Digital Commons Network^™

Avoiding Forced Parenthood: A Practical Legal Framework To Resolve Disputes Involving The Disposition Of Embryos, Melanie M. Lupsa

Student Works

No abstract provided.

Modeling And Evaluating Cost-Effectiveness Of Host-Microbiome Investigations, Renuka Panchagavi

Dissertations

Cost-effectiveness modeling accounts for how expenditures impact outcomes and is an appropriate step towards efficacy of the different methods used for modeling the dynamics of microbial communities. This will help to identify challenging aspects of microbiome studies and the associated costs, including the major differences in research designs (cross-sectional or time series-based) used for conducting such studies. The two major stages of our investigation were to first collect and model cost variable data for microbiome investigations, and then to evaluate how trade-offs related to sample size and expenditures impact investigational outcomes. We screened different potential sources of data for microbiome …

Floodplains Provide Important Amphibian Habitat Despite Multiple Ecological Threats, Meredith Holgerson, Adam Duarte, Marc P. Hayes, Michael J. Adams, Julie A. Tyson, Keith A. Douville, Angela L. Strecker

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Floodplain ponds and wetlands are productive and biodiverse ecosystems, yet they face multiple threats including altered hydrology, land use change, and non-native species. Protecting and restoring important floodplain ecosystems requires understanding how organisms use these habitats and respond to altered environmental conditions. We developed Bayesian models to evaluate occupancy of six amphibian species across 103 off-channel aquatic habitats in the Chehalis River floodplain, Washington State, USA. The basin has been altered by changes in land use, reduced river–wetland connections, and the establishment of non-native American bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana = Lithobates catesbeianus) and centrarchid fishes, all of which we hypothesized could …

Modulating The Tumor Microenvironment To Induce Cross-Priming For Cancer Immunotherapy, Erica Fleming-Trujillo

Dissertations

Adoptive cell transfer (ACT) using T cells engineered to express tumor-specific T cell receptors (TCR) holds great promise in treating cancer patients. ACT involves the in vitro generation of large numbers of tumor-specific T cells, which are then administered back to the patient, to establish an in vivo response and effective tumor control. Our lab conducted a phase I clinical trial in which metastatic melanoma patients received systemic infusions of autologous T cells transduced to express a tyrosinase-specific TCR (TIL 1383I). We observed tumor regression in one of seven patients and the development of vitiligo, indicative of T cell-mediated killing …

Elucidation Of The Molecular Mechanisms Of Electrically-Induced Cardioprotection, Anne Elizabeth Roessler

Dissertations

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, is a major event in cardiovascular disease characterized by reduced blood flow to the heart. The ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury associated with an MI results in a region of dead tissue in the heart called an infarct, the size of which influences patient prognosis. In the 1980s, it was discovered that short, non-lethal episodes of I/R, termed ischemic preconditioning (IPC), can protect the heart against a subsequent MI. Ischemic preconditioning demonstrated the phenomenon of endogenous cardioprotection. Cardioprotection has great potential …

Secrets Of The Deep: Defining Privacy Underwater, Annie Brett

UF Law Faculty Publications

The drones are coming, But not just to your neighborhood skies – to the world’s oceans. From recreational robots designed to autonomously follow divers and record video of them to low-cost, remotely operated submersibles that put ocean exploration in the hands of the general public to sophisticated military submersibles able to autonomously gather intelligence throughout the oceans, the underwater drone market is exploding. But unlike on land, this explosion has not been accompanied by similar discussion of privacy concerns. Instead, the ocean’s rapid shift away from an inaccessible operational sanctuary is one that is happening largely silently. And it is …

Discordant Environmental Laws: Using Statutory Flexibility And Multi-Objective Optimization To Reconcile Conflicting Laws, Mary Jane Angelo

UF Law Faculty Publications

The current morass of federal environmental laws has led to significant conflicts among statutes and the manner in which agencies implement them. In recent years, this quagmire of environmental laws has hindered the progress of a number of high-profile environmental regulatory programs and restoration projects. Neither the Courts nor legal scholars have developed approaches to resolving conflicts in a manner that harmonizes environmental statutes while at the same time protecting the most critical environmental resources. A standard methodology that optimizes the multiple objectives of environmental statutes and their implementing programs would greatly enhance decision-making and ensure that the most salient …

Introduction: Early Childhood Symposium - Early Childhood Matters, Nancy E. Dowd, Teresa Drake

UF Law Faculty Publications

Early childhood is a critical time in development when equality can be sustained, or inequality can take root. As a developmental period, it is marked by rapid neurological development, and thus the period from birth to three is a foundation for all future development. In early childhood, children’s critical need is developmental support through nurturing and responsive interactions in everyday activities and routines. Differences commonly emerge linked to the differences in children’s immediate ecologies. As the contributions to this symposium underscore, one of the major impacts on ecologies is income inequality, and in particular, poverty. While it is not the …

