Digital Commons Network^™

Genome-Wide Discriminatory Information Patterns Of Cytosine Dna Methylation, Robersy Sanchez, Sally A. Mackenzie

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Cytosine DNA methylation (CDM) is a highly abundant, heritable but reversible chemical modification to the genome. Herein, a machine learning approach was applied to analyze the accumulation of epigenetic marks in methylomes of 152 ecotypes and 85 silencing mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana. In an information-thermodynamics framework, two measurements were used: (1) the amount of information gained/lost with the CDM changes I_R and (2) the uncertainty of not observing a SNP LC_R. We hypothesize that epigenetic marks are chromosomal footprints accounting for different ontogenetic and phylogenetic histories of individual populations. A machine learning approach is proposed to …

Expression Of Apoplast-Targeted Plant Defensin Mtdef4.2 Confers Resistance To Leaf Rust Pathogen Puccinia Triticina But Does Not Affect Mycorrhizal Symbiosis In Transgenic Wheat, Jagdeep Kaur, John Fellers, Alok Adholeya, Siva L.S. Velivelli, Kaoutar El-Mounadi, Natalya Nersesian, Thomas Clemente, Dilip Shah

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Rust fungi of the order Pucciniales are destructive pathogens of wheat worldwide. Leaf rust caused by the obligate, biotrophic basidiomycete fungus Puccinia triticina (Pt) is an economically important disease capable of causing up to 50 % yield losses. Historically, resistant wheat cultivars have been used to control leaf rust, but genetic resistance is ephemeral and breaks down with the emergence of new virulent Pt races. There is a need to develop alternative measures for control of leaf rust in wheat. Development of transgenic wheat expressing an antifungal defensin offers a promising approach to complement the endogenous resistance genes …

Lack Of Host Specialization On Winter Annual Grasses In The Fungal Seed Bank Pathogen Pyrenophora Semeniperda, Julie Beckstead, Susan E. Meyer, Tony S. Ishizuka, Kelsey M. Mcevoy, Craig E. Coleman

Biology Faculty Scholarship

Generalist plant pathogens may have wide host ranges, but many exhibit varying degrees of host specialization, with multiple pathogen races that have narrower host ranges. These races are often genetically distinct, with each race causing highest disease incidence on its host of origin. We examined host specialization in the seed pathogen Pyrenophora semeniperda by reciprocally inoculating pathogen strains from Bromus tectorum and from four other winter annual grass weeds (Bromus diandrus, Bromus rubens, Bromus arvensis and Taeniatherum caput-medusae) onto dormant seeds of B. tectorum and each alternate host. We found that host species varied in …

Tripartite Motif Containing 28 (Trim28) Promotes Breast Cancer Metastasis By Stabilizing Twist1 Protein., Dianzheng Zhang, Boxv Zhou, Li Zhu, Md Asaduzzaman Khan, Tao He, Sufang Zhou, Jian He, Xiaoling Lu, Hanchun Chen, Yongxiang Zhao, Junjiang Fu

PCOM Scholarly Works

TRIM28 regulates its target genes at both transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels. Here we report that a TRIM28-TWIST1-EMT axis exists in breast cancer cells and TRIM28 promotes breast cancer metastasis by stabilizing TWIST1 and subsequently enhancing EMT. We find that TRIM28 is highly expressed in both cancer cell lines and advanced breast cancer tissues, and the levels of TRIM28 and TWIST1 are positively correlated with the aggressiveness of breast carcinomas. Overexpression and depletion of TRIM28 up- and down-regulates the protein, but not the mRNA levels of TWIST1, respectively, suggesting that TRIM28 upregulates TWIST1 post-transcriptionally. Overexpression of TRIM28 in breast cancer cell …

A Dramaturgical Analysis Of The Miracle Worker, Abby Butzer

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This document is a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the Master of Arts degree in theatre. It is a dramaturgical analysis for William Gibson's play The Miracle Worker, providing a reference for directors and actors. The thesis explores the play's medical and pedagogical history in six chapters: the physiology and psychology of language acquisition as it pertains to sight and/or hearing impaired children, a pedagogical comparison of Samuel G. Howe and Annie Sullivan, a modern diagnosis of the fever that destroyed Helen Keller's vision and hearing, the 19th century pathology and treatment options for the disease of the eye …

