Digital Commons Network^™

Fluid Shear Stress Regulates The Invasive Potential Of Glioma Cells Via Modulation Of Migratory Activity And Matrix Metalloproteinase Expression, Henry Qazi, Zhong-Dong Shi, John M. Tarbell

Publications and Research

Background Glioma cells are exposed to elevated interstitial fluid flow during the onset of angiogenesis, at the tumor periphery while invading normal parenchyma, within white matter tracts, and during vascular normalization therapy. Glioma cell lines that have been exposed to fluid flow forces in vivo have much lower invasive potentials than in vitro cell motility assays without flow would indicate. Methodology/Principal Findings A 3D Modified Boyden chamber (Darcy flow through collagen/cell suspension) model was designed to mimic the fluid dynamic microenvironment to study the effects of fluid shear stress on the migratory activity of glioma cells. Novel methods for gel …

Role Of Cortisol In Social And Memory Impairments In Individuals With Velocardiofacial Syndrome (Vcfs), Daniel Jacobson

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Velocardiofacial Syndrome (VCFS) is a genetic disorder characterized by numerous physiological and psychological symptoms. Little is known regarding the neuropsychological and hormonal substrates and the social functioning in individuals with VCFS. There is some evidence to suggest that the stress hormone cortisol contributes to social, cognitive, and communication deficits in related populations (Corbett, Schupp, Levine, & Mendoza, 2009). This study investigated the role that cortisol has on the social and cognitive impairments observed in children with VCFS. To this end, 11 children with confirmed VCFS were assessed for baseline cortisol levels and received neuropsychological testing that assessed attention, memory, language, …

A Woman Of Faith

News Releases

No abstract provided.

Investigating The Distance Limit Of A Metal Nanoparticle Based Spectroscopic Ruler, Subhasish Chatterjee, Jong Bum Lee, Nikesh V. Valappil, Dan Luo, Vinod M. Menon

Publications and Research

Conventional Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) processes involving a pair of fluorophore and organic quencher are restricted to an upper distance limit of ~10 nm. The application of a metal nanoparticle as a quencher can overcome the distance barrier of the traditional FRET technique. However, no standard distance dependence of this resonance energy transfer (RET) process has been firmly established. We have investigated the nonradiative energy transfer process between an organic donor (fluorescein) and gold nanoparticle quencher connected by double stranded (ds) DNA. The quenching efficiency of the gold nanoparticle as a function of distance between the donor and acceptor …

Quantum Ghost Imaging Through Turbulence, John C. Howell

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

We investigate the effect of turbulence on quantum ghost imaging. We use entangled photons and demonstrate that for a specific experimental configuration the effect of turbulence can be greatly diminished. By decoupling the entangled photon source from the ghost-imaging central image plane, we are able to dramatically increase the ghost-image quality. When imaging a test pattern through turbulence, this method increases the imaged pattern visibility from V=0.15±0.04 to 0.42±0.04.

Efficacy Of Different Retention Types Post-Orthodontic Treatment, Monica Sonia Kaur Dosanjh

Master's Theses

Introduction: Despite major advances in orthodontic tooth movement, orthodontic retention still remains a major problem. It has been estimated that only 10% of the population who have received orthodontics are still in acceptable occlusion as judged by orthodontists 20 years after retention. (Little, Riedel et al. 1988) In addition, very little is known about patient’s perception in relation to orthodontic relapse. Therefore, the goal of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of 3 different types of retainers (Hawley removable, Essix removable and Fixed) of the mandibular and maxillary anterior sextant and to assess patient perception of crowding. Materials and …

University Board Of Trustees Elects New Members, University Communications, Illinois Wesleyan University

News and Events (Discontinued Series)

No abstract provided.