Longitudinal Study Of Humoral Immunity To Bovine Coronavirus, Virus Shedding, And Treatment For Bovine Respiratory Disease In Pre-Weaned Beef Calves, Aspen M. Workman, Larry A. Kuehn, Tara G. Mcdaneld, Michael L. Clawson, John Dustin Loy

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Background: Bovine coronavirus (BCV) is associated with respiratory infections in cattle of all ages; however, a temporal study to evaluate the effect of BCV immunity on virus shedding and bovine respiratory disease (BRD) incidence in pre-weaned beef calves has not been reported. Thus, we report here a prospective study in three herds of crossbred beef calves (n = 817) with endemic BCV. Serial blood samples for measurement of serum anti-BCV antibody titers and nasal swabs for detection of BCV and other common viral and bacterial BRD pathogens were collected from all calves or subsets of calves at predetermined …

Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus P1 Binds To Dsrnas Without Size And Sequence Specificity And A Gw Motif Is Crucial For Suppression Of Rna Silencing, Adarsh K. Gupta, Satyanarayana Tatineni

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV; genus Tritimovirus; family Potyviridae) is an economically important virus infecting wheat in the Great Plains region of the USA. Previously, we reported that the P1 protein of WSMV acts as a viral suppressor of RNA silencing. In this study, we delineated the minimal region of WSMV P1 and examined its mechanisms in suppression of RNA silencing. We found that the 25 N-terminal amino acids are dispensable, while deletion of a single amino acid at the C-terminal region completely abolished the RNA silencing suppression activity of P1. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays with in vitro …

The Role Of Genotype And Production Environment In Determining The Cooking Time Of Dry Beans (Phaseolus Vulgaris L.), Karen A. Cichy, Jason A. Wiesinger, Matthew Berry, Susan Nchimbi‐Msolla, Deidre Fourie, Timothy G. Perch, Daniel Ambechew, Phillip N. Miklas

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a nutrient‐dense food rich in proteins and minerals. Although a dietary staple in numerous regions, including Eastern and Southern Africa, greater utilization is limited by its long cooking time as compared with other staple foods. A fivefold genetic variability for cooking time has been identified for P. vulgaris, and to effectively incorporate the cooking time trait into bean breeding programs, knowledge of how genotypes behave across diverse environments is essential. Fourteen bean genotypes selected from market classes important to global consumers (yellow, cranberry, light red kidney, red mottled, and brown) were grown …

Capacity To Elicit Cytotoxic Cd8 T Cell Activity Against Mycobacterium Avium Subsp. Paratuberculosis Is Retained In A Vaccine Candidate 35 Kda Peptide Modified For Expression In Mammalian Cells, Valentina Franceschi, Asmaa H. Mahmoud, Gaber S. Abdellrazeq, Giulia Tebaldi, Francesca Macchi, Luca Russo, Lindsay M. Fry, Mahmoud M. Elnaggar, John Bannantine, Kun-Taek Park, Victoria Hulubei, Sandro Cavirani, William C. Davis, Gaetano Donofrio

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Studies focused on development of an attenuated vaccine against Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Map), the causative agent of paratuberculosis (Ptb) in cattle and other species, revealed that deletion of relA, a global gene regulator, abrogates the ability of Map to establish a persistent infection. In the absence of relA, cattle develop CD8 cytotoxic T cells (CTL) with the ability to kill intracellular bacteria. Analysis of the recall response to a relA mutant, Map/􏰀relA, with cells from a vaccinated steer demonstrated that a 35-kDa membrane peptide (MMP) is one of the targets of the response. This observation suggested that it might …

Seedling Root Architecture And Its Relationship With Seed Yield Across Diverse Environments In Phaseolus Vulgaris, Christopher F. Strock, James Burridge, Anica S.F. Massas, James S. Beaver, Steve E. Beebe, Samuel A. Camilo, Deidre Fourie, Celestina Nhagupana Jochua, Magalhaes Amade Miguel, Phillip N. Miklas, Eninka Mndolwa, Susan Nchimbi-Msolla, Jose Polania, T. Porch, Juan C. Rosas, Jennifer J. Trapp, Jonathan P. Lynch

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Seedling root phenotypes may have important impacts on fitness and are more easily measured than mature root phenotypes. We phenotyped the roots of 577 genotypes of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), representing the bulk of the genetic diversity for recent cultivars and landraces in this species. Root architectural phenotypes of seedlings germinated for nine days were compared to root architectural phenotypes in the field as well as seed yield across 51 environments with an array of abiotic stresses including drought, nutrient deficiency, and heat, as well as non-stress conditions. We observed repeatability ranging from 0.52–0.57 for measures of root phenotypes in …

