Digital Commons Network^™

Innovation And Recovery, John F. Duffy

The Honorable Helen Wilson Nies Memorial Lecture

Crisis inevitably brings hope for recovery. The recent past has seen a great economic crisis and a crisis in the patent system. Precisely because crisis reveals the flaws in the old, recovery demands the new; it demands innovation. Economic crisis thus makes recovery in the patent system especially urgent because it reveals the degree to which continuing prosperity depends on society's ability to reorganize itself, to change, to innovate. Towards that end, society should reconsider how our patent system makes judgments about invention.

Volatile Profiling Reveals Intracellular Metabolic Changes In Aspergillus Parasticus: Vea Regulates Branched Chain Amino Acid And Ethanol Metabolism, Ludmila V. Roze, Anindya Chanda, Maris Laivenieks, Randolph M. Beaudry, Katherine A. Artymovich, Anna V. Koptina, Deena W. Awad, Dina Valeeva, Arthur D. Jones, John E. Linz

Faculty Publications

Background: Filamentous fungi in the genus Aspergillus produce a variety of natural products, including aflatoxin, the most potent naturally occurring carcinogen known. Aflatoxin biosynthesis, one of the most highly characterized secondary metabolic pathways, offers a model system to study secondary metabolism in eukaryotes. To control or customize biosynthesis of natural products we must understand how secondary metabolism integrates into the overall cellular metabolic network. By applying a metabolomics approach we analyzed volatile compounds synthesized by Aspergillus parasiticus in an attempt to define the association of secondary metabolism with other metabolic and cellular processes.

Results: Volatile compounds were examined using solid …

The O'Neill Institute For National And Global Health Law: Discovering Innovative Solutions For The Most Pressing Health Problems Facing The Nation And The World, Lawrence O. Gostin, Oscar A. Cabera, Susan C. Kim

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

Producing Textbook Sociology, Jeff Manza, Michael Sauder, Nathan Wright

Sociology Faculty Research and Scholarship

The conservative role of the textbook in reproducing the dominant ideas of a disciplinary field is well known. The factors driving that content have remained almost entirely unexamined. Reviewing the universe of textbooks aimed at the American market between 1998 and 2004, we explore the persistence of the identification in American sociology textbooks of a paradigm in which structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism are used to frame the theoretical core of the discipline. We examine how over time the textbook market produces both supply and demand pressures to reproduce content that is at odds with the mainstream of …

The Wandering Signifier: Rhetoric Of Jewishness In The Latin American Imaginary [Book Review], Ariana Huberman

Spanish Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Irrigated Agroecosystems: 2. Quality Of Soil Water And Groundwater In The Southern High Plains, Texas, B. R. Scanlon, J. B. Gates, R. C. Reedy, W. A. Jackson, J. P. Bordovsky

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Trade‐offs between water‐resource depletion and salinization need to be understood when promoting water‐conservative irrigation practices. This companion paper assesses impacts of groundwater‐fed irrigation on soil water and groundwater quality using data from the southern High Plains (SHP). Unsaturated zone soil samples from 13 boreholes beneath irrigated agroecosystems were analyzed for water‐extractable anions. Salt accumulation in soils varies with irrigation water quality, which ranges from low salinity in the north (median Cl: 21 mg/L) to higher salinity in the south (median Cl: 180 mg/L). Large Cl bulges under irrigated agroecosystems in the south are similar to those under natural ecosystems, but …

Is Economics Coursework, Or Majoring In Economics, Associated With Different Civic Behaviors?, Sam Allgood, William Bosshardt, Wilbert Van Der Klaauw, Michael Watts

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

Studies regularly link levels of educational attainment to civic behavior and attitudes, but only a few investigate the role played by specific coursework. Using data collected from students who attended one of four public universities in our study, we investigate the relationship between economics coursework and civic behavior after graduation. Drawing from large samples of students in economics, business, or general majors, we compare responses across the three groups and by the number of undergraduate economics courses completed. We find that undergraduate coursework in economics is strongly associated with political party affiliation and with donations to candidates or parties, but …

El Testimonio Desde El Exilio: El Compromiso Político En Las Memorias De Dolores Ibárruri Y María Martínez Sierra, Iker González-Allende

Spanish Language and Literature Papers

En sus memorias Una mujer por caminos de España (1952), María Martinez Sierra recuerda su participación en un mitin en un pueblo de Asturias en la primavera de 1936. En aquel acto de propaganda política, además de ella, los otros dos oradores eran la socialista Matilde de la Torre y la comunista Dolores Ibárruri, Pasionaria. Martínez Sierra resalta los lazos comunes que existían entre las tres mujeres: "por encima de toda doctrina, estábamos unidas en una sola voluntad. Queríamosq ue las izquierdasg anasenl as elecciones"( 223).

