Digital Commons Network^™

Characterization Of Solution-Phase Drug-Protein Interactions By Ultrafast Affinity Extraction, Sandya Beeram, Xiwei Zheng, Kyungah Suh, David S. Hage

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Publications

A number of tools based on high-performance affinity separations have been developed for studying drug-protein interactions. An example of one recent approach is ultrafast affinity extraction. This method has been employed to examine the free (or non-bound) fractions of drugs and other solutes in simple or complex samples that contain soluble binding agents. These free fractions have also been used to determine the binding constants and rate constants for the interactions of drugs with these soluble agents. This report describes the general principles of ultrafast affinity extraction and the experimental conditions under which it can be used to characterize such …

Systems And Methods For Actuating Soft Robotic Actuators, Robert F. Shepherd, Adam Stokes, Stephen A. Morin, Ludovico Cademartiri, Jacob Freake, Rui Nunes, Xin Chen, George M. Whitesides

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Publications

Systems and methods for providing a soft robot is provided. In one system , a robotic device includes a flexible body having a fluid chamber, where a portion of the flexible body includes an elastically extensible material and a portion of the flexible body is strain limiting relative to the elastically extensible material. The robotic device can further include a pressurizing inlet in fluid communication with the fluid chamber, and a pressurizing device in fluid communication with the pressurizing inlet, the pressurizing device including a reaction chamber configured to accommodate a gas producing chemical reaction for providing pressurized gas to …

Anatomy Of Stem Teaching In American Universities: A Snapshot From A Large-Scale Observation Study, Marilyne Stains, Jordan Harshman, Megan K. Barker, Stephanie V. Chasteen, Renee Cole, Sue Ellen Dechenne-Peters, M. Kevin Eagan Jr., Joan M. Esson, Jennifer K. Knight, Frank A. Laski, Marc Levis-Fitzgerald, Christopher J. Lee, Stanley M. Lo, Lisa M. Mcdonnell, Timothy A. Mckay, Nicole Michelotti, Michael S. Palmer, Kathryn M. Plank, Tamara M. Rodela, Erin R. Sanders, Natalie G. Schimpf, Patricia M. Schulte, Michelle Smith, Mackenzie Stetzer, Jackie Stewart, Blaire Van Valkenburgh, Erin Vinson, Laura K. Weir, Paul J. Wendel, Lindsay B. Wheeler, Anna M. Young

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Publications

National and local initiatives focused on the transformation of STEM teaching in higher education have multiplied over the last decade. These initiatives often focus on measuring change in instructional practices, but it is difficult to monitor such change without a national picture of STEM educational practices, especially as characterized by common observational instruments. We characterized a snapshot of this landscape by conducting the first large scale observation-based study. We found that lecturing was prominent throughout the undergraduate STEM curriculum, even in classrooms with infrastructure designed to support active learning, indicating that further work is required to reform STEM education. Additionally, …

Roadmap Of Ultrafast X-Ray Atomic And Molecular Physics, Linda Young, Kiyoshi Ueda, Markus Guhr, Philip H. Bucksbaum, Marc Simon, Shaul Mukamel, Nina Rohringer, Kevin C. Prince, Claudio Masciovecchio, Michael Meyer, Artem Rudenko, Daniel Rolles, Christoph Bostedt, Matthias Fuchs, David A. Reis, Robin Santra, Henry Kapteyn, Margaret Murnane, Heide Ibrahim, Francois Legare, Marc Vrakking, Marcus Isinger, David Kroon, Mathieu Gisselbrecht, Anne L'Huillier, Hans Jakob Worner, Stephen R. Leone