Phenotypes Of Macrophages Present In The Intestine Are Impacted By Stage Of Disease In Cattle Naturally Infected With Mycobacterium Avium Subsp. Paratuberculosis, Caitlin J. Jenvey, Adrienne L. Shircliff, J. P. Bannantine, Judith R. Stabel

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Macrophages play an important role in the host immune response to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) infection, however, MAP is able to disrupt normal macro- phage functions to avoid destruction. It is unclear whether the phenotypes of macrophages present in the target tissue play a role in the inability to clear MAP infection. The aim of this study was to identify macrophage phenotypes (host defense or resolution and repair) present within the bovine ileum of naturally infected cattle, as well as to ascertain abundance of each macrophage phenotype present during different stages of MAP infection. Immunofluo- rescent (IF) labeling was …

“Essentially Black”: Legal Theory And The Morality Of Conscious Racial Identity, Kenneth B. Nunn

UF Law Faculty Publications

In philosophy, essentialism involves the claim that everything that exists has a fundamental character or core set of features that makes it what it is. Although this idea developed out of Platonic notions of ideal forms, it has spread beyond philosophy into the social sciences and hard scientific disciplines like mathematics and biology. Since the advent of postmodernism, discussions around essentialism have become controversial. Adherents of postmodern theory argue that social categories, such as gender, race, and sexuality are socially constructed and that essentialist notions of identity, which suggest that identity is static, natural, and unchanging, are theoretically wrong. This …

The Stranger-To-The-Marriage Doctrine: Judicial Construction Issues Post-Obergefell, Lee-Ford Tritt

UF Law Faculty Publications

This Article tracks the evolution of inheritance law for adopted children and suggests that courts use construction approaches that worked in the context of a new understanding of the parent-child relationship as a guide to construing wills in the context of changing social and legal definitions of the martial relationship. In this regard, Part II offers a brief overview of pertinent construction doctrines. Next, Part III summarizes the history of inheritance law for adopted children. Finally, Part IV draws an analogy between the stranger-to-the-adoption doctrine and an approach to inheritance law for same-sex spouses that this Essay calls the "stranger-to-the-marriage" …

Multilayered Stigma And Vulnerabilities For Hiv Infection And Transmission: A Qualitative Study On Male Sex Workers In Zimbabwe, Elleen Yuk-Ha Tsang, Shan Qiao Ph.D., Jeffrey S. Wilkinson, Annis Lai-Chu Fung, Freddy Lipeleke, Xiaoming Li Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Male sex workers are marginalized in most societies due to intersectional stigma between prostitution and homosexuality. In Zimbabwe, a proliferation of male sex workers in major cities such as Harare and Bulawayo has been reported. However, there is a shortage of studies that explore their lives. The current qualitative study aims to describe the practices of sex work, life contexts, and HIV risks and vulnerabilities based on in-depth interviews among 15 male sex workers in Bulawayo. Our studies suggest that the stigma against male sex workers comes from diverse sectors including culture (“homosexuality is un-African, introduced by the Whites”), religion …

Treatment Options For Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome, Barbara Bowman

Oral History Posters

With the high incidence of Lyme disease in the endemic areas of North America, it is important to appropriately diagnosis and treat this condition to prevent post treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS).

Background information regarding Lyme disease is given. The purpose of this research is to discuss the treatment options available for those patients that fit the case definition of PTLDS. A literature review was conducted using several different electronic databases finding peer reviewed research articles pertaining to the treatment options available for PTLDS. Extended antibiotic use is shown to be not beneficial in most cases. Alternative treatment options listed …

The Use Of Dehydroepiandrosterone For Treatment Of Depression, Bryan Tipton

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Papers

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfated ester (DHEA-S) are important pre-hormones that also have direct neurohormonal effects on the central nervous system. Over the last twenty years, data have revealed that serum DHEA peaks in a person’s mid-20s and steadily declines throughout their lifetime. In addition, women tend to have lower values than men. This is of note because lower serum values tend to be correlated with increased risk of depression, worse depressive symptoms, and increased risk of relapse into depression. A review of literature concerning DHEA’s age related values, its association with depression, and its use in the treatment of …

Treatment Options For Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome, Barbara Bowman

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Posters

With the high incidence of Lyme disease in the endemic areas of North America, it is important to appropriately diagnosis and treat this condition to prevent post treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS). Background information regarding Lyme disease is given. The purpose of this research is to discuss the treatment options available for those patients that fit the case definition of PTLDS. A literature review was conducted using several different electronic databases finding peer reviewed research articles pertaining to the treatment options available for PTLDS. Extended antibiotic use is shown to be not beneficial in most cases. Alternative treatment options listed …

The Impact Of Shift Work On Health And Wellbeing, Stephanie M. Gagelin

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Posters

• Many of today’s industries require workers to perform shift work (typically during 1600-0700). If workers are awake during this time period, circadian misalignment occurs. This scholarly project uses research studies and meta- analyses to provide information about increased health risks associated with circadian misalignment, focusing on the categories of glucose metabolism, cardiovascular system, carcinogenesis, and mental health and acuity.

