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Staff Council Meeting Minutes, Georgia Southern University, Staff Council

Staff Council Meeting Minutes & Agendas

No abstract provided.

Phylogenetics Of Asian Hornbill Based On Mitochrondrial Cytochrome B Dna Sequences., Stephen W.N Hayes

Theses (Pre-2016)

This study was conducted to test the utility of mitochondrial genes, specifically cytochrome-b, to show phylogenetic and evolutionary relationships among Southeast Asian hornbills. An interesting fact about mitochondria is that it composed of 37 genes of which 22 are tRNA, 2 rRNA, and 13 structural genes. Furthermore I have studied the phylogenetics of cytochrome-b in order to retrieve a confident evolutionary conclusion. My goal was to test the hypothesis suggesting that multiple invasion of the Philippine islands by the ancestral hornbills from mainland Asia, or the Sunda Shelf. The alternative hypothesis is that the diversity of hornbills within the Philippines …

Spherical Distance Metrics Applied To Protein Structure Classification, James Defelice

Theses

Observed protein structures usually represent energetically favorable conformations. While not all observed structures are necessarily functional, it is generally agreed that protein structure is closely related to protein function. Given a collection of proteins sharing a common global structure, variations in their local structures at specific, critical locations may result in different biological functions. Structural relationships among proteins are important in the study of the evolution of proteins as well as in drug design and development. Analysis of geometrical 3D protein structure has been shown to be effective with respect to classifying proteins. Prior work has shown that the Double …

The Bg News May 18, 2011, Bowling Green State University

BG News (Student Newspaper)

The BGSU campus student newspaper. May 18, 2011. Volume 101-Issue 151.

Adaptive Threat Detector Testing Using Bayesian Gaussian Process Models, Bradley Thomas Ferguson

Theses and Dissertations

Detection of biological and chemical threats is an important consideration in the modern national defense policy. Much of the testing and evaluation of threat detection technologies is performed without appropriate uncertainty quantification. This paper proposes an approach to analyzing the effect of threat concentration on the probability of detecting chemical and biological threats. The approach uses a probit semi-parametric formulation between threat concentration level and the probability of instrument detection. It also utilizes a bayesian adaptive design to determine at which threat concentrations the tests should be performed. The approach offers unique advantages, namely, the flexibility to model non-monotone curves …

Determining Protease Substrate Selectivity And Inhibition By Label-Free Supramolecular Tandem Enzyme Assays, Garima Ghale, Vijayakumar Ramalingam, Adam R. Urbach, Werner M. Nau

Chemistry Faculty Research

An analytical method has been developed for the continuous monitoring of protease activity on unlabeled peptides in real time by fluorescence spectroscopy. The assay is enabled by a reporter pair comprising the macrocycle cucurbit[7]uril (CB7) and the fluorescent dye acridine orange (AO). CB7 functions by selectively recognizing N-terminal phenylalanine residues as they are produced during the enzymatic cleavage of enkephalin-type peptides by the metalloendopeptidase thermolysin. The substrate peptides (e.g., Thr-Gly-Ala-Phe-Met-NH₂) bind to CB7 with moderately high affinity (K ≈ 10⁴ M^–1), while their cleavage products (e.g., Phe-Met-NH₂) bind very tightly (K …

Social Capital And Education: Implications For Student And School Performance, Gregory K. Plagens

Education and Culture

Scholarly work on student and school performance poses a variety of explanations for observed variations. One explanation receiving too little attention is social capital, an intangible resource argued to grow out of social relations and social structure. The seedbed of social capital is argued to reside with John Dewey, who in 1900 used the term when explaining the importance of reading, writing and arithmetic to the future of individuals and communities. This paper examines social capital as a concept and discusses indicators and linkages that may be valuable to educators seeking ways to raise student and school performance.

The Bates Spudent - Volume 140 Number [19] - May 17, 2011, Bates College

The Bates Student

No abstract provided.

Hospital Vozandes Del Oriente Wastewater Treatment System Design, James Dykstra, Rachel Koopman, Ben Vander Plas, Sungmin Youn

All Engineering Faculty Research

Shell is a town located in the Eastern foothills of the Ecuadorian Andes approximately 94 miles Southeast of Quito. Hospital Vozandes del Oriente (HVO) is a hospital located in Shell owned and operated by Hoy Cristo Jesús Bendice (HCJB) Global. HCJB is a non-profit mission organization committed to Biblical values and community development principles.