Current And Future Molecular Approaches To Investigate The White Pine Blister Rust Pathosystem, B. A. Richardson, A. K. M. Ekramoddoulah, J.-J. Liu, M.-S. Kim, N. B. Klopfenstein

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Molecular genetics is proving to be especially useful for addressing a wide variety of research and management questions on the white pine blister rust pathosystem. White pine blister rust, caused by Cronartium ribicola, is an ideal model for studying biogeography, genetics, and evolution because: (1) it involves an introduced pathogen; (2) it includes multiple primary and alternate hosts occurring in large, relatively undisturbed ecosystems; (3) some hosts exhibit endemic resistance; and (4) the disease interaction is long enduring. Molecular techniques are used to investigate population genetics, phylogenetics, hybrids, and proteomics in white pine (Pinus, subgenus Strobus) …

Deep And Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Of Rice Plants Infested By The Beet Armyworm (Spodoptera Exigua) And Water Weevil (Lissorhoptrus Oryzophilus), R. C. Venu, M. Sheshu Madhav, M. V. Sreerekha, Kan Nobuta, Yuan Zhang, Peter Carswell, Michael J. Boehm, B. C. Meyers, Kenneth L. Korth, Guo-Liang Wang

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

The beet armyworm (Spodoptera exigua) and the rice water weevil (Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus) are two important insect pests in rice production. To identify insect-responsive genes in rice, we performed a deep transcriptome analysis of Nipponbare rice leaves infested with both beet armyworm and water weevil using massively parallel signature sequencing (MPSS). Many antisense, alternative, and novel transcripts were commonly and specifically induced and suppressed in the infested tissue. Key genes involved in the defense metabolic pathways such as salicylic acid and jasmonic acid biosynthesis pathways were up-regulated in the infested leaves. To validate theMPSS results, we analyzed …

Method For Identification Of Virulence Determinants, Raul G. Barletta, Beth Harris

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Disclosed are methods for the determination of virulence determinants in bacteria and in particular bacteria of the genus Mycobacterium. Also disclosed are compositions and methods for stimulating an immune response in an animal using bacteria and virulence determinants identified by the methods of the present invention.

Testing Of Rtk-Level Satellite-Based Tractor Auto-Guidance Using A Visual Sensor System, Dwight Easterly, Viacheslav I. Adamchuk, Roger M. Hoy, Michael F. Kocher

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The use of satellite-based positioning has advanced considerably in the world of agriculture, providing a range of technical solutions that include the automated steering of tractors and self-propelled machinery. With the development of auto-guidance systems comes the need to evaluate their performance. Given that current precision and accuracy claims are relatively small in magnitude, it is imperative there be a testing system capable of detecting errors with ten times greater accuracy-- possibly as little as a few millimeters. A visual sensor was adopted to achieve this level of measurement resolution. The sensor was used to determine the cross-track error estimates …

Numerically Predicting Seepage Gradient Forces And Erosion: Sensitivity To Soil Hydraulic Properties, Garey A. Fox, Derek M. Heeren, Glenn V. Wilson, E. J. Langendoen, Amanda K. Fox, Maria L. Chu-Agor

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Research has suggested that streambank seepage can be an important mechanism of bank instability; however, limited information is available on the level of soil characterization necessary to accurately predict seepage gradient forces and erosion. The objective of this research was to quantify the expected range of predicted seepage gradients for various degrees of site characterization. Uncertainty analysis on seepage gradient predictions was performed relative to variability in soil hydraulic properties. A two-dimensional unsaturated/saturated groundwater flow model was used to simulate a homogeneous soil layer for sand and loamy sand soils packed at various bulk densities, ρ_b. A pedotransfer …

Regulation Of Sealing Ring Formation By L-Plastin And Cortactin In Osteoclasts, Tao Ma, Kavitha Sadashivalah, Nandakumar Madayiputhiya, Meenakshi A. Chellaia