• Shift work has been found to increase BMI and waist circumference of employees, as well as increase blood glucose levels to “prediabetic” levels in previously euglycemic individuals.

• Shift work has been proven to increase high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), …

Book Review: Abortion Rights: For And Against, Michelle Oberman, Julia D. Hejduk

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Barefoot Training: Effects On Emg Activity Of Gluteus Medius And Tensor Fascia Latae In Habitually Shod Runners, Tom Linner, Casey Murphy, Jeremy O'Keefe

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Purpose/Hypothesis: Running has been a common practice in humans since the species’ dawn. Due to its relative ease and low cost, running continues to be one of the most popular forms of exercise today. Although running provides many benefits such as disease prevention, injury prevalence in running is high. The trend of minimalist shoes and barefoot training has gained popularity over the decade as a return to a more natural form of running. Some researcher hypothesize that barefoot running can reduce injury rate by changing the biomechanics of the runner. In this study we propose a different hypothesis: barefoot running …

Physiological Approach To Characterize Drowsiness In Simulated Flight Operations During Window Of Circadian Low, Bijay Guragain

Theses and Dissertations

Drowsiness is a psycho-physiological transition from awake towards falling sleep and its detection is crucial in aviation industries. It is a common cause for pilot’s error due to unpredictable work hours, longer flight periods, circadian disruption, and insufficient sleep. The pilots’ are prone towards higher level of drowsiness during window of circadian low (2:00 am- 6:00 am). Airplanes require complex operations and lack of alertness increases accidents. Aviation accidents are much disastrous and early drowsiness detection helps to reduce such accidents. This thesis studied physiological signals during drowsiness from 18 commercially-rated pilots in flight simulator. The major aim of the …

Reflections On Teaching The Convergence Of Scandinavian Settlement And Native American Removal In The Upper Midwest, Melissa Gjellstad

Languages & Global Studies Faculty Publications

This article considers student resistance to course content that challenged the dominant narrative of Scandinavian heritage on the Northern Plains. The course viewed the Scandinavian-American immigration to the Upper Midwest through the lens of literary giants such as Drude Krog Jansen, Vilhelm Moberg, and Ole Edvart Rølvaag, but the course also questioned the relative scholarly silence devoted to encounters between Scandinavian Americans and Native Americans during periods of land-taking, settlement, and conflict, including the U.S.–Dakota War. Nonfiction books by Jon Gjerde and Carlton C. Qualey, Karen V. Hansen, and Karl Jakob Skarstein, among others, complicate and inform the realities of …

Section 1: Materials & Design, Ectc Coordinating Committee

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Proceedings of the 19th Annual Early Career Technical Conference, November 2-3, 2019. School of Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama; pp. 1-21

Proceedings Of The 19th Annual Early Career Technical Conference (Complete Issue), Ectc Coordinating Committee

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Proceedings of the 19th Annual Early Career Technical Conference, November 2-3, 2019. School of Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama

On The Design And Development Of A Monolithic Compliant Gripper And Serial Closed Loop Chain Mechanism, Martin Garcia, Ayse Tekes

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Section 1: Materials & Design; pp. 16-21

Microbial Community In Hyperalkaline Steel Slag-Fill Emulates Serpentinizing Springs, J Ingemar Ohlsson, Jay T. Osvatic, Eric D. Becraft, Wesley D. Swingley

Biology

To date, a majority of studies of microbial life in hyperalkaline settings focus on environments that are also highly saline (haloalkaline). Haloalkaline conditions oer microbes abundant workarounds to maintain pH homeostasis, as salt ions can be exchanged for protons by dedicated antiporter proteins. Yet hyperalkaline freshwater systems also occur both naturally and anthropogenically, such as the slag fill aquifers around former Lake Calumet (Chicago, IL, USA). In this study, 16S rRNA gene sequences and metagenomic sequence libraries were collected to assess the taxonomic composition and functional potential of microbes present in these slag-polluted waterways. Relative 16S rRNA gene abundances in …

Protection Through Participation: Crowdsourced Tap Water Quality Monitoring For Enhanced Public Health, Sarah A. Jakositz

Master's Theses and Capstones

Lead contamination in municipal drinking water is a national public health issue and is generally the result of water contact with leaded distribution piping and on-premise plumbing. As a result, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper Rule requires point of use sampling methods at a small fraction of consumer taps on the public water distribution system. While this approach is practical, it leaves large gaps of consumers without direct monitoring and protection. In response, a novel contest-based crowdsourcing study was conducted to engage the public in monitoring their own water quality at their home taps and study factors …