Digital Commons Network^™

November 24, 2012 (Pages 7159-7234), Pennsylvania Legislative Reference Bureau

Volume 42 (2012)

No abstract provided.

Over Prescription Of Antibiotics For Adult Pharyngitis Is Prevalent In Developing Countries But Can Be Reduced Using Mcisaac Modification Of Centor Scores: A Cross-Sectional Study., Amber Hanif Palla, Rafeeq Alam Khan, Anwar H. Gilani, Fawziah Marra

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

Background

Although Group A beta hemolytic streptococcus (GABHS) can cause bacterial pharyngitis, the most common etiology is viral; despite this viral etiology, antibiotics are commonly prescribed for this infection in industrialized countries. We investigated the prevalence of GABHS in adult pharyngitis patients from lower socioeconomic settings in Karachi, Pakistan, how often antibiotics are prescribed for pharyngitis and if appropriate agents were used in a developing world setting. Finally, we wanted to see the usefulness of modified McIsaac scores in predicting positive cultures.

Methods

Adult patients were recruited from three local hospital outpatient dispensaries (OPDs). All patients aged 14–65 years who …

Smokejumper Obituary: Jeppson, Richard (Mccall 1967), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Unusual Sequence Effects On Nucleotide Excision Repair Of Arylamine Lesions: Dna Bending/Distortion As A Primary Recognition Factor, Vipin Jain, Benjamin Hilton, Bin Lin, Satyakam Patnaik, Fengting Liang, Eva Darian, Yue Zou, Alexander D. Mackerell Jr., Bongsup P. Cho

Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

The environmental arylamine mutagens are implicated in the etiology of various sporadic human cancers. Arylamine-modified dG lesions were studied in two fully paired 11-mer duplexes with a -G*C N- sequence context, in which G* is a C8-substituted dG adduct derived from fluorinated analogs of 4-aminobiphenyl (FABP), 2-aminofluorene (FAF) or 2-acetylaminofluorene (FAAF), and N is either dA or dT. The FABP and FAF lesions exist in a simple mixture of ‘stacked’ (S) and ‘B-type’ (B) conformers, whereas the N-acetylated FAAF also samples a ‘wedge’ (W) conformer. FAAF is repaired three to four times more efficiently than FABP and FAF. A …

Effects Of Motivation On Reward And Attentional Networks: An Fmri Study, Iliyan Ivanov, Xun Liu, Suzanne Clerkin, Kurt Schulz, Karl Friston, Jeffrey H. Newcorn, Jin Fan

Publications and Research

Existing evidence suggests that reward and attentional networks function in concert and that activation in one system influences the other in a reciprocal fashion; however, the nature of these influences remains poorly understood. We therefore developed a three-component task to assess the interaction effects of reward anticipation and conflict resolution on the behavioral performance and the activation of brain reward and attentional systems. Sixteen healthy adult volunteers aged 21–45 years were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing the task. A two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) with cue (reward vs. non-reward) and target (congruent vs. incongruent) …

Enhancing Effective Depth-Of-Field By Multi-Focus Image Fusion Using Morphological Techniques., Ishita De Ghosh Dr.

Doctoral Theses

A scene to be photographed, usually includes objects at varying distances from the camera. Depth-of-field of a digital camera is the range of distance, all objects within which appear to be sharp in the image. Due to the low depth-of-field of the camera, images acquired by them often suffer from degradation called out-of-foc us blur. One way to enhance the effective depth-of-field is to acquire se veral images of a scene with focus on different parts of it and then combine these images into a single image in such a way that all regions of the scene are in focus. …

Deposition And Characterization Of Hydrophobic Coatings, Vipul Gupta

Theses and Dissertations

Hydrophobic coatings find application in various sectors of the economy including to electronics, textiles, optical devices, and in scientific and commercial equipment. These different applications demand that different hydrophobic coatings posses a range of properties that may include smoothness or roughness, thicknesses on the order of a monolayer or a micron, robustness or the ability to dissolve quickly, transparency or opacity, water resistance or water permeability, electrical conductivity, oleophobicity, etc. However, whatever the final/desired properties, deposition via dry-deposition processes offers significant advantages, including greater reproducibility, increased environmental friendliness, and cost effectiveness on an industrial scale. Herein I explore the chemical …

Letter From The Editor: Welcome To Ojot!, Diane Powers Dirette

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

No abstract provided.

