Digital Commons Network^™

Genetic Influences On Schizophrenia And Subcortical Brain Volumes: Large-Scale Proof-Of-Concept And Roadmap For Future Studies, Barbara Franke, Jason L. Stein, Stephan Ripke, Verneri Anttila, Derrek P. Hibar, Kimm J. E. Van Hulzen, Alejandro Arias-Vasquez, Jordan W. Smoller, Thomas E. Nichols, Anderson M. Winkler

School of Medicine Publications

Schizophrenia is a devastating psychiatric illness with high heritability. Brain structure and function differ, on average, between schizophrenia cases and healthy individuals. As common genetic associations are emerging for both schizophrenia and brain imaging phenotypes, we can now use genome-wide data to investigate genetic overlap. Here we integrated results from common variant studies of schizophrenia (33,636 cases, 43,008 controls) and volumes of several (mainly subcortical) brain structures (11,840 subjects). We did not find evidence of genetic overlap between schizophrenia risk and subcortical volume measures either at the level of common variant genetic architecture or for single genetic markers. The current …

Genome-Wide Meta-Analysis Uncovers Novel Loci Influencing Circulating Leptin Levels, Tuomas O. Kilpeläinen, Jayne F.Martin Carli, Alicja A. Skowronski, Qi Sun, Jennifer Kriebel, Mary F. Feitosa, Åsa K. Hedman, Alexander W. Drong, James E. Hayes, John Blangero

School of Medicine Publications

Leptin is an adipocyte-secreted hormone, the circulating levels of which correlate closely with overall adiposity. Although rare mutations in the leptin (LEP) gene are well known to cause leptin deficiency and severe obesity, no common loci regulating circulating leptin levels have been uncovered. Therefore, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of circulating leptin levels from 32,161 individuals and followed up loci reaching P<10−6 in 19,979 additional individuals. We identify five loci robustly associated (P<5 × 10−8) with leptin levels in/near LEP, SLC32A1, GCKR, CCNL1 and FTO. Although the association of the FTO obesity locus with leptin levels is abolished by adjustment for BMI, associations of the four other loci …

Quality Markers Of Functional Tomato Juice With Added Apple Phenolic Antioxidants, Laura Massini, Daniel Rico, Ana Belen Martin-Diana, Catherine Barry-Ryan

Articles

The natural approach to food stabilisation is at the forefront of research on plant compounds for food use. Matrix interactions and stability studies of the incorporated foods are necessary prior to further food processing. In this study, apple peel phenolic fractionated based on acidity (flavonoids and phenolic acids) were added to a commercial bottled tomato juice. The juice was left open i.e. air in the headspace at 4°C for 4 days to assess its physical-chemical quality, and for 10 days for the microbiological analysis. Quality markers were analysed (colour and turbidity) and showed that apple peel phenolics, particularly procyanidins, could …

Structural Dependence Of The In Vitro Cytotoxicity, Oxidative Stress And Uptake Mechanisms Of Poly(Propylene Imine) Dendritic Nanoparticles, Humza Khalid, Sourav Prasanna Mukherjee, Luke O'Neill, Hugh Byrne

Articles

The in vitro cytotoxic and intracellular oxidative stress responses to exposure to poly (propylene imine) (PPI) dendritic nanoparticles of increasing generation (number of repeated branching cycles) (G0-G4) were assessed in an immortal non-cancerous human keratinocyte cell-line (HaCaT). Confocal fluorescence microscopy with organelle staining was used to explore the uptake and intracellular trafficking mechanisms. A generation and dose dependent cytotoxic response was observed, increasing according to generation and therefore number of surface amino groups. A comparison of the cytotoxic response of G4 PPI and the related G4 Poly (amido amine) dendrimer indicates that the PPI with the same number of surface …

Responses To Threat In A Freshwater Invader: Longitudinal Data Reveal Personality, Habituation And Robustness To Changing Water Temperatures In The ‘Killer Shrimp’ Dikerogammarus Villosus (Crustacea: Amphipoda)., M Briffa, N Jones, C Macneil

