Digital Commons Network^™

Highlights From The American Heart Association's Epi|Lifestyle 2019 Scientific Sessions, Alvaro Alonso, Madison D. Anderson, Michael P. Bancks, Sherry Ann Brown, Melissa C. Caughey, Alex R. Chang, Erin Delker, Kathryn Foti, Véronique Gingras, Michael G. Nanna, Alexander C. Razavi, Jewel Scott Phd, Rn, Fnp-C, Elizabeth Selvin, Catherine Tcheandjieu, Alvin G. Thomas, Ruth Alma N. Turkson-Ocran, Allison Webel, Deborah R. Young, Bailey M. Debarmore

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Reproductive Capacity Evolves In Response To Ecology Through Common Changes In Cell Number In Hawaiian Drosophila, Didem P. Sarikaya, Samuel H. Church, Laura P. Lagomarsino, Karl N. Magnacca, Steven L. Montgomery, Donald K. Price, Kenneth Y. Kaneshiro, Cassandra G. Extavour

Faculty Publications

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd Lifetime reproductive capacity is a critical fitness component. In insects, female reproductive capacity is largely determined by the number of ovarioles, the egg-producing subunits of the ovary [e.g., 1]. Recent work has provided insights into ovariole number regulation in Drosophila melanogaster. However, whether mechanisms discovered under laboratory conditions explain evolutionary variation in natural populations is an outstanding question. We investigated potential effects of ecology on the developmental processes underlying ovariole number evolution among Hawaiian Drosophila, a large adaptive radiation wherein the highest and lowest ovariole numbers of the family have evolved within 25 million years. Previous …

Searching For - And Finding! - Gravitational Waves, Gabriela González, Marie Kasprzack

Faculty Publications

We describe the search for gravitational waves of astrophysical origin with ground-based interferometric LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) and Virgo detectors, and we provide details about the successful detection of signals from the merger of black holes. Three signals from similar systems were detected on Earth on September 14 and December 26, 2015, and January 4, 2017. We also describe the exciting future of the field of gravitational wave astronomy.

Doubling Inequality And Nodal Sets For Solutions Of Bi-Laplace Equations, Jiuyi Zhu

Faculty Publications

We investigate the doubling inequality and nodal sets for the solutions of bi-Laplace equations. A polynomial upper bound for the nodal sets of solutions and their gradient is obtained based on the recent development of nodal sets for Laplace eigenfunctions by Logunov. In addition, we derive an implicit upper bound for the nodal sets of solutions. We show two types of doubling inequalities for the solutions of bi-Laplace equations. As a consequence, the rate of vanishing is given for the solutions.

An Interdisciplinary Weight Loss Program Improves Body Composition And Metabolic Profile In Adolescents With Obesity: Associations With The Dietary Inflammatory Index, Yasmin Alaby Martins Ferreira, Ana Claudia Pelissari Kravchychyn, Sofia De Castro Ferreira Vicente, Raquel Munhoz Da Silveira Campos, Lian Tock, Lila Missae Oyama, Valter Tadeu Boldarine, Deborah Cristina Landi Masquio, David Thivel, Nitin Shivappa, James R. Hébert, Ana R. Dâmaso

Faculty Publications

Background and Aims: The prevalence of overweight and obesity consitutes a global epidemic and it is growing around the world. Food and nutrition are essential requirements for promoting health and protecting against non-communicable chronic diseases, such as obesity and cardiovascular disease. Specific dietary components may modulate inflammation and oxidative stress in obese individuals. The Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII®) was developed to characterize the anti- and pro-inflammatory effects of individuals' diet. Few studies have investigated the role of diet-associated inflammation in adolescents with obesity. The present study aims to investigate the effects of an interdisciplinary weight loss therapy on DII scores …

Occupational Noise Dose Reduction Via Behavior Modification Using In-Ear Dosimetry Among United States Air Force Personnel Exposed To Continuous And Impulse Noise, Jesse Trawick, Jeremy M. Slagley, Robert Eninger

Faculty Publications

In-ear dosimetry and noise exposure feedback were used to modify worker attitude and behavior regarding hearing protection use. The study specifically addressed whether providing in-ear noise exposure data to workers resulted in a reduction in average noise dose rate equivalent continuous levels. Nineteen combat arms instructors (impulse noise group) and heavy equipment operators (continuous noise group) working for the United States Air Force volunteered to participate in a six-month field study using in-ear dosimeters to collect daily noise level data. Participants served as their own control group, receiving periodic noise exposure feedback reports in the latter half of the study …

