Digital Commons Network^™

Quality Index For Stereoscopic Images By Separately Evaluating Adding And Subtracting, Jiachen Yang, Yancong Lin, Zhiqun Gao, Zhihan Lv, Wei Wei, Houbing Song

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The human visual system (HVS) plays an important role in stereo image quality perception. Therefore, it has aroused many people’s interest in how to take advantage of the knowledge of the visual perception in image quality assessment models. This paper proposes a full-reference metric for quality assessment of stereoscopic images based on the binocular difference channel and binocular summation channel. For a stereo pair, the binocular summation map and binocular difference map are computed first by adding and subtracting the left image and right image. Then the binocular summation is decoupled into two parts, namely additive impairments and detail losses. …

Chondrogenic Priming Of Human Fetal Synovium-Derived Stem Cells In An Adult Stem Cell Matrix Microenvironment, Jingting Li, Fan He, Ming Pei

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Cartilage defects are a challenge to treat clinically due to the avascular nature of cartilage. Low immunogenicity and extensive proliferation and multidifferentiation potential make fetal stem cells a promising source for regenerative medicine. In this study, we aimed to determine whether fetal synovium-derived stem cells (FSDSCs) exhibited replicative senescence and whether expansion on decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) deposited by adult SDSCs (AECM) promoted FSDSCs' chondrogenic potential. FSDSCs from passage 2 and 9 were compared for chondrogenic potential, using Alcian blue staining for sulfated glycosaminoglycans(GAGs), biochemical analysis for DNA and GAG amounts, and real-time PCR for chondrogenic genes including ACAN …

The Complete Genome Sequence Of The Emerging Pathogen Mycobacterium Haemophilum Explains Its Unique Culture Requirements, Joann M. Tufariello, Christopher A. Kerantzas, Catherine Vilcheze, R Brent Calder, Eric K. Nordberg, Jack A. Fischer, Travis E. Hartman, Eva Yang, Timothy Driscoll, Laura E. Cole, Robert Sebra, Shahina B. Maqbool, Alice R. Wattam, William R. Jacobs Jr

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Mycobacterium haemophilum is an emerging pathogen associated with a variety of clinical syndromes, most commonly skin infections in immunocompromised individuals. M. haemophilum exhibits a unique requirement for iron supplementation to support its growth in culture, but the basis for this property and how it may shape pathogenesis is unclear. Using a combination of Illumina, PacBio, and Sanger sequencing, the complete genome sequence of M. haemophilum was determined. Guided by this sequence, experiments were performed to define the basis for the unique growth requirements of M. haemophilum. We found that M. haemophilum, unlike many other mycobacteria, is unable to synthesize iron-binding …

Genotypic And Phenotypic Analyses Of A Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Chronic Bronchiectasis Isolate Reveal Differences From Cystic Fibrosis And Laboratory Strains, John J. Varga, Mariette Barbier, Xavier Mulet, Piotr Bielecki, Jennifer A. Bartell, Joshua P. Owings, Inmaculada Martinez-Ramos, Lauren E. Hittle, Michael R. Davis Jr, F Heath Damron, George W. Liechti, Jacek Puchalka, Vitor A P Martin Dos Santos, Robert K. Ernst, Jason A. Papin, Sebastian Alberti, Antonio Oliver, Joanna B. Goldberg

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an environmentally ubiquitous Gram-negative bacterium and important opportunistic human pathogen, causing severe chronic respiratory infections in patients with underlying conditions such as cystic fibrosis (CF) or bronchiectasis. In order to identify mechanisms responsible for adaptation during bronchiectasis infections, a bronchiectasis isolate, PAHM4, was phenotypically and genotypically characterized.

Results

This strain displays phenotypes that have been associated with chronic respiratory infections in CF including alginate over-production, rough lipopolysaccharide, quorum-sensing deficiency, loss of motility, decreased protease secretion, and hypermutation. Hypermutation is a key adaptation of this bacterium during the course of chronic respiratory infections and analysis indicates that …

A Real-Time Monitoring System Of Industry Carbon Monoxide Based On Wireless Sensor Networks, Jiachen Yang, Jianxiong Zhou, Zhihan Lv, Wei Wei, Houbing Song

