Digital Commons Network^™

The Lives Of Others: Social Rationality In Animals, Jeffrey R. Stevens, Andrew J. King

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Amanda sits waiting in a nail salon. She is on a day out with her two neighbors Bridget and Camille, who are already being serviced by different attendants. After observing Bridget’s body jolt several times, Amanda makes her way over to Camille’s attendant for her own service. By using a simple social cue, Amanda has likely saved herself a good bit of pain and may even have established a life-long relationship with the apparently more skilled attendant.

If you replace “nail salon” with “cleaning station”, these circumstances apply perfectly well to an instance of social rationality in fish! Cleaner fish …

Cgi-58/Abhd5-Derived Signaling Lipids Regulate Systemic Inflammation And Insulin Action, Caleb C. Lord, Jenna L. Betters, Pavlina T. Ivanova, Stephen B. Milne, David S. Myers, Jennifer Madenspacher, Gwynneth Thomas, Soonkyu Chung, Mingxia Liu, Matthew A. Davis, Richard G. Lee, Rosanne M. Crooke, Mark J. Graham, John S. Parks, Dawn L. Brasaemle, Michael B. Fessler, H. Alex Brown, J. Mark Brown

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Mutations of comparative gene identification 58 (CGI-58) in humans cause Chanarin-Dorfman syndrome, a rare autosomal recessive disease in which excess triacylglycerol (TAG) accumulates in multiple tissues. CGI-58 recently has been ascribed two distinct biochemical activities, including coactivation of adipose triglyceride lipase and acylation of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA). It is noteworthy that both the substrate (LPA) and the product (phosphatidic acid) of the LPA acyltransferase reaction are wellknown signaling lipids. Therefore, we hypothesized that CGI-58 is involved in generating lipid mediators that regulate TAG metabolism and insulin sensitivity. Here, we show that CGI-58 is required for the generation of signaling lipids …

Muscadine Grape (Vitis Rotundifolia) And Wine Phytochemicals Prevented Obesity-Associated Metabolic Complications In C57bl/6j Mice, Vishnupriya Gourineni, Neil F. Shay, Soonkyu Chung, Amandeep K. Sandhu, Liwei Gu

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of muscadine grape or wine (cv. Noble) phytochemicals on obesity and associated metabolic complications. Muscadine grape or wine phytochemicals were extracted using Amberlite FPX66 resin. Male C57BL/6J mice were given a low-fat diet (LF, 10% kcal fat), high-fat diet (HF, 60% kcal fat), HF + 0.4% muscadine grape phytochemicals (HF+MGP), or HF + 0.4% muscadine wine phytochemicals (HF+MWP) for 15 weeks. At 7 weeks, mice fed HF+MGP had significantly decreased body weights by 12% compared to HF controls. Dietary MGP or MWP supplementation reduced plasma content of free fatty acids, …

Colony Connectivity Of Pacific Coast Double-Crested Cormorants Based On Post-Breeding Dispersal From The Region’S Largest Colony, Karen N. Courtot, Daniel D. Roby, Jessica Y. Adkins, Donald E. Lyons, D. Tommy King, R. Scott Larsen

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

To reduce conflicts with fish resources, other colonial waterbirds, and damage to habitats, double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) are currently controlled (lethally and non-lethally) throughout much of their range. Concerns are growing over the Pacific Coast’s largest double-crested cormorant colony at East Sand Island (ESI), Oregon near the mouth of the Columbia River, where cormorants forage on juvenile salmonids, many of which are listed under the United States Endangered Species Act. Management of this colony is currently under consideration and may call for a redistribution of a portion of this colony numbering more than 12,000 breeding pairs in 2009. …

Pond-Level Risk Factors Associated With Columnaris Disease On Mississippi Commercial Catfish Farms, Fred L. Cunningham, Skip W. Jack, David Hardin, Robert W. Wills

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

A large commercial catfish enterprise encompassing over 500 food fish ponds from five farms covering multiple counties in the Mississippi Delta was included in this analysis of columnaris risk factors. A gram-negative bacterium, Flavobacterium columnare, is the cause of columnaris disease and is considered the second-most prevalent bacterial disease in farm-raised catfish. The objective of this study was to determine if pond-level risk factors reported by farm personnel were associated with columnaris disease mortalities. To identify risk factors affecting susceptibility of farm-raised channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus to columnaris disease, a Catfish Management database was developed. Logistic regression was used …

