Digital Commons Network^™

Lipophosphoglycans From Leishmania Amazonensis Strains Display Immunomodulatory Properties Via Tlr4 And Do Not Affect Sand Fly Infection, Paula M. Nogueira, Rafael R. Assis, Ana C. Torrecilhas, Elvira M. Saraiva, Natália L. Pessoa, Marco A. Campos, Eric F. Marialva, Cláudia M. Ríos-Velasquez, Felipe A. Pessoa, Nágila F. Secundino, Jerônimo N. Rugani, Elsa Nieves, Salvatore J. Turco, Maria N. Melo, Rodrigo P. Soares

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The immunomodulatory properties of lipophosphoglycans (LPG) from New World species of Leishmania have been assessed in Leishmania infantum and Leishmania braziliensis, the causative agents of visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis, respectively. This glycoconjugate is highly polymorphic among species with variation in sugars that branch off the conserved Gal(β1,4)Man(α1)-PO₄ backbone of repeat units. Here, the immunomodulatory activity of LPGs from Leishmania amazonensis, the causative agent of diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis, was evaluated in two strains from Brazil. One strain (PH8) was originally isolated from the sand fly and the other (Josefa) was isolated from a human case. The ability of …

Molecular Mechanisms Regulating The Calcium-Activated Slow Afterhyperpolarization, Kwang S. Kim

Doctoral Dissertations

The slow afterhyperpolarization (sAHP) is a post-spike, Ca²⁺-activated potassium conductance that limits neuronal excitability by responding to action potential-induced calcium signals. In addition to participating in learning and memory, the sAHP assumes an indispensable function underscored by its sensitivity to most neurotransmitters. Its absence, on the other hand, has been implicated in the pathophysiology of epilepsy and Alzheimer’s. Though the sAHP maintains a well-appreciated role in neurophysiology, its exact mechanism of activation remains unclear. Recent insights have emerged, however, providing us with new targets to explore in an effort to further understand sAHP physiology: (1) hippocalcin and other …

Nebraska Livestock Expansion Policies, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Livestock expansion in Nebraska is often contentious. Supporters of livestock expansion accomplished a major policy objective in the 2016 legislative session with the adoption of LB176 which authorizes swine processors to contract with producers to grow processor-owned hogs. In addition, the draft LB106 livestock site assessment zoning matrix was released this summer. This newsletter explores the possible impact of these developments for expanded livestock production in Nebraska.

Caustic Structures And Detectability Of Circumbinary Planets In Microlensing, Jacob K. Luhn, Matthew T. Penny, B. Scott Gaudi

Faculty Publications

Recent discoveries of circumbinary planets in Kepler data show that there is a viable channel of planet formation around binary main-sequence stars. Motivated by these discoveries, we have investigated the caustic structures and detectability of circumbinary planets in microlensing events. We have produced a suite of animations of caustics as a function of the projected separation and angle of the binary host to efficiently explore caustic structures over the entire circumbinary parameter space. Aided by these animations, we have derived a semi-empirical analytic expression for the location of planetary caustics, which are displaced in circumbinary lenses relative to those of …

Building A Pathway To Engineering For Our Daughters – Brick By Brick, Ali P. Gordon

UCF Forum

As a father of young elementary and middle school-aged kids, I’m also curious to know exactly how my undergrad students came to be interested in mechanical engineering. An exchange with a UCF student might go like this: “You did a great job on the exam. Congrats! By the way, how did you get interested in mechanical engineering, anyway?” I mentally log the answers for my kids’ future benefit.

How Reference With Demonstratives Creates Cohesion In A Physical Science Textbook, Amy Marie Petersen Sagrado

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this project is How are demonstratives used as reference in a 10th grade physical science textbook? The purpose was to inform the instruction of English learners when using a grade level text through a text analysis by understanding how demonstratives are used, whether as a determiner or pronoun, the direction the demonstrative points, the distance to the referent, whether the referent is a noun phrase, clause or inference and the clarity of the referent. Among the findings, it was concluded that demonstrative determiners are used more frequently in text than demonstrative pronouns and tend to …

A Hybrid Technique Of Energy Harvesting From Mechanical Vibration And Ambient Illumination, M Shafiqur Rahman

