Digital Commons Network^™

Using Machine Learning To Class Potential Hazard Of Environmental Chemicals Iin Rodents, Jie Liu

Theses and Dissertations

Over 10,000 chemicals are currently in commercial use, and hundreds of more chemicals are introduced each year. And humans are exposed to over 6,000 environmental chemicals. But only a small fraction of these chemicals have been adequately assessed for potential hazard, leading to the need to prioritize the chemicals for targeted toxicity testing. It is time-consuming and resource intensive to determine a single chemical’s potential for toxicity using animal testing. This approach is impractical for evaluating tens of thousands of chemicals. Hence, there is an urgent need to find alternatives to animal testing and a number of international efforts are …

Real Time Anomaly Detection In Wide Area Monitoring Of Smart Grids, Jie Wu, Jinjun Xiong, Prasenjit Shil, Yiyu Shi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The real time anomaly detection in wide area monitoring of smart grids is critical to enhance the reliability of power systems. However, capturing the features of anomalous interruption and then detecting them at real time is difficult for large-scale smart grids, because the measurement data volume and complexity increases drastically with the exponential growth of data from the immense intelligent monitoring devices to be rolled out and the need for fast information retrieval from those mass data. Most of existing anomaly detection methods fail to handle it well. This paper proposes a spatial-Temporal correlation based anomalous behavior model to capture …

Data Information Literacy: Librarians, Data, And The Education Of A New Generation Of Researchers, Jake Carlson, Lisa R. Johnston

Purdue University Press Books

Given the increasing attention to managing, publishing, and preserving research datasets as scholarly assets, what competencies in working with research data will graduate students in STEM disciplines need to be successful in their fields? And what role can librarians play in helping students attain these competencies? In addressing these questions, this book articulates a new area of opportunity for librarians and other information professionals, developing educational programs that introduce graduate students to the knowledge and skills needed to work with research data. The term “data information literacy” has been adopted with the deliberate intent of tying two emerging roles for …

Creating A Microcosm To Examine Salinity Tolerance Of Escherichia Coli In Beach Sand, Leigha Stahl

Summer Research Experience Poster Presentations

Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a bacteria species that thrives in a variety of environments. Due to its widespread prevalence, it is commonly used as an indicator for pollution and other pathogens. One place where it is not often looked for is oceanic beaches because E. coli is inhibited by salt. However, recent research has shown that E. coli often thrives in sand at beaches. To determine how it persists in sand, we created a microcosm simulating the intertidal zone of a beach. Using this microcosm, we are testing how varying salinity levels affect persistence of E. coli in sand. …

Accounting For Sick Days: A Scalar Approach To Health And Disease At Deir El-Medina, Anne Austin

History Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

"The Greatest Good Of The Greatest Number In The Long Run": Tr, Pinchot, And The Origins Of Sustainability In America, Charles Wilkinson

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Mechanisms Of Weight Gain In Sleep-Deprived Individuals, Chaya Rosen

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

The obese population in America has grown during the last century. During these years as well, American’s have been sleeping less. Cross sectional studies show that there is a correlation of the two factors, and indeed find a greater number of overweight individuals amongst the sleep-deprived population. Though they are unclear, studies attempt to establish possible mechanisms through which weight gain occurs. Results of studies show that sleep deprivation may influence leptin and ghrelin levels, which can cause hunger, and excessive caloric intake. Sleep-deprived individuals also have an increased opportunity to eat during the wakeful nighttime hours. In the sleep-restricted …

Damage To The Default Mode Network Disrupts Autobiographical Memory Retrieval, Carissa Philippi, Daniel Tranel, Melissa Duff, David Rudrauf

Psychology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

2015-January-03-Joseph "J.T." Mcneil, University Marketing And Communications, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Hairstyle On The Perceptions Of Black Women’S Personality And Earning Potential, Malyn Pope

Summer Research Experience Poster Presentations

The current study addressed a gap in the literature by examining if a black woman’s hairstyle impacted perceptions of her personality and earning potential. Participants were presented with an image of a black woman with one of four hairstyles and asked to assess aspects of her personality and career. Results revealed that regardless of hairstyle, participants had similar perceptions of the woman’s warmth, attractiveness and professionalism. There were no gender differences; however, black participants found the afro condition to reflect the highest competence levels, while white participants preferred the curly condition.

