Digital Commons Network^™

Unquantified Benefits And The Problem Of Regulation Under Uncertainty, Jonathan Masur, Eric A. Posner

Articles

No abstract provided.

Observation On The Ultrastructure Morphology Of Hela Cells Treated With Ethanol: Statistical Analysis., Fakhri Al-Bagdadi, Matthew J Young, James P Geaghan, Shaomian Yao, Humberto M Barona, Eduardo Martinez-Ceballos, Masami Yoshimura

Articles

It is estimated that 5.9% of all human deaths are attributable to alcohol consumption and that the harmful use of ethanol ranks among the top five risk factors for causing disease, disability, and death worldwide. Ethanol is known to disrupt phospholipid packing and promote membrane hemifusion at lipid bilayers. With the exception of mitochondria involved in hormone synthesis, the sterol content of mitochondrial membranes is low. As membranes that are low in cholesterol have increased membrane fluidity and are the most easily disordered by ethanol, we hypothesize that mitochondria are sensitive targets for ethanol damage. HeLa cells were exposed to …

Ultra-Filtration Of Human Serum For Improved Quantitative Analysis Of Low Molecular Weight Biomarkers Using Atr-Ir Spectroscopy, Franck Bonnier, Helene Blasco, Clement Wasselet, Guillaume Brachet, Renaud Respaud, Luis Felipe Cs. Carvalho, Dominque Bertrand, Mathew J. Baker, Hugh Byrne, Igor Chourpa

Articles

Infrared spectroscopy is a reliable, rapid and cost effective characterisation technique, delivering a molecular finger print of the sample. It is expected that its sensitivity would enable detection of small chemical variations in biological samples associated with disease. ATR-IR is particularly suitable for liquid sample analysis and, although air drying is commonly performed before data collection, just a drop of human serum is enough for screening and early diagnosis. However, the dynamic range of constituent biochemical concentrations in the serum composition remains a limiting factor to the reliability of the technique. Using glucose as a model spike in human serum, …

Predicting Altruistic Behavior And Assessing Homophily: Evidence From The Sisterhood, Michael J. Vernarelli

Articles

The persistence of altruism throughout the evolutionary process has been explained by some on the basis of assortation, which requires the ability to detect dispositional altruism in others and voluntary interaction, resulting in altruism homophily. Numerous studies have identified the ability to detect dispositional altruism in strangers, but few have investigated this ability and altruism homophily in social networks. The purpose of this study is to provide additional evidence with regard to the ability to detect dispositional altruism among individuals who have repeated interactions in a collegiate social organization and the extent of altruism homophily. The results indicate that individuals …

A Comparison Of Three Emerging Online Government 3d Printing Resources: Nasa 3d Resources, Smithsonian X3d, And The Nih 3d Print Exchange, Jennifer J. Horton, Jian Anna Xiong

Articles

United States governmental agencies, departments, and affiliates, are increasingly making 3D printable models available to the general public online. On March 20, 2014, a memorandum was sent out to United States executive departments and agencies about improving access to the government’s scientific collections (Holdren, 2014). This memorandum, from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), not only addressed physical collections, but specifically mentioned digital 3D models. On the White House’s blog, several reasons were given for making these collections more accessible including the idea that these collections are “… treasure troves of information ripe for exploration and …

Structure-Function Relationships Of Archaeal Cbf5 During In Vivo Rna-Guided Pseudouridylation., Mrinmoyee Majumder, Michael S Bosmeny, Ramesh Gupta

Articles

In Eukarya and Archaea, in addition to protein-only pseudouridine (Ψ) synthases, complexes containing one guide RNA and four proteins can also produce Ψ. Cbf5 protein is the Ψ synthase in the complex. Previously, we showed that Ψ's at positions 1940, 1942, and 2605 of Haloferax volcanii 23S rRNA are absent in a cbf5-deleted strain, and a plasmid-borne copy of cbf5 can rescue the synthesis of these Ψ's. Based on published reports of the structure of archaeal Cbf5 complexed with other proteins and RNAs, we identified several potential residues and structures in H. volcanii Cbf5, which were expected to play important …

A Fully Integrated Microfluidic Device For Point-Of-Care Monitoring Of Antithrombotics, Leanne F. Harris, Paul Rainey, Tomas L. Lindahl, Anthony J. Killard

