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Random Sampling Of Skewed Distributions Implies Taylor’S Power Law Of Fluctuation Scaling, Joel E. Cohen, Meng Xu

Mathematics Faculty Publications

Taylor’s law (TL), a widely verified quantitative pattern in ecology and other sciences, describes the variance in a species’ population density (or other nonnegative quantity) as a power-law function of the mean density (or other nonnegative quantity): Approximately, variance = a(mean)b, a > 0. Multiple mechanisms have been proposed to explain and interpret TL. Here, we show analytically that observations randomly sampled in blocks from any skewed frequency distribution with four finite moments give rise to TL. We do not claim this is the only way TL arises. We give approximate formulae for the TL parameters and their …

Drug Improves Cognition In Alzheimer's Disease-Mouse Model In Spite Of Diet, Jeff Hansen

Browse All News

No abstract provided.

Theory, Multiscale Simulations, And Experiments On Mesoscale Multifunctional Systems, Lance Edward Edens

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Computational simulations use theoretical models to reproduce, as accurately as possible, the observed real-world behavior of complex structures. Guided by experimental observations, many multiscale/coarse-grained simulations seek to explore increasingly complicated systems. Here, a multiscale/coarse-grained simulation program (called TM2) is developed with applications to 1) properties and mechanisms of DNA and DNA polymerases, and 2) adhesion between whole bacterial cells and patterned surfaces. Results from the bacterial adhesion application form a part of a larger collaborative effort aimed at creating multifunctional, controllable surfaces to capture and kill pathogenic bacteria. The application of TM2 is first demonstrated by a coarse-grained model for …

Iron Toxicity In The Retina Requires Alu Rna And The Nlrp3 Inflammasome, Bradley D. Gelfand, Charles B. Wright, Younghee Kim, Tetsuhiro Yasuma, Reo Yasuma, Shengjian Li, Benjamin J. Fowler, Ana Bastos-Carvalho, Nagaraj Kerur, Annette Uittenbogaard, Youn Seon Han, Dingyuan Lou, Mark E. Kleinman, W. Hayes Mcdonald, Gabriel Núñez, Philippe Georgel, Joshua L. Dunaief, Jayakrishna Ambati

Ophthalmology and Visual Science Faculty Publications

Excess iron induces tissue damage and is implicated in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Iron toxicity is widely attributed to hydroxyl radical formation through Fenton's reaction. We report that excess iron, but not other Fenton catalytic metals, induces activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, a pathway also implicated in AMD. Additionally, iron-induced degeneration of the retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) is suppressed in mice lacking inflammasome components caspase-1/11 or Nlrp3 or by inhibition of caspase-1. Iron overload increases abundance of RNAs transcribed from short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs): Alu RNAs and the rodent equivalent B1 and B2 RNAs, which are inflammasome agonists. Targeting …

Structural Analysis Of Substrate, Reaction Intermediate, And Product Binding In Haemophilus Influenzae Biotin Carboxylase, Tyler C. Broussard, Svetlana Pakhomova, David B. Neau, Ross Bonnot, Grover L. Waldrop

Faculty Publications

© 2015 American Chemical Society. Acetyl-CoA carboxylase catalyzes the first and regulated step in fatty acid synthesis. In most Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, the enzyme is composed of three proteins: biotin carboxylase, a biotin carboxyl carrier protein (BCCP), and carboxyltransferase. The reaction mechanism involves two half-reactions with biotin carboxylase catalyzing the ATP-dependent carboxylation of biotin-BCCP in the first reaction. In the second reaction, carboxyltransferase catalyzes the transfer of the carboxyl group from biotin-BCCP to acetyl-CoA to form malonyl-CoA. In this report, high-resolution crystal structures of biotin carboxylase from Haemophilus influenzae were determined with bicarbonate, the ATP analogue AMPPCP; the carboxyphosphate …

Nonparametric Bayes Approach For A Semi-Mechanistic Pharmacokinetic And Pharmacodynamic Model, Yan Dong

