Digital Commons Network^™

Examining Inclusive Programming In A Middle School Library: A Case Study Of Adolescents Who Are Differently- And Typically-Able, Clayton A. Copeland, Karen W. Gavigan Dr.

Faculty Publications

Numerous national and international studies have shown the importance of school libraries and librarians in students’ educations, including literacy skill development and academic achievement. However, published research investigating school library accessibility and services from the perspectives of students who are differently-able are extremely limited, as are studies of inclusive library programming, or programming serving both typically-able and differently-able students. This case study examines inclusive library programming with adolescents in a middle school library. Findings indicate that the impact of inclusive school library programming was meaningful and often extended beyond the library’s walls. Inclusive library programming resulted in skill development among …

A Noise Delivery System For Multi-Animal Multi-Level Whole Body Ototoxicity Studies, John E. Stubbs, Jeremy M. Slagley, James E. Reboulet

Faculty Publications

The Naval Medical Research Unit Dayton (NAMRU-D) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, in conjunction with the U.S. Air Force, studied ototoxic effects of JP-8 in rats. NAMRU-D used a multi-chamber whole body exposure facility for up to 96 test animals and 32 control animals at different exposure levels. The objective was to design a noise delivery system that could provide a white noise source one octave band wide, centered at 8 kHz frequency, delivered from outside the exposure chambers. Sound pressure levels were required to be within ±2 dB at all exposure points within each chamber and within ±2 …

Old Testament Principles Relevant To Consensual Homoerotic Activity - Part 2, Roy E. Gane

Faculty Publications

This, the second part of a three-part study, seeks to identify principles in the Old Testament relevant to the relationship between God’s community of faith and individuals who engage in sexual activity outside (heterosexual) marriage. My primary focus is on mutually consensual homoerotic activity as practiced within the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) community.

Processing Implicit Control: Evidence From Reading Times, Jeffrey Jack Green, Michael Mccourt, Ellen Lau, Alexander Williams

Faculty Publications

Sentences such as “The ship was sunk to collect the insurance” exhibit an unusual form of anaphora, implicit control, where neither anaphor nor antecedent is audible. The non-finite reason clause has an understood subject, PRO, that is anaphoric; here it may be understood as naming the agent of the event of the host clause. Yet since the host is a short passive, this agent is realized by no audible dependent. The putative antecedent to PRO is therefore implicit, which it normally cannot be. What sorts of representations subserve the comprehension of this dependency? Here we present four self-paced reading time …

Improving Healthspan Via Changes In Gut Microbiota And Fermentation, Michael J. Keenan, Maria L. Marco, Donald K. Ingram, Roy J. Martin

Faculty Publications

Dietary resistant starch impact on intestinal microbiome and improving healthspan is the topic of this review. In the elderly population, dietary fiber intake is lower than recommended. Dietary resistant starch as a source of fiber produces a profound change in gut microbiota and fermentation in animal models of aging. Dietary resistant starch has the potential for improving healthspan in the elderly through multiple mechanisms as follows: (1) enhancing gut microbiota profile and production of short-chain fatty acids, (2) improving gut barrier function, (3) increasing gut peptides that are important in glucose homeostasis and lipid metabolism, and (4) mimicking many of …

Modis-Derived Spatiotemporal Changes Of Major Lake Surface Areas In Arid Xinjiang, China, 2000–2014, Qingting Li, Linlin Lu, Cuizhen Wang, Yingkui Li, Yue Sui, Huadong Guo

Faculty Publications

Inland water bodies, which are critical freshwater resources for arid and semi-arid areas, are very sensitive to climate change and human disturbance. In this paper, we derived a time series of major lake surface areas across Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), China, based on an eight-day MODIS time series in 500 m resolution from 2000 to 2014. A classification approach based on water index and dynamic threshold selection was first developed to accommodate varied spectral features of water pixels at different temporal steps. The overall classification accuracy for a MODIS-derived water body is 97% compared to a water body derived …

Loss Of Glycosaminoglycan Receptor Binding After Mosquito Cell Passage Reduces Chikungunya Virus Infectivity, Dhiraj Acharya, Amber M. Paul, John F. Anderson, Faqing Huang, Fengwei Bai

Faculty Publications

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-transmitted alphavirus that can cause fever and chronic arthritis in humans. CHIKV that is generated in mosquito or mammalian cells differs in glycosylation patterns of viral proteins, which may affect its replication and virulence. Herein, we compare replication, pathogenicity, and receptor binding of CHIKV generated in Vero cells (mammal) or C6/36 cells (mosquito) through a single passage. We demonstrate that mosquito cell-derived CHIKV (CHIKV_mos) has slower replication than mammalian cell-derived CHIKV (CHIKV_vero), when tested in both human and murine cell lines. Consistent with this, CHIKV_mos infection in both cell lines …