Articles

The simplicity and efficiency of point of care diagnostics have revolutionised patient care. Current methods for measuring hypercoagulability often require trained technicians, large blood volumes, and result in long turnaround times. Standard testing for hypercoagulable disorders is performed in the central laboratory using automated coagulation analysers. However the trend is moving towards the development and implementation of point of care testing, as a result of the ever increasing number of patients on antithrombotic therapy. We present a novel microfluidic device and assay for monitoring the effect of two anticoagulants, unfractionated heparin (UFH) and low molecular weight heparin (LMWH). The assay …

Gold Nanostars For Efficient In Vitro And In Vivo Real-Time Sers Detection And Drug Delivery Via Plasmonic-Tunable Raman/Ftir Imaging, Furong Tian, Joao Conde, Chenchen Bao, Yunsheng Chen, James Curtin, Daxiang Cui

Articles

The application of plasmonic-enhanced Raman imaging of cancer cells and drug delivery is gaining momentum. Here, we propose a new theranostic strategy based on an efficient plasmonic-tunable Raman/Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy imaging, to simultaneously evaluate the anticancer drug scattering cellular imaging and the Raman scattering molecular vibration signals in living cells. This technique allows to monitoring the drug release throughout the cell cycle and in vivo biodistribution and biocompatibility with low dose drug therapy (200 µg/mL) and low toxicity effect. This system can directly track in real-time the delivery and release of an anticancer drug (mitoxantrone, MTX) from gold …

Assessing Stress Responses To Atmospheric Cold Plasma Exposure Using Escherichia Coli Knock Out Mutants, Lu Han, Daniela Boehm, Sonal Patil, Patrick J. Cullen, Paula Bourke

Articles

Aim: This study investigated the effect of Atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) exposure induced stress on microbial inactivation patterns and the regulation of genes involved in the microbial stress response in conjunction with key processing parameters of exposure time and post treatment storage time.

Methods and Results: Cell suspensions of Escherichia coli BW 25113 and its isogenic knock-out mutants in rpoS, soxR, soxS, oxyR and dnaK genes were treated with high voltage ACP in a sealed package for 1, 3 and 5 min followed by 0, 1 and 24 h post-treatment storage. ROS densities and colony formation were …

In Vitro Monitoring Of Time And Dose Dependent Cytotoxicity Of Aminated Nanoparticles Using Raman Spectroscopy, Esen Efeoglu, Alan Casey, Hugh Byrne

Articles

No abstract provided.

Proceedings 26th Polar Libraries Colloquy Mapping Change: Chitduug Gha Nen' Ch'etnetl'edz, Daria O. Carle, Marvin Falk, Bev Ager, Stéfano Biondo, Joë Bouchard, Marcel Brannemann, Sandy Campbell, Andrew Gray, Gloria Hicks, Laura J. Kissel, Ulyana Koratkova, Peter Lund, Shannon C. Vossepoel, Ali Shiri, Dinesh Rathi, Cathy Cockney, Sharon Farnel, Elaine Maloney, Robyn Stobbs, Susanna Parikka, Shelly Sommer, Sharon Tahirkheli, Maribeth S. Murray, Steve Liang, James P. Badger, Bindu Panikkar, Byron Chu, Sandy Campell, Heidi Mccann

Articles

Published July 2023 by the University of Alaska Anchorage, UAA/APU Consortium Library, and edited by Daria O. Carle. Copyright in individual papers is held by the contributors. A digital copy of this publication can be found at https://polarlibraries.org/colloquy-proceedings/ and in ScholarWorks, the University of Alaska’s Institutional Repository, https://scholarworks.alaska.edu/. A copy of the 2016 Colloquy program is also available at https://polarlibraries.org/colloquy-proceedings/. Further information on the Polar Libraries Colloquy, including details of membership and upcoming conferences, is available at https://polarlibraries.org

Spectroscopic Studies Of Anthracyclines: Structural Characterization And In Vitro Tracking, Zeineb Farhane, Hugh Byrne, Malgorzata Baranska

