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Simultaneous Sample Manipulation And Sensing Using Surface Acoustic Waves, Stefan Cular, Venkat R. Bhethanabotla, Darren W. Branch

USF Patents

The present invention provides a hexagonal, delay line surface acoustic wave device fabricated on a a piezoelectric substrate, such as lithium tantalate, coated with an insulating waveguide on to which a sensing film, such as an anti-human Interleukin-6 biosensor film, is physically absorbed. The acoustic waves that propagate along the delay lines of the SAW device provide for detection of biological species along one delay line and simultaneously provide for removal of non-specifically bound protein along the remaining delay lines.

Total Internal Reflection Holographic Microscope, Myung K. Kim

USF Patents

The present invention provides for a digital holographic microscope using a holographic interferometer and incorporating a TIR sample mount and microscopic imaging optics. The microscope uses phase shifting from frustrated internal reflection within a prism to measure nanometric distances. The invention also provides for a numerical reconstruction algorithm of an inclined surface of the object/prism.

School-Community Partnerships In Australian Schools, Michele Lonsdale

Program monitoring and evaluation

This report is based on an analysis of the data provided by Australian schools in their 2009 Schools First Impact Award applications. The data described the nature of the partnerships that schools had established with community and business groups, the reasons for these partnerships, the kinds of programs that were developed and implemented, and the effectiveness of the partnership/program.

These applications are a rich source of information about school–community partnerships in Australia. The report is organised around the following seven questions:

What types of schools established partnerships?

Who partnered with schools?

What were the main reasons for setting up these …

Soil Microbes Drive The Classic Plant Diversity-Productivity Pattern, Stefan A. Schnitzer, John N. Klironomos, Janneke Hillerislambers, Linda L. Kinkel, Peter B. Reich, Kun Xiao, Matthias C. Rillig, Benjamin A. Sikes, Ragan M. Callaway, Scott A. Mangan, Egbert H. Van Nes, Marten Scheffer

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Volume 92, Issue 2 (February)

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ISSN: 0012-9658 Frequency: Monthly

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Stefan A. Schnitzer, John N. Klironomos, Janneke HilleRisLambers, Linda L. Kinkel, Peter B. Reich, Kun Xiao, Matthias C. Rillig, Benjamin A. Sikes, …

Is Wildlife Going To The Dogs? Impacts Of Feral And Free-Roaming Dogs On Wildlife Populations, Julie K. Young, Kirk A. Olson, Richard P. Reading, Sukh Amgalanbaatar, Joel Berger

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

In human-populated landscapes, dogs (Canis familiaris) are often the most abundant terrestrial carnivore. However, dogs can significantly disrupt or modify intact ecosystems well beyond the areas occupied by people. Few studies have directly quantified the environmental or economic effects of free-roaming and feral dogs. Here, we review wildlife-dog interactions and provide a case study that focuses on interactions documented from our research in Mongolia to underscore the need for studies designed to best determine how dogs affect native wildlife and especially imperiled populations. We suggest additional research, public awareness campaigns, and the exclusion of dogs from critical wildlife habitat. The …

Growth Factor Signaling Enhances Aromatase Activity Of Breast Cancer Cells Via Post-Transcriptional Mechanisms, Bin Su, Cynthie Wong, Yanyan Hong, Shiuan Chen

Chemistry Faculty Publications

It has been demonstrated that growth factors produced by breast cancer cells stimulate aromatase expression in both breast cancer and adjacent adipose fibroblasts and stromal cells. However, whether these growth factors affect aromatase activity by other mechanisms still remain unclear. In the current study, MCF-7aro and T47Daro aromatase transfected breast carcinoma cells were used to explore the mechanisms of post-transcriptional regulation of aromatase activity by growth factor pathways. Our study reveals that PI3K/Akt and MAPK inhibitors suppressed aromatase activity in MCF-7aro cells. However, PI3K/Akt pathway inhibitors stimulated aromatase activity in T47Daro cells. This is due to enhanced MAPK phosphorylation as …