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) and table-top sources of x-rays based upon high harmonic generation (HHG) have revolutionized the field of ultrafast x-ray atomic and molecular physics, largely due to an explosive growth in capabilities in the past decade. XFELs now provide unprecedented intensity (10²⁰ W cm⁻²) of x-rays at wavelengths down to ~1 Angstrom, and HHG provides unprecedented time resolution (∼50 attoseconds) and a correspondingly large coherent bandwidth at longer wavelengths. For context, timescales can be referenced to the Bohr orbital period in hydrogen atom of 150 attoseconds and the hydrogen-molecule vibrational period of 8 femtoseconds; wavelength …

Imaging The Ring Opening Reaction Of 1,3-Cyclohexadiene With Mev Ultrafast Electron Diffraction, Thomas J. A. Wolf, Jie Yang, David M. Sanchez, J. Pedro F. Nunes, Robert M. Parrish, Xiaozhe Shen, Martin Centurion, Ryan Coffee, James P. Cryan, Markus Guhr, Kareem Hegazy, Adam Kirrander, Renkai. Li, Jennifer Ruddock, Theodore Veccione, Stephen P. Weathersby, Peter M. Weber, Kyle Wilkin, Hai-Wang Yong, Qiang Zheng, Todd J. Martinez, Xijie Wang, Michael P. Minitti

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We resolve the structural dynamics of the ultrafast photoinduced ring opening reaction of 1,3-cyclohexadiene in space and time employing megaelectronvolt gas phase ultrafast electron diffraction. We, furthermore, observe coherent large amplitude motions of the photoproduct.

Ecology, Impacts, And Management Of Invasive Rodents In The United States, Gary W. Witmer, Aaron B. Shiels

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Approximately 42% of all mammalian species in the world are rodents, amounting to about 2277 species (Wilson and Reeder 2005). Rodents have adapted to all lifestyles: terrestrial, aquatic, arboreal, and fossorial (underground). Most species are small, secretive, nocturnal, adaptable, and have keen senses of touch, taste, and smell. For most species of rodents, the incisors continually grow throughout their life span, requiring constant gnawing to keep the incisors sharp and at an appropriate length. This can result in extensive damage to seeds, fruits, field crops, structures, wires, and insulation. Rodents are known for their high reproductive potential; however, there is …

Brown Tree Snakes Methods And Approaches For Control, Larry Clark, Craig S. Clark, Shane Siers

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

This chapter summarizes the existing and emerging tools and strategies for the control of the invasive brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis, or BTS) on Guam and the prevention of its accidental transport to, and subsequent establishment on, other snake-free Pacific islands. The brown tree snake has long served as an example of the ecological and economic damages that can be wrought by a single generalist vertebrate predator upon introduction to ecosystems that evolved in isolation and without native predators (Fritts and Rodda 1998; Wiles et al. 2003; Rodda and Savidge 2007). Our attempt to summarize the state of …

Predicting Similarity Judgments In Intertemporal Choice With Machine Learning, Jeffrey R. Stevens, Leen-Kiat Soh

Jeffrey Stevens Publications

Similarity models of intertemporal choice are heuristics that choose based on similarity judgments of the reward amounts and time delays. Yet, we do not know how these judgments are made. Here, we use machine-learning algorithms to assess what factors predict similarity judgments and whether decision trees capture the judgment outcomes and process. We find that combining small and large values into numerical differences and ratios and arranging them in tree-like structures can predict both similarity judgments and response times. Our results suggest that we can use machine learning to not only model decision outcomes but also model how decisions are …

Genetic Attributions: Sign Of Intolerance Or Acceptance?, Stephen P. Schneider, Kevin B. Smith, John R. Hibbing

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

Many scholars argue that people who attribute human characteristics to genetic causes also tend to hold politically and socially problematic attitudes. More specifically, public acceptance of genetic influences is believed to be associated with intolerance, prejudice, and the legitimation of social inequities and laissez-faire policies. We test these expectations with original data from two nationally representative samples that allow us to identify the American public’s attributional patterns across 18 diverse traits. Key findings are (1) genetic attributions are actually more likely to be made by liberals, not conservatives; (2) genetic attributions are associated with higher, not lower, levels of tolerance …