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Carbon monoxide (CO) burns or explodes at over-standard concentration. Hence, in this paper, a Wifi-based, real-time monitoring of a CO system is proposed for application in the construction industry, in which a sensor measuring node is designed by low-frequency modulation method to acquire CO concentration reliably, and a digital filtering method is adopted for noise filtering. According to the triangulation, the Wifi network is constructed to transmit information and determine the position of nodes. The measured data are displayed on a computer or smart phone by a graphical interface. The experiment shows that the monitoring system obtains excellent accuracy and …

Three-Dimensional Microfluidic Tri-Culture Model Of The Bone Marrow Microenvironment For Study Of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Allison Bruce, Rebecca Evans, Ryan Mezan, Lin Shi, Blake S. Moses, Karen H. Martin, Laura F. Gibson, Yong Yang

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) initiates and progresses in the bone marrow, and as such, the marrow microenvironment is a critical regulatory component in development of this cancer. However, ALL studies were conducted mainly on flat plastic substrates, which do not recapitulate the characteristics of marrow microenvironments. To study ALL in a model of in vivo relevance, we have engineered a 3-D microfluidic cell culture platform. Biologically relevant populations of primary human bone marrow stromal cells, osteoblasts and human leukemic cells representative of an aggressive phenotype were encapsulated in 3-D collagen matrix as the minimal constituents and cultured in a microfluidic …

Silica Coating Influences The Corona And Biokinetics Of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles, Nagarjun V. Konduru, Renato J. Jimenez, Archana Swami, Sherri Friend, Vincent Castranova, Philip Demokritou, Joseph D. Brain, Ramon M. Molina

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background

The physicochemical properties of nanoparticles (NPs) influence their biological outcomes.

Methods

We assessed the effects of an amorphous silica coating on the pharmacokinetics and pulmonary effects of CeO2 NPs following intratracheal (IT) instillation, gavage and intravenous injection in rats. Uncoated and silica-coated CeO2 NPs were generated by flame spray pyrolysis and later neutron-activated. These radioactive NPs were IT-instilled, gavaged, or intravenously (IV) injected in rats. Animals were analyzed over 28 days post-IT, 7 days post-gavage and 2 days post-injection.

Results

Our data indicate that silica coating caused more but transient lung inflammation compared to uncoated CeO2. The transient inflammation …

Nktr-102 Efficacy Versus Irinotecan In A Mouse Model Of Brain Metastases Of Breast Cancer, Chris E. Adkins, Mohammed I. Nounou, Tanvirul Hye, Afroz S. Mohammad, Tori Terrell-Hall, Neel K. Mohan, Michael A. Eldon, Ute Hoch, Paul R. Lockman

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background: Brain metastases are an increasing problem in women with invasive breast cancer. Strategies designed to treat brain metastases of breast cancer, particularly chemotherapeutics such as irinotecan, demonstrate limited efficacy. Conventional irinotecan distributes poorly to brain metastases; therefore, NKTR-102, a PEGylated irinotecan conjugate should enhance irinotecan and its active metabolite SN38 exposure in brain metastases leading to brain tumor cytotoxicity.

Methods: Female nude mice were intracranially or intracardially implanted with human brain seeking breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231Br) and dosed with irinotecan or NKTR-102 to determine plasma and tumor pharmacokinetics of irinotecan and SN38. Tumor burden and survival were evaluated in …

New Fungus-Insect Symbiosis: Culturing, Molecular, And Histological Methods Determine Saprophytic Polyporales Mutualists Of Ambrosiodmus Ambrosia Beetles, Li You, David R. Simmons, Craig C. Bateman, Dylan P G Short, Matthew T. Kasson, Robert J. Rabagila, Jiri Hulcr

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Ambrosia symbiosis is an obligate, farming-like mutualism between wood-boring beetles and fungi. It evolved at least 11 times and includes many notorious invasive pests. All ambrosia beetles studied to date cultivate ascomycotan fungi: early colonizers of recently killed trees with poor wood digestion. Beetles in the widespread genus Ambrosiodmus, however, colonize decayed wood. We characterized the mycosymbionts of three Ambrosiodmus species using quantitative culturing, high-throughput metabarcoding, and histology. We determined the fungi to be within the Polyporales, closely related to Flavodon flavus. Culture-independent sequencing of Ambrosiodmus minor mycangia revealed a single operational taxonomic unit identical to the sequences from the …

Satellite Based Assessment Of Hydroclimatic Conditions Related To Cholera In Zimbabwe, Antarpreet Jutia, Haidar Aldaach, Hannah Billian, Ali Akanda, Anwar Huq, Rita Colwell

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Introduction

Cholera, an infectious diarrheal disease, has been shown to be associated with large scale hydroclimatic processes. The sudden and sporadic occurrence of epidemic cholera is linked with high mortality rates, in part, due to uncertainty in timing and location of outbreaks. Improved understanding of the relationship between pathogenic abundance and climatic processes allows prediction of disease outbreak to be an achievable goal. In this study, we show association of large scale hydroclimatic processes with the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe reported to have begun in Chitungwiza, a city in Mashonaland East province, in August, 2008.