Identification Of The Substrate Access Portal Of 5-Lipoxygenase, Sunayana Mitra, Sue G. Bartlett, Marcia E. Newcomer

Faculty Publications

© 2015 American Chemical Society. The overproduction of inflammatory lipid mediators derived from arachidonic acid contributes to asthma and cardiovascular diseases, among other pathologies. Consequently, the enzyme that initiates the synthesis of pro-inflammatory leukotrienes, 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX), is a target for drug design. The crystal structure of 5-LOX revealed a fully encapsulated active site; thus the point of substrate entry is not known. We asked whether a structural motif, a "cork" present in 5-LOX but absent in other mammalian lipoxygenases, might be ejected to allow substrate access. Our results indicate that reduction of cork volume facilitates access to the active site. …

Ethanol Enhances Arsenic-Induced Cyclooxygenase-2 Expression Via Both Nfat And Nf-Κb Signalings In Colorectal Cancer Cells, Lei Wang, John Andrew Hitron, James T.F. Wise, Young Ok Son, Ram Vinod Roy, Donghern Kim, Jin Dai, Poyil Pratheeshkumar, Zhuo Zhang, Mei Xu, Jia Luo, Xianglin Shi

Faculty Publications

Arsenic is a known carcinogen to humans, and chronic exposure to environmental arsenic is a worldwide health concern. As a dietary factor, ethanol carries a well-established risk for malignancies, but the effects of co-exposure to arsenic and ethanol on tumor development are not well understood. In the present study, we hypothesized that ethanol would enhance the function of an environmental carcinogen such as arsenic through increase in COX-2 expression. Our in vitro results show that ethanol enhanced arsenic-induced COX-2 expression. We also show that the increased COX-2 expression associates with intracellular ROS generation, up-regulated AKT signaling, with activation of both …

Validation Of Accelerometer Thresholds And Inclinometry For Measurement Of Sedentary Behavior In Young Adult University Students, Neil E. Peterson, John R. Sirard, Pamela A. Kulbok, Mark D. Deboer, Jeanne M. Erickson

Faculty Publications

Sedentary behavior (SB) is a major contributing factor to obesity and significant morbidity and mortality in adolescence and into adulthood, yet measuring SB is difficult. The purpose of this study was to assess the degree of construct validity of the ActiGraph GT3X+ inclinometer function and accelerometry metrics in objectively measuring SB and physical activity in young adult university students while performing semi-structured activities: lying, sitting, reading, playing seated video gaming, video watching, seated conversation, standing, stationary biking, and walking. These nine activities were objectively assessed using inclinometry and four output metrics from the ActiGraph based on the axis used to …

Interannual And Subdecadal Variability In The Nutrient Geochemistry Of The Cariaco Basin, Mary I. Scranton, Gordon T. Taylor, Robert Thunell, Claudia R. Benitez-Nelson, Frank Muller-Karger, Kent Fanning, Laura Lorenzoni, Enrique Montes, Ramon Varela, Yrene Astor

Faculty Publications

The CARIACO Ocean Time Series program has made monthly measurements of oxygen, nutrients, and carbon system parameters (∑CO2, alkalinity, pH) in the Cariaco Basin since 1996. At the same time, sediment traps have collected settling particles at four to five depths ranging from 150 to 1,200 m. The depth of the transition from oxic to anoxic conditions has fluctuated dramatically over the time series due to changes in the occurrence of Caribbean water intrusions into the deep basin. Nutrient concentrations in the deep basin have increased steadily with time in a proportion reflective of the elemental ratios in the settling …

New Perspectives On An Iconic Landscape From Comparative International Long-Term Ecological Research, Evelyn E. Gaiser, Elizabeth P. Anderson, Edward Castañeda-Moya, Ligia Collado-Vides, James W.F. Ourqurean, Michael R. Heithaus, Rudolf Jaffé, David Lagomasino, Nicholas J. Oehm, Rene M. Price, Victor H. Rivera-Monroy, Rinku Roy Chowdhury, Tiffany G. Troxler

Faculty Publications

Iconic ecosystems like the Florida Coastal Everglades can serve as sentinels of environmental change from local to global scales. This characteristic can help inform general theory about how and why ecosystems transform, particularly if distinctive ecosystem properties are studied over long time scales and compared to those of similar ecosystems elsewhere. Here we review the ways in which long-term, comparative, international research has provided perspectives on iconic features of the Everglades that have, in turn, informed general ecosystem paradigms. Studies in other comparable wetlands from the Caribbean to Australia have shed light on distinctive and puzzling aspects such as the …

