Digital Commons Network^™

Uv Radiation And The Skin, John A. D'Orazio, Stuart G. Jarrett, Alexandra Amaro-Ortiz, Timothy Scott

Toxicology and Cancer Biology Faculty Publications

UV radiation (UV) is classified as a "complete carcinogen" because it is both a mutagen and a non-specific damaging agent and has properties of both a tumor initiator and a tumor promoter. In environmental abundance, UV is the most important modifiable risk factor for skin cancer and many other environmentally-influenced skin disorders. However, UV also benefits human health by mediating natural synthesis of vitamin D and endorphins in the skin, therefore UV has complex and mixed effects on human health. Nonetheless, excessive exposure to UV carries profound health risks, including atrophy, pigmentary changes, wrinkling and malignancy. UV is epidemiologically and …

Bioactive Lipids And Cationic Antimicrobial Peptides As New Potential Regulators For Trafficking Of Bone Marrow-Derived Stem Cells In Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction, Anush V. Karapetyan, Yuri M. Klyachkin, Samy Selim, Manjula Sunkara, Khaled M. Ziada, Donald A. Cohen, Ewa K. Zuba-Surma, Janina Ratajczak, Susan S. Smyth, Mariusz Z. Ratajczak, Andrew J. Morris, Ahmed Abdel-Latif

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) triggers mobilization of stem cells from bone marrow (BM) into peripheral blood (PB). Based on our observation that the bioactive sphingophospholipids, sphingosine-1 phosphate (S1P), and ceramide-1 phosphate (C1P) regulate trafficking of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), we explored whether they also direct trafficking of non-hematopoietic stem cells (non-HSCs). We detected a 3–6-fold increase in circulating CD34+, CD133+, and CXCR4+ lineage-negative (Lin−)/CD45− cells that are enriched in non-HSCs [including endothelial progenitors (EPCs) and very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs)] in PB from AMI patients (P<0.05 vs. controls). Concurrently, we measured a 3-fold increase in S1P and C1P levels in plasma from AMI patients. At the same time, plasma obtained at hospital admission and 6 h after AMI strongly chemoattracted human BM-derived CD34+/Lin− and CXCR4+/Lin− cells in Transwell chemotaxis assays. This effect of plasma was blunted after depletion of S1P level by charcoal stripping and was further inhibited by the specific S1P1 receptor antagonist such as W146 and VPC23019. We also noted that the expression of S1P receptor 1 (S1P1), which is dominant in naïve BM, is reduced after the exposure to S1P at concentrations similar to the plasma S1P levels in patients with AMI, thus influencing the role of S1P in homing to the injured myocardium. Therefore, we examined mechanisms, other than bioactive lipids, that may contribute to the homing of BM non-HSCs to the infarcted myocardium. Hypoxic cardiac tissue increases the expression of cathelicidin and β-2 defensin, which could explain why PB cells isolated from patients with AMI migrated more efficiently to a low, yet physiological, gradient of stromal-derived factor-1 in Transwell migration assays. Together, these observations suggest that while elevated S1P and C1P levels early in the course of AMI may trigger mobilization of non-HSCs into PB, cathelicidin and β-2 defensin could play an important role in their homing to damaged myocardium.

Amyloid-Β Probes: Review Of Structure-Activity And Brain-Kinetics Relationships, Todd J. Eckroat, Abdelrahman S. Mayhoub, Sylvie Garneau-Tsodikova

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

The number of people suffering from Alzheimer's disease (AD) is expected to increase dramatically in the coming years, placing a huge burden on society. Current treatments for AD leave much to be desired, and numerous research efforts around the globe are focused on developing improved therapeutics. In addition, current diagnostic tools for AD rely largely on subjective cognitive assessment rather than on identification of pathophysiological changes associated with disease onset and progression. These facts have led to numerous efforts to develop chemical probes to detect pathophysiological hallmarks of AD, such as amyloid-β plaques, for diagnosis and monitoring of therapeutic efficacy. …

Significant Sequelae After Bacterial Meningitis In Niger: A Cohort Study, Jean-François Jusot, Zilahatou Tohon, Abdoul Aziz Yazi, Jean-Marc Collard

