Digital Commons Network^™

Development And First Evaluation Of An Attractant Impregnated Adhesive Tape Against Blood-Sucking Flies, Junwei J. Zhu, Gwang-Hyun Roh, Yosuke Asamoto, Kujtim Bizati, Jen-Chieh Liu, Alexander Lehmann, Kyle Harrison, David B. Taylor, Hironao Otake

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Stable flies are one of the most important arthropod pests of livestock that reduce cattle weight gain and milk production leading to annual economic losses in excess of $2 billion to the US cattle industry. The host-seeking behavior is primarily mediated by associated odors from stable fly larval development environments and host animals. The present paper reports the development and evaluation of attractant-impregnated adhesive tapes to reduce stable fly attacks on cattle. Laboratory bioassays showed that only m-cresol impregnated adhesive tapes caught significantly more stable flies (16 ± 1) than the control tape without attractant added (7 ± 1), with …

Hitchhiking Or Hang Gliding? Dispersal Strategies Of Two Cereal-Feeding Eriophyoid Mite Species, Agnieszka Majer, Alicja Laska, Gary Hein, Lechosław Kuczyński, Anna Skoracka

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Dispersal shapes the dynamics of populations, their genetic structure and species distribution; therefore, knowledge of an organisms’ dispersal abilities is crucial, especially in economically important and invasive species. In this study, we investigated dispersal strategies of two phytophagous eriophyoid mite species: Aceria tosichella (wheat curl mite, WCM) and Abacarus hystrix (cereal rust mite, CRM). Both species are obligatory plant parasites that infest cereals and are of economic significance. We investigated their dispersal success using different dispersal agents: wind and vectors. We hypothesised that in both mite species the main mode of dispersal is moving via wind, whereas phoretic dispersal is …

A Comprehensive Review On Bioactive Peptides Derived From Milk And Milk Products Of Minor Dairy Species, Snigdha Guha, Heena Sharma, Gaurav Kr Deshwal, Priyanka Singh Rao

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Milk from different species has been exploited for the isolation of various functional ingredients for decades. Irrespective of the source, milk is considered as a complete food, as it provides essential nutrients required by the human body. Proteins and their fractions are valuable sources of bioactive peptides that might exert a health beneficial role in the human body such as immune-modulation, antioxidant activity, ACE-inhibitory activity, anti- neoplastic, anti-microbial, etc. In milk, bioactive peptides may either be present in their natural form or released from their parental proteins due to enzymatic action. The increasing interest in bioactive peptides among researchers has …

Characterization Of Two Zygnema Strains (Zygnema Circumcarinatum Sag 698-1a And Sag 698-1b) And A Rapid Method To Estimate Nuclear Genome Size Of Zygnematophycean Green Algae, Xuehuan Feng, Andreas Holzinger, Charlotte Permann, Dirk Anderson, Yanbin Yin

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Zygnematophyceae green algae (ZGA) have been shown to be the closest relatives of land plants. Three nuclear genomes (Spirogloea muscicola, Mesotaenium endlicherianum, and Penium margaritaceum) of ZGA have been recently published, and more genomes are underway. Here we analyzed two Zygnema circumcarinatum strains SAG 698-1a (mating +) and SAG 698-1b (mating −) and found distinct cell sizes and other morphological differences. The molecular identities of the two strains were further investigated by sequencing their 18S rRNA, psaA and rbcL genes. These marker genes of SAG 698-1a were surprisingly much more similar to Z. cylindricum (SAG 698-2) than to SAG 698-1b. …

Metabolic Profiling Of Historical And Modern Wheat Cultivars Using Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Rachana Poudel, Fatema Bhinderwala, Martha Morton, Robert Powers, Devin J. Rose

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

To determine changes in the grain components between historical and modern wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars, wholemeal flours from 19 wheat cultivars and 2 landraces released or introduced between 1870 and 2013 and grown over two crop years were extracted using hydroalcoholic solution and analyzed using one dimensional 1H NMR spectral profiling. Grain yield, grain volume weight (GVW), and grain protein concentration were also measured. Grain yield increased while protein concentration decreased by release year (p < 0.001). Increasing trends (p < 0.01) were observed for tryptophan, sum of the measured amino acids, chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, vanillic acid, and sum of the measured phenolic acids. Grain yield, phenolic acids, and tryptophan were mainly associated with modern cultivars, whereas grain protein concentration and GVW were associated with historical cultivars. The findings from this study showed changes in concentration of grain components over a century of breeding that may have implications for grain quality and human health.