Reactive Oxygen Species Metabolism And Plant-Fungal Interactions, Lauren M. Segal, Richard A. Wilson

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Fungal interactions with plants can involve specific morphogenetic developments to access host cells, the suppression of plant defenses, and the establishment of a feeding lifestyle that nourishes the colonizer often—but not always—at the expense of the host. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism is central to the infection process, and the stage-specific production and/or neutralization of ROS is critical to the success of the colonization process. ROS metabolism during infection is dynamic—sometimes seemingly contradictory—and involves endogenous and exogenous sources. Yet, intriguingly, molecular decision-making involved in the spatio-temporal control of ROS metabolism is largely unknown. When also considering that ROS demands are …

Clean Low-Biomass Procedures And Their Application To Ancient Ice Core Microorganisms, Zhi-Ping Zhong, Natalie E. Solonenko, Maria C. Gazitua, Donald V. Kenny, Ellen Mosley-Thompson, Virginia I. Rich, James L. Van Etten, Lonnie G. Thompson, Matthew B. Sullivan

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Microorganisms in glacier ice provide tens to hundreds of thousands of years archive for a changing climate and microbial responses to it. Analyzing ancient ice is impeded by technical issues, including limited ice, low biomass, and contamination. While many approaches have been evaluated and advanced to remove contaminants on ice core surfaces, few studies leverage modern sequencing to establish in silico decontamination protocols for glacier ice. Here we sought to apply such “clean” sampling techniques with in silico decontamination approaches used elsewhere to investigate microorganisms archived in ice at ~41 (D41, ~20,000 years) and ~49 m (D49, ~30,000 years) depth …

Prevalence And Trends In Morbidity And Disability Among Older Mexican Americans In The Southwestern United States, 1993–2013, Marc A. Garcia, Adriana M. Reyes

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study examines the prevalence of morbidity and disability among older Mexican Americans using 5-year age groups. Twenty-year panel data from the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiological Study of the Elderly are used to make detailed comparisons by nativity and gender. Results show that prevalence rates for most chronic conditions for both males and females do not vary by nativity. For disabilities, nativity is a significant predictor of increased instrumental activity of daily living disability for foreign-born females and reduced activity of daily living disability for U.S.-born males. Additionally, results show significant interactions between nativity and age cohorts, with …

Perceived Discrimination And Adolescent Sleep In A Community Sample, Bridget J. Goosby, Jacob Cheadle, Whitney Strong-Bak, Taylor C. Roth, Timothy D. Nelson

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Sleep is a key restorative process, and poor sleep is linked to disease and mortality risk. The adolescent population requires more sleep on average than adults but are most likely to be sleep deprived. Adolescence is a time of rapid social upheaval and sensitivity to social stressors including discrimination. This study uses two weeks of daily e-diary measures documenting discrimination exposure and concurrent objective sleep indicators measured using actigraphy. We assess associations between daily discrimination and contemporaneous sleep with a diverse sample of adolescents. This novel study shows youth with higher average discrimination reports have worse average sleep relative to …

Examining The Effects Of A Service-Trained Facility Dog On Stress In Children Undergoing Forensic Interview For Allegations Of Child Sexual Abuse, Cheryl A. Krause-Parello, Michele Thames, Colleen M. Ray, John Kolassa

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Disclosure of child sexual abuse can be a stressful experience for the child. Gaining a better understanding of how best to serve the child, while preserving the quality of their disclosure, is an ever-evolving process. The data to answer this question come from 51 children aged 4–16 (M = 9.1, SD = 3.5), who were referred to a child advocacy center in Virginia for a forensic interview (FI) following allegations of sexual abuse. A repeated measures design was conducted to examine how the presence of a service-trained facility dog (e.g. animal-assisted intervention (AAI) may serve as a mode of lowering …

