Digital Commons Network^™

Design And Optimization Of An Ionizing-Radiation-Free Dental Imaging Scheme By Near Infrared Fluorescence, Thomas Hartzler

LSU Master's Theses

There is a global need for access to oral health care. Proper oral health care is necessary for physiological and psychological health, as well as social and economic issues. Major oral diseases that must be screened include caries, cracked teeth, and impacted molars. These diseases are screened and diagnosed using a variety of medical imaging methods, computed tomography (CT) X-ray being the most popular and efficient method. The challenges in screening with X-ray technology include financial and time cost as well as health risk, including radiation exposure induced cancer (REIC). This thesis summarizes research to explore the possibility of overcoming …

A Meta-Analysis Of Gender Differences In Character Strengths And Age, Nation, And Measure As Moderators, Sonja Heintz, Christoph Kramm, Willibald Ruch

School of Psychology

No abstract provided.

Scorpions Of The Horn Of Africa (Arachnida, Scorpiones). Part Xviii. Gint Banfasae Sp. N. From Somaliland (Buthidae), František Kovařík, Graeme Lowe

Euscorpius

Gint banfasae sp. n. from Somaliland is described and compared with other species of the genus. Additional information is provided on the taxonomy and distribution of the genus Gint, fully complemented with color photos of specimens of both sexes of the new species, as well as of their habitat. Included is a key for Gint.

Panel 1 : Context - Conservation And Sustainable Use Of Biological Diversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, J. Ashley Roach, Alfonso Ascencio-Herrera, Fredrick Kenney, Piero Mannini

Center for Oceans Law and Policy Conference

No abstract provided.

Accumulation And Effects Of Dissolved And Nanoparticle Silver And Copper In Two Marine Seaweed Species, Samreen Siddiqui, Gretchen K. Bielmyer-Fraser

Georgia Journal of Science

This study investigated the accumulation and effects of metal nanoparticles in two seaweed species, Ulva lactuca and Agardhiella subulata. Both seaweeds were exposed to silver nitrate (AgNO₃), silver nanoparticles, and copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles for 48 h. Metal accumulation occurred in both seaweed species in a concentration-dependent manner after 48 h exposure to each form of metal. In several cases, seaweeds exposed to AgNO₃ (the dissolved form) accumulated comparatively higher tissue Ag concentration than seaweed exposed to Ag nanoparticles; and A. subulata had higher tissue Ag concentrations than U. lactuca after exposure to AgNO₃ for …

Consent Of The Governed: Thomas Jefferson’S Relationship With Sally Hemings, Carley Johansson

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

Many are familiar with Thomas Jefferson’s concubinage of his slave, Sally Hemings. What few realize, however, is the consequence this holds for Jefferson’s reputation and the credibility of his vision of the perfect Union.

Author information: Carley Johansson is a 2018 graduate from the University of Missouri – Columbia, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in Women’s and Gender Studies, two minors in Biological Sciences and American Constitutional Democracy, and a Multicultural Certificate.

Nano-Biophysical Approaches For Assessing Nanoparticle Interactions With Biological Systems, Zachary Untracht

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Understanding interactions between nanoparticles and biological systems is fundamental for the development of emerging nano-biotechnology applications. In this thesis, I present an investigation of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles interactions with biomolecules in two separate studies. The first section of my thesis covers tracking and detection of ZnO nanoparticles using sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). ZinkicideTM is a bactericidal ZnO nanoparticle which has been developed for agriculture. The characterization of Zinkicide in biological media and in solution has been difficult due to its high dispersibility and ultra-small size. SDS-PAGE is considered a golden standard for protein qualitative interpretations. In …

Terpene Synthase Genes Originated From Bacteria Through Horizontal Gene Transfer Contribute To Terpenoid Diversity In Fungi, Qidong Jia, Xinlu Chen, Tobias G. Kollner, Jan Rinkel, Jianyu Fu, Jessy Labbe, Wangdan Xiong, Jeroen S. Dickschat, Jonathan Gershenzon, Feng Chen

