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Functional Analysis Of Short Linear Motifs In The Plant Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor Siamese, Narender Kumar, Renee Dale, Daniel Kemboi, Elizabeth A. Zeringue, Naohiro Kato, John C. Larkin

Faculty Publications

© 2018 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved. Endoreplication, a modified cell cycle in which DNA is replicated without subsequent cell division, plays an important but poorly understood role in plant growth and in plant responses to biotic and abiotic stress. The Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) SIAMESE (SIM) gene encodes the first identified member of the SIAMESE-RELATED (SMR) family of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors. SIM controls endoreplication during trichome development, and sim mutant trichomes divide several times instead of endoreplicating their DNA. The SMR family is defined by several short linear amino acid sequence motifs of largely unknown function, and …

Designing Agricultural Economics And Agribusiness Undergraduate Programs, Jeffrey M. Gillespie, Maria Bampasidou

Faculty Publications

© 2018 The Author(s). This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence. Agricultural economics and agribusiness (AEAB) programs offer their graduates unique exposure to agricultural markets, policy, and production systems, which differentiates them from business programs. Despite the advantages associated with AEAB degrees, a significant challenge universities and AEAB graduates face is a general lack of recognition of what agricultural economics is and what an agricultural economist does. Using data collected from U.S. 1862 and 1890 land grant universities, we stress the importance of designing effective AEAB curricula based on enrollment trends, …

Mitochondrial Unfolded Protein Response Gene Clpp Is Required To Maintain Ovarian Follicular Reserve During Aging, For Oocyte Competence, And Development Of Pre-Implantation Embryos, Tianren Wang, Elnur Babayev, Zongliang Jiang, Guangxin Li, Man Zhang, Ecem Esencan, Tamas Horvath, Emre Seli

Faculty Publications

© 2018 The Authors. Aging Cell published by the Anatomical Society and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Caseinolytic peptidase P mediates degradation of unfolded mitochondrial proteins and activates mitochondrial unfolded protein response (mtUPR) to maintain protein homeostasis. Clpp −/− female mice generate a lower number of mature oocytes and two-cell embryos, and no blastocysts. Clpp −/− oocytes have smaller mitochondria, with lower aspect ratio (length/width), and decreased expression of genes that promote fusion. A 4-fold increase in atretic follicles at 3 months, and reduced number of primordial follicles at 6–12 months are observed in Clpp −/− ovaries. This is associated …

Exploring Interspecific Interactions Of Reniform Nematode (Rotylenchulus Reniformis) And Host Roots, Nathan Wayne Redding

All Dissertations

The semi-endoparastic reniform nematode (Rotylenchulus reniformis) infects over 300 plant species. Females penetrate host roots and induce formation of complex, multinucleate feeding sites called syncytia. While anatomical changes associated with syncytia morphology are well documented, little is known about their molecular basis or the local impact on root development. Using a soybean (Glycine max) split-root system across a twelve-day time course, we identified over 6,000 genes that were differentially expressed between inoculated and control roots (FDR = 0.01, |log2FC| ≥ 1) and 507 gene sets that were significantly enriched or depleted in inoculated roots (FDR = …

Physiological And Environmental Impacts Of Nanomaterials-Biomolecular Coronae, Achyut J. Raghavendra

All Dissertations

Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) exhibit unique electronic and optical properties, which are suitable for the broad spectrum of applications including biomedical, aerospace, textiles, agriculture. Such unique properties of ENMs also raise significant concerns over their adverse ecological and physiological effects. In the past two decades, ENMs were found to exhibit complex interactions in biological milieu. It is expected that physicochemical properties of ENMs and their surrounding environment influence their environmental and physiological fate and transport. Indeed, a comprehensive understanding of interactions at the nano-bio interface is critical to designing environmentally and physiologically benign ENMs pivotal to the future growth of nanomedicine …

A Promising Novel Method Targeting Prosthetic Joint Infections, Shanice Otieno

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Approximately 1-2% of patients have complications due to bacterial infection. Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are the three bacteria responsible for approximately 75% of biofilm-related infections. These three microorganisms can adhere to stainless steel and orthopedic screws. Biofilms are produced by an accumulation of bacteria which can attach to a surface, accumulate and form an extracellular polymeric substance.

Green tea extracts from plant Camellia sinensis have long been studied for their antimicrobial effect on gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Polyphenols found in green tea, specifically epigallocatechin-gallate (EGCG), are the most important component in targeting biofilm. However, this compound can …

Evidence-Based Medicine, Media, And Manipulation., Jens R Chapman, Karsten Wiechert, Jeffrey C Wang

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

No abstract provided.