Planting Seeds For An Improved Agrifood System? Linking The Aims Of The Alternative Agrifood Movement To Executive Action In The First Two Years Of The Obama Administration, K. Glowa, Sarah Carvill, Costanza Rampini

Faculty Publications, Environmental Studies

This paper uses several case studies to look at the dialogic relationship between the Obama administration and the alternative agrifood movement. We evaluate the case studies based on criteria developed from the agroecology literature and literature on food security, agrarianism, and the alternative agrifood movement as a whole. Additionally we compare the policy tools utilized and the funding levels of each of the cases. Our findings suggest that the Obama administration is committed to tackling issues of food security and promoting the well-being of small- and mid-scale farmers and their local agrifood economies. Deconsolidation of large agribusiness, equitable trade, and …

Enhancing Family Functioning To Buffer Risk During Middle School Transition: Development Of The Multiple Family Group Weekend Retreat., Robert Broce

Theses and Dissertations

Children experience changes in multiple levels of their social ecologies when they transition into middle school (Eccles, 1999; Jozefowicz-Simbeni, 2008). These biological, psychological, social, and environmental changes create increased risk for dropout and other factors related to academic adjustment (Cataldi, Laird & KewalRamani, 2009). For low- income minority children these risks can be magnified by environmental and social factors (Ge et al., 2002). Healthy family functioning, including balanced levels of cohesion and flexibility, has been shown to buffer these risks (Burchinal, Roberts, Zeisel & Rowley, 2008; Olson, 2010; Wampler, Munsch, & Adams, 2002) and was targeted by a Multiple Family …

Tryptophan Degradation In Women With Breast Cancer: A Pilot Study, Debra E. Lyon, Jeanne M. Walter, Angela R. Starkwater, Christine M. Schubert, Nancy L. Mccain

Faculty Publications

Background: Altered tryptophan metabolism and indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase activity are linked to cancer development and progression. In addition, these biological factors have been associated with the development and severity of neuropsychiatric syndromes, including major depressive disorder. However, this biological mechanism associated with both poor disease outcomes and adverse neuropsychiatric symptoms has received little attention in women with breast cancer. Therefore, a pilot study was undertaken to compare levels of tryptophan and other proteins involved in tryptophan degradation in women with breast cancer to women without cancer, and secondarily, to examine levels in women with breast cancer over the course of chemotherapy. …

Fitness Of Diabrotica Barberi, Diabrotica Longicornis, And Their Hybrids (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), Laura A. Campbell, Lance J. Meinke

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Diabrotica barberi Smith & Lawrence, the northern corn rootworm, and Diabrotica longicornis (Say) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), are currently recognized as closely related chrysomelid species. Hybridization has been proposed to occur between them, although the viability of hybrids has never been tested. The objective of this study was to assess life-history parameters of D. barberi,D. longicornis, and their hybrids under laboratory conditions to examine the potential for field hybridization. D. barberi and D. longicornis were collected in allopatry and were used to create lab colonies. Parental species were crossed to obtain F1 hybrids, F2 hybrids, and backcrosses to either parental species. …

Mcnair Scholars 2009-2010, Program Staff, University Administration

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Research In Academe, Pamela Stacks

Open Access and Digital Repository Forum 2011

Pamela Stacks will discuss the role of the public university in disseminating, archiving and providing access to the research and scholarship of faculty and students.

Illuminating Distinction: Rural Modernization And The Invention Of The Countryside In Cajamarca, Perú, Jade Severson

Senior Theses

The district of La Encañada, located deep within the Andean sierra north of the city of Cajamarca, is in a state of transition. As the beneficiary of a 2006 collaborative project between ITDG-Soluciones Prácticas and the European Union, nine of the district’s communities received a solar panel stipulated for placement on each community’s local centro educativo, a school serving students at both the primary and secondary grade levels. Investment in solar panels was intended to complement a much more integral project designed to harness the resources available in the district and to thus empower peasant men and women and their …

Smart Meter Devices And The Effect Of Feedback On Residential Electricity Consumption: Evidence From A Natural Experiment In Northern Ireland, Will Gans, Anna Alberini, Alberto Longo