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Beside high mortality, acute bacterial meningitis may lead to a high frequency of neuropsychological sequelae. The Sahelian countries belonging to the meningitis belt experience approximately 50% of the meningitis cases occurring in the world. Studies in Africa have shown that N. meningitidis could cause hearing loss in up to 30% of the cases, exceeding sometimes measles. The situation is similar in Niger which experiences yearly meningitis epidemics and where rehabilitation wards are rare and hearing aids remain unaffordable. The aim of this study was to estimate the frequency of neuropsychological sequelae after acute bacterial meningitis in four of the …

Cytochrome P450s And Uses Thereof, Joe Chappell, Lyle F. Ralston

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Patents

The invention features isolated cytochrome P450 polypeptides and nucleic acid molecules, as well as expression vectors and transgenic plants containing these molecules. In addition, the invention features uses of such molecules in methods of increasing the level of resistance against a disease caused by a plant pathogen in a transgenic plant, in methods for producing altered compounds, for example, hydroxylated compounds, and in methods of producing isoprenoid compounds.

Teaching Information Literacy Using A Train-The-Trainer Model With Biology Lab Instructors, Valerie E. Perry, Patricia J. Hartman, Jason Keinsley, Meghan Moran, Renae Newhouse

Library Presentations

In Spring 2013, we collaborated with the Biology Department course coordinator at University of Kentucky to create, teach, and assess course-integrated information literacy sessions for 17 Biology Lab sections, reaching 462 students once a week for two weeks (thus 34 sessions reaching 934 attendees). We also experimented with the “train-the-trainer” model by providing an introductory session to TAs, then alternating one librarian-led section with one TA-led section. We taught in a Macbook lab, using Powerpoint presentations mixed with active instruction and tools such as PollEverywhere and Course Guides. We assessed the information literacy concepts learned using a simple Google Docs …

Tlr4 Signaling Is Involved In Brain Vascular Toxicity Of Pcb153 Bound To Nanoparticles, Bei Zhang, Jeong June Choi, Sung Yong Eum, Sylvia Daunert, Michal Toborek

Graduate Center for Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

PCBs bind to environmental particles; however, potential toxicity exhibited by such complexes is not well understood. The aim of the present study is to study the hypothesis that assembling onto nanoparticles can influence the PCB153-induced brain endothelial toxicity via interaction with the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). To address this hypothesis, TLR4-deficient and wild type control mice (males, 10 week old) were exposed to PCB153 (5 ng/g body weight) bound to chemically inert silica nanoparticles (PCB153-NPs), PCB153 alone, silica nanoparticles (NPs; diameter, 20 nm), or vehicle. Selected animals were also subjected to 40 min ischemia, followed by a 24 h reperfusion. …

Lrp5 And Lrp6 Exert Overlapping Functions In Osteoblasts During Postnatal Bone Acquisition, Ryan C. Riddle, Cassandra R. Diegel, Julie M. Leslie, Kyle K. Van Koevering, Marie-Claude Faugere, Thomas L. Clemens, Bart O. Williams

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

The canonical Wnt signaling pathway is critical for skeletal development and maintenance, but the precise roles of the individual Wnt co-receptors, Lrp5 and Lrp6, that enable Wnt signals to be transmitted in osteoblasts remain controversial. In these studies, we used Cre-loxP recombination, in which Cre-expression is driven by the human osteocalcin promoter, to determine the individual contributions of Lrp5 and Lrp6 in postnatal bone acquisition and osteoblast function. Mice selectively lacking either Lrp5 or Lrp6 in mature osteoblasts were born at the expected Mendelian frequency but demonstrated significant reductions in whole-body bone mineral density. Bone architecture measured by microCT revealed …

Transcriptomic And Proteomic Responses Of Sweetpotato Whitefly, Bemisia Tabaci, To Thiamethoxam, Nina Yang, Wen Xie, Xin Yang, Shaoli Wang, Qingjun Wu, Rumei Li, Huipeng Pan, Baiming Liu, Xiaobin Shi, Yong Fang, Baoyun Xu, Xuguo Zhou, Youjun Zhang

Entomology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), is one of the most widely distributed agricultural pests. Although it has developed resistance to many registered insecticides including the neonicotinoid insecticide thiamethoxam, the mechanisms that regulate the resistance are poorly understood. To understand the molecular basis of thiamethoxam resistance, "omics" analyses were carried out to examine differences between resistant and susceptible B. tabaci at both transcriptional and translational levels.