Biogeographic Divergences In The Iberian Flora. A Morpho-Anatomic,Issr-Based, And Environmental Study Of Iberian Buxus Sempervirens L., Márcia Carvalho, João Rocha, Valdemar Carnide, Sandra Martins, Maurici Mus, Francisco Amich, Rubim Almeida, Claúdia Machado, Berta Gonçalves, Eunice Bacelar, Antonio Crespi

Turkish Journal of Botany

Iberian Buxus spp. Are represented by B. Sempervirens, restricted to the Cantabrian, eastern Iberian Peninsula, and northeastern mountain systems, emerging scarcely in Portugal, and by B. Balearica that occurs in the Betic deep river valleys and in the Balearic islands. The genetic affinity existent between fifteen populations of B. Sempervirens was evaluated by seven ISSRs primers. Moreover, leaf morpho-anatomical measurements indicative of leaf performance (such as leaf area, leaf mass per unit area, width, length, shape factor, tissues thickness, stomatal density, and quantification of epi- and intracuticular waxes) and environmental characterization were conducted to get insight into the functional ecology …

Cladonia Trapezuntica (Cladoniaceae, Lichenized Ascomycota): A Robust Morphotype Of Pycnothelia Papillaria, A Taxonomic Study With Conservational Survey, Ayhan Şenkardeşler, Demet Cansaran Duman, Laszlo Lökös, Teuvo Ahti

Turkish Journal of Botany

The long-neglected lichen described as Cladonia trapezuntica was rediscovered at its type locality in Turkey thanks to historical maps available at the Natural History Museum in Vienna. Molecular, morphological, and chemical analyses were applied to determine whether C. Trapezuntica is a distinct species or rather falls within the phenotypic variation of Pycnothelia papillaria. Although most of the podetia appear to be unusual for P. Papillaria, the molecular evidence indicates that C. Trapezuntica should be considered as a synonym of P. Papillaria, and the cushion-like growth form, taller podetia with irregular to dichotomously or trichotomously branching pattern, and scarce primary thallus …

A New Species Of Lepiota, Lepiota Lahorensis, From Lahore, Pakistan, Tayyaba Qasim, Abdul Khalid, Else Vellinga

Turkish Journal of Botany

Lepiota lahorensis sp. nov. is described from Lahore, Pakistan. Its characterizing features are pinkish brown pileus with dark brown furfuraceous scales, oblong to ellipsoid spores, clavate cheilocystidia, and pileus covering made up of trichodermal elements without shorter elements at their base. The phylogenetic analysis based on nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer sequence shows its unique position in sect. Ovisporae.

Labellum Micromorphology Of Some Orchid Genera (Orchidaceae) Distributed In The Black Sea Region In Turkey, Şenay Süngü Şeker, Mustafa Kemal Akbulut, Gülcan Şenel

Turkish Journal of Botany

A detailed micromorphological analysis of the labellum was carried out using both light and scanning electron microscopy on 14 genera (Anacamptis, Cephalanthera, Coeloglossum, Dactylorhiza, Gymnadenia, Himantoglossum, Limodorum, Neottia, Orchis, Ophrys, Platanthera, Serapias, Spiranthes, and Steveniella) of Orchidaceae in Turkey. In the samples, various epidermal features were identified in the spur that developmentally are invaginations of the labellum and the adaxial surface of the labellum. Typical secretory cells and inclusions such as starch or calcium oxalate crystals of different sizes and shapes were found within the structure of individuals. In many genera, characteristically shaped secretory trichomes and papillae were concentrated at …

Induction And Development Of Anther-Derived Gametic Embryos In Cucumber (Cucumis Sativus L.) By Optimizing The Macronutrient And Agar Concentrations In Culture Medium, Mohammad Reza Abdollahi, Samereh Najafi, Hasan Sarikhani, Sayyed Saeed Moosavi