“Just Because A Doctor Says Something, Doesn’T Mean That [It] Will Happen”: Self-Perception As Having A Fertility Problem Among Infertility Patients, Ophra Leyser-Whalen, Arthur L. Greil, Julia Mcquillan, Katherine M. Johnson

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Only some individuals who have the medically defined condition ‘infertility’ adopt a self-definition as having a fertility problem, which has implications for social and behavioral responses, yet there is no clear consensus on why some people and not others adopt a medical label. We use interview data from 28 women and men who sought medical infertility treatment to understand variations in self-identification. Results highlight the importance of identity disruption for understanding the dialectical relationship between medical contact and self-identification, as well as how diagnosis acts both as a category and a process. Simultaneously integrating new medical knowledge from testing and …

Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus: A Century Old Virus With Rising Importance Worldwide, Khushwant Singh, Stephen N. Wegulo, Anna Skoracka, Jiban Kumar Kundu

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) causes wheat streak mosaic, a disease of cereals and grasses that threatens wheat production worldwide. It is a monopartite, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus and the type member of the genus Tritimovirus in the family Potyviridae. The only known vector is the wheat curl mite (WCM, Aceria tosichella), recently identified as a species complex of biotypes differing in virus transmission. Low rates of seed transmission have been reported. Infected plants are stunted and have a yellow mosaic of parallel discontinuous streaks on the leaves. In the autumn, WCMs move from WSMV-infected volunteer wheat and other grass …

Frontmatter & Endmatter, Honors In Practice Volume 14

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Front Cover, Masthead, Indexing Statement, Production Editors, Editorial Board, Contents, Editorial POlicy, Submission Guidelines, About the Authors, About the NCHC Monograph Series, NCHC Monographs & Journals, NCHC Publications Order Form, Back cover

New Records And Combinations In Neotropical Premnobius Eichhoff (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae: Ipini) With An Illustrated Key To New World Species, Thomas H. Atkinson, Alexander V. Petrov, Carlos A. H. Flechtmann

Insecta Mundi

Three Neotropical species are transferred to the genus Premnobius Eichhoff (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae: Ipini): Premnobius assiduus (Schedl, 1961, from Xyleborus), P. flechtmanni (Wood, 2007, from Acanthotomicus) and P. neoajunctus (Schedl, 1967, from Xyleborus). An illustrated key is presented for the native and introduced species of the genus known from the New World.

Expanded Concept And Revised Taxonomy Of The Milliped Family Xystodesmidae Cook, 1895 (Polydesmida: Leptodesmidea: Xystodesmoidea): Incorporations Of Euryuridae Pocock, 1909 And Eurymerodesmidae Causey, 1951, Taxon Revivals/Proposals/Transferrals, And A Distributional Update, Rowland M. Shelley, Jamie M. Smith

Insecta Mundi

Euryuridae Pocock 1909 and Eurymerodesmidae Causey 1951, both endemic to the eastern/central United States (US), are incorporated into Xystodesmidae Cook 1895 and reduced to subfamilies and (sub)tribes n. stats. Euryurina and Melaphina Brolemann 1916, n. stats., are sister-taxa that differ primarily in epiproctal configurations and comprise Euryurini; sister-taxa Eurymerodesmina and Nannariina Hoffman 1964, n. stats., the latter transferred from Xystodesminae, comprise Eurymerodesmini, n. stat., in which plesiomorphic forms exhibit sublinear, “stick-like,” and subapically curved/bent gonopodal acropodites with moderately-long to long hairs, often with distal tufts, on their “inner” surfaces. Additional transferrals include Wamokia Chamberlin from the …

Erratum To Cano (2018): A New Anomiopus Westwood (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) From The Mayan Biosphere Reserve, Petén, Guatemala, Enio B. Cano

Insecta Mundi

After publication of Cano (2018), it was noticed that the wrong holotype photographs of Anomiopus cirulito Cano were included in Figure 3, resulting in images that did not correspond to the captions. The author and the Insecta Mundi editorial staff apologize for this error. The intended version of Figure 3 is reproduced here. Insecta Mundi has also released a revised version of the Cano (2018) manuscript, with this error corrected. However, the revised version is not an official peer-reviewed article, and anyone wishing to reference the findings of Cano (2018) should cite the original manuscript or this erratum.

