Digital Commons Network^™

Other: Beauvoir’S Existential Feminism, Joy Mosier-Dubinsky

JCCC Honors Journal

Simone De Beauvoir considered The Second Sex to be more of a “reflection,” rather than a war-cry or how-to book for women to follow. The existentialism it contained is there simply because Beauvoir herself identified with the approach of experience being the common core of self-discovery. In truth, existentialism is quite possibly the only school of philosophical thought that adequately allows for an in-depth examination of what being a woman means. The language of existentialism is, in fact, the only approach that proves useful in approaching a discussion of feminism. While Beauvoir’s influences and interests tended toward an existential view, …

Heart Disease: Causes, Prevention, And Current Research, Deeanna Kelley

JCCC Honors Journal

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. The causes and prevention of heart disease have been studied for years, and new information is emerging. For the last several decades, saturated fat and cholesterol have been thought to be major contributors to coronary artery disease, and therefore people are typically advised to strictly limit these in their diet. However, recent studies are indicating that it may not be wise to strictly limit the intake of dietary saturated fatty acids or replace them with polyunsaturated fatty acids when taking other health conditions into consideration. Depending on a …

Characterization Of Role Of Conserved Oligmeric Golgi (Cog) Complex In Early Hiv Events, Sicen Liu

Open Access Dissertations

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a highly lethal lentivirus which is responsible for a tremendous amount of suffering and death in the United States and throughout the world. By attacking the host’s immune system, HIV leaves the infected individual susceptible to a wide variety of opportunistic infections. HIV, like all viruses, relies on host cell factors for successful infection, replication and release of progeny virus. Previously, a large-scale functional genomic screen identified over 230 novel factors whose silencing inhibited viral replication in cultured cells. A more detailed examination of these HIV-dependency factors (HDFs) showed a significant enrichment for factors involved …

Reception Honors Late Winthrop Professor, University's 10th Largest Donor, Winthrop University

Winthrop News 2014

• Late Associate Professor Emerita of Biology Elizabeth King established an $850K graduate scholarship to recruit and retain graduate students in cellular biology.
• King's lifetime cumulative giving makes her Winthrop's 10th largest donor in terms of lifetime cumulative giving history.

Cc2d1a Regulates Human Intellectual And Social Function As Well As Nf-Κb Signaling Homeostasis., M. Chiara Manzini, Lan Xiong, Ranad Shaheen, Dimira E Tambunan, Stefania Di Costanzo, Vanessa Mitisalis, +15 Additional Authors

Pharmacology and Physiology Faculty Publications

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID) are often comorbid, but the extent to which they share common genetic causes remains controversial. Here, we present two autosomal-recessive "founder" mutations in the CC2D1A gene causing fully penetrant cognitive phenotypes, including mild-to-severe ID, ASD, as well as seizures, suggesting shared developmental mechanisms. CC2D1A regulates multiple intracellular signaling pathways, and we found its strongest effect to be on the transcription factor nuclear factor κB (NF-κB). Cc2d1a gain and loss of function both increase activation of NF-κB, revealing a critical role of Cc2d1a in homeostatic control of intracellular signaling. Cc2d1a knockdown in neurons …

Safety And Immunogenicity Of Human Serum Albumin-Free Mmr Vaccine In Us Children Aged 12–15 Months, Maurice A. Mufson, Clemente Diaz, Michael Leonardi, Christopher J. Harrison, Stanley Grogg, Antonio Carbayo, Simon Carlo-Torres, Robert Jean Freau, Ana Quintero-Del-Rio, Gisele Bautista, Michael Povey, Christopher Da Costa, Ouzama Nicholson, Bruce L. Innis

Internal Medicine

Background: M-M-RTMII (MMRII; Merck & Co) is currently the only measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine licensed in the United States. Another licensed vaccine would reinforce MMR supply. This study assessed the immunogenicity of a candidate vaccine (PriorixTM, GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines [MMR-RIT]) when used as a first dose among eligible children in the United States.