My Liberation Through Science, Mary Poffenroth

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

My liberation through science has brought me joy, frustration, excitement, and adventure.

The Reproductive Biology And Larvae Of The First Tadpole-Bearing Frog, Limnonectes Larvaepartus., Mirza D. Kusrini, Jodi J.L. Rowley, Luna R. Khairunnisa, Glenn M. Shea, Ronald Altig

CAS Publications

Most of the reproductive modes of frogs include an exotrophic tadpole, but a number of taxa have some form of endotrophic development that lacks a feeding tadpole stage. The dicroglossid frog genus Limnonectes ranges from China south into Indonesia. The breeding biologies of the approximately 60 described species display an unusual diversity that range from exotrophic tadpoles to endotrophic development in terrestrial nests. There have been mentions of oviductal production of typical, exotrophic tadpoles in an undescribed species of Limnonectes from Sulawesi, Indonesia. Here we examine newly collected specimens of this species, now described as L. larvaepartus and present the …

Alternative Splicing Of Mef2c Pre-Mrna Controls Its Activity In Normal Myogenesis And Promotes Tumorigenicity In Rhabdomyosarcoma Cells., Meiling Zhang, Bo Zhu, Judith Davie

Articles

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is the most common soft tissue sarcoma in children. Many cellular disruptions contribute to the progression of this pediatric cancer, including aberrant alternative splicing. The MEF2 family of transcription factors regulates many developmental programs, including myogenesis. MEF2 gene transcripts are subject to alternate splicing to generate protein isoforms with divergent functions. We found that MEF2Cα1 was the ubiquitously expressed isoform that exhibited no myogenic activity and that MEF2Cα2, the muscle-specific MEF2C isoform, was required for efficient differentiation. We showed that exon α in MEF2C was aberrantly alternatively spliced in RMS cells, with the ratio of α2/α1 highly down-regulated …

International Maritime Organization's Regulation Of Sulfur Emission, Jennifer M. Greene

Emory Business Law Review

The International Maritime Organization has recently set forth strict sulfur emission limitations to help curb environmental pollution across the seas. The regulation is ideal for reducing the environmental impact of international maritime shipping carriers. While the regulation is ideal on its face, in practice, the enforcement authority of the International Maritime Organization and the current compliance by carriers is limited. The cost-benefit analysis between environmental compliance and non-compliance exposes the conflicting incentives. This article presents the difficulties of enforcing this new regulation and offers insight and alternatives for both carriers the International Maritime Organization.

Cd163 Interacts With Tweak To Regulate Tissue Regeneration After Ischaemic Injury, Hirokuni Akahori, Vinit Karmali, Rohini Polavarapu, Adrienne L. King

Faculty Articles

biological sciences, medical research

Unsettling Sustainability: The Poetics Of Discomfort, Mandy Bloomfield

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Juniperus Communis In Azerbaijan: Analyses Of Nrdna And Cpdna Regions, Robert P. Adams, Vahid Farzaliyev, Alexander N. Tashev, Andrea E. Schwarzbach

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications

Juniperus 'pygmaea' from Azerbaijan was analyzed by DNA sequence data from nrDNA plus four cp DNA regions (4315 bp) and found in a clade with J. communis 'oblonga' (= J. communis) Armenia, not with J. c. forma pygmaea of Bulgaria. It seems prudent to not recognize this variant taxonomically but treat it as J. communis.

The Correlation Between Confidence And Knowledge Of Evidence-Based Practice Among Occupational Therapy Students, Kate E. Decleene Huber, Alison Nichols, Kaila Bowman, Jessica Hershberger, Jessica Marquis, Taylor Murphy, Chanlar Pierce, Chelsea Sanders

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is used throughout multiple health-care professions and includes the use of best research available, client preferences, and the practitioner’s experience. Occupational therapy educational programs are required to incorporate EBP into their curriculum. A convenience sample of occupational therapy students from a private university completed a survey designed to measure students’ knowledge and confidence in EBP. The survey consisted of the Knowledge of Research Evidence Competencies (K-REC) and the Evidence-Based Practice Confidence (EPIC) scale, as well as demographic questions. Of the respondents (n = 47), third-year students indicated higher confidence in the ability to utilize EBP and higher …