Approximate Entropy Used To Assess Sitting Postural Sway Of Infants With Developmental Delay, Joan E. Deffeyes, Regina T. Harbourne, Wayne A. Stuberg, Nikolaos Stergiou

Journal Articles

Infant sitting postural sway provides a window into motor development at an early age. The approximate entropy, a measure of randomness, in the postural sway was used to assess developmental delay, as occurs in cerebral palsy. Parameters used for the calculation of approximate entropy were investigated, and approximate entropy of postural sway in early sitting was found to be lower for infants with developmental delay in the anterior–posterior axis, but not in the medial–lateral axis. Spectral analysis showed higher frequency features in the postural sway of early sitting of infants with typical development, suggesting a faster control mechanism is active …

Multiple Sclerosis Affects The Frequency Content In The Vertical Ground Reaction Forces During Walking, Shane R. Wurdeman, Jessie M. Huisinga, Mary Filipi, Nikolaos Stergiou

Journal Articles

Background: Multiple sclerosis is a progressive neurological disease that results in a high incident of gait disturbance. Exploring the frequency content of the ground reaction forces generated during walking may provide additional insights to gait in patients with multiple sclerosis that could lead to specific tools for differential diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in the frequency content of these forces in an effort to contribute to improved clinical management of this disease.

Methods: Eighteen patients and eighteen healthy controls walked across a 10 meter long walkway. The anterior–posterior and vertical ground reaction forces generated …

Electroporation-Induced Electrosensitization, Olga N. Pakhomova, Betsy W. Gregory, Vera A. Khorokhorina, Anglela M. Bowman, Shu Xiao, Andrei G. Pakhomov

Bioelectrics Publications

BACKGROUND: Electroporation is a method of disrupting the integrity of cell membrane by electric pulses (EPs). Electrical modeling is widely employed to explain and study electroporation, but even most advanced models show limited predictive power. No studies have accounted for the biological consequences of electroporation as a factor that alters the cell's susceptibility to forthcoming EPs.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We focused first on the role of EP rate for membrane permeabilization and lethal effects in mammalian cells. The rate was varied from 0.001 to 2,000 Hz while keeping other parameters constant (2 to 3,750 pulses of 60-ns to 9-micros duration, 1.8 …

Water Law In The United States And Brazil - Climate Change And Two Approaches To Emerging Water Poverty, David N. Cassuto, Rômulo S. R. Sampaio

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This article examines two of the major water legal regimes in the
Americas—that of Brazil and the United States. Both countries have
extensive wet and dry regions and both hydro-regimes face a significant
threat from global warming. Brazil, for instance, is home to between
eight and fifteen percent of the world’s fresh water, and its fast-growing
economy and population present major challenges in management and
allocation. The U.S. also faces major water allocation problems resulting
from past settlement policies; unsustainable reclamation projects; and
also fast-growing domestic, industrial and agricultural demand.

In the United States, water has traditionally been perceived as …

How The Law Mattered To The Mono Lake Ecosystem, Sherry A. Enzler

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

The 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Board reported
unprecedented degradation of ecosystems and the services they provide
to human well-being which, if allowed to continue, would adversely affect
human health, security, and welfare. Our environmental legal authorities,
however, are not designed to protect the health of our nation’s ecosystems,
focusing instead on clean air, clean land, and clean water as a
single medium, often referred to as the silo approach to environmental
protection. Protecting ecosystems requires a systemic approach to the
environment in both policy and law; this in turn requires a change in our
approach to environmental protection. How do …

The Association Between Blood Pressure And Years Of Schooling Versus Educational Credentials: Test Of The Sheepskin Effect, Sze Yan Liu, Stephen L. Buka, Crystal D. Linkletter, Ichiro Kawachi, Laura Kubzansky, Eric B. Loucks

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Purpose

Attaining a degree may offer greater opportunities for health than years of schooling alone. This study examines whether there is a degree, or “sheepskin”, effect on the association between education and blood pressure.