Articles

A broad spectroscopic characterization, using ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) and Fourier transform infrared absorption as well as Raman scattering, of two commonly used anthracyclines antibiotics (DOX) daunorubicin (DNR), their epimers (EDOX, EDNR) and ten selected analogs is presented. The paper serves as a comprehensive spectral library of UV-vis, IR and Raman spectra of anthracyclines in the solid state and in solution. The particular advantage of Raman spectroscopy for the measurement and analysis of individual antibiotics is demonstrated. Raman spectroscopy can be used to monitor the in vitro uptake and distribution of the drug in cells, using both 488 nm and 785 nm …

The Positive Psychology Of Maritime Health, Joanne Mcveigh, Malcolm Mclachlan, Bill Kavanagh

Articles

The remote, isolated, confined, and safety-critical environment of seafaring exposes seafarers to a very specific assortment of stressors. Research suggests that seafarers as a professional group are amongst those at high risk for stress and associated mental health conditions. This article explores positive psychology as an approach to supporting wellbeing at sea. Positive psychology may support health, positive attitudes and productive work behaviour; however it cannot and should not be employed as a means of inoculating seafarers against the negative consequences of fundamentally unreasonable work practices. Rather, positive psychology can help seafarers thrive in an overall context that recognises and …

Developmental Jurisprudence, Emily Buss

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No abstract provided.

Dietary Nitrate Increases Exercise Tolerance In Patients With Non-Ischemic, Dilated Cardiomyopathy-A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Trial., Conor Kerley, James O'Neill, Venu Reddy Bijjam, Ciara Blaine, Philip James, Liam Cormican

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No abstract provided.

Informant Witnesses And The Risk Of Wrongful Convictions, Jessica A. Roth

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Several studies in the last two decades have revealed that false criminal informant testimony is a leading factor in wrongful convictions, along with false confessions, eyewitness misidentification, and faulty forensic science. Although a great deal more remains to be done, many jurisdictions have implemented evidence-based reforms to these last three categories of evidence. Policy about criminal informants, however, seems to be stubbornly stagnant, and relevant social science is virtually nonexistent. This Article questions the relative lack of attention to informant testimony and suggests that the dangers posed by informant testimony are both greater and different than previously thought. Unlike much …

Using Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy To Discriminate Among Water Contamination Levels In Diesel Engine Oil, Ali M. Abdul-Munaim, Marco Reuter, Oday M. Abdulmunem, Jan C. Balzer, Martin Koch, Dennis G. Watson

Articles

Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) in the range of 0.5 to 2.0 THz was evaluated for discriminating among water contamination levels (0%, 0.1%, and 0.2%) in diesel engine oil (SAE 15W-40). The absorption coefficient demonstrated potential to discriminate among the three water contamination levels with significant differences among all three levels across the 1.111 to 1.332 THz and 1.669 to 1.934 THz ranges. At each of these frequency ranges, each water contamination level was significantly different from the other two. The 0% water contamination level had the lowest absorption coefficient, while 0.2% water had the highest absorption coefficient. The refractive index …

A Comparison Of Catabolic Pathways Induced In Primary Macrophages By Pristine Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes And Pristine Graphene, Caroline More, Jennifer Mcintyre, Luke O'Neill, Hugh Byrne

Articles

Understanding the correlation between the physico-chemical properties of carbonaceous nanomaterials and how these properties impact on cells and subcelluar mechanisms is critical to their risk assessment and safe translation into newly engineered devices. Here the toxicity, uptake and catabolic response of primary human macrophages to pristine graphene (PG) and pristine single walled carbon nanotubes (pSWCNT) are explored, compared and contrasted. The nanomaterial toxicity was assessed using three complementary techniques (live-dead assay, real time impedance technique and confocal microscopic analysis), all of which indicated no signs of acute cytotoxicity in response to PG or pSWCNT. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) demonstrated that …

Biodegradable Magnesium Alloys For Orthopaedic Applications: A Review On Corrosion, Biocompatibility And Surface Modifications., Sankalp Agarwal, James Curtin, Brendan Duffy, Swarna Jaiswal

Articles

Magnesium (Mg) and its alloys have been extensively explored as potential biodegradable implant materials for orthopaedic applications (e.g. Fracture fixation). However, the rapid corrosion of Mg based alloys in physiological conditions has delayed their introduction for therapeutic applications to date. The present review focuses on corrosion, biocompatibility and surface modifications of biodegradable Mg alloys for orthopaedic applications. Initially, the corrosion behaviour of Mg alloys and the effect of alloying elements on corrosion and biocompatibility is discussed. Furthermore, the influence of polymeric deposit coatings, namely sol-gel, synthetic aliphatic polyesters and natural polymers on corrosion and biological performance of Mg and its …