A New Species Of Philacelota Heller (Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae: Melolonthini) From Flores Island, Indonesia, Jiri Zidek

Insecta Mundi

Philacelota jakli sp. n. (Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae: Melolonthini) is described, illustrated and compared with the other two known congeners, P. submaculata Heller and P. sulana Heller. Philacelota sub maculata is here designated the type species for the genus.

New Species And Records Of Elateridae (Coleoptera) From Cuatrociénegas, Coahuila, Mexico, Paul J. Johnson, David C. Lightfoot

Insecta Mundi

Eleven species of Elateridae (Coleoptera) were collected during a two-year arthropod inventory survey at the Cuatrociénegas Natural Protected Area, Coahuila, Mexico. Aeolus cuatro new species, Horistonotus coahuila new species, and Megapenthes cienegas new species are described for the first time. Additionally reported as new state records are Conoderus athoides (LeConte), C. lividus (De Geer), Deilelater mexicanus (Champion), Esthesopus parcus Horn, and Dipropus rufulus (Candèze). Sixteen species of click beetle are now recorded from Coahuila. The sampled habitats and the environmental setting are briefly described with images of each sampling site.

Once especies de Elateridae (Coleoptera) fueron recolectadas durante …

Description Of Phyllium (Phyllium) Conlei, New Species, And A First Look At The Phylliidae (Phasmatodea) Of The Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia, Royce T. Cumming, Pablo Valero Riquelme, Sierra N. Teemsma

Insecta Mundi

The Phylliidae (Phasmatodea) diversity of the Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia is preliminarily examined, and revealed to be notably lacking in completeness with only two species currently recorded. Of the nine islands/ island groups within the Lesser Sunda Islands, only the westerly islands (Bali and Lombok) have single species recorded: Phyllium (Pulchriphyllium) pulchrifolium Audinet-Serville, 1838, from Bali, and Phyllium (Phyllium) conlei Cumming, Valero, and Teemsma, new species, from Lombok. The latter species is herein described and differentiated from congenerics. To conclude, with so few species recorded from the Lesser Sunda Islands, a key to species for Java and the Lesser …

Are Miami Blues In Cuba? A Review Of The Genus Cyclargus Nabokov (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) With Implications For Conservation Management, Deborah L. Matthews, Jacqueline Y. Miller, Andrew D. Warren, James K. Toomey, Roger W. Portell, Terry A. Lott, Nick V. Grishin

Insecta Mundi

We review the genus Cyclargus Nabokov (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) based on detailed comparative analyses of wing patterns, genitalia, and mitochondrial COI DNA barcode sequences, and suggest that Cyclargus is composed of four species: C. thomasi (Clench), C. woodruffi (W. Comstock and Huntington), C. ammon (Lucas), and C. dominica (Möschler). The following new subjective synonyms are proposed: C. erembis Nabokov syn. n. and C. kathleena K. Johnson and Matusik syn. n. are C. thomasi noeli (W. Comstock and Huntington); C. sorpresus K. Johnson and Matusik syn. n. and C. shuturn K. Johnson and Bálint syn. n. are C. ammon; and Cyclargus …

Generic Changes In The Stag Beetle Tribe Aesalini (Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Aesalinae) With The Description Of Two New Species, M. J. Paulsen