Antibodies To Avian Influenza Viruses In Canada Geese (Branta Canadensis): A Potential Surveillance Tool?, Whitney M. Kistler, David E. Stallknecht, Thomas J. Deliberto, Seth Swafford, Kerri Pedersen, Kyle Van Why, Paul C. Wolf, Jerry A. Hill, Darren L. Brunning, James C. Cumbee, Randall M. Mickley, Carl W. Betsill, Adam R. Randall, Roy D. Berghaus, Michael J. Yabsley

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Traditionally, the epidemiology of avian influenza viruses (AIVs) in wild birds has been defined by detection of virus or viral RNA through virus isolation or reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Our goals were to estimate AIV antibody prevalence in Canada geese (Branta canadensis) and measure effects of age and location on these estimates. We collected 3,205 samples from nine states during June and July 2008 and 2009: Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Washington, and West Virginia. Serum samples were tested for AIV antibodies with the use of a commercial blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Overall, 483 …

Boiga Irregularis (Brown Treesnake), Tom Mathies, William C. Pitt, Joseph A. Rabon

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

DIET. The invasive Boiga irregularis, having decimated most of the native species it preyed on in Guam, now preys heavily on other invasive vertebrates. Eleutherodactylus planirostris (Greenhouse Frog), which has recently become established on Guam (Christy et al. 2007. Pac. Sci. 61:469-483), may provide the snake with an additional food source because the frogs are active nocturnally and can attain high densities (12,500 frogs ha^-1 in Hawaii; Olson 2011. Unpubl. dissertation. Utah State University, Logan. 116 pp.). Boiga irregularis consume E. planirostris in captivity (unpubl. data in Christy et al. 2007. Pac. Sci. 61 :469-483), but it is …

The Role Of The National Wildlife Disease Program In Wildlife Disease Surveillance And Emergency Response, Kerri Pedersen, John A. Baroch, Dale L. Nolte, Tom Gidlewski, Thomas J. Deliberto

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The National Wildlife Disease Program (NWDP), overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services (WS), was established in 2003 to develop a nationally coordinated wildlife disease surveillance and emergency response system. Since its inception, the NWDP has developed collaborations with over 200 national and international partners. The national partners include state, tribal, federal, and private organizations. These partnerships have resulted in surveillance and management of over 100 pathogens, toxins, and disease syndromes affecting wildlife, domestic animals, and humans. Several of these pathogens, including avian influenza, plague, tularemia, bluetongue, and 10 pathogens carried by …

Detection Of Volatile Organic Compounds In Cattle Naturally Infected With Mycobacterium Bovis, Nir Peled, Radu Ionescu, Pauline Nol, Orna Barash, Matt Mccollum, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Matthew Koslow, Randal S. Stahl, Jack Rhyan, Hossam Haick

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We report here on a novel methodology in detecting Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) infection in cattle, based on identifying unique volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or a VOC profile in the breath of cattle. The study was conducted on an M. bovis-infected dairy located in southern Colorado, USA, and on two tuberculosis-free dairies from northern Colorado examined as negative controls. Gaschromatography/ mass-spectrometry analysis revealed the presence of 2 VOCs associated with M. bovis infection and 2 other VOCs associated with the healthy state in the exhaled breath of M. bovis-infected and not infected animals, yielding distinctly different VOC patterns …

Using Three-Dimensional Flight Patterns At Airfields To Identify Hotspots For Avianeaircraft Collisions, W. David Walter, Justin W. Fischer, John S. Humphrey, Trey S. Daughtery, Michael P. Milleson, Eric A. Tillman, Michael L. Avery

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In the United States, black vulture (Coragyps atratus) and turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) pose significant birdstrike risks to aircraft. Understanding flight behaviors of vultures in and around military and civilian airfields is necessary to alleviate these risks. Using satellite telemetry data collected from 11 black vultures and 7 turkey vultures equipped with Global Positioning System backpack harness technology, we collected data on location and altitude near the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) in Beaufort, South Carolina from September 2006 to September 2008. We used military aircraft flight landing patterns to visualize a new concept, a flight …

