Digital Commons Network^™

Structural Evidence Of A Major Conformational Change Triggered By Substrate Binding In Dape Enzymes: Impact On The Catalytic Mechanism, Boguslaw Nocek, Cory Reid, Anna Starus, Tahirah Heath, David Bienvenues, Jerzy Osipiuk, Robert Jedrzeczak, Andrzej Joachimiak, Daniel P. Becker Ph.D., Richard C. Holz

Chemistry: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The X-ray crystal structure of the dapE-encoded N-succinyl-l,l-diaminopimelic acid desuccinylase from Haemophilus influenzae (HiDapE) bound by the products of hydrolysis, succinic acid and l,l-DAP, was determined at 1.95 Å. Surprisingly, the structure bound to the products revealed that HiDapE undergoes a significant conformational change in which the catalytic domain rotates ∼50° and shifts ∼10.1 Å (as measured at the position of the Zn atoms) relative to the dimerization domain. This heretofore unobserved closed conformation revealed significant movements within the catalytic domain compared to that of wild-type HiDapE, which results in effectively closing off access to …

Rereading Mircea Eliade: Some Myths And Truths About The Sacred, The Historical, And The Wwii, Cong Fu

Theses - ALL

This project grows out of my dissatisfaction with a number of popular critiques against Mircea Eliade’s approach to religious phenomena, in particular the charges along the lines that his academic writings are crypto-theological, ahistorical, and fascist. The set of questions I ask are as follows: Does Eliade assume the existence of a transcendent, autonomous entity in his explanation of religion, as his critics claim? Is “ahistorical” accurate to capture Eliade’s sense of the relationship between religious phenomena and history? Why does Eliade not take advantage of the more “historical” or “scientific” tools of analysis of his time, such as Marxism …

The Effects Of Isolation, Encoding Strength And Feature Distinctiveness On Recognition And Categorization, Osung Seo

Theses - ALL

Previous research has shown that in recognition tasks, a distinctive feature can increase hit rates and decrease false alarm rates associated with an isolated item in a similarity space. However, this is inconsistent with the prediction of the global activation models, such as the Generalized Context Model. Since it is generally assumed that recognition and categorization operate under the same similarity-based generalization mechanism, a distinctive feature should also affect categorization judgments in a similar manner. However, the effects of feature distinctiveness on categorization has yet to be explored. For this reason, the present paper investigates the effects of feature distinctiveness …

Achilles And The Batman On The Plane Of Immanence: Deconstructing Heroic Models, Herman Frederick Filice

Dissertations - ALL

Achilles and The Batman on the Plane of Immanence: Deconstructing Heroic Models attempts to reposition the way the reader views literary heroism. By defining heroism as a reaction to forces within and external to his society, heroism becomes a function of Michel Foucault’s concept of Otherness. Using Deleuze and Guattari’s notions of the Nomad, striated and unstriated space and schizoanalysis, as well as Foucault’s basic concepts of power and its two-way, invisible flow, one will find that heroism develops and functions in strikingly similar manners no matter what time or culture germinates it. The universal problems the hero creates for …

Mammy Representations In The 21st Century, Ayondela Mcdole

Theses - ALL

This thesis examines the signification of the mammy stereotype in the 21st century. The performances of Martin Lawrence, Tyler Perry and Eddie Murphy’s as mammies in drag are the selected texts for the project. By presenting the many mammy representations over the past 150 years, I outline the ways in which the mammy stereotype dehumanizes black women and hinders the Pan African agenda. Through the commodification of the mammy stereotype it has been de-historicized and thus separated from its beginnings as a part of the white supremacist imagination. Discourse analysis is used to analyze its meaning and signification while black …

Forgotten Aulacothorax Boheman, 1858, A Senior Synonym Of Orthaltica Crotch, 1873 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae: Alticini), Jan Bezdek, Alexander S. Konstantinov

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Discovery of the holotype of Aulacothorax exilis Boheman, 1858, originally described in Scydmaeninae (Staphylinidae), in the collections of Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet Stockholm in Sweden revealed that this species is actually a leaf beetle (Chrysomelidae) belonging to the genus until now known as Orthaltica Crotch, 1873. Because Aulacothorax has been available since 1858 and Orthaltica only since 1873, we here synonymize Orthaltica with Aulacothorax. Aulacothorax exilis is redescribed and illustrated.