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

Both frequentist and Bayesian approaches have been used to characterize population pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics(PK/PD) models. These methods focus on estimating the population parameters and assessing the association between the characteristics of PK/PD and the subject covariates. In this work, we propose a Dirichlet process mixture model to classify the patients based on their individualized pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles. Then we can predict the new patients dose-response curves given their concentration-time profiles. Additionally, we implement a modern Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm for sampling inference of parameters. The detailed sampling procedures as well as the results are discussed in a simulation …

Correlations Between The Electronic Properties Of Shewanella Oneidensis Cytochrome C Nitrite Reductase (Ccnir) And Its Structure: Effects Of Heme Oxidation State And Active Site Ligation, Natalia Stein, Daniel Love, Evan T. Judd, Sean J. Elliot, Brian Bennett, A. Andrew Pacheco

Physics Faculty Research and Publications

The electrochemical properties of Shewanella oneidensis cytochrome c nitrite reductase (ccNiR), a homodimer that contains five hemes per protomer, were investigated by UV–visible and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectropotentiometries. Global analysis of the UV–vis spectropotentiometric results yielded highly reproducible values for the heme midpoint potentials. These midpoint potential values were then assigned to specific hemes in each protomer (as defined in previous X-ray diffraction studies) by comparing the EPR and UV–vis spectropotentiometric results, taking advantage of the high sensitivity of EPR spectra to the structural microenvironment of paramagnetic centers. Addition of the strong-field ligand cyanide led to a 70 mV …

Ethnic Differences In Medicinal Plant Use Among University Students: A Cross-Sectional Survey Of Self-Reported Medicinal Plant Use At Two Midwest Universities, Rachel Craft, Katrina C. Mcclure, Steven Corbett, Maria Pontes Ferreira, Ashley M. Stiffarm, Kelly Kindscher

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Background: Numerous surveys of medicinal plant use among college students abound, but none compare use between students enrolled in two different Universities with significantly different ethnic compositions. The objective of this study is to compare medicinal plant use between two different ethnic college populations and explore differences between student medicinal plant users and non-users for comparison with previous research.

Methods: Students (n = 721) at a large research university (n = 498) and a Pan-Tribal University for Native Americans (n = 233) completed surveys in October 2011 to assess past year medicinal plant use. The Mann-Whitney U test, Chi Square …

Cancer Platinum Resistance Detection And Sensitization Method, Johnathan Lancaster, Douglas C. Marchion, Dung-Tsa Chen

USF Patents

The phosphorylation status of the BAD protein is a determinant of ovarian cancer cell responsiveness to platinum chemotherapy. Indirect manipulation of BAD phosphorylation status influences cisplatin sensitivity. BAD phosphorylation represents a biomarker that predicts platinum sensitivity and is a therapeutic target to increase platinum sensitivity. The methods employ phospho-specific antibody against a particular amino acid residue or site. Phospho-specific protein characterization methods include immunohistochemical (IHC), flow cytometric, immunofluorescent, capture-and-detection, or reversed phase assay.

The Nucleation And Growth Of Nanoparticles For Heterogeneous Catalysis, Angelica Benavidez

Chemical and Biological Engineering ETDs

These studies investigate the nucleation and growth of nanoparticles and how their interaction with a support affects their reactivity as a heterogeneous catalyst. As capabilities in both synthesis methods and characterization methods advance, the use of nanoparticles and sub-nanometer species are more commonly used. These small particles introduce new factors that can cause differences in reactivity. Various catalyst synthesis methods are employed to deposit mono-dispersed particles on different oxide and carbon supports. Electron microscopy is used to study nanoparticle sintering and the careful tracking of individual particles gives insight into growth mechanisms. X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements are used to characterize …

Divorce And A Broken Home, Jeff Ploegstra

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Reflections on the encyclical letter "Laudato Si" of the Holy Father Francis on care for our common home."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­reframing all of creation to bring glory to God from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/divorce-and-a-broken-home/