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Hybrid energy harvesting is a concept applied for improving the performance of the conventional stand-alone energy harvesters. The thesis presents the analytical formulations and characterization of a hybrid energy harvester that incorporates photovoltaic, piezoelectric, electromagnetic, and electrostatic mechanisms. The initial voltage required for electrostatic mechanism is obtained by the photovoltaic technique. Other mechanisms are embedded into a bimorph piezoelectric cantilever beam having a tip magnet and two sets of comb electrodes on two sides of its substructure. All the segments are interconnected by an electric circuit to generate combined output when subjected to vibration and solar illumination. Results for power …

Evaluation Of Microparticulate Ovarian Cancer Vaccine Via Transdermal Route Of Delivery, Suprita A. Tawde, Lipika Chablani, Archana Akalkotkar, Martin J. D'Souza

Pharmacy Faculty/Staff Publications

Ovarian cancer is the fifth most commonly occurring malignancy in women, with the highest mortality rate among all the gynecological tumors. Microparticulate vaccine can serve as an immunotherapeutic approach with a promising antigenic delivery system without a need for conventional adjuvants. In this study, a microparticulate vaccine using whole cell lysate of a murine ovarian cancer cell line, ID8 was prepared by spray drying. Further, the effect of interleukins (ILs) such as IL-2 and IL-12 was evaluated in a separate study group by administering them with vaccine particles to enhance the immune response. The vaccine microparticles were administered to C57BL/6 …

Sustainable Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System, Poojitha Aleti

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Deterioration of air quality is a growing concern in the world. Air pollution causes serious health problems and also can sometimes result in death. In order to assess air quality, long term and continuous monitoring of pollutant levels in ambient air are needed, such monitoring is often expensive, cumbersome, and resource intensive and so the monitoring programs often fail to succeed.

This research focused on designing an ambient air monitoring system by integrating (1) low-cost sensor with a battery, (2) repurposed materials to fabricate all-weather housing for air monitors, and (3) electronics needed to download the data to an on-site …

Analysis Of Optimization Methods In Multisteerable Filter Design, Philip Zanco

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to study and investigate a practical and efficient implementation of corner orientation detection using multisteerable filters. First, practical theory involved in applying multisteerable filters for corner orientation estimation is presented. Methods to improve the efficiency with which multisteerable corner filters are applied to images are investigated and presented. Prior research in this area presented an optimization equation for determining the best match of corner orientations in images; however, little research has been done on optimization techniques to solve this equation. Optimization techniques to find the maximum response of a similarity function to determine how …

Using Hamlet And Peter Pan: Family Issues, Ghosts, And Memory In Bret Easton Ellis's Lunar Park, Michael L. Hardie

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis discusses the ways in which Bret Easton Ellis uses Hamlet and Peter Pan as sources in his novel Lunar Park.

Comparing Methods Of Euthanasia And Gill Culture For Hypoxia Research On The Gulf Killifish, Fundulus Grandis, Kristina M. Farragut

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Aquatic hypoxia, or low dissolved oxygen, is a growing environmental concern and has detrimental effects on many fishes. Research on fish responses to hypoxia includes whole animal studies as well as organ culture systems. In this thesis, the gulf killifish, Fundulus grandis, was used to determine the interaction between hypoxic exposure and four common euthanasia techniques on selected blood and gill variables and to develop an in vitro gill incubation system. Euthanasia techniques had differential effects on blood and gill, with the common fish anesthetic MS-222 having the greatest effects, but none altered the response to hypoxia. During the …

App Regulates Microglial Phenotype In A Mouse Model Of Alzheimer's Disease, Gunjan D. Manocha, Angela M. Floden, Keiko Rausch, Joshua A. Kulas, Brett A. Mcgregor, Lalida Rojanathammanee, Kelley R. Puig, Kendra L. Puig, Sanjib Karki, Michael R. Nichols, Diane C. Darland, James E. Porter, Colin K. Combs

