Digital Commons Network^™

Reduced Adipose Tissue Oxygenation In Human Obesity Evidence For Rarefaction, Macrophage Chemotaxis, And Inflammation Without An Angiogenic Response, Magdalena Pasarica, Olga R. Sereda, Leanne M. Redman, Diana C. Albarado, David T. Hymel, Laura E. Roan, Jennifer C. Rood, David H. Burk, Steven R. Smith

Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE-Based on rodent studies, we examined the hypothesis that increased adipose tissue (AT) mass in obesity without an adequate support of vascularization might lead to hypoxia, macrophage infiltration, and inflammation. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS-Oxygen partial pressure (AT pO 2) and AT temperature in abdominal AT (9 lean and 12 overweight/obese men and women) was measured by direct insertion of a polarographic Clark electrode. Body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and insulin sensitivity was measured by hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp. Abdominal subcutaneous tissue was used for staining, quantitative RT-PCR, and chemokine secretion assay. RESULTS-AT pO 2 was lower in overweight/obese subjects …

Semigroup Closures Of Finite Rank Symmetric Inverse Semigroups, Oleg Gutik, Jimmie Lawson, Dušan Repovš

Faculty Publications

We introduce the notion of semigroup with a tight ideal series and investigate their closures in semitopological semigroups, particularly inverse semigroups with continuous inversion. As a corollary we show that the symmetric inverse semigroup of finite transformations I λn of the rank ≤ n is algebraically closed in the class of (semi)topological inverse semigroups with continuous inversion. We also derive related results about the nonexistence of (partial) compactifications of classes of semigroups that we consider. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Developing A Robust Geologic Conceptual Model Using Pseudo 3-D P-Wave Seismic Reflection Data, Adrian Addison, Michael G. Waddell, Camelia C. Knapp, Duke T. Brantley, John M. Shafer

Faculty Publications

As part of a multiscale hydrogeophysical and modeling study, a pseudo three-dimensional (3-D) seismic surveywas conducted over a contaminant plume at P area, Savannah River site (South Carolina), to enhance the existing geologicmodel by resolving uncertainties in the lithostratigraphic sequence. The geometry of the dissolved phase trichloroethylene plume, based on initial site characterization, appears to be confined to a narrow corridor within the Eocene sand overlying a clay unit approximately 25m(82 ft) below land surface. Processing the seismic data as a 3-D data volume instead of a series of closely spaced two-dimensional lines allowed for better interpretation of the target …

Physical And Social Contexts Of Physical Activities Among Adolescent Girls, Joanne Kuo, Kathryn H. Schmitz, Kelly R. Evenson, Thomas L. Mckenzie, Jared B. Jobe, Ariane L. Rung, Joel Gittelsohn, Russell R. Pate

Faculty Publications

Background: With limited opportunities for physical activity during school hours, it is important to understand the contexts of physical activities done outside of school time. Given the importance of physical and social aspects of environments, the purpose of this study was to describe where and with whom girls participate in physical activities outside of school. Methods: Participants were 1925 sixth-grade girls in the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls (TAAG). At baseline, they completed a 3-day physical activity recall (3DPAR), reporting the main activity performed during 30-minute intervals and the physical and social contexts of physical activities. Results: The most …

Network Security Using Self Organized Multi-Agent Swarms, Eric M. Holloway, Gary B. Lamont, Gilbert L. Peterson

Faculty Publications

Computer network cyber-security is a very serious concern in many commercial, industrial, and military environments. This paper proposes a new computer network security approach defined by self organized agent swarms (SOMAS) which provides a novel computer network security management framework based upon desired overall system behaviors. The SOMAS structure evolves based upon the partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP) formal model and the more complex interactive-POMDP and decentralized-POMDP models. Example swarm specific and network based behaviors are formalized and simulated. This paper illustrates through various statistical testing techniques, the significance of this proposed SOMAS architecture.

