Digital Commons Network^™

Deplete Locally, Impact Globally: Environmental History Of Shore-Whaling In Barbados, W.I, Aldemaro Romero Jr., Joel E. Creswell

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Folk Concepts, Jay H. Bernstein

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

The Future Of Natural Selection Knowledge Measurement: A Reply To Anderson Et Al. (2010), Ross Nehm, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

The development of rich, reliable, and robust measures of the composition, structure, and stability of student thinking about core scientific ideas (such as natural selection) remains a complex challenge facing science educators. In their recent article (Nehm & Schonfeld 2008), the authors explored the strengths, weaknesses, and insights provided by a detailed exploration of three commonly used measures of student thinking about natural selection in a large sample of underrepresented minority students. One of their core findings was that all of the tools they studied--including the CINS--have strengths and weaknesses that must be carefully taken into consideration by those …

Resilience & Recovery After War: Refugee Children And Families In The United States, Katherine Porterfield, Adeyinka M. Akinsulure-Smith, Molly A. Benson, Theresa Betancourt, B. Heidi Ellis, Maryam Kia-Keating, Kenneth Miller

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Introduction To Dominican Blackness, Silvio Torres-Saillant

Publications and Research

This study is a reflection on the complexity of racial thinking and racial discourse in Dominican society.

The Informationist: Ten Years Later, Mark Aaron Polger

Publications and Research

The article explores the last 10 years of literature relating to Davidoff and Florance’s informationist concept. An informationist provides many of the same services as a medical librarian, is a permanent member of the clinical team, and resides on the clinical floors. The author explores the job functions of the informationist and examines whether this service has come to fruition. The author argues that the informationist service can only be fully realized in large academic health sciences libraries, large teaching hospitals, and medical research organizations such as the National Institutes of Health. To facilitate this argument, a questionnaire was distributed …

Patterns Of Subnet Usage Reveal Distinct Scales Of Regulation In The Transcriptional Regulatory Network Of Escherichia Coli, Carsten Marr, Fabian J. Theis, Larry S. Liebovitch, Marc-Thorsten Hutt

Publications and Research

The set of regulatory interactions between genes, mediated by transcription factors, forms a species’ transcriptional regulatory network (TRN). By comparing this network with measured gene expression data, one can identify functional properties of the TRN and gain general insight into transcriptional control. We define the subnet of a node as the subgraph consisting of all nodes topologically downstream of the node, including itself. Using a large set of microarray expression data of the bacterium Escherichia coli, we find that the gene expression in different subnets exhibits a structured pattern in response to environmental changes and genotypic mutation. Subnets with fewer …

The Genomics Education Partnership: Successful Integration Of Research Into Laboratory Classes At A Diverse Group Of Undergraduate Institutions, Christopher D. Shaffer, Consuelo Alvarez, Cheryl Bailey, Daron Barnard, Satish Bhalla, Chitra Chandrasekaran, Vidya Chandrasekaran, Hui-Min Chung, Douglas R. Dorer, Chunguang Du, Todd T. Eckdahl, Jeff L. Poet, Donald Frohlich, Anya L. Goodman, Yuying Gosser, Charles Hauser, Laura L.M. Hoopes, Diana Johnson, Christopher J. Jones, Marian Kaehler, Gerard Mcneil

Publications and Research

Genomics is not only essential for students to understand biology but also provides unprecedented opportunities for undergraduate research. The goal of the Genomics Education Partnership (GEP), a collaboration between a growing number of colleges and universities around the country and the Department of Biology and Genome Center of Washington University in St. Louis, is to provide such research opportunities. Using a versatile curriculum that has been adapted to many different class settings, GEP undergraduates undertake projects to bring draft-quality genomic sequence up to high quality and/or participate in the annotation of these sequences. GEP undergraduates have improved more than 2 …

Introducing A Multi-Site Program For Early Diagnosis Of Hiv Infection Among Hiv-Exposed Infants In Tanzania, Harriet Nuwagaba-Biribonwoha, Bazghina Werq-Semo, Aziz Abdallah, Amy Cunningham, John G. Gamaliel, Sevestine Mtunga, Victoria Nankabirwa, Isaya Malisa, Luis F. Gonzalez, Charles Massambu, Denis Nash, Jessica Justman, Elaine J. Abrams

Publications and Research

Background: In Tanzania, less than a third of HIV infected children estimated to be in need of antiretroviral therapy (ART) are receiving it. In this setting where other infections and malnutrition mimic signs and symptoms of AIDS, early diagnosis of HIV among HIV-exposed infants without specialized virologic testing can be a complex process. We aimed to introduce an Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) pilot program using HIV DNA Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing with the intent of making EID nationally available based on lessons learned in the first 6 months of implementation.