Modification Of The In Vitro Uptake Mechanism And Anti-Oxidant Levels In Hacat Cells And Resultant Changes To Toxicity And Oxidative Stress Of G4 And G6 Poly (Amido Amine) Dendrimer Nanoparticles., Marcus Maher, Hugh Byrne

Articles

The mechanism of cellular uptake by endocytosis and subsequent oxidative stress has been identified as the paradigm for the toxic response of cationically surface charged nanoparticles. In an attempt to circumvent the process, the effect of increased cellular membrane permeability on the uptake mechanisms of poly (amidoamine) dendrimers generation 4 (G4) and 6 (G6) in vitro was investigated. Immortalised, non-cancerous human keratinocyte (HaCaT) cells were treated with DL-Buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine (BSO). Active uptake of the particles was monitored using fluorescence microscopy to identify and quantify endosomal activity and resultant oxidative stress, manifest as increased levels of reactive oxygen species, monitored using the …

Screening The Low Molecular Weight Fraction Of Human Serum Using Atr-Ir Spectroscopy, Franck Bonnier, Matthew J. Baker, Hugh Byrne

Articles

Vibrational spectroscopic techniques can detect small variations in molecular content, linked with disease, showing promise for screening and early diagnosis. Biological fluids, particularly blood serum, are potentially valuable for diagnosis purposes. The so-called Low Molecular Weight Fraction (LMWF) contains the associated peptidome and metabolome and has been identified as potentially the most relevant molecular population for disease-associated biomarker research. Although vibrational spectroscopy can deliver a specific chemical fingerprint of the samples, the High Molecular Weight Fraction (HMWF), composed of the most abundant serum proteins, strongly dominates the response and ultimately makes the detection of minor spectral variations a challenging task. …

Marriage Is On The Decline And Cohabitation Is On The Rise: At What Point, If Ever, Should Unmarried Partners Acquire Marital Rights?, Lawrence W. Waggoner

Articles

This article draws attention to the cultural shift in the formation of families that has been and is taking place in this country: Marriage is on the decline and cohabitation is on the rise. Part II documents this cultural shift by using recent government data to trace the decline of marriage and the rise of cohabitation. Between 2000 and 2010, the population grew by 9.71%, but the husband-and-wife households only grew by 3.7%, while the unmarried-couple households grew by 41.4%. Because of the Supreme Court's decidion in Obergefell v. Hodges, marriage is now universally available to same-sex couples. Part …

Sage Grouse Groceries: Forb Response To Piñon-Juniper Treatments, Jonathan D. Bates, Kirk W. Davies, April Hulet, Richard F. Miller, Bruce Roundy

Articles

Juniper and piñon coniferous woodlands have increased 2- to 10-fold in nine ecoregions spanning the Intermountain Region of the western United States. Control of piñon-juniper woodlands by mechanical treatments and prescribed fire are commonly applied to recover sagebrush steppe rangelands. Recently, the Sage Grouse Initiative has made conifer removal a major part of its program to reestablish sagebrush habitat for sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and other species. We analyzed data sets from previous and ongoing studies across the Great Basin characterizing cover response of perennial and annual forbs that are consumed by sage grouse to mechanical, prescribed fire, …

Defining Single Molecular Forces Required For Notch Activation Using Nano Yoyo, Farhan Chowdhury, Isaac T. S. Li, Thuy Ngo, Benjamin J. Leslie, Byoung Kim, Joshua Sokoloski, Elizabeth Weiland, Xuefeng Wang, Yann Chemla, Timothy Lohman, Taekjip Ha

Articles

Notch signaling, involved in development and tissue homeostasis, is activated at the cell-cell interface through ligand-receptor interactions. Previous studies have implicated mechanical forces in the activation of Notch receptor upon binding to its ligand. Here we aimed to determine the single molecular force required for Notch activation by developing a novel low tension gauge tether (LTGT). LTGT utilizes the low unbinding force between single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and E. coli ssDNA binding protein (SSB) (~4 pN dissociation force at 500 nm/s pulling rate). The ssDNA wraps around SSB and, upon application of force, unspools from SSB, much like the unspooling of …

The Paradoxes Of Public Philosophy, Brian Leiter

Articles

No abstract provided.