Cellular Effects Of Butyrate On Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells Are Mediated Through Disparate Actions On Dual Targets, Histone Deacetylase (Hdac) Activity And Pi3k/Akt Signaling Network, Omana P. Mathew, Kasturi Ranganna, Joseph Mathew, Meiling Zhu, Zivar Yousefipour, Chelliah Selvam, Shirlette G. Milton

Faculty Publications

Vascular remodeling is a characteristic feature of cardiovascular diseases. Altered cellular processes of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is a crucial component in vascular remodeling. Histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACI), butyrate, arrests VSMC proliferation and promotes cell growth. The objective of the study is to determine the mechanism of butyrate-induced VSMC growth. Using proliferating VSMCs exposed to 5 mM butyrate, immunoblotting studies are performed to determine whether PI3K/Akt pathway that regulates different cellular effects is a target of butyrate-induced VSMC growth. Butyrate inhibits phosphorylation-dependent activation of PI3K, PDK1, and Akt, eliciting differential effects on downstream targets of Akt. Along with previously …

Curriculum Infusion Through Case Studies: Engaging Undergraduate Students In Course Subject Material And Influencing Behavior Change, Ellen J. Bass, Holly A. Foster, Douglas W. Lee, Susan E. Bruce, Reid Bailey

Faculty Publications

This study investigated infusing health promotion topics into an engineering course via problem-based case studies and lecture to assess student learning and self-reported behavior. Junior-level systems engineering students in two sections participated: one section with 52 students and one with 36. One section received a celebratory drinking case; one received distracted driving case and a lecture about hazardous drinking. Student ability ratings related to the course subject matter generally improved with both cases. The lecture appeared to enhance health promotion knowledge. Students self-reported behavior change with both cases. Case studies as a form of curriculum infusion for health promotion topics …

Structural Control Of Mesic Vegetation Communities Within The Owl And Bear Creek Watersheds, Fort Hood Military Installation, Texas, Melinda S. Faulkner, Matthew Mcbroom, Kenneth W. Farrish, Kevin Stafford

Faculty Publications

The Fort Hood Military Installation is a karst landscape, dominated by Lower Cretaceous carbonates of the Trinity and Fredericksburg groups. The study area is the northeastern peninsula known as the Owl Mountain Province, utilized by the U.S. Army for troop maneuvers and training. The geomorphic evolution of the province has been controlled by the structural development of incised canyons in the Owl and Bear creek watersheds, following the deformational trend of the Balcones/Ouachita fault system and the transverse Belton High-Central Texas Reef Trend. These trends control cave development in the subsurface, karst manifestations at the surface, joints in outcrop, stream …

Sediment Identification Using Machine Learning Classifiers In A Mixed-Texture Dredge Pit Of Louisiana Shelf For Coastal Restoration, Haoran Liu, Kehui Xu, Bin Li, Ya Han, Guandong Li

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Basalt Tectonic Discrimination Using Combined Machine Learning Approach, Qiubing Ren, Mingchao Li, Shuai Han, Ye Zhang, Qi Zhang, Jonathan Shi

Faculty Publications

Geochemical discrimination of basaltic magmatism from different tectonic settings remains an essential part of recognizing the magma generation process within the Earth’s mantle. Discriminating among mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB), ocean island basalt (OIB) and island arc basalt (IAB) is that matters to geologists because they are the three most concerned basalts. Being a supplement to conventional discrimination diagrams, we attempt to utilize the machine learning algorithm (MLA) for basalt tectonic discrimination. A combined MLA termed swarm optimized neural fuzzy inference system (SONFIS) was presented based on neural fuzzy inference system and particle swarm optimization. Two geochemical datasets of basalts from …

Equality Opportunity And The Schoolhouse Gate, Derek Black, Michelle Adams

Faculty Publications

Public schools have generated some of the most far-reaching cases to come before the Supreme Court. They have involved nearly every major civil right and liberty found in the Bill of Rights. The cases are often reflections of larger societal ills and anxieties, from segregation and immigration to religion and civil discourse over war. In that respect, they go to the core of the nation’s values. Yet constitutional law scholars have largely ignored education law as a distinct area of study and importance.