Principal Findings

Climatic factors in …

A Unique Set Of The Burkholderia Collagen-Like Proteins Provides Insight Into Pathogenesis, Genome Evolution And Niche Adaptation, And Infection Detection, Beth A. Bachert, Soo J. Choi, Anna K. Snyder, Rita V M Rio, Brandon C. Durney, Lisa A. Holland, Kei Amemiya, Susan L. Welkos, Joel A. Bozue, Christopher K. Cote, Rita Berisio, Slawomir Lukomski

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Burkholderia pseudomallei and Burkholderia mallei, classified as category B priority pathogens, are significant human and animal pathogens that are highly infectious and broad-spectrum antibiotic resistant. Currently, the pathogenicity mechanisms utilized by Burkholderia are not fully understood, and correct diagnosis of B. pseudomallei and B. mallei infection remains a challenge due to limited detection methods. Here, we provide a comprehensive analysis of a set of 13 novel Burkholderia collagen-like proteins (Bucl) that were identified among B. pseudomallei and B. mallei select agents. We infer that several Bucl proteins participate in pathogenesis based on their noncollagenous domains that are associated with the …

Changes In Cardiovascular Health In The United States, 2003–2011, Courtney S. Pilkerton, Sarah S. Singh, Thomas K. Bias, Stephanie J. Frisbee

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, making improving cardiovascular health a key population health goal. As part of efforts to achieve this, the American Heart Association has developed the first comprehensive cardiovascular health index (CVHI). Our objective was to investigate the changes in CVHI in US states from 2003 to 2011.

Methods and Results

CVHI was examined using Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data between 2003 and 2011 (odd‐numbered years). Total CVHI decreased from 3.73±0.01 in 2003 to 3.65±0.01 in 2009. The majority of states (88%) experienced a decline in CVHI and an …

Evolution Of Vertebrate Adam Genes; Duplication Of Testicular Adams From Ancient Adam9/9-Like Loci, Hariath Bahudhanapati, Shashwati Bhattacharya, Shuo Wei

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Members of the disintegrin metalloproteinase (ADAM) family have important functions in regulating cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions as well as cell signaling. There are two major types of ADAMs: the somatic ADAMs (sADAMs) that have a significant presence in somatic tissues, and the testicular ADAMs (tADAMs) that are expressed predominantly in the testis. Genes encoding tADAMs can be further divided into two groups: group I (intronless) and group II (intron-containing). To date, tAdams have only been reported in placental mammals, and their evolutionary origin and relationship to sAdams remain largely unknown. Using phylogenetic and syntenic tools, we analyzed the Adam genes …

Lectin-Based Characterization Of Vascular Cell Microparticle Glycocalyx, April K. Scruggs, Eugene A. Cioffi, Donna L. Cioffi, Judy A C King, Natalie N. Bauer

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Microparticles (MPs) are released constitutively and from activated cells. MPs play significant roles in vascular homeostasis, injury, and as biomarkers. The unique glycocalyx on the membrane of cells has frequently been exploited to identify specific cell types, however the glycocalyx of the MPs has yet to be defined. Thus, we sought to determine whether MPs, released both constitutively and during injury, from vascular cells have a glycocalyx matching those of the parental cell type to provide information on MP origin. For these studies we used rat pulmonary microvascular and artery endothelium, pulmonary smooth muscle, and aortic endothelial cells. MPs were …

Effects Of Treatment With Astragalus Membranaceus On Function Of Rat Leydig Cells, Xiaolong Jiang, Xia Cao, Yang Huang, Xiaolei Yao, Miaomiao Zhao, Yan Liu, Jinzhu Meng, Pengfei Li, Zhiyan Li, Jianbo Yao, George W. Smith, Lihua Lv

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background

Astragalus membranaceus (AM) is a Chinese traditional herb which has been reported to have broad positive effects on many diseases, including hepatitis, heart disease, diabetes and skin disease. AM can promote cell proliferation, increase the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and inhibit apoptosis by regulating the transcription of proto-oncogenes controlling cell death. While AM is included in some commercially available “testosterone boosting supplements”, studies directly testing ability of AM to modulate testosterone production are lacking. In the present study, we examined the effects of AM on Leydig cell function in vitro.

