Digital Commons Network^™

Blood-Based Biomarkers For Predicting The Risk For Five-Year Incident Coronary Heart Disease In The Framingham Heart Study Via Machine Learning, Meeshanthini V. Dogan, Steven R.H. Beach, Ronald L. Simons, Amaury Lendasse, Brandan Penaluna, Robert A. Philibert

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An Improved Approach for Predicting the Risk for Incident Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) Could Lead to Substantial Improvements in Cardiovascular Health. Previously, We Have Shown that Genetic and Epigenetic Loci Could Predict CHD Status More Sensitively Than Conventional Risk Factors. Herein, We Examine Whether Similar Machine Learning Approaches Could Be Used to Develop a Similar Panel for Predicting Incident CHD. Training and Test Sets Consisted of 1180 and 524 Individuals, respectively. Data Mining Techniques Were Employed to Mine for Predictive Biosignatures in the Training Set. an Ensemble of Random Forest Models Consisting of Four Genetic and Four Epigenetic Loci Was …

Academics: The Newsletter Of The Swosu College Of Arts And Sciences, Peter Grant

aCAdemicS: The Newsletter of the SWOSU College of Arts & Sciences

No abstract provided.

Parents' Experiences Working With Their Adolescent Children On Secondary Mathematics Homework In Relation To Epstein’S Framework Of Involvement: A Phenomenological Study, Rebecca Ann White

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This qualitative study was conducted at a rural school located in southwest Louisiana with an enrollment of 767 students during the Spring of the 2017-18 academic school year (XXXXX School Board, 2018). A descriptive phenomenological research methodology was used to investigate the experiences of parents working with their adolescent children on their secondary mathematics homework. A sample of seven parents participated in this study. The criteria used for a parent to qualify was having an adolescent child taking secondary mathematics courses during the 2017-18 school year. Data were collected using one-on-one interviews with individual participants during the summer of …

Natural Selection In Bats With Historical Exposure To White-Nose Syndrome, Markéta Harazim, Ivan Horáček, Lucie Jakešová

KIP Articles

Hibernation allows animals to survive periods of resource scarcity by reducing their energy expenditure through decreased metabolism. However, hibernators become susceptible to psychrophilic pathogens if they cannot mount an efficient immune response to infection. While Nearctic bats infected with white-nose syndrome (WNS) suffer high mortality, related Palearctic taxa are better able to survive the disease than their Nearctic counterparts. We hypothesised that WNS exerted historical selective pressure in Palearctic bats, resulting in genomic changes that promote infection tolerance.We investigated partial sequences of 23 genes related to water metabolism and skin structure function in nine Palearctic and Nearctic hibernating bat species …

Immortal Melancholia: A Psychoanalytical Study Of Byronic Heroes, Kathryn Frazell

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

This culminating project examines Byronic heroes using psychoanalytic theory across four case studies in media, including classic literature, theater, film, and television. The Byronic hero is a literary archetype inspired by the poet George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824). Typical characteristics include angst, arrogance, cunning intelligence, criminality, desire, passion, dominance, and otherness. The characters I have chosen to study include Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre (1847), the Phantom from the 2004 film The Phantom of the Opera, James Bond from the 2012 film Skyfall, and Damon Salvatore from the hit television series The Vampire Diaries (2009-2017). Through examining the …

The Relationship Between Admission Channels And Medical Students' Performance In Their Third Year, Rui-Jen Chiou, Hei-Yin Ng, Der-Yan Han

Journal of Medical Education

Purpose: The literature shows that medical students who have a low interest in a medical career usually demonstrate problematic learning outcomes. Since 2010, in addition to the traditional exam-based admission, the authorities in Taiwan have provided two new admission channels to a college education: individual applications and the ＂Multi- Stars Recommendation Project.＂ This study attempted to examine whether the Multi- Stars-recommended medical students would have better academic scores, extracurricular participation, devotion to a medical career, and satisfactory time management in their third year of college. Methods: Participants included 147 medical students from a university in northern Taiwan. The collected data …

Engineering Yeast To Evaluate Human Proteins Involved In Selective Rna Packaging During Hiv Particle Production, Ryan M. Bitter