Biofilm Accumulation And Immune Response During Experimental Peri-Implant Mucositis., Amy Rosania

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Spectroscopic And Computational Studies Of Molybdenum Enzymes And Models, Chao Dong

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

In this dissertation spectroscopic methods such as electronic absorption (EAS), resonance Raman (rRaman), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and MCD spectroscopies have been used in combination with DFT calculations for the interpretation of experimental results. These methods have been used to investigate the molybdenum coordination environment in enzymes and model complexes. Xanthine oxidase (XO), one of the canonical molybdenum enzyme families, hydroxylizes heterocyclic substrates by inserting an oxygen atom from molybdenum-activated water into a substrate C-H bond. This generates reducing equivalents that pass through two iron sulfur clusters and then to FAD, where oxidation of the FAD takes place. In this …

Independent - Jun. 23, 2015, Luis Badillo

The Independent (1988-present)

No abstract provided.

Ganoderma Lucidum Reduces Obesity In Mice By Modulating The Composition Of The Gut Microbiota, Chih-Jung Chang, Chuan-Sheng Lin, Chia-Chen Lu, Jan Martel, Yun-Fei Ko, David M. Ojcius, Shun-Fu Tseng, Tsung-Ru Wu, Yi-Yuan Margaret Chen, John Ding-E. Young, Hsin-Chih Lai

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

Obesity is associated with low-grade chronic inflammation and intestinal dysbiosis. Ganoderma lucidum is a medicinal mushroom used in traditional Chinese medicine with putative anti-diabetic effects. Here, we show that a water extract of Ganoderma lucidum mycelium (WEGL) reduces body weight, inflammation and insulin resistance in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Our data indicate that WEGL not only reverses HFD-induced gut dysbiosis—as indicated by the decreased Firmicutes-to-Bacteroidetes ratios and endotoxin-bearing Proteobacteria levels—but also maintains intestinal barrier integrity and reduces metabolic endotoxemia. The anti-obesity and microbiota-modulating effects are transmissible via horizontal faeces transfer from WEGL-treated mice to HFD-fed mice. We further …

Shell Neurons Of The Master Circadian Clock Coordinate The Phase Of Tissue Clocks Throughout The Brain And Body, Jennifer A. Evans, Ting-Chung Suen, Ben L. Callif, Andrew S. Mitchell, Oscar Castanon-Cervantes, Kimberly M. Baker, Ian Kloehn, Kenkichi Baba, Brett J.W. Teubner, J. Christopher Ehlen, Ketema N. Paul, Timothy J. Bartness, Gianluca Tosini, Tanya Leise, Alec J. Davidson

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Background: Daily rhythms in mammals are programmed by a master clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). The SCN contains two main compartments (shell and core), but the role of each region in system-level coordination remains ill defined. Herein, we use a functional assay to investigate how downstream tissues interpret region-specific outputs by using in vivo exposure to long day photoperiods to temporally dissociate the SCN. We then analyze resulting changes in the rhythms of clocks located throughout the brain and body to examine whether they maintain phase synchrony with the SCN shell or core. Results: Nearly all of the 17 …

Study Of Novel Synthetic Methodologies For Indolyl Derivatives And Beta-Fluoroenals, Xiaobei Chen

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

One of the central goals in modern organic synthesis is to develop efficient synthetic strategies for the preparation and study of complex molecules possessing interesting structural, biological, and physical properties. Toward this end, my Ph. D. work focuses on the development of novel synthetic methodologies for the facile construction of synthetically and biologically significant molecular architectures. The tert-prenylated indoles and indolines are widely present in a large collection of natural products and biologically active compounds. Although significant efforts have been made on the development of efficient methods to prepare these intriguing molecular architectures, few methods have been explored to introduce …

Board Of Trustee Members Approve Faculty Changes, Winthrop University

Winthrop News 2015

• The Division of Academic Affairs presented the names of the faculty members who earned tenure or promotion after an extensive review process this year.
• Nine faculty members were granted sabbaticals, and another seven retired with emeritus status.