Genome-Wide Identification And Comparative Analysis Of Arf Family Genes In Three Apiaceae Species, Qiaoying Pei, Nan Li, Qihang Yang, Tong Wu, Shuyan Feng, Xuehuan Feng, Zange Jing, Rong Zhou, Ke Gong, Tong Yu, Zhen Wang, Xiaoming Song

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

The family Apiaceae includes many important vegetables and medicinal plants. Auxin response factors (ARFs) play critical roles in regulating plant growth and development. Here, we performed a comprehensive analysis of the ARF gene family in three Apiaceae species, celery, coriander, and carrot, and compared the results with the ARF gene family of lettuce, Arabidopsis, and grape. We identified 156 ARF genes in all six species and 89 genes in the three Apiaceae species, including 28, 34, and 27 in celery, coriander, and carrot, respectively. The paralogous gene number in coriander was far greater than that in carrot and celery. Our …

Temporal Dynamics Of Chronic Inflammation On The Cecal Microbiota In Il-10-/- Mice, Anne-Marie C. Overstreet, Amanda Ramer-Tait, Jan S. Suchodolski, Jesse M. Hostetter, Chong Wang, Albert E. Jergens, Gregory J. Phillips, Michael J. Wannemeuhler

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

The intestinal microbiota is a critical component of mucosal health as evidenced by the fact that alterations in the taxonomic composition of the gastrointestinal microbiota are associated with inflammatory bowel diseases. To better understand how the progression of inflammation impacts the composition of the gastrointestinal microbiota, we used culture independent taxonomic profiling to identify temporal changes in the cecal microbiota of C3Bir IL-10-/- mice concomitantly with the onset and progression of colitis. This analysis revealed that IL-10-/- mice displayed a biphasic progression in disease severity, as evidenced by histopathological scores and cytokine production. Beginning at 4 weeks of age, pro-inflammatory …

Impact Of Probiotic B. Infantis Evc001 Feeding In Premature Infants On The Gut Microbiome, Nosocomially Acquired Antibiotic Resistance, And Enteric Inflammation, Marielle Nguyen, Heaven Holdbrooks, Prasanthi Mishra, Maria A. Abrantes, Sherri Eskew, Mariajamiela Garma, Cyr-Geraurd Oca, Carrie Mcguckin, Cynthia B. Hein, Ryan D. Mitchell, Sufyan Kazi, Giorgio Casaburi, Heather K. Brown, Steven A. Frese, Bethany M. Henrick

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Background: Preterm birth is a major determinant of neonatal survival and morbidity, but the gut microbiome and associated enteric inflammation are also key factors in neonatal development and the risk of associated morbidities. We prospectively and longitudinally followed two cohorts of preterm infants, one of which was fed activated Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis (B. infantis) EVC001 8 × 109 CFU daily, and the other was not fed a probiotic. Hospital feeding protocol assigned all infants born at < 1500 g and/or < 32 weeks corrected gestational age to the probiotic feeding protocol, whereas infants born at > 1500 g and/or > 32 weeks corrected gestational age were not fed a probiotic. Fecal samples were opportunistically collected from 77 infants throughout the …

Effect Of High-Pressure Processing On The Microbial Load And Functionality Of Sugar-Cookie Dough, Luis Sabillón, Jayne E. Stratton, Devin Rose, Kent M. Eskridge, Andreia Bianchini

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Background and objectives: Refrigerated dough products have the potential to be a safety hazard to consumers because they could be consumed raw or undercooked. The objectives of this study were designed to evaluate the microbial and functionality changes in high pressured sugar-cookie dough as a function of a_w (0.80–0.87), pressure level (100–600 MPa), and holding time (1–6 min).

Findings: Endogenous microbial populations were marginally reduced (0.2–0.5 log CFU/g) by pressure treatments. However, treating the dough at 600 MPa for 6 min significantly reduced counts of inoculated Escherichia coli by as much as 2.0 log CFU/g. Increasing the a_{w …}

Host Identity And Geographic Location Significantly Affect Gastrointestinal Microbial Richness And Diversity In Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla) Under Human Care, Katrina Eschweiler, Jonathan B. Clayton, Anneke Moresco, Erin A. Mckenney, Larry J. Minter, Mallory J. Suhr Van Haute, William Gasper, Shivdeep Singh Hayer, Lifeng Zhu, Kathryn Cooper, Kimberly Ange-Van Heugten

