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Summer 2012 Biomedical Engineering Newsletter, Department Of Biomedical Engineering, Michigan Technological University

Department of Biomedical Engineering Newsletters

Table of Contents

• Dr. Jeremy Goldman wins a Fulbright Scholarship
• Research updates
• Hal Holmes named Goldwater Scholar
• Top honors at the Undergraduate Expo

Adolescent Girls’ Perspectives On Their Relationships With Their Nonresident Fathers, Andrea Francis

2010-2016 Archived Posters

Eleven adolescent girls participated in this multiple case study exploring fathers’ influence on their academic performance, self-efficacy, and personal resilience.

Thyroid Function And Perfluoroalkyl Acids In Children Living Near A Chemical Plant, Maria-Jose Lopez-Espinosa, Debapriya Mondal, Ben Armstrong, Michael S. Bloom, Tony Fletcher

Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Scholarship

Background: Animal studies suggest that some perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs), including perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) may impair thyroid function. Epidemiological findings, mostly related to adults, are inconsistent.

Objectives: We investigated whether concentrations of PFAAs were associated with thyroid function among 10,725 children (1–17 years of age) living near a Teflon manufacturing facility in the Mid-Ohio Valley (USA).

Methods: Serum levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), total thyroxine (TT4), and PFAAs were measured during 2005–2006, and information on diagnosed thyroid disease was collected by questionnaire. Modeled in utero PFOA concentrations were based on historical information on PFOA releases, …

Integral Review Vol 8 No 1 July 2012 Full Issue, Bahman Shirazi

Founders Symposium

The articles in this special issue of INTEGRAL REVIEW highlight selected contributions to the 2011 Symposium on Integral Consciousness at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) (www.ciis.edu ). This annual symposium provides a forum for CIIS community members and friends to exchange and deepen their understanding of integral consciousness, its evolution, and its relationship to the current planetary challenges and transformational processes. Each year there are several themes covered in a variety of presentation formats: keynote and standard presentations, as well as a number of interactive sessions and workshops.

Gsu View, 2012-07, Office Of Marketing And Communications

GSU View

Newsletter published by Governors State University 2007-current.

Parameter Estimation And Uncertainty Quantication For An Epidemic Model, Alex Capaldi, Samuel Behrend, Benjamin Berman, Jason Smith, Justin Wright, Alun L. Lloyd

Mathematics and Computer Science Faculty Publications

We examine estimation of the parameters of Susceptible-Infective-Recovered (SIR) models in the context of least squares. We review the use of asymptotic statistical theory and sensitivity analysis to obtain measures of uncertainty for estimates of the model parameters and the basic reproductive number (R0 )—an epidemiologically significant parameter grouping. We find that estimates of different parameters, such as the transmission parameter and recovery rate, are correlated, with the magnitude and sign of this correlation depending on the value of R0. Situations are highlighted in which this correlation allows R0 to be estimated with greater ease than its constituent parameters. Implications …

Hr E-Source, July 2012, University Of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Human Resources Department

HR e-Source

"Newsletter for staff and faculty at the University of Arkansas."

Mole Street Journal, June 2012, University Of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Dept. Of Chemistry And Biochemistry

Mole Street Journal

No abstract provided.

Cultivatingbigideas, July 2012, University Of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Technology Development Foundation

Cultivating Big Ideas

No abstract provided.

Current And Emerging Therapies In Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review, Wanda Castro-Borrero

UCHC Articles - Research

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a potentially disabling chronic autoimmune neurological disease that mainly affects young adults. Our understanding of the pathophysiology of MS has significantly advanced in the past quarter of a century. This has led to the development of many disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) that prevent exacerbations and new lesions in patients with relapsing remitting MS (RRMS). So far there is no drug available that can completely halt the neurodegenerative changes associated with the disease. It is the purpose of this review to provide concise information regarding mechanism of action, indications, side effects and safety of Food and Drug Administration …