The Mechanosensory Lateral Line Is Used To Assess Opponents And Mediate Aggressive Behaviors During Territorial Interactions In An African Cichlid Fish, Julie M. Butler, Karen P. Maruska

Faculty Publications

© 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd. Fish must integrate information from multiple sensory systems to mediate adaptive behaviors. Visual, acoustic and chemosensory cues provide contextual information during social interactions, but the role of mechanosensory signals detected by the lateral line system during aggressive behaviors is unknown. The aim of this study was first to characterize the lateral line system of the African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni and second to determine the role of mechanoreception during agonistic interactions. The A. burtoni lateral line system is similar to that of many other cichlid fishes, containing lines of superficial neuromasts …

Phylogenetic Signals In Host-Parasite Associations For Neotropical Bats And Nearctic Desert Rodents, Steven J. Presley, Tad Dallas, Brian T. Klingbeil, Michael R. Willig

Faculty Publications

© 2015 The Linnean Society of London. Hosts and their parasites have strong ecological and evolutionary relationships, with hosts representing habitats and resources for parasites. In the present study, we use approaches developed to evaluate the statistical dependence of species trait values on phylogenetic relationships to determine whether host-parasite relationships (i.e. parasite infections) are contingent on host phylogeny. If host-parasite relationships are contingent on the ability of hosts to provide habitat or resources to parasites, and if host phylogeny is an effective surrogate for among-host variation in habitat and resource quality, host-parasite relationships should evince phylogenetic signals (i.e. be contingent …

Host Promiscuity In Symbiont Associations Can Influence Exotic Legume Establishment And Colonization Of Novel Ranges, Metha M. Klock, Luke G. Barrett, Peter H. Thrall, Kyle E. Harms

Faculty Publications

© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Aim: Invasive Acacia species have negatively impacted natural areas in multiple regions around the globe. Almost 400 Acacia species have been introduced outside their native ranges in Australia; approximately 6% have become invasive, 12% are naturalized, and 82% have no record of naturalization or invasion. This variation in invasiveness provides a comparative framework in which to examine mechanisms that either promote or constrain establishment and colonization of species in novel regions. Here, we experimentally examine the role that the legume-rhizobia symbiosis plays in the differential invasiveness of acacias introduced outside their native Australian …

Knockdown Of Brm And Baf170, Components Of Chromatin Remodeling Complex, Facilitates Reprogramming Of Somatic Cells, Zongliang Jiang, Yong Tang, Xueming Zhao, Mingyuan Zhang, David M. Donovan, Xiuchun Cindy Tian

Faculty Publications

© Copyright 2015, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 2015. The SWI/SNF (SWItch/Sucrose NonFermentable or BAF, Brg/Brahma-associated factors) complexes are epigenetic modifiers of chromatin structure and undergo progressive changes in subunit composition during cellular differentiation. For example, in embryonic stem cells, esBAF contains Brg1 and Baf155, while their homologs, Brm and Baf170, are present in BAF of somatic cells. In this study, we sought to determine whether Brm and Baf170 play any roles in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) reprogramming by using shRNA-mediated knockdown studies in the mouse model. We found that knocking down Brm during early, mid, and late stages (days …

Implementing Student-Produced Video Projects In Language Courses, Lee A. Forester, Evelyn Meyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Insight Into The Functional Role Of Thioredoxin Reductase, A Selenoprotein, In Maintaining Normal Native Microbiota In The Gulf Coast Tick (Ambylomma Maculatum), Khemraj Budachetri, Shahid Karim

Faculty Publications

Tick selenoproteins have been associated with antioxidant activity in ticks. Thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), also a selenoprotein, belongs to the pyridine nucleotide‐disulphide oxidoreductase family of proteins and is an important antioxidant. Molecular interactions between native microbiota and tick hosts have barely been investigated to date. In this study, we determined the functional role of TrxR in tick feeding and in maintenance of the native microbial community. TrxR transcript levels remained high and microbial load was reduced throughout tick attachment to the vertebrate host. RNA interference (RNAi) showed that depletion of TrxR activity did not interfere with tick haematophagy or phenotype but …

Copyright Policy And The Problem Of Generalizing, Eva E. Subotnik

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

Today we have heard a variety of concerns expressed by professional authors, artists and performers. But one of the toughest aspects of determining how to make the copyright system work better is generalizing about what is and is not working. In these brief remarks, I would like to identify three areas that demonstrate this difficulty.

