Digital Commons Network^™

Analysis For Science Librarians Of The 2013 Nobel Prize In Chemistry: The Work Of Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt, And Arieh Warshel, Mary Van Ullen

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

The 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists, Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt, and Arieh Warshel, in recognition of their work in developing sophisticated computer models that can predict and explain complex chemical processes. Newtonian physics can be applied to understanding the properties of macromolecules, but it cannot be used to model the extremely rapid changes that occur during chemical reactions. Quantum physics can be used to describe the instantaneous changes that happen at reaction sites; however, quantum calculations are extremely demanding of computing resources. The novel idea behind the 2013 award is the combination of both classical …

Importance Of Measuring Non-Hdl Cholesterol In Type 2 Diabetes Patients., Nanik Ram, Bilal Ahmed, Fauzan Hashmi,, Abdul Jabbar

Department of Medicine

OBJECTIVE:

To study the correlation between Non-high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in patients with Type 2diabetes mellitus and the proportion of patients achieving Adult Treatment Panel III recommended goals.

METHODS:

The cross sectional study was conducted at the Diabetic Clinic, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. Data of Type 2 diabetesmellitus patients who attended the clinic bewteen 2007 and 2011 was reviewed. All Type 2 diabetic patients of either gender with fasting lipid profile irrespective of taking lipid lowering therapy were included.Type-1 DM, gestational diabetes, type 2 diabetes patients with pregnancy and those with incomplete data were excluded. Correlation between …

Internet Reviews: The Global Biodiversity Information Facility, John Creech

Library Scholarship

This column comprises a review of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) portal, which is maintained by some 52 participating countries and dozens of scientific organizations. The GBIF provides access to approximately 417 million individual occurrences of organisms. It is recommended for serious students, faculty instructors and research scientists.

The Neurodevelopment Of Basic Sensory Processing And Integration In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Alice Brown Brandwein

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis presents three studies that together explore the neurophysiological basis for the sensory processing and integration abnormalities that have been observed in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) since the disorder was first described over half a century ago. In designing these studies we seek to fill a hole that currently exists in the research community‟s knowledge of the neurodevelopment of basic multisensory integration -- both in children with autism and as well as in those with typical development. The first study applied event related potentials (ERPs) and behavioral measures of multisensory integration to a large group of healthy participants ranging …

Polymerase Alpha Components Associate With Telomeres To Mediate Overhang Processing, Raffaella Diotti

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Telomeres consist of TTAGGG repeats, which end with a 3' G-overhang and are bound by a six-protein complex, known as Shelterin. In humans, telomeres shorten at each cell division, unless telomerase is expressed and able to add telomeric repeats to the 3' G-overhang. However, for effective telomere maintenance, the DNA strand complementary to that made by telomerase must be synthesized. In this study, I focused on the Polα/primase complex, in particular the subunits p68 (POLA2, the regulatory subunit) and p180 (Polα, the catalytic subunit), and their potential roles at telomeres. I was able to detect p180, p68 and OBFC1, a …

Phylogeny, Taxonomy And Morphological Evolution In Conostegia (Melastomataceae: Miconieae), Ricardo Kriebel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The genus Conostegia comprises 77 species of shrubs and trees ranging from Central America to northern South America and the Caribbean. They are ecologically important as they provide pollen for native bees and fruits for birds. One of the main questions of this study is if the genus Conostegia is actually monophyletic. I address this question for the first time by gathering genetic data from four chloroplast regions and two nuclear ribosomal regions of DNA. Phylogenetic analyses of these data revealed that Conostegia is not monophyletic and that a group of species in the genera Clidemia and Miconia fall within …

In And Out Of Uniform: The Transition Of Iraq And Afghanistan War Veterans Into Higher Education, Vienna Messina

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

IN AND OUT OF UNIFORM:

THE TRANSITION OF IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN WAR VETERANS INTO HIGHER EDUCATION

by

Vienna Messina

Advisor: Professor Colette Daiute

With the exit of US combat troops from Iraq in 2011 and the subsequent drawdown of forces in Afghanistan, much public attention became focused on the reintegration of veterans of these wars into all aspects of civilian life. Record numbers of returning veterans enrolled in higher education. Abramson (2012) reported that, since 2009, when the Post-9/11 GI Bill became effective, more than 860,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans had used its generous provisions for further education and projected …

Data Management Survey Handout For Research Computing Day, Cynthia Dancel

Libraries' Documents

No abstract provided.