Justin Driver’s book cures that shortcoming, offering a three-dimensional view of how the Court’s education law jurisprudence …

The Supreme Court's Legitimacy Dilemma, Tara Leigh Grove

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Link Between Purine Metabolism And Production Of Antibiotics In Streptomyces, Smitha Sivapragasam, Anne Grove

Faculty Publications

© 2019 by the authors. Stress and starvation causes bacterial cells to activate the stringent response. This results in down-regulation of energy-requiring processes related to growth, as well as an upregulation of genes associated with survival and stress responses. Guanosine tetra- and pentaphosphates (collectively referred to as (p)ppGpp) are critical for this process. In Gram-positive bacteria, a main function of (p)ppGpp is to limit cellular levels of GTP, one consequence of which is reduced transcription of genes that require GTP as the initiating nucleotide, such as rRNA genes. In Streptomycetes, the stringent response is also linked to complex morphological differentiation …

Second Language Identities Of International Teaching Assistants In The U.S. Classroom, Adam Agostinelli

Faculty Publications

Sociolinguistic research has yet to comprehensively address changes in the second language mediated identity, or second language identity (L2I), of English as a second language (ESL) students that take place as a result of traveling abroad and experiencing English in authentic circumstances. First, this study provides an outline of L2I and proposes a framework for evaluating L2I in authentic contexts (i.e. in a country where the target language is the primary means of communication). Second, personal narratives, formal reports, and observed classroom comments of international graduate teaching assistants (ITAs), who were placed in a required English Speaking course as a …

Second Language Identities Of International Teaching Assistants In The U.S. Classroom, Adam Agostinelli

Faculty Publications

Sociolinguistic research has yet to comprehensively address changes in the second language mediated identity, or second language identity (L2I), of English as a second language (ESL) students that take place as a result of traveling abroad and experiencing English in authentic circumstances. First, this study provides an outline of L2I and proposes a framework for evaluating L2I in authentic contexts (i.e. in a country where the target language is the primary means of communication). Second, personal narratives, formal reports, and observed classroom comments of international graduate teaching assistants (ITAs), who were placed in a required English Speaking course as a …

The Respiratory Burst Oxidase Homolog D (Rbohd) Cell And Tissue Distribution In Potato-Potato Virus Y (Pvyntn) Hypersensitive And Susceptible Reactions, Rodrigo A. Valverde

Faculty Publications

The respiratory burst oxidase homolog D (RbohD) acts as a central driving force of reactive oxygen species signaling in plant cells by integrating many different signal transduction pathways in plants, including incompatible interactions with pathogens. This study demonstrated the localization and distribution of RbohD in two types of potato-potato virus Y (PVY) interactions: Compatible and incompatible (resistant). The results indicated a statistically significant induction of the RbohD antigen signal in both interaction types. In the hypersensitive response (resistant reaction) of potato with a high level of resistance to the potato tuber necrotic strain of PVY (PVYNTN), RbohD localization followed by …

Factors Influencing Landowners' Decisions For Income-Generating Activities On Private Coastal Wetland In Louisiana, Hua Wang, Walter Keithly, Rex Caffey

Faculty Publications

© 2019 by the authors. The coastal zone of Louisiana contains more than 3 million wetland acres and has the highest acreage of salt marsh of any state. However, Louisiana accounts for 80 percent of the nation's coastal land loss. The loss of Louisiana's coastal wetlands results in changes in economic and ecological benefits on local communities. The purpose of the study is to investigate the factors that motivate private coastal landowners to participate in income-generating activities and the level of income derived from their coastal wetland parcels and to gauge their opinion of potential policy instruments for coastal wetlands …

Description Of A New Species Of Ponyfish (Teleostei: Leiognathidae: Equulitini: Photolateralis) From The Gulf Of Oman, John S. Sparks, Prosanta Chakrabarty

Faculty Publications

Copyright © American Museum of Natural History 2019. A new species belonging to the leiognathid genus Photolateralis, collected from the coastal waters of Oman, is described herein. Photolateralis is unique among leiognathid genera in possessing a species-specific translucent midlateral flank stripe that may be comprised of either multiple independent translucent windows (P. stercorarius, P. moretoniensis, and the new species) or a continuous translucent lateral band (P. antongil). Photolateralis polyfenestrus, new species, is distinguished from congeners by the presence of a short, composite midlateral stripe comprised of three small, rounded translucent windows (vs. numerous windows in both P. stercorarius and P. …

Giant Reversible Barocaloric Response Of (Mnnisi)1- X(Fecoge)X (X = 0.39, 0.40, 0.41), Pol Lloveras, Tapas Samanta, María Barrio, Igor Dubenko, Naushad Ali, Josep Lluís Tamarit, Shane Stadler