Turkish Journal of Biology

Anther culture response of a cucumber cultivar (Beta Alpha) and three Iranian landraces of cucumber (Basmenj, Isfahani, and Korki) on MS culture media with an altered macronutrient strength (half, full, 1.5-fold, and double-strength) or various concentrations of agar (0, 3.5, 7, and 14 g L-1) was evaluated in two separate experiments. The effect of different concentrations of agar on the development of callus-derived embryos was also assessed. The androgenic potentials of various cucumbers were significantly (P < 0.01) influenced by the different macronutrient strengths and agar concentrations, although anther culture responses could vary according to the cucumber type. A doubled strength of macronutrients in culture medium resulted in the highest percentage of callogenesis (100%) in Isfahani cucumber, while use of full strength of macronutrients produced the highest percentage of embryogenic calli (83.33%) in the mentioned landrace compared to other tested forms. The maximum number of gametic embryos (1.26 and 1.23 embryos/anther) differentiated from Isfahani anther cultures on full- and half-strength MS medium, respectively. In the second experiment, the highest percentages of callogenesis were obtained in MS culture media solidified with 14 g L-1 and 7 g L-1 agar for Basmenj, with 3.5 g L-1 agar or liquid medium for Isfahani, with 7 g L-1 agar for Beta Alpha, and with 14 g L-1 agar for Korki. Culture media solidified with 7 g L-1 agar produced the highest percentage of embryogenic calli compared to other treatments. Anther culture of Korki cucumber on culture medium with 14 g L-1 agar produced the maximum number of embryos per anther compared to other cucumbers. Improved production of mature somatic embryos (torpedo and cotyledonary embryos) was achieved with higher agar concentrations (7 and 14 g L-1) for the cucumber cultivar and all landraces.

Androgenic Responses Of 64 Ornamental Pepper (Capsicum Annuum L.)Genotypes To Shed-Microspore Culture In The Autumn Season, Esi̇n Ari, Hi̇lal Bedi̇r, Selcen Yildirim, Tolga Yildirim

Turkish Journal of Biology

The recent gradual increase in interest and demand for multipurpose ornamental peppers has encouraged intensive breeding studies, especially for use in landscape. However, information in the literature about haploidy is limited. Thus, first, we intend to identify proper morphological markers for quick selection of suitable flower buds containing convenient microspores in two sample ornamental pepper genotypes with and without anthocyanin in external appearance. Secondly, the androgenic responses of 64 genotypes are determined in the autumn season through shed-microspore culture. Based on DAPI-assisted results, the calyx/bud ratio can be used as an effective morphological marker for proper bud selection in both …

Civil Rights—From Negative Restriction To Affirmative Obligation: A Call For Massachusetts To Recognize A Right To Rehabilitation Beginning With Juvenile Offenders, Jennifer L. Weekley

Western New England Law Review

In Diatchenko v. District Attorney for Suffolk District, 1 N.E.3d 270 (Mass. 2013) the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court sparked significant juvenile sentencing reform in the state. Previously an outlier for its harsh treatment of juveniles, the Commonwealth now prohibits the imposition of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for juvenile offenders. This crucial step forward in juvenile justice is dually rooted in neuroscience advancements and society’s ever-evolving standards of decency. The premise is simply that children are different. Children are categorically impulsive, more susceptible to negative environmental influences, and their malleable character is less persuasive evidence of irretrievable depravity …

The Health Exception, Monica E. Eppinger

All Faculty Scholarship

The abortion doctrine laid out in Roe v. Wade permits a procedure necessary to preserve the life or the health of the pregnant woman, setting out what has come to be called the “life exception” and the “health exception.” This Article investigates the background and antecedents of the health exception, identifying three periods of formation and change up to the drafting of the Model Penal Code in 1959. It argues that theories of health lie at the heart of legal doctrine, shaping common-law treatment of abortion and persisting in nineteenth- and twentieth-century statutes. This account reveals origins of a health …

The Journey Of Transitioning: Being A Trans-Athlete In College Sport, Alexandra Klein

Master of Education in Applied Human Development Graduate Projects

The NCAA’s stance on transgender athletes is such that universities should adopt new policies and practices to best provide equal opportunities for all transgender students wishing to compete on a collegiate athletic team. However, there is very little research about transgender athletes in college sport. This case study serves as the voice of one collegiate-athlete who is transitioning from female to male while continuing to be a Division I athlete. The limited research on transgender athletes provides some insight into their experiences before, during and after the athlete came out as transgender (e.g., Lucas-Carr & Krane, 2012; Semerjian & Cohen, …

Textual Analysis: Hard Knocks, Eric Vendemia

Master of Education in Applied Human Development Graduate Projects

This study uses textual analysis to examine how masculinity is conveyed through HBO’s docu-series Hard Knocks. NFL players featured on HBO’s docu-series Hard Knocks are examined to see examples of masculine behavior in the NFL. NFL football is characterized by competitiveness, strength, violence and aggression and Hard Knocks showcases it in a raw form. This study observes the framework and context of the gender order, masculinity, hegemonic masculinity, war-football comparisons, men’s relationship with sport, the physical body in the NFL, and NFL’s current issues. The specific scenes give rare glimpses of training camp in the NFL. The scenes showcase relationships …

