochondrial (Mt) dysfunction contributes to the pathophysiology of renal function and promotes cardiovascular disease such as hypertension. We hypothesize that renal Mt-genes derived from female spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) that exhibit hypertension have reduced expression specific to kidney cortex. After breeding a female Okamoto-Aoki SHR (SAP = 188mmHg) with Brown Norway (BN) males (SAP = 100 and 104 mmHg), hypertensive female progeny were backcrossed with founder BN for 5 consecutive generations in order to maintain the SHR mitochondrial genome in offspring that contain over increasing BN nuclear genome. Mt-protein coding genes (13 total) and nuclear transcription factors mediating Mt-gene transcription …

The 133-Kda N-Terminal Domain Enables Myosin 15 To Maintain Mechanotransducing Stereocilia And Is Essential For Hearing, Qing Fang, Artur A. Indzhykulian, Mirna Mustapha, Gavin P. Riordan, David F. Dolan, Thomas B. Friedman, Inna A. Belyantseva, Gregory I. Frolenkov, Sally A. Camper, Jonathan E. Bird

Physiology Faculty Publications

The precise assembly of inner ear hair cell stereocilia into rows of increasing height is critical for mechanotransduction and the sense of hearing. Yet, how the lengths of actin-based stereocilia are regulated remains poorly understood. Mutations of the molecular motor myosin 15 stunt stereocilia growth and cause deafness. We found that hair cells express two isoforms of myosin 15 that differ by inclusion of an 133-kDa N-terminal domain, and that these isoforms can selectively traffic to different stereocilia rows. Using an isoform-specific knockout mouse, we show that hair cells expressing only the small isoform remarkably develop normal stereocilia bundles. However, …

Preserving Kentucky’S Newspapers: Analogue Beginnings To Digital Frontier, Kopana Terry, Eric Weig

Library Presentations

Over fifty years ago an historian and a library director traveled the back roads of Kentucky (USA) with a portable microfilm camera, two lights, and a dream of preserving Kentucky’s newspapers. From their ambitions arose a successful newspaper preservation program at the University of Kentucky Libraries (UKL). Now in its sixth decade, the program has developed a new way of preserving contemporary born-digital newspapers. This paper explores some of the people and events behind the early success of UKL’s program, as well as an in-depth look at the development and functionality of Paper Vault: a largely automated, in-house process delivering …

Summary Of Proposed Updates To The National Health Security Preparedness Index For 2015-2016, Glen P. Mays, Michael T. Childress, Pierre Martin Dominique Zephyr, Christopher R. Bollinger, Anna Goodman Hoover

Health Management and Policy Reports

This report describes proposed updates in methodology and measures for the 2015-16 release of the National Health Security Preparedness Index

Application Of Β-Lactamase Reporter Fusions As An Indicator Of Effector Protein Secretion During Infections With The Obligate Intracellular Pathogen Chlamydia Trachomatis , Konrad E. Mueller, Kenneth A. Fields

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Chlamydia spp. utilize multiple secretion systems, including the type III secretion system (T3SS), to deploy host-interactive effector proteins into infected host cells. Elucidation of secreted proteins has traditionally required ectopic expression in a surrogate T3SS followed by immunolocalization of endogenous candidate effectors to confirm secretion by chlamydiae. The ability to transform Chlamydia and achieve stable expression of recombinant gene products has enabled a more direct assessment of secretion. We adapted TEM-1 β-lactamase as a reporter system for assessment of chlamydial protein secretion. We provide evidence that this system facilitates visualization of secretion in the context of infection. Specifically, our findings …

Evidence For The Involvement Of Sphingosine-1-Phosphate In The Homing And Engraftment Of Hematopoietic Stem Cells To Bone Marrow, Mateusz Adamiak, Sylwia Borkowska, Marcin Wysoczynski, Malwina Suszynska, Magda Kucia, Gregg Rokosh, Ahmed Abdel-Latif, Janina Ratajczak, Mariusz Z. Ratajczak

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

The α-chemokine stromal-derived factor 1 (SDF-1), which binds to the CXCR4 receptor, directs migration and homing of CXCR4⁺ hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) to bone marrow (BM) stem cell niches. Nevertheless, it is also known that CXCR4^-/- fetal liver-derived hematopoietic stem cells engraft into BM and that blockade of CXCR4 by its antagonist AMD3100 does not prevent engraftment of HSPCs. Because of this finding of SDF-1-CXCR4-independent BM homing, the unique role of SDF-1 in HSPC homing has recently been challenged. While SDF-1 is the only chemokine that chemoattracts HSPCs, other chemoattractants for these cells have recently been described, including …

