Digital Commons Network^™

Relevance Of Ground-Based Electron-Induced Electrostatic Discharge Measurements To Space Plasma Environments, Jennifer A. Roth, Ryan Hoffmann, John R. Dennison, Jonathon R. Tippetts

All Physics Faculty Publications

Electron-induced electrostatic discharge (ESD) can lead to severe spacecraft anomalies. It is crucial to the success of space missions that the likelihood of ESD occurrence is understood and mitigated. To aid in predicting ESD occurrence, a model for electric fields above and below the charge layer inside an electronirradiated dielectric material was developed. An instrumentation system was also designed to induce and detect ESD events. Because ESD events with a wide range of maximum current values can occur over a range of time intervals, multiple simultaneous detection methods were employed as charge was accumulated on a sample surface; these included …

Emerging Role Of Garcinol, The Antioxidant Chalcone From Garcinia Indica Choisy And Its Synthetic Analogs, Subhash Padhye, Aamir Ahmad, Nikhil Oswal, Fazlul H. Sarkar

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Garcinol, harvested from Garcinia indica, has traditionally been used in tropical regions and appreciated for centuries; however its biological properties are only beginning to be elucidated. There is ample data to suggest potent antioxidant properties of this compound which have been used to explain most of its observed biological activities. However, emerging evidence suggests that garcinol could be useful as an anti-cancer agent, and it is increasingly being realized that garcinol is a pleiotropic agent capable of modulating key regulatory cell signaling pathways. Here we have summarized the progress of our current research knowledge on garcinol and its observed …

Failure Of E. Coli Bacteria To Induce Preterm Delivery In The Rat, Emmet Hirsch, Yana Filipovich, Roberto Romero

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

We sought to develop a model of bacterially induced preterm delivery in rats to parallel similar models in mice.

Methods

Female Sprague-Dawley rats on day 17 of gestation (normal term = 21–22 days) were inoculated into the uterus with either 2 × 10⁹ – 7 × 10¹⁰ killed E. coli organisms, 1 – 4 × 10⁸ live E. coli or sterile solution. These inoculations were made either via trans-cervical catheter or by direct intrauterine injection at laparotomy. Animals were then observed for delivery for variable periods up to term. Necropsies were performed and fetal viability …

Student Inquiry And Research: Developing Students' Authentic Inquiry Skills, Judith A. Scheppler, Susan Styer, Don Dosch, Joseph Traina, Christopher Kolar

Faculty Publications & Research

Established by the state of Illinois in 1985 to develop talent and leadership in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) has become an internationally recognized educational learning laboratory that inspires, challenges, and nurtures talented students. Our advanced, residential, college preparatory program prepares 650 talented Illinois students in grades 10, 11, and 12 to become scholars, researchers, and entrepreneurs. Toward this end, we find that about 80% of our graduates obtain STEM bachelor's degrees.

IMSA has a long history of supporting, nurturing, and promoting high school student participation in research through our academic curriculum …

Improving Student Retention Of Future Members Of The Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, And Business Workforce, Samuel L. Rohr

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ThisDissertation examined the relationship between various admissions selection criteria utilized by a small, Liberal Arts College in the Midwest. More specifically, the study examined if a higher college preparatory GPA, a higher aggregate score on the SAT, attending a larger high school, and beginning college at an older age helped predict the retention of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and business students. Data was gathered using historical enrollment data of 803 students. A logistic regression analysis was utilized to examine the impact of the four variables on retention of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and business students. College preparatory GPA, the aggregate …

Moving Heaven And Earth: Administrative Search And Selection Processes And The Experience Of An African American Woman Senior Administrator, Kim R. Barnett-Johnson

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this case/phenomenological study was to examine a collegiate administrative search and selection process and the experience of an African American woman who was selected to the position of chancellor. A case concerning the search process of a regional campus of Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana was identified and chosen. In-depth interviews were conducted with three participants in the search and selection process. Each individual played a significant and separate role during various phases of the search and selection process. Results indicated that there were four key themes to emerge from the investigation: diversity issues; the search …

Identification And Characterization Of Novel Sir3/Mecp2-Chromatin Interactions, Nicholas L. Adkins

