Digital Commons Network^™

The Influence Of Balanced And Imbalanced Resource Supply On Biodiversity–Functioning Relationship Across Ecosystems, Aleksandra M. Lewandowska, Antje Biermann, Elizabeth T. Borer, Miguel A. Cebrián-Piqueras, Steven A.J. Declerck, Luc De Meester, Ellen Van Donk, Lars Ganfeldt, Daniel S. Gruner, Nicole Hagenah, W. Stanley Harpole, Kevin P. Kirkman, Christopher A. Klausmeier, Michael Kleyer, Johannes M. H. Knops, Pieter Lemmens, Eric M. Lind, Elena Litchman, Jasmin Mantilla-Contreras, Koen Martens, Sandra Meier, Vanessa Minden, Joslin L. Moore, Harry Olde Venterink, Eric W. Seabloom, Ulrich Sommer, Maren Striebel, Anastasia Trenkamp, Juliane Trinogga, Jotaro Urabe, Wim Vyverman, Dedmer B. Van De Waal, Claire E. Widdicombe, Helmut Hillebrand

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Numerous studies show that increasing species richness leads to higher ecosystem productivity. This effect is often attributed to more efficient portioning of multiple resources in communities with higher numbers of competing species, indicating the role of resource supply and stoichiometry for biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationships. Here, we merged theory on ecological stoichiometry with a framework of biodiversity–ecosystem functioning to understand how resource use transfers into primary production. We applied a structural equation model to define patterns of diversity– productivity relationships with respect to available resources. Meta-analysis was used to summarize the findings across ecosystem types ranging from aquatic ecosystems to grasslands …

Annual Report Of The Registrar 2015/2016, University Of Northern Iowa

Institutional Effectiveness & Planning Documents

Contents:

--- Definitions
--- Some Comparisons
--- Annual Report Data
--- Summary of Attendance
--- Attendance by Session
--- Degrees Granted 2015/16
--- Degree Summary 2015/16
--- Program Certificates 2015/16
--- Miscellaneous Enrollment Information
--- Degrees Granted by College, Degree and Racial/Ethnic Classification

2016 Annual Governance Report On Salaries, University Of Northern Iowa

Institutional Effectiveness & Planning Documents

Gives the average salaries of faculty broken down by rank and college and the distribution of salaries of the professional and scientific category.

Effects Of Altitude On Monarch Butterfly Aerodynamics, Brittany Greene

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Impaired Social Behavior In Mice With Tyrosinemia Type 1 Is Associated With Hypermyelination Of The Cerebral Cortex, Marissa E. Moore

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Regulation Of Antisense Transcription By Nua4 Histone Acetyltransferase And Other Chromatin Regulatory Factors., Bhawana Uprety, Amala Kaja, Jannatul Ferdoush, Rwik Sen, Sukesh R. Bhaumik

Articles

NuA4 histone lysine (K) acetyltransferase (KAT) promotes transcriptional initiation of TATA-binding protein (TBP)-associated factor (TAF)-dependent ribosomal protein genes. TAFs have also been recently found to enhance antisense transcription from the 3' end of the GAL10 coding sequence. However, it remains unknown whether, like sense transcription of the ribosomal protein genes, TAF-dependent antisense transcription of GAL10 also requires NuA4 KAT. Here, we show that NuA4 KAT associates with the GAL10 antisense transcription initiation site at the 3' end of the coding sequence. Such association of NuA4 KAT depends on the Reb1p-binding site that recruits Reb1p activator to the GAL10 antisense transcription …

Responses Of The Wetland Grass, Beckmannia Syzigachne, To Salinity And Soil Wetness: Consequences For Wetland Reclamation In The Oil Sands Area Of Alberta, Canada, Lilyan Glaeser, Stephen Ebbs, Dale H. Vitt