Calmodulin Methyltransferase Is Required For Growth, Muscle Strength, Somatosensory Development And Brain Function, Sitvanit Haziza, Roberta Magnani, Dima Lan, Omer Keinan, Ann Saada, Eli Hershkovitz, Nurit Yanay, Yoram Cohen, Yoram Nevo, Robert L. Houtz, Val C. Sheffield, Hava Golan, Ruti Parvari

Horticulture Faculty Publications

Calmodulin lysine methyl transferase (CaM KMT) is ubiquitously expressed and highly conserved from plants to vertebrates. CaM is frequently trimethylated at Lys-115, however, the role of CaM methylation in vertebrates has not been studied. CaM KMT was found to be homozygously deleted in the 2P21 deletion syndrome that includes 4 genes. These patients present with cystinuria, severe intellectual disabilities, hypotonia, mitochondrial disease and facial dysmorphism. Two siblings with deletion of three of the genes included in the 2P21 deletion syndrome presented with cystinuria, hypotonia, a mild/moderate mental retardation and a respiratory chain complex IV deficiency. To be able to attribute …

A Transcriptomal Analysis Of Bovine Oviductal Epithelial Cells Collected During The Follicular Phase Versus The Luteal Phase Of The Estrous Cycle, K. L. Cerny, E. Garrett, A. J. Walton, L. H. Anderson, P. J. Bridges

Animal and Food Sciences Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Reproductive success depends on a functional oviduct for gamete storage, maturation, fertilization, and early embryonic development. The ovarian-derived steroids estrogen and progesterone are key regulators of oviductal function. The objective of this study was to investigate luteal and follicular phase-specific oviductal epithelial cell function by using microarray-based transcriptional profiling, to increase our understanding of mRNAs regulating epithelial cell processes, and to identify novel genes and biochemical pathways that may be found to affect fertility in the future.

METHODS: Six normally cycling Angus heifers were assigned to either luteal phase (LP, n = 3) or follicular phase (FP, …

Stable Reference Gene Selection For Rt-Qpcr Analysis In Nonviruliferous And Viruliferous Frankliniella Occidentalis, Chunxiao Yang, Hui Li, Huipeng Pan, Yabin Ma, Deyong Zhang, Yong Liu, Zhanhong Zhang, Changying Zheng, Dong Chu

Entomology Faculty Publications

Reverse transcriptase-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is a reliable technique for measuring and evaluating gene expression during variable biological processes. To facilitate gene expression studies, normalization of genes of interest relative to stable reference genes is crucial. The western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), the main vector of tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), is a destructive invasive species. In this study, the expression profiles of 11 candidate reference genes from nonviruliferous and viruliferous F. occidentalis were investigated. Five distinct algorithms, geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, the ΔCt method, and RefFinder, were used to determine the performance …

Truncating Mutation In The Autophagy Gene Uvrag Confers Oncogenic Properties And Chemosensitivity In Colorectal Cancers, Shanshan He, Zhen Zhao, Yongfei Yang, Douglas O'Connell, Xiaowei Zhang, Soohwan Oh, Binyun Ma, Joo-Hyung Lee, Tian Zhang, Bino Varghese, Janae Yip, Sara Dolatshahi Pirooz, Ming Li, Yong Zhang, Guo-Min Li, Sue Ellen Martin, Keigo Machida, Chengyu Liang

Toxicology and Cancer Biology Faculty Publications

Autophagy-related factors are implicated in metabolic adaptation and cancer metastasis. However, the role of autophagy factors in cancer progression and their effect in treatment response remain largely elusive. Recent studies have shown that UVRAG, a key autophagic tumour suppressor, is mutated in common human cancers. Here we demonstrate that the cancer-related UVRAG frameshift (FS), which does not result in a null mutation, is expressed as a truncated UVRAG^FS in colorectal cancer (CRC) with microsatellite instability (MSI), and promotes tumorigenesis. UVRAG^FS abrogates the normal functions of UVRAG, including autophagy, in a dominant-negative manner. Furthermore, expression of UVRAG^FS can …

Forage News [2015-08], Department Of Plant And Soil Sciences, University Of Kentucky

Forage News

• Diseases of Orchardgrass - Use good Management
• Summary of 2015 Stockpiling Fescue Demonstrations
• Advanced Grazing School August 17th in Lexington, KY
• Increasing Cool Season Pasture Production in the Spring Utilizing Plant Growth Hormones
• AFGC and UK hold first Warm Season Grass Workshop