Nebraska Center for Biotechnology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Fungi are successful eukaryotes of wide distribution. They are known as rich producers of secondary metabolites, especially terpenoids, which are important for fungi-environment interactions. Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is an important mechanism contributing to genetic innovation of fungi. However, it remains unclear whether HGT has played a role in creating the enormous chemical diversity of fungal terpenoids. Here we report that fungi have acquired terpene synthase genes (TPSs), which encode pivotal enzymes for terpenoid biosynthesis, from bacteria through HGT. Phylogenetic analysis placed the majority of fungal and bacterial TPS genes from diverse taxa into two clades, indicating ancient …

Defining The Morphological Quality Of Fossil Footprints. Problems And Principles Of Preservation In Tetrapod Ichnology With Examples From The Palaeozoic To The Present, Lorenzo Marchetti, Matteo Belvedere, Sebastian Voigt, Hendrik Klein, Diego Castanera, Ignacio Díaz-Martínez, Daniel Marty, Lida Xing, Silverio Feola, Ricardo N. Melchor, James O. Farlow

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

The morphology of fossil footprints is the basis of vertebrate footprint ichnology. However, the processes acting during and after trace fossil registration which are responsible for the final morphology have never been precisely defined, resulting in a dearth of nomenclature. Therefore, we discuss the concepts of ichnotaphonomy, ichnostratinomy, taphonomy, biostratinomy, registration and diagenesis and describe the processes acting on footprint morphology. In order to evaluate the morphological quality of tetrapod footprints, we introduce the concept of morphological preservation, which is related to the morphological quality of footprints (M-preservation, acronym MP), and distinguish it from physical preservation (P-preservation, acronym PP), which …

Interaction Between Hydrogen Sulfide, Nitric Oxide, And Carbon Monoxide Pathways In The Bovine Isolated Retina, Madhura Kulkarni-Chitnis, Leah Mitchell-Bush, Remmington Belford, Jenaye Robinson, Catherine A. Opere, Sunny E. Ohia, Ya Fatou N. Mbye

Faculty Publications

Purpose: Nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) are physiologically relevant gaseous neurotransmitters that are endogenously produced in mammalian tissues. In the present study, we investigated the possibility that NO and CO can regulate the endogenous levels of H2S in bovine isolated neural retina. Methods: Isolated bovine neural retina were homogenized and tissue homogenates were treated with a NO synthase inhibitor, NO donor, heme oxygenase-1 inhibitor, and/donor. H2S concentrations in bovine retinal homogenates were measured using a well-established colorimetric assay. Results: L-NAME (300 nM-500 μM) caused a concentration-dependent decrease in basal endogenous levels of H2S by 86.2%. …

Systems In Play: Simon Nicholson's Design 12 Course, University Of California, Berkeley, 1966, Tim Stott

Articles

In 1966, British artist, designer and educator Simon Nicholson (1934–1990) offered a lower division course, Design 12, at the College of Environmental Design, UC Berkeley. Controversially, Nicholson promoted play as the principal method of design and invited children to assess students’ projects on the Berkeley campus and in local schools, parks, playgrounds and hospitals. This article presents Design 12 as an important example of environmental design pedagogy in the USA, which uniquely attempted to synthesize British post-war constructivism with ‘design science’ and adventure play. The result was a course that placed play at the centre of design pedagogy, where it …

Luna Farming Legacy: A PorcióN Of Edinburg, The University Of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Community Historical Archaeology Project With Schools Program (Chaps), Roseann Bacha-Garza, Russell K. Skowronek, Juan L. Gonzalez, Lorena Bryan, Evelyn Cantu, Melinda Cantu, Myrabel Cantu, Leann Castillo, Amancio Chapa Iv

Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools (CHAPS) Publications

Descendants of Spanish Colonial settlers have been practicing subsistence farming along the Rio Grande for over 250 years. As that same river became the international boundary between the US and Mexico in 1848, landownership and the landscape began to change. As issues in Mexico such as the Mexican Revolution pushed families over the river into the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, many folks established themselves as farmers alongside the new arrivals from the American Midwest in the early 1900s. The guarantee of successful year-round farming was a prominent theme and the Lunas were willing and able to embark on that …