Determining The Functional Significance Of Mismatch Repair Gene Missense Variants Using Biochemical And Cellular Assays, Christopher D. Heinen

UCHC Articles - Research

With the discovery that the hereditary cancer susceptibility disease Lynch syndrome (LS) is caused by deleterious germline mutations in the DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes nearly 20 years ago, genetic testing can now be used to diagnose this disorder in patients. A definitive diagnosis of LS can direct how clinicians manage the disease as well as prevent future cancers for the patient and their families. A challenge emerges, however, when a germline missense variant is identified in a MMR gene in a suspected LS patient. The significance of a single amino acid change in these large repair proteins is not …

Reaction-Diffusion Modeling In The Neuron Simulator, James C. Schaff

UCHC Articles - Research

The NEURON simulator is a widely used tool for studying detailed single cell and network models. In recognition of the growing importance of multi-scale modeling, we have expanded NEURON’s support for intracellular chemical dynamics. In particular, we discuss our work with stochastic reaction-diffusion models and three-dimensional simulations.

High Serum Cu And Cu/Zn Ratios Correlate With Impairments In Bone Density, Physical Performance And Overall Health In A Population Of Elderly Men With Frailty Characteristics, Eric D. Gaier, Alison Kleppinger, Richard E. Mains, Anne M. Kenny, Betty A. Eipper

UCHC Articles - Research

Serum Cu levels rise with age and high Cu/Zn ratios are linked with multiple-cause mortality in the elderly. The relationships of these parameters to measures of musculoskeletal health and frailty have not yet been analyzed. We used inductively coupled mass spectrometry to assess serum levels of Cu and Zn and probed for relationships between serum Cu levels and the Cu/Zn ratio with specific measures of bone, physical and overall health in a cohort of 144 frail elderly men. Subjects were divided into quintiles based on serum metal levels and comparisons for functional measures were made between the reference (middle) group …

Chicago-Kent Magazine - Summer 2012, Iit Chicago-Kent College Of Law

Chicago-Kent Magazine

No abstract provided.

Lawrence Today, Volume 92, Number 3, Summer 2012, Lawrence University

Lawrence Today

No abstract provided.

Molecular Identification Of Synanthedonini Members (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) Using Cytochrome Oxidase I, Jason A. Hansen, William E. Klingeman, J. Kevin Moulton, Jason B. Oliver, Mark T. Windham, Aijun Zhang, Robert N. Trigiano

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Many North American sesiid moths within Synanthodonini have been studied extensively because their feeding activity can cause detrimental economic and esthetic impacts to many commercially important ornamental and native plant species. Recent discoveries of nonnative clearwing moth pest introductions [e.g., Synanthedon myopaeformis (Borkh.)], reinforce the need for reliable and accurate molecular diagnostic tools that can be used by nontaxonomic experts, particularly when juvenile life stages are recovered from infested host-plant tissues. Cytochrome oxidase I (cox I) previously has been used to successfully identify species and resolve species complexes. In this study, the cox I phylogeny inferred from sequences generated from …

Knowledge Discovery For Biodiversity: From Data Mining To Sign Management, Noel Conruyt, David Grosser, Régine Vignes Lebbe

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Knowledge discovery from data in environmental sciences is becomingmore and more important nowadays because of the deluge of information found indatabases of digital ecosystems, coming altogether from institutions and amateurs.For example in biodiversity science, all these data need to be validated byspecialists with the help of Intelligent Environmental Decision Support Systems(IEDSSs), then enhanced and certified into qualitative knowledge before reachingtheir audience. Data mining through classification or clustering is the dedicatedinductive process of grouping descriptions based on similarity measures, thenbuilding classes and naming them. Later, the formed concepts can be reused foridentification purpose with new observations. The problem is that when …

Ecological Flow Analysis Of Network Collapse I: New Methodology To Investigate Network Collapse Dynamics, Brian D. Fath, Elena Rovenskaya, Victoria Veschinskaya, Ulf Dieckmann, Ake Brannström