RESULTS: A total of 1,338 mRNAs and 52 proteins were differentially expressed between resistant and susceptible B. tabaci. Among them, 11 transcripts had concurrent transcription and translation profiles. KEGG analysis mapped 318 …

Withaferin A Effectively Targets Soluble Vimentin In The Glaucoma Filtration Surgical Model Of Fibrosis, Paola Bargagna-Mohan, Sunil P. Deokule, Kyle G. Thompson, John Wizeman, Cidambi Srinivasan, Sunil Vooturi, Uday B. Kompella, Royce Mohan

Ophthalmology and Visual Science Faculty Publications

Withaferin A (WFA) is a natural product that binds to soluble forms of the type III intermediate filament (IF) vimentin. Currently, it is unknown under what pathophysiological contexts vimentin is druggable, as cytoskeltal vimentin-IFs are abundantly expressed. To investigate druggability of vimentin, we exploited rabbit Tenon's capsule fibroblast (RbTCF) cell cultures and the rabbit glaucoma filtration surgical (GFS) model of fibrosis. WFA potently caused G₀/G₁ cell cycle inhibition (IC₅₀ 25 nM) in RbTCFs, downregulating ubiquitin E3 ligase skp2 and inducing p27(Kip1) expression. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß-induced myofibroblast transformation caused development of cell spheroids with numerous elongated invadopodia, which WFA blocked …

Reaching Out To Faculty: Leveraging Professional And Social Interactions To Meet Information Needs, Valerie E. Perry

Library Presentations

Objectives: To apply the subject expertise of a life sciences librarian in serving the One Health information needs of the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture faculty and other researchers employing animal research protocols through professional involvement, education, and social activities.

Methods Setting: A large research university with diverse use of animal research across the disciplinary faculties. Population: Researchers in the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture and those in the medical, social, and life sciences--such as dentistry, medicine, pharmacy, biology and psychology--who use animals in their research. Exposure: Provide and promote information resources and services during 2010-2012 through a …

Oral Transmission Of Listeria Monocytogenes In Mice Via Ingestion Of Contaminated Food, Elsa N. Bou Ghanem, Tanya Myers-Morales, Grant S. Jones, Sarah E. F. D'Orazio

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

L. monocytogenes are facultative intracellular bacterial pathogens that cause food borne infections in humans. Very little is known about the gastrointestinal phase of listeriosis due to the lack of a small animal model that closely mimics human disease. This paper describes a novel mouse model for oral transmission of L. monocytogenes. Using this model, mice fed L. monocytogenes-contaminated bread have a discrete phase of gastrointestinal infection, followed by varying degrees of systemic spread in susceptible (BALB/c/By/J) or resistant (C57BL/6) mouse strains. During the later stages of the infection, dissemination to the gall bladder and brain is observed. The …

Molecular Characterization Of A Patient Presumed To Have Prader-Willi Syndrome, Marina Falaleeva, Carlos R. Sulsona, Horst R. Zielke, Kathleen M. Currey, Pierre De La Grange, Vahid Aslanzadeh, Daniel J. Driscoll, Stefan Stamm

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is caused by the loss of RNA expression from an imprinted region on chromosome 15 that includes SNRPN, SNORD115, and SNORD116. Currently, there are no mouse models that faithfully reflect the human phenotype and investigations rely on human post-mortem material. During molecular characterization of tissue deposited in a public brain bank from a patient diagnosed with Prader-Willi syndrome, we found RNA expression from SNRPN, SNORD115, and SNORD116 which does not support a genetic diagnosis of Prader-Willi syndrome. The patient was a female, Caucasian nursing home resident with history of morbid obesity (BMI 56.3) and mental retardation. She …

Synthesis And Biological Evaluation Of Novel Folic Acid Receptor-Targeted, Β-Cyclodextrin-Based Drug Complexes For Cancer Treatment, Juan-Juan Yin, Sonali Sharma, Stepan P. Shumyak, Zhi-Xin Wang, Zhi-Wei Zhou, Yangde Zhang, Peixuan Guo, Chen-Zhong Li, Jagat R. Kanwar, Tianxin Yang, Shyam S. Mohapatra, Wanqing Liu, Wei Duan, Jian-Cheng Wang, Qi Li, Xueji Zhang, Jun Tan, Lee Jia, Jun Liang, Ming Q. Wei, Xiaotian Li, Shu-Feng Zhou