The N-Glycan Structures Of The Antigenic Variants Of Chlorovirus Pbcv-1 Major Capsid Protein Help To Identify The Virus-Encoded Glycosyltransferases, Immacolata Speciale, Garry A. Duncan, Luca Unione, Irina Agarkova, Domenico Garozzo, Jesus Jimenez-Barbero, Sicheng Lin, Todd L. Lowary, Antonio Molinaro, Eric Noel, Maria Elena Laugieri, Michela Tonetti, James L. Van Etten, Cristina De Castro

James Van Etten Publications

The chlorovirus Paramecium bursaria chlorella virus 1 (PBCV-1) is a large dsDNA virus that infects the microalga Chlorella variabilis NC64A. Unlike most other viruses, PBCV-1 encodes most, if not all, of the machinery required to glycosylate its major capsid protein (MCP). The structures of the four N-linked glycans from the PBCV-1 MCP consist of nonasaccharides, and similar glycans are not found elsewhere in the three domains of life. Here, we identified the roles of three virus-encoded glycosyltransferases (GTs) that have four distinct GT activities in glycan synthesis. Two of the three GTs were previously annotated as GTs but the third …

A Comparison Of Two In-Class Anxiety Reduction Exercises Before A Final Exam, Virginia Clinton, Stacy Meester

Educational Foundations and Research Faculty Publications

The purpose of this quasi-experiment is to test two different methods for helping students reduce anxiety before an exam. Students in two introductory psychology courses (N = 111) engaged in either a focused-breathing or expressive-writing exercise before their final exam. Results indicated that, compared to previous exam performance, both focused breathing and expressive writing improved performance for students with high levels of trait test anxiety. However, there was no effect on final exam performance for either method for students with low levels of trait test anxiety. Both exercises appeared to reduce state anxiety for students, although the reduction was greater …

Effects Of Tidal Elevation On The Recruitment And Survival Of Balanus And Chthamalus, Evie Borchard, Hasan Demirci

STAR Program Research Presentations

Balanus and Chthamalus species of barnacles are sessile arthropods native and abundant in the intertidal zone along the California coast. Due to environmental and physiological factors, barnacles have variable survivability at different tidal elevations. Urosalpinx cinerea, the Atlantic oyster drill, is an invasive species whose predation patterns can manipulate the zonation of native populations causing substantial local impacts. The effects of tidal elevation on Ostrea lurida (the Olympia oyster) predation by drills is a well-studied example. Drills killed about 60% of adult oysters at +7.0cm MLLW within 2 months while oysters at +37cm were not preyed upon (Kiriakopolos et al. …

Carbon And Nitrogen Changes Due To Soil Warming, Dana Coppernoll-Houston, Chris Potter

STAR Program Research Presentations

Carbon and nitrogen in soils varies worldwide, but concerns are being raised about the release rates of these nutrients due to global warming. It has been hypothesized in previous studies that carbon is released as the soils warms and microorganisms respire more. Similarly, aspects of the nitrogen cycle may also speed up due to increased metabolism from bacteria. If large amounts of carbon are released from soil storages, it could cause large feedback loops in the climate cycle. Most soil warming experiments heat the soil 1-5 degrees C warmer over a period of years, to simulate global warming. Our study …

Links Between Environmental Conditions And Whole Body Regeneration Of A Colonial Ascidian, Cecilia Hernandez, Sarah Cohen

STAR Program Research Presentations

Botrylloides diegensis is among the most common colonial ascidian invaders with the ability to undergo whole body regeneration (WBR), as do other botryllid ascidians. This phenomenon allows entire adult zooids to arise from minute fragments of vascular tissue including single ampullae. With the global spread and unknown environmental range of B. diegensis this study focuses on the ecological component in the process of WBR, particularly the influences of temperature and salinity on the rate of regeneration. Six adult colonies were collected and clonal replicates were established allow comparison of regeneration at a variable field site (16-19 ¬∞C;28-31 salinity) and a …

Epitope-Targeted Peptide Inhibitors Of Myc-Max Dimerization, Ana M. Oliviera Gomes, Matt Idso

STAR Program Research Presentations

Myc is a popular transcription factor that is found in about 30% of human cancers. Along with being present in many cancers, it is also a potent oncogenic driver. Myc dimerizes with Max in order to promote transcription of genes that are associated with cellular proliferation, differentiation, and survival. In cancers that are Myc-driven, the Myc concentrations are higher than in healthy cells. Developing drugs in which impede Myc-Max dimerization has been difficult because there are many interactions that occur over large interfaces. This project hypothesizes that using molecular peptide ligands that adsorb to Myc at the Myc-Max dimer interface …