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

This research builds on standard ecological network analysis techniques in order to investigate the impact of removing species (nodes) on the remaining of the network species. The flow network is expressed as a system of dynamical equations such that the removal of one node has time-forward impacts on the remaining nodes. The approach allows one to determine the gain or loss experienced by each other compartment in the model and the time for such impact to occur. The general methodology is demonstrated on the Cone Spring Ecosystem. These results indicate that collapse of certain species exert more control on the …

Assessing The Vulnerability Of Human And Biological Communities To Changing Ecosystem Services Using A Gis-Based Multi-Criteria Decision Support Tool, Miguel L. Villarreal, Laura M. Norman, William B. Labiosa

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

In this paper we describe an application of a GIS-based multi-criteria decision support web tool that models and evaluates relative changes in ecosystem services to policy and land management decisions. The Santa Cruz Watershed Ecosystem Portfolio (SCWEPM) was designed to provide credible forecasts of responses to ecosystem drivers and stressors and to illustrate the role of land use decisions on spatial and temporal distributions of ecosystem services within a binational (U.S. and Mexico) watershed. We present two SCWEPM sub-models that when analyzed together address bidirectional relationships between social and ecological vulnerability and ecosystem services. The first model employs the Modified …

Validation And Sensitivity Of A Coupled Model Tool For Cso Impact Assessment In Berlin, Germany, Mathias Riechel, Andreas Matzinger, Hauke Sonnenberg, Nicolas Caradot, Ilka Meier, B. Heinzmann, Pascale Rouault

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

In the city of Berlin combined sewer overflows (CSO) can lead to severedepressions in dissolved oxygen (DO) of receiving urban rivers and hence to acutestress for the local fish fauna. To quantify CSO impacts and optimize sewermanagement strategies, a model-based planning instrument has been developed.It couples the urban drainage model InfoWorks CS which simulates hydraulics andpollutant transport in the sewer with the river water quality model QSim whichsimulates hydraulics, mass transport and various biogeochemical processes in thereceiving water body. To identify simulated CSO impacts, concentration-durationfrequency-thresholds for DO are applied to river model results via an impactassessment tool. Two kinds of …

Dm2: A Software Tool For Dredged Material Characterization And Management, Alla Khosrovyan, Araceli Rodríguez-Romero, T. Angel Delvalls, Inmaculada Riba

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

A new software tool - Decision Making on Dredged Material (DM2) - for dredged material quality assessment and management is developed. Based on Spanish recommendations for dredged material management of 2008, it analyzes different lines of evidence of sediment contamination by metals and organic micro-pollutants. Particularly, chemical load in sediments is compared to the admissible concentration limits of these contaminants as adopted in Spain; sediment toxicity is estimated based on the responses of organisms to contaminant exposure. Integrated assessment of the sediment quality is done by assigning categories from A to C depending on the severity of contamination. The same …

Nursing Science Research Consulting: A Multidisciplinary Framework, Thomas N. Templin

Nursing Faculty Research Publications

Nursing science research is at the intersection of the social and medical sciences and statistical developments in many different disciplines are relevant. A framework for nursing science statistics which recognizes and builds upon the statistical contributions from biostatistics, quantitative psychology, epidemiology, econometrics, survey research, computer science and statistics is presented. A broad eclectic framework is necessary to take advantage of new developments in statistical and research design methodology addressing specific problems common to a given area. This framework recognizes that awareness of differences in established expectations (conventions, guidelines, regulations, etc.) with regard to statistical methodology across different research areas is …

Scholarworks Statistics - July 2012, Scholarworks

ScholarWorks Reports

For the month of July 2012, ScholarWorks recorded a total of 18,511 full-text downloads and 14,022 page views.