Methods

Multivariable-adjusted ordinal and linear regression models assessed associations of years of schooling and degree attainment with systolic and diastolic blood pressure in a sample of 552 adults aged 38–47 years.

Results

Years of schooling was inversely associated with systolic blood pressure adjusting for age, gender and race (β=−0.4, 95% CL:−0.7,−0.1 mmHg systolic blood pressure/year of schooling). Additional adjustment for mother’s education, childhood verbal intelligence quotient, …

Effects Of Attenuation And Thrombus Age On The Success Of Ultrasound And Microbubble-Mediated Thrombus Dissolution, F. Xie, E. Carr Everbach, S. J. Gao, L. K. Drvol, W. T. Shi, F. Vignon, J. E. Powers, J. Lof, T. R. Porter

Engineering Faculty Works

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of applied mechanical index, incident angle, attenuation and thrombus age on the ability of 2-D vs. 3-D diagnostic ultrasound and microbubbles to dissolve thrombi. A total of 180 occlusive porcine arterial thrombi of varying age (3 or 6 h) were examined in a flow system. A tissue-mimicking phantom of varying thickness (5 to 10 cm) was placed over the thrombosed vessel and the 2-D or 3-D diagnostic transducer aligned with the thrombosed vessel using a positioning system. Diluted lipid-encapsulated microbubbles were infused during ultrasound application. Percent thrombus dissolution (%TD) was …

Activation Of Β-Catenin And Akt Pathways By Twist Are Critical For The Maintenance Of Emt Associated Cancer Stem Cell-Like Characters, Junlin Li, Binhua P. Zhou

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) not only confers tumor cells with a distinct advantage for metastatic dissemination, but also it provides those cells with cancer stem cell-like characters for proliferation and drug resistance. However, the molecular mechanism for maintenance of these stem cell-like traits remains unclear.

METHODS: In this study, we induced EMT in breast cancer MCF7 and cervical cancer Hela cells with expression of Twist, a key transcriptional factor of EMT. The morphological changes associated with EMT were analyzed by immunofluorescent staining and Western blotting. The stem cell-like traits associated with EMT were determined by tumorsphere-formation and expression of ALDH1 …

Pain Management Of Children And Adolescents With Sickle Cell Disease Presenting To The Emergency Department, Hashim M. Taha, Rifat S. Rehmani

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To show and characterize our practice in the initial management of children and adolescents with sickle cell disease (SCD) presenting in acute painful crises, and to identify if there is a delay in patients getting the initial analgesics compared with standard guidelines. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at the Emergency Department (ED) of King Abdulaziz Hospital, Al-Ahsa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study participants were patients who visited the ED with acute painful crises related to SCD between July 2006 and July 2007. Exclusion criteria included age younger than 5 years and those older than 18 years …

Neuronal Control Of Swimming Behavior: Comparison Of Vertebrate And Invertebrate Model Systems, Olivia Mullins, John Hackett, James T. Buchanan, W. Otto Friesen

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Swimming movements in the leech and lamprey are highly analogous, and lack homology. Thus, similarities in mechanisms must arise from convergent evolution rather than from common ancestry. Despite over 40 years of parallel investigations into this annelid and primitive vertebrate, a close comparison of the approaches and results of this research is lacking. The present review evaluates the neural mechanisms underlying swimming in these two animals and describes the many similarities that provide intriguing examples of convergent evolution. Specifically, we discuss swim initiation, maintenance and termination, isolated nervous system preparations, neural-circuitry, central oscillators, intersegmental coupling, phase lags, cycle periods and …

Dominance By The Introduced Tree Rhamnus Cathartica (Common Buckthorn) May Limit Aboveground Carbon Storage In Southern Wisconsin Forests, Joseph Mascaro, Stefan A. Schnitzer