Metabolic Reprogramming Induced By Ketone Bodies Diminishes Pancreatic Cancer Cachexia, Surendra K. Shukla, Teklab Gebregiworgis, Vinee Purohit, Nina V. Chaika, Venugopal Gunda, Prakash Radhakrishnan, Kamiya Mehla, Iraklis I. Pipinos, Robert Powers, Fang Yu, Pankaj K. Singh

Robert Powers Publications

Background: Aberrant energy metabolism is a hallmark of cancer. To fulfill the increased energy requirements, tumor cells secrete cytokines/factors inducing muscle and fat degradation in cancer patients, a condition known as cancer cachexia. It accounts for nearly 20% of all cancer-related deaths. However, the mechanistic basis of cancer cachexia and therapies targeting cancer cachexia thus far remain elusive. A ketogenic diet, a high-fat and low-carbohydrate diet that elevates circulating levels of ketone bodies (i.e., acetoacetate, β-hydroxybutyrate, and acetone), serves as an alternative energy source. It has also been proposed that a ketogenic diet leads to systemic metabolic changes. Keeping in …

Tribute To Tinbergen: The Place Of Animal Behavior In Biology, Joan E. Strassmann

Biology Faculty Research

Tinbergen is famous for emphasizing behavioral fieldwork and experimentation under natural circumstances, for founding the field of ethology, for getting a Nobel Prize, and for mentoring Richard Dawkins. He is known for dividing behavior studies into physiology, development, natural selection, and evolutionary history. In the decades since Tinbergen was active, some of the best research in animal behavior fuses Tinbergen's questions, connecting genes to behavioral phenotypes, for example. Behavior is the most synthetic of the life sciences, because observing the actions of an organism can tell us what all those physical and physiological traits are for. Insights from behavior tell …

Sorting Out The Trash: The Spatial Nature Of Eukaryotic Protein Quality Control, Emily M. Sontag, Willianne Im Vonk, Judith Frydman

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Failure to maintain protein homeostasis is associated with aggregation and cell death, and underlies a growing list of pathologies including neurodegenerative diseases, aging, and cancer. Misfolded proteins can be toxic and interfere with normal cellular functions, particularly during proteotoxic stress. Accordingly, molecular chaperones, the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) and autophagy together promote refolding or clearance of misfolded proteins. Here we discuss emerging evidence that the pathways of protein quality control (PQC) are intimately linked to cell architecture, and sequester proteins into spatially and functionally distinct PQC compartments. This sequestration serves a number of functions, including enhancing the efficiency of quality control; …

Differences In Math Achievement: Utilizing Supplemental Computer-Based Instruction And Traditional Instruction, Todd Clark

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Mathematics achievement has become vitally important in public education, obligating students to meet and exceed higher standards in spite of ability and knowledge level. This causal-comparative study sought to establish the achievement of the Classworks® supplemental math program with seventh grade students from two public schools in Georgia. The national Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) scores in math were used to compare 129 seventh grade students (control group) who used traditional instruction and 129 students (experimental group) who used traditional instruction along with the supplemental Classworks® software program. In addition, the study analyzed the relationships between gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. …

Individual Characteristics And Relocation Factors Affecting Adjustment Among Relocated American And Egyptian Older Adults, Abir K. Bekhet, Jaclene A. Zauszniewski

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Worldwide, the population of elders is increasing significantly. Relocation can be a positive or a negative experience, depending on many factors, including culture. The purpose of this study is to compare individual characteristics (age, gender, marital status, education, perceived health status, activities of daily living), relocation factors (movement preparation, time passed since relocation, closeness of prior home to the present, and whether relocation was from home or another facility), and adjustment in relocated American and Egyptian elders. This secondary analysis study merged data from two cross-sectional descriptive studies of a 104 elders relocated to retirement communities in Northeast Ohio and …

Current Medical Research Winter–Spring 2013, Richard J. Fehring

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Pycnogenol Supplementation And Its Beneficial Effects In Healthy Rats, Pelin Aribal-Ayral, Guzin Ozelci-Kavas, Atilla H. Elhan

Saudi Medical Journal

No abstract provided.

Multiphase Hydrodynamics And Distribution Characteristics In A Monolith Bed Measured By Optical Fiber Probe, Yuan Zhou, Milorad P. Dudukovic, Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan, Hui Liu

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Optical Fiber Probe Has Been for the First Time Applied to Investigate the Hydrodynamics and Gas-Phase Distribution at High Gas/liquid Ratios in a Two-Phase Flow Monolith Bed with 0.048 M Diameter and 400 Cpsi. Local Hydrodynamic Parameters Including Gas Holdup, Bubble Frequency, Bubble Velocity, and Bubble Length in Single Channels Were Measured by 16 Inserted Single-Point Optical Fiber Probes within the Bed under a Nozzle as the Liquid Distributor. the Following Findings Are Reported. (1) the Optical Fiber Probe Can Be Used as an Efficient and Convenient Technique for Measuring Local Hydrodynamic Parameters Inside the Channels of a Monolith …