Fossils, Heritage And Conservation: Managing Demands On A Precious Resource, Kn Page

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

This book is an essential resource for geoscientists, park and geopark managers, tourism and regional planning managers, as well as university students interested in geoheritage, geosites, geomorphosites, geoconservation, and geotourism.

Vitamin B12 Bioconjugates In Pharmaceutical Design, Jayme Leigh Workinger

Dissertations - ALL

Abstract

This thesis addresses several questions focused on the vitamin B12 (B12) dietary uptake pathway, in particular that of the enteric B12 transport protein intrinsic factor (IF) and its receptor cubilin, and the expression and exploitation of IF/cubilin in pharmaceutical development.

Q1: (Chapter 2) Does an 89Zr-B12 conjugate allow for improved background/noise ratio, relative to 99mTc and 64Cu B12 conjugates, in in vivo tumor uptake?

Goal: Conduct positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and biodistribution studies in mice bearing MDA-MB-453 breast cancer tumors using a new 89Zr-B12 conjugate.

Q2: (Chapter 3) What is the uptake of systemically administered holo-intrinisic factor bound …

Limits Of Liberation: Youth And Politics In Brazil's Landless Rural Workers' Movement, Melinda Gurr

Dissertations - ALL

This thesis examines the forces that strengthen and weaken young people’s involvement in Brazil’s Landless Rural Workers’ Movement, the MST, during the twilight of the PT years, 2012-2014. The MST responds to displacement, environmental devastation, and capital- intensive development by fighting for land reform and socialist transformation. Although the MST’s politics of redistribution have attracted significant attention from activists and academics worldwide, little ethnographic attention had yet been paid to the experiences and subjectivities of rural youth affiliated with the movement. By attending to structural conditions, dynamics of family, sexuality, and gender, and political socialization in three regions of Brazil, …

Are Fireworms Venomous? Evidence For The Convergent Evolution Of Toxin Homologs In Three Species Of Fireworms (Annelida, Amphinomidae), Aida Verdes, Danny Simpson, Mandë Holford

Publications and Research

Amphinomids, more commonly known as fireworms, are a basal lineage of marine annelids characterized by the presence of defensive dorsal calcareous chaetae, which break off upon contact. It has long been hypothesized that amphinomids are venomous and use the chaetae to inject a toxic substance. However, studies investigating fireworm venom from a morphological or molecular perspective are scarce and no venom gland has been identified to date, nor any toxin characterized at the molecular level. To investigate this question, we analyzed the transcriptomes of three species of fireworms— Eurythoe complanata, Hermodice carunculata, andParamphinome jeffreysii—following a venomics approach to identify putative …

Annotated List Of Ontario Lepidoptera, By J. C. E. Riotte. 1992. Royal Ontario Museum, Publications In Life Sciences, Miscellaneous Publication. Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Thronto, Ontario, Canada M5s 2c6. 208 Pp. Soft Cover, 15 X 22.5 Cm. Isbn 0-88854-397-2. $19.95 Canadian (About $16.00 U.S.), Eric H. Metzler

The Great Lakes Entomologist

(excerpt)

I was eager to review this publication. When I was a young person, first starting the pursuit of Lepidoptera, any literature that increased my knowledge was as valuable as the specimens I collected. Checklists were especially welcome. A primary purpose for the formation of The Ohio Lepidopterists society was to record the occurrence of Lepidoptera in Ohio. My ardent commitment to document Ohio's fauna over the past 20 years gives me insight into the work necessary to create and produce a publication of this type.

Unusual Sex Allocation In A Solitary Parasitoid Wasp, Sphaeropthalma Pensylvanica (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae), Robert W. Matthews

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Sphaeropthalma pensyluanica reared from cocoons of the organ pipe mud dauber, Trypoxylon politum from Georgia over several years yielded only adult males. Possible explanations for this sex-biased emergence from this host are (1) obligatory heteronomous heterotrophy, in which the two sexes develop on entirely different hosts; (2) differential mortality in the immature stage, with female larvae dying during development; and (3) facultative size- dependent sex allocation, with female eggs laid only on hosts smaller than T. politum.