Insecta Mundi

The status of genera and species in the stag beetle tribe Aesalini (Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Aesalinae) is revised. The Asian subgenus Zelenkaesalus Krikken, formerly included within Echinoaesalus Zelenka, is elevated to generic level based on the presence of complete ventral sulci and the form of the ocular canthus. This results in the following new combinations: Z. cechovskyi (Huang et al.), Z. gedeensis (Huang and Wu), Z. javanus (Krikken), Z. sabahensis (Zelenka), and Z. timidus (Krikken). Zelenkaesalus pazuzus Paulsen, new species, is described from the Philippines and is the first record of the subfamily for the country. A new genus Strabaesalus …

Four Submarginal Cells On A Forewing Of Melitoma Taurea (Say) (Hymenoptera: Apidae), And A Summary Of Known Records Of Atypical And Variable Numbers Of Submarginal Cells, Eugene J. Scarpulla

Insecta Mundi

A specimen of Melitoma taurea (Say) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) was captured on Hart-Miller Island, Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore County, Maryland. The specimen possessed the typical three submarginal cells on the right forewing but exhibited four submarginal cells on the left forewing due to the presence of an additional submarginal crossvein dividing the second submarginal cell. The presence of four submarginal cells is a rare occurrence in bees. Besides documenting this occurrence, this paper presents a summary of known published and previously unpublished records of atypical and variable numbers of submarginal cells. Published records were found for 66 species: Colletidae (1), Andrenidae (28), …

Revisión Taxonómica De Pseudococcus Westwood (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) De Centro Y Sud América Con Descripciones De Especies Nuevas, María C. Granara De Willink, Patricia González

Insecta Mundi

Se tratan 50 especies de Pseudococcus Westwood (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) encontradas en Centro y Sud América. Se describen 16 especies nuevas: Pseudococcus acaena Granara de Willink sp. n., P. bahiensis Granara de Willink sp. n., P. calchaquii Granara de Willink sp. n., P. chaquensis Granara de Willink sp. n., P. colombiensis Granara de Willink sp. n., P. cubaensis Granara de Willink sp. n., P. cuyoensis Granara de Willink sp. n., P. debilis Granara de Willink sp. n., P. dumetum Granara de Willink sp. n., P. insuetus Granara de Willink sp. n., P. lanatii Granara de Willink, sp. n., P. neuquenensis Granara …

Electrons Dynamics Control By Shaping Femtosecond Laser Pulses In Micro/Nanofabrication: Modeling, Method, Measurement And Application, Lan Jiang, An-Dong Wang, Bo Li, Tian-Hong Cui, Yong-Feng Lu

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

During femtosecond laser fabrication, photons are mainly absorbed by electrons, and the subsequent energy transfer from electrons to ions is of picosecond order. Hence, lattice motion is negligible within the femtosecond pulse duration, whereas femtosecond photon-electron interactions dominate the entire fabrication process. Therefore, femtosecond laser fabrication must be improved by controlling localized transient electron dynamics, which poses a challenge for measuring and controlling at the electron level during fabrication processes. Pump-probe spectroscopy presents a viable solution, which can be used to observe electron dynamics during a chemical reaction. In fact, femtosecond pulse durations are shorter than many physical/chemical characteristic times, …

Information Theory And Cognition: A Review, Khalid Sayood

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

We examine how information theory has been used to study cognition over the last seven decades. After an initial burst of activity in the 1950s, the backlash that followed stopped most work in this area. The last couple of decades has seen both a revival of interest, and a more firmly grounded, experimentally justified use of information theory. We can view cognition as the process of transforming perceptions into information—where we use information in the colloquial sense of the word. This last clarification is one of the problems we run into when trying to use information theoretic principles to understand …

Method Ofobtaining Micrographs Of Transparent Or Semi-Transparent Specimens Using Anisotropic Contrast, Tino Hofmann, Mathias M. Schubert, Tadas Kasputis, Angela K. Pannier, Craig M. Herzinger, John A. Woollam

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Anisotropic contrast methodology in combination with use of sample investigating polarized electromagnetic radiation to provide Jones or Mueller Matrix imaging data corresponding to areas on samples.