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

The aim of this study is to identify the exact mechanism(s) by which cytoskeletal structures are modulated during bone resorption. In this study, we have shown the possible role of different actin-binding and signaling proteins in the regulation of sealing ring formation. Our analyses have demonstrated a significant increase in cortactin and a corresponding decrease in L-plastin protein levels in osteoclasts subjected to bone resorption for 18 h in the presence of RANKL, M-CSF, and native bone particles. Time-dependent changes in the localization of L-plastin (in actin aggregates) and cortactin (in the sealing ring) suggest that these proteins may be …

Phosphatidylinositol 5-Phosphate Links Dehydration Stress To The Activity Of Arabidopsis Trithorax-Like Factor Atx1, Ivan Ndamukong, David R. Jones, Hanna Lapko, Nullin Divecha, Zoya V. Avramova

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Changes in gene expression enable organisms to respond to environmental stress. Levels of cellular lipid second messengers, such as the phosphoinositide PtdIns5P, change in response to a variety of stresses and can modulate the localization, conformation and activity of a number of intracellular proteins. The plant trithorax factor (ATX1) trimethylates the lysine 4 residue of histone H3 (H3K4me3) at gene coding sequences, which positively correlates with gene transcription. Microarray analysis has identified a target gene (WRKY70) that is regulated by both ATX1 and by the exogenous addition of PtdIns5P in Arabidopsis. Interestingly, ATX1 …

Evolution Of The Kdo2-Lipid A Biosynthesis In Bacteria, Stephen O. Opiyo, Rosevelt L. Pardy, Hideaki Moriyama, Etsuko N. Moriyama

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Lipid A is the highly immunoreactive endotoxic center of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). It anchors the LPS into the outer membrane of most Gram-negative bacteria. Lipid A can be recognized by animal cells, triggers defense-related responses, and causes Gram-negative sepsis. The biosynthesis of Kdo₂-lipid A, the LPS substructure, involves with nine enzymatic steps.

Results: In order to elucidate the evolutionary pathway of Kdo₂-lipid A biosynthesis, we examined the distribution of genes encoding the nine enzymes across bacteria. We found that not all Gram-negative bacteria have all nine enzymes. Some Gram-negative bacteria have no genes encoding …

Isolation And Characterization Of Bacteria Resistant To Metallic Copper Surfaces, Christophe Espírito Santo, Paula Vasconcelos Morais, Gregor Grass

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Metallic copper alloys have recently attracted attention as a new antimicrobial weapon for areas where surface hygiene is paramount. Currently it is not understood on a molecular level how metallic copper kills microbes, but previous studies have demonstrated that a wide variety of bacteria, including Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Clostridium difficile, are inactivated within minutes or a few hours of exposure. In this study, we show that bacteria isolated from copper alloy coins comprise strains that are especially resistant against the toxic properties exerted by dry metallic copper surfaces. The most resistant of 294 isolates were …

Mate Choice And Learning, Eileen Hebets, Laura Sullivan-Beckers

Eileen Hebets Publications

While an individual’s genetic framework is a major contributor in determining its eventual mate choice, the role of the environment in further influencing mating decisions has long been recognized. Animals gather information from the environment throughout life, and in some cases, may apply this information to increase their odds of obtaining a high-quality mate. In short, these individuals learn. Moreover, such learning can have a social component. “Social learning” is a general term that describes any learning based on observing, interacting with, and/or imitating others in a social context. Social learning can transmit information vertically, generation to generation (e.g., parent …

Nm23-H1 Can Induce Cell Cycle Arrest And Apoptosis In B Cells, Tathagata Choudhuri, Masanao Murakami, Rajeev Kaul, Sushil K. Sahu, Suchitra Mohanty, Subhash C. Verma, Pankaj Kumar, Erle S. Robertson

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Nm23-H1 is a well-known tumor metastasis suppressor, which functions as a nucleoside-diphosphate kinase converting nucleoside diphosphates to nucleoside triphosphates with an expense of ATP. It regulates a variety of cellular activities, including proliferation, development, migration and differentiation known to be modulated by a series of complex signaling pathway. Few studies have addressed the mechanistic action of Nm23-H1 in the context of these cellular processes. To determine the downstream pathways modulated by Nm23-H1, we expressed Nm23-H1 in a Burkitt lymphoma derived B-cell line BJAB and performed pathway specific microarray analysis. The genes with significant changes in expression patterns were clustered in …