Master's Theses

Despite recent advances in antiretroviral therapy, nearly 37 million people continue to live with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Basic and applied research on the assembly of HIV could be enhanced by using a genetically tractable organism, such as yeast, rather than mammalian cells. While previous studies showed that expression of the HIV Gag polyprotein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae spheroplasts resulted in the production of virus-like particles (VLPs), many questions regarding the utility of yeast in HIV assembly remain uninvestigated. Here, we report use of S. cerevisiae for both the production of VLPs with selectively packaged RNA and to evaluate the human …

Presence Of Antibiotic Resistant Salmonella Spp. In Backyard Poultry And Their Environment, Nicole Land

Master's Theses

As keeping backyard poultry rises, human contact with zoonotic pathogens will increase. One such pathogen that backyard enthusiasts have exposure risks to is Salmonella spp. which may cause a potential public health threat due to its increasing multidrug resistancy. Salmonella spp. were present in 33 of 50 samples collected from 29 sites with backyard poultry coops in San Luis Obispo County during March to May in 2014. Two different Hardy-CHROME™ Salmonella Selective Media plates were used to culture and isolate positive samples of Salmonella spp.. Each positive isolate was tested for antimicrobial sensitivity to 6 standard antibiotics: Ampicillin, Bacitracin, …

Investigating The Effect Of An Upstream Spheroid On Tandem Hydrofoils, Joel Tynan Guerra

Master's Theses

This thesis documents a series of three dimensional unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes CFD simulations used to investigate the influence of an upstream prolate spheroid body on tandem pitching hydrofoils. The model is validated by performing separate CFD simulations on the body and pitching hydrofoils and comparing results to existing experimental data. The simulations were run for a range of Strouhal numbers (0.2-0.5) and phase differences (0-π). Results were compared to identical simulations without an upstream body to determine how the body affects thrust generation and the unsteady flow field.

The combined time-averaged thrust increases with Strouhal number, and is highest …

Il-12 Gene Electrotransfer Triggers A Change In Immune Response Within Mouse Tumors, Guilan Shi, Chelsea Edelblute, Sezgi Arpag, Cathryn Lundberg, Richard Heller

Bioelectrics Publications

Metastatic melanoma is an aggressive skin cancer with a relatively low survival rate. Immune-based therapies have shown promise in the treatment of melanoma, but overall complete response rates are still low. Previous studies have demonstrated the potential of plasmid IL-12 (pIL-12) delivered by gene electrotransfer (GET) to be an effective immunotherapy for melanoma. However, events occurring in the tumor microenvironment following delivery have not been delineated. Therefore, utilizing a B16F10 mouse melanoma model, we evaluated changes in the tumor microenvironment following delivery of pIL-12 using different GET parameters or injection of plasmid alone. The results revealed a unique immune cell …

University Honors Program Newsletters, Honors College, Georgia Southern University

Honors College: News & Publications (2008-2020)

• Congratulations Fall Graduates!
• Carolyn Nixon is Named a Rangel Fellow
• Coffee, Beignets, and Conference Conversations
• Invest in Honors

Recent Updates In Cancer Immunotherapy: A Comprehensive Review And Perspective Of The 2018 China Cancer Immunotherapy Workshop In Beijing, Zihai Li, Wenru Song, Mark Rubinstein, Delong Liu

NYMC Faculty Publications

The immune system is the hard-wired host defense mechanism against pathogens as well as cancer. Five years ago, we pondered the question if the era of cancer immunotherapy was upon us (Li et al., Exp Hem Oncol 2013). Exciting progresses have been made at all fronts since then, including (1) sweeping approval of six agents by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to block the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway for treatment of 13 cancer types; (2) a paradigm shifting indication of PD-1 and CTLA4 blockers for the management of a broad class of cancers with DNA mismatch repair defect, the first-ever …

Inhibition Of Human Dendritic Cell Er Stress Response Reduces T Cell Alloreactivity Yet Spares Donor Anti-Tumor Immunity, Brian C. Betts, Frederick L. Locke, Elizabeth M. Sagatys, Joseph Pidala, Kelly Walton, Meghan Menges, Jordan Reff, Asim Saha, Julie Y. Djeu, Chang Won Kang

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Acute graft- vs. -host disease (GVHD) is an important cause of morbidity and death after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). We identify a new approach to prevent GVHD that impairs monocyte-derived dendritic cell (moDC) alloactivation of T cells, yet preserves graft- vs.-leukemia (GVL). Exceeding endoplasmic reticulum (ER) capacity results in a spliced form of X-box binding protein-1 (XBP-1s). XBP-1s mediates ER stress and inflammatory responses. We demonstrate that siRNA targeting XBP-1 in moDCs abrogates their stimulation of allogeneic T cells. B-I09, an inositol-requiring enzyme-1α (IRE1α) inhibitor that prevents XBP-1 splicing, reduces human moDC migration, allo-stimulatory potency, and curtails moDC IL-1β, …