The Experience Of Transition To College For Students Diagnosed With Asperger’S Disorder, Victoria Schindler, Abigail Cajiga, Rae Aaronson, Lorena Salas

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Obtaining a college degree is a positive and often necessary step to adulthood, independence, and knowledge. Students diagnosed with Asperger’s Disorder (AD) typically experience difficulty in college, especially in the transition to college. To assist students with AD in the transition to college, an occupational therapy mentoring program was developed in a college setting. This article describes this program, provides quantitative and qualitative outcomes of the program, and uses the outcomes to determine factors to facilitate a successful transition.

Method: A mixed methods design with quantitative and qualitative components was used. The quantitative measures included the Canadian Occupational Performance …

Dephosphorylation Of Iqg1 By Cdc14 Regulates Cytokinesis In Budding Yeast, Daniel P. Miller, Hana Kenton Hall, Ryan Chaparian, Madison Mara, Alison Mueller, Mark C. Hall, Katie Shannon

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Cytokinesis separates cells by contraction of a ring composed of filamentous actin (F-actin) and type II myosin. Iqg1, an IQGAP family member, is an essential protein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae required for assembly and contraction of the actomyosin ring. Localization of F-actin to the ring occurs only after anaphase and is mediated by the calponin homology domain (CHD) of Iqg1, but the regulatory mechanisms that temporally restrict actin ring assembly are not well defined. We tested the hypothesis that dephosphorylation of four perfect cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) sites flanking the CHD promotes actin ring formation, using site-specific alanine mutants. Cells expressing the …

Excessive Daytime Sleepiness Is Associated With Changes In Salivary Inflammatory Genes Transcripts, Matthew S. Thimgan, Cristina Toedebusch, Jennifer Mcleland, Stephen P. Duntley, Paul J. Shaw

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is a ubiquitous problem that affects public health and safety. A test that can reliably identify individuals that suffer from EDS is needed. In contrast to other methods, salivary biomarkers are an objective, inexpensive, and noninvasive method to identify individuals with inadequate sleep. Although we have previously shown that inflammatory genes are elevated in saliva samples taken from sleep deprived individuals, it is unclear if inflammatory genes will be elevated in clinical populations with EDS. In this study, salivary samples from individuals with sleep apnea were evaluated using the Taqman low density inflammation array. Transcript levels …

Distribution Of Escherichia Coli Passaged Through Processing Equipment During Ground Beef Production Using Inoculated Trimmings, Mohammad Koohmaraie, Joseph M. Bosilevac, Michael De La Zerda, Ali Mohseni Motlagh, Mansour Samadpour

Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center: Reports

The contamination of raw ground beef by Escherichia coli O157:H7 is not only a public health issue but also an economic concern to meat processors. When E. coli O157:H7 is detected in a ground beef sample, the product lots made immediately before and after the lot represented by the positive sample are discarded or diverted to lethality treatment. However, there is little data to base decisions on how much product must be diverted. Therefore, five 2,000-lb (907-kg) combo bins of beef trimmings were processed into 10-lb (4.54-kg) chubs of raw ground beef, wherein the second combo of meat was contaminated …

Polymer Surface Modification With Atmospheric-Pressure Plasmas, Kunning G. Xu

Summer Community of Scholars (RCEU and HCR) Project Proposals

No abstract provided.

Integrating Basic Research With Prevention/Intervention To Reduce Risky Substance Use Among College Students, Danielle M. Dick, Linda C. Hancock

Psychiatry Publications

Too often basic research on etiological processes that contribute to substance use outcomes is disconnected from efforts to develop prevention and intervention programming. Substance use on college campuses is an area of concern where translational efforts that bring together basic scientists and prevention/intervention practitioners have potential for high impact. We describe an effort at a large, public, urban university in the United States to bring together researchers across the campus with expertise in college behavioral health with university administration and health/wellness practitioners to address college student substance use and mental health. The project “Spit for Science” examines how genetic and …