Mitochondrial-Nuclear Epistasis Affects Fitness Within Species But Does Not Contribute To Fixed Incompatibilities Between Species Of Drosophila, Kristi L. Montooth, Colin D. Meiklejohn, Dawn N. Abt, David M. Rand

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Efficient mitochondrial function requires physical interactions between the proteins encoded by the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes. Co-evolution between these genomes may result in the accumulation of incompatibilities between divergent lineages. We test whether mitochondrialnuclear incompatibilities have accumulated within the Drosophila melanogaster species subgroup by combining divergent mitochondrial and nuclear lineages and quantifying the effects on relative fitness. Precise placement of nine mtDNAs from D. melanogaster, D. simulans and D. mauritiana into two D. melanogaster nuclear genetic backgrounds reveals significant mitochondrial-nuclear epistasis affecting fitness in females. Combining the mitochondrial genomes with three different D. melanogaster X chromosomes reveals significant epistasis …

Synaptic Clustering Of Psd-95 Is Regulated By C-Abl Through Tyrosine Phosphorylation, Karen Perez De Arce, Lorena Varela-Nallar, Olivia Farias, Alejandra Cifuentes, Paulina Bull, Brian A. Couch, Anthony J. Koleske, Nibaldo C. Inestrosa, Alejandra R. Alvarez

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The c-Abl tyrosine kinase is present in mouse brain synapses, but its precise synaptic function is unknown. We found that c-Abl levels in the rat hippocampus increase postnatally, with expression peaking at the first postnatal week. In 14 d in vitro hippocampal neuron cultures, c-Abl localizes primarily to the postsynaptic compartment, in which it colocalizes with the postsynaptic scaffold protein postsynaptic density protein-95 (PSD-95) in apposition to presynaptic markers. c-Abl associates with PSD-95, and chemical or genetic inhibition of c-Abl kinase activity reduces PSD-95 tyrosine phosphorylation, leading to reduced PSD-95 clustering and reduced synapses in treated neurons. c-Abl can phosphorylate …

Purification Of Parvalbumin From Carp: A Protocol That Avoids Heat Treatment, Stef J. Koppelman, Roland A. Romijn, Harmen H. J. De Jongh, Julie A. Nordlee, Sander Piersma, Martin Hessing, Steve L. Taylor

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Parvalbumin from carp, a major allergen,was purified to homogeneity using ion exchange chromatography and size exclusion chromatography (estimated purity > 95% to 98% based on SDS-PAGE and native PAGE) with a yield of 318 mg, and a number of basic biochemical characteristics were determined. The identity was confirmed by peptide-mass fingerprinting, and IgE-binding was demonstrated. The UV/Vis absorbance spectra were explained using the previously published amino acid sequences. Far UV-CD spectroscopy was used to confirm the folding character of parvalbumin. We conclude that parvalbumin from carp can be purified on a comparatively large (hundreds of milligrams) scale using a purification protocol …

Are Brand Name Medicine Prices Really Lower In Ciudad Juárez?, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Osvaldo Miranda

Border Region Modeling Project

Relatively high brand name pharmaceutical prices have led many United States residents to cross the border into Mexico as “medical tourists.” To examine the savings potentially available to consumers willing to cross into Mexico, data are collected and analyzed for brand name prescription medicines sold in El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Retail pharmacy prices are generally lower on the south side of the border and substantial savings result for some medicines. For some products, however, shelf prices are lower on the north side of the border.