Foraging Preferences Of Canada Geese Among Turfgrasses: Implications For Reducing Human–Goose Conflicts, Brian E. Washburn, Thomas W. Seamans

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Canada geese (Branta canadensis) can cause serious damage to turfgrass areas and create human health and safety concerns (e.g., collisions with aircraft, disease transmission). We conducted a study during 2005–2007 to determine if Canada geese exhibit a feeding preference among various commercially available turfgrasses. Behavioral responses of captive geese to 9 turfgrasses, bare ground, and litter were observed over 6 4-week trials during July–September following the installation of selected turfgrasses into experimental arenas. Captive geese preferred to forage on Kentucky bluegrass, creeping bentgrass, and fine fescue sods compared to centipedegrass, St. Augustinegrass, and zoysiagrass. Forage qualities and macronutrient …

Migration Patterns Of Double-Crested Cormorants Wintering In The Southeastern United States, D. Tommy King, Bronson K. Strickland, Andrew Radomski

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Migration patterns of Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) wintering in the southeastern U.S. are poorly understood. Movement data were analyzed from 28 cormorants captured in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi and equipped with satellite transmitters. Four (three immature, one adult) cormorants did not migrate and stayed in the southeastern U.S. throughout the year. During spring, cormorants captured in Alabama migrated east of the Mississippi River and primarily west of the Appalachian Mountains. Cormorants from Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi migrated north along the Mississippi River Valley, the Missouri River Valley and/or the Ohio River Valley. The earliest departure for spring …

Deer-Activated Bio-Acoustic Frightening Device Deters White-Tailed Deer, Aaron M. Hildreth, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

White-tailed deer damage urban and suburban plantings as well as crops and stored feed. A high public demand exists for non-lethal control methods. Several frightening devices are available for deer and all can be categorized as auditory, visual, tactile, and biological. Several problems exist with frightening devices, including: effectiveness, acclimation, cost, and acceptance. We tested the efficacy of a frightening device that played pre-recorded distress calls of adult female white-tailed deer when activated by an infrared motion sensor. Potential benefits of the device are that deer are less likely to acclimate to animalactivated and infrequently projected calls and that distress …

Using Bird Strike Information To Direct Effective Management Actions Within Airport Environments, Todd J. Pitlik, Brian E. Washburn

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wildlife--aircraft collisions (wildlife strikes) pose a serious safety risk to aircraft. Many bird species, especially gulls, are very difficult to manage within airport environments as many traditional methods (e.g., trap and remove from the airport) can be relatively ineffective due to the birds’ various activities on airports (e.g., feeding, loafing, and flying). Such challenges have greatly impacted the Los Angeles International Airport and the Van Nuys Airport, as documented through historical bird strike records collected since 1990. Using information contained in these bird strike records, USDA APHIS Wildlife Services personnel conducted strategic planning efforts to reduce the risk of bird …

The Role Of Charity In A Federal System, Brian Galle

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This Article critiques the prevailing justification for subsidies for the charitable sector, and suggests a new alternative. According to contemporary accounts, charity corrects the failure of the private market to provide public goods, and further corrects the failure of government to provide goods other than those demanded by the median voter.

However, the claim that government can meet the needs only of a single “median voter” neglects both federalism and public choice theory. Citizens dissatisfied with the services of one government can move to or even create another. Alternatively, they may use the threat of exit to lobby for local …

A Novel Survival-Based Tissue Microarray Of Pancreatic Cancer Validates Muc1 And Mesothelin As Biomarkers., Jordan M Winter, Laura H Tang, David S Klimstra, Murray F Brennan, Jonathan R Brody, Flavio G Rocha, Xiaoyu Jia, Li-Xuan Qin, Michael I D'Angelica, Ronald P Dematteo, Yuman Fong, William R Jarnagin, Eileen M O'Reilly, Peter J Allen

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: One-fifth of patients with seemingly 'curable' pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) experience an early recurrence and death, receiving no definable benefit from a major operation. Some patients with advanced stage tumors are deemed 'unresectable' by conventional staging criteria (e.g. liver metastasis), yet progress slowly. Effective biomarkers that stratify PDA based on biologic behavior are needed. To help researchers sort through the maze of biomarker data, a compendium of ∼2500 published candidate biomarkers in PDA was compiled (PLoS Med, 2009. 6(4) p. e1000046).