Freestanding And Support-Seeker Liana Seedlings: Spatial Distribution, Life History And Physiological Traits In Tropical Forests Of Central Panama., Eric J. Manzané Pinzón

Open Access Dissertations

Lianas is a term that identifies vines that produce secondary wood tissue and whose distribution is mostly restricted to the tropics. They usually start their lifecycle as seedlings in the forest understory an after a period of time they climb to the canopy forest supported by the surrounding vegetation. The seedling itself is an important stage on the plant’s life cycle; in this stage plants are susceptible to high mortality rates due to biotic or abiotic factors, such as predation, diseases, drought or flooding. Depending on the survival at this stage, they can extend their habitat range and colonize new …

Controlling Photochemical And Photophysical Behavior Of Organic Molecules Within A Water Soluble Host, Shampa R. Samanta

Open Access Dissertations

In this study we have investigated the possibility of controlling photochemical and photophysical behavior of small organic molecules by encapsulation within the cage of a deep-cavity cavitand, octa acid. Octa acid is soluble in basic aqueous medium and its interior cavity is benzene like which enable it to encapsulate small organic molecules forming host-guest complexes. The nature and stoichiometry of these complexes depend upon the size and hydrophobicity of the guest molecules. We have shown that the excited state dynamics of green fluorescent protein (GFP) chromophore derivatives can be controlled by encapsulation within octa acid. Octa acid can also selectively …

The Jellies’ Way: Masters Of Stealth Predation, Jill Rodrigues

Featured News Story

Associate Professor of Environmental Science Sean Colin studies the predatory abilities of comb jellies in calm to rough waters.

The Economics Of Black Friday And Buy Nothing Day, Louis D. Johnston

Economics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Cucurbit[8]Uril Sponge, Vijayakumar Ramalingam, Sharon K. Kwee, Lisa M. Ryno, Adam R. Urbach

Chemistry Faculty Research

This paper describes a convenient approach to quantitative removal of the synthetic host cucurbit[8]uril (Q8) from aqueous mixtures using a sepharose resin coated in memantine groups to selectively sequester Q8 in the presence of competing hosts and guests. The “Q8 sponge” can separate Q8 from Q6 and reverse the Q8-mediated dimerization of peptides.

Strike Mechanics Of An Ambush Predator: The Spearing Mantis Shrimp, M. Devries, E. Murphy, S. Patek

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

Ambush predation is characterized by an animal scanning the environment from a concealed position and then rapidly executing a surprise attack. Mantis shrimp (Stomatopoda) consist of both ambush predators (‘spearers’) and foragers (‘smashers’). Spearers hide in sandy burrows and capture evasive prey, whereas smashers search for prey away from their burrows and typically hammer hard-shelled, sedentary prey. Here, we examined the kinematics, morphology and field behavior of spearing mantis shrimp and compared them with previously studied smashers. Using two species with dramatically different adult sizes, we found that strikes produced by the diminutive species, Alachosquilla vicina, were faster (mean peak …

Acculturation And Gestational Weight Gain In A Predominantly Puerto Rican Population, Alison Tovar, Lisa Chasan-Taber, Odilia I. Bermudez, Raymond R. Hyatt, Aviva Must

Nutrition Faculty Publications

Background:

Identifying risk factors that affect excess weight gain during pregnancy is critical, especially among women who are at a higher risk for obesity. The goal of this study was to determine if acculturation, a possible risk factor, was associated with gestational weight gain in a predominantly Puerto Rican population.