Begone, Euclid!: Leasing Custom And Zoning Provision Engaging Retail Consumer Tastes And Technologies In Thriving Urban Centers, Michael N. Widener

Pace Law Review

Is urban center retailing in a death spiral? Competition for consumers with Internet vendors is afoot; winners and losers shall be anointed. The threats to physical retailing in an era of the “Internet of Goods” initially are described below. Adaptations by tenants, landlords, and stakeholders in urban centers will be required quickly, and new perspectives and partnerships, including those among local and regional governments, are instrumental if physical retail operations in municipal cores are to survive. The balance of this article describes these needs from the vantage point of each stakeholder; but this article argues that integrating information and communication …

Gsu View, 2015-06-22, Office Of Marketing And Communications

GSU View

Newsletter published by Governors State University 2007-current.

Current, June 22, 2015, University Of Missouri-St. Louis

Current (2010s)

No abstract provided.

When In Doubt Take Them Out: Removal Of Children From Victims Of Domestic Violence Ten Years After Nicholson V. Williams, Lynn F. Beller

Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

The Source Newsletter, Yolanda Carr, Diane Fitzsimmons

The Source

No abstract provided.

Traversing Swanton Road, 20th Ed., James A. West

Academic, Government & Associated Organizational Research Resources

Situated at the northwest end of Santa Cruz County and occupying circa 30 square miles of sharply contrasted terrain, the Scott Creek Watershed concentrates within its geomorphological boundaries, at least 10-12% of California's flora, both native and introduced. Paradoxically, the use/abuse that the watershed has sustained over the past 140+ years, has not necessarily diminished the biodiversity and perhaps parallels the naturally disruptive but biologically energizing processes (fire, flooding, landslides and erosion), which have also been historically documented for the area for +60 years. This is an early edition of an extensive document by James A. West. Please visit the …

Sexism And How It Mediates The Relationship Between Gender And Rape Myth Acceptance, Caroline Feinberg

Theses and Dissertations

Rape is a significant social and health problem in the United States with around 17.7 million women being forcibly raped at some time in their lives. While a rape-supportive culture and victim blame are concepts that aid in explaining rape, understanding societal held ideas about rape and traditional gender role beliefs can explain. Therefore, the present study focuses on how ambivalent sexist belief structures mediate the relationship between gender and rape myth acceptance. It was hypothesized that ambivalent sexism (AS) when divided into its four separate concepts: hostile (HS), protective paternalism (PP), complementary gender differentiation (CGD), and heterosexual intimacy (HI), …

Estrogen Receptor–Α In Medial Amygdala Neurons Regulates Body Weight, Pingwen Xu, Xuehong Cao, Yanlin He, Liangru Zhu, Yongjie Yang, Kenji Saito, Chunmei Wang, Xiaofeng Yan, Antentor Othrell Hinton Jr., Fang Zou, Hongfang Ding, Yan Xia, Chunling Yan, Gang Shu, San-Pin Wu, Bin Yang, Benjamin Feng, Deborah J. Clegg, Richard Demarchi, Sohaib A. Khan, Sophia Y. Tsai, Francesco J. Demayo, Qi Wu, Qingchun Tong, Yong Xu

Peer Reviewed Articles

Estrogen receptor–α (ERα) activity in the brain prevents obesity in both males and females. However, the ERα-expressing neural populations that regulate body weight remain to be fully elucidated. Here we showed that single-minded–1 (SIM1) neurons in the medial amygdala (MeA) express abundant levels of ERα. Specific deletion of the gene encoding ERα (Esr1) from SIM1 neurons, which are mostly within the MeA, caused hypoactivity and obesity in both male and female mice fed with regular chow, increased susceptibility to diet-induced obesity (DIO) in males but not in females, and blunted the body weight–lowering effects of a glucagon-like peptide-1–estrogen …