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

The last few decades have seen an outpouring of gastrointestinal (GI) microbiome studies across diverse host species. Studies have ranged from assessments of GI microbial richness and diversity to classification of novel microbial lineages. Assessments of the “normal” state of the GI microbiome composition across multiple host species has gained increasing importance for distinguishing healthy versus diseased states. This study aimed to determine baselines and trends over time to establish “typical” patterns of GI microbial richness and diversity, as well as interindividual variation, in three populations of western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) under human care at three …

Development Of A Multiplex Real-Time Pcr Assay For Predicting Macrolide And Tetracycline Resistance Associated With Bacterial Pathogens Of Bovine Respiratory Disease, Enakshy Dutta, John Dustin Loy, Caitlyn A. Deal, Emily L. Wynn, Michael L. Clawson, Jennifer Clarke, Bing Wang

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is an emerging concern that may threaten both animal and public health. Rapid and accurate detection of AMR is essential for prudent drug therapy selection during BRD outbreaks. This study aimed to develop a multiplex quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assay (qPCR) to provide culture-independent information regarding the phenotypic AMR status of BRD cases and an alternative to the gold-standard, culture-dependent test. Bovine clinical samples (297 lung and 111 nasal) collected in Nebraska were subjected to qPCR quantification of macrolide (MAC) and tetracycline (TET) resistance genes and gold-standard determinations of AMR of …

Potential Applications Of Endo-B-N-Acetylglucosaminidases From Bifidobacterium Longum Subspecies Infantis In Designing Value-Added, Next-Generation Infant Formulas, Hatice Duman, Merve Kaplan, Aysenur Arslan, Arif Sercan Sahutoglu, Haci Mehmet Kayili, Steven A. Frese, Sercan Karav

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Human milk is the optimal source of infant nutrition. Among many other health benefits, human milk can stimulate the development of a Bifidobacterium-rich microbiome through human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs). In recent years, the development of novel formulas has placed particular focus on incorporating some of the beneficial functional properties of human milk. These include adding specific glycans aimed to selectively stimulate the growth of Bifidobacterium. However, the bifidogenicity of human milk remains unparalleled. Dietary N-glycans are carbohydrate structures conjugated to a wide variety of glycoproteins. These glycans have a remarkable structural similarity to HMOs and, when released, show …

Editorial: Gluten, From Plant To Plate: Implications For People With Celiac Disease, Michelle Lisa Colgrave, Katharina Anne Scherf, Melanie Downs, Alberto Caminero

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Bovine Colostrum And Its Potential For Human Health And Nutrition, Aysenur Arslan, Merve Kaplan, Hatice Duman, Ayse Bayraktar, Melih Ertürk, Bethany M. Henrick, Steven A. Frese, Sercan Karav

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Colostrum is the first milk produced post-partum by mammals and is compositionally distinct from mature milk. Bovine colostrum has a long history of consumption by humans, and there have been a number of studies investigating its potential for applications in human nutrition and health. Extensive characterization of the constituent fractions has identified a wealth of potentially bioactive molecules, their potential for shaping neonatal development, and the potential for their application beyond the neonatal period. Proteins, fats, glycans, minerals, and vitamins are abundant in colostrum, and advances in dairy processing technologies have enabled the advancement of bovine colostrum from relative limitations …

Molecular Adaptation To Folivory And The Conservation Implications For Madagascar’S Lemurs, Elaine E. Guevara, Lydia K. Greene, Marina B. Blanco, Casey Farmer, Jeannin Ranaivonasy, Joelisoa Ratsirarson, Karine L. Mahefarisoa, Tsiky Rajaonarivelo, Hajanirina H. Rakotondrainibe, Randall E. Junge, Cathy V. Williams, Elodi Rambeloson, Hoby A. Rasoanaivo, Vololonirina Rahalinarivo, Laza H. Andrianandrianina, Jonathan B. Clayton, Ryan S. Rothman, Richard R. Lawler, Brenda J. Bradley, Anne D. Yoder

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

The lemurs of Madagascar include numerous species characterized by folivory across several families. Many extant lemuriform folivores exist in sympatry in Madagascar’s remaining forests. These species avoid feeding competition by adopting different dietary strategies within folivory, reflected in behavioral, morphological, and microbiota diversity across species. These conditions make lemurs an ideal study system for understanding adaptation to leaf-eating. Most folivorous lemurs are also highly endangered. The significance of folivory for conservation outlook is complex. Though generalist folivores may be relatively well equipped to survive habitat disturbance, specialist folivores occupying narrow dietary niches may be less resilient. Characterizing the genetic bases …