Nanobiotechnology Center Faculty Publications

Drug targeting is an active area of research and nano-scaled drug delivery systems hold tremendous potential for the treatment of neoplasms. In this study, a novel cyclodextrin (CD)-based nanoparticle drug delivery system has been assembled and characterized for the therapy of folate receptor-positive [FR(+)] cancer. Water-soluble folic acid (FA)-conjugated CD carriers (FACDs) were successfully synthesized and their structures were confirmed by 1D/2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MALDI-TOF-MS), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and circular dichroism. Drug complexes of adamatane (Ada) and cytotoxic doxorubicin (Dox) with FACD were readily …

Diacylglycerol Acyltransferase Sequences And Related Methods, David Hildebrand, Runzhi Li, Tomoko Hatanaka

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Patents

Isolated nucleic acid and amino acid sequences encoding a diacylglycerol acyltransferase 2 (DGAT2) polypeptide are provided. Vectors and transgenic cells that include a nucleic acid sequence encoding a DGAT2 polypeptide are also described. Further provided are methods of producing an epoxy fatty acid by transforming a cell with a first isolated nucleic acid that encodes a diacylglycerol acyltransferase polypeptide and a second isolated nucleic acid that encodes an epoxygenase polypeptide, such that expression of the diacylglycerol acyltransferase polypeptide and the epoxygenase polypeptide increases an amount of epoxy fatty acid in the cell.

Closure Of The Failed Ash Dredge Cell At Kingston – The Engineering Challenge, Vernon J. Dotson, Darrell E. Herron, Alan F. Rauch, Micahel J. Steele

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

No abstract provided.

A Feedback Regulatory Loop Between G3p And Lipid Transfer Proteins Dir1 And Azi1 Mediates Azelaic-Acid-Induced Systemic Immunity, Keshun Yu, Juliana Moreira Soares, Mihir Kumar Mandal, Caixia Wang, Bidisha Chanda, Andrew N. Gifford, Joanna S. Fowler, Duroy Navarre, Aardra Kachroo, Pradeep Kachroo

Plant Pathology Faculty Publications

Systemic acquired resistance (SAR), a highly desirable form of plant defense, provides broad-spectrum immunity against diverse pathogens. The recent identification of seemingly unrelated chemical inducers of SAR warrants an investigation of their mutual interrelationships. We show that SAR induced by the dicarboxylic acid azelaic acid (AA) requires the phosphorylated sugar derivative glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P). Pathogen inoculation induced the release of free unsaturated fatty acids (FAs) and thereby triggered AA accumulation, because these FAs serve as precursors for AA. AA accumulation in turn increased the levels of G3P, which is required for AA-conferred SAR. The lipid transfer proteins DIR1 and AZI1, both …

Considerations In The Development Of A Coal Combustion Products Landfill, Kenton J. Yang, John M. Reichling

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Ecological Effects Of Coal Combustion Products (Ccps): A Literature Review Of Observed Effects And Considerations For Managing Risks, David B. Mayfield, Sagar Thakali, W. Tyler Mehler, Ari S. Lewis

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Use Of Fly Ash As Soil Amendment For Biofuel Feedstock Production With Concomitant Disposal Of Waste Accumulations, Harold Pettigrew, Ekundayo Adeleke, Dafeng Hui, E. Kudjo Dzantor

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

No abstract provided.

The Morgantown Star Project: A Fly Ash Beneficial Reuse Case Study, Brandie M. Sebastian, Robin Lee, Robert Sawyer, Shawn Seaman

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

No abstract provided.

An Innovative Composite Liner System For Coal Combustion Residual Containment Projects, Ed Zimmel, Dhani Narejo, Jimmy Youngblood

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Removal Of Selenium From Fgd Water Streams By A Nonconventional Adsorbent By-Product, Patricia Córdoba, María Eugenia González, Aixa González, Natalia Moreno

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Glycosylate Derivatives Of Mithramycin, Method Of Preparation And Uses Thereof, Jürgen Rohr, Irfan Baig, Jose Antonio Salas Fernandez, Alfredo Fernandez Brana, Maria Perez Solares

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Patents

The present invention provides compounds characterized by the formula (I), where each of the substituent radicals is described in the specification. The invention also describes the use of said compounds in the treatment of various diseases, including: cancer or tumoral processes in general, Paget's disease, hypercalcaemia, hypercalciuria and neurological diseases (inter alia, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Huntington's).

Method Of Ameliorating Oxidative Stress And Supplementing The Diet, Boyd E. Haley, Niladrl Narayan Gupta

Chemistry Faculty Patents

A method of supplementing a diet and ameliorating oxidative stress in a mammal includes administering a pharmaceutically effective amount of lipid soluble, hydrophobic active compounds having a chemical structure . . .