Pure Pastaza, a senior design team from Calvin College, in conjunction with HCJB, has designed a wastewater treatment system for HVO. The design promotes the protection of human and environmental health by providing a sustainable solution to wastewater treatment and sets an example of stewardship to …

Autoregulation Of An Rna Polymerase Ii Promoter By The Rna Polymerase Iii Transcription Factor Iii C (TfIiiC) Complex, Richard A. Kleinschmidt, Kimberly E. Leblanc, David Donze

Faculty Publications

Extra TFIIIC (ETC) sites are chromosomal locations bound in vivo by the RNA polymerase III (Pol III) transcription factor III C (TF IIIC) complex, but are not necessarily associated with Pol III transcription. Although the location of ETC sequences are conserved in budding yeast, and similar sites are found in other organisms, their functions are largely unstudied. One such site, ETC6 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, lies upstream of TFC6, a gene encoding a subunit of the TFIIIC complex itself. Promoter analysis shows that the ETC6 B-box sequence is involved in autoregulation of the TFC6 promoter. Mutation of ETC6 increases TFC6 mRNA …

A Comparative Analysis Of Legislative And Policy Support Of Indigenous Cultural Transmission In Alaska, Canada, And Azerbaijan, Löki Gale Tobin

Rural Development

Does federal recognition of indigenous self-determination lead to federal support of indigenous cultural transmission? This thesis used a multiple-case analysis to answer this question. Research assessed the impact federal and non-federal legislation has had on indigenous cultural transmission in Alaska, Canada, and Azerbaijan respectively. Findings demonstrated that after federal recognition of indigenous self-determination, cultural transmission programs increased in Alaska and Canada. In Azerbaijan, where no such recognition exists, indigenous groups continue to face discrimination and national policies that negatively impact cultural transmission activities. Without federal recognition of indigenous self-determination, indigenous groups worldwide face situations hostile to their cultural survival.

Mobility And Chemical Fate Of Antimony And Arsenic In Historic Mining Environments Of Kantishna Hills, Denali National Park And Preserve, Alaska, Vanessa J. Ritchie

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Oxidative weathering processes of acid-forming sulfide minerals, such as pyrite (FeS₂), and associated arsenopyrite (FeAsS) and stibnite (Sb₂S₃), can have a significant impact on water quality associated with current and legacy mining operations. Concentrations of toxic metals and metalloids, such as antimony (Sb) and arsenic (As), in acid mine drainage can exceed drinking water quality standards by orders of magnitude. This study provides a detailed hydrogeochemical assessment of the mobility and chemical fate of antimony and arsenic in streams draining from historic antimony mines within Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Antimony and arsenic concentrations in stream water reach up …

The Molecular Basis Of Aerobic Metabolic Remodeling In Threespine Stickleback In Response To Cold Acclimation, Julieanna Inez Orczewska

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Increases in mitochondrial density during cold acclimation have been documented in many fish species, however the mechanism regulating this process is not understood. The present study sought to characterize metabolic changes in response to cold acclimation and identify how these changes are regulated in oxidative muscle, glycolytic muscle and liver tissue of threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus. Fish were warm (20°C) or cold (8°C) acclimated for 9 weeks and harvested during acclimation. Mitochondrial volume density was quantified using transmission electron microscopy and aerobic metabolic capacity assessed by measuring the maximal activity of citrate synthase and cytochrome c oxidase. The molecular mechanism …

Recombination Phenotypes Of The Nci-60 Collection Of Human Cancer Cells, Dawn M. Stults, Michael W. Killen, Brent J. Shelton, Andrew J. Pierce

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The NCI-60 is a collection of tumor cell lines derived from a variety of human adult cancer tissue types and is commonly used for genetic analysis and screening of potential chemotherapeutic agents. We wanted to understand the contributions of specific mechanisms of genomic instability to the etiology of cancers represented by the NCI-60.

RESULTS: We screened the NCI-60 for dysregulated homologous recombination by using the gene cluster instability (GCI) assay we pioneered, and for defects in base excision repair by sensitivity to 5-hydroxymethyl-2'-deoxyuridine (hmdUrd). We identified subsets of the NCI-60 lines that either displayed the characteristic molecular signature of …

Method Of Producing Interconnected Volumetric Porosity In Materials, Christopher G. Papangelou, Wesley M. Johnson

USF Patents

A method to create interconnected porosity in materials that can be poured or injected into a cast. The process allows the arrangement of interconnected volumetric porosity to be directed in materials that are poured or injected into a cast. This process allows a manufacturer to tailor porosity with any size, shape, and configuration with the dissolvable material used to create the pores. This procedure can be applied to medical materials to direct bone growth or implant attachment. These resulting porous materials can include, but is not limited to short fiber reinforced epoxy or epoxy.