Faculty Publications

MnNiSi-based alloys and isostructural systems have traditionally demonstrated impressive magnetocaloric properties near room temperature associated with a highly tunable first-order magnetostructural transition that involves large latent heat. However, these materials are limited by a small field-sensitivity of the transition, preventing significant reversible effects usable for cooling applications. Instead, the concomitant large transition volume changes prompt a high pressure-sensitivity, and therefore, promise substantial barocaloric performances, but they have been sparsely studied in these materials. Here, we study the barocaloric response in a series of composition-related (MnNiSi)1-x(FeCoGe)x (x = 0.39, 0.40, 0.41) alloys that span continuously over a wide temperature range around …

Spatiotemporal Coupling Of Attosecond Pulses, Cord L. Arnold, Hampus Wikmark, Chen Guo, Jan Vogelsang, Peter W. Smorenburg, Helene Coudert-Alteirac, Jan Lahl, Jasper Peschel, Piotr Rudawski, Hugo Dacasa, Stefanos Carlstrom, Sylvain Maclot, Mette B. Gaarde, Per Johnsson, Anne Lahuillier

Faculty Publications

Attosecond pulses in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) spectral range are today routinely generated via high-order harmonic generation (HHG), when intense ultrashort laser pulses are focused into a gaseous generation medium. The effect is most easily understood in a semi-classical picture [1]. An electron can tunnel ionize from the distorted atomic potential, pick up kinetic energy in the laser field, potentially return to its parent ion and recombine. The excess energy is emitted as XUV photon. The process repeats for every half-cycle of the driving field, resulting in a train of attosecond pulses and in the frequency domain in the well-known, …

Sexually Dimorphic Oxytocin Receptorexpressing Neurons In The Preoptic Area Of The Mouse Brain, Kaustubh Sharma, Ryan Leblanc, Masudul Haque, Katsuhiko Nishimori, Madigan M. Reid, Ryoichi Teruyama

Faculty Publications

© 2019 Sharma et al. Oxytocin is involved in the regulation of social behaviors including parental behaviors in a variety of species. Oxytocin triggers social behaviors by binding to oxytocin receptors (OXTRs) in various parts of the brain. OXTRs are present in the preoptic area (POA) where hormone-sensitive sexually dimorphic nuclei exist. The present study was conducted to examine whether sex differences exist in the distribution of neurons expressing OXTRs in the POA. Using OXTR-Venus (an enhanced variant of yellow fluorescent protein) mice, the distribution of OXTR-Venus cells in the POA was compared between sexes. The total number of OXTR-Venus …

Evidence For Pathways Of Concentrated Submarine Groundwater Discharge In East Antarctica From Helicopter-Borne Electrical Resistivity Measurements, Neil Foley, Slawek M. Tulaczyk, Denys Grombacher, Peter T. Doran, Jill Mikucki, Krista F. Myers, Nikolaj Foged, Hilary Dugan, Esben Auken, Ross Virginia

Faculty Publications

© 2019 by the authors. The Southern Ocean receives limited liquid surface water input from the Antarctic continent. It has been speculated, however, that significant liquid water may flow from beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet, and that this subglacial flow carries that water along with dissolved nutrients to the coast. The delivery of solutes, particularly limiting nutrients like bioavailable iron, to the Southern Ocean may contribute to ecosystem processes including primary productivity. Using a helicopter-borne time domain electromagnetic survey along the coastal margins of the McMurdo Dry Valleys region of Southern Victoria Land, Antarctica, we detected subsurface connections between inland …

The Expression Of Adipose Tissue-Derived Cardiotrophin-1 In Humans With Obesity, Jacqueline Stephens, Eric Ravussin, Ursula White

Faculty Publications

© 2019, MDPI AG. All rights reserved. Cardiotrophin-1 (CT-1) is a gp130 cytokine that was previously characterized for its e ects on cardiomyocytes and identified as a marker of heart failure. More recent studies reported elevated circulating levels of CT-1 in humans with obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, a subsequent rodent study implicated CT-1 as a potential therapeutic target for obesity and MetS. Adipose tissue (AT) is broadly acknowledged as an endocrine organ and is a substantial source of CT-1. However, no study has examined the expression of adipose-derived CT-1 in humans. We present the first analysis of CT-1 …

Contrasting Latitudinal Gradients Of Body Size In Helminth Parasites And Their Hosts, Tad Dallas, Alyssa Lois M. Gehman, A. Alonso Aguirre, Sarah A. Budischak, John M. Drake, Maxwell J. Farrell, Ria Ghai, Shan Huang, Ignacio Morales-Castilla