Delta Radiomic Features Improve Prediction For Lung Cancer Incidence: A Nested Case–Control Analysis Of The National Lung Screening Trial, Dmitry Cherezov, Samuel H. Hawkins, Dmitry B. Goldgof, Lawrence O. Hall, Ying Liu, Qian Li, Yoganand Balagurunathan, Robert J. Gillies, Matthew B. Schabath

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

Background: Current guidelines for lung cancer screening increased a positive scan threshold to a 6 mm longest diameter. We extracted radiomic features from baseline and follow‐up screens and performed size‐specific analyses to predict lung cancer incidence using three nodule size classes (< 6 mm [small], 6‐16 mm [intermediate], and ≥16 mm [large]).

Methods: We extracted 219 features from baseline (T0) nodules and 219 delta features which are the change from T0 to first follow‐up (T1). Nodules were identified for 160 incidence cases diagnosed with lung cancer at T1 or second follow‐up screen (T2) and for 307 nodule‐positive controls that had three consecutive positive screens not diagnosed as lung cancer. The …

Homogenization Of Species Composition And Species Association Networks Are Decoupled, Daijiang Li, Timothée Poisot, Donald M. Waller, Benjamin Baiser

Faculty Publications

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Aim: Ecological communities are composed of both species and the biotic relationships (interactions or spatial associations) among them. Biotic homogenization in species composition (i.e., increased site-to-site similarity) is recognized as a common consequence of global change, but less is known about how the similarity of species relationships changes over space and time. Does homogenization of species composition lead to homogenization of species relationships or are the dynamics of species relationships decoupled from changes in species composition?. Location: Wisconsin, USA. Time period: 1950–2012. Major taxa studied: Vascular plants. Methods: We used long-term resurvey data …

Gauging Support For Macroecological Patterns In Helminth Parasites, Tad A. Dallas, A. Alonso Aguirre, Sarah Budischak, Colin Carlson, Vanessa Ezenwa, Barbara Han, Shan Huang, Patrick R. Stephens

Faculty Publications

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Aim: To explore spatial patterns of helminth parasite diversity, and to investigate three main macroecological patterns – (a) latitude–diversity relationships, (b) positive scaling between parasite and host diversity, and (c) species–area relationships – using a largely underutilized global database of helminth parasite occurrence records. Location: Global. Methods: We examined the London Natural History Museum’s collection of helminth parasite occurrence records, consisting of over 18,000 unique host species and 27,000 unique helminth parasite species distributed across over 350 distinct terrestrial and aquatic localities. Results: We find support for latitudinal gradients in parasite diversity and …

Alternative Polyadenylation Drives Genome-To-Phenome Information Detours In The Ampkα1 And Ampkα2 Knockout Mice, Shuwen Zhang, Yangzi Zhang, Xiang Zhou, Xing Fu, Jennifer J. Michal, Guoli Ji, Min Du, Jon F. Davis, Zhihua Jiang

Faculty Publications

© 2018 The Author(s). Currently available mouse knockout (KO) lines remain largely uncharacterized for genome-to-phenome (G2P) information flows. Here we test our hypothesis that altered myogenesis seen in AMPKα1- and AMPKα2-KO mice is caused by use of alternative polyadenylation sites (APSs). AMPKα1 and AMPKα2 are two α subunits of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which serves as a cellular sensor in regulation of many biological events. A total of 56,483 APSs were derived from gastrocnemius muscles. The differentially expressed APSs (DE-APSs) that were down-regulated tended to be distal. The DE-APSs that were related to reduced and increased muscle mass were …

Towards A Better Understanding Of The Effects Of Praziquantel On The Interaction Between The Helminth Parasite Schistosoma Mansoni And Its Murine Host, Melissa Catherine Sanchez

Biology ETDs

Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) that infects 206 million individuals worldwide. This disease is caused by dioecious trematodes of the genus Schistosoma, and its pathology is associated with the large number of eggs that are released by the female. Entrapped eggs lead to host immune and inflammatory responses resulting in disease progression. Chemotherapy provides the main means of control and praziquantel (PZQ) is the only widely available drug that is used in all mass drug administration (MDA) programs. As the number of individuals receiving PZQ continues to grow, the development of PZQ resistance is a concern and …