Biosynthesis Of The Caenorhabditis Elegans Dauer Pheromone, Rebecca A. Butcher, Justin R. Ragains, Weiqing Li, Gary Ruvkun, Jon Clardy, Yi Mak Ho

Faculty Publications

To sense its population density and to trigger entry into the stress-resistant dauer larval stage, Caenorhabditis elegans uses the dauer pheromone, which consists of ascaroside derivatives with short, fatty acid-like side chains. Although the dauer pheromone has been studied for 25 years, its biosynthesis is completely uncharacterized. The daf-22 mutant is the only known mutant defective in dauer pheromone production. Here, we show that daf-22 encodes a homolog of human sterol carrier protein SCPx, which catalyzes the final step in peroxisomal fatty acid β-oxidation. We also show that dhs-28, which encodes a homolog of the human D-bifunctional protein that acts …

Desiccation Survival In An Antarctic Nematode: Molecular Analysis Using Expressed Sequenced Tags, Byron J. Adams, Bishwo N. Adhikari, Diana H. Wall

Faculty Publications

Background: Nematodes are the dominant soil animals in Antarctic Dry Valleys and are capable of surviving desiccation and freezing in an anhydrobiotic state. Genes induced by desiccation stress have been successfully enumerated in nematodes; however we have little knowledge of gene regulation by Antarctic nematodes which can survive multiple environmental stresses. To address this problem we investigated the genetic responses of a nematode species, Plectus murrayi, that is capable of tolerating Antarctic environmental extremes, in particular desiccation and freezing. In this study, we provide the first insight into the desiccation induced transcriptome of an Antarctic nematode through cDNA library construction …

Recombinant Vesicular Stomatitis Virus-Based West Nile Vaccine Elicits Strong Humoral And Cellular Immune Responses And Protects Mice Against Lethal Challenge With The Virulent West Nile Virus Strain Lsu-Ar01, Arun V. Iyer, Bapi Pahar, Marc J. Boudreaux, Nobuko Wakamatsu, Alma F. Roy, Vladimir N. Chouljenko, Abolghasem Baghian, Cristian Apetrei, Preston A. Marx, Konstantin G. Kousoulas

Faculty Publications

Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) has been extensively utilized as a viral vector system for the induction of protective immune responses against a variety of pathogens. We constructed recombinant VSVs specifying either the Indiana or Chandipura virus G glycoprotein and expressing the West Nile virus (WNV) envelope (E) glycoprotein. Mice were intranasally vaccinated using a prime (Indiana)-boost (Chandipura) immunization approach and challenged with the virulent WNV-LSU-AR01. Ninety-percent (9 of 10) of the vaccinated mice survived as compared to 10% of the mock-vaccinated mice after WNV lethal challenge. Histopathological examination of brain tissues revealed neuronal necrosis in mock-vaccinated mice but not in …

From Newspaper Row To Times Square: The Dispersal And Contested Identity Of An Imagined Journalistic Community, Dale L. Cressman Phd

Faculty Publications

Until the early twentieth century, Park Row was synonymous with New York newspapers. Of the newspapers that left Park Row, The New York Times was notable for having established a geographic landmark that was identified with the newspaper. In fact, by 1906, Times Square had replaced Park Row as a place for New Yorkers to get election night news or to celebrate New Year's Eve. Nevertheless, Times Square did not remain associated with its newspaper namesake, and today a successor to the "zipper" is the last physical reminder of the paper's presence in this area of New York City. Drawing …

Mycobacterium Smegmatis Histone-Like Protein Hlp Is Nucleoid Associated: Research Letter, Anirban Mukherjee, Patrick J. Dimario, Anne Grove

Faculty Publications

Eubacteria encode proteins that are required for nucleoid organization and for regulation of DNA-dependent processes. Of these histone-like proteins (Hlps), Escherichia coli HU has been shown to associate with the nucleoid and to regulate processes such as DNA repair and recombination. In contrast, the divergent HU homologs encoded by mycobacteria have been variously identified as involved in the physiology of dormancy, in the response to cold shock, or as laminin-binding proteins associated with the cell envelope. We show here, contrary to previous reports that the HU-related Hlp from Mycobacterium smegmatis associates with the nucleoid in vivo. Using indirect fluorescent antibody …

