Digital Commons Network^™

Biochemical And Microbiological Assessments Of Dried Alaska Pink Salmon, Red Salmon And Pacific Cod Heads, Huseyin Biceroglu

Fisheries

Fish heads are generally considered as unsuitable byproducts for human consumption in the United States. The initial objective was to compare the moisture content and water activity levels on dried pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) and dried red salmon (O. nerka) using different temperature and time integration. The secondary objective was to compare shelf life characteristics, rancidity and mold growth, between dried pink dried salmon and dried Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) heads stored for up to 180 days at the ambient temperature (21°C) for East African seafood markets. The third objective was to assess the antioxidant effects for frozen and dried …

Growth And Post-Harvest Quality Of Selected Pacific Oysters (Crassostrea Gigas) Cultured In Kachemak Bay, Alaska, And Puget Sound, Washington, In October Of 2009 And June Of 2010, Stuart Rendell Thomas

Fisheries

The primary objective of this project was to evaluate the growth, biochemical and fatty acid composition, physical and shell characteristics, and basic reproductive development of families of Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) from the USDA-funded Molluscan Broodstock Program (MBP) planted in suspended culture in Kachemak Bay (KB), Alaska, and at an intertidal site in Thorndyke Bay (TB), Puget Sound, Washington. The MBP selects oysters to improve yields, growth, and survival, but little is known about the effects of selective breeding on other biological characteristics of selected oysters. Shell and meat characteristics of oysters from each of the seven highest-yielding MBP families …

Using Multispectral Aerial Imagery And Gis-Based Approaches To Quantify Juvenile Salmon Rearing Habitat In The Kulukak River, Alaska, Christine Woll

Fisheries

Monitoring the quality and quantity of freshwater rearing habitat for Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. is essential for maintaining stocks of these species. Because field-based habitat monitoring in remote areas can be expensive, time-consuming, and/or subjective, new methods are desired. The objectives of this study were (1) to develop methods for using multispectral aerial imagery to classify juvenile rearing habitat and determine the accuracy of these methods and (2) to use these methods to quantify and map juvenile salmon habitat characteristics in two study areas in the Kulukak River, Alaska. I demonstrated that a decision-based fusion approach using images acquired in …

A Total Environment Of Change: Exploring Social-Ecological Shifts In Subsistence Fisheries In Noatak And Selawik, Alaska, Katie J. Moerlein

Fisheries

Arctic ecosystems are undergoing rapid changes as a result of global climate change, with significant implications for the livelihoods of arctic peoples. In this thesis, I use ethnographic research methods to detail prominent environmental changes observed and experienced over the past few decades and to document the impact of these changes on subsistence fishing practices in the Inupiaq communities of Noatak and Selawik in northwestern Alaska. Using in-depth key informant interviews, participant observation, and cultural consensus analysis, I explore local knowledge and perceptions of climate change and other pronounced changes facing the communities of Noatak and Selawik. I find consistent …

Choosing The Right Discovery Tool: Making A Discovery Task Force Function Effectively, Debra G. Skinner, Jessica M. Minihan

University Libraries: Faculty Presentations

This presentation describes a systematic way to go about selecting the best Discovery Tool for your institution. Selection is much more than pricing, vendor demonstrations or recommendations from a few colleagues. How do you go from an administrative decision to add a discovery service to the final decision? This presentation will outline the steps taken by the Discovery Task Force at Georgia Southern University which included selecting a service based on a set of criteria, implementation, as well as faculty and staff training.

Dealing With Uncertainties In Integrated Age-Structured Assessment Models, Peter-John F. Hulson

Fisheries

Dealing with uncertainties in integrated age-structured assessment (ASA) models has become a central focus at all levels of fish stock assessment and management. My goal in this thesis was to uncover layers of uncertainty in ASA models. There were two major components to this approach: (1) dealing with uncertainty in datasets used in ASA models through examining effective sample size, and (2) dealing with uncertainty in ASA model structure through examination of effective number of parameters and simulations of school and stock structure. From the dataset uncertainty perspective, I investigated age and length composition datasets by first identifying possible sources …

High & Low Resolution Techniques To Solve Protein Structures, Nathan Wright

Science Enabled by Photon Sources: Local Research Interests in Virginia

Protein structure and dynamics form the platform on which almost all biomedical research is currently based, including hot topics like computer-aided drug design and established problems like creating a cure for cancer. Since most proteins are too small to visualize with even an electron microscope, biochemists must use either NMR spectroscopy or x-ray diffraction to determine what the structures look like. In my lab, we combine both techniques to describe fundamentally how normal and mutated proteins behave in muscle cells. We are specifically interested in the structural protein obscurin. This giant muscle protein helps to organize muscle cells, sense muscle …