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Freshwater biodiversity and ecosystem integrity are under threat from biological invasions. The ‘killer shrimp’ Dikerogammarus villosus is a highly predatory amphipod which has spread readily across Central Europe and recently the U.K. and its arrival has been associated with the significant loss of resident species. Despite this, studies of its behavioural ecology are sparse, even though its behaviour may contribute to its invasion success. For the first time we investigated anti-predator ‘fleeing’ behaviour in D. villosus and how this changed with water temperature. Three key patterns emerged from our analysis. First, within a particular temperature condition there are moderate but …

Intracellular Nad+ Levels Are Associated With Lps-Induced Tnf-Α Release In Pro-Inflammatory Macrophages, Abbas Jawad Al-Shabany, Alan John Moody, Andrew David Foey, Richard Andrew Billington

School of Biomedical Sciences

Metabolism and immune responses have been shown to be closely linked and as our understanding increases, so do the intricacies of the level of linkage. NAD⁺ has previously been shown to regulate tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) synthesis and TNF-α has been shown to regulate NAD⁺ homoeostasis providing a link between a pro-inflammatory response and redox status. In the present study, we have used THP-1 differentiation into pro- (M1-like) and anti- (M2-like) inflammatory macrophage subset models to investigate this link further. Pro- and anti-inflammatory macrophages showed different resting NAD⁺ levels and expression levels of NAD⁺ homoeostasis enzymes. …

Career Planning With Careerforward: Exploring Student Perceptions And Experiences In An Online Career Preparation Course, Michael K. Barbour, Minakshi Lahiri, Sacip Toker, Kelly Unger Harrison

Education Faculty Publications

In April 2006, the Michigan State Board of Education and Michigan Legislatures adopted a rigorous package of high school graduation requirements, one of which made Michigan the first state that incorporated an online learning graduation requirement into the K‐12 curriculum. All Michigan's students entering high school during 2008‐2009 school year were required to complete online learning during their course of high school studies in order to graduate. Michigan Virtual School helped the schools in Michigan to fulfill this requirement by developing a 20‐hour online learning course called “Career Forward”. In December 2008, the Michigan Virtual University provided the National Repository …

The Wild Borderlands Of Science And Technology, Kelly Moore

Sociology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

A review of recent scholarship in the sociology of fringe and counterculture science.

Herbivore Density Mediates The Indirect Effect Of Herbivores On Plants Via Induced Resistance And Apparent Competition, Ricardo A. Ramirez, Micky D. Eubanks

Biology Faculty Publications

Herbivore-induced plant resistance and apparent competition are two indirect ways herbivores interact. If a less damaging herbivore indirectly suppresses the abundance of a more damaging herbivore via these mechanisms, then plants may ultimately benefit. Changes in herbivore density, however, can dictate the intensity of species interactions and may play a critical role in determining the outcome of plant- and predator-mediated herbivore interactions. We tested the effects of herbivore density on the strength of indirect interactions among phloem-feeding aphids and herbivorous caterpillars and the outcome of these interactions for their shared host plant, cotton (Gossypium hirsutum). We quantified the …

Hydrodynamic Loading In Concomitance With Exogenous Cytokine Stimulation Modulates Differentiation Of Bovine Mesenchymal Stem Cells Towards Osteochondral Lineages, Stephen M. Goldman, Gilda A. Barabino

Publications and Research

Background: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are viewed as a having significant potential for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine therapies. Clinical implementation of MSCs, however, demands that their preparation be stable and reproducible. Given that environmental and bioprocessing parameters such as substrate stiffness, seeding densities, culture medium composition, and mechanical loading can result in undirected differentiation of the MSC population, the objective of this study was to systematically investigate how hydrodynamic loading influences the differentiation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) towards the osteochondral lineages both in the presence and absence of exogenous, inductive factors.

Methods: Expanded bovine MSCs were …

Positive Solutions To A General Elliptic System With Smooth Functions, Timothy Robertson, Joon Hyuk Kang

Posters, Presentations, and Papers

The purpose of this research is to give a sufficient condition for the existence and nonexistence of positive solutions to a rather general type of elliptic system of the Dirichlet problem on a bounded domain. This research was supported by the Office of Research and Creative Scholarship.