Of Trolls, Davids, Goliaths, And Kings: Narratives And Evidence In The Litigation Of High-Tech Patents, Colleen V. Chien

Faculty Publications

While each patent dispute is unique, most fit the profile of one of a limited number of patent litigation stories. A dispute between an independent inventor and a large company, for instance, is often cast in "David v. Goliath" terms. When two large companies fight over patents, in contrast, they are said to be playing the "sport of kings." Some corporations engage in "defensive patenting" in order to deter others from suing them. Patent licensing and enforcement entities who sue have been labeled "trolls." Finally, observers of the patent system call the use of patent litigation to impose or exploit …

Correlating Threshold Power With Free-Space Bandwidth For Low-Directivity Antennas, Abu T.M. Sayem, Mark G. Douglas, Gernot Schmidt, Ben Petric, Mohammod Ali

Faculty Publications

This paper develops a threshold power rationale that can be used to demonstrate inherent compliance for portable wireless devices with specific absorption rate (SAR) limits over the 300-6000-MHz frequency range. This is achieved first by understanding the relationship between basic antenna parameters (bandwidth, operating frequency, and distance to the body) and SAR. From this, an upper limit is determined for the power transmitted by a portable wireless device such that the SAR will not exceed the compliance limit. Based on the presented computational and measured data, an empirical formula is developed for the threshold power as a function of the …

Spamed: A Spam Email Detection Approach Based On Phrase Similarity, Yiu-Kai D. Ng, Maria Soledad Pera

Faculty Publications

Emails are unquestionably one of the most popular communication media these days. Not only they are fast and reliable, but also free in general. Unfortunately, a significant number of emails received by email users on a daily basis are spam. This fact is annoying, since spam emails translate into a waste of user’s time in reviewing and deleting them. In addition, spam emails consume resources, such as storage, bandwidth, and computer processing time. Many attempts have been made in the past to eradicate spam emails; however, none has been proved highly effective. In this paper, we propose a spam-email detection …

Does Television Viewing Predict Dietary Intake Five Years Later In High School Students And Young Adults?, Daheia J. Barr-Anderson, Nicole I. Larson, Melissa C. Nelson, Dianne R. Neumark-Sztainer, Mary Story

Faculty Publications

Background: Prior research has found that television viewing is associated with poor diet quality, though little is known about its long-term impact on diet, particularly during adolescence. This study examined the associations between television viewing behavior with dietary intake five years later.

Methods: Survey data, which included television viewing time and food frequency questionnaires, were analyzed for 564 middle school students (younger cohort) and 1366 high school students (older cohort) who had complete data available at Time1 (1998-1999) and five years later at Time 2 (mean age at Time 2, 17.2 ± 0.6 and 20.5 ± 0.8 years, respectively). Regression …

Aggregation Of Montmorillonite And Organic Matter In Aqueous Media Containing Artificial Seawater, Yoko Furukawa, Janet L. Watkins, Jinwook Kim, Kenneth J. Curry, Richard H. Bennett

Faculty Publications

Background

The dispersion-aggregation behaviors of suspended colloids in rivers and estuaries are affected by the compositions of suspended materials (i.e., clay minerals vs. organic macromolecules) and salinity. Laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the dispersion and aggregation mechanisms of suspended particles under simulated river and estuarine conditions. The average hydrodynamic diameters of suspended particles (representing degree of aggregation) and zeta potential (representing the electrokinetic properties of suspended colloids and aggregates) were determined for systems containing suspended montmorillonite, humic acid, and/or chitin at the circumneutral pH over a range of salinity (0 – 7.2 psu).