X-Ray Fluorescence Microscopy: A Tool For Biology, Life Science & Nanomedicine, Stafan Vogt

Science Enabled by Photon Sources: Local Research Interests in Virginia

Trace elements, in particular metals, play a significant role in most known life forms. It is estimated that one-third of all known proteins contain metal cofactors, and the majority of these function as essential metalloenzymes catalyzing biochemical reactions. Trace metals are increasingly recognized as having a critical impact on human health both in their natural occurrence and via therapeutic drugs (e.g., environmental exposure to heavy metals, treatment with cisplatin-based drugs in chemotherapy, ...), and in diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Quantitative study of the distribution of trace elements on the cellular and subcellular level provide important information about functions and pathways …

Surface Modification & Characterization Of Nano-Composite Polymers, Chris Hughes, Brian Augustine

Science Enabled by Photon Sources: Local Research Interests in Virginia

We have studied the modification of surfaces of both PMMA and nano-composite polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) containing acrylics. These nano-composites can be spun cast from a variety of solvents and the surface chemistry can be modified by exposure to oxygen-containing plasmas. However, we have found that interesting surface structure evolve over the space of several hours after these films are deposited. We have also found that the solvent used for the spin casting of these layers can alter the behaviors of these surfaces. In particular, we found that halogenated solvents can form complexes with the PMMA backbone to increase the …

May 16, 2012 Cal Poly Report, Public Affairs Office

Cal Poly Report

No abstract provided.

Integrin Activation By A Cold Atmospheric Plasma Jet, Olga Volotskova, Mary Ann Stepp, Michael Keidar

Anatomy and Regenerative Biology Faculty Publications

Current breakthrough research on cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) demonstrates that CAP has great potential in various areas, including medicine and biology, thus providing a new tool for living tissue treatment. In this paper, we explore potential mechanisms by which CAP alters cell migration and influences cell adhesion. We focus on the study of CAP interaction with fibroblasts and corneal epithelial cells. The data show that fibroblasts and corneal epithelial cells have different thresholds (treatment times) required to achieve maximum inhibition of cell migration. Both cell types reduced their migration rates by ~30–40% after CAP compared to control cells. Also, the …

Hrs Review, May 2012, Human Resource Services, Boise State University

HRS Review

No abstract provided.

In Vitro Regeneration Of Rudbeckia Hirta ‘Plainview Farm’ From Leaf Tissue, Youping Sun, Lijuan Han, Donglin Zhang

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Rudbeckia hirta ‘Plainview Farm’, a new multiple-layered ray flowered cultivar, shows potential for potted plant production. After years of seed germination, this specific flower morphological trait was still unstable from generation to generation. To maintain its unique features, leaf sections (0.25 cm2 ) were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with either BA (0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 mg·L1 ), KIN (2.5, 5, or 10 mg·L-1 ), or ZT (0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 mg·L-1 )toinduce callus and microshoots. After cultivation for 33 days, all cytokinin treatments significantly induced callus and the callus size were 1.5- to-2.4-fold bigger than those …

Egr-1 Induces Darpp-32 Expression In Striatal Medium Spiny Neurons Via A Conserved Intragenic Element., Serene Keilani, Samira Chandwani, Georgia Dolios, Alexey Bogush, Heike Beck, Antonis K Hatzopoulos, Gadiparthi N Rao, Elizabeth A Thomas, Rong Wang, Michelle E Ehrlich

Farber Institute for Neuroscience Faculty Papers

DARPP-32 (dopamine and adenosine 3', 5'-cyclic monophosphate cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein, 32 kDa) is a striatal-enriched protein that mediates signaling by dopamine and other first messengers in the medium spiny neurons. The transcriptional mechanisms that regulate striatal DARPP-32 expression remain enigmatic and are a subject of much interest in the efforts to induce a striatal phenotype in stem cells. We report the identification and characterization of a conserved region, also known as H10, in intron IV of the gene that codes for DARPP-32 (Ppp1r1b). This DNA sequence forms multiunit complexes with nuclear proteins from adult and embryonic striata of mice and rats. …

Research Paper On Blood Cancer Hailed As One Of The Best Published In 2011, Staff

Browse All News

No abstract provided.