Faculty Publications

© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Aim: We examined body size scaling relationships for two developmental life stages of parasitic helminths (egg and adult) separately in relationship to latitude (i.e. Bergmann's rule), temperature and temperature seasonality. Given that helminth eggs experience environmental conditions more directly, whereas adults live inside infected host individuals, we predict stronger environmentally driven gradients of body size for eggs than for adults. Location: Global. Time period: Present day. Major taxa studied: Parasitic helminths. Methods: We compiled egg size and adult body size data (both minimum and maximum) for 265 parasitic helminth species from the literature, …

Meta-Analysis Of Yield Response Of Foliar Fungicide-Treated Hybrid Corn In The United States And Ontario, Canada, Kiersten A. Wise, Damon Smith, Anna Freije, Daren S. Mueller, Yuba Kandel, Tom Allen, Carl A. Bradley, Emmanuel Byamukama, Martin Chilvers, Travis Faske, Andrew Friskop, Clayton Hollier, Tamra A. Jackson-Ziems, Heather Kelly, Bob Kemerait, Paul Price, Alison Robertson, Albert Tenuta

Faculty Publications

Background Foliar fungicide applications to corn (Zea mays L.) occur at one or more application timings ranging from early vegetative growth stages to mid-reproductive stages. Previous studies indicated that fungicide applications are profitable under high disease pressure when applied during the tasseling to silking growth stages. Few comprehensive studies in corn have examined the impact of fungicide applications at an early vegetative growth stage (V6) compared to late application timings (VT) for yield response and return on fungicide investment (ROI) across multiple locations. Objective Compare yield response of fungicide application timing across multiple fungicide classes and calculate the probability of …

Field Efficacy Of Insect Pathogen, Botanical, And Jasmonic Acid For The Management Of Wheat Midge Sitodiplosis Mosellana And The Impact On Adult Parasitoid Macroglenes Penetrans Populations In Spring Wheat, Govinda Shrestha, Gadi V.P. Reddy

Faculty Publications

The wheat midge, Sitodiplosis mosellana, is a serious pest of wheat worldwide. In North America, management of S. mosellana in spring wheat relies on the timely application of pesticides, based on midge adults levels caught in pheromone traps or seen via field scouting during wheat heading. In this context, biopesticides can be an effective alternative to pesticides for controlling S. mosellana within an Integrated Pest Management program. A field study using insect pathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana GHA, nematode Steinernema feltiae with Barricade polymer gel 1%, pyrethrin, combined formulations of B. bassiana GHA and pyrethrin, Jasmonic acid (JA) and chlorpyrifos (chemical …

Diurnal And Seasonal Variations In Soil Respiration Of Four Plantation Forests In An Urban Park, Mengxun Zhu, Wanlai Xue, Hang Xu, Yuan Gao, Shengnan Chen, Bin Li, Zhiqiang Zhang

Faculty Publications

Understanding the carbon dynamics of urban trees and forests is one of the key components for developing mitigation strategies for climate change in a fast-paced urbanized world. This study selected four plantation forests composed of poplar, black locust, Chinese pine and mixture of poplar and black locust, located in an urban forest park on a well-drained fluvial plain with same land-use history. The diurnal and seasonal changes in soil respiration (Rs) and biophysical factors were measured from April 2015 to March 2016. At the diurnal scale, Rs varied out of phase with soil temperature (Ts) and the time-lag occurred in …

Generalized Laminar Matroids, Tara Fife, James Oxley

Faculty Publications

Nested matroids were introduced by Crapo in 1965 and have appeared frequently in the literature since then. A flat of a matroid M is Hamiltonian if it has a spanning circuit. A matroid M is nested if and only if its Hamiltonian flats form a chain under inclusion; M is laminar if and only if, for every 1-element independent set X, the Hamiltonian flats of M containing X form a chain under inclusion. We generalize these notions to define the classes of k-closure-laminar and k-laminar matroids. This paper focuses on structural properties of these classes noting that, while the second …

The Enskog Process For Hard And Soft Potentials, Martin Friesen, Barbara Rüdiger, Padmanabhan Sundar

Faculty Publications

The density of a moderately dense gas evolving in a vacuum is given by the solution of an Enskog equation. Recently we have constructed in Albeverio et al. (J Stat Phys 167:90–122, 2017) the stochastic process that corresponds to the Enskog equation under suitable conditions. The Enskog process is identified as the solution of a McKean–Vlasov equation driven by a Poisson random measure. In this work, we continue the study for a wider class of collision kernels that includes hard and soft potentials. Based on a suitable particle approximation of binary collisions, the existence of an Enskog process is established.