Biology Faculty Publications

Prior work suggests that amyloid precursor protein (APP) can function as a proinflammatory receptor on immune cells, such as monocytes and microglia. Therefore, we hypothesized that APP serves this function in microglia during Alzheimer's disease. Although fibrillar amyloid β (Aβ)-stimulated cytokine secretion from both wild-type and APP knock-out (mAPP−/−) microglial cultures, oligomeric Aβ was unable to stimulate increased secretion from mAPP−/− cells. This was consistent with an ability of oligomeric Aβ to bind APP. Similarly, intracerebroventricular infusions of oligomeric Aβ produced less microgliosis in mAPP−/− mice compared with wild-type mice. The mAPP−/− mice crossed to an APP/PS1 transgenic mouse line …

The Impact Of Environmental Education On Environmental Literacy And Motivation In Urban Communities, Amber Huston

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed is does environmental education increase environmental literacy and motivation in urban communities in the United States? The motivating factor for this capstone was from evidence that environmental education can not only improve motivation and literacy, but also help improve academic achievement. This capstone details both historical and current data to support full integration of structured environmental education programs into urban academics. The author documents the results of a survey based on observations made by various academic instructors of both their personal experiences, as well as their view of their students’ experiences, both inside and outside the …

The Aftermath Of United States V. Texas, Shoba S. Wadhia

Faculty Scholarship

On June 23, 2016, the Supreme Court issued a 4-4 ruling in the immigration case of United States v. Texas, blocking two “deferred action” programs announced by President Obama on November 20, 2014: extended Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA Plus) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Legal Residents (DAPA). The 4-4 ruling by the justices creates a non-precedential non-decision, upholding an injunction placed by a panel of federal judges in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. While the future of these programs remains uncertain in the long term, the immediate effects are pronounced, as millions of …

Phytochemicals In Animal Health; Diet Selection And Trade-Offs Between Costs And Benefits, Juan J. Villalba, Morgane Costes-Thire, Cecile Ginane

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences Faculty Publications

Many plant tissues contain plant secondary compounds (PSC), which have long been recognised as defensive chemicals that deter herbivory via their toxic effects. However, herbivores may also benefit from including PSC into their diets. Plant-derived phenolics, terpenes and alkaloids have antiparasitic properties and sesquiterpene lactones have antibacterial, antifungal and antiparasitic properties. These actions are in part a consequence of the negative actions that PSC exert across several trophic levels, including the bacteria, parasites and fungi that inhabit herbivores’ bodies. Given the dual action, toxin and medicine, it is possible to hypothesise that self-selection of PSC by herbivores should occur when …

Exposing The “Shadow Side”: Female-Female Competition In Jane Austen’S Emma, Melissa M. Lyman

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Many critics have examined the shifting nature of female friendship in Jane Austen’s Emma from cultural and historical angles. However, a comprehensive scientific analysis of female-female alliance and competition in the novel remains incomplete. The Literary Darwinist approach considers the motivations of fictional characters from an evolutionary perspective, focusing primarily on human cognition and behaviors linked to reproductive success, social control, and survival. While overt physical displays of male competition are conspicuous in the actions of the human species and those of their closest primate relatives, female aggression is often brandished psychologically and indirectly, which makes for a much more …

Evaluation Of The Red Imported Fire Ant Foraging Behavior, Gabriela Harvey

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Introduction

The Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District (CVMVCD) examined the activity of red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta, from May 2015 until May 2016. Ant abundance was measured to determine the most effective time for vector control technicians to conduct surveillance and to make treatments to control the ants. Since ants adapt and exploit their environment, the purpose of the study was to understand when the ants forage, so that the CVMVCD can manage the ants effectively. During the summer months, the temperatures can get up to as high as 120°F (49°C). These high temperatures are not …

The Murray Ledger And Times, August 10, 2016, The Murray Ledger And Times

The Murray Ledger & Times

No abstract provided.