Food Environment And Socioeconomic Status Influence Obesity Rates In Seattle And In Paris, Adam Drewnowski, Anne Vernez Moudon, Junfeng Jiao, Anju Aggarwal, Helene Charreire, Basile Chaix

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

OBJECTIVE: To compare the associations between food environment at the individual level, socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity rates in two cities: Seattle and Paris. METHODS: Analyses of the SOS (Seattle Obesity Study) were based on a representative sample of 1340 adults in metropolitan Seattle and King County. The RECORD (Residential Environment and Coronary Heart Disease) cohort analyses were based on 7131 adults in central Paris and suburbs. Data on sociodemographics, health and weight were obtained from a telephone survey (SOS) and from in-person interviews (RECORD). Both studies collected data on and geocoded home addresses and food shopping locations. Both studies …

Integrating Digital Response Systems Within A Diversity Of Agricultural Audiences, William Sciarappa, Vivian Quinn

Journal of Extension

Extension educators have new computer-assisted tools as audience response systems (clickers) for increasing educational effectiveness and improving assessment by facilitating client input. From 2010-2012, 26 sessions involving 1093 participants in six diverse client categories demonstrated wide audience acceptance and suitability of clickers in agricultural and horticultural programming. Farmers, ag students, and Master Gardeners provided anonymous information using wireless clickers. Analyzed data was shared in each session. Such user-friendly technology improved pedagogy with rapid and sustained learner engagement and through enhanced peer-to-peer instruction. Pre-post assessment and re-teaching techniques provided documentation for group demographics, educational evaluation, and programmatic impacts.

Impact Of A Middle School 4-H Science Camp On College Aspirations Of Alumni, Virginia D. Bourdeau, Robin Galloway, Mary Arnold, Brooke D. Nottt

Journal of Extension

This article reports on an alumni study of middle school participants in a university-based science camp; at the time of the study the youth were completing their junior or senior year of high school. The science- and technology-intensive program was set in an intentionally designed positive youth development context. The camp was free to youth who were members of populations underrepresented in science and technology careers or were from underserved areas of the state. The alumni fulfilled the camp goal that they plan to attend college after high school. The majority reported planning to get a professional or advanced degree.

International Study Abroad Experiences With Agents And Students: A Case Study In Belize, Glen Stevens, Bob Smith, Adam Downing

Journal of Extension

The internationalization of local Extension programs has long been a source of debate among Extension educators. Often, international work is seen as extravagant during difficult economic times. Extension also faces challenges attracting qualified young people into our profession. We report the results of a combined international Extension training and student education program. This program was popular with agents and students, improved student knowledge of Extension, and made long-term contributions to the programs of agents who participated. Building the cost for agent participation into study abroad courses may benefit students, Extension agents, and teaching faculty while controlling cost to Extension programs.

Modulators Of Mrp1 Promoter In Neuroblastoma Cell Lines, Myret Said Ghabriel

Theses and Dissertations

The long term goal of this research proposal is to further understand the transcriptional regulation of the MRP1 promoter in neuroblastoma cells. We are primarily focused on two possible mechanisms that might lead to the regulation of MRP1 expression: epigenetic modifications, in particular, gene promoter methylation and transcription factors namely the regulation by the methyl binding protein (MeCP2). Within the 5’ untranslated region of the MRP1 promoter is a CpG island that has the potential to be methylated, thus contributing to down regulation of MRP1 expression in drug sensitive neuroblastoma cells. Our goal is to determine if methylation status of …

Feasibility Of A Brief Community-Based Train-The-Trainer Lesson To Reduce The Risk Of Falls Among Community Dwelling Older Adults, Katherine B. Gunter, Deborah H. John

Journal of Extension

The Better Balance, Better Bones, Better Bodies (B-Better©) program was developed to disseminate simple home-based strategies to prevent falls and improve functional health of older adults using a train-the-trainer model. Delivered by Family & Community Education Study Group program volunteers, the lesson stresses the importance of a physically active lifestyle to optimal health and promotes "best practice" strategies to prevent falls. Data from 235 program participants show participants gained knowledge and learned to reduce their risk of falls during this one-hour brief encounter. Over 80% reported intent to change behavior related to physical activity and to perform home safety checks.

National Outreach Programming For Landowners—Natural Resource Enterprises, W Daryl Jones, Jeanne C. Jones, Stephen C. Grado, Ian Munn, T. Adam Rohnke, Adam T. Tullos, Dawn Manning

Journal of Extension

We conducted a survey of Mississippi landowners to determine revenues collected and expenditures incurred during 1996-1998 for fee hunting on their properties (inflated to 2011 estimates). Study findings revealed that respondents diversified incomes derived through fee hunting enterprises on their lands. This information has been used to design a series of multi-state landowner workshops about natural resource enterprises development and conservation practices on private lands. With state and local collaborator assistance, we have conducted over 50 landowner workshops in nine U.S. states and Sweden and have received requests to expand outreach programming to other U.S. states.