The techniques used include upper-lower solutions, eigenvalues of operators, maximum principles, and spectrum estimates. The arguments also rely on some detailed properties of the solutions of logistic equations. These results yields algebraically computable criteria for the positive coexistence of competing species of animals in many biological models.

A Model Of Children's Acquisition Of Grammatical Word Categories From Adult Language Input Using An Adaption And Selection Algorithm, Emily Marie Berardi

Theses and Dissertations

Previous models of language acquisition have had partial success describing the processes that children use to acquire knowledge of the grammatical categories of their native language. The present study used a computer model based on the evolutionary principles of adaptation and selection to gain further insight into children's acquisition of grammatical categories. Transcribed language samples of eight parents or caregivers each conversing with their own child served as the input corpora for the model. The model was tested on each child's language corpus three times: two fixed mutation rates as well as a progressively decreasing mutation rate, which allowed less …

Approximating Optimal Release In A Deterministic Model For The Sterile Insect Technique, Sergio Ramirez, Luis F. Gordillo

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

Cost/benefit analyses are essential to support management planning and decisions before launching any pest control program. In particular, applications of the sterile insect technique (SIT) are often prevented by the projected economic burden associated with rearing processes. This has had a deep impact on the technique development and its use on insects with long larval periods, as often seen in beetles. Under the assumptions of long adult timespan and multiple mating, we show how to find approximate optimal sterile release policies that minimize costs. The theoretical framework proposed considers the release of insects by pulses and finds approximate optimal release …

Influence Of Temperature On Intra- And Interspecific Resource Utilization Within A Community Of Lepidopteran Maize Stemborers, Eric Siaw Ntiri, Paul Andre Calatayud, Johnnie Van Den Berg, Fritz Schulthess, Bruno Pierre Le Ru

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Competition or facilitation characterises intra- And interspecific interactions within communities of species that utilize the same resources. Temperature is an important factor influencing those interactions and eventual outcomes. The noctuid stemborers, Busseola fusca and Sesamia calamistis and the crambid Chilo partellus attack maize in sub-Saharan Africa. They often occur as a community of interacting species in the same field and plant at all elevations. The influence of temperature on the intra- And interspecific interactions among larvae of these species, was studied using potted maize plants exposed to varying temperatures in a greenhouse and artificial stems kept at different constant temperatures …

Spatial Distributions Of Hiv Infection In An Endemic Area Of Western Kenya: Guiding Information For Localized Hiv Control And Prevention, Tomonori Hoshi, Yoshito Fuji, Samson Muuo Nzou, Chihiro Tanigawa, Ibrahim Kiche, Matilu Mwau, Anne Wanjiru Mwangi, Mohamed Karama, Kenji Hirayama, Kensuke Goto, Satoshi Kaneko

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

HIV is still a major health problem in developing countries. Even though high HIV-risk-taking behaviors have been reported in African fishing villages, local distribution patterns of HIV infection in the communities surrounding these villages have not been thoroughly analyzed. The objective of this study was to investigate the geographical distribution patterns of HIV infection in communities surrounding African fishing villages. In 2011, we applied age- and sex-stratified random sampling to collect 1,957 blood samples from 42,617 individuals registered in the Health and Demographic Surveillance System in Mbita, which is located on the shore of Lake Victoria in western Kenya. We …

Endosteal Biologic Augmentation For Surgical Fixation Of Displaced Femoral Neck Fractures, Lionel E Lazaro, Jacqueline F Birnbaum, Nadja A Farshad-Amacker, David L Helfet, Hollis G Potter, Dean G Lorich

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: To report outcomes of a cohort with displaced femoral neck fractures (FNFs) treated with a length/angle-stable construct augmented with an endosteal fibular allograft serving as a biologic dowel.

DESIGN: Prospective.

SETTING: Level I Trauma Center.

PATIENTS: The study group consists of 27 patients with isolated FNF surgically treated by a single surgeon.