To see the remainder of this abstract, please download this patent.

Mitochondrial Genomes Of Two Barklice, Psococerastis Albimaculata And Longivalvus Hyalospilus (Psocoptera: Psocomorpha): Contrasting Rates In Mitochondrial Gene Rearrangement Between Major Lineages Of Psocodea, Hu Li, Renfu Shao, Fan Song, Xuguo Zhou, Qianqian Yang, Zhihong Li, Wanzhi Cai

Entomology Faculty Publications

The superorder Psocodea has ∼10,000 described species in two orders: Psocoptera (barklice and booklice) and Phthiraptera (parasitic lice). One booklouse, Liposcelis bostrychophila and six species of parasitic lice have been sequenced for complete mitochondrial (mt) genomes; these seven species have the most rearranged mt genomes seen in insects. The mt genome of a barklouse, lepidopsocid sp., has also been sequenced and is much less rearranged than those of the booklouse and the parasitic lice. To further understand mt gene rearrangements in the Psocodea, we sequenced the mt genomes of two barklice, Psococerastis albimaculata and Longivalvus hyalospilus, the first representatives from …

Differential Undertaking Response Of A Lower Termite To Congeneric And Conspecific Corpses, Qian Sun, Kenneth F. Haynes, Xuguo Zhou

Entomology Faculty Publications

Undertaking behaviour is an essential activity in social insects. Corpses are often recognized by a postmortem change in a chemical signature. Reticulitermes flavipes responded to corpses within minutes of death. This undertaking behaviour did not change with longer postmortem time (24 h); however, R. flavipes exhibited distinctively different behaviours toward dead termites from various origins. Corpses of the congeneric species, Reticulitermes virginicus, were buried onsite by workers with a large group of soldiers guarding the burial site due to the risk of interspecific competition; while dead conspecifics, regardless of colony origin, were pulled back into the holding chamber for nutrient …

A Study Of Small Rnas From Cerebral Neocortex Of Pathology-Verified Alzheimer's Disease, Dementia With Lewy Bodies, Hippocampal Sclerosis, Frontotemporal Lobar Dementia, And Non-Demented Human Controls, Sébastien S. Hébert, Wang-Xia Wang, Qi Zhu, Peter T. Nelson

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small (20-22 nucleotides) regulatory non-coding RNAs that strongly influence gene expression. Most prior studies addressing the role of miRNAs in neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) have focused on individual diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), making disease-to-disease comparisons impossible. Using RNA deep sequencing, we sought to analyze in detail the small RNAs (including miRNAs) in the temporal neocortex gray matter from non-demented controls (n = 2), AD (n = 5), dementia with Lewy bodies (n = 4), hippocampal sclerosis of aging (n = 4), and frontotemporal lobar dementia (FTLD) (n = 5) cases, together accounting for the most prevalent …

The Endosymbiont Arsenophonus Is Widespread In Soybean Aphid, Aphis Glycines, But Does Not Provide Protection From Parasitoids Or A Fungal Pathogen, Jason A. Wulff, Karrie A. Buckman, Kongming Wu, George E. Heimpel, Jennifer A. White

Entomology Faculty Publications

Aphids commonly harbor bacterial facultative symbionts that have a variety of effects upon their aphid hosts, including defense against hymenopteran parasitoids and fungal pathogens. The soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is infected with the symbiont Arsenophonus sp., which has an unknown role in its aphid host. Our research goals were to document the infection frequency and diversity of the symbiont in field-collected soybean aphids, and to determine whether Arsenophonus is defending soybean aphid against natural enemies. We performed diagnostic PCR and sequenced four Arsenophonus genes in soybean aphids from their native and introduced range to estimate infection frequency …

Caveolar Fatty Acids And Acylation Of Caveolin-1, Qian Cai, Ling Guo, Haiqing Gao, Xiang-An Li

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

PURPOSE: Caveolae are cholesterol and sphingolipids rich subcellular domains on plasma membrane. Caveolae contain a variety of signaling proteins which provide platforms for signaling transduction. In addition to enriched with cholesterol and sphingolipids, caveolae also contain a variety of fatty acids. It has been well-established that acylation of protein plays a pivotal role in subcellular location including targeting to caveolae. However, the fatty acid compositions of caveolae and the type of acylation of caveolar proteins remain largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the fatty acids in caveolae and caveolin-1 bound fatty acids.

METHODS: Caveolae were isolated from Chinese hamster …