Digital Commons Network^™

Disarming Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Virulence By The Inhibitory Action Of 1,10-Phenanthroline-5,6-Dione- Based Compounds: Elastase B (Lasb) As A Chemotherapeutic Target, Anna Clara M. Galdino, Livia Vigano, Aleaxandre A. De Castron, Elaine F.F; Da Cunha, Thais P. Mello, Larissa M. Mattos, Marcos D. Pereira, Mary Hunt, Megan O'Shaughnessy, Orla L. Howe, Michael Devereux, Malachy Mccann, Teodorico C. Ramalho, Marta H. Branquinha, André L.S. Santos

Articles

negative pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and this enzyme orchestrates several physiopathological events during bacteria-host interplays. LasB is considered to be a potential target for the development of an innovative chemotherapeutic approach, especially against multidrug-resistant strains. Recently, our group showed that 1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione (phendione), [Ag(phendione)2]ClO4 (Ag-phendione) and [Cu(phendione)3](ClO4)2.4H2O (Cu-phendione) had anti-P. aeruginosa action against both planktonic- and biofilm-growing cells. In the present work, we have evaluated the effects of these compounds on the (i) interaction with the lasB active site using in silico approaches, (ii) lasB proteolytic activity by using a specific fluorogenic peptide substrate, (iii) lasB gene expression by real time-polymerase chain …

Transition To Grandparenthood And Subjective Well-Being In Older Europeans: A Within-Person Investigation Using Longitudinal Data, Antti O. Tanskanen, Mirkka Danielsbacka, David A. Coall, Markus Jokela

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The transition to grandparenthood, that is the birth of the first grandchild, is often assumed to increase the subjective well-being of older adults; however, prior studies are scarce and have provided mixed results. Investigation of the associations between grandparenthood and subjective well-being, measured by self-rated life satisfaction, quality of life scores, and depressive symptoms, used the longitudinal Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe from 13 countries, including follow-up waves between 2006 and 2015 (n = 64,940 person-observations from 38,456 unique persons of whom 18,207 had two or more measurement times). Both between-person and within-person (or fixed-effect) regression …

Avian Igy As An Immunotherapy For Flaviviral Infections, Kyle O'Donnell

Theses and Dissertations

Flaviviruses compose a group of positive single strand RNA viruses. This group possess 70 individual viruses that cause disease in humans and animals. This group contains the most prevalent arbovirus dengue virus (DENV) and a recently emerging arbovirus zika virus (ZIKV). Both DENV and ZIKV represent significant world health threats and both viruses, at the moment, are contained to tropical and sub tropical regions due to vector habitat restrictions. DENV can cause severe hemorrhagic fever termed dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome depending on the extent of vascular permeability. The disease burden attributed to dengue infection is approximately 390 …

Application Of Social Capital Theory To Examine The Relationship Between It-Business Alignment And Organizational Performance Outcomes In Health Care, Michael David Seagraves

Theses and Dissertations

Health care organizations are facing increasing challenges as they strive to keep pace with evolving service delivery and reimbursement models. In this context, the effective use of Information Technology (IT) is widely acknowledged as a critical factor for achieving the quadruple aim of health care: better outcomes, lower cost, improved patient experience, and improved clinician experience. Even so, health care organizations have struggled to develop effective working relationships between IT and business units and there remains a dearth of research on the impact that the quality of the relationship between IT and business employees has on organizational performance outcomes. Applying …

Linking Communicative Interaction To Cognitive Functioning: Implications For Older Adults, Denise Calhoun

Theses and Dissertations

As the percentage of older adults within the U.S. steadily increases, long-term care options are being impacted with growing numbers of seniors to provide for. The reality of these elevated numbers have sparked an interest in researchers to conduct studies on human development, plasticity in the brain, and training and intervention programs in search for ways to halt or lessen the cognitive and communicative decline, in older adults. As an alternative path to help older adults maintain quality of life, this study proposes to examine the link between communicative interaction and cognitive functioning to educate family members and healthcare providers …

Mold, Allergic Diseases And Asthma: Assessing The Validity And Usefulness Of Indoor Air Sampling As A Tool In Providing Health Protective Advice To Occupants, William M. Sothern

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Asthma is a major health problem throughout the world, disproportionately affecting occupants of low-income housing, and exposure to damp and moldy living conditions is recognized as a significant risk factor for asthma and other respiratory diseases. However, there are no authoritative health guidance values (HGV's) for airborne mold, and current scientific thought holds that the establishment of such guidelines is not practicable. Nonetheless, environmental practitioners take air samples for mold as a routine component of their indoor environmental investigations and use the laboratory results as a tool together with other findings to guide recommendations for health protective actions. The …

Creating A Culture Of Wellness: A Call To Action For Higher Education, Igniting Change In Academic Institutions, Megan Amaya, Teresa Donegan, Debbie Conner, Julie Edwards, Christine S. Gipson

Nursing Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Due to the continued rise of chronic conditions and unhealthy lifestyle choices, more innovative and evidence-based practices are needed for students, faculty and staff to improve population health outcomes and enhance overall well-being.