Methods: In September 2006, a molecular biology laboratory at …

Teaching The Process Of Molecular Phylogeny And Systematics: A Multi-Part Inquiry-Based Exercise, Nathan H. Lents, Oscar E. Cifuentes, Anthony Carpi

Publications and Research

Three approaches to molecular phylogenetics are demonstrated to biology students as they explore molecular data from Homo sapiens and four related primates. By analyzing DNA sequences, protein sequences, and chromosomal maps, students are repeatedly challenged to develop hypotheses regarding the ancestry of the five species. Although these exercises were designed to supplement and enhance classroom instruction on phylogeny, cladistics, and systematics in the context of a postsecondary majors-level introductory biology course, the activities themselves require very little prior student exposure to these topics. Thus, they are well suited for students in a wide range of educational levels, including a biology …

Core/Shell Nanoparticles As Hybrid Platforms For The Fabrication Of A Hydrogen Peroxide Biosensor, Yu-Ho Won, Doreen Aboagye, Ho Seong Jang, Andrei Jitianu, Lia A. Stanciu

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

A Multivalent Dna Aptamer Specific For The B-Cell Receptor On Human Lymphoma And Leukemia, Prabodhika R. Mallikaratchy, Alessandro Ruggiero, Jeffrey R. Gardner, Vitaly Kuryavyi, William F. Maguire, Mark L. Heaney, Michael R. Mcdevitt, Dinshaw J. Patel, David A. Scheinberg

Publications and Research

Long-term survival still eludes most patients with leukemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. No approved therapies target the hallmark of the B cell, its mIgM, also known as the B-cell receptor (BCR). Aptamers are small oligonucleotides that can specifically bind to a wide range of target molecules and offer some advantages over antibodies as therapeutic agents. Here, we report the rational engineering of aptamer TD05 into multimeric forms reactive with the BCR that may be useful in biomedical applications. Systematic truncation of TD05 coupled with modification with locked nucleic acids (LNA) increased conformational stability and nuclease resistance. Trimeric and tetrameric versions with …

Morphological Changes And Immunohistochemical Expression Of Rage And Its Ligands In The Sciatic Nerve Of Hyperglycemic Pig (Sus Scrofa), Judyta K. Juranek, Alexey Aleshin, Eileen M. Rattigan, Lynne Johnson, Wu Qu, Fei Song, Radha Ananthakrishnan, Nosirudeen Quadri, Shi Du Yan, Ravichandran Ramasamy, Ann Marie Schmidt, Matthew S. Geddis

Publications and Research

The aim of our project was to study the effect of streptozotocin (STZ)—induced hyperglycemia on sciatic nerve morphology, blood plasma markers and immunohistochemical expression of RAGE (the Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-products), and its ligands—S100B and Carboxymethyl Lysine (CML)-advanced glycation endproduct (AGE) in the laboratory pig. Six months after STZ—injections, blood plasma measurements, morphometric analysis of sciatic nerve fiber density, immunofluorescent distribution of potential molecular neuropathy contributors, ELISA measurement of plasma AGE level and HPLC analysis of sciatic nerve levels of one of the pre-AGE and the glycolysis intermediate products—methyl-glyoxal (MG) were performed. The results of our study revealed that …

Increasing Student-Teacher Interactions At An Urban Commuter Campus Through Instant Messaging And Online Office Hours, Nathan H. Lents, Oscar E. Cifuentes

Publications and Research

Encouraging first year undergraduate students in large lecture-hall classes to seek out and actively engage their professors is a perennial problem in science education. This problem is especially acute for commuter and minority populations. Thus, because personal relationships between students and professors are well known to promote student learning and academic success, fostering new ways to connect students and faculty is essential for reducing attrition at inner-city colleges. In the current study, we demonstrate that the use of instant messaging (IM) is highly effective in fostering student-teacher interactions in the lecture-hall setting of an introductory major-level biology course at John …

Acceptance, Communication Mode And Use Of Audio Computer- Assisted Self Interview Using Touchscreen To Identify Risk Factors Among Pregnant Minority Women, Jutta S. Thornberry, Kennan B. Murray, M. Nabil El-Khorazaty, Michele Kiely

Publications and Research

This paper evaluates the acceptability, communication mode and use of audio computer-assisted self-interview (A-CASI) among minority pregnant women receiving prenatal care in six Washington, DC sites. A total of 2,913 women were screened for demographic eligibility (18+ years old,gestation, Black/African-American or Hispanic) and risk (smoking, environmental tobacco smoke exposure, depression, intimate partner violence). Questions were displayed on touch screen laptop monitors and heard through earphones. The mean length of time to complete the screener was almost 6 minutes.

