Digital Commons Network^™

Medical Literary Messenger (Vol. 5, No. 1, Fall/Winter 2017)

Medical Literary Messenger

Home Visit / Melissa Fournier -- Stiffness / Hannah Shea -- Exile / Lane Falcon -- Good Intentions / Laura Foley -- Resurrection / Les Cohen -- Visits / Craig W. Steele -- That Last Night / Laura Foley -- Taste / Dan Campion -- Bumblebees Don’t Always Sting / Diane M. Parker -- Mental Status Exam / Melissa Fournier -- Dystrophia I / Ashley Purdy -- Muck Out / Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois -- Endoscope / Lane Falcon -- Leftovers / Erynn Porter -- Another Autumn / Deborah Fleming -- Autism / Laura Foley -- Nearly Sunset / Craig W. …

In Defense Of Science—What Would John Do?, Mohamed Gad-El-Hak

Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering Publications

Recent onslaughts on the importance of pure research to our collective well-being are trending. In this essay, I discuss the issues involved and offer a rebuttal. The thoughts are inspired by my mentor, academic sibling, and idol John Leask Lumley.

Predictive Behavior Of A Computational Foot/Ankle Model Through Artificial Neural Networks, Ruchi D. Chande, Rosalyn Hobson Hargraves, Norma Ortiz-Robinson, Jennifer S. Wayne

Biomedical Engineering Publications

Computational models are useful tools to study the biomechanics of human joints. Their predictive performance is heavily dependent on bony anatomy and soft tissue properties. Imaging data provides anatomical requirements while approximate tissue properties are implemented from literature data, when available. We sought to improve the predictive capability of a computational foot/ankle model by optimizing its ligament stiffness inputs using feedforward and radial basis function neural networks. While the former demonstrated better performance than the latter per mean square error, both networks provided reasonable stiffness predictions for implementation into the computational model.

Study Of In Vitro Transcriptional Binding Effects And Noise Using Constitutive Promoters Combined With Up Element Sequences In Escherichia Coli, Qiang Yan, Stephen S. Fong

Chemical and Life Science Engineering Publications

Background

UP elements (upstream element) are DNA sequences upstream of a promoter that interact with the α-subunit of RNA polymerase (RNAP) and can affect transcription by altering the binding RNAP to DNA. However, details of UP element and binding affinity effects on transcriptional strength are unclear.

Results

Here, we investigated the effects of UP element sequences on gene transcription, binding affinity, and gene expression noise. Addition of UP elements resulted in increased gene expression (maximum 95.7-fold increase) and reduced gene expression noise (8.51-fold reduction). Half UP element sequences at the proximal subsite has little effect on transcriptional strength despite increasing …

The Role Of Kinase Fusion Dnajb1-Prkaca In Fibrolamellar Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Yi Guo

Hepatobiliary Cancers: Pathobiology and Translational Advances

No abstract provided.

Regulation Of Biliary Progenitor Cell Proliferation By Hedgehog Signaling In In Vivo And Ex Vivo Organoid Models, Nataliya Razumilava M.D., Junya Shiota M.D., Ramon Ocadiz-Ruiz Ph.D., Nureen Hanisah Mohamad Zaki, Kais Zakharia M.D., Michael Mathew Hayes, Juanita Lynn Merchant M.D., Ph.D.

Hepatobiliary Cancers: Pathobiology and Translational Advances

No abstract provided.

Hepatocyte-Specific Deletion Of Tristetraprolin Family Of Rna Binding Proteins Result In The Development Of Hepatocellular Carcinomas, Sonika Patial

Hepatobiliary Cancers: Pathobiology and Translational Advances

No abstract provided.

Virginia Commonwealth University Courses [2017], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Listing of courses for the 2017-2018 year.

Locomotor Adaptability In Persons With Unilateral Transtibial Amputation, Benjamin J. Darter, Amy J. Bastian, Erik J. Wolf, Elizabeth M. Husson, Bethany A. Labrecque, Brad D. Hendershot

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Publications

Background

Locomotor adaptation enables walkers to modify strategies when faced with challenging walking conditions. While a variety of neurological injuries can impair locomotor adaptability, the effect of a lower extremity amputation on adaptability is poorly understood.

Objective

Determine if locomotor adaptability is impaired in persons with unilateral transtibial amputation (TTA).