Heuristic And Hierarchical-Based Population Mining Of Salmonella Enterica Lineage I Pan-Genomes As A Platform To Enhance Food Safety, Joao Carlos Gomes-Neto, Natasha Pavlovikj, Carmen Cano, Baha Abdalhamid, Gabriel Asad Al-Ghalith, John Dustin Loy, Dan Knights, Peter C. Iwen, Byron D. Chaves, Andrew K. Benson

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

The recent incorporation of bacterial whole-genome sequencing (WGS) into Public Health laboratories has enhanced foodborne outbreak detection and source attribution. As a result, large volumes of publicly available datasets can be used to study the biology of foodborne pathogen populations at an unprecedented scale. To demonstrate the application of a heuristic and agnostic hierarchical population structure guided pan-genome enrichment analysis (PANGEA), we used populations of S. enterica lineage I to achieve two main objectives: (i) show how hierarchical population inquiry at different scales of resolution can enhance ecological and epidemiological inquiries; and (ii) identify population-specific inferable traits that could provide …

Prokevo: An Automated, Reproducible, And Scalable Framework For High-Throughput Bacterial Population Genomics Analyses, Natasha Pavlovikj, Joao Carlos Gomes-Neto, Jitender S. Deogun, Andrew K. Benson

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Whole Genome Sequence (WGS) data from bacterial species is used for a variety of applications ranging from basic microbiological research, diagnostics, and epidemiological surveillance. The availability of WGS data from hundreds of thousands of individual isolates of individual microbial species poses a tremendous opportunity for discovery and hypothesis-generating research into ecology and evolution of these microorganisms. Flexibility, scalability, and user-friendliness of existing pipelines for population-scale inquiry, however, limit applications of systematic, population-scale approaches. Here, we present ProkEvo, an automated, scalable, reproducible, and open-source framework for bacterial population genomics analyses using WGS data. ProkEvo was specifically developed to achieve the following …

Interspecies Variation In Hominid Gut Microbiota Controls Host Gene Regulation, Amanda L. Muehlbauer, Allison L. Richards, Adnan Alazizi, Michael B. Burns, Andres Gomez, Jonathan B. Clayton, Klara Petrzelkova, Camilla Cascardo, Justyna Resztak, Xiaoquan Wen, Roger Pique-Regi, Francesca Luca, Ran Blekhman

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

The gut microbiome exhibits extreme compositional variation between hominid hosts. However, it is unclear how this variation impacts host physiology across species and whether this effect can be mediated through microbial regulation of host gene expression in interacting epithelial cells. Here, we characterize the transcriptional response of human colonic epithelial cells in vitro to live microbial communities extracted from humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans. We find that most host genes exhibit a conserved response, whereby they respond similarly to the four hominid microbiomes. However, hundreds of host genes exhibit a divergent response, whereby they respond only to microbiomes from specific …

The International Scientific Association For Probiotics And Prebiotics (Isapp) Consensus Statement On Fermented Foods, Maria L. Marco, Mary Ellen Sanders, Michael Gänzle, Marie Claire Arrieta, Paul D. Cotter, Luc De Vuyst, Colin Hill, Wilhelm Holzapfel, Sarah Lebeer, Dan Merenstein, Gregor Reid, Benjamin E. Wolfe, Robert Hutkins

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

An expert panel was convened in September 2019 by The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) to develop a definition for fermented foods and to describe their role in the human diet. Although these foods have been consumed for thousands of years, they are receiving increased attention among biologists, nutritionists, technologists, clinicians and consumers. Despite this interest, inconsistencies related to the use of the term ‘fermented’ led the panel to define fermented foods and beverages as “foods made through desired microbial growth and enzymatic conversions of food components”. This definition, encompassing the many varieties of fermented foods, is …

Dietary Fiber Intake, The Gut Microbiome, And Chronic Systemic Inflammation In A Cohort Of Adult Men, Wenjie Ma, Long H. Nguyen, Mingyang Song, Dong D. Wang, Eric A. Franzosa, Yin Cao, Amit Joshi, David A. Drew, Raaj Mehta, Kerry L. Ivey, Lisa L. Strate, Edward L. Giovannucci, Jacques Izard, Wendy Garrett, Eric B. Rimm, Curtis Huttenhower, Andrew T. Chan

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Background: A higher intake of dietary fiber is associated with a decreased risk of chronic inflammatory diseases such as cardiovascular disease and inflammatory bowel disease. This may function in part due to abrogation of chronic systemic inflammation induced by factors such as dysbiotic gut communities. Data regarding the detailed influences of long-term and recent intake of differing dietary fiber sources on the human gut microbiome are lacking.