An Albino Mutant In Brassica Rapa Maps To The Pdx2 Locus On Chromosome 10, Beatriz M. Garcia

STAR Program Research Presentations

We have identified an albino mutant in the plant Brassica rapa. This recessive mutation could provide insights into the photosynthetic pathways of all plants. Previously the mutation was mapped to chromosome 10 of Brassica rapa. To narrow down the chromosomal region containing the albino mutation, we grew a segregating population of plants. DNA was extracted from albino and wildtype (green) plants and genotyped using PCR markers on chromosome 10. The genotype detected using the INDEL2 marker perfectly predicted whether a plant was albino or WT. This indicates that the INDEL2 marker is tightly linked to the albino mutation. INDEL2 is …

An Albino Mutant In Brassica Rapa Maps To The Pdx2 Locus On Chromosome 10, Cezar L. Sanchez, Beatriz M. Garcia, Edward Himelblau, Nick Diaz

STAR Program Research Presentations

We have identified an albino mutant in the plant Brassica rapa. This recessive mutation could provide insights into the photosynthetic pathways of all plants. Previously the mutation was mapped to chromosome 10 of Brassica rapa. To narrow down the chromosomal region containing the albino mutation, we grew a segregating population of plants. DNA was extracted from albino and wildtype (green) plants and genotyped using PCR markers on chromosome 10. The genotype detected using the INDEL2 marker perfectly predicted whether a plant was albino or WT. This indicates that the INDEL2 marker is tightly linked to the albino mutation. INDEL2 is …

Cichlid Size Vs Flow Rate, Amy E. Naumovski

STAR Program Research Presentations

Cichlids are a diverse group of fish that are known for their prenatal and postnatal care of their eggs and frys (baby fish). This unique characteristic creates a limitation on the amount of eggs a cichlid can lay and protect, which is particulalry effected by the size of the eggs. Cichlids have a large variance in their egg size, which correlates to a large variance in their fry size. This project explores the trade offs cichlids make in egg size and fry size by specifically testing the ability of varying sized cichlids to swim in different flow rates. This could …

Comparing Orientation Behavior And Prey Preference Of Leptasterias Spp. Between Microhabitats, Jenna C. Sanders, Margaret W. Johnson, C Sarah Cohen

STAR Program Research Presentations

Leptasterias spp. is a species complex of small, six rayed, predatory sea stars that inhabit rocky intertidal communities along the Pacific coast of North America. A developmental mode of brooding their young, rather than broadcasting for planktonic development, limits dispersal away from the natal area, and may also result in fine scale local adaptation of populations. Local adaptation may lead to morphological and behavioral differences among populations, specifically towards the most available prey. Within the rocky intertidalthere are zones of high and low wave impact which create microhabitats with their own selective forces. In areas of high wave impact, stars …

Hammarby Sjöstad: Planning Precedent, Christian Bernard, Arielle Eleazar, Ryan M. Huddlestun

Precedents

Hammarby Sjöstad, Stockholm, Sweden (2004-16): Located in what had been a dilapidated industrial area close to Stockholm city center, Hammarby Sjöstad was built as a comprehensive infrastructural project with sustainable alternatives for water, energy, and waste management. The district, comprising over 300 acres around the shores of Lake Hammarby, is home to some 25,000 people. The block pattern is based on the traditional urban fabric of Stockholm while the architecture is decidedly modern.

