Digital Commons Network^™

Syndemic Effects Of Hiv Risk Behaviours: Results From The Nhanes Study, L Smith, C Cao, X Zong, D T Mcdermott, S Stefanac, S Haider, S E Jackson, N Veronese, G F López-Sánchez, A Koyanagi, L Yang, I Grabovac

Open Access Publications

The aim of the present study is to use the syndemic framework to investigate the risk of contracting HIV in the US population. Cross-sectional analyses are from The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We extracted and aggregated data on HIV antibody test, socio-demographic characteristics, alcohol use, drug use, depression, sexual behaviours and sexually transmitted diseases from cycle 2009-2010 to 2015-2016. We carried out weighted regression among young adults (20-39 years) and adults (40-59 years) separately. In total, 5230 men and 5794 women aged 20-59 years were included in the present analyses. In total, 0.8% men and 0.2% women were …

Recommendations And Alerting For Delirium Alleviation In Real-Time (Radar): Protocol For A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, Phillip E Vlisides, Jacqueline W Ragheb, Aleda Leis, Amanda Schoettinger, Kim Hickey, Amy Mckinney, Joseph Brooks, Mackenzie Zierau, Alexandra Norcott, Shirley Yang, Michael S Avidan, Lillian Min

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Top 10 Research Priorities In Spatial Lifecourse Epidemiology, Peng Jia, Ross C. Brownson, Et Al.

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Retinoic Acid Receptors In Acute Myeloid Leukemia Therapy, Orsola Di Martino, John S Welch

Open Access Publications

Retinoic acid (RA) signaling pathways regulate fundamental biological processes, such as cell proliferation, development, differentiation, and apoptosis. Retinoid receptors (RARs and RXRs) are ligand-dependent transcription factors. All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) is the principal endogenous ligand for the retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARA) and is produced by the enzymatic oxidation of dietary vitamin A, whose deficiency is associated with several pathological conditions. Differentiation therapy using ATRA revolutionized the outcome of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), although attempts to replicate these results in other cancer types have been met with more modest results. A better knowledge of RA signaling in different leukemia contexts …

Genomic Characterization Of Antibiotic Resistant Escherichia Coli Isolated From Domestic Chickens In Pakistan, Muhammad Rafique, Robert F Potter, Aura Ferreiro, Meghan A Wallace, Abdul Rahim, Akbar Ali Malik, Naila Siddique, Muhammad Athar Abbas, Alaric W D'Souza, Carey-Ann D Burnham, Naeem Ali, Gautam Dantas

Open Access Publications

Poultry husbandry is important for the economic health of Pakistan, but the Pakistani poultry industry is negatively impacted by infections from

Membrane Potential Determined By Flow Cytometry Predicts Fertilizing Ability Of Human Sperm, Lis C Puga Molina, Stephanie Gunderson, Joan Riley, Pascal Lybaert, Aluet Borrego-Alvarez, Emily S Jungheim, Celia M Santi

Open Access Publications

Infertility affects 10 to 15% of couples worldwide, with a male factor contributing up to 50% of these cases. The primary tool for diagnosing male infertility is traditional semen analysis, which reveals sperm concentration, morphology, and motility. However, 25% of infertile men are diagnosed as normozoospermic, meaning that, in many cases, normal-appearing sperm fail to fertilize an egg. Thus, new information regarding the mechanisms by which sperm acquire fertilizing ability is needed to develop a clinically feasible test that can predict sperm function failure. An important feature of sperm fertilization capability in many species is plasma membrane hyperpolarization (membrane potential …

Implementation And Sustainability Of A Pharmacy-Led, Hospital-Wide Bedside Medication Delivery Program: A Qualitative Process Evaluation Using Re-Aim, Beth Prusaczyk, Amanda S Mixon, Sunil Kripalani

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

The Interplay Between Tissue Niche And Macrophage Cellular Metabolism In Obesity, Sabine Daemen, Joel D Schilling

Open Access Publications

Obesity is associated with the development of metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The presence of chronic, low-grade inflammation appears to be an important mechanistic link between excess nutrients and clinical disease. The onset of these metabolic disorders coincides with changes in the number and phenotype of macrophages in peripheral organs, particularly in the liver and adipose tissue. Macrophage accumulation in these tissues has been implicated in tissue inflammation and fibrosis, contributing to metabolic disease progression. Recently, the concept has emerged that changes in macrophage metabolism affects their functional phenotype, possibly triggered by distinct …