Adrenergic Alpha-1 Pathway Is Associated With Hypertension Among Nigerians In A Pathway-Focused Analysis, Nicholas P. Reder, Bamidele O. Tayo, Babatunde Salako, Adesola Ogunniyi, Adebowale Adeyemo, Charles Rotimi, Richard S. Cooper

Faculty Publications

Background: The pathway-focused association approach offers a hypothesis driven alternative to the agnostic genome-wide association study. Here we apply the pathway-focused approach to an association study of hypertension, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in 1614 Nigerians with genome-wide data. Methods and Results: Testing of 28 pathways with biological relevance to hypertension, selected a priori, containing a total of 101 unique genes and 4,349 unique single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) showed an association for the adrenergic alpha 1 (ADRA1) receptor pathway with hypertension (pp>10-5) SNPs offers a novel method for detecting the "missing heritability" of hypertension. These findings …

Volume 49, Number 39: May 16, 2012, University Of North Dakota

University Letter Archive

No abstract provided.

Mapping Populations At Risk: Improving Spatial Demographic Data For Infectious Disease Modeling And Metric Derivation, Andrew J. Tatem, Susana Adamo, Nita Bharti, Clara R. Burgert, Marcia Castro, Audrey Dorelien, Gunter Fink, Catherine Linard, Mendelsohn John, Livia Montana, Mark R. Montgomery, Andrew Nelson, Abdisalan M. Noor, Deepa Pindolia, Greg Yetman, Deborah Balk

Publications and Research

The use of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in disease surveys and reporting is becoming increasingly routine, enabling a better understanding of spatial epidemiology and the improvement of surveillance and control strategies. In turn, the greater availability of spatially referenced epidemiological data is driving the rapid expansion of disease mapping and spatial modeling methods, which are becoming increasingly detailed and sophisticated, with rigorous handling of uncertainties. This expansion has, however, not been matched by advancements in the development of spatial datasets of human population distribution that accompany disease maps or spatial models. Where risks are heterogeneous …

Scavenger Receptor Cd36 Expression Contributes To Adipose Tissue Inflammation And Cell Death In Diet-Induced Obesity, Lei Cai, Zhen Wang, Ailing Ji, Jason M. Meyer, Deneys R. Van Der Westhuyzen

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE: The enlarged adipose tissue in obesity is characterized by inflammation, including the recruitment and infiltration of macrophages and lymphocytes. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of the scavenger receptor CD36 in high fat diet-induced obesity and adipose tissue inflammation and cell death.

EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: Obesity and adipose tissue inflammation was compared in CD36 deficient (CD36 KO) mice and wild type (WT) mice fed a high fat diet (60% kcal fat) for 16 weeks and the inflammatory response was studied in primary adipocytes and macrophages isolated from CD36 KO and WT mice.

RESULTS: Compared to WT …

The Mir-51 Family Of Micrornas Functions In Diverse Regulatory Pathways In Caenorhbditis Elegans, Allison L. Abbott, John L. Brenner, Benedict J. Kemp

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

The mir-51 family of microRNAs (miRNAs) in C. elegans are part of the deeply conserved miR-99/100 family. While loss of all six family members (mir-51-56) in C. elegans results in embryonic lethality, loss of individual mir-51 family members results in a suppression of retarded developmental timing defects associated with the loss of alg-1. The mechanism of this suppression of developmental timing defects is unknown. To address this, we characterized the function of the mir-51 family in the developmental timing pathway. We performed genetic analysis and determined that mir-51 family members regulate the developmental timing pathway in the L2 stage …

Testing Crayfish Evolutionary Hypotheses With Phylogenetic Methods, Jesse W. Breinholt

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on increasing the understanding of the evolution processes that have contributed to the diversification of freshwater crayfish. Chapter one estimates the divergence time of the three crayfish families and tests the hypothesis that diversification is tied to the break-up of Pangaea, Gondwanna, and Laurasia. I find that the families of crayfish diverged prior to or in association with the break-up of the three super continents. Chapter two addresses the evolutionary history of the genus Cambarus, using molecular data to test hypotheses of relationships based on chela and carapace morphology. The results provide evidence that the morphology used …

Similarity-Aware Query Processing And Optimization, Yasin N. Silva, Walid G. Aref, Per-Ake Larson, Mohamed H. Ali

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Support Vector Machines For Classification And Imputation, Spencer David Rogers

Theses and Dissertations

Support vector machines (SVMs) are a powerful tool for classification problems. SVMs have only been developed in the last 20 years with the availability of cheap and abundant computing power. SVMs are a non-statistical approach and make no assumptions about the distribution of the data. Here support vector machines are applied to a classic data set from the machine learning literature and the out-of-sample misclassification rates are compared to other classification methods. Finally, an algorithm for using support vector machines to address the difficulty in imputing missing categorical data is proposed and its performance is demonstrated under three different scenarios …

A Spoonful Of Sugar, Natali Bode

Tredway Library Prize for First-Year Research

No abstract provided.