A-CASI experience, which included difficulty in using the computer, acceptability (enjoyment), and preferred communication mode, was compared across sites, the eligibility and …

Energy Of The Conduction Band In Near Critical Point Fluids, Cherice M. Evans, G. L. Findley

Publications and Research

The study of the evolution of the conduction band in dense gases and supercritical fluids near the critical point has been complicated by a lack of precise experimental measurements. Both photoemission from an electrode immersed in the fluid and field ionization of a molecule doped into the fluid have been used to probe solvent density effects on the energy of an excess electron as a function of fluid number density and temperature. In this perspective, we present recent experimental results that show a strong critical point effect on the minimumconduction band energy near the critical density and temperature of a …

Engagement At The Theater: Science In The Cinema, B. D. Stillion, John M. Pratte, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Climate Control Of Terrestrial Carbon Exchange Across Biomes And Continents, Chuixiang Yi, Daniel Ricciuto, Runze Li, John Wolbeck, Xiyan Xu, Mats Nilsson, Luis Aires, John D. Albertson, Christof Ammann, M Altaf Arain, Alessandro C. De Araujo, Marc Aubinet, Mika Aurela, Zoltan Barcza, Alan Barr, Paul Berbigier, Jason Beringer, Christian Bernhofer, Andrew T. Black, Paul V. Bolstad, Fred C. Bosveld, Mark S J Broadmeadow, Nina Buchmann, Sean P. Burns, Pierre Cellier, Jingming Chen, Jiquan Chen, Philippe Ciais, Robert Clement, Bruce D. Cook, Peter S. Curtis, D Bryan Dail, Ebba Dellwik, Nicolas Delpierre, Ankur R. Desai, Sabina Dore, Danilo Dragoni, Bert G. Drake, Eric Dufrêne, Allison Dunn, Jan Elbers, Werner Eugster, Matthias Falk, Christian Feigenwinter, Lawrence B. Flanagan, Thomas Foken, John Frank, Juerg Fuhrer, Damiano Gianelle, Allen Goldstein, Mike Goulden, Andre Granier, Thomas Grünwald, Lianhong Gu, Haiqiang Guo, Albin Hammerle, Shijie Han, Niall P. Hanan, László Haszpra, Bernard Heinesch, Carole Helfter, Dimmie Hendriks, Lindsay B. Hutley, Andreas Ibrom, Cor Jacobs, Torbjörn Johansson, Marjan Jongen, Gabriel Katul, Gerard Kiely, Katja Klumpp, Alexander Knohl, Thomas Kolb, Werner L. Kutsch, Peter Lafleur, Tuomas Laurila, Ray Leuning, Anders Lindroth, Heping Liu, Benjamin Loubet, Giovanni Manca, Michal Marek, Hank A. Margolis, Timothy A. Martin, William J. Massman, Roser Matamala, Giorgio Matteucci, Harry Mccaughey, Lutz Merbold, Tilden Meyers, Mirco Migliavacca, Franco Miglietta, Laurent Misson, Meelis Mölder, John Moncrieff, Russell K. Monson, Leonardo Montagnani, Mario Montes-Helu, Eddy Moors, Christine Moureaux, Mukufute M. Mukelabai, J William Munger, May Myklebust, Zoltán Nagy, Asko Noormets, Walter Oechel, Ram Oren, Stephen G. Pallardy, Kyaw Tha Paw U, João S. Pereira, Kim Pilegaard, Krisztina Pintér, Casimiro Pio, Gabriel Pita, Thomas L. Powell, Serge Rambal, James T. Randerson, Celso Von Randow, Corinna Rebmann, Janne Rinne, Federica Rossi, Nigel Roulet, Ronald J. Ryel, Jorgen Sagerfors, Nobuko Saigusa, María José Sanz, Giuseppe-Scarascia Mugnozza, Hans Peter Schmid, Guenther Seufert, Mario Siqueira, Jean-François Soussana, Gregory Starr, Mark A. Sutton, John Tenhunen, Zoltán Tuba, Juha-Pekka Tuovinen, Riccardo Valentini, Christoph S. Vogel, Jingxin Wang, Shaoqiang Wang, Weiguo Wang, Lisa R. Welp, Xuefa Wen, Sonia Wharton, Matthew Wilkinson, Christopher A. Williams, Georg Wohlfahrt, Susumu Yamamoto, Guirui Yu, Roberto Zampedri, Bin Zhao, Xinquan Zhao