Methods: In this exploratory Phase-2, multicenter, observer-blind study, 1220 healthy subjects aged 12–15 months were randomized (3:3:3:3) and received 1 dose of 1 of 3 MMR-RIT lots with differing mumps virus titers (MMR-RIT-1 [4.8 log10]; MMR-RIT-2 [4.1 log10]; MMR-RIT-3 [3.7 log10] CCID50) or MMRII co-administered with hepatitis Avaccine (HAV), …

Faculty, Departments Honored With Argus Awards, Kendra Carter

Browse All News

No abstract provided.

New Methods And Strategies For Orthogonal Oligosaccharide Synthesis, Scott James Hasty

Dissertations

Although scientists have been able to isolate certain classes of naturally occurring carbohydrates, the overall availability of pure natural isolates remains inadequate. As a result, chemical synthesis has been employed to access complex carbohydrates. Unfortunately, traditional oligosaccharide synthesis often requires laborious protecting-group manipulations that results in lower yields. Expeditious strategies effectively shorten the task of oligosaccharide assembly by minimizing the need for protecting-group manipulations between glycosylation steps, or even purification of the intermediates. Additionally, prediction of the stereoselective outcome of the coupling reaction between two sugar units is a major obstacle facing carbohydrate chemists. It is well known that 1,2-trans …

D-Beta-Hydroxybutyrate Extends Lifespan In , Clare Edwards, John Canfield, Neil Copes, Muhammad Rehan, David Lipps, Patrick C. Bradshaw

Molecular Biosciences Faculty Publications

The ketone body beta-hydroxybutyrate (βHB) is a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor and has been shown to be protective in many disease models, but its effects on aging are not well studied. Therefore we determined the effect of βHB supplementation on the lifespan ofC. elegans nematodes. βHB supplementation extended mean lifespan by approximately 20%. RNAi knockdown of HDACs hda-2 or hda-3 also increased lifespan and further prevented βHB-mediated lifespan extension. βHB-mediated lifespan extension required the DAF-16/FOXO and SKN-1/Nrf longevity pathways, the sirtuin SIR-2.1, and the AMP kinase subunit AAK-2. βHB did not extend lifespan in a genetic model of dietary restriction …

National Science Foundation Extends Funding For New Research Experience, University Relations

Campus News Archive

“Indigenous American to Indigenous Borneo—Adventures in Biology and Biodiversity” is led by Assistant Professor Michael Ceballos.

Former Gwu Trustee And Longtime Donor Passes Away, Office Of University Communications

Gardner-Webb NewsCenter Archive

Gardner-Webb University mourns the loss of former trustee and longtime donor Frank R. Nanney, who passed away Wednesday, Aug. 6 at Rutherford Regional Medical Center at the age of 93. Nanney was known for his generosity to the University in both service and notable gifts, including lead funding to his namesake building, Frank Nanney Hall. A Rutherford County native, Nanney served Gardner-Webb as a two-term trustee after nearly 50 years with Stonecutter Mills Corporation in Spindale, N.C.

Cyclic Di-Gmp-Dependent Signaling Pathways In The Pathogenic Firmicute Listeria Monocytogenes, Li-Hong Chen, Volkan K. Köseoğlu, Zehra T. Güvener, Tanya Myers-Morales, Joseph M. Reed, Sarah E. F. D'Orazio, Kurt W. Miller, Mark Gomelsky

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

We characterized key components and major targets of the c-di-GMP signaling pathways in the foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, identified a new c-di-GMP-inducible exopolysaccharide responsible for motility inhibition, cell aggregation, and enhanced tolerance to disinfectants and desiccation, and provided first insights into the role of c-di-GMP signaling in listerial virulence. Genome-wide genetic and biochemical analyses of c-di-GMP signaling pathways revealed that L. monocytogenes has three GGDEF domain proteins, DgcA (Lmo1911), DgcB (Lmo1912) and DgcC (Lmo2174), that possess diguanylate cyclase activity, and three EAL domain proteins, PdeB (Lmo0131), PdeC (Lmo1914) and PdeD (Lmo0111), that possess c-di-GMP phosphodiesterase activity. Deletion of all phosphodiesterase …