Battery-Free Eye Tracker On Glasses, Tianxing Li, Xia Zhou

Computer Science Technical Reports

This paper presents a battery-free wearable eye tracker that achieves sub-millimeter tracking accuracy at high tracking rates. It tracks both the 2D position and diameter of pupil based on pupil's light absorption property. With a few near-infrared (NIR) lights and photodiodes around the eye, NIR lights sequentially illuminate the eye from various directions while photodiodes sense spatial patterns of reflected light, which are used to infer pupil's position and diameter on the fly via a lightweight inference algorithm. The system also exploits characteristics of different eye movement stages and adjusts its sensing and computation accordingly for further energy savings. A …

Essential Market Squid (Doryteuthis Opalescens) Embryo Habitat: A Baseline For Anticipated Ocean Climate Change., Navarro, P.E. Parnell, L.A. Levin

Faculty, Staff, and Students

The market squid Doryteuthis opalescens deposits embryo capsules onto the continental shelf from Baja Californiato southern Alaska, yet little is known about the environment of embryo habitat. This study provides a baseline of environmental data and insights on factors underlying site selection for embryo deposition off southern California, and defines current essential embryo habitat using (1) remotely operated vehicle–supported surveys of benthos and environmental variables, (2) SCUBA surveys, and (3) bottom measurements of T, S, pH, and O2. Here, embryo habitat is defined using embryo capsule density, capsule bed area, consistent bed footprint, and association with [O2] and pH (pCO2) …

Reporting The Impact Of Student Centered Learning (Scl): Interactive Learning Experience Base On Small-Scale Study In Undergraduate Business Classes., Safaa Shaaban

Business Administration

This paper presents an examination of the student response to a small-scale experiment in Student Centred Learning (SCL) in undergraduate business classes. This experiment tests the benefits and the impact of Student Centred Learning approach. Also, this approach will help to discover and identify students at risk. This experiment examined the twelve principles of SCL in the Faculty of Business Administration, Economics & Political Science (BAEPS) as a part of teaching and learning strategy and action plans. Feedback was collected from three student groups undertaking different modules at three levels within the Business Department. Each module applied SCL for the …

Environmental Education In Urban Green Space: Understanding Educator Practice, Jennifer Klein

Educational Studies Dissertations

Over the past 10 years, urban ecosystems have gained attention and interest among environmental education scholars and practitioners alike. This is thought to be due to increased awareness of the growing human population, the percentage of land across the world now classified as urban, and an overall understanding that urban systems are unique ecological systems worthy of their own approach to environmental education programming. To date, much urban environmental education in urban systems has focused on program participant outcomes—social, emotional, and academic.

This mixed-methods study introduces a middle-range framework through which to understand the instructional practice of environmental educators who …

Ancylostoma Ceylanicum Hookworm In Myanmar Refugees, Thailand, 2012–2015, Elise M. O'Connell, Tarissa Mitchell, Marina Papaiakovou, Nils Pilotte, Deborah Lee, Michelle Weinberg, Potsawin Sakulrak, Dilok Tongsukh, Georgiette Oduro-Boateng, Sarah Harrison, Steven A. Williams, William M. Stauffer, Thomas B. Nutman

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

During 2012–2015, US-bound refugees living in Myanmar– Thailand border camps (n = 1,839) were surveyed for hookworm infection and treatment response by using quantitative PCR. Samples were collected at 3 time points: after each of 2 treatments with albendazole and after resettlement in the United States. Baseline prevalence of Necator americanus hookworm was 25.4%, Ancylostoma duodenale 0%, and Ancylostoma ceylanicum (a zoonosis) 5.4%. Compared with N. americanus prevalence, A. ceylanicum hookworm prevalence peaked in younger age groups, and blood eosinophil concentrations during A. ceylanicum infection were higher than those for N. americanus infection. Female sex was associated with a lower …

Twisted Tales: Insights Into Genome Diversity Of Ciliates Using Single-Cell ‘Omics, Maurer-Alcala X. Xyrus X. Maurer-Alcala, Ying Yan, Olivia A. Pilling, Rob Knight, Laura A. Katz