Methods

The locomotor adaptability of 10 persons with a TTA and 8 persons without an amputation was tested while walking on a split-belt treadmill with the parallel belts running at the same (tied) or different (split) speeds. In the split condition, participants walked for 15 minutes with the respective belts …

A Mathematical System For Human Implantable Wound Model Studies, Salomonsky Paul-Michael, Rebecca Segal

Mathematics and Applied Mathematics Publications

In this work, we present a mathematical model, which accounts for two fundamental processes involved in the repair of an acute dermal wound. These processes include the inflammatory response and fibroplasia. Our system describes each of these events through the time evolution of four primary species or variables. These include the density of initial damage, inflammatory cells, fibroblasts and deposition of new collagen matrix. Since it is difficult to populate the equations of our model with coefficients that have been empirically derived, we fit these constants by carrying out a large number of simulations until there is reasonable agreement between …

Chronic Health Conditions As A Risk Factor For Falls Among The Community-Dwelling Us Older Adults: A Zero-Inflated Regression Modeling Approach, Yoshita Paliwal, Patricia W. Slattum, Scott M. Ratliff

Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science Publications

Falls are an important health concern among older adults due to age-related changes in the body. Having a medical history of chronic health condition may pose even higher risk of falling. Only few studies have assessed a number of chronic health conditions as risk factor for falls over a large nationally representative sample of US older adults. In this study, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2014 participants aged 65 years and older (n = 159,336) were evaluated. It was found that 29.7% (n = 44,550) of the sample experienced at least one fall and 16.3% (n = 20,444) …

Florida State Law Alumni Magazine (2017), Florida State University College Of Law Office Of Development And Alumni Affairs

Alumni Newsletter & FSU Law Magazine

No abstract provided.

Effect Of A 12-Week Summer Break On School Day Physical Activity And Health-Related Fitness In Low-Income Children From Cspap Schools, You Fu, Timothy A. Brusseau, James C. Hannon, Ryan D. Burns

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a 12-week summer break on school day physical activity and health-related fitness (HRF) in children from schools receiving a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP). Methods. Participants were school-aged children (; 624 girls and 608 boys; years) recruited from three low-income schools receiving a CSPAP. Physical activity and HRF levels were collected during the end of spring semester 2015 and again during the beginning of fall semester 2015. Physical activity was assessed using the Yamax DigiWalker CW600 pedometer. HRF measures consisted of body mass index (BMI) and the …

Now Or Never: The Urgent Need For Action Against Unfair Coverage Denials For Quality Health Care, Stacey L. Worthy, Daniel C. Mcclughen, Shruti Kulkarni

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Money Norms, Julia Y. Lee

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

Money norms present a fundamental contradiction. Norms embody the social sphere, a system of internalized values, unwritten rules, and shared expectations that informally govern human behavior. Money, on the other hand, evokes the economic sphere of markets, prices, and incentives. Existing legal scholarship keeps the two spheres distinct. Money is assumed to operate as a medium of exchange or as a tool for altering the payoffs of different actions. When used to make good behavior less costly and undesirable behavior more costly, money functions to incentivize, sanction, and deter. Although a rich literature on the expressive function of law exists, …

A Qualitative Analysis Of Counseling Students' Thoughts, Attitudes, And Beliefs About Addition Counseling And Treatment, Christine Chasek, Douglas R. Tillman, David D. Hof, Julie A. Dinsmore, Thomas Maxson

Counseling Faculty Publications

An estimated 21.7 million people need treatment for their substance use problem. As barriers to treatment are removed with health care reform, this number will continue to grow. Simultaneous to this need for treatment, a workforce crisis is occurring in the addiction counseling field due to high turnover rates, an aging workforce, worker shortages, and lingering stigma about substance abuse. Given this climate, counselor education programs are challenged to develop programs that adequately train future counselors to address the unique needs of clients who are struggling with addiction and to better understand how students construct their knowledge regarding addictions and …

Agricultural Vinegar As A Growth Control Agent For Both Glyphosate Susceptible (Gs) Amaranthus Palmeri And Glyphosate Resistant (Gr) Amaranthus Palmeri, Frank Garcia, Yolander Youngblood

Pursue: Undergraduate Research Journal

Background: Annually farmers in the United States suffer crop losses due to the invasive weed, Amaranthus palmeri. The two major reasons for the losses are: the rapid reproduction and adaptability of this aggressive species. The dioecious Amaranthus has adapted so rapidly that some populations of Amaranthus are resistant to the traditional glyphosate herbicides. Glyphosate was introduced as an herbicide and was considered unlikely to cause resistant populations of plant species. The mechanism of action, lack of metabolic degradation in plants or residual activity in the soil made it a very popular herbicide hoice. Over time glyphosate resistant (GR) Amaranthus palmeri …