Cyclic Di-Gmp-Dependent Signaling Pathways In The Pathogenic Firmicute Listeria Monocytogenes, Li-Hong Chen, Volkan K. Köseoğlu, Zehra T. Güvener, Tanya Myers-Morales, Joseph M. Reed, Sarah E. F. D'Orazio, Kurt W. Miller, Mark Gomelsky

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

We characterized key components and major targets of the c-di-GMP signaling pathways in the foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, identified a new c-di-GMP-inducible exopolysaccharide responsible for motility inhibition, cell aggregation, and enhanced tolerance to disinfectants and desiccation, and provided first insights into the role of c-di-GMP signaling in listerial virulence. Genome-wide genetic and biochemical analyses of c-di-GMP signaling pathways revealed that L. monocytogenes has three GGDEF domain proteins, DgcA (Lmo1911), DgcB (Lmo1912) and DgcC (Lmo2174), that possess diguanylate cyclase activity, and three EAL domain proteins, PdeB (Lmo0131), PdeC (Lmo1914) and PdeD (Lmo0111), that possess c-di-GMP phosphodiesterase activity. Deletion of all …

The Tattoo: A Mark Of Subversion, Deviance, Or Mainstream Self-Expression?, Jocelyn Camacho

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While an estimated one-third of the United States population has a tattoo, tattoos are still seen as a sign of deviance. The appearance of the first tattoos in the United States were relegated to the bodies of the lower classes and outcasts of society. Over the past few decades tattoos have migrated on to the celebrity skin of today's pop culture icons. In the past twenty years, tattoos have moved from deviant subcultures to the mainstream, and yet are still considered to be a mark of the disfavored factions of society. The dominant culture continues to regard the bearers of …

Pengaruh Naungan Dan Konsentrasi Pupuk Organik Cair Terhadap Pertumbuhan Tanaman Anggrek Phalaenopsis Hasil Persilangan Kultivar Sayukudion X Taida Snow, Yayat Rochayat Suradinata

Jurnal Kultivasi

Percobaan ini bertujuan untuk menentukan persentase naungan dan konsentrasi pupuk organik cair yang terbaik terhadap pertumbuhan dan perkembangan tanaman anggrek Phalaenopsis hasil persilangan kultivar Sayukudion x Taida Snow. Dilaksanakan di Rumah Kaca Fakultas Pertanian Universitas Padjadjaran, Jatinangor, Sumedang, dengan ketinggian tempat 700 meter dpl, pada bulan Oktober 2011 sampai Januari 2012. Rancangan percobaan yang digunakan adalah Rancangan Petak Terbagi dengan dua faktor dan tiga ulangan. Petak utama adalah persentase naungan (55 %, 65 %, 75 %) dan anak petak adalah konsentrasi pupuk organik cair (1 ml L-1, 2 ml L-1, 3 ml L-1). Perlakuan persentase naungan dan konsentrasi pupuk organik …

Academic And Assessment Committee, August 7, 2014, Coastal Carolina University

Board of Trustees Committee Minutes

No abstract provided.

Cubesats: The Beginning Of Amateur Space Exploration, Tim Debenedictis

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

An article by Tim DeBenedictis of the Southern Stars Group titled "CubeSats: the Beginning of Amateur Space Exploration" from August 7, 2014.

Geomicrobial Investigation Of Thrombolites In Green Lake, New York And Highborne Cay, Bahamas, Molly Patterson

Master's Theses

Thrombolites are non-laminated, clotted microbialites that form by the lithification of microbial communities through the trapping and binding of sediment and mineral precipitation. This precipitation (microbially-induced organomineralization) is controlled by both intrinsic (microbial; e.g. microbial metabolisms) and extrinsic (environmental; e.g. temperature) factors, which dictate the carbonate saturation index and ultimately the precipitation of carbonate minerals within the microbialite structure (i.e. EPS matrix). Thrombolites date back in the rock record to the early Paleoproterozoic (ca. 1.9 Ga) and are currently forming around the world in various climates and under a range of environmental conditions. This study compares two markedly different modern …