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The emergence of robust single-cell ‘omics techniques enables studies of uncultivable species, allowing for the (re)discovery of diverse genomic features. In this study, we combine single-cell genomics and transcriptomics to explore genome evolution in ciliates (a > 1 Gy old clade). Analysis of the data resulting from these single-cell ‘omics approaches show: 1) the description of the ciliates in the class Karyorelictea as “primitive”is inaccurate because their somatic macronuclei contain loci of varying copy number (i.e., they have been processed by genome rearrangements from the zygotic nucleus); 2) gene-sized somatic chromosomes exist in the class Litostomatea, consistent with Balbiani’s (1890) observation …

Exploring An Outdoor Experiential And Pyd Program's Influence On Youth In A Residential And Day Treatment Program, Rebecca Durbahn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the process and examines the outcomes of youth participating in a positive youth development adventure-based intervention Challenge By Choice (CBC) with outcomes of youth receiving treatment as usual in a residential and day treatment program. This dissertation aims to build on the growing body of literature on outcomes associated with PYD theoretical models and AET approaches. Specifically, the proposed dissertation asks: Is there a difference in externalizing behavioral outcomes for youth who participate in CBC as compared to peers of similar age/behavioral baseline who receive only treatment as usual?

To answer this research question, a mixed methods …

Correlation Between Folic Acid And Homocysteine Plasma In Severe Pre-Eclampsia And Normal Pregnancy, Inke Malahayati, Joserizal Serudji, Delmi Sulastri

Makara Journal of Health Research

Background: Lack of folic acid intake or genetic abnormalities in folic acid metabolism was correlates with elevated plasma or serum homocysteine concentrations. This case-control analytical study aims to determine the correlation between folic acid and homocysteine levels in severe pre-eclampsia and normal pregnancy. Methods: We enrolled 46 pregnant women (age 20─35 years) with severe pre-eclampsia or normal pregnancy at a government hospital in Padang, Indonesia, between March and May 2015. The samples size was selected by consecutive sampling. Then, we determined folic acid and homocysteine levels using ELISA and statistical analysis using the independent t-test and Pearson correlation. Results: We …

Improved Skin Wound Healing Activity Of Insulin Cream As Evidenced From The Morphological Evaluation In Guinea Pigs, Nur-Aliana H. Mohamed, Rafidah H. Mokhtar, Imad M. Al-Ani, Azizi Ayob, Misni Misran

Makara Journal of Health Research

Background: There is no histological study evaluating the effects of insulin-containing cream on skin injury. The goal of this study was to examine the effects of insulin-containing creams on wound healing. Methods: Creams consisting of nine parts of oil and one part of aqueous phase (9:1) mixed with 1.5 mL human insulin were prepared. Eighteen male guinea pigs were divided into three groups; the control (9:1 C) group received cream without insulin. The experimental groups received Humulin N (9:1 N) and Humulin R (9:1 R) respectively. A 1 cm2 wound of 1-2 cm thickness was created in the skin. Each …

Efficacy Of Essential Oil Strips Containing Thymol, Eucalyptol, Menthol, Methyl Salicylate, And Peppermint Against Dental Caries, Anton Rahardjo, Dira Gemiani, Sri A. Soekanto

Makara Journal of Health Research

Background: Strips containing essential oils are commonly used as an alternative treatment for dental caries prevention. However, their efficacy is unknown. This study aimed to test the efficacy of oral strips containing essential oils on caries prevention. Methods: This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study with 15 subjects divided into two groups: A and B. In the first week, group A (N = 8) was given strips containing thymol, eucalyptol, menthol, methyl salicylate, and peppermint (TEMMP) three times in 24 hours while group B (N = 7) was given placebo strips. In the second week, after a one-week washout …

Shifting Patterns Of Limb Strength Among Plains Village Horticulturalists: A Critical Examination Of The Use Of Cross-Sectional Geometry To Understand Cultural Change, Ryan Michael Campbell

Dissertations

This dissertation presents the results of a comparison of human skeletons from two historic villages (the Larson site, 39WW2, and the Leavenworth site, 39CO9), which were inhabited by Great Plains Village Horticulturalists following the arrival of Europeans and Americans. The people living at these villages are suspected to have experienced changes to their cultural practices, with Larson occupied during the beginning of the Post-Contact period and Leavenworth occupied just before the complete abandonment of the Plains Village lifeway. This study examines whether observed differences in the strength of the bones of their limbs resulted from different activities performed at each …

The Rational Design, Synthesis, Characterization, And Biological Evaluation Of Cancer-Targeting Immunostimulatory Peptide-Protein Conjugates And Tripeptides, Keith Smith