Assessment Of Keratitis Damage In An Age Dependent Mouse Model Using Analytical Software, Quincy C. Moore Iii, Emmanuel B. Olorunyomi, Miles E. Dubose, Cleveland O. Lane Jr

Pursue: Undergraduate Research Journal

Background: Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is a grampositive bacterium that is responsible for diseases such as, otitis media, conjunctivitis, bacterial keratitis, pneumonia, and meningitis. Bacterial keratitis is one of the most common after-effects of trauma to the eye. Some reports have shown the S. pneumoniae spreads through enzymes that are produced to digest the cornea, which in turn can causes blindness. There is a need for more improved measures that can reverse the detrimental effects of the bacteria. The long-term goal of this research is to better understand the complete role of S. pneumoniae and its components in bacterial keratitis to …

Gaming The Comic Book: Turning The Page On How Comics And Videogames Intersect As Interactive, Digital Experiences, Joseph Austin Thurmond

MA in English Theses

Little attention has been given to how digital technologies have impacted the comic medium. Despite the astronomical impact this shift has had on all sorts of traditional media, it is common to believe that digital comics are simply electronic versions of print comics, but the implementation of audio, animation, three-dimensional effects, and interactivity with other kinds of digital comics reveal that they are hardly so simple. Analyzing and classifying them is essential for English studies, comics studies, and even game studies. Digital comics are a hybridized medium that challenge the essence and existing definitions of comics with disparate instances and …

Nfatc3 And Vip In Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis And Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, A. M. Szema, E. Forsyth, B. Ying, S. A. Hamidi, J. J. Chen, S. Hwang, J. C. Li, D. S. Dwyer, J. M. Ramiro-Diaz, L. V. Gonzalez Bosc, +1 Additional Author

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Chapter 4 - Adaptive Strategies, Janice M. Glime

Bryophyte Ecology Volume 1: Physiological Ecology

Explore the contents of Bryophyte Ecology, Volume 1, Chapter 4 - Adaptive Strategies by clicking the links above. For the Contents section of this ebook, as well as Volumes 1 through 5, please visit the Bryophyte Ecology Main Page.

Use CTRL+F to easily search within PDF files.

Ebook sponsored by Michigan Technological University and the International Association of Bryologists.

A Kcnc3 Mutation Causes A Neurodevelopmental Non-Progressive Sca13 Subtype Associated With Dominant Negative Effects And Aberrant Egfr Trafficking, Swati Khare, Jerelyn A. Nick, Yalan Zhang, Kira Galeano, Brittany Butler, Habibeh Khoshbouei, Sruti Rayaprolu, Tyisha Hathorn, Laura P. Ranum, Lisa Smithson, Todd E. Golde, Martin Paucar, Richard Morse, Michael Raff, Julie Simon, Magnus Nordenskjold, Karin Wirdefeldt, Diego E. Rincon-Limas, Michael F. Waters, Et Al.

Neurology

The autosomal dominant spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) are a diverse group of neurological disorders anchored by the phenotypes of motor incoordination and cerebellar atrophy. Disease heterogeneity is appreciated through varying comorbidities: dysarthria, dysphagia, oculomotor and/or retinal abnormalities, motor neuron pathology, epilepsy, cognitive impairment, autonomic dysfunction, and psychiatric manifestations. Our study focuses on SCA13, which is caused by several allelic variants in the voltage-gated potassium channel KCNC3 (Kv3.3). We detail the clinical phenotype of four SCA13 kindreds that confirm causation of the KCNC3R423H allele. The heralding features demonstrate congenital onset with non-progressive, neurodevelopmental cerebellar hypoplasia and lifetime improvement in motor and cognitive …

Proteolysis-Dependent Remodeling Of The Tubulin Homolog Ftsz At The Division Septum In Escherichia Coli, Marissa G. Viola, Christopher J. Labreck, Joseph Conti, Jodi L. Camberg

Cell and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications

During bacterial cell division a dynamic protein structure called the Z-ring assembles at the septum. The major protein in the Z-ring in Escherichia coli is FtsZ, a tubulin homolog that polymerizes with GTP. FtsZ is degraded by the two-component ATP-dependent protease ClpXP. Two regions of FtsZ, located outside of the polymerization domain in the unstructured linker and at the C-terminus, are important for specific recognition and degradation by ClpXP. We engineered a synthetic substrate containing green fluorescent protein (Gfp) fused to an extended FtsZ C-terminal tail (residues 317–383), including the unstructured linker and the C-terminal conserved region, but not the …

Composition And Function Of Mutant Swi/Snf Complexes, Arnob Dutta, Mihaela Sardiu, Madelaine Gogol, Joshua Gilmore, Daoyong Zhang, Laurence Florens, Susan M. Abmayr, Michael P. Washburn, Jerry L. Workman

Cell and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications

See PDF for graphical abstract.

