Digital Commons Network^™

Encouraging Languages Other Than English In First-Year Writing Courses: Experiences From Linguistically Diverse Writers, Alyssa G. Cavazos

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications

First-Year Writing (fyw) courses are ideal writing spaces where students' diverse identities and language resources can flourish for specific rhetorical purposes. While research has focused on multilingual students' language and writing practices, little attention has focused on self-identified multilingual students' perceptions of language difference in fyw. Because fyw courses are an integral space in students' writing experiences and an ideal place to counter English-only ideologies, this article focuses on self-identified multilingual students' perceptions of how they negotiate language practices in academic contexts in higher education and how they perceive the role of languages other than English in fyw. Self-identified multilingual …

Glycated Serum Protein Genetics And Pleiotropy With Cardiometabolic Risk Factors, Matthew P. Johnson, Ryan Keyho, Nicholas B. Blackburn, Sandra Laston, Satish Kumar, Juan M. Peralta, Suman S. Thapa, Bradford Towne, Janardan Subedi, John Blangero, Sarah Williams-Blangero

School of Medicine Publications

Measurements of fasting glucose (FG) or glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) are two clinically approved approaches commonly used to determine glycemia, both of which are influenced by genetic factors. Obtaining accurate measurements of FG or HbA1c is not without its challenges, though. Measuring glycated serum protein (GSP) offers an alternative approach for assessing glycemia. The aim of this study was to estimate the heritability of GSP and GSP expressed as a percentage of total serum albumin (%GA) using a variance component approach and localize genomic regions (QTLs) that harbor genes likely to influence GSP and %GA trait variation in a large …

Rediscovering The Value Of Families For Psychiatric Genetics Research, David C. Glahn, Vishwajit Nimgaonkar, Henriette Raventós, Javier Contreras, Andrew M. Mcintosh, Pippa Thomson, Assen Jablensky, Nicholas B. Blackburn, Juan M. Peralta, Joanne E. Curran, Laura Almasy, John Blangero

School of Medicine Publications

As it is likely that both common and rare genetic variation are important for complex disease risk, studies that examine the full range of the allelic frequency distribution should be utilized to dissect the genetic influences on mental illness. The rate limiting factor for inferring an association between a variant and a phenotype is inevitably the total number of copies of the minor allele captured in the studied sample. For rare variation, with minor allele frequencies of 0.5% or less, very large samples of unrelated individuals are necessary to unambiguously associate a locus with an illness. Unfortunately, such large samples …

“Diabesity” Among Latinos: A Culturally Relevant Mathematics Activity By A Mathematics Teacher Candidate, Olga Ramirez, Cherie Mccollough

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper summarizes a culturally relevant mathematics project conducted by a mentored secondary-level Latino teacher candidate (TC) as a requirement for an undergraduate mathematics project course at a south Texas university. The culturally relevant math project involved four secondary Latino students and their parents. The topic was “diabesity”; that is, diabetes and obesity among Latinos southern region in the United States of America with an emphasis on body mass index, proper diet, and exercise. Remarks by the faculty mentor and a faculty consultant about the TC work and reflections regarding this project are also included and provide perspectives on how …

Uncovering The Complex Genetics Of Human Personality: Response From Authors On The Pgmra Model, Igor Zwir, Pashupati Mishra, Coral Del-Val, C. Charles Gu, Gabriel A. De Erausquin, Terho Lehtimäki, C. Robert Cloninger

School of Medicine Publications

Following publication of our two articles [1, 2], a critique of the methodology of Phenotype-Genotype Many-to-Many Relations Analysis (PGMRA) [1, 3, 4] questioned the validity of our results from the perspective of polygenic risk scores (PRS) [5]. We appreciate the importance of these questions, and here provide a concise discussion of the assumptions and mathematical constraints of both approaches. We thank this commentator and others who have discussed our articles with us for their thoughtful questions and critiques.