The Interplay Between Viral-Derived Mirnas And Host Immunity During Infection, Richa Mishra, Ashish Kumar, Harshad Ingle, Himanshu Kumar

Open Access Publications

MicroRNAs are short non-coding RNAs that play a crucial role in the regulation of gene expression during cellular processes. The host-encoded miRNAs are known to modulate the antiviral defense during viral infection. In the last decade, multiple DNA and RNA viruses have been shown to produce miRNAs known as viral miRNAs (v-miRNAs) so as to evade the host immune response. In this review, we highlight the origin and biogenesis of viral miRNAs during the viral lifecycle. We also explore the role of viral miRNAs in immune evasion and hence in maintaining chronic infection and disease. Finally, we offer insights into …

Ferroptotic Cell Death And Tlr4/Trif Signaling Initiate Neutrophil Recruitment After Heart Transplantation, Wenjun Li, Guoshuai Feng, Jason M Gauthier, Inessa Lokshina, Ryuji Higashikubo, Sarah Evans, Xinping Liu, Adil Hassan, Satona Tanaka, Markus Cicka, Hsi-Min Hsiao, Daniel Ruiz-Perez, Andrea Bredemeyer, Richard W Gross, Douglas L Mann, Yulia Y Tyurina, Andrew E Gelman, Valerian E Kagan, Andreas Linkermann, Kory J Lavine, Daniel Kreisel

Open Access Publications

Non-apoptotic forms of cell death can trigger sterile inflammation through the release of danger-associated molecular patterns, which are recognized by innate immune receptors. However, despite years of investigation the mechanisms which initiate inflammatory responses after heart transplantation remain elusive. Here, we demonstrate that ferrostatin-1 (Fer-1), a specific inhibitor of ferroptosis, decreases the level of pro-ferroptotic hydroperoxy-arachidonoyl-phosphatidylethanolamine, reduces cardiomyocyte cell death and blocks neutrophil recruitment following heart transplantation. Inhibition of necroptosis had no effect on neutrophil trafficking in cardiac grafts. We extend these observations to a model of coronary artery ligation-induced myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury where inhibition of ferroptosis resulted in …

Rrx-001 Followed By Platinum Plus Etoposide In Patients With Previously Treated Small-Cell Lung Cancer, Daniel Morgensztern, Michal Rose, Saiama N Waqar, John Morris, Patrick C Ma, Thomas Reid, Christina E Brzezniak, Karen G Zeman, Arvinda Padmanabhan, Joann Hirth, Alexander I Spira, Jane B Trepel, Sukhmani K Padda

Open Access Publications

BACKGROUND: This exploratory single-arm phase II study evaluated the efficacy and safety of RRx-001 followed by reintroduction of platinum plus etoposide in patients with previously treated small-cell lung cancer (SCLC).

METHODS: Patients were treated with RRx-001 4 mg IV on day 1 of each week of a 21-day cycle followed at progression by re-challenge with etoposide 80-100 IV mg/m

RESULTS: Twenty-six patients were enroled and received at least one dose of RRx-001. The median number of prior lines of therapy was 2 (range 1-9) and 19 (73.1%) patients had platinum-resistant disease. In the intention-to-treat population, one patient (3.8%) had complete …

Visualization Of Positive And Negative Sense Viral Rna For Probing The Mechanism Of Direct-Acting Antivirals Against Hepatitis C Virus, Dandan Liu, Philip R Tedbury, Shuiyun Lan, Andrew D Huber, Maritza N Puray-Chavez, Juan Ji, Eleftherios Michailidis, Mohsan Saeed, Tanyaradzwa P Ndongwe, Leda C Bassit, Raymond F Schinazi, Robert Ralston, Charles M Rice, Stefan G Sarafianos

Open Access Publications

RNA viruses are highly successful pathogens and are the causative agents for many important diseases. To fully understand the replication of these viruses it is necessary to address the roles of both positive-strand RNA ((+)RNA) and negative-strand RNA ((-)RNA), and their interplay with viral and host proteins. Here we used branched DNA (bDNA) fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to stain both the abundant (+)RNA and the far less abundant (-)RNA in both hepatitis C virus (HCV)- and Zika virus-infected cells, and combined these analyses with visualization of viral proteins through confocal imaging. We were able to phenotypically examine HCV-infected cells …

Mobilized Peripheral Blood: An Updated Perspective, Darja Karpova, Michael P Rettig, John F Dipersio