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The eukaryotic genome is packaged into chromosomes that are made up of a highly organized and heavily regulated structure called chromatin. The proteins involved in the compaction of DNA into this condensed state are mostly understood at the level of the structure of the nucleosome. The higher order arrangement of chromatin and how it effects gene regulation is only partially understood and characterized. The compaction of nucleosomal arrays into 30-nm and higher structures are partially the responsibility of architectural, or structural, chromatin associated proteins. The following dissertation analyzes the individual chromatin contributions of two well studied architectural proteins, the yeast …

Alumni Journal, Scott Pitoniak, Larry Bashe, Joan Southgate, David Marc, Karen Kennedy, Courtney Egelston, Hanna Dubansky

Syracuse University Magazine

No abstract provided.

Overweight Children And Adolescents: Impact On Psychological And Social Development, Kimberly K. Mcclanahan, Marlene B. Huff, Hatim A. Omar

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

The global epidemic of childhood and adolescent overweight has become a major public health concern. Not only are these youth more likely to become obese as adults, and thus more prone to obesity-related diseases than their non overweight peers, they are also likely to suffer emotional and social effects associated with overweight. Overweight in youth has been linked to depression, low self-esteem, eating disorders, negative body image, and stigma. It appears to be bi-directional in nature, with overweight sometimes predicting certain psychological effects and psychosocial issues sometimes predicting overweight. Effective assessment and treatment of psychological and mental health issues in …

Harding Magazine Winter 2009 (Vol. 17, No. 1), Harding University

Harding Magazines

Publication distributed to alumni and friends of the university.

Ec179 Managing Livestock Manure To Protect Environmental Quality, Michael A. Reynolds, Brian L. Benham, Richard B. Ferguson, Christopher G. Henry, Charles A. Shapiro, James P. Stack, Charles S. Wortman, Richard K. Koelsch

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Proper utilization of livestock manure is a major environmental concern. Livestock manure has typically been considered a ‘waste product’ of livestock production. A more accurate name for this material is a ‘recycled resource’ from the production of livestock. By managing livestock manure, the producer has a second chance to utilize the nutrients that have already been paid for but not fully utilized by the animal. Collecting, containing, and properly spreading livestock manure will incur additional costs for the producer. However, these costs can be offset or justified by the producer in terms of the yield enhancement and nutrient credits that …

Functional Morphology And Fluid Interactions During Early Development Of The Scyphomedusa Aurelia Aurita, K. E. Feitl, A. F. Millett, Sean Colin, John O. Dabiri, John H. Costello

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Scyphomedusae undergo a predictable ontogenetic transition from a conserved, universal larval form to a diverse array of adult morphologies. This transition entails a change in bell morphology from a highly discontinuous ephyral form, with deep clefts separating eight discrete lappets, to a continuous solid umbrella-like adult form. We used a combination of kinematic, modeling, and flow visualization techniques to examine the function of the medusan bell throughout the developmental changes of the scyphomedusa Aurelia aurita. We found that flow around swimming ephyrae and their lappets was relatively viscous (1 < Re < 10) and, as a result, ephyral lappets were surrounded by thick, overlapping boundary layers that occluded flow through the gaps between lappets. As medusae grew, their fluid environment became increasingly influenced by inertial forces (10 < Re < 10,000) and, simultaneously, clefts between the lappets were replaced by organic tissue. Hence, although the bell undergoes a structural transition from discontinuous (lappets with gaps) to continuous (solid bell) surfaces during development, all developmental stages maintain functionally continuous paddling surfaces. This developmental pattern enables ephyrae to efficiently allocate tissue to bell diameter increase via lappet growth, while minimizing tissue allocation to inter-lappet spaces that …

Rapid Recovery Of A Coral Reef At Darwin Island, Galapagos Islands, Peter W. Glynn, Bernhard Riegl, Adrienne M. S. Correa, Iliana B. Baums

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Surveys at Darwin Island in 2006 and 2007 have demonstrated that this northernmost Galapagos Islands coral reef has recovered significantly since the 1982–3 El Niño event. When first surveyed in 1975, this structural reef exhibited actively accreting frameworks of pocilloporid and poritid corals. The coral suffered severe mortality in 1983, resulting in the near total loss of pocilloporids and extensive partial mortality of poritid corals. Large sections of the reef had not recovered by 1992 and dead frameworks were subject to bio-erosion, although small numbers of sexual recruits of pocilloporid corals and numerous recruits plus regenerating patches of Porites lobata …