Publications

Reclamation of the boreal landscape, including both wetlands and uplands integrated into complex watersheds, has presented a challenge over the past decade with few attempts. Relevant today is wetland/peatland reclamation on reclaimed landscapes positioned on saline sand deposits left on ‘in-pits’ from open pit oil sands mining. Part of the reclamation challenge lies in choosing characteristic species that are tolerant of conditions present on the reclaimed landscape. Species need to both survive harsh environmental conditions and facilitate succession from mineral-based wetlands (marshes) to peat-based ones (fens). A two-by-six factorial experiment was implemented in a greenhouse under two moisture levels: saturation …

Accumulation Of Zinc, Copper, Or Cerium In Carrot (Daucus Carota) Exposed To Metal Oxide Nanoparticles And Metal Ions, Stephen Ebbs, Scott Jared Bradfield, Pawan Kumar, Jason White, Craig Musante, Xingmao Ma

Publications

The release of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) into the environment has raised concerns about the potential risks to food safety and human health. There is a particular need to determine the extent of ENP uptake into plant foods. Belowground vegetables growing in direct contact with the growth substrate are likely accumulate the highest concentration of ENPs. Carrot (Daucus carota) was grown in sand amended with ZnO, CuO, or CeO₂ NPs or the same concentrations of Zn²⁺, Cu²⁺, or Ce⁴⁺. Treatment with ZnO or Zn²⁺ produced a concentration-dependent decrease in root and …

Plant Community Response To Regional Sources Of Dominant Grasses In Grasslands Restored Across A Longitudinal Gradient, Laurel R. Wilson, David J. Gibson, Sara G. Baer, Loretta C. Johnson

Publications

Restorations in the light of climate change will need to take into account whether or not sources of the dominant plants are adapted to the future conditions at a site. In addition, the effect of these dominants, especially if sourced from outside the local area, on the assembling plant community needs assessment. We investigated how different ecotypes of the tallgrass prairie dominants Andropogon gerardii and Sorghastrum nutans affect assembling prairie communities. Four reciprocal common garden experiments were established across a longitudinal climate gradient characterized by a decrease in aridity in western Kansas (COLBY), central Kansas (HAYS), eastern Kansas (MANHATTAN), and …

A Hyperbranched Dopamine-Containing Peg-Based Polymer For The Inhibition Of Α-Synuclein Fibrillation, Leonid Breydo, Ben Newland, Hong Zhang, Anne Rosser, Carsten Werner, Vladimir N. Uversky, Wenxin Wang

Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

Aggregation of α-synuclein is believed to play an important role in Parkinson's disease and in other neurodegenerative maladies. Small molecule inhibitors of this process are among the most promising drug candidates for neurodegenerative diseases. Dendrimers have also been studied for anti-fibrillation applications but they can be difficult and expensive to synthetize. Here we show that RAFT polymerization can be used to produce a hyperbranched polyethylene glycol structure via a one-pot reaction. This polymer included a dopamine moiety, a known inhibitor of α-synuclein fibril formation. Dopamine within the polymer structure was capable of aggregation inhibition, although not to the same degree …

Structure And Function Relationships Of Proteins Based On Polar Profile: A Review, Carlos Polanco, Thomas Buhse, Vladimir N. Uversky

Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

Proteins in the post-genome era impose diverse research challenges, the main are the understanding of their structure-function mechanism, and the growing need for new pharmaceutical drugs, particularly antibiotics that help clinicians treat the ever- increasing number of Multidrug-Resistant Organisms (MDROs). Although, there is a wide range of mathematical-computational algorithms to satisfy the demand, among them the Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship algorithms that have shown better performance using a characteristic training data of the property searched; their performance has stagnated regardless of the number of metrics they evaluate and their complexity. This article reviews the characteristics of these metrics, and the need …

Structure And Stability Of Recombinant Bovine Odorant-Binding Protein: Iii. Peculiarities Of The Wild Type Bobp Unfolding In Crowded Milieu, Olga V. Stepanenko, Denis O. Roginskii, Olesya V. Stepanenko, Irina M. Kuznetsova, Vladimir N. Uversky, Konstantin K. Turoverov

Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

Contrary to the majority of the members of the lipocalin family, which are stable monomers with the specific OBP fold (a β-barrel consisting of a 8-stranded anti-parallel β-sheet followed by a short α-helical segment, a ninth β-strand, and a disordered C-terminal tail) and a conserved disulfide bond, bovine odorant-binding protein (bOBP) does not have such a disulfide bond and forms a domain-swapped dimer that involves crossing the α-helical region from each monomer over the β-barrel of the other monomer. Furthermore, although natural bOBP isolated from bovine tissues exists as a stable domain-swapped dimer, recombinant bOBP has decreased dimerization potential and …

A Widely Employed Germ Cell Marker Is An Ancient Disordered Protein With Reproductive Functions In Diverse Eukaryotes, Michelle A. Carmell, Gregoriy A. Dokshin, Helen Skaletsky, Yueh-Chiang Hu, Josien C. Van Wolfswinkel, Kyomi J. Igarashi, Daniel W. Bellott, Michael Nefedov, Peter W. Reddien, George C. Enders, Vladimir N. Uversky, Craig C. Mello, David C. Page

Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

The advent of sexual reproduction and the evolution of a dedicated germline in multicellular organisms are critical landmarks in eukaryotic evolution. We report an ancient family of GCNA (germ cell nuclear antigen) proteins that arose in the earliest eukaryotes, and feature a rapidly evolving intrinsically disordered region (IDR). Phylogenetic analysis reveals that GCNA proteins emerged before the major eukaryotic lineages diverged; GCNA predates the origin of a dedicated germline by a billion years. Gcna gene expression is enriched in reproductive cells across eukarya – either just prior to or during meiosis in single-celled eukaryotes, and in stem cells and germ …

Smoking Correlates With Increased Cytoskeletal Protein-Related Coding Region Mutations In The Lung And Head And Neck Datasets Of The Cancer Genome Atlas, John M. Yavorski, George Blanck

Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

Cancer from smoking tobacco is considered dependent on mutagens, but significant molecular aspects of smoking-specific, cancer development remain unknown. We defined sets of coding regions for oncoproteins, tumor suppressor proteins, and cytoskeletal-related proteins that were compared between nonsmokers and smokers, for mutation occurrences, in the lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), head and neck squamous carcinoma (HNSC), bladder carcinoma (BLCA), and pancreatic adenocarcinoma ( PAAD) datasets from the cancer genome atlas (TCGA). We uncovered significant differences in overall mutation rates, and in mutation rates in cytoskeletal protein-related coding regions (CPCRs, including extracellular matrix protein coding regions), between nonsmokers and smokers in LUAD and …

Two Isoforms Of Yersinia Pestis Plasminogen Activator Pla: Intraspecies Distribution, Intrinsic Disorder Propensity, And Contribution To Virulence, Svetlana V. Dentovskaya, Mikhail E. Platonov, Tat’Yana E. Svetoch, Pavel Kh. Kopylov, Tat’Yana I. Kombarova, Sergey A. Ivanov, Rima Z. Shaikhutdinova, Lyubov’ V. Kolombet, Sadhana Chauhan, Vitaly G. Ablamunits, Vladimir L. Motin, Vladimir N. Uversky, Andrey P. Anisimov

Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

It has been shown previously that several endemic Y. pestis isolates with limited virulence contained the I259 isoform of the outer membrane protease Pla, while the epidemic highly virulent strains possessed only the T259 Pla isoform. Our sequence analysis of the pla gene from 118 Y. pestis subsp. microtus strains revealed that the I259 isoform was present exclusively in the endemic strains providing a convictive evidence of more ancestral origin of this isoform. Analysis of the effects of the I259T polymorphism on the intrinsic disorder propensity of Pla revealed that the I259T mutation slightly increases the intrinsic disorder propensity of …

Structure And Stability Of Recombinant Bovine Odorant-Binding Protein: I. Design And Analysis Of Monomeric Mutants, Olga V. Stepanenko, Denis O. Roginskii, Olesya V. Stepanenko, Irina M. Kuznetsova, Vladimir N. Uversky, Konstantin K. Turoverov

Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

Bovine odorant-binding protein (bOBP) differs from other lipocalins by lacking the conserved disulfide bond and for being able to form the domain-swapped dimers. To identify structural features responsible for the formation of the bOBP unique dimeric structure and to understand the role of the domain swapping on maintaining the native structure of the protein, structural properties of the recombinant wild type bOBP and its mutant that cannot dimerize via the domain swapping were analyzed. We also looked at the effect of the disulfide bond by designing a monomeric bOBPs with restored disulfide bond which is conserved in other lipocalins. Finally, …

Prothymosin-Α Variants Elicit Anti-Hiv-1 Response Via Tlr4 Dependent And Independent Pathways, G. Luca Gusella, Avelino Teixeira, Judith Aberg, Vladimir N. Uversky, Arevik Mosoian

Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

Prothymosin α (ProTα) (isoform 2: iso2) is a widely distributed, small acidic protein with intracellular and extracellular-associated functions. Recently, we identified two new ProTα variants with potent anti-HIV activity from CD8+ T cells and cervicovaginal lavage. The first is a splice variant of the ProTα gene known as isoB and the second is the product of ProTα pseudogene 7 (p7). Similarly to iso2, the anti-HIV activity of both variants is mediated by type I IFN. Here we tested whether the immunomodulatory activity of isoB and p7 are also TLR4 dependent and determined their kinetic of release in response to HIV-1 …

Classifying Lipoproteins Based On Their Polar Profiles., Carlos Polanco, Jorge Alberto Castañón-González, Thomas Buhse, Vladimir N. Uversky, Rafael Zonana Amkie

Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Origin Of Amino Acids In Lunar Regolith Samples, Jamie E. Elsila, Michael P. Callahan, Jason P. Dworkin, Daniel P. Glavin, Hannah L. Mclain, Sarah K. Noble, Everett K. Gibson Jr.

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

We analyzed the amino acid content of seven lunar regolith samples returned by the Apollo 16 and Apollo 17 missions and stored under NASA curation since collection using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection and time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Consistent with results from initial analyses shortly after collection in the 1970s, we observed amino acids at low concentrations in all of the curated samples, ranging from 0.2 parts-per-billion (ppb) to 42.7 ppb in hot-water extracts and 14.5–651.1 ppb in 6 M HCl acid-vapor-hydrolyzed, hot-water extracts. Amino acids identified in the Apollo soil extracts include glycine, D- and L-alanine, D- and L-aspartic …

Preparation And Characterization Of Photoactive Antimicrobial Graphitic Carbon Nitride (G-C3N4) Films, John H. Thurston, Necia M. Hunter, Kenneth A. Cornell

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Photoactive films derived from nanostructured samples of the metal-free, intermediate band gap semiconductor graphitic carbon nitride (ns-g-C₃N₄) have been synthesized and characterized for their particle properties and antimicrobial activity. Physical characterization reveals that these materials are composed of discrete nanoparticles whose dimensions range from 200 nm to 700 nm. Investigation of the photochemical reactivity of ns-g-C₃N₄ using coumarin-3- carboxylic acid (3-CCA) indicates that this material produces reactive oxygen species (ROS) under visible radiation. When irradiated with 0.31J visible light, ns-g-C₃N₄-based materials reduced the …

The Innovator's Dilemma, Max S. Oppenheimer

American University Business Law Review

No abstract provided.

Predicting Undergraduate Statistics Course Performance And Transfer Through Students' Implicit Theories And Achievement Goals, Rachel L. Ankney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Students' implicit theories of intelligence (TOI), implicit theories of statistics ability (TOSA), and achievement goals were analyzed as individual differences predictors of both statistics course performance and statistics transfer. Students enrolled in an introductory undergraduate statistics course completed inventories for the three individual differences under investigation as well as measures of course performance and transfer. We hypothesized that TOSA would be a stronger predictor of achievement goals, course performance, and transfer, and would outperform TOI in competing path models. We also anticipated that achievement goals would predict both statistics outcomes. Results demonstrated that (1) TOSA is a stronger predictor of …