Structure-Activity Relationship Of Novel Rgd-Containing Cyclic Peptides Against Αvβ3 Integrin, Aaron Silva

Honors Theses

The αvβ3 integrin, a receptor for many extracellular matrix proteins with the RGD sequence motif, is involved in multiple physiological processes. The integrin is highly expressed on tumor cells, therefore making it a target for cancer therapy and imaging. Efforts have been made to develop an RGD-containing ligand against the αvβ3 integrin.

A series of RGD-containing cyclic octapeptides (LXW analogs) were previously synthesized, tested in vitro, and screened as integrin antagonists with a different binding affinity (Xiao et al., 2010; Wang et al., 2015), but the structure-activity relationship remains to be elucidated. In the current study, the structures of three …

Vertical Transmission Of Zika Virus In Aedes Aegypti And Aedes Albopictus, Stephanie Cantu

Honors Theses

Arboviruses such as Zika (ZIKV), dengue, chikungunya are responsible causing over 4 million people to live with debilitating conditions and may produce long-term health consequences. Zika virus, a newly emerging arbovirus, has potentially severe neurological complications and a potential to cause severe birth defects. There are no current vaccines for Zika virus, and the primary method for control the spread of this disease is through early detection and vector control. Assessing and quantifying viral transmission patterns is critical for successful control efforts. Zika virus shows some unique (among arboviruses) transmission patterns, notably the ability to be sexually transmitted. One aspect …

Flightfit: An Application Enabling Air Travelers To Do Stretches Onboard, Ninglin Jiang

Theses

Currently, with the development of economy and the improvement of people's living standards, more people would prefer traveling by air. However, sitting for extended periods of time on a long flight would be an uncomfortable joyless experience and it may have negative implications for health. A study from the World Health Organisation confirmed that the risk of developing venous thromboembolism (VTE) approximately doubles after travel lasting four hours or more. So carrying out some stretches frequently as well as standing up and moving around as often as possible under permitted conditions would help to improve blood circulation and relieve muscle …

World Integrated Medicine Forum 2017: A Feedback Survey Analysis, Anupriya Chaudhary, Harleen Kaur, Jyoti Sachdeva, Mohua Dutta, Anil Khurana, Robbert Van Haselen, Raj Manchanda

Indian Journal of Research in Homoeopathy

Introduction: The first-of-its-kind World Integrated Medicine Forum (WIMF) on the regulation of homoeopathic medicinal products (HMPs) which was attended by various stakeholders from 23 countries witnessed rigorous discussions to strengthen existing regulatory framework of homoeopathic medicines in the world, as well as to bring harmony within the Homoeopathy market for drug manufacture standards including pharmacopoeial convergence. Materials and Methods: A feedback questionnaire was shared with the participants through SurveyMonkey online platform to seek their opinion about the Forum, obtain their country-specific views about regulations of HMPs, to evaluate the extent to which the Forum could meet its objectives and also …

Along-Shelf Connectivity And Circumpolar Gene Flow In Antarctic Silverfish (Pleuragramma Antarctica), Jilda Alicia Caccavo, Chiara Papetti, Maj Wetjen, Rainer Knust, Julian R. Ashford, Lorenzo Zane

OES Faculty Publications

The Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarctica) is a critically important forage species with a circumpolar distribution and is unique among other notothenioid species for its wholly pelagic life cycle. Previous studies have provided mixed evidence of population structure over regional and circumpolar scales. The aim of the present study was to test the recent population hypothesis for Antarctic silverfish, which emphasizes the interplay between life history and hydrography in shaping connectivity. A total of 1067 individuals were collected over 25 years from different locations on a circumpolar scale. Samples were genotyped at fifteen microsatellites to assess population differentiation and …

A Low-Intensity, Hybrid Design Between A "Traditional" And A "Course-Based" Research Experience Yields Positive Outcomes For Science Undergraduate Freshmen And Shows Potential For Large-Scale Application, Thushani Rodrigo-Peiris, Lin Xiang, Vincent M. Cassone