Methods:

We utilized data from Proyecto Buena Salud, a prospective cohort study of Hispanic women in Western Massachusetts, United States. Height, weight and gestational age were abstracted from medical records among participants with full-term pregnancies (n=952). Gestational weight gain was calculated as the difference between delivery and prepregnancy weight. Acculturation …

Effects Of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome On Adaptation Of Multi-Digit Forces To Object Mass Distribution For Whole-Hand Manipulation, Wei Zhang, Jamie A. Johnston, Mark A. Ross, Brandon J. Coakley, Elizabeth A. Gleason, Amylou C. Dueck, Marco Santello

Publications and Research

Background Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a compression neuropathy of the median nerve that results in sensorimotor deficits in the hand. Until recently, the effects of CTS on hand function have been studied using mostly two-digit grip tasks. The purpose of this study was to investigate the coordination of multi-digit forces as a function of object center of mass (CM) during whole-hand grasping. Methods Fourteen CTS patients and age- and gender-matched controls were instructed to grasp, lift, hold, and release a grip device with five digits for seven consecutive lifts while maintaining its vertical orientation. The object CM was changed …

Ethread: A Highly Optimized Machine Learning-Based Approach To Meta-Threading And The Modeling Of Protein Tertiary Structures, Michal Brylinski, Daswanth Lingam

Faculty Publications

Template-based modeling that employs various meta-threading techniques is currently the most accurate, and consequently the most commonly used, approach for protein structure prediction. Despite the evident progress in this field, accurate structure models cannot be constructed for a significant fraction of gene products, thus the development of new algorithms is required. Here, we describe the development, optimization and large-scale benchmarking of eThread, a highly accurate meta-threading procedure for the identification of structural templates and the construction of corresponding target-to-template alignments. eThread integrates ten state-of-the-art threading/fold recognition algorithms in a local environment and extensively uses various machine learning techniques to carry …

Today - November 21, 2012, Loma Linda University

TODAY

Inside this issue:

-- Seeds of Hope event raises more than $119,000 in support of services provided by LLU Behavioral Medical Center
-- School of Pharmacy welcomes new students with ceremony
-- Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Task Force reaches out to students
-- Public health alumni gather national conference
-- Medical Center named 2012-2013 Consumer Choice Award winner
-- Grant will help save babies from nicotine
-- LLU professor teaches course on desert snakes at Joshua Tree National Park
-- Spiritual life & wholeness leadership banquet honors 55 employees
-- Tenth annual Senior Wellness and Fitness Fair jointly held …

Frequent Arousals From Winter Torpor In Rafinesque's Big-Eared Bat (Corynorhinus Rafinesquii), Joseph S. Johnson, Michael J. Lacki, Steven C. Thomas, John F. Grider

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Extensive use of torpor is a common winter survival strategy among bats; however, data comparing various torpor behaviors among species are scarce. Winter torpor behaviors are likely to vary among species with different physiologies and species inhabiting different regional climates. Understanding these differences may be important in identifying differing susceptibilities of species to white-nose syndrome (WNS) in North America. We fitted 24 Rafinesque’s big-eared bats (Corynorhinus rafinesquii) with temperature-sensitive radio-transmitters, and monitored 128 PIT-tagged big-eared bats, during the winter months of 2010 to 2012. We tested the hypothesis that Rafinesque’s big-eared bats use torpor less often than values …

Volume 50, Number 14: November 21, 2012, University Of North Dakota

University Letter Archive

No abstract provided.

The Daily Egyptian, November 21, 2012, Daily Egyptian Staff

November 2012

No abstract provided.

Medicinal Plants: A Public Resource For Metabolomics And Hypothesis Development, Eve Syrkin Wurtele, Joe Chappell, A. Daniel Jones, Mary Dawn Celiz, Nick Ransom, Manhoi Hur, Ludmila Rizshsky, Matthew Crispin, Philip Dixon, Jia Liu, Mark P. Widrlechner, Basil J. Nikolau

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Specialized compounds from photosynthetic organisms serve as rich resources for drug development. From aspirin to atropine, plant-derived natural products have had a profound impact on human health. Technological advances provide new opportunities to access these natural products in a metabolic context. Here, we describe a database and platform for storing, visualizing and statistically analyzing metabolomics data from fourteen medicinal plant species. The metabolomes and associated transcriptomes (RNAseq) for each plant species, gathered from up to twenty tissue/organ samples that have experienced varied growth conditions and developmental histories, were analyzed in parallel. Three case studies illustrate different ways that the data …