The Biodiversity Paradigm Shift: Adapting The Endangered Species Act To Climate Change, Kalyani Robbins

Fordham Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Lessons From The Wolf Wars: Recovery V. Delisting Under The Endangered Species Act*, Martha Williams

Fordham Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Program Evaluation Of The Wayne State University (Wsu) Transition To Independence Program (Tip), Dinah Ayna

Wayne State University Dissertations

Background: A significant number of children in the US are placed in the child welfare system every year. Among the multiple negative outcomes associated with being in the foster care system is a wide academic achievement gap between foster students and the general population, as well as other disadvantaged groups (e.g. low income). Low academic achievement is particularly pronounced in college. The government and higher education institutions are recognizing these educational gaps and developing specialized programs to address the unique needs of foster students; however, the effectiveness of these programs remains unclear. This study aims at evaluating the effectiveness of …

Healing The Social Body After Assisted Reproduction, Cvetana Cindy Golusin

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation is concerned with the lived experiences of ten women after having children with In Vitro Fertilization. I examine the reshaped subjectivities that emerge within the women’s everyday life experiences to deepen understandings of human agency by exploring the intersection of assisted reproductive technologies, cultural ideologies, and social interactions as components in the transformation of the women’s identity. The experience of in vitro fertilization offered a fertile place in which to examine the roles that social and interpretive practices play in constituting the subjective experience in recasting a women’s identity. The study design consisted of informant interviews and case …

Structure Function Studies Of Hiv-1 Protease, Bradley James Keusch

Wayne State University Theses

HIV-1 is the causative agent of the devastating human disease Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndome (AIDS). While much progress has been made over the past two decades, HIV-1 remains a major global health concern. HIV-1 protease is 99-amino acid homodimer aspartyl protease that is essential to the life cycle of HIV. This has rendered it an attractive and very successful drug target. However, due to the high error rate of the HIV -1 reverse transcriptase, drug resistance mutations in the protease can develop very rapidly in some patients, rendering current protease inhibitors (one of the main classes of drug in common antiretroviral …

Quantitative Assessment Of Brain Iron Content As A Function Of Age Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Kiarash Ghassaban

Wayne State University Theses

As the most abundant transition metal in the brain, iron is known to play a key role in a variety of functional and cellular processes. Recent in vivo and post-mortem studies have shown that the levels of iron deposition in the brain, particularly in deep gray matter nuclei, vary as a function of age. On the other hand, elevated iron has also been associated with some neurodegenerative diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) among others.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a widely used non-invasive and non-ionizing imaging modality which is sensitive to magnetic properties of materials …

“For The Safety Of Our Health”: A Qualitative Analysis Of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (Prep) Acceptability Among Female Sex Workers In Malaysia, Shaylen Susalla Foley

Public Health Theses

Female sex workers (FSW) in Malaysia are at substantially increased risk of acquiring HIV compared to the general female population. Daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) offers a novel way to prevent HIV transmission in this population. This research aims to inform culturally relevant implementation of PrEP through a qualitative exploration of the factors that determine FSW willingness to use PrEP. In-depth, semi-structured interviews (n=30) were conducted with FSW in English, Malay, or Tamil. Transcribed and translated interviews were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. FSW expressed positive interest in PrEP but preferred it as a supplement to condoms, not a …

Bio-Inspired Synthesis Of Nanostructured Materials On Substrates For Environmental And Energy Applications, Xinghua Meng Meng

Wayne State University Dissertations

It is still a challenging task to develop simple methods for facile synthesis of functional nanostructures on substrates under mild conditions without using expensive instruments. We have successfully developed a bio-inspired method using simple diaphragm-assisted system to synthesize functional nanostructures on various substrates under mild conditions. We have systematically studied the effects of experimental parameters on the formation of nanostructures under controlled conditions. The fundamental mechanism involved has been systematically studied and revealed. By growing the unique networks of nanostructures on a piece of substrate, a double-rough surface, with structures at both nanoscale and microscale, has been achieved, showing interesting …