An Index Of Unfairness, Victor H. Aguiar, Roland Pongou, Roberto Serrano, Jean-Baptiste Tondji

School of Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

The Shapley distance is introduced as a measure of the extent to which output sharing among the stakeholders of an organization can be considered unfair. In fact, it measures the distance between an arbitrary pay profile and the Shapley pay profile under a given technology, the latter profile defining the fair distribution. Therefore, this chapter contributes to the literature that studies economic inequality using game theory. In particular, we provide an axiomatic characterization to a notion of unfairness, namely the Shapley distance, and show that it can be used to determine the outcome of an underlying bargaining process. We also …

Α-Actinin Anchors Psd-95 At Postsynaptic Sites, Lucas Matt, Karam Kim, Anne E. Hergarden, Tommaso Patriarchi, Zulfiqar A. Malik, Deborah K. Park, Dhrubajyoti Chowdhury, Olivia R. Buonarati, Peter B. Henderson, Yonghong Zhang

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Chemistry)

Despite the central role PSD-95 plays in anchoring postsynaptic AMPARs, how PSD-95 itself is tethered to postsynaptic sites is not well understood. Here we show that the F-actin binding protein α-actinin binds to the very N-terminus of PSD-95. Knock-down (kd) of α-actinin phenocopies kd of PSD-95. Mutating lysine at position 10 or lysine at position 11 of PSD-95 to glutamate, or glutamate at position 53 or glutamate and aspartate at positions 213 and 217 of α-actinin, respectively, to lysine impairs in parallel PSD-95 binding to α-actinin and postsynaptic localization of PSD-95 and AMPARs. These experiments identify α-actinin as a critical …

Adoption Of Multimedia Technology For Learning And Gender Difference, Chongwoo Park, Dong-Gook Kim, Sunyoung Cho, Hyo-Joo Han

Information Systems Faculty Publications

While more educators are increasingly using multimedia technology for online and blended learning, there has not been much research on whether and how multimedia technology is accepted and used by learners. In this study, we examine the adoption of multimedia technology for online and blended learning. In order to better understand its adoption mechanism, we propose an integrated model, which extends the technology acceptance model with task technology fit theories. Furthermore, this study investigates gender difference as a moderator in the integrated model. The proposed research model has been assessed with the data collected from three online and blended …

Pharmacological Aspects Of Resveratrol, Raisa Ramirez, Debasish Bandyopadhyay

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Chemistry)

Resveratrol [(E)-5-(4-hydroxystyryl) benzene-1,3-diol], also known as 3,4′,5-trihydroxystilbene also known as resveratrol is classified as a phytoalexin in plants such as nuts, cocoa, berries and grapes for self-defense against injury and pathogenic attacks by bacteria and fungi. Research on this compound did not gain popularity until the 1990s when a published paper implied the relationship between resveratrol and the decrease in cardiovascular complications due to the consumption of grape fermented wine in French populations. This observation sparked research on resveratrol even though its concentration in wine is relatively low, leading to the realization that resveratrol has potential for benefits in other …

Noise-Tolerant Modular Neural Network System For Classifying Ecg Signal, Alberto Ochoa, Luis J. Mena, Vanessa G. Felix, Apolinar Gonzalez, Walter Mena, Gladys E. Maestre

School of Medicine Publications

Millions of electrocardiograms (ECG) are interpreted every year, requiring specialized training for accurate interpretation. Because automated and accurate classification ECG signals will improve early diagnosis of heart condition, several neural network (NN) approaches have been proposed for classifying ECG signals. Current strategies for a critical step, the preprocessing for noise removal, are still unsatisfactory. We propose a modular NN approach based on artificial noise injection, to improve the generalization capability of the resulting model. The NN classifier initially performed a fairly accurate recognition of four types of cardiac anomalies in simulated ECG signals with minor, moderate, severe, and extreme noise, …

Cophosk: A Method For Comprehensive Kinase Substrate Annotation Using Co-Phosphorylation Analysis, Marzieh Ayati, Danica Wiredja, Daniela Schlatzer, Sean Maxwell, Ming Li, Mehmet Koyutürk, Mark R. Chance

Computer Science Faculty Publications

We present CoPhosK to predict kinase-substrate associations for phosphopeptide substrates detected by mass spectrometry (MS). The tool utilizes a Naïve Bayes framework with priors of known kinase-substrate associations (KSAs) to generate its predictions. Through the mining of MS data for the collective dynamic signatures of the kinases’ substrates revealed by correlation analysis of phosphopeptide intensity data, the tool infers KSAs in the data for the considerable body of substrates lacking such annotations. We benchmarked the tool against existing approaches for predicting KSAs that rely on static information (e.g. sequences, structures and interactions) using publically available MS data, including breast, colon, …