Joint Effect Of Genetic And Lifestyle Risk Factors On Type 2 Diabetes Risk Among Chinese Men And Women, Raquel Villegas, Ryan Delahanty, Yu-Tang Gao, Jirong Long, Scott M. Williams, Yong-Bing Xiang, Hui Cai, Hong-Lan Li, Frank Hu, Qiuyin Cai, Wei Zheng, Xiao-Ou Shu

Dartmouth Scholarship

More than 40 genetic susceptibility loci have been reported for type 2 diabetes (T2D). Recently, the combined effect of genetic variants has been investigated by calculating a genetic risk score. We evaluated 36 genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified SNPs in 2,679 T2D cases and 3322 controls in middle-age Han Chinese. Fourteen SNPs were significantly associated with T2D in analysis adjusted for age, sex and BMI. We calculated two genetic risk scores (GRS) (GRS1 with all the 36 SNPs and GRS2 with the 14 SNPs significantly associated with T2D). The odds ratio for T2D with each GRS point (per risk allele) …

A New Approach To Dried Blood Spot Analysis For Newborn Screening Using High Resolution Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry, John H. Miller Iv

Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of newborn screening is to quickly identify children that are at risk of having a specific disorder in order to start treatment, prevent early death and reduce the chances of permanent physical or mental damage. The current and widely accepted approach used for identification of metabolism disorders involves a flow injection analysis with mass spectrometry detection of acylcarnitines and amino acids. Although this approach is widely accepted and has shown to be sufficient for identification of multiple metabolism disorders the method is not fully quantitative and results often have to be confirmed by second-tier tests. The primary …

F2f/Cmc: Peer Writing Consultant/Tutee Perceived Satisfaction, Alena Vandrielen

iResearch: Department of Communication Studies Invitational Scholar Slam 2011-2012

No abstract provided.

Shame Now: Ruth Leys Diagnoses The New Queer Shame Culture, J. Keith Vincent

Criticism

From Guilt to Shame: Auschwitz and After by Ruth Leys. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007. Pp. 216. $25.95 paper.)

Plant Polyadenylation Factors: Conservation And Variety In The Polyadenylation Complex In Plants, Arthur G. Hunt, Denghui Xing, Qingshun Q. Li

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Polyadenylation, an essential step in eukaryotic gene expression, requires both cis-elements and a plethora of trans-acting polyadenylation factors. The polyadenylation factors are largely conserved across mammals and fungi. The conservation seems also extended to plants based on the analyses of Arabidopsis polyadenylation factors. To extend this observation, we systemically identified the orthologs of yeast and human polyadenylation factors from 10 plant species chosen based on both the availability of their genome sequences and their positions in the evolutionary tree, which render them representatives of different plant lineages.

RESULTS: The evolutionary trajectories revealed several interesting features of plant polyadenylation factors. …

The Daily Gamecock, Tuesday, November 20, 2012, University Of South Carolina, Office Of Student Media

November

No abstract provided.

A Novel Method For Comparative Analysis Of Retinal Specialization Traits From Topographic Maps, Bret A. Moore, Jason M. Kamilar, Shaun P. Collin, Olaf R. P. Bininda-Emonds, Nathaniel J. Dominy, Margaret I. Hall, Christopher P. Hessy, Sonke Johnsen, Thomas J. Lisney, Ellis R. Loew, Gillian Moritz

Dartmouth Scholarship

Abstract Vertebrates possess different types of retinal specializations that vary in number, size, shape, and position in the retina. This diversity in retinal configuration has been revealed through topographic maps, which show variations in neuron density across the retina. Although topographic maps of about 300 vertebrates are available, there is no method for characterizing retinal traits quantitatively. Our goal is to present a novel method to standardize information on the position of the retinal specializations and changes in retinal ganglion cell (RGC) density across the retina from published topographic maps. We measured the position of the retinal specialization using two …

Near-Infrared Responsive Carbon Nanostructures, Jin-Woo Kim, Russell Deaton, Vladimir P. Zharov

Patents Granted

The present invention provides for compositions comprising carbon nanotubes and gold. It provides methods of manufacture of gold-carbon nanotubes and methods of using gCNT for biological application.