Methods: In a cohort of 307 generally healthy men, we examined gut microbiomes, profiled by shotgun metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing, and long-term and recent dietary fiber intake in relation to plasma …

Time Of Harvest Affects United States-Grown Aronia Mitschurinii Berry Polyphenols, Brix, And Acidity, Erica S. King, Junhyo Cho, Hengjing Li, Xueqi Jiang, Annika K. Madler, Mikala K. Weishair, Susan Glenn, Mark H. Brand, Changmou Xu, Bradley W. Bolling

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

The goal of this study was to determine how the date of harvest impacts the quality characteristics of Aronia mitschurinii (A. K. Skvortsov and Maitul.) ‘Viking’ and ‘Galicjanka’ berries. Aronia berries were collected from farms in the Midwestern and Northeastern United States over seven weeks of harvest during 2018, 2019 and 2020. The berries were analyzed for total phenol, anthocyanins, proanthocyanins, sugar, and acid. Aronia berry composition modestly deviated between each year of the study. Berries harvested in 2018 had the highest total phenols and proanthocyanidins, both increasing in content from weeks 1–5 from 15.90 ± 3.15–19.65 mg gallic acid …

Transport Of Dietary Anti-Inflammatory Peptide, Γ-Glutamyl Valine (Γ-Ev), Across The Intestinal Caco-2 Monolayer, Snigdha Guha, Sophie Alvarez, Kaustav Majumder

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

The present study analyzed the transepithelial transport of the dietary anti-inflammatory peptide, -glutamyl valine (γ-EV). γ-EV is naturally found in dry edible beans. Our previous study demonstrated the anti-inflammatory potency of γ-EV against vascular inflammation at a concentration of 1mM, and that it can transport with the apparent permeability coefficient (P_app) of 1.56 x 10^-6 ± 0.7 x 10^-6 cm/s across the intestinal Caco-2 cells. The purpose of the current study was to explore whether the permeability of the peptide could be enhanced and to elucidate the mechanism of transport of γ-EV across Caco-2 cells. The …

Effects Of Ball Milling Combined With Cellulase Treatment On Physicochemical Properties And In Vitro Hypoglycemic Ability Of Sea Buckthorn Seed Meal Insoluble Dietary Fiber, Yulian Zhu, Xiaolong Ji, Michael Yuen, Tina Yuen, Hywel Yuen, Min Wang, Deandrae Smith, Qiang Peng

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

To improve the rough texture and hypoglycemic ability of sea buckthorn insoluble dietary fiber (IDF), a novel combined modification method was developed in this study. The IDF was treated with ball milling and cellulase treatment to obtain co-modified insoluble dietary fiber (CIDF). The physicochemical and functional properties of IDF, milled insoluble dietary fiber (MIDF), and CIDF were studied. After treatments, MIDF had smaller particle sizes and a looser structure, and CIDF exhibited a wrinkled surface and sparse porous structure according to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction. Compared to IDF, MIDF and CIDF showed improved water-holding, oil-binding, and swelling …

Composition Analysis And Antioxidant Activity Evaluation Of A High Purity Oligomeric Procyanidin Prepared From Sea Buckthorn By A Green Method, Yulian Zhu, Michael Yuen, Wenxia Li, Hywel Yuen, Min Wang, Deandrae Smith, Qiang Peng

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Procyanidin is an important polyphenol for its health-promoting properties, however, the study of procyanidin in sea buckthorn was limited. In this paper, sea buckthorn procyanidin (SBP) was obtained through a green isolation and enrichment technique with an extraction rate and purity of 9.1% and 91.5%. The structure of SBP was analyzed using Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The results show that SBP is an oligomeric procyanidin, mainly composed of (􀀀 )-epicatechin gallate, procyanidin B, (+)-gallocatechin-(+)-catechin, and (+)-gallocatechin dimer. SBP showed superior scavenging capacity on free radicals. Furthermore, the cleaning rate of the ABTS …