METHODS AND FINDINGS: Building on this compendium, we constructed a survival tissue microarray (termed s-TMA) comprised of short-term …

The Burden Of Breast Cancer In Italy: Mastectomies And Quadrantectomies Performed Between 2001 And 2008 Based On Nationwide Hospital Discharge Records., Prisco Piscitelli, Maddalena Barba, Massimo Crespi, Massimo Di Maio, Antonio Santoriello, Massiliamo D'Aiuto, Alfredo Fucito, Arturo Losco, Francesca Pentimalli, Pasquale Maranta, Giovanna Chitano, Alberto Argentiero, Cosimo Neglia, Alessandro Distante, Gian Luca Di Tanna, Maria Luisa Brandi, Alfredo Mazza, Ignazio R Marino, Antonio Giordano

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Where population coverage is limited, the exclusive use of Cancer Registries might limit ascertainment of incident cancer cases. We explored the potentials of Nationwide hospital discharge records (NHDRs) to capture incident breast cancer cases in Italy.

METHODS: We analyzed NHDRs for mastectomies and quadrantectomies performed between 2001 and 2008. The average annual percentage change (AAPC) and related 95% Confidence Interval (CI) in the actual number of mastectomies and quadrantectomies performed during the study period were computed for the full sample and for subgroups defined by age, surgical procedure, macro-area and singular Region. Re-admissions of the same patients were separately …

Roles Of Arg427 And Arg472 In The Binding And Allosteric Effects Of Acetyl Coa In Pyruvate Carboxylase, Abdussalam Adina-Zada, Chutima Sereerukb, Sarawut Jitrapakdee, Tonya N. Zeczycki, Martin St. Maurice, W. Wallace Cleland, John C. Wallace, Paul V. Attwood

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Mutation of Arg427 and Arg472 in Rhizobium etli pyruvate carboxylase to serine or lysine greatly increased the activation constant (K_a) of acetyl CoA, with the increase being greater for the Arg472 mutants. These results indicate that while both these residues are involved in the binding of acetyl CoA to the enzyme, Arg472 is more important than Arg427. The mutations had substantially smaller effects on the k_cat for pyruvate carboxylation. Part of the effects of the mutations was to increase the K_m for MgATP and the K_a for activation by free Mg²⁺ determined at …

A Proposal For Comprehensive And Specific Essential Mental Health And Substance Use Disorder Benefits, Stacey A. Tovino

Faculty Articles

This Article analyzes the initial efforts of the Federal Department of Health and Human Services to implement the essential mental health and substance use disorder services benefit required by section 1302(b)(1)(E) of the Affordable Care Act and proposes the adoption of a comprehensive and specific essential mental health and substance use disorder benefit set. At a minimum, the benefit set should cover medically necessary and evidence-based inpatient and outpatient mental healthcare services, inpatient substance abuse detoxification services, inpatient and outpatient substance abuse rehabilitation services, emergency mental healthcare services, prescription drugs for mental health conditions, participation in psychiatric disease management programs, …

Does Information Technology Investment Influences Firm’S Market Value? The Case Of Non-Publicly Traded Healthcare Firms, Rajiv Kohli, Sarv Devaraj, Terence T. Ow

Management Faculty Research and Publications

Managers make informed information technology investment decisions when they are able to quantify how IT contributes to firm performance. While financial accounting measures inform IT’s influence on retrospective firm performance, senior managers expect evidence of how IT influences prospective measures such as the firm’s market value. We examine the efficacy of IT’s influence on firm value combined with measures of financial performance for non-publicly traded (NPT) hospitals that lack conventional market-based measures. We gathered actual sale transactions for NPT hospitals in the United States to derive the q ratio, a measure of market value. Our findings indicate that the influence …