Open Access Publications

Enforced egress of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) out of the bone marrow (BM) into the peripheral circulation, termed mobilization, has come a long way since its discovery over four decades ago. Mobilization research continues to be driven by the need to optimize the regimen currently available in the clinic with regard to pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile, costs, and donor convenience. In this review, we describe the most recent findings in the field and how we anticipate them to affect the development of mobilization strategies in the future. Furthermore, the significance of mobilization beyond HSC collection, i.e. for chemosensitization, conditioning, and …

Interpreting Neurologic Outcomes In A Changing Trial Design Landscape: An Analysis Of Heartware Left Ventricular Assist Device Using A Hybrid Intention To Treat Population, Claudius Mahr, Duc Thinh Pham, Nahush A. Mokadam, Scott C. Silvestry, Jennifer Cowger, Michael S. Kiernan, David A. D'Alessandro, Erin E. Coglianese, Muhammad Faraz Masood, Robert L. Kormos, Mary V. Jacoski, Jeffrey J. Teuteberg

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Efficacy And Safety Of Eluxadoline In Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome With Diarrhea Who Report Inadequate Symptom Control With Loperamide: Relief Phase 4 Study, Darren M. Brenner, Gregory S. Sayuk, Catherine R. Gutman, Esther Jo, Steven J. R. Elmes, Louis W. C. Liu, Brooks D. Cash

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Determining Population Stratification And Subgroup Effects In Association Studies Of Rare Genetic Variants For Nicotine Dependence, Ai-Ru Hsieh, Li-Shiun Chen, Ying-Ju Li, Cathy S. J. Fann

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Challenges To Curing Primary Brain Tumours, Kenneth Aldape, David H. Gutmann, Et Al.

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Clinical Performance Of A Novel Fully Synthetic Dura Substitute, Umang Khandpur, Wilson Ray, Matthew Macewan

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

A Strategy For Building And Using A Human Reference Pangenome, Bastien Llamas, Allison Regier, Et Al

Open Access Publications

In March 2019, 45 scientists and software engineers from around the world converged at the University of California, Santa Cruz for the first pangenomics codeathon. The purpose of the meeting was to propose technical specifications and standards for a usable human pangenome as well as to build relevant tools for genome graph infrastructures. During the meeting, the group held several intense and productive discussions covering a diverse set of topics, including advantages of graph genomes over a linear reference representation, design of new methods that can leverage graph-based data structures, and novel visualization and annotation approaches for pangenomes. Additionally, the …

Somatosensory Predictors Of Response To Pregabalin In Painful Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Study, Alexander Hincker, Karen Frey, Lesley Rao, Nina Wagner-Johnston, Arbi Ben Abdallah, Benjamin Tan, Manik Amin, Tanya Wildes, Rajiv Shah, Pall Karlsson, Kristopher Bakos, Katarzyna Kosicka, Leonid Kagan, Simon Haroutounian

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Branding And Marketing For An Environmental Nonprofit Organization: Revitalizing A Brand In Southern Illinois, Erik Fitzgerald

Research Papers

Due to its ‘social image’ nonprofits have avoided marketing in the past, focusing their efforts on fundraising and promotional activities. Growing competition within the nonprofit sector has forced these organizations to re-evaluate how they think about marketing. Marketing- oriented nonprofits are out-performing their competitors who have been slow to adapt to this increasingly competitive environment. This project takes a look at a local nonprofit, the Friends of the Shawnee National Forest, that has yet to adopt this marketing orientation. This research gives insight into how a small environmental nonprofit in southern Illinois can use branding and marketing strategies to increase …

Personal Universes: A Solution To The Multi-Agent Value Alignment Problem, Roman V. Yampolskiy

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

AI Safety researchers attempting to align values of highly capable intelligent systems with those of humanity face a number of challenges including personal value extraction, multi-agent value merger and finally in-silico encoding. State-of-the-art research in value alignment shows difficulties in every stage in this process, but merger of incompatible preferences is a particularly difficult challenge to overcome. In this paper we assume that the value extraction problem will be solved and propose a possible way to implement an AI solution which optimally aligns with individual preferences of each user. We conclude by analyzing benefits and limitations of the proposed approach.