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

With the advent of cancer immunotherapy and the rise in applications of synthetic biologics, there has been a steady decline in the incidence of cancer. Despite this trend, there is an anticipated 1.7 million new cancer cases with an estimated 610,000 deaths expected by the end of 2018.2 Therefore, the call for continued efforts in creating more effective treatment options are still in high demand. In this thesis, the rational design of a semi-synthetic cancer-targeting immunostimulatory peptide-protein bioconjugate—using N-succinimidyl carbamate chemistry is described. This bio-orthogonal chemistry approach was used to conjugate the synthetic Pep42, cancer-targeting peptide (CTP) and the immunostimulatory …

Stressors And Their Association With Symptoms Of Depression, Anxiety And Stress In Dental Students, Ali S. Radeef, Ghasak G. Faisal

Makara Journal of Health Research

Background: Dental students are exposed to varying levels of stress that may affect their mental and physical health, academic performance and quality of life. This study aim was to determine the prevalence and severity of depression, anxiety and stress (DAS), and the relationships between DAS symptoms and stressors. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 257 dental students at the International Islamic University Malaysia. The prevalence and severity of DAS symptoms was measured by the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS-21). The stressors were self-reported by students from a list, and the relationships with the DAS symptoms were assessed. Results: The overall prevalence …

14-3-3 Protein Rad24 And Its Effect On Mid1 Localization And Contractile Acto- Myosin Ring Assembly During Cytokinesis In S. Pombe, Anissa P. Grawe

Masters Theses

In animal and yeast cells, cell division (cytokinesis) is facilitated by the formation of a contractile acto-myosin ring (CAR). Proper CAR formation and constriction is heavily reliant on the temporal regulation, phosphorylation, and localization of key proteins. In the fission yeast S. pombe, Mid1 is an important dimeric CAR scaffolding protein that connects the contractile apparatus to the plasma membrane at the right place and time during cytokinesis. Mid1 is confined to both the nucleus and protein assemblies called nodes during interphase, and transitions to the cell cortex at mitotic entry as nodes mature and coalesce into the CAR. Rad24 …

The Effects Of Fluopyram On Macrophomina Phaseolina And Charcoal Rot Of Soybean, Annie Caroline Padgett

Theses

Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid., is a soilborne fungus that causes charcoal rot in over 500 plant species including Zea mays L. and Glycine max (L.) Merr. The pathogen is present in most soybean growing regions of the United States. Infection in soybean can occur after emergence and throughout the vegetative growth stages in a range of environmental conditions. The syndrome is manifest during periods of hot and dry conditions during the reproductive states of the crop. Management options are lacking and consist of avoidance and irrigating crops to lessen the damage caused by the pathogen. Fluopyram is a succinate dehydrogenase …

Shipboard Design And Fabrication Of Custom 3d-Printed Soft Robotic Manipulators For The Investigation Of Delicate Deep-Sea Organisms, Daniel M. Vogt, Kaitlyn P. Becker, Brennan Phillips, Moritz A. Graule, Randi D. Rotjan, Timothy M. Shank, Erik E. Cordes, Robert J. Wood, David F. Gruber

Ocean Engineering Faculty Publications

Soft robotics is an emerging technology that has shown considerable promise in deep-sea marine biological applications. It is particularly useful in facilitating delicate interactions with fragile marine organisms. This study describes the shipboard design, 3D printing and integration of custom soft robotic manipulators for investigating and interacting with deep-sea organisms. Soft robotics manipulators were tested down to 2224m via a Remotely-Operated Vehicle (ROV) in the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) and facilitated the study of a diverse suite of soft-bodied and fragile marine life. Instantaneous feedback from the ROV pilots and biologists allowed for rapid re-design, such as adding “fingernails”, …

Can The Marsh Migrate? Factors Influencing The Growth Of Spartina Patens In Upland Soil, Tessa M. Dowling

All Theses And Dissertations

Although high elevation salt marsh plants, such as Spartina patens (salt hay) can cope with accelerated sea level rise by migrating inland, it is not well known whether environmental factors, such as soil, plant litter, and salinity, will influence the ability of S. patens to colonize upland forest areas. For one growing season, I tested how S. patens vegetative growth (the final number of stems, aboveground stem biomass, and belowground rhizome biomass) and reproduction (presence of flowers) responded to upland or marsh soil, the presence or absence of plant litter, and 4.5ppt or 14.5ppt salinity levels. In order to determine …