Randomized Parameterized Algorithms For The Kidney Exchange Problem, Mugang Lin, Jianxin Wang, Qilong Feng, Bin Fu

Computer Science Faculty Publications

In order to increase the potential kidney transplants between patients and their incompatible donors, kidney exchange programs have been created in many countries. In the programs, designing algorithms for the kidney exchange problem plays a critical role. The graph theory model of the kidney exchange problem is to find a maximum weight packing of vertex-disjoint cycles and chains for a given weighted digraph. In general, the length of cycles is not more than a given constant L (typically 2 L 5), and the objective function corresponds to maximizing the number of possible kidney transplants. In this paper, we study the …

Linear Stability Analysis Of Subaqueous Bedforms Using Direct Numerical Simulations, ‪Nadim Zgheib, S. Balachandar

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

We present results on the formation of ripples from linear stability analysis. The analysis is coupled with direct numerical simulations of turbulent open-channel flow over a fixed sinusoidal bed. The presence of the sediment bed is accounted for using the immersed boundary method. The simulations are used to extract the bed shear stress and consequently the sediment transport rate. The approach is different from traditional linear stability analysis in the sense that the phase lag between the bed topology and the sediment flux is obtained from the three-dimensional turbulent simulations. The stability analysis is performed on the Exner equation, whose …

Li And Na Adsorption On Graphene And Graphene Oxide Examined By Density Functional Theory Quantum Theory Of Atoms In Molecules And Electron Localization Function, Nicholas Dimakis, Isaiah Salas, Luis Gonzalez, Om Vadodaria, Korinna Ruiz, Muhammad I. Bhatti

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Adsorption of Li and Na on pristine and defective graphene and graphene oxide (GO) is studied using density functional theory (DFT) structural and electronic calculations, quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM), and electron localization function (ELF) analyses. DFT calculations show that Li and Na adsorptions on pristine graphene are not stable at all metal coverages examined here. However, the presence of defects on graphene support stabilizes both Li and Na adsorptions. Increased Li and Na coverages cause metal nucleation and weaken adsorption. Defective graphene is associated with the presence of band gaps and, thus, Li and Na adsorptions can …

The Rider (2019-02-11), Victor G. Ramirez

The Rider Archives

Vol.4 No.19

Thermally Induced Disorder-Order Phase Transition Of Gd 2 Hf 2 O 7 :Eu 3+ Nanoparticles And Its Implication On Photo-And Radioluminescence, Santosh K. Gupta, Maya Abdou, Partha Sarathi Ghosh, Jose P. Zuniga, Yuanbing Mao

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Chemistry)

Crystal structure has a strong influence on the luminescence properties of lanthanide-doped materials. In this work, we have investigated the thermally induced structural transition in Gd 2 Hf 2 O 7 (GHO) using Eu 3+ ions as the spectroscopic probe. It was found that complete phase transition from the disordered fluorite phase (DFP) to the ordered pyrochlore phase (OPP) can be achieved in GHO with the increase of annealing temperature from 650 ? 1100 ? 1300 °C. OPP is the more stable structural form for the GHOE nanoparticles (NPs) annealed at a higher temperature based on the energy calculation by …

Molecular Cloning And Characterization Of Two Arnt (Arnt-1 And Arnt-2) Genes In Atlantic Croaker And Their Expression During Coexposure To Hypoxia And Pcb77, Md. Saydur Rahman, Peter Thomas

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT) is an important transcriptions factor that binds/coactivates drug-metabolizing genes in vertebrates. In this study, we report the cloning and characterization of two ARNT (ARNT-1 and ARNT-2) genes and their mRNA and protein expression in liver tissues of Atlantic croaker after co-exposure to hypoxia and 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl (PCB77). The full-length croaker ARNT-1 and ARNT-2 genes encode proteins of 537 and 530 amino acids, respectively, and are highly homologous to ARNT-1 and ARNT-2 genes of other vertebrates. ARNT mRNAs are ubiquitously expressed in all tissues. Hypoxia (dissolved oxygen: 1.7 mg/L) exposure (1-4 weeks) did not affect hepatic …

The Membrane-Active Phytopeptide Cycloviolacin O2 Simultaneously Targets Hiv-1-Infected Cells And Infectious Viral Particles To Potentiate The Efficacy Of Antiretroviral Drugs, Samantha L. Gerlach, Partha K. Chandra, Upal Roy, Sunithi Gunasekera, Ulf Göransson, William C. Wimley, Stephen E. Braun, Debasis Mondal

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Novel strategies to increase the efficacy of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs will be of crucial importance. We hypothesize that membranes of HIV-1-infected cells and enveloped HIV-1 particles may be preferentially targeted by the phytopeptide, cycloviolacin O2 (CyO2) to significantly enhance ARV efficacy.