Aim: The purpose of this paper is to inform academic health promotion professionals of key strategies to consider in order to create cultures of wellness on their college campuses.

Methods: A review of the existing literature was conducted.

Results: The most current evidence-based practices to create a culture of wellness are discussed.

Conclusions: Institutions of higher education have an opportunity to create campus cultures that foster …

Multi-Partner Fertility In A Disadvantaged Population: Results And Policy Implications Of An Empirical Investigation Of Paternity Actions In St. Joseph County, Indiana, Margaret F. Brinig, Marsha Garrison

Journal Articles

In this paper, we report data on multi-partner fertility (MPF) in a population of children and parents for whom paternity actions were brought, in 2008 or 2010, in St. Joseph County, Indiana. The computerized, court-based record system we utilized enabled us to collect information on parental characteristics and child outcomes that other MPF researchers have been unable to access. Our research thus offers a unique, data-rich window into an important, and growing, aspect of contemporary family life. It also points the way to needed shifts in family policy and law.

High School Completion In Context: Student- And School-Level Factors Related To On-Time Graduation, Mathew C. Uretsky

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background/Context: There is an expansive body of research concerning high school graduation; however, most studies omit students who persist through four years of high school without earning a diploma. In addition, there is scant research exploring longer-term outcomes among students whose academic trajectories do not fit within the traditional four-year model of high school graduation, including eventual graduation, post-secondary enrollment, or engagement in the workforce.

Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: The current study addresses the substantive gaps in research regarding high school non-completion by examining the college and workforce outcomes of persisters—defined here as students who do not formally …

Wood Creek Tidal Marsh Enhancement Project Benthic Macroinvertebrate Monitoring Report 2019, Alex T. Morrison, Jett W. Hagerty, Claire M. Branson

Environmental Science & Management Senior Capstones

The focus of this report was to monitor benthic macroinvertebrate communities on the Freshwater Farms Reserve, which underwent two phases of restoration as part of the Wood Creek Tidal Marsh Enhancement Project in 2009-2010 and 2016-2018. Objectives for the restoration activities were to increase winter rearing refugia habitat for several threatened/endangered fish species such as the tidewater goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi), Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). The goals of this project were to (1) sample and identify BMIs along a salinity gradient in Wood Creek; (2) assess water quality; and (3) …

A Novel Sparse Compositional Technique Reveals Microbial Perturbations, Cameron Martino, James T. Morton, Clarisse A. Martoz, Luke R. Thompson, Anupriya Tripathi, Rob Knight, Karsten Zengler

Faculty Publications

The central aims of many host or environmental microbiome studies are to elucidate factors associated with microbial community compositions and to relate microbial features to outcomes. However, these aims are often complicated by difficulties stemming from high-dimensionality, non-normality, sparsity, and the compositional nature of microbiome data sets. A key tool in microbiome analysis is beta diversity, defined by the distances between microbial samples. Many different distance metrics have been proposed, all with varying discriminatory power on data with differing characteristics. Here, we propose a compositional beta diversity metric rooted in a centered log-ratio transformation and matrix completion called robust Aitchison …

Leveling Down Gender Equality, Tracy A. Thomas

Akron Law Faculty Publications

The U.S. Supreme Court recently revived its jurisprudence of “leveling down,” that is, curing an equal protection violation of gender discrimination by denying the requested benefit to all rather than extending the benefit to the excluded class. This article challenges the continuation of the conventional acceptance of leveling down as an equally legitimate remedial option for gender discrimination. Instead, it argues for the adoption of an alternative remedial calculus of a strong presumption of leveling up remedies, overcome only by limited equitable considerations. Such a presumption better effectuates the substantive right of gender equality, as well as the correlative due …

The Search For Microbial Martian Life And American Buddhist Ethics, Daniel S. Capper

Faculty Publications

Multiple searches hunt for extraterrestrial life, yet the ethics of such searches in terms of fossil and possible extant life on Mars have not been sufficiently delineated. In response, in this essay I propose a tripartite ethic for searches for microbial Martian life that consists of default nonharm toward potential living beings, default nonharm to the habitats of potential living beings, but also responsible, restrained scientific harvesting of some microbes in limited transgression of these default nonharm modes. Although this multifaceted ethic remains secular and hence adaptable to space research settings, it arises from both a qualitative analysis of authoritative …

Vector Tick Transmission Model Of Spotted Fever Rickettsiosis, Tais Berelli Saito, Jeremy Bechelli, Claire Smalley, Shahid Karim, David H. Walker