Parent Internet Use During A Child's Emerging Adulthood: Implications For Extension, Chelsea A. Petree, Jodi Dworkin

Journal of Extension

Parents frequently use the Internet to connect with professionals and other parents for information and support, but parents of emerging adults have fewer resources to rely on than parents of younger children. This article explores how parents of 18 to 25 year olds used the Internet to connect with others, including differences by parent age, education, and income. Findings reveal that parents of emerging adults used a variety of activities for parenting and used specific activities for different purposes. Findings directly benefit Extension professionals who aim to address the needs of parents of emerging adults via the Internet.

Physiological Correlates Of Emotion Regulation In Depersonalization Disorder, Kai-Mosadi Monde

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Depersonalization disorder (DPD), is an often debilitating DSM V psychiatric disorder characterized by feelings of detachment from the self or others as well as emotional blunting or numbness. Subjective and physiological evidence of decreased emotional arousal may suggest impaired emotion regulation abilities. Deficits in emotional processing of DPD may be the result of dysregulated cortisol and oxytocin levels, however oxytocin levels have never been assessed in DPD. In this series of studies, we aimed to investigate the physiological correlates of emotion regulation in depersonalization disorder. In experiment 1, DPD patients and a normal control group subjectively enhanced and suppressed emotion …

Emotional Expression And Perception In Three Ethnic Groups: Is There An In-Group Advantage?, Ella Björt Teague

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The extent to which emotional recognition is universal or culturally determined has far-ranging implications for the success of cross-cultural communication. Although strong evidence supporting the universality of emotion recognition across differing cultures has accumulated, there is also mounting support for an in-group advantage (Elfenbein & Ambady, 2002a), defined as the ease by which individuals recognize emotions displayed by members of their in-group group compared to out-group members. Due to mixed results from studies focusing on ethnic groups residing within the same country, the current study investigated the in-group advantage among Black American (BAm), Chinese American (CAm), and White American (WAm) …

Cadê O Mico? Where Is The Tamarin?: Locating Monkeys In The Politics Of Land And Conservation In Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Analía Villagra

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The golden lion tamarin is a small, endangered monkey found in only a few municipalities in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This dissertation explores the project to conserve this rare primate, a project that links together agrarian reform, forest restoration, agroforestry, and conservation biology. Informed by Brazil's social and political history, and drawing from 12 months of fieldwork conducted in 2008 and 2010, this dissertation argues that by looking carefully at and for the tamarin, we discover the interrelated political, social, and animal relationships that weave together to produce conservation in southeastern Brazil.

The Sex Of The Cell Dictates Its Response, Carlos Ganesh Penaloza

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Male and female differences in frequency of occurrence in disease have perplexed scientists for some time. This in part derives from limitations in the systems in which one can evaluate sex differences. At the organismal level, differences can be hidden by a myriad of extensive and complex factors. Additional limitations exist since most biomedical studies are performed almost exclusively on male subjects, as the female hormonal milieu is intrinsically more variable and too troublesome for routine inclusion in research protocols. Research documenting sex differences continues to grow, and while most researchers suggests that sex hormones are at the core of …

Factors Associated With Tuberculin Skin Test Positivity Prevalence In U.S. Medical Laboratory Microbiologists, Julie Ann West

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Prior research has indicated that healthcare personnel (HCP) who work in areas where Mycobacterium tuberculosis poses an occupational hazard are at high risk of tuberculin skin test (TST) positivity and subsequent conversion to active tuberculosis (TB). U.S. medical laboratory microbiologists confront similar hazards but have not been studied outside of the HCP aggregate. The purpose of this study was to fill this gap by examining the relationships between the predictor variables of self-reported history of bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) immunization, place of birth, and years of laboratory experience and the outcomes of self-reported lifetime TST positivity, preventive treatment noninitiation, and barriers …

Computational Insights Into The Oxygen Evolving Complex Of Photosystem Ιι, Muhamed Amin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The Oxygen Evolving Complex (OEC) of Photosystem II (PSII) is a unique Mn4O5Ca2+ cluster that catalyzes the photoactivated water splitting reaction. The OEC is a model system for bio-inspired artificial systems to use solar energy to pull electrons from water to produce fuel. The OEC goes through a cycle of 5 S states storing 4 holes, via electron transfer to P680+, the primary electron donor in PSII to generate a high valence S4 state that oxidizes water. The key questions are what controls the order of oxidation and deprotonation of the OEC complex and how does the PSII protein modulate …