Methods …

Evolving Concepts Of Chondrogenic Differentiation: History, State-Of-The-Art And Future Perspectives, X Tang, L Fan, M Pei, L Zeng, Z Ge

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

As a cell source, multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells or mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are promising candidates for chondrogenic differentiation and subsequent cartilage regeneration. From previous literature, it is known that chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs inevitably leads to hypertrophy and subsequent endochondral ossification. In this review, we examine the history of currently established protocols of chondrogenic differentiation and elaborate on the roles of individual components of chondrogenic differentiation medium. We also summarise the effects of physical, chemical and biological factors involved, and propose potential strategies to differentiate MSCs into articular chondrocytes with homogenous mature phenotypes through spatial-temporal incorporation of cell differentiation …

Kruppel-Like Factor 4 Signals Through Microrna-206 To Promote Tumor Initiation And Cell Survival, C-C Lin, S B. Sharma, M K. Farrugia, S L. Mclaughlin, R J. Ice, Y V. Loskutov, E N. Pugacheva, K M. Brundage, D Chen, J M. Ruppert

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Tumor cell heterogeneity poses a major hurdle in the treatment of cancer. Mammary cancer stem-like cells (MaCSCs), or tumor-initiating cells, are highly tumorigenic sub-populations that have the potential to self-renew and to differentiate. These cells are clinically important, as they display therapeutic resistance and may contribute to treatment failure and recurrence, but the signaling axes relevant to the tumorigenic phenotype are poorly defined. The zinc-finger transcription factor Kruppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) is a pluripotency mediator that is enriched in MaCSCs. KLF4 promotes RAS-extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway activity and tumor cell survival in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells. In this study, …

Combining A Spatial Model And Demand Forecasts To Map Future Surface Coal Mining In Appalachia, Michael P. Strager, Jacquelyn M. Strager, Jeffrey S. Evans, Judy K. Dunscomb, Brad J. Kreps, Aaron E. Maxwell

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Predicting the locations of future surface coal mining in Appalachia is challenging for a number of reasons. Economic and regulatory factors impact the coal mining industry and forecasts of future coal production do not specifically predict changes in location of future coal production. With the potential environmental impacts from surface coal mining, prediction of the location of future activity would be valuable to decision makers. The goal of this study was to provide a method for predicting future surface coal mining extents under changing economic and regulatory forecasts through the year 2035. This was accomplished by integrating a spatial model …

Investigating Gender And Racial/Ethnic Invariance In Use Of A Course Management System In Higher Education, Yi Li, Qiu Wang, John Campbell

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This study focused on learning equity in colleges and universities where teaching and learning depends heavily on computer technologies. The study used the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to investigate gender and racial/ethnic heterogeneity in the use of a computer based course management system (CMS). Two latent variables (CMS usage and scholastic aptitudes)—with two moderation covariates (gender and ethnicity)—were used to explore their associational relationships with students’ final grades. More than 990 students’ CMS data were collected from courses at a Midwest public university in the United States. The final model indicated that there was gender and racial/ethnic invariance in the …

Variables Associated With Nest Survival Of Golden-Winged Warblers (Vermivora Chrysoptera) Among Vegetation Communities Commonly Used For Nesting, Kyle R. Aldinger, Theron M. Terhune, Petra B. Wood, David A. Buehler, Marja H. Bakermans, John L. Confer, David J. Flaspohler, Jeffery L. Larkin, John P. Loegering, Katie L. Percy, Amber M. Roth, Curtis G. Smalling

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Among shrubland- and young forest-nesting bird species in North America, Golden-winged Warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera) are one of the most rapidly declining partly because of limited nesting habitat. Creation and management of high quality vegetation communities used for nesting are needed to reduce declines. Thus, we examined whether common characteristics could be managed across much of the Golden-winged Warbler’s breeding range to increase daily survival rate (DSR) of nests. We monitored 388 nests on 62 sites throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia. We evaluated competing DSR models in spatial-temporal (dominant vegetation type, population …