Dying Fast: Suicide In Individuals With Gambling Disorder, Stacey A. Tovino

Faculty Articles

These published remarks carefully document the history of health insurance coverage of gambling disorder. They begin by providing examples of gambling disorder insurance benefit disparities in the contexts of public health care programs and private health plans. They proceed by reviewing the effect of three pieces of legislation, including the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996, the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, and the Affordable Care Act of 2010, on public and private insurance coverage of gambling disorder. They highlight the partial victory that will occur in some states beginning in …

Studying School Improvement Teams To Analyze Multiple Stakeholder Engagement In Decision-Making In Public Education, Julie A. Dibari

Open Access Dissertations

Since the Industrial Revolution, when schools became larger and the missions broader, there has been an attempt by a wide range of stakeholders to have a voice in public education. More recently, through No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, the federal government began to increase requirements for multiple stakeholder engagement in decision-making for schools requesting Title I funds. As the need for a more educated workforce has grown, businesses have also sought to have a voice in improving education. Additionally, experts in the field of parent, school and community engagement, have called for the inclusion of parents, …

How Does A Personal Trainer’S Appearance Impact How Potential Clients Perceive Them?, Kali Morgenstern

Master of Education in Applied Human Development Graduate Projects

Personal trainer’ duties are to assist clients with proper form, motivate, provide a sense of accountability, create individualized work out plans, and help clients achieve an overall healthy lifestyle. Oftentimes, personal trainers are judged base on physical appearance rather than certifications, education, and level of experience. The purpose of this study was to better understand how potential clients view personal trainers based on appearance. In an effort to assist and enhance the careers of personal trainers in the future, this study provides guidance regarding perceptions and opinions of potential clients. An Exploratory Design was used to lay the groundwork for …

Cluster Enhanced Nanopore Spectrometry, Amy Chavis

Theses and Dissertations

Nanopore sensing is a label-free method used to characterize water-soluble molecules. Recent work describes how Au₂₅(SG)₁₈ clusters improve the single molecule nanopore spectrometry (SMNS) technique when analyzing polyethylene glycol (PEG). This thesis will further study and optimize the enhancement effect resulting from a cluster’s presence. Additionally, a model describing the interaction between a cluster and PEG is developed to assist in understanding this mechanism of enhancement. This thesis will also discuss expanding the SMNS method to detect peptides, using Au₂₅(SG)₁₈ for enhancement, and adjusting solution conditions to improve the sensitivity of the SMNS system …

Holistic Products: Designing With Time, Gifts, And Ritual, Jeremy P. Zietz

Theses and Dissertations

The notion of “you are what you buy” is an updated adage from “you are what you eat”. It makes a connection between our everyday objects and their effect on our lived experience. Looking at our relationships with our things as a type of contract, we must be intentional to shape these object contracts for our own good and health. Instead of our society’s design talents being put toward a consumerist agenda, designers must direct research and development which addresses the effects of our products holistically.

Various concepts have emerged in my creative practice which demand a deeper research and …

Acute And Chronic Effects Of Inhalants In Intracranial Self-Stimulation, Matthew Tracy

Theses and Dissertations

Inhalants are a loosely defined diverse group of volatile substances which people abuse. Despite widespread misuse of inhalants, there are limited preclinical methods available to study the reinforcement-like properties of inhalants. One procedure which has demonstrated substantial promise as a tool to investigate inhalant pharmacology is the intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) procedure. ICSS utilizes pulses of electrical stimulation to the mesolimbic reward pathway to serve as a temporally defined and controlled operant reinforcer with a highly adjustable efficacy. The first aim of the project was to characterize the effects of commonly abused inhalants: including toluene, trichloroethane, nitrous oxide, isoflurane and R134a …

Behind The Nylon Curtain: Social Cohesion, Law, And The Disaggregation Of American Culture, Rebecca Roiphe, Doni Gewirtzman

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Collaboration Between Schools And Child Welfare Agencies In Florida To Address The Educational Needs Of Children In Foster Care, Kele Stewart, Vanessa Thorrington

Articles

No abstract provided.