INTERVENTION: Open reduction of the femoral neck, fixed with a length- and angle-stable construct of 2 fully threaded cannulated screws augmented with an endosteal fibular allograft serving as a biologic dowel.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Clinical and radiographic outcomes of the fixation construct and the viability of both …

The Elusive Quest For Rna Knots, Aaron S. Burton, Marco Di Stefano, Niles Lehman, Henri Orland, Cristian Micheletti

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Physical entanglement, and particularly knots arise spontaneously in equilibrated polymers that are sufficiently long and densely packed. Biopolymers are no exceptions: knots have long been known to occur in proteins as well as in encapsidated viral DNA. The rapidly growing number of RNA structures has recently made it possible to investigate the incidence of physical knots in this type of biomolecule, too. Strikingly, no knots have been found to date in the known RNA structures. In this Point of View Article we discuss the absence of knots in currently available RNAs and consider the reasons why knots in RNA have …

President’S Newsletter, Jean E. Bartels

President's Newsletter

No abstract provided.

University Honors Program Newsletter, Honors College, Georgia Southern University

Honors College: News & Publications (2008-2020)

• Math, Measles, and a Computer Simulation
• Winning an Award, Earning a Job
• Cassie Beasley returns to Georgia Southern to read from her book, Circus Mirandus
• Alumni Update: Andres Montes
• Focused on the Target
• Adventures in Independent Journal Publishing

Deanotes, College Of Science And Technology, Armstrong State University

College of Science & Technology Dean's Notes (Archived)

No abstract provided.

Composition And Manufacturing Effects On Electrical Properties Of Li/Fes2 Thermal Battery Cathodes, Emilee Lolita Reinholz

Chemical and Biological Engineering ETDs

Li/FeS2 thermal batteries provide a stable, robust, and reliable power source capable of long-term electrical energy storage without performance degradation. These systems rely on a eutectic salt that melts at elevated temperature, activating the cell. When the electrolyte melts, the cathode becomes a suspension, with cathode particles suspended in a molten salt. The suspension experiences mechanical deformation, or slumping.' This slump changes the mechanical compression of the cell, as well as the tortuosity and electronic and ionic conductivity of the cell as the cathode mesostructure is reordered in response to the external compressive stress. The combined effect of deformation, component …

Introducing Entrepreneurship Into The Public University Scheme In Egypt, Ahmed Abbas

Theses and Dissertations

The overall study of available literature regarding entrepreneurship in Egypt reveals several gaps and barriers in the ecosystem. Human Capital represented in: education institutions, availability of skilled labor, and culture norms come at the forefront. Absence of entrepreneurship in the educational curricula in schools and most universities is a contributing factor of t the lagging entrepreneurship activities. This research investigates, explains and analyzes the existing situation of entrepreneurship, specifically social entrepreneurship in colleges of commerce in Egyptian public universities. Colleges of commerce are chosen for being the natural home of entrepreneurship education. Description and evaluation of the status quo are …

Calcified Gelatin Nanofibers For Guided Tissue Regeneration Using Water-Based Benign Solvent: An Investigation For Periodontal Applications, Nihal Abdelnabi Elsayed

Theses and Dissertations

Periodontal regeneration, especially guided tissue regeneration (GTR), is one of the expanding applications in the field of tissue engineering. GTR barriers serve an exceptional function in healing various periodontal diseases such as gingivitis, periodontitis and loss of alveolar bone. Healing of periodontal pockets is somehow challenging as epithelial cells originated from the gingiva fill the site of defect and no regeneration takes place. Complete cell occlusion is a critical characteristic in case of pockets healing to obstruct gingival tissue growth, which performed via GTR membrane. Various materials were investigated for the synthesis of GTR membranes with collagen being the desired …

Fuzzy Logic Traffic Signal Controller Enhancement Based On Aggressive Driver Behavior Classification, Shaimaa Mohammed Hegazy

Theses and Dissertations

The rise in population worldwide and especially in Egypt, together with the increase in the number of vehicles present serious complications regarding traffic congestion and road safety. The elementary solution towards improving congestion is to expand road capacities by building new lanes. This, however, requires time and effort and therefore new methodologies are being implemented. Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) try to approach traffic congestion through the application of computational and engineering techniques. Traffic signal control is a branch of intelligent transportation systems which focuses on improving traffic signal conditions. A traffic signal controllers’ main objective is to improve this assignment …