Chemiluminescent Tags For Tracking Insect Movement In Darkness: Application To Moth Photo-Orientation, Joseph L. Spencer, Lawrence J. Gewax, James E. Keller, James R. Miller

The Great Lakes Entomologist

The flight tracks of Manduca sexta (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) flying toward a 5 watt incandescent light bulb were recorded under low light conditions with the aid of a camera-mounted photomultiplier and a glowing marker technique. Small felt pads bearing a chemiluminescent (glowi ma­erial, Cyalume®, were affixed to the abdomens of free-flying moths. insects orienting to a dim incandescent bulb were easily visible to the naked eye and were clearly captured on videotape. On their initial approach to the light source, M. sexta were found to orient at a mean angle of -0.220 ± 2.70 (mean ± SEM). The speed of the …

Tomicus Piniperda (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) Reproduction And Behavior On Scotch Pine Christmas Trees Taken Indoors, Robert A. Haack, Robert K. Lawrence

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Tomicus piniperda, the pine shoot beetle, is an exotic insect that was first found in North America in 1992. A federal quarantine currently restricts movement of pine products, including Christmas trees, from infested to uninfested counties. We conducted a study to determine if T. piniperda would re- produce in Christmas trees that were cut and taken indoors during the Christmas season. Twelve Scotch pine, Pinus sylvestris, Christmas trees infested with overwintering T. piniperda beetles were cut in Indiana in early December 1993 and taken to Michigan. Four trees were dissected immediately, while the other 8 trees were taken …

Habitat Associations Of Sympatric Violet-Feeding Fritillaries (Euptoieta, Speyeria, Boloria) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) In Tallgrass Prairie, Ann B. Swengel

The Great Lakes Entomologist

At 106 tallgrass prairies in the midwestern USA, 18,055 individuals of six fritillary species (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) were counted in 552.9 hr and 987.1 kill of transect survey effort from 14 June to 13 September during 1988-96. The relative abundance of Euptoieta claudia, Speyena cybele, S. aphrodite, S. idalia, Boloria selene, and B. bellona was analyzed for significant patterns relative to five habitat factors. Topographic diversity (i.e., whether the site was uniform or contained both uplands and lowlands) produced the most significant effects. Prairie patch size and vegetation type (wet, mesic, dry) also produced numerous significant patterns. When management type was …

New Records Of Michigan Cicadidae (Homoptera), With Notes On The Use Of Songs To Monitor Range Changes, David Ciszek Marshall, John R. Cooley, Richard D. Alexander, Thomas E. Moore

The Great Lakes Entomologist

We present records of Diceroprocta vitripennis, Tibicen chloromera, and Tibicen pruinosa (new state record) in Michigan. Monitoring geographic range changes and population size differences by song suggests several population situations for cicadas: (1) sizable populations in most areas of apparently good habitat; (2) widely separated single individuals or small populations on the edges of populated regions, representing range extensions that may be of limited duration; (3) one or a few individuals present only once, probably transferred in soil on roots, and ultimately unsuccessful. Species- specific calling songs allow sensitive measurement of species' range changes.

A Framework For Linking Population Model Development With Ecological Risk Assessment Objectives, Sandy Raimondo, Matthew Etterson, Nathan Pollesch, Kristina Garber, Andrew Kanarek, Wade Lehmann, Jill Awkerman

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

The value of models that link organism-level impacts to the responses of a population in ecological risk assessments (ERAs) has been demonstrated extensively over the past few decades. There is little debate about the utility of these models to translate multiple organism-level endpoints into a holistic interpretation of effect to the population; however, there continues to be a struggle for actual application of these models as a common practice in ERA. Although general frameworks for developing models for ERA have been proposed, there is limited guidance on when models should be used, in what form, and how to interpret model …

Are The Stock Markets “Rigged”? An Empirical Analysis Of Regulatory Change, Stephen F. Diamond, Jennifer W. Kuan

Faculty Publications

Volatile events in the stock market such as the 2010 Flash Crash have sparked concern that financial markets are “rigged” in favor of trading firms that use high frequency trading (“HFT”) systems. We analyze a regulatory change implemented by the SEC in 2007 by examining its effect on a key market metric, the bid-ask spread, an investor cost, and find that the regulatory shift, indeed, disadvantages investors. We link the implementation of this change to a shift in the volume of trades from a low-cost venue to a high-cost venue. We argue that this outcome is predicted by the incentives …