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

My Name And My Face, Stuart Ewen

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

A Multidimensional Strategy To Detect Polypharmacological Targets In The Absence Of Structural And Sequence Homology, Jacob D. Durrant, Rommie E. Amaro, Lei Xie, Michael D. Urbaniak, Michael A. J. Ferguson, Antti Haapalainen, Zhijun Chen, Anne Marie Di Guilmi, Frank Wunder, Philip E. Bourne, J. Andrew Mccammon

Publications and Research

Conventional drug design embraces the ‘‘one gene, one drug, one disease’’ philosophy. Polypharmacology, which focuses on multi-target drugs, has emerged as a new paradigm in drug discovery. The rational design of drugs that act via polypharmacological mechanisms can produce compounds that exhibit increased therapeutic potency and against which resistance is less likely to develop. Additionally, identifying multiple protein targets is also critical for side-effect prediction. One third of potential therapeutic compounds fail in clinical trials or are later removed from the market due to unacceptable side effects often caused by off-target binding. In the current work, we introduce a multidimensional …

Dilemmas In Contemporary Planning And State Of The Practice Of Ppgis, Laxmi Ramasubramanian

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Guest Editorial: On Method, Technorealism And Aesthetic Capitalism, Patricia Ticineto Clough

Publications and Research

The guest editorial excerpts the keynote address Professor Clough held at the First Annual Graduate Student Conference hosted by the Graduate Center's Sociology Students Association.

Antidepressant Stimulation Of Cdp-Diacylglycerol Synthesis Does Not Require Monoamine Reuptake Inhibition, Ashiwel S. Undieh, Marwa A. Aboukhatwa

Publications and Research

Background: Recent studies demonstrate that diverse antidepressant agents increase the cellular production of the nucleolipid CDP-diacylglycerol and its synthetic derivative, phosphatidylinositol, in depression-relevant brain regions. Pharmacological blockade of downstream phosphatidylinositide signaling disrupted the behavioral antidepressant effects in rats. However, the nucleolipid responses were resistant to inhibition by serotonin receptor antagonists, even though antidepressant-facilitated inositol phosphate accumulation was blocked. Could the neurochemical effects be additional to the known effects of the drugs on monoamine transmitter transporters? To examine this question, we tested selected agents in serotonin-depleted brain tissues, in PC12 cells devoid of serotonin transporters, and on the enzymatic activity of …

Gain In Cellular Organization Of Inflammatory Breast Cancer: A 3d In Vitro Model That Mimics The In Vivo Metastasis, Jorge Morales, Mary L. Alpaugh

Publications and Research

Background The initial step of metastasis in carcinomas, often referred to as the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), occurs via the loss of adherens junctions (e.g. cadherins) by the tumor embolus. This leads to a subsequent loss of cell polarity and cellular differentiation and organization, enabling cells of the embolus to become motile and invasive. However highly malignant inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) over-expresses E-cadherin. The human xenograft model of IBC (MARY-X), like IBC, displays the signature phenotype of an exaggerated degree of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) in situ by tumor emboli. An intact E-cadherin/α, β-catenin axis mediates the tight, compact clump of cells …

Real Time Imaging Of Biomarkers In The Parkinson's Brain Using Mini-Implantable Biosensors. Ii. Pharmaceutical Therapy With Bromocriptine, Patricia A. Broderick, Edwin H. Kolodny

Publications and Research

We used Neuromolecular Imaging (NMI) and trademarked BRODERICK PROBE® mini-implantable biosensors, to selectively and separately detect neuro-transmitters in vivo, on line, within seconds in the dorsal striatal brain of the Parkinson’s Disease (PD) animal model. We directly compared our results derived from PD to the normal striatal brain of the non-Parkinson’s Disease (non-PD) animal. This advanced biotechnology enabled the imaging of dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT), homovanillic acid (HVA) a metabolite of DA, L-tryptophan (L-TP) a precursor to 5-HT and peptides, dynorphin A 1-17 (Dyn A) and somatostatin (somatostatin releasing inhibitory factor) (SRIF). Each neurotransmitter and neurochemical was imaged at a …