Leech Host Specificity And Its Effect On Rates Of Parasitism In Two Pond Turtle Species, Sternotherus Odoratus And Chrysemys Picta, Linda Valentina Araya

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Appropriate host selection by parasites is critical for ensuring offspring survival, optimal feeding location, and protection from predators. Leeches (Placobdella spp.) are known to parasitize bottom-dwelling turtle species more frequently than basking turtle species, but it is not known whether this bias is evolutionarily advantageous. I tested two potential factors that could influence host selection by leeches: differential chance of encounter due to habitat usage, and chemosensory bias of leeches toward bottom-dwelling species. I first confirmed that Chrysemys picta (Eastern painted turtle, a basking species) and Sternotherus odoratus (common musk turtle, a bottom-dwelling species) in Lake Wapalanne in Sussex County, …

"You Are All A Lost Generation" : The Wandering Soldier In The Short Stories Of Ernest Hemingway, Stephen Denn

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

American involvement in World War I, although for only one year, wreaked havoc upon millions of young men, many never overcoming the horror and suffering. Although the men returned to America externally fit and physically intact, internally the war still raged. Drawn into a nightmarish world thousands of miles from home, the American World War I veteran endured the carnage, chivalrously defeating the evil attempting to permeate the world. Exposed to sophisticated weaponry, as well as incompetent leaders, these young men from American farms, cities and suburbs persevered and sailed home, welcomed and greeted as heroes by their homeland.

Upon …

Drifting Communities : Relationships Between Soil Chemistry, Plant And Microbial Communities Along An Urban Watershed, Carolyn Haines-Klaube

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The goal of this study was to investigate plant and soil communities along a riparian corridor at four sites in the Toms River Watershed of Ocean County, NJ. This research assessed how these communities differ between the upland and floodplain habitats by examining both biotic and abiotic factors. To accomplish this, plant communities were assessed upon tree basal area, woody shrub cover, herbaceous cover and presence/absence of “all-vegetation”. Soil microbial community composition was also measured at the same four sites. At each of the four sites, I surveyed three transects that were parallel, perpendicular and upland from the river. These …

Modern Critiques Of Judicial Empathy: A Revised Intellectual History, Brenner M. Fissell

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

The role of "empathy" haunts recent debates about how judges make decisions. Remarkably, however, the intellectual origins of scholarly resistance to empathic judging remain poorly understood. This Article fills that gap. Through historical and theoretical study, it reveals the ways in which the modern anti-emphatic consensus can be seen as a mutated descendent of late-nineteenth century formalism. This Article also marks an irony with significant implications for the empathy debate: Although the anti-empathic view was born offormalism, it has drifted from its source such that it would almost certainly be condemned by the very formalist scholars from whom it is …

Detection Of Coherent Structures In Flows, Klodiana Shkembi

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

In this work, we have developed an experimental flow tank that can produce realistic ocean-like flows, including multi-gyre flows. By generating controllable ocean-like flow fields, we can study the flows to gain a better understanding of ocean dynamics. In particular, we use particle image velocimetry and finite-time Lyapunov exponents to determine the location of the Lagrangian Coherent Structures that determine transport in complex fluid flows. This understanding is useful for designing control algorithms and for optimizing the use of autonomous vehicles operating in the stochastic and time-dependent ocean environment.

Ionic Liquid Based Fluorescent Sensors For Cations, Jaelene M. Torres

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The development of novel fluorescent sensors for cations is an area of current interest. Most of these sensors are large organic molecules that have a low solubility in water and are not suitable to be used as sensors in water. The goal of this study is to develop a new sensor by attaching an ionic liquid group to make it water-soluble. We have used a well-known photoinduced electron transfer (PET) sensor for protons as our first test. This sensor is based on a chromophore-spacer-receptor design that is based on an anthracene chromophore and a morpholine proton receptor. The sensor is …

Roots & Shoots Remembered : A Qualitative Study Of The Influence Of Childhood Place-Based Experiences On The Lives Of Young Adults, Katrina G. Macht

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This dissertation is a qualitative interview study that explored the memories of 10 former students, now young adults, long removed from their intermediate school (grades 4 – 6) experiences. The purpose of the study was to learn what impact involvement in the school’s Roots & Shoots program had on later attitudes and behaviors. Specifically, the study focused on the relationship between distant childhood experiences and current dispositions towards the environment and civic responsibility. The results from the study were based on data collected from interviews, written reflections, and email correspondence, with 10 young adults who attended the intermediate school between …