The purpose of investigating this precedent was to interest the students in sustainable features they might incorporate into their own designs, both for Paradise as a whole …

Engineering Injectable, Self-Assembling 3d Vasculature, Kendyl Cohn

Baker/Koob Endowments Awarded Projects

Our laboratory (The Heylman Lab) is developing strategies for engineering tissue outside of the body. All tissues in the body receive nutrients and remove waste via an intricate network of blood vessels called the circulatory system. Like native tissues, all engineered tissues require this blood vessel transport system to properly mimic the in vivo tissue environment. Therefore, the aim of this project is to grow three-dimensional networks of blood vessels in vitro. These vessel networks will provide the foundation for tissue-on-a-chip systems when embedded in microfluidic chips being developed by other members of the lab. The scope of this project …

Fabrication Of Microfluidic Devices With Integrated Electronic Components Via Dual Extrusion-Based 3d Printing, E. Brandon Strong, Ward Kirschbaum, Siddharth Prabhu, Aditya Jangid, Jonah Holbrook

Baker/Koob Endowments Awarded Projects

Microfluidics channels as small as 50 μm in width were produced via extrusionbased 3D printing. Multi-layered, multi-electrode devices were fabricated with inlaid conductive filament. Electrodes were used for simple electroanalysis of proteins. Prototyping of microfluidics devices via extrusion-based 3D printing may ultimately allow for an easy, cost-effective, high-throughput, high-resolution, and single-step method of rapidly prototyping electronic microfluidic devices, principally suited for use in diagnostics applications.

Elucidating The Structure-Function Relationship Of Human Protein Kinase Mek1, Rebecca Lee, Leandre Ravatt

Baker/Koob Endowments Awarded Projects

MEK1 is an ideal drug target for the therapeutic treatment of cancerous mutations that occur in the MAPK phosphorylation cascade, one of the most common cell proliferation signaling pathways. The study of the specific phosphorylation event between MEK1 and its only known substrate ERK2 has previously been limited due to the difficulty in obtaining the active phosphorylated form phospho-MEK1. Our study aims to overcome this barrier by utilizing the novel technology of the expanded genetic code to produce site-specifically phosphorylated proteins. In order to elucidate the structure-function relationships of MEK1, we are pursuing a hypothesisdriven, structure-guided approach based on conserved …

Effect Of Prolonged Probiotic Supplementation In A High-Fructose Diet In A Pig Model Of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Victoria Smith, Meghan Melnyk

Baker/Koob Endowments Awarded Projects

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the leading cause of pediatric chronic liver condition, caused by hepatic inflammation, insulin resistance and steatosis. We hypothesize that prolonged intake of diets rich in carbohydrates, specifically fructose, will induce NAFLD in infants, whereas probiotics may ameliorate the symptoms of the disease. To assess the effect of dietary fructose and probiotics in the pathology of the disease, 24 leptin resistant neonate pigs will be assigned to 1 of 4 treatment diets for 10 weeks: 1) control (CON), 2) high fructose (HF), 3) CON + probiotics, 4) HF + probiotics. Animals will be fed 40 …

Rethink Infrastructure, Khoa Le, Arielle Eleazar

Goals

In the Camp Fire, Paradise lost thousands of houses as well as stores, gas stations, and many other private commercial enterprises. But the town also lost many significant civic institutions. The projects on this poster show some of the individual projects intended to replace those institutions. These are ones that could provide renewed focus towards the community’s wellness, sustainability, governance, and education.

Paradise W.E.T. Center, Arielle Eleazar

Studio Projects

Arielle Eleazar’s Paradise W.E.T. Center is a project focused on water education and actual treatment, located just below the proposed East Village downtown. The goal of this center is to provide an alternative solution to the town’s wastewater management by showcasing a hybrid system heavily reliant on biological filtration. This building also serves as a live demonstration area for water conservation, educating the public about the importance of water as a resource.

Native Solitary Bees Provide Economically Significant Pollination Services To Confection Sunflowers (Helianthus Annuus L.) (Asterales: Asteraceae) Grown Across The Northern Great Plains, Rachel E. Mallinger, Jeff Bradshaw, Adam J. Varenhorst, Jarrad R. Prasifka

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The benefits of insect pollination to crop yields depend on genetic and environmental factors including plant selffertility, pollinator visitation rates, and pollinator efficacy. While many crops benefit from insect pollination, such variation in pollinator benefits across both plant cultivars and growing regions is not well documented. In this study, across three states in the northern Great Plains, United States, from 2016 to 2017, we evaluated the pollinatormediated yield increases for 10 varieties of confection sunflowers, Helianthus annuus L. (Asterales: Asteraceae), a plant that is naturally pollinator-dependent but was bred for self-fertility. We additionally measured pollinator visitation rates and compared per-visit …