Investigating The Use Of Solid Waste As Alternative Fuels In Egypt, Fatma Adel Shahat

Theses and Dissertations

Every year Egypt produces enormous amounts of solid waste that reached 89 million tons/year in 2012 and still in continuous increase. As most experts agree, waste can be a hidden treasure for the nation, if it is fully exploited. Indeed, solid waste can be reused, recycled, or even recovered as a source of energy instead of simply being disposed in dumpsters and landfills. Given the need for alternative sources of energy, energy crisis, and waste management problems in Egypt, waste-to-energy (WTE) seems to be an optimum solution for both problems: energy and waste disposal. In the first phase of this …

The Use Of Egyptian Spoken Arabic In Modern Egyptian Novels, Esraa Essa

Theses and Dissertations

Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is the language of novels and written literature and is thus defined as a “High” variety. Nevertheless, young Egyptian authors of the new generation prefer to use a mix between Egyptian colloquial Arabic (ECA) and MSA as a medium for creating a new spirit in novels. In fact, the sharp lines between (MSA) and colloquial Egyptian (ECA) in the Modern Egyptian Novels have begun to blur (Badawi, 1973; 2012). Badawi (1973) proposed a five-level continuum in which each level gradually merges into the next. Arabic in Egypt encompasses five levels of language: (fusha al-turath and Qur’an) …

Fabrication Of Buckypaper With Tailored Porosity For Application In Water Filtration, Ruaa Elnur

Theses and Dissertations

The rapid development in membrane technologies and their use as a filtration medium have been based on the use and development of new materials to improve system performance. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) represent a class of promising nanomaterial, exhibiting outstanding mechanical, electrical, thermal conductivity and adsorption properties. The idea of using carbon nanotubes in the separation and filtration industry has been put forward, but constructing macroscopic structures with controlled density, porosity, and morphology has been a challenge. Buckypaper (BP) is a form of CNT film that is being investigated for application in water treatment. In BPs, the CNTs are oriented randomly …

Terrorism:An Analysis Of The International Legal Framework, International And Regional Responses Case Study: Syria., Sara Ayman Mohamed Hassan

Theses and Dissertations

International law, as a discipline, is obsessed with crises, requiring reinterpretation of its basic principles to cope with them. Through this process of reinterpretation, it also creates new rules. Terrorism is one such ‘crisis’ which has impacted the international legal framework on the use of force, making it deviate from its basis established by the United Nations Charter. This thesis conducts a macro analysis of the changes in the legal framework for combating terrorism after 9/11 and the Arab Spring. It focuses on the Syrian conflict as a case study, analyzing the major actors and their different legal justifications. The …

Development Of Vertical Diffusion Solar Stills Utilizing Folded Sheets Technology, Amr Seleem

Theses and Dissertations

Fresh water shortage is now a global problem the world is facing, and solar stills address a sustainable solution towards such crisis. This study entails the importance of desalination, specifically solar distillation. Diffusion stills have been effective in water desalination. This work presents a model of the distillation process using vertical single-effect diffusion stills. In the provided models, two geometry patterns have been utilized: the flat sheets and the folded sheets. This study aims to evaluate the applicability of utilizing folded sheets on the performance of the still using wick and without wick. A semi-analytical model utilizing the flat sheet …

Lacking A Self(Ie): "Apps" Of Desire In Virtual Cairo, Fernando Revelo La Rotta

Theses and Dissertations

This project explores through an unconventional assemblage of methods and theories the role of selfies in the contemporary process of subjectivation. Relying on an ethnographic methodology, Lacanian psychoanalysis, and queer theory, this project explore three virtual spaces where selfies live (Instagram, Tinder, and Grindr) and how selfies circulate through the circuits of desire facilitated by the technological interface. The goal of this project is to remind us that there is no essential self and to question such an assumption in any project. Therefore, this project is not invested in discovering the truth about ourselves, the other, or a specific imagined …