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Working Papers

Using a unique set of data and exploiting a large-scale natural experiment, we estimate the effect of real-time usage information on residential electricity consumption in Northern Ireland. Starting in April 2002, the utility replaced prepayment meters with “smart” meters that allow the consumer to track usage in real-time. We rely on this event, account for the endogeneity of price and plan with consumption through a plan selection correction term, and find that the provision of information is associated with a decline in electricity consumption of up to 20%. We find that the reduction is robust to different specifications, selection-bias correction …

Biofuel Economics In A Setting Of Multiple Objectives & Unintended Consequences, William K. Jaeger, Thorsten M. Egelkraut

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Working Papers

This paper examines biofuels from an economic perspective and evaluates the merits of promoting biofuel production in the context of the policies’ multiple objectives, life-cycle implications, pecuniary externalities, and other unintended consequences. The policy goals most often cited are to reduce fossil fuel use and to lower greenhouse gas emissions. But the presence of multiple objectives and various indirect effects complicates normative evaluation. To address some of these complicating factors, we look at several combinations of policy alternatives that achieve the same set of incremental gains along the two primary targeted policy dimensions, making it possible to compare the costs …

A Global Map Of Costal Recreation Values: Results From A Spatially Explicit Based Meta-Analysis, Andrea Ghermandi, Paulo A.L.D. Nunes

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Working Papers

The welfare dimension of the recreational services provided by global coastal ecosystems is examined through a meta-analytical regression-based valuation approach. First, we construct a global, state-of-the-art database of stated and revealed preference estimates on coastal recreation, which includes also the grey literature and with the latest entry updated to February 2010. Second, the profile of each of the 253 observations of our dataset, which correspond to individual value estimates, was further enriched with characteristics of the built coastal environment (site accessibility, anthropogenic pressure, level of human development), characteristics of the natural coastal environment (presence of protected area, type of ecosystem, …

Mustang Daily, May 25, 2011

Cal Poly Student Newspaper

Student newspaper of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA.

Hivtoolbox, An Integrated Web Application For Investigating Hiv, David P. Sargeant, Sandeep Deverasetty, Yang Luo, Angel Villahoz Baleta, Stephanie Zobrist, Viraj Rathnayake, Jacqueline C. Russo, Jay Vyas, Mark A. Muesing, Martin Schiller

Life Sciences Faculty Research

Many bioinformatic databases and applications focus on a limited domain of knowledge federating links to information in other databases. This segregated data structure likely limits our ability to investigate and understand complex biological systems. To facilitate research, therefore, we have built HIVToolbox, which integrates much of the knowledge about HIV proteins and allows virologists and structural biologists to access sequence, structure, and functional relationships in an intuitive web application. HIV-1 integrase protein was used as a case study to show the utility of this application. We show how data integration facilitates identification of new questions and hypotheses much more rapid …

Spectator 2011-05-25, Editors Of The Spectator

The Spectator

No abstract provided.

Today - May 25, 2011, Loma Linda University

TODAY

Inside this issue:

-- Loma Linda University prepares to graduate more than 1,300 students
-- 'Loma Linda 360' nominated for eight Emmys
-- Connection between mental and physical health suggested by Biopsychosocial Religion and Health Study
-- First annual medical simulation conference
-- Counseling and family sciences department conducts study for Housing Authority
-- Loma Linda University Medical Center announces administrative reorganization
-- Large crowd attends Women's Works at LLU Heart & Surgical Hospital
-- LLUMC East Campus Hospital administrator transitions to active retirement
-- Child life seminar looks to hospitalized children and their unique needs
-- New director comes …

Volume 48, Number 40: May 25, 2011, University Of North Dakota

University Letter Archive

No abstract provided.

Homoplastic Microinversions And The Avian Tree Of Life, E. L. Braun, R T. Kimball, K. L. Han, N. R. Luhasz-Velez, A. J. Bonilla, Jena L. Chojnowski, J. V. Smith, R. C. Bowie, M. J. Braun, S. J. Hackett, J. Harshman, C. J. Huddleston, B. D. Marks, W. S. Moore, S. Reddy, F. H. Sheldon, C. C. Witt, T. Yuri

Natural Sciences Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND:

Microinversions are cytologically undetectable inversions of DNA sequences that accumulate slowly in genomes. Like many other rare genomic changes (RGCs), microinversions are thought to be virtually homoplasy-free evolutionary characters, suggesting that they may be very useful for difficult phylogenetic problems such as the avian tree of life. However, few detailed surveys of these genomic rearrangements have been conducted, making it difficult to assess this hypothesis or understand the impact of microinversions upon genome evolution.