Results

The montmorillonite-only system increased the …

Race And Ancestry In Biomedical Research: Exploring The Challenges, Timothy Caulfield, Stephanie M. Fullerton, Sarah E. Ali-Khan, Laura Arbour, Esteban G. Burchard, Richard S. Cooper, Billie Jo Hardy, Simrat Harry, Robyn Hyde-Lay, Jonathan Kahn, Rick Kittles, Barbara A. Koenig, Sandra S.J. Lee, Michael Malinowski, Vardit Ravitsky, Pamela Sankar, Stephen W. Scherer, Béatrice Séguin, Darren Shickle, Guilherme Suarez-Kurtz, Abdallah S. Daar

Faculty Publications

The use of race in biomedical research has, for decades, been a source of social controversy. However, recent events, such as the adoption of racially targeted pharmaceuticals, have raised the profile of the race issue. In addition, we are entering an era in which genomic research is increasingly focused on the nature and extent of human genetic variation, often examined by population, which leads to heightened potential for misunderstandings or misuse of terms concerning genetic variation and race. Here, we draw together the perspectives of participants in a recent interdisciplinary workshop on ancestry and health in medicine in order to …

Structural Characterization Of The Hemophore Hasap From Pseudomonas Aeruginosa: Nmr Spectroscopy Reveals Protein-Protein Interactions Between Holo-Hasap And Hemoglobin, Aileen Y. Alontaga, Juan Carlos Rodriguez, Ernst Schönbrunn, Andreas Becker, Todd Funke, Erik T. Yukl, Takahiro Hayashi, Jordan Stobaugh, Pierre Moënne-Loccoz, Mario Rivera

Faculty Publications

Pseudomonas aeruginosa secretes a 205 residue long hemophore (full-length HasAp) that is subsequently cleaved at the C'-terminal domain to produce mainly a 184 residue long truncated HasAp that scavenges heme [Letoffé, S., Redeker, V., and Wandersman, C. (1998) Mol. Microbiol. 28, 1223-1234]. HasAp has been characterized by X-ray crystallography and in solution by NMR spectroscopy. The X-ray crystal structure of truncated HasAp revealed a polypeptide αβ fold and a ferriheme coordinated axially by His32 and Tyr75, with the side chain of His83 poised to accept a hydrogen bond from the Tyr75 phenolic acid group. NMR investigations conducted with full-length HasAp …

Monte Carlo Fast Dose Calculator For Proton Radiotherapy: Application To A Voxelized Geometry Representing A Patient With Prostate Cancer, Pablo Yepes, Sharmalee Randeniya, Phillip J. Taddei, Wayne D. Newhauser

Faculty Publications

The Monte Carlo method is used to provide accurate dose estimates in proton radiation therapy research. While it is more accurate than commonly used analytical dose calculations, it is computationally intense. The aim of this work was to characterize for a clinical setup the fast dose calculator (FDC), a Monte Carlo track-repeating algorithm based on GEANT4. FDC was developed to increase computation speed without diminishing dosimetric accuracy. The algorithm used a database of proton trajectories in water to calculate the dose of protons in heterogeneous media. The extrapolation from water to 41 materials was achieved by scaling the proton range …

The Dialectic Of Idolatry And Profanation: On Discerning The Spirit In Congregational Studies, Lois E. Malcolm

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Retrieving Martin Luther's Critical Public Theology Of Political Authority For Global Civil Society Today, Gary M. Simpson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Trinity In Theology And Philosophy: Why Jerusalem Should Work With Athens, Alan G. Padgett

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Tolerance, Democracy And Fundamentalism(S) : Challenges In Time Of Systemic Bifurcations, Guillermo C. Hansen

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Gasb Statement No. 31: Why No Controversy?, George L. Hunt

Faculty Publications

Fair value reporting of investments in the financial statements of commercial enterprises is required under FASB Statement No. 115. The standard created much controversy when issued due to provisions that changes in fair values of certain investments were recognized in the operating statement. A major concern to many organizations was the volatility these recognized, but unrealized, changes in fair value would create in reported earnings. When the GASB issued Statement No. 31 requiring fair value reporting of investments there was little controversy concerning volatility to reported earnings of governmental entities, even though the standard required much broader application of fair …