Do Parents Meet Adolescents’ Monitoring Standards? Examination Of The Impact On Teen Risk Disclosure And Behaviors If They Don’T, Lesley Cottrell, Carrie Rishel, Cheista Lilly, Scott Cottrell, Aaron Metzger, Halima Ahmadi, Bo Wang, Xiaoming Li, Bonita Stanton

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

In this study, we examined how adolescents compare monitoring efforts by their parents to those of a "good parent" standard and assessed the impact of these comparisons on adolescent self-disclosure and risk behavior and their perceptions of their parents' monitoring knowledge. Survey responses from 519 adolescents (12–17 years) at baseline of a larger, longitudinal study examining parental monitoring and adolescent risk were examined. Adolescents’ “good parent comparisons” differed greatly by monitoring areas (e.g., telephone use, health, money); however, between 5.5% and 25.8% of adolescents believed their parents needed to monitor their activities more than they currently were monitoring. Alternatively, between …

Microrna-27a-3p Inhibits Melanogenesis In Mouse Skin Melanocytes By Targeting Wnt3a, Yuanyuan Zhao, Pengchao Wang, Jinzhu Meng, Dongmei Xu, Tianzhi Chen, Ruiwen Fan, Xiuju Yu, Jianbo Yao, Changsheng Dong

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an essential role in the regulation of almost all the biological processes, including melanogenesis. MiR-27a-3p is nearly six times higher in white alpaca skin compared to brown skin, which indicates that miR-27a-3p may be a candidate regulator for melanogenesis. Wnt3a plays an important role in promoting melanoblasts to differentiate into melanocytes and melanogenesis. To confirm the function of miR-27a-3p to melanogenesis in mammals, miR-27a-3p mimic, inhibitor and their negative control were transfected into mouse melanocytes. As a result, miR-27a-3p inhibits melanogenesis by repressing Wnt3a at post-transcriptional level. A significant decrease in Wnt3a luciferase activity was observed in …

In Vitro Recapitulation Of Functional Microvessels For The Study Of Endothelial Shear Response, Nitric Oxide And [Ca2+]I, Xiang Li, Sulei Xu, Pingnian He, Yuxin Liu

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Microfluidic technologies enable in vitro studies to closely simulate in vivo microvessel environment with complexity. Such method overcomes certain constrains of the statically cultured endothelial monolayers and enables the cells grow under physiological range of shear flow with geometry similar to microvessels in vivo. However, there are still existing knowledge gaps and lack of convincing evidence to demonstrate and quantify key biological features of the microfluidic microvessels. In this paper, using advanced micromanufacturing and microfluidic technologies, we presented an engineered microvessel model that mimicked the dimensions and network structures of in vivo microvessels with a long-term and continuous perfusion capability, …

Rescue Of Dna-Pk Signaling And T-Cell Differentiation By Targeted Genome Editing In A Prkdc Deficient Ipsc Disease Model, Sharnim H. Rahman, Johannes Kuehle, Christian Reimann, Tafadzwa Miambo, Jamal Alzubi, Morgan L. Maeder, Heimo Riedel, Paul Fisch, Tobias Cantz, Cornelia Rudolph, Claudio Mussolino, J Keith Joung, Axel Schambach, Toni Cathomen

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

In vitro disease modeling based on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) provides a powerful system to study cellular pathophysiology, especially in combination with targeted genome editing and protocols to differentiate iPSCs into affected cell types. In this study, we established zinc-finger nuclease-mediated genome editing in primary fibroblasts and iPSCs generated from a mouse model for radiosensitive severe combined immunodeficiency (RS-SCID), a rare disorder characterized by cellular sensitivity to radiation and the absence of lymphocytes due to impaired DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) activity. Our results demonstrate that gene editing in RS-SCID fibroblasts rescued DNA-PK dependent signaling to overcome radiosensitivity. Furthermore, in …

Needs Assessment Of School And Community Physical Activity Opportunities In Rural West Virginia: The Mcdowell Choices Planning Effort, Alfgeir L. Kristjansson, Eloise Elliott, Sean Bulger, Emily Jones, Andrea R. Taliaferro, William Neal

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background

McDowell CHOICES (Coordinated Health Opportunities Involving Communities, Environments, and Schools) Project is a county wide endeavor aimed at increasing opportunities for physical activity (PA) in McDowell County, West Virginia (WV). A comprehensive needs-assessment laid the foundation of the project.