Acute Effects Of Ballistic And Non-Ballistic Bench Press On Plyometric Push-Up Performance, David Bodden, Timothy J. Suchomel, Alexandra Lates, Nicholas G. Anagnost, Matthew F. Moran, Christopher Taber

Exercise Science Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a ballistic or non-ballistic concentric-only bench press (COBP) on subsequent plyometric push-up performance. Fourteen resistance trained men completed two separate one-repetition-maximum (1RM) testing sessions followed by three randomized experimental explosive push-up sessions. These sessions combined a heavy concentric bench press with plyometric push-ups. Using a series of 3 × 10 (condition × time) repeated measures ANOVA, comparisons were made between the effects of ballistic and non-ballistic bench presses on performance of plyometric push-ups to investigate push-up performance variables. Compared with the control condition, both ballistic and non-ballistic bench presses …

Effects Of Online Aba Training On Stress Levels Of Parents With A Child With Autism, Kristen Duffney

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study investigated the effects of an online training program in applied behavior analysis (ABA) on stress levels of parents that have a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The online ABA training program is comprised of 22 videos which take a total of 4½ hours to complete. Parenting stress levels were assessed using the Parenting Stress Inventory Short Form (PSI-SF, Abidin, 1995) and general stress levels were self-reported scores immediately before and after the training. The assessment and questionnaire were completed online immediately before the ABA training was made available and immediately after the ABA training was completed. …

Evaluating The Performance Of Cooperative Merging Assistance System For Aging Drivers, Flavius Matata

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Freeway merging maneuvers demand considerable attention by drivers and are among the more complex operations drivers must perform on freeways. Aging drivers, a growing population in the United States, face added challenges when merging. This study utilized Vissim models created in a previous study that modeled the behavior of aging drivers during freeway merging. An algorithm for Cooperative Merging Assistance System (CMAS) that utilizes Connected Vehicle (CV) technology was developed in this study. The Vissim models were created for two interchanges on I-75 in Fort Myers, Florida, each with different geometric characteristics. Acceleration lane lengths of 1000ft and 1500ft were …

Leadership Skills, Promoting Flow And Generating Profit: A Study Of Millennial Managers Through Gamification, Junior Badibanga

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An increased number or organizations are shifting away from traditional hierarchical, command and control business strategies which focus solely on generating profit to focusing on both people and profit. In this study, Csíkszentmihályi’s flow state (1975/2000) is considered to correspond with the people side of the social enterprise model, where organizations focus on both people and profit. Csíkszentmihályi (1990) describes the flow experience as a mental state which occurs when a person is motivated and fully immersed in an activity, resulting in feelings of energized focus and profound enjoyment. The current study analyzed secondary data from 1,184 millennial managers that …

Exploring Applicability Of Blockchain To Enhance Single Sign-On (Sso) Systems, Samuel Matloob

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Single-Sign-On (SSO) systems usage has been on the rise exponentially. One of the major benefits of having an SSO system is to have a central authentication service, which other applications can use. However, SSO services are also prone to failure. If an SSO service becomes unavailable due to failure, every application that uses the SSO service become simultaneously inaccessible to users. The goal of this research is to explore a technique to mitigate the availability issue of the SSO by customizing its functionality, and distributing its data using blockchain technology over the network. The Blockchain data structure possesses inherent properties …

Front Matter - Table Of Contents

Iowa Journal of Communication

No abstract provided.

Resign!!!: Acrimony And Protest On President Trump's @Realdonaldtrump Twitter Account, Saman Talib

Iowa Journal of Communication

A major feature of the Trump election and presidency is President Trump's use of Twitter. He has used @realdonaldtrump, his personal Twitter account, to state policy positions, berate various people, and even announce firings. While news coverage focuses on President Trump's tweets, the account itself has been and continues to be the recipient of copious numbers of negative posts from ordinary citizens. The court 's designation of this Twitter account as a 'designated public space' and the large number of negative posts warrants a closer examination of these tweets. This study employed the grounded theory method to analyze the account …

The Rhetoric Of Rhetorical Reactance: Pork Producers' Responses To The Animal Activist Movement, Kathleen German, Adam Rottinghaus

Iowa Journal of Communication

Animal activists made inroads against the fur industry, laboratory research, veal production, and horse slaughter during the 1980s and 1990s. While pork producers were not directly targeted, they nevertheless reacted, perceiving a dire threat to their own industry and a bleak future for pork production. This fear was magnified by their sense that activists were supported by a broad population of non/armers who were naively susceptible to irrational and emotional appeals. This case study points out the complexity of public discourse rippling outward from the animal rights movement. As animal activists raised their voices against fur ranchers, animal researchers, and …