Rna Unwinding By The Trf4/Air2/Mtr4 Polyadenylation (Tramp) Complex, Huijue Jia, Xuying Wang, James T. Anderson, Eckhard Jankowsky

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Many RNA-processing events in the cell nucleus involve the Trf4/Air2/Mtr4 polyadenylation (TRAMP) complex, which contains the poly(A) polymerase Trf4p, the Zn-knuckle protein Air2p, and the RNA helicase Mtr4p. TRAMP polyadenylates RNAs designated for processing by the nuclear exosome. In addition, TRAMP functions as an exosome cofactor during RNA degradation, and it has been speculated that this role involves disruption of RNA secondary structure. However, it is unknown whether TRAMP displays RNA unwinding activity. It is also not clear how unwinding would be coordinated with polyadenylation and the function of the RNA helicase Mtr4p in modulating poly(A) addition. Here, we show …

Money And Meaning: The Moral Economy Of Law Firm Compensation, Milton C. Regan, Lisa H. Rohrer

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article, part of an ongoing qualitative research project on law firm culture, analyzes the role of compensation in the modern law firm. At first blush, the significance of the compensation process may seem obvious: it represents an economy in which the firm distributes material rewards to its partners. From this perspective, disputes and dissatisfaction regarding compensation are simply attempts by partners to improve their financial well-being.

Our research suggests, however, that compensation serves to distribute not just money, but also respect. Compensation thus represents the operation of both a material and a moral economy within a firm. As a …

Forum: “Creating The Future: Student Leaders In Action”, Csusb - Latino Education And Advocacy Days (Lead)

Latino Education and Advocacy Days (LEAD) Video Recordings

No abstract provided.

Qualifying Intellectual Property Ii: A New Innovation Index For Pharmaceutical Patents & Products, Ron A. Bouchard

Santa Clara High Technology Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Addressing Economic Violence In Times Of Transition: Toward A Positive-Peace Paradigm For Transitional Justice, Dustin N. Sharp

Fordham International Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Special Report-Mental Health And Human Rights In Cambodia, Daniel Mclaughlin, Elisabeth Wickeri

Fordham International Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Us-Russian Child Adoption Agreement- An End To Failed Adoptions, Cheryl L. Allen

Fordham International Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Genetic Control Of A Central Pattern Generator: Rhythmic Oromotor Movement In Mice Is Controlled By A Major Locus Near Atp1a2, Steven J. St. John, John D. Boughter Jr, Megan K. Mulligan, Kenichi Tokita, Lu Lu, Detlef H. Heck, Robert W. Williams

Faculty Publications

calreticulin, Animals, Chromosome Mapping, Mammalian Chromosomes, Gene Expression Regulation, Genetic Linkage, Genome-Wide Association Study. Inbred C57BL Mice, Inbred DBA Mice, Quantitative Trait Loci, Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase/genetics, Atp1a2 protein, Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase, feeding behavior, drinking behavior, mice, central pattern generator, genetic control

Strategic Discussions For Nebraska: Opportunities For Nebraska -- Food Scarcity, Mary Garbacz

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Faculty Publications

Strategic Discussions for Nebraska is a program in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources that produces an annual publication called Opportunities for Nebraska, focusing on a different topic each year. The publication is produced in hard copy and also is available online at www.sdn.unl.edu.

The content for each publication is produced by UNL students enrolled in a Magazine Writing course each spring semester, taught by the SDN coordinator. Students conduct interviews with UNL researchers and write stories for inclusion in the publication. The interviews are captured on video and are edited into video montages, …

Your Body Is A Temple: Type-2 Diabetes In Mississippi And The Potential Role Of The Black Church In Diabetes Education And Intervention, Jonathon Troy Jackson

Honors Theses

Type-2 diabetes and obesity are two major health complications that are affecting many Mississippians, namely the African American population. A substantial amount of research has been conducted that explains the high prevalence rate of type-2 diabetes and obesity in the African American community as partially due to many secondary factors, including the Southern cuisine, food scarcity, physical inactivity, and poverty. Recently, efforts to reach the African American population about diabetes education and prevention in other Southern states have been directed to faith-based organizations. Researchers have hoped that faith-based intervention might be better suited at helping a wider audience in a …