Methods: Physiologically safe concentrations of CyO2 were determined via red blood cell (RBC) hemolysis. SYTOX-green dye-uptake and radiolabeled saquinavir (³H-SQV) uptake assays were used to measure pore-formation and drug uptake, respectively. ELISA, reporter assays and ultracentrifugation were conducted to analyze the antiviral efficacy of HIV-1 protease and fusion inhibitors alone and co-exposed to CyO2.

Results: CyO2 concentrations below …

Ocean Robots Uncover Microbial Secrets, Susan Evans, Jim Birch, John A. Breier, Michael V. Jakuba, Mak A. Saito, Julie Robidart

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Life on Earth began in the sea, and the oceans continue to support life on our planet. Of particular importance is the ability of marine microbes to exist in a complex web of relationships where substances are continually transformed and exchanged.

A Concept Of Biopharmaceutical Nanosatellite, Jakub Mielczarek, Adam Zadrozny

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

The article is a short overview of a proposal of a CubeSat type nanosatellite designed to conduct biopharmaceutical tests on the low earth orbit. Motivations behind the emerging demand for such solution nowadays and in the close future are emphasized. The possible objectives and challenges to be addressed in the planned biopharmaceutical CubeSat missions are discussed. In particular, it is hard to imagine progress of the space tourism and colonization of Mars without a wide-ranging development of pharmaceutics dedicated to be used in space. Finally, an exemplary layout of a 3U type CubeSat is presented. We stress that, thanks to …

A Heuristic Classification Of Woody Plants Based On Contrasting Shade And Drought Strategies, Liang Wei, Chonggang Xu, Steven Jansen, Hang Zhou, Bradley O. Christoffersen, William T. Pockman, Richard S. Middleton, John D. Marshall, Nate G. Mcdowell

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Woody plants vary in their adaptations to drought and shade. For a better prediction of vegetation responses to drought and shade within dynamic global vegetation models, it is critical to group species into functional types with similar adaptations. One of the key challenges is that the adaptations are generally determined by a large number of plant traits that may not be available for a large number of species. In this study, we present two heuristic woody plant groups that were separated using cluster analysis in a three-dimensional trait–environment space based on three key metrics for each species: mean xylem embolism …

The Rider (2019-01-28), Victor G. Ramirez

The Rider Archives

Vol.4 No.17

The Generalized Weierstrass System In Three-Dimensional Euclidean Space, Paul Bracken

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

In this chapter, some recent advances in the area of generalized Weierstrass representations will be given. This is an approach to the theory of surfaces in Euclidean three space. Weierstrass representations permit the explicit construction of surfaces in the designated space. The discussion proceeds in a novel and introductory manner. The inducing formulas for the coordinates of a surface are derived and important conservation laws are formulated. These lead to the inducing mechanism of a surface in terms of solutions to a system of two-dimensional Dirac equations. A set of fundamental forms as well as expressions for the mean and …

A Fermi Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor Search For Electromagnetic Signals Coincident With Gravitational-Wave Candidates In Advanced Ligo's First Observing Run, E. Burns, Teviet Creighton, Mario C. Diaz, Soma Mukherjee, Volker Quetschke, Malik Rakhmanov, Karla E. Ramirez, Robert Stone, Darkhan Tuyenbayev, Wenhui Wang

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present a search for prompt gamma-ray counterparts to compact binary coalescence gravitational wave (GW) candidates from Advanced LIGO's first observing run (O1). As demonstrated by the multimessenger observations of GW170817/GRB 170817A, electromagnetic and GW observations provide complementary information about the astrophysical source, and in the case of weaker candidates, may strengthen the case for an astrophysical origin. Here we investigate low-significance GW candidates from the O1 compact binary coalescence searches using the Fermi Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor (GBM), leveraging its all sky and broad energy coverage. Candidates are ranked and compared to background to measure the significance. Those with false …