Leadership Characteristics And Team Outcomes In The Development Of A Marketing Web Page, Garry L. White, Karen H. Smith

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Team structures are changing under the pressures of e-commerce and globalization. Today teams have to manage the challenges of working across functional boundaries, such as marketing and web development. In such an environment, research in the disciplines of management and psychology have found that shared leadership among team members may be superior to traditional leadership by a single team member, but this notion has not been tested in the contexts of marketing and web development. This paper presents the results of an empirical study showing that teams with shared leadership exhibited better performance and greater member satisfaction than teams with …

Use Of A Fast Information Extraction Method As A Decision Support Tool, Mahmudul Sheikh, Sumali Conlon

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Ad-hoc extraction of information from documents can ensure the transparency of decisions made by an organization. Different Information Extraction methods have been applied to extract information from various domains. Most widely known methods use manually annotated training documents that require high development time. The automated training methods are not scalable to large application domains. We have developed a semi-automated knowledge-engineering method for building the knowledge-base with minimal efforts. Because our method reduces manual processing of the training data, the development process is very fast. We have developed a prototype application to extract information from the project-reports of the American Recovery …

A Framework For Analyzing Business Model Innovation In Mobile Commerce, Chung-Shing Lee, Jonathan C. Ho

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

The paper develops and tests a framework for evaluating mobile commerce business models and strategies. To study business model innovation in mobile commerce, we analyze the cost, revenue, and growth components of the business model. In addition, we also investigate whether the implementation of the new business model successfully capitalized on the key disruptive attributes of mobile commerce. An analytical framework is developed to guide the empirical study of the two leading mobile commerce companies in Taiwan. The empirical research indicates that the mobile commerce industry in Taiwan has been able to capitalize on many but not all of the …

Lip Movement Exaggerations During Infant Directed Speech, Jordan R. Green, Ignatius S. B. Nip, Erin M. Wilson, Antje Mefferd, Yana Yunusova

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Purpose: Although a growing body of literature has indentified the positive effects of visual speech on speech and language learning, oral movements of infant directed speech have rarely been studied. This investigation used 3-dimensional motion capture technology to describe how mothers modify their lip movements when talking to their infants.
Method: Lip movements were recorded from twenty-five mothers as they spoke to their infants and other adults. Lip shapes were analyzed for differences across speaking conditions. The maximum fundamental frequency, duration, acoustic intensity, and first and second formant frequency of each vowel were also measured.
Results: Lip movements were significantly …

A Partial Chromosomal Deletion Caused By Random Plasmid Integration Resulted In A Reduced Virulence Phenotype In Fusarium Graminearum, Thomas K. Baldwin, Iffa Gaffoor, John Antoniw, Corrie Andries, John Guenther, Martin Urban, Heather E. Hallen-Adams, John Pitkin, Kim E. Hammond-Kosack, Frances Trail

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Fusarium graminearum (teleomorph: Gibberella zeae) is an Ascomycete fungal plant pathogen which infects a range of agriculturally important crops, including wheat, barley, and maize. A random plasmid insertion mutagenesis approach was used to analyze the pathogenicity of the PH-1 strain, for which full genomic information is available. Fungal transformants were initially screened for their ability to infect wheat ears. From a total of 1,170 transformants screened, eight were confirmed to be highly reduced in pathogenicity toward wheat ears and roots. These were designated disease-attenuated F. graminearum (daf) mutants. The in vitro growth rate and appearance of each daf …

Barcoding Bushmeat: Molecular Identification Of Central African And South American Harvested Vertebrates, Mitchell J. Eaton, Greta J. Meyers, Sergios-Orestis Kolokotronis, Matthew S. Leslie, Andrew P. Martin, George Amato

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The creation and use of a globally available database of DNA sequences from a standardized gene region has been proposed as a tool for species identification, assessing genetic diversity and monitoring the legal and illegal trade in wildlife species. Here, we contribute to the Barcode of Life Data System and test whether a short region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COX1) gene would reliably distinguish among a suite of commonly hunted African and South American mammal and reptile species. We used universal primers to generate reference barcode sequences of 645 bp for 23 species from five vertebrate …

Field‐Derived Henry's Law Constants For Polychlorinated Biphenyls In Oceanic Waters, Rosalinda Gioia, Kevin C. Jones, Rainer Lohmann, Luca Nizzetto, Jordi Dachs

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Accurate knowledge of Henry's law constants (K_aw) is very important for fate and transport studies of organic chemicals. Here field‐derived K_aw values for polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners (PCBs 28, 49, 52, 118, 138, 149, and 153) were determined in the open Atlantic Ocean, at locations where air and seawater were assumed to be at equilibrium. Field‐based K_aw values were derived from air and seawater samples simultaneously collected at these locations, and their relationship with temperature was determined. The average field‐derived K_aw for PCBs 28, 49, 52, 118, and 138 was generally 2–3 times higher …