Method Of Performing In Situ Calibrated Potentiometric Ph Measurements, Robert H. Byrne

USF Patents

A device for the precise and accurate potentiometric pH measurements in situ. Embodiments of a potentiometric device according to the invention consist of one or more glass pH-sensitive electrodes connected to a potentiometer. A key feature of the device is that, rather than being calibrated conventionally with buffers, it can be calibrated with an in situ device that measures pH spectrophotometrically. Spectrophotometric pH measurements obtained via sulfonephthalein absorbance measurements are inherently calibrated (do not require buffers). Thus, devices according to the invention allow for continuous potentiometric pH measurements with occasional spectrophotometric calibrations. The spectrophotometric calibration device consists of a spectrophotometer …

Method Of Controlled Delivery For Use Of Electrochemical Power Source, Andres M. Cardenas-Valencia, Norma Alcantar, Xiaoling Ding, Ryan G. Toomey, Larry Langebrake

USF Patents

A system and method for improving electrochemical power sources through the dispensing encapsulation and dispersion into galvanic chambers of an electrochemical cell. Features of the method include the optimization of the concentration levels of chemicals involved in desired energy producing reactions.

Water Purification Method Using Plant Molecules, Norma A. Alcantar, Babu Joseph, Kevin Young

USF Patents

Arsenic is a poisonous metalloid which, because of its hydroscopic nature, is primarily transported through water. Most plant species, including the nopal cactus, produce a sticky substance called mucilage. Mucilage swells in water but is insoluble and can precipitate ions, bacteria and particles from aqueous solutions. The invention includes a method of separating particulates and heavy metals such as arsenic (As) from drinking water using natural flocculants obtained from cactus mucilage. The extraction techniques and the methodology for using the cactus mucilage obtain higher As removal than conventional methods, like aluminum sulfate precipitation.

Social Indicators For Arctic Mining, Sharman Haley, Nick Szymoniak, Matthew Klick, Andrew Crow, Tobias Schwoerer

ISER Reports

This paper reviews and assesses the state of the data to describe and monitor mining trends in the pan-Arctic. It constructs a mining index and discusses its value as a social impact indicator and discusses drivers of change in Arctic mining. The widely available measures of mineral production and value are poor proxies for economic effects on Arctic communities. Trends in mining activity can be characterized as stasis or decline in mature regions of the Arctic, with strong growth in the frontier regions. World prices and the availability of large, undiscovered and untapped resources with favorable access and low political …

Residue Propensities, Discrimination And Binding Site Prediction Of Adenine And Guanine Phosphates, Ahmad Firoz, Adeel Malik, Karl H. Joplin, Zulfiqar Ahmad, Vivekanand Jha, Shandar Ahmad

ETSU Faculty Works

Background: Adenine and guanine phosphates are involved in a number of biological processes such as cell signaling, metabolism and enzymatic cofactor functions. Binding sites in proteins for these ligands are often detected by looking for a previously known motif by alignment based search. This is likely to miss those where a similar binding site has not been previously characterized and when the binding sites do not follow the rule described by predefined motif. Also, it is intriguing how proteins select between adenine and guanine derivative with high specificity. Results: Residue preferences for AMP, GMP, ADP, GDP, ATP and GTP have …

Energetics And Space Use Of Female Moose During Winter, Benjamin Robert Kraft

Biological Sciences

Space use and resource selection are processes linked by habitat availability that have direct consequences to fitness. Knowledge of such processes allows comprehension of wildlife-habitat relationships, which can improve the efficacy of wildlife management programs. I investigated energetic and space use parameters of a population of female moose wintering in two adjacent, but distinct, landscape types (lowlands and mountains) on the Kenai Peninsula, AK, USA. I also evaluated differences between four home range models. I found that mountain females started winter in better condition, but used fat reserves at a higher rate than lowland females resulting in similar body condition …

Alterations In Gene-Expression Of Low Shear Modeled Microgravity (Lsmmg) Grown Escherichia Coli, Abogunde Bernadine Ohunene

Theses (Pre-2016)

In this study, the effects on transcript levels of E. coli (BC) (ATCC 4157) upon exposure to growth in space will be evaluated. EC is an enteric bacteria, thus can be found in the intestinal tracts of both healthy and diseased humans and animals. The specific transcript levels to be evaluated will be primarily based upon previous findings in which a subset of EC genes was shown to be responsive to space-like conditions, also known as Low shear modeled microgravity (Tucker et al, 2007). One such gene, accA, (which encodes acetyl coenzyme A) was found to be up-regulated in EC …

Possible Role Of Death Receptor-Mediated Apoptosis By The E3 Ubiquitin Ligases Siah2 And Posh, Perry A. Christian, Michael V. Fiandalo, Steven R. Schwarze

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: A functioning ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) is essential for a number of diverse cellular processes and maintenance of overall cellular homeostasis. The ability of proteasome inhibitors, such as Velcade, to promote extrinsic apoptotic effects illustrates the importance of the ubiquitin proteasome system in the regulation of death receptor signaling. Here, we set out to define the UPS machinery, particularly the E3 ubiquitin ligases, that repress apoptosis through the extrinsic pathway. A cell-based genome-wide E3 ligase siRNA screen was established to monitor caspase-8 activity following the addition of TRAIL.