Effect Of Hot Water Treatment Of In-Shell Pecans On Physicochemical Properties And Consumer Acceptability Of Roasted Pecan Kernels, Karuna Kharel, Witoon Prinyawiwatkul, Veerachandra K. Yemmireddy, Charles J. Graham, Achyut Adhikari

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The effect of hot water pre-treatment of in-shell pecans on physicochemical properties, consumer acceptance and purchase intent of dehulled and roasted kernels was evaluated. In-shell pecans were first subjected to hot water at 70, 80 and 90 °C for 8.6, 6.6 and 4.6 min respectively and kernels were later dry roasted at 160 °C for 10 min. The physicochemical properties of hot water treated and untreated nuts, before and after roasting were determined. Furthermore, consumer acceptance and purchase intent of the roasted kernels were determined. Hot water treatment, alone and subsequent roasting had minimal effect on pecans’ physicochemical properties. Consumers …

The Rider (2019-01-14), Victor G. Ramirez

The Rider Archives

Vol.4 No.15

Fabrication And Characterization Of Centrifugally Spun Poly(Acrylic Acid) Nanofibers, David De La Garza, Francisco De Santiago, Luis Materon, Mircea Chipara, Mataz Alcoutlabi

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

The production of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) nanofibers by the centrifugal spinning of PAA solutions in water is reported. The effect of the spinneret rotational speed and concentration of PAA solutions on the diameter of nanofibers and on their quality (assessed by the absence of beads) is discussed. The main physical properties of PAA such as glass-transition temperature (Tg) are studied in detail and compared to the feature of the as-received homopolymer. It is shown that the glass-transition temperature of the bulk PAA and PAA nanofibers (as measured by differential scanning calorimetry) depends on the heating rate according …

Search For Multimessenger Sources Of Gravitational Waves And High-Energy Neutrinos With Advanced Ligo During Its First Observing Run Antares And Icecube, A. Albert, Teviet Creighton, Mario C. Diaz, Soma Mukherjee, Volker Quetschke, Malik Rakhmanov, Karla E. Ramirez, Satzhan Sitmukhambetov, Robert Stone, Darkhan Tuyenbayev, Wenhui Wang, Adam Zadrozny

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Astrophysical sources of gravitational waves, such as binary neutron star and black hole mergers or core-collapse supernovae, can drive relativistic outflows, giving rise to non-thermal high-energy emission. High-energy neutrinos are signatures of such outflows. The detection of gravitational waves and high-energy neutrinos from common sources could help establish the connection between the dynamics of the progenitor and the properties of the outflow. We searched for associated emission of gravitational waves and high-energy neutrinos from astrophysical transients with minimal assumptions using data from Advanced LIGO from its first observing run O1, and data from the Antares and IceCube neutrino observatories from …

Electron Density Topological And Adsorbate Orbital Analyses Of Water And Carbon Monoxide Co-Adsorption On Platinum, Nicholas Dimakis, Isaiah Salas, Luis Gonzalez, Neili Loupe, Eugene S. Smotkin

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

The electron density topology of carbon monoxide (CO) on dry and hydrated platinum is evaluated under the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) and by adsorbate orbital approaches. The impact of water co-adsorbate on the electronic, structural, and vibrational properties of CO on Pt are modelled by periodic density functional theory (DFT). At low CO coverage, increased hydration weakens C-O bonds and strengthens C-Pt bonds, as verified by changes in bond lengths and stretching frequencies. These results are consistent with QTAIM, the 5σ donation-2π∗ backdonation model, and our extended Ï€-attraction σ-repulsion model (extended Ï€-σ model). This work links changes …

Wallaby Early Science – Ii. The Ngc 7232 Galaxy Group, K. Lee-Waddell, Bärbel S. Koribalski, Tobias Westmeier, A. Elagali, B-Q For, D. Kleiner, Juan P. Madrid, A. Popping, T. N. Reynolds, J. Rhee

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We report on neutral hydrogen (H I) observations of the NGC 7232 group with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). These observations were conducted as part of the Wide-field ASKAP L-Band Legacy All-sky Blind surveY (WALLABY) Early Science program with an array of 12 ASKAP antennas equipped with Phased Array Feeds, which were used to form 36 beams to map a field of view of 30 deg2. Analysing a subregion of the central beams, we detect 17 H I sources. Eleven of these detections are identified as galaxies and have stellar counterparts, of which five are newly resolved H …