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Many ecosystems are now dominated by introduced species, and because dominant species drive ecosystem properties, these changes lead to increased uncertainty in estimates of carbon storage and cycling. We examined aboveground biomass in forests dominated by the introduced tree Rhamnus cathartica (common buckthorn) relative to forests dominated by native species, and measured aboveground biomass increment over a three-year period (2005–2008). Three of the four lowest biomass levels occurred in R. cathartica-dominated forests, and biomass in these forest types was stored primarily in trees 10–20 cm DBH. By contrast, forests dominated by native trees (including those with R. cathartica understories) …

Defining And Measuring Green Fdi: An Exploratory Review Of Existing Work And Evidence, Stephen S. Golub, C. Kauffmann, P. Yeres

Economics Faculty Works

This paper was developed at the request of the OECD Working Party of the Investment Committee to document efforts to date to define and measure green FDI and to investigate the practicability of various possible definitions, as well as to identify investment policy restrictions to green FDI. It does so by reviewing the literature and existing work on the contributions of FDI to the environment; by providing a two-part definition of green FDI; and by discussing various assumptions necessary to estimate the magnitude of 'green' FDI.

Iqbal "Plausibility" In Pharmaceutical And Medical Device Litigation, William M. Janssen

Louisiana Law Review

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of The Potential Of Jatropha In The Clean Development Mechanism / Daniela Ramirez Azua, Daniela Ramirez Azua

Student Works (2010-2019)

The purpose of the study was to identify and evaluate potential activities that reduce GHG gases through the use of jatropha biofuel and jatropha plantation. It was conducted through a scenario analysis considering an optimistic/conservative parameter based in the yield of the jatropha’s oil production (oil ha/year). For each of those scenarios was calculated the amount of GHG reductions and expressed in CERs. Likewise it was identified the suitable conditions for CDM projects in the countries studied (Malaysia, Chile and New Zealand). The approach used in the study was carried out through analysis of data under an optimistic and conservative …

Clinical Translational Science 2020: Disruptive Innovation Redefines The Discovery-Application Enterprise, Scott A. Waldman, Andre Terzic

Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Faculty Papers

Vaccines, analgesia, and antibiotics embody some of the most

enduring therapeutic breakthroughs that have transformed

medicine. Building on such fine paradigms of biomedical

innovation, the evolution of technologies has increasingly

sparked spectacular advances across the continuum of wellness

and disease-spanning medical and surgical specialties. Discovery

science—fueled by government and private sector resources—has

systematically instituted the principles of modern healthcare

delivery ensuring that medical practice is based on up-to-date

scientifi c evidence. Th e harmony between science, technology,

and resources has culminated in a golden age of discovery and

translation, eradicating infections, curing cancers, and palliating

endocrine and metabolic diseases. Indeed, …

Aposematic Signal Variation Predicts Male-Male Interactions In A Polymorphic Poison Frog, Laura Crothers, Eben Gering, Molly Cummings

Biology Faculty Articles

Many species use conspicuous “aposematic” signals to communicate unpalatability/unprofitability to potential predators. Although aposematic traits are generally considered to be classic examples of evolution by natural selection, they can also function in the context of sexual selection, and therefore comprise exceptional systems for understanding how conspicuous signals evolve under multifarious selection. We used males from a highly territorial poison frog species in a dichotomous choice behavioral test to conduct the first examination of how aposematic signal variation influences male–male interactions. Our results reveal two behavioral patterns: (1) male dorsal brightness influences the behaviors of male conspecifics such that males approach …

Making Willing Bodies: Manufacturing Consent Among Prisoners And Soldiers, Creating Human Subjects, Patriots, And Everyday Citizens—The University Of Chicago Malaria Experiments On Prisoners At Stateville Penitentiary, Bernard E. Harcourt

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

No abstract provided.