RESULTS: Data from the high-throughput screen revealed that targeting the RING-finger …

Survival Of Duck Nests, Distribution Of Duck Broods, And Habitat Conservation Targeting In The Prairie Pothole Region, Johann Walker

Biological Sciences

The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) is an important breeding region for populations of upland-nesting ducks (Anas spp.). I studied survival of duck nests, distribution of duck broods, and conservation easement targeting in the PPR of North and South Dakota, USA. Nest survival of common duck species varied from 0.02 (ŜE = 0.01) to 0.23 (ŜE = 0.02) among study sites and years and was positively related to current pond density and primary productivity and negatively related to recent pond density and primary productivity. This result was consistent with the hypothesis that nest predators and thus nest survival were responding to …

Body Condition And Reproductive Strategies Of Female Lesser Scaup In The Boreal Forest Of Alaska, Kristin A. Degroot

Biological Sciences

In many waterfowl species, body condition of breeding females can contribute to reproductive success by influencing factors such as egg size, clutch size and ability to incubate eggs. In turn, changes in female condition at the population level could affect population growth rates. Large-scale declines in populations of Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) raised concerns that poor female body condition was contributing to declines by reducing reproductive output. However, little was known about changes in body condition over time and about the contribution that stored body reserves make to egg production, especially in boreal forest regions where most scaup breed. My …

The Csc Is Required For Complete Radial Spoke Assembly And Wild-Type Ciliary Motility, Erin E. Dymek, Thomas Heuser, Daniela Nicastro, Elizabeth F. Smith

Dartmouth Scholarship

The ubiquitous calcium binding protein, calmodulin (CaM), plays a major role in regulating the motility of all eukaryotic cilia and flagella. We previously identified a CaM and Spoke associated Complex (CSC) and provided evidence that this complex mediates regulatory signals between the radial spokes and dynein arms. We have now used an artificial microRNA (amiRNA) approach to reduce expression of two CSC subunits in Chlamydomonas. For all amiRNA mutants, the entire CSC is lacking or severely reduced in flagella. Structural studies of mutant axonemes revealed that assembly of radial spoke 2 is defective. Furthermore, analysis of both flagellar beating and …

Attenuation Of The Herbicide Glyphosate Along Railroad Corridors In Alaska, Nellie B. Ballou

Engineering

Following the application of glyphosate in the formulation of AquaMaster® at two contrasting sub-arctic zones along the railroad corridor in Alaska, attenuation of the herbicide glyphosate was investigated. Study sites were established in continental and coastal zones. Glyphosate soil attenuation was similar to temperate regions during the growing season but exhibited an extended persistence during the winter months. Although glyphosate microbial degradation likely slowed during winter, both sites showed evidence of slight glyphosate degradation during the winter months. The coastal site attenuated more rapidly than the continental site which is presumably due to increased rainfall relative to the continental site. …

Four Year Experience Of Sarcoma Of Soft Tissues And Bones In A Tertiary Care Hospital And Review Of Literature, Tayyaba Z. Ansari, Nehal Masood, Asra Parekh, Rabab Z. Jafri, Syed N. Niamatullah, Adnan A. Zaidi, Masood Umer

Department of Medicine

Background:

Sarcoma encompasses an uncommon group of cancer and the data is insufficient from Pakistan. We report our four years experience of Sarcoma of soft tissues and bones.

Methods:

This cross sectional study was carried out at Aga Khan University Hospital from 2004 to 2008. The Patients were divided into two groups from the outset i.e. initially diagnosed and relapsed group and separate sub group analysis was conducted.

Results:

Out of 93 newly diagnosed Patients, 58 belonged to bone sarcoma and 35 to soft tissue sarcoma group. While for relapsed Patients, 5 had soft tissue sarcoma and 9 had bone …

Traditional Knowledge And Fish Biology: A Study Of Bering Cisco In The Yukon River Delta, Alaska, David Michael Runfola

Fisheries

Relatively little is known about the biology of whitefishes (subfamily Coregoninae) in Alaska. To address this shortcoming, I combined social and biological science methods to examine whitefish in the Yukon River delta, Alaska. This study had two objectives: (1) to collaborate with Yup'ik subsistence fishers in sharing their knowledge of whitefish; and (2) to describe the life history of Bering cisco Coregonus laurettae. In August 2004, interview participants discussed Yup'ik traditional knowledge of whitefish. Participants shared knowledge of Bering cisco and other whitefish species. Interviews demonstrated the need for greater awareness of traditional knowledge, and the importance of communicating this …

Mustang Daily, May 16, 2011

Cal Poly Student Newspaper

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