Antimicrobial Activity Of Some Thiourea Derivatives And Their Nickel And Copper Complexes, Hakan Arslan, Nizami Duran, Gulay Borekci, Cemal Koray Ozer, Cevdet Akbay

College of Health, Science, and Technology

Five thiourea derivative ligands and their Ni2+ and Cu 2+ complexes have been synthesized. The compounds were screened for their in vitro anti-bacterial activity using Gram-positive bacteria (two different standard strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Enterococcus faecalis, Streptococcus pyogenes, Bacillus cereus) and Gram-negative bacteria (Esherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter cloacae, Proteus vulgaris, Enterobacter aerogenes) and in vitro anti-yeast activity (Candida albicans, Candida krusei, Candida glabrata, Candida tropicalis, Candida parapsilosis). The minimum inhibitory concentration was determined for all ligands and their complexes. In vitro anti-yeast activity of both ligands and their metal complexes is greater than their in vitro anti-bacterial …

Markov Models For Linking Environments And Facies In Space And Time (Recent Arabian Gulf, Miocene Paratethys), Bernhard Riegl, Samuel J. Purkis

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

If, as comparative sedimentology maintains, knowledge of the Recent can sometimes be helpful to explain the past (and vice-versa), common quantitative denominators might exist between Recent and fossil systems. It may also be possible to describe dynamics and find linkages between space and time with a unique set of quantitative tools. To explore such conceptual links, spatial facies patterns mapped using satellite imagery were compared with temporal patterns in analogous ancient outcropping facies using Markov chains and graphs. Landsat and Ikonos satellite imagery was used to map benthic facies in a nearshore carbonate ramp (Ras Hasyan) and offshore platform system …

Gsbs News, Spring 2009, Graduate School Of Biomedical Sciences, University Of Texas Health Science Center At Houston/M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

GSBS News

No abstract provided.

Resistance To Therapies For Infection By Plasmodium Vivax, J. Kevin Baird

United States Public Health Resources

The scope and depth of this review reflect the complexity of therapy for malaria in general and of Plasmodium vivax in particular. Even for malariologists steeped in an understanding of the treatment of acute, uncomplicated malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax challenges. The tendency to fold the two species together into a single conceptual framework, and they indeed share some common ground, leads to errors in both strategic reasoning and practice with therapies. These two species are biologically and clinically distinct in fundamentally important ways. This review attempts to draw a distinction with P. vivax in the broad context …

Acquired Immunity To Malaria, Denise L. Doolan, Carlota Dobaño, J. Kevin Baird

United States Public Health Resources

Each year malaria infects about one-half billion people, killing 1 million to 2 million and severely dampening economic development (44, 123, 133, 289, 321a, 321b). The parasitic Plasmodium species causing malaria persist and even flourish despite the availability of tools for prevention, control, and treatment. Those tools consist of an array of drugs, diagnostics, and insecticides and a detailed understanding of the breeding site preferences of the many anopheline mosquito vectors. Despite the tremendous strides in biotechnology during the past 5 decades and the application to malaria of the many breakthroughs in molecular biology, genetics, immunology, and vaccinology by talented …

Case Report: Histopathology Of Fatal Respiratory Distress Caused By Plasmodium Vivax Malaria, Neena Valecha, Rock G.W. Pinto, Gareth D.H. Turner, Ashwani Kumar, Savio Rodrigues, Nagesh G. Dubhashi, Edmond Rodrigues, Sidhartha S. Banaulikar, Ruchi Singh, Aditya P. Dash, J. Kevin Baird

United States Public Health Resources

An otherwise healthy 20-year-old woman in Goa, India, received antibiotics after a diagnosis of upper respiratory tract infection. One week later, vivax malaria was diagnosed at a health center, but the patient developed respiratory distress and lost consciousness. She arrived at emergency department in shock, breathless, and comatose. She died within minutes. Two independent laboratories later confirmed Plasmodium vivax by microscopy (140,000/μL) and by nested and real-time polymerase chain reaction methods. Post-mortem examination showed congestion of alveolar capillaries by heavy monocytic infiltrates, along with diffuse damage to alveolar membranes consistent with acute respiratory distress syndrome. Parasites seen in lung tissue …