Biology Faculty Publications

Based on positive student outcomes, providing research experiences from early undergraduate years is recommended for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. To this end, we designed a novel research experience called the “STEMCats Research Experience” (SRE) for a cohort of 119 second-semester freshmen with diverse college preparatory levels, demographics, and academic majors. The SRE targeted student outcomes of enhancing retention in STEM majors, STEM competency development, and STEM academic performance. It was designed as a hybrid of features from apprenticeship-based traditional undergraduate research experience and course-based undergraduate research experience designs, considering five factors: 1) an authentic research experience, 2) …

Sustainable Manufacturing Of Natural Fiber Reinforced Green Composite, Kousaalya Bakthavatchalam

All Dissertations

Amidst growing concerns about environmental sustainability, the renewed push towards adoption of circular economy has increased focus among several manufacturing sectors on using renewable resources and improving process efficiencies. From the materials standpoint, use of bio-based polymers and natural fibers as sustainable reinforcements are increasingly gaining market share. However, conventional processing methods for fiber reinforced composites are usually energy-intensive and often involve long processing times, which may lead to detrimental environmental impacts. In this context, a holistic attainment of sustainability makes it imperative to adapt sustainable practices not only for raw materials but at every stage of the product. Hence, …

Engineering Soft Tissue Replacements And The Development Of Novel Technologies To Heal These Wounds, Sarah Grace Dennis

All Dissertations

The primary focus of tissue engineering is to develop biological substitutes capable of restoring, maintaining, or improving native tissue function. This field advances an exciting array of solutions for organ repair and wound healing. In the United States alone over 6.5 million people are affected by chronic wounds every year, which account for over $25 billion of healthcare expenses. Vascularization and fast anastomosis with the host are essential in engineering cellular constructs that survive once implanted. In the last decade, there has been extensive investigation into fabrication techniques to create tissue replacements that are rapidly perfused post-implantation to address this …

Models For Networks With Consumable Resources: Applications To Smart Cities, Hayato Montezuma Ushijima-Mwesigwa

All Dissertations

In this dissertation, we introduce different models for understanding and controlling the spreading dynamics of a network with a consumable resource. In particular, we consider a spreading process where a resource necessary for transit is partially consumed along the way while being refilled at special nodes on the network. Examples include fuel consumption of vehicles together with refueling stations, information loss during dissemination with error correcting nodes, consumption of ammunition of military troops while moving, and migration of wild animals in a network with a limited number of water-holes. We undertake this study from two different perspectives. First, we consider …

Association Of Drd2 Single Nucleotide Polymorphism And Fescue Toxicosis In Ruminants, Sarah Adams Wilbanks

All Dissertations

Fescue Toxicosis is a prevalent problem in the Southeastern, United States causing an estimated loss of one billion dollars per year to the livestock industry (Roberts & Andrae, 2010). There has been much research aimed at understanding the grass itself, the endophyte and the ergot alkaloids it produces, as well as its relationship and impacts on consuming animals. Many mitigation plans have been established and have been shown to control the amount of alkaloids subsequent animals are ingesting; however, research is at the tipping point of needing a genetic approach to fescue toxicosis. This research looked into the bovine genome …

On Some Environmental Applications Of Stochastic Processes, Liu Zhu

All Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the study of some environmental applications of stochastic processes. In the first Chapter, we study an extreme value time series, where the extremes are derived using the block maxima/minima method. In extreme value analyses, the block maxima/minima are typically assumed to be statistically independent from block to block. However, extreme data arising from applications often present significant correlations. The main result of the chapter is to develop a simple and efficient method to estimate extreme model parameters and compute standard errors for them that account for correlation. More precisely, we develop a likelihood for sequences of …

Ocean Deoxygenation And Zooplankton: Very Small Oxygen Differences Matter, K. F. Wishner, Brad A. Seibel, C. Roman, C. Deutsch, D. Outram, Caroline T. Shaw, Matthew A. Birk, K. A. S. Mislan, T. J. Adams, D. Moore, S. Riley

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs), large midwater regions of very low oxygen, are expected to expand as a result of climate change. While oxygen is known to be important in structuring midwater ecosystems, a precise and mechanistic understanding of the effects of oxygen on zooplankton is lacking. Zooplankton are important components of midwater food webs and biogeochemical cycles. Here, we show that, in the eastern tropical North Pacific OMZ, previously undescribed submesoscale oxygen variability has a direct effect on the distribution of many major zooplankton groups. Despite extraordinary hypoxia tolerance, many zooplankton live near their physiological limits and respond to slight …