Inhibitory Effects Of Novel Immucillin Analogues On Borrelia Burgdorferi Bgp Nucleosidase, Christian Guerrero, Seth Eidemiller, Ken Cornell

IDeA Network for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE)

The pathogenic spirochaete Borrelia burgdorferi causes Lyme disease and is transmitted by deer ticks when they feed. Lyme disease is multisystemic—it adversely affects the heart, joints, and skin. Recent studies demonstrate that B. burgdorferi possesses three methylthioadenosine/Sadenosylhomocysteine (MTA/SAH) nucleosidases essential for the catabolic breakdown of both MTA and SAH. Both MTA and SAH are by-products of major pathways involving Sadenosylmethionine (SAM) and are kept at low micromolar concentrations due to their inhibitory activity.

This project examined the effect of transition state inhibitors on the surface binding Borrelia glycosaminoglycanbinding protein (Bgp) nucleosidase using recombinant Bgp and whole-cell B. burgdorferi activity assays. …

Community Mapping: Transforming Thinking And Actions Toward Sustainability, Melanie J. Kornis

Professional Projects

This phenomenological study explored the level of concern regarding issues of sustainability, for individuals residing within one mid-sized Midwestern urban community. Ultimately, this research sought to determine those factors that increase the sense of urgency for some individuals to do more to reduce our global footprint and to create a sustainable future for our children and grandchildren. The participants were chosen via purposeful sampling and the interview process was used for data collection. Several themes uncovered in the study findings were similar to those in the literature review, which include: caring for the environment, making connections within the community, recycling, …

Invasional Interference Due To Similar Inter- And Intraspecific Competition Between Invaders May Affect Management, Emily S.J. Rauschert, Katriona Shea

Biological, Geological, and Environmental Faculty Publications

As the number of biological invasions increases, the potential for invader– invader interactions also rises. The effect of multiple invaders can be superadditive (invasional meltdown), additive, or subadditive (invasional interference); which of these situations occurs has critical implications for prioritization of management efforts. Carduus nutans and C. acanthoides, two congeneric invasive weeds, have a striking, segregated distribution in central Pennsylvania, USA. Possible hypotheses for this pattern include invasion history and chance, direct competition, or negative interactions mediated by other species, such as shared pollinators. To explore the role of resource competition in generating this pattern, we conducted three related experiments …

The Greenbook, Faculty Handbook, 2012-2013, Marshall University Academic Affairs

The Greenbook

This book has been published for the faculty of Marshall University for the specified period of time. This book was created by what is now known as Academic Affairs and is for the period of 2012-2013.

Center For Grassland Studies, Summer 2012, Volume 18, No. 2

Center for Grassland Studies: Newsletters

Capturing the Greenness of Buffalograss through Aerial Robotics

From the Director

Opportunities and Challenges: Grassland Resources in Namibia

CGS Associates

August 1 Is Pre-registration Deadline for Nebraska Grazing Conference

Resources

Ethanol Co-Products and Forages: An Opportunity for Alternative Cow-Calf Production Systems in Nebraska

Buell Family Receives Leopold Conservation Award

Gastrointestinal Cell Mediated Immunity And The Microsporidia, Magali M. Moretto, Imtiaz A. Khan, Louis M. Weiss

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Delayed Expression Of Cell Cycle Proteins Contributes To Astroglial Scar Formation And Chronic Inflammation After Rat Spinal Cord Contusion, Junfang Wu, Ahdeah Pajoohesh-Ganji, Bogdan A. Stoica, Michael Dinizo, Kelsey Guanciale, Alan I. Faden

Anatomy and Regenerative Biology Faculty Publications

Background

Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) induces secondary tissue damage that is associated with astrogliosis and inflammation. We previously reported that acute upregulation of a cluster of cell-cycle-related genes contributes to post-mitotic cell death and secondary damage after SCI. However, it remains unclear whether cell cycle activation continues more chronically and contributes to more delayed glial change. Here we examined expression of cell cycle-related proteins up to 4 months following SCI, as well as the effects of the selective cyclin-dependent kinase (CDKs) inhibitor CR8, on astrogliosis and microglial activation in a rat SCI contusion model.

Methods

Adult male rats were …