App Regulates Microglial Phenotype In A Mouse Model Of Alzheimer's Disease, Gunjan Manocha, Angela Floden, Keiko Rausch, Joshua Kulas, Brett Mcgregor, Lalida Rojanathammanee, Kelley Puig, Kendra Puig, Sanjib Karki, Michael Nichols, Diane Darland, James Porter, Colin Combs

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Works

Prior work suggests that amyloid precursor protein (APP) can function as a proinflammatory receptor on immune cells, such as monocytes and microglia. Therefore, we hypothesized that APP serves this function in microglia during Alzheimer's disease. Although fibrillar amyloid β (Aβ)-stimulated cytokine secretion from both wild-type and APP knock-out (mAPP−/−) microglial cultures, oligomeric Aβ was unable to stimulate increased secretion from mAPP−/− cells. This was consistent with an ability of oligomeric Aβ to bind APP. Similarly, intracerebroventricular infusions of oligomeric Aβ produced less microgliosis in mAPP−/− mice compared with wild-type mice. The mAPP−/− mice crossed to an APP/PS1 transgenic mouse line …

Abq Free Press, August 10, 2016, Abq Free Press

ABQ Free Press

No abstract provided.

Co-Exploring Actuator Antagonism And Bio-Inspired Control In A Printable Robot Arm, Mf Stoelen, F Bonsignorio, A Cangelosi

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

The human arm is capable of performing fast targeted movements with high precision, say in pointing with a mouse cursor, but is inherently ‘soft’ due to the muscles, tendons and other tissues of which it is composed. Robot arms are also becoming softer, to enable robustness when operating in real-world environments, and to make them safer to use around people. But softness comes at a price, typically an increase in the complexity of the control required for a given task speed/accuracy requirement. Here we explore how fast and precise joint movements can be simply and effectively performed in a soft …

Inducing Application Of Interdisciplinary Frameworks: Experiences From The Domains Of Information Literacy And Responsible Conduct Of Research, Anne E. Leonard, Jean E. Hillstrom

Publications and Research

Constructivist frameworks for information literacy and research ethics can be developed and nurtured in the context of an interdisciplinary course. Using the frameworks of two disciplines, students went on an experiential journey in support of ethics foundations through guest lectures and active learning exercises. This study describes the development and content of the responsible conduct of research and information literacy modules and discusses the role of each in an interdisciplinary course. Learning goals for both modules were evaluated by examining student responses in a free-writing exercise at the end of the semester, concluding with a discussion of the structural and …

High Deltav Solid Propulsion System Fort Small Satellites, Bryce C. Tappan, Nicholas A. Dallmann, Alan M. Novak, Joseph P. Lichthardt, Narendra N. De, Eva V. Baca, David M. Oschwald, Daniel N. Seitz

Small Satellite Conference

Safe propulsion for orbit adjustment and de-orbit is a critical capability for the deployment of large constellations of small satellites. ‘Rideshare,’ in which a CubeSat or other small satellite is provided a ride to orbit on a large launch vehicle, is the primary method of getting CubeSats into orbit; however, when riding as a secondary payload, there is little or no influence on the final orbit. Therefore, a high Δ V, high thrust propulsion system is an enabling technology permitting the CubeSat to be redirected to a desired orbit, after the initial insertion. End of life deorbiting of small satellites …

Is Cortex Necessary?, Sean Allen-Hermanson

Animal Sentience

A key contention of Klein & Barron (2016) is that consciousness does not depend on cortical structures. A critical appraisal suggests they have overestimated the strength of their evidence.

Activating Teachers’ Creativity And Moral Purpose In Science Education, Martin Westwell, Sonia Cooke

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Over the last three years, the Scientist in Residence program (a collaboration between the Department of Education and Child Development, and Flinders University) investigated a model of professional learning in science education that capitalised upon teachers’ moral purpose and drove their creativity. Insight into how teachers transformed their science classrooms is provided through examples of activities, work samples and clips of teachers describing how they changed their practice and how that, in turn, changed the engagement and achievement of the children. These resources will serve to illustrate some of the principles of practice that the teachers drew upon. In particular, …

Full Issue, Children's Book Review

Children's Book and Media Review

No abstract provided.

Sun And Moon, Ice And Snow, Marsha D. Broadway

Children's Book and Media Review

No abstract provided.

Every Minute On Earth: Fun Facts That Happen Every 60 Seconds, Marsha D. Broadway

Children's Book and Media Review

No abstract provided.

Look Behind! Tales Of Animal Ends, Marsha D. Broadway

Children's Book and Media Review

No abstract provided.