At the outset, a disclaimer: I took the animating theme of this Symposium to be the improvement of the financial stake of individual authors in some kind of direct way. This mode of analysis should be distinguished from other approaches, equally valid, that would …

New Testament Precedents To The Practice Of Contextualization In Contemporary Mission, Boubakar Sanou

Faculty Publications

Although every culture needs to be transformed by the Spirit and the Word of God (Pierson, 2009:257), it is still essential that the communication of the gospel, in whatever setting, seeks to make the gospel concepts and ideas relevant to people within their own cultures (Hiebert, 1985:55). However, the need to be culturally appropriate always should be closely coupled with an in-depth analysis of the Scriptures. Because “people can only understand that which is part of their cultural frame of reference” (Rogers, 2004:65), the presentation of the gospel must be both biblically sound and culturally relevant in order to be …

Taxonomy Of The Snowden Disclosures, Margaret Hu

Faculty Publications

This brief Essay offers a proposed taxonomy of the Snowden Disclosures. An informed discussion on the legality and constitutionality of the emerging cybersurveillance and mass dataveillance programs revealed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden necessitates the furtherance of cybersurveillance aptitude. This Essay contends, therefore, that a detailed examination of the Snowden disclosures requires not just a careful inquiry into the legal and constitutional framework that guides the oversight of these programs. A close interrogation also requires a careful inquiry into the big data architecture that guides them. This inquiry includes examining the underlying theories of data science and the rationales …

The Chief And The Church: Reflections From A Business Educator, Annetta M. Gibson

Faculty Publications

In this article I distinguish between “Church” with “C” and “church” with small “c.” Recently, a committee composed of several Seventh-day Adventist church employees—some from the General Conference and some from academia—was reviewing various agenda items when the chair noted that the General Conference had hired an individual to serve as “CIO”—Chief Information Officer. Questions were immediately raised: Why is the Church using business titles such as “Chief Financial Officer”? Why the emphasis on “Chief”? Aren’t we becoming more like a business when we use business titles and terms?

Evidence For The Convergence Model: The Emergence Of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5n1) In Viet Nam, Sumeet Saksena, Jefferson Fox, Michael Epprecht, Chinh C. Tran, Duong H. Nong, James H. Spencer, Lam Nguyen, Melissa L. Finucane, Vien D. Tran, Bruce A. Wilcox

Faculty Publications

Building on a series of ground breaking reviews that first defined and drew attention to emerging infectious diseases (EID), the 'convergence model' was proposed to explain the multifactorial causality of disease emergence. The model broadly hypothesizes disease emergence is driven by the co-incidence of genetic, physical environmental, ecological, and social factors. We developed and tested a model of the emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 based on suspected convergence factors that are mainly associated with land-use change. Building on previous geospatial statistical studies that identified natural and human risk factors associated with urbanization, we added new factors to …

Differential Effects Of Munc18s On Multiple Degranulation-Relevant Trans-Snare Complexes, Hao Xu, Matthew Grant Arnold, Sushmitha Vijay Kumar

Faculty Publications

Mast cell exocytosis, which includes compound degranulation and vesicle-associated piecemeal degranulation, requires multiple Q- and R- SNAREs. It is not clear how these SNAREs pair to form functional trans-SNARE complexes and how these trans-SNARE complexes are selectively regulated for fusion. Here we undertake a comprehensive examination of the capacity of two Q-SNARE subcomplexes (syntaxin3/SNAP-23 and syntaxin4/SNAP-23) to form fusogenic trans-SNARE complexes with each of the four granule-borne R-SNAREs (VAMP2, 3, 7, 8). We report the identification of at least six distinct trans-SNARE complexes under enhanced tethering conditions: i) VAMP2/syntaxin3/SNAP-23, ii) VAMP2/syntaxin4/SNAP-23, iii) VAMP3/syntaxin3/SNAP-23, iv) VAMP3/syntaxin4/SNAP-23, v) VAMP8/syntaxin3/SNAP-23, and vi) VAMP8/syntaxin4/SNAP-23. …

Genome-Wide Transcriptome Analysis Of Cotton (Gossypium Hirsutum L.) Identifies Candidate Gene Signatures In Response To Aflatoxin Producing Fungus Aspergillus Flavus, Renesh Bedre, Kanniah Rajasekaran, Venkata Ramanarao Mangu, Luis Eduardo Sanchez Timm, Deepak Bhatnagar, Niranjan Baisakh