Fresolimumab Treatment Decreases Biomarkers And Improves Clinical Symptoms In Systemic Sclerosis Patients, Lisa M. Rice, Cristina M. Padilla, Sarah R. Mclaughlin, Allison Mathes, Jessica Ziemek, Salma Goummih, Sashidhar Nakerakanti, Michael York, Giuseppina Farina, Michael L. Whitfield, Robert F. Spiera, Romy B. Christmann, Jessica K. Gordon, Janice Weinberg, Robert Lafyatis

Dartmouth Scholarship

BACKGROUND. TGF-β has potent profibrotic activity in vitro and has long been implicated in systemic sclerosis (SSc), as expression of TGF-β–regulated genes is increased in the skin and lungs of patients with SSc. Therefore, inhibition of TGF-β may benefit these patients.

METHODS. Patients with early, diffuse cutaneous SSc were enrolled in an open-label trial of fresolimumab, a high-affinity neutralizing antibody that targets all 3 TGF-β isoforms. Seven patients received two 1 mg/kg doses of fresolimumab, and eight patients received one 5 mg/kg dose of fresolimumab. Serial mid-forearm skin biopsies, performed before and after treatment, were analyzed for expression …

A Cysteine Zipper Stabilizes A Pre-Fusion F Glycoprotein Vaccine For Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Guillaume B. E. Stewart-Jones, Paul V. Thomas, Man Chen, Aliaksandr Druz, Gordon M. Joyce, Wing-Pui Kong, Mallika Sastry, Conque Soto, Yongping Yang, Baoshan Zhang, Lei Chen, Gwo-Yu Chuang, Ivelin S. Georgiev, Jason S. Mclellan

Dartmouth Scholarship

Recombinant subunit vaccines should contain minimal non-pathogen motifs to reduce potential off-target reactivity. We recently developed a vaccine antigen against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which comprised the fusion (F) glycoprotein stabilized in its pre-fusion trimeric conformation by “DS-Cav1” mutations and by an appended C-terminal trimerization motif or “foldon” from T4-bacteriophage fibritin. Here we investigate the creation of a cyste- ine zipper to allow for the removal of the phage foldon, while maintaining the immunogenic- ity of the parent DS-Cav1+foldon antigen. Constructs without foldon yielded RSV F monomers, and enzymatic removal of the phage foldon from pre-fusion F trimers resulted in …

Gonad: Genome-Editing Via Oviductal Nucleic Acids Delivery System: A Novel Microinjection Independent Genome Engineering Method In Mice., Gou Takahashi, Channabasavaiah B. Gurumurthy, Kenta Wada, Hiromi Miura, Masahiro Sato, Masato Ohtsuka

Journal Articles: Genetics, Cell Biology & Anatomy

Microinjection is considered the gold standard technique for delivery of nucleic acids (NAs; transgenes or genome editing tools such as CRISPR/Cas9 systems) into embryos, for creating genetically modified organisms. It requires sophisticated equipment as well as well-trained and highly skilled personnel to perform the micro-injection technique. Here, we describe a novel and simple microinjection-independent technique, called Genome-editing via Oviductal Nucleic Acids Delivery (GONAD). Using GONAD, we show that NAs (e.g., eGFP mRNA or Cas9 mRNA/sgRNAs) can be effectively delivered to pre-implantation embryos within the intact mouse oviduct by a simple electroporation method, and result in the desired genetic modification in …

An In Vitro Evaluation Of Apical Sealing Ability Of Endorez® Cement And Endorez® Resin Coated Gutta-Percha Using Single Cone Technique And Cold Lateral Condensation, Najet Aguir Mabrouk, Ehsen Abdelmoumen, Bagga Bekir Sana, Belkhir Chems, Bhouri Lotfi

International Arab Journal of Dentistry

The aim of the present study was to compare the sealing ability of zinc-oxide sealer and resin-based sealer (EndoREZ®)using two different root canal filling techniques, the cold lateral condensation and the single cone technique. Forty-five root canals of human incisors, canines and premolars were selected and prepared using RaCe rotary files (FKG, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland). The specimens were randomly divided into 3 groups (n