Use Of An Alternative Natural Weed Suppressant: Effects Of Parboiled Rice Hull Mulch On The Growth Of Container Weeds, Amy R. Fields-Taylor, Vanessa Slinger-Friedman

The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Chattahoochee Nature Center (CNC) is one of the leading educational centers in Georgia about the ecology of the Chattahoochee River. Due to lack of man power, keeping down the weeds in the CNC plant nursery is one of those tasks that often gets left undone. The nursery becomes overgrown with invasive weed species. Understandably, they must sometimes resort to the use of herbicides, such as Roundup®, to keep the hundreds of native and endangered species of plants housed at CNC from being choked out by invasive weeds. This study tests the ability to suppress weed growth by use of …

Carsey Perspectives: Meeting Farmers Where They Are, Increasing Agricultural Sustainability In Malawi Through Business Format Franchising, Ilona Drew, Abraham Demaio, William Maddocks, Fiona Wilson

Carsey Publications

In this perspectives brief, authors Ilona Drew, Abraham DeMaio, Bill Maddocks, and Fiona Wilson discuss a case study that was examined as part of the Social Sector Franchise Initiative (SSFI), a project of the Center for Social Innovation and Enterprise at the University of New Hampshire. This case study profiles Ziweto Enterprises, a social venture in Malawi using franchising methodology to scale its growth. Ziweto’s Agrovet Shops are “one-stop” franchised shops run by recent graduates of veterinary medicine and agricultural colleges that offer diverse veterinary and agricultural products and services. Ziweto’s products and services provide key support to the nation’s …

Behavioral Indicators Of Poor Welfare In Shelter Dogs, Paige M. Adams, Suma Mallavarapu

The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research

We studied behavioral indicators of poor welfare in shelter dogs. Our research question was: How is the welfare of shelter dogs affected by length of stay at a shelter, age, sex, and breed. Data were collected on 18 dogs from October 2016 to March 2017 at a small private shelter in Marietta, GA. Data were collected in 15-minute sessions when the dogs were in their indoor enclosures. No significant differences were found in time spent in abnormal behaviors among dogs that were at the shelter for less than 1 month, 1-6 months, and longer than 6 months, between males and …

Redesigning A Bilateral Grip Strength Device For Assessing Forelimb Function In Rodents, Griffin Kivitz, Spencer Lake Dr.

Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Independent Study

My primary complete accomplishment of the Fall 2017 semester in the Musculoskeletal Soft Tissue Laboratory is the addition of 3 3D printed parts to the grip strength device to improve the precision of the device. To reach the end result of these 3 parts, I 3D-modelled the parts, 3D printed the prototypes, and integrated the parts into the device for testing. Near the end of the semester I had seen this process through, and the grip strength device is now fully functional and the most accurate and precise it has been. Aside from my primary project of the grip strength …

The Merriment Of Christmas, Leah Farish Esq.

College of Arts and Cultural Studies Faculty Research and Scholarship

Better than any greeting card or bright package was the news that Mary received that she was going to bear Jesus, the Savior. Her humble response—“Be it unto me according to Your Word”—is called “the Fiat,” or “may it be so.”

Then she ran off to share the news with her cousin Elizabeth. “Now follows,” says Calvin in his commentary on the gospel of Luke, “a remarkable and interesting song of the holy virgin….”

Lacosamide And Levetiracetam Have No Effect On Sharp-Wave Ripple Rate, Jan Kudlacek, Jan Chvojka, Antonin Posusta, Lubica Kovacova, Seung Bong Hong, Shennan A. Weiss, Md, Phd, Kamila Volna, Petr Marusic, Jakub Otahal, Premysl Jiruska

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

Pathological high-frequency oscillations are a novel marker used to improve the delineation of epileptogenic tissue and, hence, the outcome of epilepsy surgery. Their practical clinical utilization is curtailed by the inability to discriminate them from physiological oscillations due to frequency overlap. Although it is well documented that pathological HFOs are suppressed by antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), the effect of AEDs on normal HFOs is not well known. In this experimental study, we have explored whether physiological HFOs (sharp-wave ripples) of hippocampal origin respond to AED treatment. The results show that application of a single dose of levetiracetam or lacosamide does not …

Higher Education And The Lasallian Mission In An Age Of Inequality, Steven Nawara, Shelley Mccallum-Ferguson, Eoin O'Connell