Mathematical Model Of Chlorella Minutissima Utex2341 Growth And Lipid Production Under Photoheterotrophic Fermentation Conditions, Jinshui Yang, Ehsan Rasa, Prapakorn Tantayotai, Kate M. Scow, Hong Li Yuan, Krassimira R. Hristova

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

To reduce the cost of algal biomass production, mathematical model was developed for the first time to describe microalgae growth, lipid production and glycerin consumption under photoheterotrophic conditions based on logistic, Luedeking–Piret and Luedeking–Piret-like equations. All experiments were conducted in a 2 L batch reactor without considering CO₂ effect on algae’s growth and lipid production. Biomass and lipid production increased with glycerin as carbon source and were well described by the logistic and Luedeking–Piret equations respectively. Model predictions were in satisfactory agreement with measured data and the mode of lipid production was growth-associated. Sensitivity analysis was applied to examine …

Greener Pastures 6 - Managing Soil Acidity In Dairy Pastures, Mike Bolland, Bill Russell, Martin Staines, Richard Morris, John Lucey, D L. Bennett

Bulletins 4000 -

During 1999-2009, soil testing for pH (in CaCl2) was used to determine lime application for 48 paddocks at the Vasse Research Centre at Busselton, in the south-west of Western Australia (WA).

Paddocks had been grazed intensively by dairy cows and their young stock over a period of 10 years, as part of the Vasse Milk Farmlets and Greener Pastures farming system projects. Pasture consisted of annual ryegrasses with some subterranean clover. Soils in the 48 paddocks were 1-2 m sand to sandy loam over massive clay, known locally as Abba sand.

For many soils in the region, including Abba sands, …

Making Willing Bodies: Manufacturing Consent Among Prisoners And Soldiers, Creating Human Subjects, Patriots, And Everyday Citizens—The University Of Chicago Malaria Experiments On Prisoners At Stateville Penitentiary, Bernard E. Harcourt

Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper Series

No abstract provided.

College Food Systems Comparison, Courtney Fearon

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Songbird Diversity In Oak Woodland And Riparian Habitats In The Los Padres National Forest, San Luis Obispo County, California, Trevor Pell

Biological Sciences

Diversity in songbirds (Passeriformes) between riparian and oak woodland habitats has not been studied before in the Los Padres National Forest around the Hi Mountain Lookout in San Luis Obispo County. Surveys of avian populations were conducted by point counts on fifty variable circular plots; surveys were performed between July and August of 2010. Diversity was calculated using the Shannon-Weiner method, and then squared for normality. No significant results were found when comparing the diversity values between riparian and oak woodland habitat (F = 0.52, p = 0.472). Although the results showed no significance, the data are still important, as …

Pregnancy Outcomes Of Mothers Aged 17 Years Or Less, Alia A. Shuaib, Kaima A. Frass, Abdelrahman H. Al-Harazi, Najeeb S. Ghanem

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To study the obstetric complications of women who become pregnant at aged 17 years old or less. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed from January to December 2009 at Al-Thawra General Hospital, Sana9a, Yemen. We included all women aged 17 years or less who delivered in the hospital with singleton births after 24 weeks gestational age. The study group comprised 239 patients, and a control group (n=240) was chosen from women aged between 20-24 years. Data were retrieved from the hospital records. RESULTS: Pregnancy in women 17 years old or less was associated with higher frequency of low birth …

Stability And Stabilization Of Systems With Time Delay: Limitations And Opportunities, Chaouki T. Abdallah, Rifat Sipahi, Silviu-Julian Niculescu, Wim Michiels, Keqin Gu

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Time-delays are important components of many dynamical systems that describe coupling or interconnection between dynamics, propagation, or transport phenomena in shared environments, in heredity, and in competition in population dynamics. This monograph addresses the problem of stability analysis and the stabilisation of dynamical systems subjected to time-delays. It presents a wide and self-contained panorama of analytical methods and computational algorithms using a unified eigenvalue-based approach illustrated by examples and applications in electrical and mechanical engineering, biology, and complex network analysis.