Cationic Polypeptides Contribute To The Anti-Hiv-1 Activity Of Human Seminal Plasma, Julie A. Martellini, Amy L. Cole, Nitya Venkataraman, Gerry A. Quinn, Pavel Svoboda, Bhushan K. Gangrade, Jan Pohl, Ole E. Sorensen, Alexander M. Cole

United States Public Health Resources

Mucosal surfaces of the reproductive tract as well as their secretions have important roles in preventing sexual transmission of HIV-1. In the current study, the majority of the intrinsic anti-HIV-1 activity of human seminal plasma (SP) was determined to reside in the cationic polypeptide fraction. Antiviral assays utilizing luciferase reporter cells and lymphocytic cells revealed the ability of whole SP to prevent HIV-1 infection, even when SP was diluted 3200-fold. Subsequent fractionation by continuous flow acid-urea (AU)- PAGE and antiviral testing revealed that cationic polypeptides within SP were responsible for the majority of anti-HIV-1 activity. A proteomic approach was utilized …

Launching A Novel Preclinical Infrastructure: Comparative Oncology Trials Consortium Directed Therapeutic Targeting Of Tnfα To Cancer Vasculature, Melissa C. Paoloni, Anita Tandle, Christina Mazcko, Engy Hanna, Stefan Kachala, Amy Leblanc, Shelley Newman, David Vail, Carolyn Henry, Douglass Thamm, Karin Sorenmo, Amin Hajitou, Renata Pasqualini, Wadih Arap, Chand Khanna, Steven K. Libutti

United States Public Health Resources

Background: Under the direction and sponsorship of the National Cancer Institute, we report on the first pre-clinical trial of the Comparative Oncology Trials Consortium (COTC). The COTC is a novel infrastructure to integrate cancers that naturally develop in pet dogs into the development path of new human drugs. Trials are designed to address questions challenging in conventional preclinical models and early phase human trials. Large animal spontaneous cancer models can be a valuable addition to successful studies of cancer biology and novel therapeutic drug, imaging and device development.

Methodology/Principal Findings: Through this established infrastructure, the first trial of …

The Role Of Glutamate And Its Receptors In Mesocorticolimbic Dopaminergic Regions In Opioid Addiction, Yuan Guo, Hui-Ling Wang, Xiao-Hui Xiang, Yan Zhao

United States Public Health Resources

Accumulating evidence suggests that glutamate, as one of the most important excitatory neurotransmitters in the brain, plays a key role in drug addiction including opioid addiction. There is substantial evidence for glutamatergic projections into mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic neurons, which are associated with opioid psychological dependence and are also the key regions of enhancement effect. Glutamate may be involved in the process of opioid addiction not only by acting on its ionotropic and metabotropic glutamate receptors that activate several signal transduction pathways, but also by interacting with other neurotransmitters or neuropeptides such as opioids, dopamine, y-aminobutyric acid and substance P in the …

Comparison Of Video Laryngoscopy Technologies, C. Chiesa, N. Miljkovic, N. Schulte, J. B. Callahan, Jr., D. J. Miller, B. H. Boedeker

United States Public Health Resources

Indirect laryngoscopy allows practitioners to “see around the corner” of a patient’s airway during intubation. Inadequate airway management is a major contributor to patient injury, morbidity and mortality. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the video quality of commercially available video laryngoscopy systems. A team of four investigators at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the Peter Kiewit Institute performed intubation simulations using a number of video laryngoscopy systems. Testing was done with a Laerdal Difficult Airway Manikin (Laerdal Medical Corp., Wappingers Falls, NY) in a setting that simulated difficult airways, adverse lighting conditions and various …

Preliminary Evaluation Of A Procedure For Improved Detection Of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli In Fecal Specimens, Jinxin Hu, Donna Green, Jennifer Swoveland, Michael Grant, David S. Boyle

United States Public Health Resources

Culture confirmation of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is very important for epidemiologic analysis. However, isolation of non-O157 STEC on conventional selective media such as sorbitol–MacConkey agar (SMAC) can be difficult because of heavy growth of competing bacteria and its phenotypical similarity to commensal nonpathogenic E. coli. An acid enrichment procedure was introduced in this study to facilitate detection of STEC from patients who were symptomatic. Forty-seven clinical fecal broths, which tested positive for Shiga toxin by commercial immunoassay, were processed for the isolation of STEC by both conventional and the acid enrichment methods. The acid enrichment method and …

Nebraska Vine Lines, Volume Xii, Issue 5, October/November 2009

Nebraska Vine Lines (2003–2006)

Baby Doll Sheep Highlight Fall Workshop

A Roller-Coaster Vintage?