Playing [With] Multiple Roles: Readers, Authors, And Characters In "Who Is Blaise Zabini?", Anne Collins Smith

Faculty Publications

Fans who produce fan works in genres such as fiction, music, and music video take on dual roles in the process, as readers of the original canon and as creators of their own products. These roles -and more- are creatively explored in the Parselmouths' wizard rock composition "Who Is Blaise Zabini?". Like many works of fan fiction, the Parselmouths' songs move beyond a reader's ordinary role, taking on an authorial role to generate new characters and events in the Harry Potter universe. What makes this particular work unusual is that at the same time that they are adopting the roles …

Personality, Emotion And Judgment In Virtual Environments: A Theoretical Framework, Steven A. Murphy, Michael J. Hine, Nathaniel C. Lupton, John M. Zelenski

Faculty Publications

As organizations become increasingly reliant on distributive technologies, the processes that underpin the effective functioning of employees in virtual environments require systematic examination. This article provides a theoretical framework for studying personality, emotion and judgment in virtual environments. The communication media characteristics, social context, and individual traits and states are presented to portray the dynamic nature of judgment formation in a virtual environment. We argue that media characteristics, combined with personality, motivation and emergent social contexts serve to shape emotions and resultant judgments. By integrating the Information Systems (IS) and Organizational Behavior/Psychology literatures, we chart a course for research examining …

Speaking Into Silences: Autoethnography, Communication, And Applied Research, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

In 2004, two articles in the Journal of Applied Communication Research (Ashcraft & Tretheway, 2004; Goodall, 2004) celebrated the merits of auto- and narrative ethnography, methods of research grounded in lived experience and evocative modes of representation that seek to engage readers emotionally, aesthetically, ethically, and politically. Despite these and other persuasive calls for auto- and narrative ethnographic works, few have been published in communication journals. More than four years ago, JACR offered readers arguments for this kind of scholarship, yet no full-length autoethnography appeared in its pages—until now. This article, a prelude to its companion essay, “Body and Bulimia …

God, Civil Society, And Congregations As Public Moral Companions, Gary M. Simpson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Enhancing The Communication Competency Of Business Undergraduates: A Consumer Socialization Perspective, Kenneth C. Gehrt, M. O'Brien, D. Mease

Faculty Publications

Explaining how individuals acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively participate in society is often accomplished through Socialization Theory. We investigate numerous socialization agents and their relationship with the communication competency of university business majors. Communication competency (reading, writing, and verbal) was measured via both a standardized skill test and self report. Exploratory analysis was conducted upon high and low communication competency groups that were identified via cluster analysis. Our findings generally indicate the most important socialization agents are via personal interactions whereas the least important socialization agents are influencing via primarily electronic or media-based methods.

Beyond The Torture Memos: Perceptual Filters, Cultural Commitments, And Partisan Identity, Cassandra Burke Robertson

Faculty Publications

Who should face accountability for the mistreatment of prisoners in the war on terror? Five years ago, the scope of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib was first revealed; this year, the Justice Department admitted that a single suspect was waterboarded 183 times. Some at the bottom of the political hierarchy have already been convicted for their participation in prisoner abuse. Those closer to the top of the political hierarchy also find their actions subject to scrutiny, as the Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility is carrying out an investigation into the professional conduct of the lawyers who authored the …

A Trade-Off Analysis Of Energy Detectors And Partitioned Search For Primary Detection, Birsen Sirkeci-Mergen, Vishal Sawant, Robert H. Morelos-Zaragoza

Faculty Publications

Cognitive radios aim to coexist in the unused spectrum bands which are licensed to primary users without harming the primary transmission/reception. For a cognitive radio, it is important to detect the band in which the primary is operating as fast as possible and with high reliability in order to adapt its transmission. In this work, we propose P-partitioning method in combination with energy detectors for the search of the band that the primary user is operating. In the P-partitioning method, the spectrum bands are categorized into P groups and the group that the primary band belongs to is detected in …