RESULTS:

We surveyed non-coding sequence data from a recent avian phylogenetic study and found substantially more microinversions than expected based upon prior information about vertebrate …

Trends Over 5 Decades In U.S. Occupation-Related Physical Activity And Their Associations With Obesity, Timothy S. Church, Diana M. Thomas, Catrine Tudor-Locke, Peter T. Katzmarzyk, Conrad P. Earnest, Ruben Q. Rodarte, Corby K. Martin, Steven N. Blair, Claude Bouchard

Department of Mathematics Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Background: The true causes of the obesity epidemic are not well understood and there are few longitudinal population-based data published examining this issue. The objective of this analysis was to examine trends in occupational physical activity during the past 5 decades and explore how these trends relate to concurrent changes in body weight in the U.S.

Methodology/Principal Findings: Analysis of energy expenditure for occupations in U.S. private industry since 1960 using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Mean body weight was derived from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES). In the early 1960's almost half …

Josh Heath, Carlos Cardoza-Oquendo Earn Spring Academic Honors, Armstrong State University

Armstrong Athletics: Men's Baseball News (Archived)

Josh Heath, Carlos Cardoza-Oquendo Earn Spring Academic Honors. Capping off a fantastic season academically for the Armstrong Atlantic State University baseball program, two Pirates earned prestigious academic awards in the Spring semester from their departments at the annual awards convocation.

Leading The Horses To Water That They Will Want To Drink: Strategies For Promoting Your Institutional Repository On And Off Campus, Daniel Kipnis

Maryland IR Day

This presentation will outline strategies designed to promote institutional repositories to a university community.

Errata, Human Biology Editors

Human Biology

No abstract provided.

Genes, Language, Cognition, And Culture: Towards Productive Inquiry, W. Tecumseh Fitch

Human Biology

The Queen Mary conference on “Integrating Genetic and Cultural Evolutionary Approaches to Language,” and the papers in this special issue, clearly illustrate the excitement and potential of trans-disciplinary approaches to language as an evolved biological capacity (phylogeny) and an evolving cultural entity (glossogeny). Excepting the present author, the presenters/authors are mostly young rising stars in their respective fields, and include scientists with backgrounds in linguistics, animal communication, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, anthropology, and computer science. On display was a clear willingness to engage with different approaches and terminology and a commitment to shared standards of scientific rigor, empirically driven theory, and …

Are Languages Really Independent From Genes? If Not, Whatwould A Genetic Bias Affecting Language Diversity Look Like?, Dan Dediu

Human Biology

It is generally accepted that the relationship between human genes and language is very complex and multifaceted. This has its roots in the “regular” complexity governing the interplay among genes and between genes and environment for most phenotypes, but with the added layer of supraontogenetic and supra-individual processes defining culture. At the coarsest level, focusing on the species, it is clear that human-specific—but not necessarily faculty-specific—genetic factors subtend our capacity for language and a currently very productive research program is aiming at uncovering them. At the other end of the spectrum, it is uncontroversial that individual-level variations in different aspects …

Introduction: Integrating Genetic And Cultural Evolutionary Approaches To Language, Alex Mesoudi, Alan G. Mcelligott, David Adger

Human Biology

The papers in this special issue of Human Biology address recent research in the field of language evolution, both the genetic evolution of the language faculty and the cultural evolution of specific languages. While both of these areas have received increasing interest in recent years, there is also a need to integrate these somewhat separate efforts and explore the relevant gene-culture coevolutionary interactions. Here we summarize the individual contributions, set them in the context of the wider literature, and identify outstanding future research questions. The first set of papers concerns the comparative study of nonhuman communication in primates and birds …