Methods

During the 6 month needs assessment, multiple sources of data were collected in two Town Hall Meetings (n = 80); a student online PA interest survey (n = 465); a PA and nutrition survey among 5th (10–11 years) and 8th graders (13–14 years) with questions adapted from the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (n = 442, response rate …

By The Sound Of It. An Erp Investigation Of Human Action Sound Processing In 7-Month-Old Infants, Elena Geangu, Ermanno Quadrelli, James W. Lewis, Viola M. Cassia, Chiara Turati

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Recent evidence suggests that human adults perceive human action sounds as a distinct category from human vocalizations, environmental, and mechanical sounds, activating different neural networks (Engel et al., 2009, Lewis et al., 2011). Yet, little is known about the development of such specialization. Using event-related potentials (ERP), this study investigated neural correlates of 7-month-olds’ processing of human action (HA) sounds in comparison to human vocalizations (HV), environmental (ENV), and mechanical (MEC) sounds. Relative to the other categories, HA sounds led to increased positive amplitudes between 470 and 570 ms post-stimulus onset at left anterior temporal locations, while HV led …

Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Derived From Acute Myeloid Leukemia Bone Marrow Exhibit Aberrant Cytogenetics And Cytokine Elaboration, J C. Huang, S K. Basu, X Zhao, S Chien, M Fang, V G. Oehler, F R. Appelbaum, P S. Becker

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (BM-MSCs) play a fundamental role in the BM microenvironment (BME) and abnormalities of these cells may contribute to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) pathogenesis. The aim of the study was to characterize the cytokine and gene expression profile, immunophenotype and cytogenetics of BM-MSCs from AML patients compared to normal BM-MSCs from healthy donors. AML BM-MSCs showed decreased monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 levels compared to normal BM-MSCs. AML BM-MSCs expressed similar β1 integrin, CD44, CD73, CD90 and E-cadherin compared to normal BM-MSCs. Cytogenetic analysis revealed chromosomal aberrations in AML BM-MSCs, some overlapping with and others distinct from their …

Microrna Expression Profiles From Eggs Of Different Qualities Associated With Post-Ovulatory Ageing In Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss), Hao Ma, Gregory M. Weber, Mark A. Hostuttler, Hairong Wei, Lei Wang, Jianbo Yao

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background: Egg quality is an important aspect in rainbow trout farming. Post-ovulatory aging is one of the most important factors affecting egg quality. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are the major regulators in various biological processes and their expression profiles could serve as reliable biomarkers for various pathological and physiological conditions. The objective of this study was to identify miRNAs that are associated with egg qualities in rainbow trout using post-ovulatory aged eggs.

Results: Egg samples from females on day 1, day 7, and day 14 post-ovulation (D1PO, D7PO and D14PO), which had the fertilization rates of 91.8%, 73.4% and less than 50%, …

Inhibition Of Shp2 In Basal-Like And Triple-Negative Breast Cells Induces Basal-To-Luminal Transition, Hormone Dependency, And Sensitivity To Anti-Hormone Treatment, Hua Zhao, Yehenew M. Agazie

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background

The Src homology phosphotyrosyl phosphatase 2 (SHP2) is a positive effector of cell growth and survival signaling as well transformation induced by multiple tyrosine kinase oncogenes. Since the basal-like and triple-negative breast cancer (BTBC) is characterized by dysregulation of multiple tyrosine kinase oncogenes, we wanted to determine the importance of SHP2 in BTBC cell lines.

Methods

Short hairpin RNA-based and dominant-negative expression-based SHP2 inhibition techniques were used to interrogate the functional importance of SHP2 in BTBC cell biology. In addition, cell viability and proliferation assays were used to determine hormone dependency for growth and sensitivity to anti-estrogen treatment.

Results …

Acute Inflammatory Responses Of Nanoparticles In An Intra-Tracheal Instillation Rat Model, Andrea L. Armstead, Valerie C. Minarchick, Dale W. Porter, Timothy R. Nurkiewicz, Bingyun Li

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Exposure to hard metal tungsten carbide cobalt (WC-Co) “dusts” in enclosed industrial environments is known to contribute to the development of hard metal lung disease and an increased risk for lung cancer. Currently, the influence of local and systemic inflammation on disease progression following WC-Co exposure remains unclear. To better understand the relationship between WC-Co nanoparticle (NP) exposure and its resultant effects, the acute local pulmonary and systemic inflammatory responses caused by WC-Co NPs were explored using an intra-tracheal instillation (IT) model and compared to those of CeO2 (another occupational hazard) NP exposure. Sprague-Dawley rats were given an IT dose …