Release From Cross-Orientation Suppression Facilitates 3d Shape Perception, Andrea Li, Qasim Zaidi

Publications and Research

Cross-orientation suppression (COS) in striate cortex has been implicated in the efficient encoding of visual stimuli. We show that release from COS facilitates the decoding of 3-D shape. In planar surfaces overlaid with textures, slanting the surface can increase the visibility of the component parallel to the slant. Since this component provides the orientation flows that signify 3-D shape, the enhancement of visibility facilitates 3-D slant perception. Contrast thresholds reveal that this enhancement results from a decrease in COS when 3-D slant creates a frequency mismatch between texture components. We show that coupling compressive nonlinearities in LGN neurons with expansive …

Sustained Release Of Multiple Growth Factors From Injectable Polymeric System As A Novel Therapeutic Approach Towards Angiogenesis, Qinghua Sun, Eduardo A. Silva, Aixia Wang, James C. Fritton, David J. Mooney, Mitchell B. Schaffler, Paul M. Grossman, Sanjay Rajagopalan

Publications and Research

Purpose The aim was to investigate that a bio-degradable alginate and poly lactide-co-glycolide (PLG) system capable of delivering growth factors sequentially would be superior to single growth factor delivery in promoting neovascularization and improving perfusion. Methods Three groups of apoE null mice underwent unilateral hindlimb ischemia surgery and received ischemic limb intramuscular injections of alginate (Blank), alginate containing VEGF165 (VEGF), or alginate containing VEGF165 combined with PLG microspheres containing PDGF-BB (VEGF/PDGF). Vascularity in the ischemic hindlimb was assessed by morphologic and immunohistochemical end-points, while changes in blood flow were assessed by Laser Doppler Perfusion Index. Muscle VEGF and PDGF content …

Nonknowledge: The Bibliographical Organization Of Ignorance, Stupidity, Error, And Unreason: Part Two, Jay H. Bernstein

Publications and Research

Starting with the Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom paradigm in information science it is possible to derive a model of the opposite of knowledge having hierarchical qualities. A range of counterpoints to concepts in the knowledge hierarchy can be identified and ascribed the overall term “nonknowledge.” This model creates a conceptual framework for understanding the connections between topics such as error, ignorance, stupidity, folly, popular misconceptions, and unreason by locating them as levels or phases of nonknowledge. The concept of nonknowledge links heretofore disconnected discourses on these individual topics by philosophers, psychologists, historians, sociologists, satirists, and others. Subject headings provide access to the categories …

Egg Eviction Imposes A Recoverable Cost Of Virulence In Chicks Of A Brood Parasite, Michael G. Anderson, Csaba Moskát, Miklós Bán, Tomáš Grim, Phillip Cassey, Mark E. Hauber

Publications and Research

Background Chicks of virulent brood parasitic birds eliminate their nestmates and avoid costly competition for foster parental care. Yet, efforts to evict nest contents by the blind and naked common cuckoo Cuculus canorus hatchling are counterintuitive as both adult parasites and large older cuckoo chicks appear to be better suited to tossing the eggs and young of the foster parents. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we show experimentally that egg tossing imposed a recoverable growth cost of mass gain in common cuckoo chicks during the nestling period in nests of great reed warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus hosts. Growth rates of skeletal traits and …

Correlating Molecular Phylogeny With Venom Apparatus Occurrence In Panamic Auger Snails (Terebridae), Mandë Holford, Nicolas Puillandre, Maria Vittoria Modica, Maren Watkins, Rachel Collin, Eldredge Bermingham, Baldomero M. Olivera

Publications and Research

Central to the discovery of neuroactive compounds produced by predatory marine snails of the superfamily Conoidea (cone snails, terebrids, and turrids) is identifying those species with a venom apparatus. Previous analyses of western Pacific terebrid specimens has shown that some Terebridae groups have secondarily lost their venom apparatus. In order to efficiently characterize terebrid toxins, it is essential to devise a key for identifying which species have a venom apparatus. The findings presented here integrate molecular phylogeny and the evolution of character traits to infer the presence or absence of the venom apparatus in the Terebridae. Using a combined dataset …