Efficacy Of Optical Coherence Tomography In The Detection Of Potentially Malignant Oral Mucosal Lesions Of The Tongue: An Animal Model, Hugo Cesar Campos Jaramillo

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Phenotypic Signatures Arising From Unbalanced Bacterial Growth, Cheemang Tan, Robert P. Smith, Ming-Chi Tsai, Russell Schwartz, Lingchong You

Biology Faculty Articles

Fluctuations in the growth rate of a bacterial culture during unbalanced growth are generally considered undesirable in quantitative studies of bacterial physiology. Under well-controlled experimental conditions, however, these fluctuations are not random but instead reflect the interplay between intra-cellular networks underlying bacterial growth and the growth environment. Therefore, these fluctuations could be considered quantitative phenotypes of the bacteria under a specific growth condition. Here, we present a method to identify “phenotypic signatures” by time-frequency analysis of unbalanced growth curves measured with high temporal resolution. The signatures are then applied to differentiate amongst different bacterial strains or the same strain under …

Surgical Adhesive From Mussel Mimetic Polymer, Jenna Desousa, Cori Jenkins, Jonathan Wilker

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Injuries involving damaged tissues are currently repaired through an invasive technique involving the use of screws, plates and sutures as support, which can damage these tissues. The biomedical field currently lacks an adhesive that can replace harmful implants. A surgical adhesive can provide a quick and easy alternative, which will minimize the risk of damaging healthy tissue in surgery. Inspiration for such materials can be found by looking at marine mussels as they are able to stick to nearly any surface, even in wet environments. Marine mussels affix themselves to different surfaces using adhesive plaques consisting of various proteins. Polymer …

Great Lakes Basin Water Quality Analysis Using L-Thia Model In Desktop Gis, Ibrahim D. Hinds, Larry Theller

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The objective of this project is to provide a scientific estimate of the surface runoff and water quality within the great lakes watershed. The problem is that there has been a trend of a decrease in water quality that threatens to damage marine ecosystems. In addition, the Great Lakes significance to the US economy is highlighted by its use in fisheries, tourism, shipping, recreation and as a freshwater supply.

In 1972 the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement was established between the US and Canada, and Areas of Concern (AOC) were identified within respective country boundaries. The US government has invested …

Investigation Of The Performance Of Different Types Of Zirconium Microstructures Under Extreme Irradiation Conditions, Eric M. Acosta, Osman J. El-Atwani

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The safe and continued operation of the US nuclear power plants requires improvement of the radiation resistant properties of materials used in nuclear reactors. Zirconium is a material of particular interest due to its use in fuel cladding. Studies performed on other materials have shown that grain boundaries can play a significant role on the radiation resistant properties of a material. Thus, the focus of our research is to investigate the performance of different zirconium microstructures under irradiation conditions similar to those in commercial nuclear reactors. Analysis of the surface morphology of zirconium both pre- and post-irradiation was conducted with …

Analysis Of Mechanics And Dynamics Of Biopolymers In Living Cells, Shubham Agrawal, Peter D. Russel, Abdel-Rahman Hassan, Taeyoon Kim

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

F-actin polymers in the cytoskeleton provide mechanical strength and deformability to cells. Thus, understanding their dynamic responses to intracellular and extracellular cues is of critical importance for studying the biological and mechanical behaviors of cells. Unfortunately, to date, no computer software can provide researchers with adequate means to measure these responses since in vivo F-actin cytoskeleton is quite dynamic and complex unlike in vitro actin networks. We aim at developing a tool which would allow researchers to semi-automatically analyze time-lapse microscope images of these F-actin polymers and thus evaluate the length and stochastic dynamics of F-actins (filament elongation, shrinkage and …

The Effect Of Transient Hmg-Coa Reductase And 1-Deoxy-D-Xylulose-5-Phosphate Synthase Overexpression On Terpene Production In Transgenic Tomato Fruits, Scott A. Gentry, Michael Gutensohn, Laura Henry, Natalia Dudareva