News Media And Environmental Policy: The Case Of The Niger Delta Crises, Onimi Wilcox, Andrew I.E. Ewoh, Felicia Okoli

African Social Science Review

The article examines the Nigerian media coverage of the devastation and environmental impact of decades of oil spills in the Niger Delta. Using the agenda setting approach as a conceptual framework, the analysis aims to uncover the role played by the media in the environmental policy process. The article begins with a discussion of the modus operandi of various media outlets in reporting the nature and scope of oil spill. This is followed by a review of the national government’s effort in managing and reducing the incidents of oil spill on the environment and the affected communities. On the basis …

Strategically Sustaining People's Well-Being: The Case Of Ghanaian Women And Children, George O. Assibey-Mensah

African Social Science Review

A government’s commitment to an adopted policy may be the first step that symbolizes its genuine intent to ameliorate the living conditions of its people, particularly the relevant and/or beneficial populations for which the policy was formulated. Ghana’s President J. A. Kufuor’s New Patriotic Party government ended decades of debate about improving the conditions of the vulnerable group of women and children by establishing the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs. This article argues that, in order for the Ghanaian government to sustain efforts to effectively improve the plight of this group, there should be systematic mechanisms that include effective …

Book Reviews, Criticism Editors

Criticism

Sexuality and Form: Caravaggio, Marlowe, and Bacon (Graham L. Hammill) (Reviewed by Bruce R. Smith, Georgetown University)

Outsiders Together: Virginia and Leonard Woolf (Natania Rosenfeld) (Reviewed by Brenda R. Silver, Dartmouth College)

The Measure of Life: Virginia Woolf ’s Last Years (Herbert Marder) (Reviewed by Lisa Low, Pace University)

Putting History to the Question: Power, Politics, and Society in English Renaissance Drama (Michael Neill) (Reviewed by Ira Clark, University of Florida)

Truth and Consequences: Intentions, Conventions, and the New Thematics (Reed Way Dasenbrock) (Reviewed by Patrick Colm Hogan, University of Connecticut)

At Memory’s Edge: After-Images of the Holocaust in Contemporary …

Dsc Enthalpic Transitions During Starch Gelatinization In Excess Water, Dilute Sodium Chloride, And Dilute Sucrose Solutions, Wajira S. Ratnayake, Chika Otani, David S. Jackson

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Background: Starch phase transition characteristics were studied by pre-treating starch samples in excess water, dilute sodium chloride and dilute sucrose solutions and subjecting them to differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Unmodified maize, wheat and potato starches were held at specific temperatures between 30 and 90 °C for 30 min and promptly cooled to 25 °C. Treated samples were then analyzed in situ by DSC. Results: It was found that the progression of the phase transition behavior differed among the three starches and was dependent on the solvent. It was also revealed that phase transition-related enthalpic changes started to occur at low …

Exploring Literature For Children Of Incarcerated Parents, Tara Di Gerlando

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Investigates the educational need for children's literature that conveys the theme of a child coping with a physical separation from their parent. Includes an original children's story by the author based on a real life story of a son and mother who were separated for almost twenty years due to incarceration.

Acting Out In The Classroom : Applying Principles And Methods Of Differentiation To Address Challenging Student Behavior, Jeffrey Neale Kulick

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Schools emphasize the need to consider individual learner differences and provide individualized supports when designing and implementing academic instruction. One of the strategies used to accomplish these objectives is differentiation. Ethnic, cultural, socioeconomic, cognitive, and even physical differences are all factored into the equation. Contrarily, these same differences are seldom considered when it comes to student behavior. Using empirical data, anecdotal evidence, and original case studies, the purpose of this paper is to establish more definitively the inherent problems in a punitive approach and investigate more thoroughly the idea of using principles and methods of differentiation as a possible alternative …