Selectable Marker Independent Transformation Of Recalcitrant Maize Inbred B73 And Sorghum P898012 Mediated By Morphogenic Regulators Baby Boom And Wuschel2, Muruganatham Mookkan, Kimberly Nelson-Vasilchik, Joel Hague, Zhanyuan J. Zhang, Albert P. Kausch

Cell and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications

The use of morphogenic regulators to overcome barriers in plant transformation is a revolutionary breakthrough for basic plant science and crop applications. Current standard plant transformation systems are bottlenecks for genetic, genomic, and crop improvement studies. We investigated the differential use of co-expression of maize transcription factors BABY BOOM and WUSCHEL2 coupled with a desiccation inducible CRE/lox excision system to enable regeneration of stable transgenic recalcitrant maize inbred B73 and sorghum P898012 without a chemical selectable marker. The PHP78891 expression cassette contains CRE driven by the drought inducible maize RAB17_M promoter with lox P sites which bracket …

Irritating Byssus – Etymological Problems, Material Facts, And The Impact Of Mass Media, Felicitas Maeder

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

Byssus and sea-silk made of the fibre beard of the Pinna nobilis – zoologically called byssus – have both become subjects of scholarly interest in the last decade. The subject is discussed not only in scientific books and journals, but also in mass media around the world. Although scientific research has clarified some old misunderstandings, the double meaning of the term byssus has created new doubts and scepticism in the scholarly debate, bearing the danger of new, additional erroneous interpretations. This article recapitulates the present state of knowledge and calls attention to the consequences of assumed ‘old/new knowledge’ entering the …

Fda-Required Tobacco Product Inserts & Onserts – And The First Amendment, Eric N. Lindblom, Micah L. Berman, James F. Thrasher

O'Neill Institute Papers

In 2012, a federal court of appeals struck down an FDA rule requiring graphic health warnings on cigarettes as violating First Amendment commercial speech protections. Tobacco product inserts and onserts can more readily avoid First Amendment constraints while delivering more extensive information to tobacco users, and can work effectively to support and encourage smoking cessation. This paper examines FDA’s authority to require effective inserts and onserts and shows how FDA could design and support them to avoid First Amendment problems. Through this process, the paper offers helpful insights regarding how key Tobacco Control Act provisions can and should be interpreted …

Innocent Until Born: Why Prisons Should Stop Shackling Pregnant Women To Protect The Child, Melanie Kalmanson

Florida State University Law Review

The practice of American prisons to shackle and otherwise restrain incarcerated, preg-nant women is problematic for several reasons. Such practices include shackling, chaining, and handcuffing pregnant inmates during their third trimester, transportation to and from medical facilities, labor and delivery, and postpartum recovery. Current discourse on this topic focuses primarily on how these practices invade the woman’s civil liberties, particularly the Eighth Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment, and international human rights. Recent case law vindicates policy rationales for such practices—safety of others, safety of the woman herself, and securing flight risks.

These discussions overlook and this Note confronts …

Landscape Features Affecting Northern Bobwhite Predator-Specific Nest Failures In Southeastern Usa, Susan Ellis-Felege, Shannon E. Albeke, Nathan P. Nibbelink, Michael J. Conroy, D. Clay Sisson, William E. Palmer, John P. Carroll

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Nest predation is a critical component in avian productivity and typically is the leading cause of nest failure for most birds. Several landscape features are thought to drive the behavioral interaction between northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; e.g., nest placement) and their predators (e.g., search methods for food acquisition). In order to understand habitat characteristics influencing predation, we studied bobwhite nests using 24-hour near-infrared video cameras. We monitored 675 bobwhite nests with cameras on 3 properties in northern Florida and southern Georgia, USA, during 2000–2006. To test the association between nest failures and specific failure causes with landscape structure, we calculated …

A New Species Of Cyperus Section Incurvi (Cyperaceae) From Venezuela, Gordon Tucker

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Cyperus fedoniae is described as a new species. It is known from a single collection from the lowlands of southern Venezuela. It is a member of section Incurvi. It is related to C. dichromeniformis and C. inops, from which it can be distinguished by its smaller size and features of spikelets and achenes. A distinctive feature is the arching culms which take root at the base of the spikelets.Cyperus fedoniae es descrito como una nueva especie. Se conoce de una sola muestra de las tierras bajas del sur de Venezuela. Es un miembro de la secci.n Incurvi. Est. relacionada con …