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Isoprenoids are secondary metabolites that control numerous plant functions including signaling, growth, photosynthesis, and membrane structure. The bioengineering of isoprenoid synthesis could produce plants with a variety of beneficial traits. Plants form isoprenoids using two different pathways, the mevalonate (MVA) pathway and the methylerithritol phosphate (MEP) pathway, which cooperate via metabolic cross-talk. Transgenic tomato lines expressing both the plastidic and cytosolic forms of the snapdragon nerolidol/linalool terpene synthase under a fruit ripening specific promoter were transiently transformed to overexpress key enzymes in the two isoprenoid pathways. Hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGR) is the rate limiting enzyme in the MVA pathway that …

Surveys Of Southern Flying Squirrel Activity Following Timber Harvest In Southern Indiana, Joseph W. Eisinger, Elizabeth A. Flaherty, Stephanie E. Trapp

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Southern flying squirrels (Glaucomys volans) are gliding small mammals that are ecologically important seed dispersers and prey species across their wide range, which extends from southern Canada to Central America. Because of their reliance on forest structure for efficient movement and on forest composition for hard mast production to provide winter food items, habitat use by G. volans may be impacted by timber harvest. Responses of G. volans to timber harvests remains understudied throughout their range, and studies are especially lacking within the Central Hardwoods Region that includes Indiana. Our study in the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment (HEE) in southern Indiana …

Optimization Of Acid Production In Food Waste Via Anaerobic Respiration, Charles Daniels, Raymond Red Corn, Abigail S. Engelberth Phd.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, one third of all food produced in world is wasted; 1.63 * 10⁹ metric tons of nutrition is lost to transportation, contamination, or neglect every year (FAO 2013). This wasted food, however, could be repurposed as a substrate for microbial conversion into useful chemicals. This research is aimed at finding the optimal conditions for bacterial colonies to generate volatile fatty acids (VFAs): resources that are used as solvents, medicines, and chemical intermediates usually generated from petroleum based resources (Drumright et al., 2000) (Roscher 2000) (Kolt et al., 2007). …

Biological Implications Of Satellite Cells For Scaffold-Based Muscle Regenerative Engineering, Maggie R. Del Ponte, Charter Chain, Meng Deng Dr., Feng Yue Dr., Shihuan Kuang Dr.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Satellite cells are anatomically localized along the surface of muscle fibers and have been regarded as a population of muscle-specific progenitors that are responsible for muscle regeneration. In response to muscle injuries, satellite cells are activated to enter the cell cycle, then proliferate and differentiate into mature muscle cells to regenerate damaged myofibers. Unfortunately, this natural repair mechanism is interrupted in conditions such as muscle degenerative diseases or volumetric muscle loss. The function of stem cells is regulated by signals from their local microenvironment which is called the stem cell niche. Current satellite cell-based strategies such as direct cell transplantation …

Thin-Film Sol-Gel As Controlled Delivery Platform For Neural Microelectrodes, Margaret A. Harden, Matthew D. Mcdermott, Kevin J. Otto

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Long-term efficacy of neural implantation devices is a persisting challenge in neural engineering and rehabilitation. Upon implantation of a neural device, the foreign body response (FBR) is triggered and glial cells form a sheath around the electrode array. This sheath isolates the array from the rest of the brain both mechanically and electrically. Tetramethyl orthosilicate (TMOS), a thin-film polymer, has been shown to not negatively impact the impedance and charge-carrying capacity, as well as offer a controlled delivery method to deliver pharmaceuticals to mitigate inflammation without significant effect to device design. Using an in vitro protein delivery model to analyze …

Electrophoresis Staining: A New Method Of Whole Mount Staining, Mitchell G. Ayers, Sarah Calve, Zhiyu Li

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Advances in tissue clearing techniques have allowed almost a ten-fold increase in the viewing depth of confocal microscopy. This allows for intact cellular structures to be rendered in 3D. However, viewing tissues to this depth is often limited to endogenous fluorescence as passive diffusion of antibodies via whole mount staining can take weeks. Our lab is developing a new method involving electrophoresis as a driving force that will promote active antibody binding deep into tissue, reducing the amount of time needed to stain for cellular structures. Due to the inherent charge within antibodies, they are able to be directionally forced …