Structure And Functional Characterization Of A Bile Acid 7 Alpha Dehydratase Baie In Secondary Bile Acid Synthesis, Shiva Bhowmik, Hsien-Po Chiu, David H. Jones, Hsiu-Ju Chiu, Mitchell D. Miller, Qingping Xu, Carol L. Farr, Jason M. Ridlon, James E. Wells, U.S. Meat Animal Research Center-Andre Elsliger, Ian A. Wilson, Phillip B. Hylemon, Scott A. Lesley

Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center: Reports

Conversion of the primary bile acids cholic acid (CA) and chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) to the secondary bile acids deoxycholic acid (DCA) and lithocholic acid (LCA) is performed by a few species of intestinal bacteria in the genus Clostridium through a multistep biochemical pathway that removes a 7a-hydroxyl group. The rate-determining enzyme in this pathway is bile acid 7a-dehydratase (baiE). In this study, crystal structures of apo-BaiE and its putative product-bound [3-oxo-D4,6- lithocholyl-Coenzyme A (CoA)] complex are reported. BaiE is a trimer with a twisted a+b barrel fold with similarity to the Nuclear Transport Factor 2 (NTF2) superfamily. Tyr30, Asp35, and …

Comparative Analysis Of Super-Shedder Strains Of Escherichia Coli O157:H7 Reveals Distinctive Genomic Features And A Strongly Aggregative Adherent Phenotype On Bovine Rectoanal Junction Squamous Epithelial Cells, Rebecca Cote, Robab Katani, Matthew R. Moreau, Indira T. Kudva, Terrance M. Arthur, Chitrita Debroy, Michael M. Mwangi, Istvan Albert, Juan Antonio Raygoza Garay, Lingling Li, Maria T. Brandl, Michelle Q. Carter, Vivek Kapur

Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center: Reports

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 (O157) are significant foodborne pathogens and pose a serious threat to public health worldwide. The major reservoirs of O157 are asymptomatic cattle which harbor the organism in the terminal recto-anal junction (RAJ). Some colonized animals, referred to as “super-shedders” (SS), are known to shed O157 in exceptionally large numbers (>104 CFU/g of feces). Recent studies suggest that SS cattle play a major role in the prevalence and transmission of O157, but little is known about the molecular mechanisms associated with super-shedding. Whole genome sequence analysis of an SS O157 strain (SS17) revealed a genome …

Membrane Topology Of A Broad-Spectrum Resistance Factor Responsible For Lipid Modification In Enterococcus Faecium., Jesse Harrison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Aminoacylphosphatidylglycerol synthases (aaPGSs) are integral membrane proteins that use aminoacyl-tRNAs as substrates to catalyze the addition of amino acids to phosphatidylglycerol (PG) in the cytoplasmic membranes of bacteria. Addition of amino acids to PG decreases the net negative charge of the membrane, conferring resistance to various classes of antibacterial agents (i.e., cationic antimicrobial peptides, beta-lactams, glycopeptides, and lipopeptides) and protecting the cell against osmotic stress and acidic conditions. aaPGS homologs are found in a variety of clinically relevant microorganisms, including Enterococcus faecium, which is increasingly found to be the etiologic agent of antibiotic-resistant nosocomial infections. Although the broad distribution of …

Together: Every Woman's Guide To Preventing Breast Cancer, Graham A. Colditz, Katherine N. Weilbaecher, Hank Dart

Cancer Prevention Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Pacs Bulletin 2015-2016, Program In Audiology And Communication Sciences

PACS News

No abstract provided.

Stress Reactivity To An Electronic Version Of The Trier Social Stress Test: A Pilot Study, Sage E. Hawn, Lisa Paul, Suzanne Thomas, Stephanie Miller, Ananda B. Amstadter

Psychiatry Publications

Social stressors that rely on the inclusion of confederates (i.e., Trier Social Stress Test, TSST) are often used in clinical laboratory research paradigms to elicit a measurable stress response in participants. Although effective, the TSST is labor intensive and may introduce error variance as a function of confederate race, gender, and/or response characteristics. The present study aimed to develop and validate an electronic version of the TSST (e-TSST). The primary aim was to compare the e-TSST to an e-neutral control condition; the exploratory aim was to compare the magnitude of stress response elicited by the e-TSST to that elicited by …