Political Science Department Faculty Articles

In this paper we propose that institutions like the Schools of the Christian Brothers play an important role as a counterweight to free market inequalities. First we explore the free market mechanism and draw attention to its negative externalities. Then we highlight the resemblance between these negative externalities and the context that inspired Jean Baptiste de La Salle to found the Schools of the Christian Brothers. We show how the Christian Brothers organization is inspired by ideals that are sharply distinct from those that govern a strictly capitalist system. The governing principles of the Schools of the Christian Brothers are …

Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor Mediates Protease-Activated Receptor 4-Induced Bladder Pain Through Urothelial High Mobility Group Box 1, Fei Ma, Dimitrios E. Kouzoukas, Katherine L. Meyer-Siegler, David E. Hunt, Lin Leng, Richard Bucala, Pedro L. Vera

Physiology Faculty Publications

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) mediates pain although the mechanisms are not well understood. Urothelial activation of protease activated receptor 4 (PAR4) results in urothelial MIF release, urothelial high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) release and bladder pain in mice without bladder inflammation. All three effects are prevented by MIF inhibition while intravesical disulfide HMGB1 alone can induce bladder pain. This study utilizes genetic MIF deletion to determine whether MIF mediates PAR4-induced bladder pain and is upstream of HMGB1-induced bladder pain. Wild type (C57/BL6) and MIF knockout (KO) mice were treated with intravesical PAR4 activating peptide or disulfide HMGB1 and …

Quantifying The Burden Of Vampire Bat Rabies In Peruvian Livestock, Julio A. Benavides, Elizabeth Rojas Paniagua, Katie Hampson

KIP Articles

Background: Knowledge of infectious disease burden is necessary to appropriately allocate resources for prevention and control. In Latin America, rabies is among the most important zoonoses for human health and agriculture, but the burden of disease attributed to its main reservoir, the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus), remains uncertain. Methodology/Principal findings: We used questionnaires to quantify under-reporting of livestock deaths across 40 agricultural communities with differing access to health resources and epidemiological histories of vampire bat rabies (VBR) in the regions of Apurimac, Ayacucho and Cusco in southern Peru. Farmers who believed VBR was absent from their communities were one …

"Amyong, Anito At Usag": Patterns Of Health Belief Among Aetas Of Nabuclod Pampanga, Rudolf Cymorr Kirby P. Martinez

General Submissions: Presentations (Oral and Poster)

This study, grounded on focused ethnography, explored the cultural patterns among Aetas of Nabuclod Pampanga specifically zeroing in on those practices that directly and indirectly affect the health of community members. The said community is an adopted community of the institution where the researcher was previously connected thus this study is part of the entry phase of the institution's community organizing. Prior to the data gathering, permission from the community through its elders, barangay official and members were sought. Data, in the form of narratives, were gathered through interviews, story-telling, group discussion, observation, photo-documentation and immersion for the course of …

Large Birds Of Prey, Policies That Alter Food Availability And Air Traffic: A Risky Mix For Human Safety, Rubén Moreno-Opo, Antoni Margalida

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Raptors are considered to pose one of the greatest aviation bird strike risk. We investigated raptor bird strikes reported at the largest Spanish airport (Adolfo Suárez Madrid Barajas; AS-MB) from 2009 to 2016 to determine the factors contributing to the increased incidences and develop recommendations to mitigate the risks. We hypothesized that increased raptor bird strikes resulted from changes in foraging and dispersal patterns of Iberian Peninsula vultures (Aegypius spp. and Gyps spp.) after 2004-2005. We used information on raptor bird strikes obtained from official databases and published studies, reported incidences of raptor bird strikes and their characteristics (i.e., …

Confessions Of A Collaborator: Shoesole And Stewardship Alliance Of Northeast Elko County, Nevada, Robin Boies

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Abstract – The Shoesole Management Team (Shoesole) and the Stewardship Alliance of Northeastern Elko (SANE) are place-based, landowner-organized, natural and human resource conservation initiatives. The Shoesole was organized in 2002 to take a more holistic approach to grazing management issues on two federal livestock grazing allotments. This effort provided the foundation for SANE, which was organized in 2012 by representatives of eight ranches in northeastern Nevada in response to the potential listing of the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse). Shoesole and SANE came together voluntarily, as a rancher organized initiative, with a common goal of creating a better …