Changes In Hypertension-Related Knowledge And Behavior And Their Associations With Socioeconomic Status Among Recently Urbanized Residents In China: 2013–2016, Wenjie Zhang, Hongdao Meng, Shujuan Yang, Honglin Luo, Danping Liu

Aging Studies Faculty Publications

The rapid urbanization in China has brought with it some health benefits, but it also brought about a negative influence on the lifestyle of residents. We conducted this study to assess the change in hypertension-related knowledge and behavior from 2013 to 2016 among recently urbanized residents and determine their association with socioeconomic status (SES). This research used data from two cross-sectional studies conducted in Hezuo community in Chengdu, Sichuan province of China. A total of 2268 and 2601 individuals, respectively, participated and completed standard questionnaires. According to the results, the median (IQR) scores of health knowledge was 1 (0,3) and …

Exploration Of Antimicrobial Activity In Natural Peptides And High-Throughput Discovery Of Synthetic Peptides, Emma Kay Dallon

Theses and Dissertations

Despite many medical advances, antibiotic resistant bacteria increasingly plague the modern world, necessitating discovery of new antibiotics. One area of nature that can provide inspiration for antibiotics is antimicrobial peptides. Many of these peptides exist in nature, with some classes that have not been studied or characterized well. One such class is the defensin-like peptides generated by the plant Medicago truncatula as part of their symbiotic relationship with Sinorhizobium meliloti. Nodule-specific Cysteine Rich (NCR) peptides are defined by the presence of multiple cysteines, and regulate the growth of S. meliloti within plant cells. While some of these NCR peptides have …

The 6xabre Synthetic Promoter Enables The Spatiotemporal Analysis Of Aba-Mediated Transcriptional Regulation, Rui Wu, Lina Duan, José L. Pruneda-Paz, Dong Ha Oh, Michael Pound, Steve Kay, José R. Dinneny

Faculty Publications

© 2018 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved. The water stress-associated hormone abscisic acid (ABA) acts through a well-defined signal transduction cascade to mediate downstream transcriptional events important for acclimation to stress. Although ABA signaling is known to function in specific tissues to regulate root growth, little is understood regarding the spatial pattern of ABA-mediated transcriptional regulation. Here, we describe the construction and evaluation of an ABSCISIC ACID RESPONSIVE ELEMENT (ABRE)-based synthetic promoter reporter that reveals the transcriptional response of tissues to different levels of exogenous ABA and stresses. Genome-scale yeast one-hybrid screens complemented these approaches and revealed …

Effect Of Dietary Salt Intake On Epithelial Na+ Channels (Enacs) In The Hypothalamus Of Dahl Salt-Sensitive Rats, Natalie J. Mills, Kaustubh Sharma, Katie Huang, Ryoichi Teruyama

Faculty Publications

© 2018 The Authors. Physiological Reports published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Physiological Society and the American Physiological Society. All three epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC) subunits (α, β, and γ) and the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), a known regulator of ENaC, are located in vasopressin (VP) synthesizing magnocellular neurons in the hypothalamic supraoptic (SON) and paraventricular (PVN) nuclei. Our previous study showed that ENaC mediates a Na+ leak current that affects the steady-state membrane potential of VP neurons. This study was conducted in Dahl salt-sensitive (Dahl-SS) rats to determine if any abnormal responses in the expression of ENaC …

Ablation Of Ezh2 In Neural Crest Cells Leads To Aberrant Enteric Nervous System Development In Mice, Hana Kim, Ingeborg M. Langohr, Mohammad Faisal, Margaret Mcnulty, Caitlin Thorn, Joomyeong Kim

Faculty Publications

© 2018 Kim et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. In the current study, we examined the role of Ezh2 as an epigenetic modifier for the enteric neural crest cell development through H3K27me3. Ezh2 conditional null mice were viable up to birth, but died within the first hour of life. In addition to craniofacial defects, Ezh2 conditional null mice displayed reduced number of ganglion cells in the enteric nervous system. RT-PCR …

Oxytocin Receptor Is Regulated By Peg3, Wesley D. Frey, Kaustubh Sharma, Terri L. Cain, Katsuhiko Nishimori, Ryoichi Teruyama, Joomyeong Kim

Faculty Publications

© 2018 Frey et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Mouse Peg3 encodes a DNA-binding protein involved in the milk letdown process. In the current study, we tested whether PEG3 controls the expression of the oxytocin receptor gene. According to the results, PEG3 directly binds to a genomic region within the 3rd exon of Oxtr, which contains a DNA-binding motif for PEG3. In nursing female mice, removal of PEG3 resulted in …