Quantification Of Hemodynamic Pulse Wave Velocity Based On A Thick Wall Multi-Layer Model For Blood Vessels, Jeffrey S. Lillie, Alexander S. Liberson, David A. Borkholder

Articles

Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is an important index of arterial hemodynamics, which lays the foundation for continuous, noninvasive blood pressure automated monitoring. The goal of this paper is to examine the accuracy of PWV prediction based on a traditional homogeneous structural model for thin-walled arterial segments. In reality arteries are described as composite heterogeneous hyperelastic structures, where the thickness dimension cannot be considered small compared to the cross section size. In this paper we present a hemodynamic fluid - structure interaction model accounting for the variation of geometry and material properties in a radial direction. The model is suitable to …

Antibacterial Derivatives Of Marine Algae: An Overview Of Pharmacological Mechanisms And Applications, Emer Shannon, Nissreen Abu-Ghannam

Articles

The marine environment is home to a taxonomically diverse ecosystem. Organisms such as algae, molluscs, sponges, corals, and tunicates have evolved to survive the high concentrations of infectious and surface-fouling bacteria that are indigenous to ocean waters. Both macroalgae (seaweeds) and microalgae (diatoms) contain pharmacologically active compounds such as phlorotannins, fatty acids, polysaccharides, peptides, and terpenes which combat bacterial invasion. The resistance of pathogenic bacteria to existing antibiotics has become a global epidemic. Marine algae derivatives have shown promise as candidates in novel, antibacterial drug discovery. The efficacy of these compounds, their mechanism of action, applications as antibiotics, disinfectants, and …

Human Mitochondrial Dna Replication Machinery And Disease., Matthew J Young, William C Copeland

Articles

The human mitochondrial genome is replicated by DNA polymerase γ in concert with key components of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) replication machinery. Defects in mtDNA replication or nucleotide metabolism cause deletions, point mutations, or depletion of mtDNA. The resulting loss of cellular respiration ultimately induces mitochondrial genetic diseases, including mtDNA depletion syndromes (MDS) such as Alpers or early infantile hepatocerebral syndromes, and mtDNA deletion disorders such as progressive external ophthalmoplegia, ataxia-neuropathy, or mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy. Here we review the current literature regarding human mtDNA replication and heritable disorders caused by genetic changes of the POLG, POLG2, Twinkle, RNASEH1, DNA2, and …

Vegetation Response To Piñon And Juniper Tree Shredding, Jordan Bybee, Bruce A. Roundy, Kert R. Young, April Hulet, Darrell B. Roundy, Leann Crook, Zachary Aanderud, Dennis L. Eggett, Nathan L. Cline

Articles

Piñon (Pinus spp.) and juniper (Juniperus spp.) expansion and infilling in sagebrush (Artemisia L.) steppe communities can lead to high-severity fire and annual weed dominance. To determine vegetation response to fuel reduction by tree mastication (shredding) or seeding and then shredding, we measured cover for shrub and herbaceous functional groups on shredded and adjacent untreated areas on 44 sites in Utah. We used mixed model analysis of covariance to determine significant differences among ecological site type (expansion and tree climax) and treatments across a range of pretreatment tree cover as the covariate. Although expansion and tree climax …

Evaluation Of Cytotoxicity Profile And Intracellular Localisation Of Doxorubicin-Loaded Chitosan Nanoparticles, Gabriele Dadalt Souto, Zeineb Farhane, Esen Efeoglu, Alan Casey, Jennifer Mcintyre, Hugh Byrne

Articles

In the emerging field of nanomedicine, targeted delivery of nanoparticle encapsulated active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) is seen as a potential significant development, promising improved pharmacokinetics and reduced side effects. In this context, understanding the cellular uptake of the nanoparticles and subsequent subcellular distribution of the API is of critical importance. Doxorubicin (DOX) was encapsulated within chitosan nanoparticles to investigate its intracellular delivery in A549 cells in vitro. Unloaded (CS-TPP) and doxorubicin-loaded (DOX-CS-TPP) chitosan nanoparticles were characterised for size (473±41 nm), polydispersity index (0.3±0.2), zeta potential (34±4 mV), drug content (76±7 µM) and encapsulation efficiency (95±1%). The cytotoxic response to …