Wine Evaluation 101

Nebraska VineLines Calendar of Events

Future Nebraska Winery & Grape Growers Forums

DRAFT PROGRAM: VINEYARD FLOOR MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP

Children's Behavioral Traits And Risk Of Injury: Analyses From A Case-Control Study Of Agricultural Households, Kathleen F. Carlson, Susan G. Gerberich, Bruce H. Alexander, Ann S. Masten, Timothy R. Church, John M. Shutske, Andrew D. Ryan, Colleen M. Renier

United States Public Health Resources

Problem: Children on family agricultural operations have high risk of injury. The association between children's behavioral traits and their risk of injury is not well understood. Method: Data from the Regional Rural Injury Study-II were used to assess behavioral risk factors for injury to children ages six to <20 years. A total of 379 injury events (cases) and 1,562 randomly selected controls were identified. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), calculated using logistic regression, were used to estimate injury risk in reference to behavioral traits. Results: Injury risks were greater for children with high levels of depressive symptoms (OR=1.9, CI=1.0-3.7) and aggression (OR=1.6, CI=0.9-2.7), and low levels of careful/cautious behavior (OR=1.8, CI=1.1-2.9). Children with low levels of self-regulation had reduced risks (OR=0.4, CI=0.2-0.8). Discussion: Results suggest that children's behaviors affect their risk of agricultural injury. Additional research …

Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Liver Damage In Asialoglycoprotein Receptor-Deficient Mice, Shana R. Dalton, Serene M.L. Lee, Rachel N. King, Amin A. Nanji, Kusum K. Kharbanda, Carol A. Casey, Benita L. Mcvicker

United States Public Health Resources

The asialoglycoprotein (ASGP) receptor is an abundant hepatocyte-specific receptor involved in receptor-mediated endocytosis. This receptor’s abundance and function is decreased by chronic ethanol administration prior to the appearance of pathology such as necrosis or inflammation. Hence, this study aimed to determine if ASGP receptor function is required to protect against liver injury by utilizing a knockout mouse model lacking functional ASGP receptor in the setting of carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) hepatotoxicity. Briefly, ASGP receptor-deficient (RD) mice and wild-type (WT) mice were injected with 1 ml/kg body weight of CCl₄. In the subsequent week, mice were monitored for …

Nitric Oxide Inhibits Insulin-Degrading Enzyme Activity And Function Through S-Nitrosylation, Crystal M. Cordes, Robert G. Bennett, Gerri L. Siford, Frederick G. Hamel

United States Public Health Resources

Insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) is responsible for the degradation of a number of hormones and peptides, including insulin and amyloid β (Aβ). Genetic studies have linked IDE to both type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. Despite its potential importance in these diseases, relatively little is known about the factors that regulate the activity and function of IDE. Protein S-nitrosylation is now recognized as a redox-dependent, cGMP-independent signaling component that mediates a variety of actions of nitric oxide (NO). Here we describe a mechanism of inactivation of IDE by NO. NO donors decreased both insulin and Aβ degrading activities of IDE. Insulin-degrading …

Suffolk Alumni Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 2, 2009, Suffolk University

Suffolk University Magazine

No abstract provided.

Adaptive Leadership: Leadership Theory Or Theoretical Derivative?, Bill Cojocar

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

Today’s public and private business leaders and leaders of our Armed Forces are faced with challenges that require leadership that is capable of tackling and solving complex problems and issues, with collective, collaborative, timely effective, and innovative solutions. This set of challenges requires leadership that spans the spectrum of leadership theories, traits, and stylistic approaches that is very adaptive, yet direct in nature. This type of leadership is defined as ‘adaptive leadership’ and is a style of leadership that is developing into a new theory of its own, evolving from situational, transformational, contingency, and complexity theories, as described by Nastanski, …