Faculty Publications

Aflatoxins are toxic and potent carcinogenic metabolites produced from the fungi Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus. Aflatoxins can contaminate cottonseed under conducive preharvest and postharvest conditions. United States federal regulations restrict the use of aflatoxin contaminated cottonseed at >20 ppb for animal feed. Several strategies have been proposed for controlling aflatoxin contamination, and much success has been achieved by the application of an atoxigenic strain of A. flavus in cotton, peanut and maize fields. Development of cultivars resistant to aflatoxin through overexpression of resistance associated genes and/or knocking down aflatoxin biosynthesis of A. flavus will be an effective strategy for …

In Vivo Capture And Label-Free Detection Of Early Metastatic Cells, Samira M. Azarin, Ji Yi, Robert Michael Gower, Brian A. Aguado, Megan E. Sullivan, Ashley G. Goodman, Eric J. Jiang, Shreyas S. Rao, Yinying Ren, Susan L. Tucker, Vadim Backman, Jacqueline S. Jeruss, Lonnie D Shea

Faculty Publications

Breast cancer is a leading cause of death for women, with mortality resulting from metastasis. Metastases are often detected once tumour cells affect the function of solid organs, with a high disease burden limiting effective treatment. Here we report a method for the early detection of metastasis using an implanted scaffold to recruit and capture metastatic cells in vivo, which achieves high cell densities and reduces the tumour burden within solid organs 10-fold. Recruitment is associated with infiltration of immune cells, which include Gr1hiCD11b+cells. We identify metastatic cells in the scaffold through a label-free detection system using inverse spectroscopic …

Oat Consumption Reduced Intestinal Fat Deposition And Improved Health Span In Caenorhabditis Elegans Model, Chenfei Gao, Zhanguo Gao, Frank L. Greenway, Jeffrey H. Burton, William D. Johnson, Michael J. Keenan, Frederick M. Enright, Roy J. Martin, Yi Fang Chu, Jolene Zheng

Faculty Publications

© 2015 The Authors. In addition to their fermentable dietary fiber and the soluble β-glucan fiber, oats have unique avenanthramides that have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that reduce coronary heart disease in human clinical trials. We hypothesized that oat consumption will increase insulin sensitivity, reduce body fat, and improve health span in Caenorhabditis elegans through a mechanism involving the daf-2 gene, which codes for the insulin/insulin-like growth factor-1-like receptor, and that hyperglycemia will attenuate these changes. Caenorhabditis elegans wild type (N2) and the null strains sir-2.1, daf-16, and daf-16/daf-2 were fed Escherichia coli (OP50) and oat flakes (0.5%, 1.0%, or …

Herpes Simplex Vaccines: Prospects Of Live-Attenuated Hsv Vaccines To Combat Genital And Ocular Infections, Brent Stanfield, Konstantin Gus Kousoulas

Faculty Publications

© 2015, Springer International Publishing AG. Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and its closely related herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) cause important clinical manifestations in humans including acute ocular disease and genital infections. These viruses establish latency in the trigeminal ganglionic and dorsal root neurons, respectively. Both viruses are widespread among humans and can frequently reactivate from latency causing disease. Currently, there are no vaccines available against herpes simplex viral infections. However, a number of promising vaccine approaches are being explored in preclinical investigations with few progressing to early-phase clinical trials. Consensus research findings suggest that robust humoral …

Can We Identify Genes With Increased Phylogenetic Reliability?, V P. Doyle, R E. Young, G J. Naylor, J M. Brown, V P. Doyle

Faculty Publications

Topological heterogeneity among gene trees is widely observed in phylogenomic analyses and some of this variation is likely caused by systematic error in gene tree estimation. Systematic error can be mitigated by improving models of sequence evolution to account for all evolutionary processes relevant to each gene or identifying those genes whose evolution best conforms to existing models. However, the best method for identifying such genes is not well established. Here, we ask if filtering genes according to their clock-likeness or posterior predictive effect size (PPES, an inference-based measure of model violation) improves phylogenetic reliability and congruence. We compared these …

Can We Identify Genes With Increased Phylogenetic Reliability?, V P. Doyle, R E. Young, G J. Naylor, J M. Brown, V P. Doyle

Faculty Publications

Topological heterogeneity among gene trees is widely observed in phylogenomic analyses and some of this variation is likely caused by systematic error in gene tree estimation. Systematic error can be mitigated by improving models of sequence evolution to account for all evolutionary processes relevant to each gene or identifying those genes whose evolution best conforms to existing models. However, the best method for identifying such genes is not well established. Here, we ask if filtering genes according to their clock-likeness or posterior predictive effect size (PPES, an inference-based measure of model violation) improves phylogenetic reliability and congruence. We compared these …