Integration Of The Metabolome And Transcriptome Reveals The Metabolites And Genes Related To Nutritional And Medicinal Value In Coriandrum Sativum, Wu Tong, Feng Shu-Yan, Yang Qi-Hang, Preetida J. Bhetariya, Gong Ke, Cui Chun-Lin, Song Jie, Ping Xiao-Rui, Pei Qiao-Ying, Yu Tong, Song Xiao-Ming

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Coriandrum sativum (Coriander) or Chinese parsley is a culinary herb with multiple medicinal effects, which is widely used in cooking and traditional medicine. It is enriched with essential oils and anti-oxidant compounds with unknown significance. To explore the untapped reservoir of Coriander, we studied the transcriptome and metabolic profiles from three developmental stages. Here, we identified 10 tyrosine metabolic pathway-related genes (TMPRGs), six porphyrins and chlorophyll metabolic pathway-related genes (PCMPRGs), and five Vitamin E metabolic pathway-related genes (VEMPRGs). These genes were associated with the early development of Coriander. Our analysis suggests that these pathways …

A Representation Learning Model Based On Variational Inference And Graph Autoencoder For Predicting Lncrna‑Disease Associations, Zhuangwei Shi, Han Zhang, Chen Jin, Xiongwen Quan, Yanbin Yin

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Background: Numerous studies have demonstrated that long non-coding RNAs are related to plenty of human diseases. Therefore, it is crucial to predict potential lncRNAdisease associations for disease prognosis, diagnosis and therapy. Dozens of machine learning and deep learning algorithms have been adopted to this problem, yet it is still challenging to learn efficient low-dimensional representations from high-dimensional features of lncRNAs and diseases to predict unknown lncRNA-disease associations accurately. Results: We proposed an end-to-end model, VGAELDA, which integrates variational inference and graph autoencoders for lncRNA-disease associations prediction. VGAELDA contains two kinds of graph autoencoders. Variational graph autoencoders (VGAE) infer …

Litigating Socio-Economic And Women’S Rights In Benin’S Constitutional Court, Alice J. Kang, Susanna D. Wing

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

Scholars debate the role of legal institutions in promoting human rights in Africa. Much of the discussion focuses on Anglophone countries and does not examine the gender of litigants. We propose a constitutionalism constrained perspective that argues that which and whose rights are adjudicated are shaped by the context of constitutional reform. Where reformists are primarily concerned with safeguarding civil and political rights, high courts may protect civil and political rights claims more often than socio-economic ones. Examining hundreds of human rights decisions issued by Benin’s Constitutional Court, we ask, which and whose rights does the court protect? We find …

Special Issue: Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli, Rodney A. Moxley

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Globally, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is an important cause of diarrheal disease, most notably hemorrhagic colitis, and post-diarrheal sequela, such as hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) [1]. Cattle are a major reservoir of STEC, with approx- imately half of the cases in humans attributable to foodborne exposure [2]. Prevention of human illness has mainly been through food safety measures [2]. Despite extensive research, no other generally accepted and effective preventive measures or therapies for STEC infections in human patients are available [3]. Many questions remain about STEC virulence factors, pathogenesis, detection, and other aspects that necessitate a continua- tion of basic …

The Need For Research-Grade Systems Modeling Technologies For Life Science Education, Tomáš Helikar

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic not only challenged deeply-rooted daily patterns but also put a spotlight on the role of computational modeling in science and society. Amid the impromptu upheaval of in-person education across the world, this article aims to articulate the need to train students in computational and systems biology using research-grade technologies. ...

Life sciences education needs multiple technical infrastructures explicitly designed to support this field’s vast computational needs. Developing and sustaining effective, scientifically authentic educational technologies is not easy. It requires expertise in software development and the scientific domain as well as in education and education …

Associations Between Statin/Omega3 Usage And Mri-Based Radiomics Signatures In Prostate Cancer, Yu Shi, Ethan Wahle, Qian Du, Luke Krajewski, Xiaoying Liang, Sumin Zhou, Chi Zhang, Michael J. Baine, D Zheng

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Prostate cancer is the most common noncutaneous cancer and the second leading cause of cancer deaths among American men. Statins and omega-3 are two medications recently found to correlate with prostate cancer risk and aggressiveness, but the observed associations are complex and controversial. We therefore explore the novel application of radiomics in studying statin and omega-3 usage in prostate cancer patients. On MRIs of 91 prostate cancer patients, two regions of interest (ROIs), the whole prostate and the peripheral region of the prostate, were manually segmented. From each ROI, 944 radiomic features were extracted after field bias correction and normalization. …