Faculty Publications

Many aspects of rickettsial infections have been characterized, including pathogenic and immune pathways and mechanisms of rickettsial survival within the vertebrate host and tick vector. However, very few studies are focused on the complex pathogen–vector–host interactions during tick feeding. Therefore, our objective was to develop a tick transmission model of the spotted fever group of rickettsial infections to study the initial events in disease development. The most appropriate strain of mouse was identified for evaluation as a transmission model, and the course of infection, bacterial levels, histopathologic changes, and antibody response during tick transmission in mice infested with Amblyomma maculatum …

Periphytic Algae Decouple Fungal Activity From Leaf Litter Decomposition Via Negative Priming, Halvor M. Halvorson, Jacob R. Barry, Matthew B. Lodato, Robert H. Findlay, Steven N. Francoeur, Kevin A. Kuehn

Faculty Publications

1. Well‐documented in terrestrial settings, priming effects describe stimulated heterotrophic microbial activity and decomposition of recalcitrant carbon by additions of labile carbon. In aquatic settings, algae produce labile exudates which may elicit priming during organic matter decomposition, yet the directions and mechanisms of aquatic priming effects remain poorly tested.

2. We tested algal‐induced priming during decomposition of two leaf species of contrasting recalcitrance, Liriodendron tulipifera and Quercus nigra, in experimental streams under light or dark conditions. We measured litter‐associated algal, bacterial, and fungal biomass and activity, stoichiometry, and litter decomposition rates over 43 days.

3. Light increased algal biomass and …

Ladies, Gentlemen And Guys: The Gender Politics Of Politeness, Sonam Pelden, Elizabeth Reid Boyd, Madelena Grobbelaar, Kwadwo Adusei-Asante, Lucy Hopkins

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Are there ladies and gentlemen in the 21st century? Do we need them? In the 20th century, lady became particularly unpopular with second wave feminists, who preferred ‘woman’. Gentleman was seen as similarly politically incorrect: class, race and culture bound. Following previous research on the word lady, we explore here some current evocations and debates around these words. We consider how the more casual, etymologically gendered term ‘guy’ has been utilized for men and women, and how it functions to reflect and obscure gender. While the return of the lady might be considered a consumer fad, a neo-conservative post-feminist backlash, …

Children Exhibit A More Comparable Neuromuscular Fatigue Profile To Endurance Athletes Than Untrained Adults, Bastien Bontemps, Enzo Piponnier, Emeric Chalchat, Anthony J. Blazevich, Valérie Julian, Olivia Bocock, Martine Duclos, Vincent Martin, Sébastien Ratel

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The present study compared neuromuscular fatigue profiles between children, untrained adults and adult endurance athletes during repeated maximal muscle contractions. Eighteen prepubertal boys, 19 untrained men and 13 endurance male athletes performed 5-s maximal voluntary isometric knee extensor contractions (MVICs) interspersed with 5-s recovery until MVIC reached 60% of its initial value. Single and doublet magnetic stimulations were delivered to the femoral nerve to quantify the time course of potentiated twitch amplitude (T_tw,pot), high-frequency torque (T_{100 Hz}) and the low-to-high frequency torque ratio (T_{10 Hz}/T_{100 Hz}), i.e., indicators of peripheral fatigue. M-wave-normalized …

Neuromeasure: A Software Package For Quantification Of Cortical Motor Maps Using Frameless Stereotaxic Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Michael B. Gerber, Alasdair C. Mclean, Samuel J. Stephen, Alex G. Chalco, Usman M. Arshad, Gary W. Thickbroom, Josh Silverstein, K. Zoe Tsagaris, Amy Kuceyeski, Kathleen Friel, Taiza E. G. Santos, Dylan J. Edwards

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The recent enhanced sophistication of non-invasive mapping of the human motor cortex using MRI-guided Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) techniques, has not been matched by refinement of methods for generating maps from motor evoked potential (MEP) data, or in quantifying map features. This is despite continued interest in understanding cortical reorganization for natural adaptive processes such as skill learning, or in the case of motor recovery, such as after lesion affecting the corticospinal system. With the observation that TMS-MEP map calculation and quantification methods vary, and that no readily available commercial or free software exists, we sought to establish and make …

Establishment Of Coral-Bacteria Symbioses Reveal Changes In The Core Bacterial Community With Host Ontogeny, Rachele Bernasconi, Michael Stat, Annette Koenders, Andrea Paparini, Michael Bunce, Megan J. Huggett

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Bacterial communities are fundamental symbionts of corals. However, the process by which bacterial communities are acquired across the life history of corals, particularly in larval and early juvenile stages, is still poorly characterized. Here, transfer of bacteria of the Scleractinian coral Acropora digitifera from adults to spawned egg-sperm bundles was analyzed, as well as acquisition across early developmental stages (larvae and newly settled spat), and 6-month-old juveniles. Larvae were reared under manipulated environmental conditions to determine the source (maternal, seawater, or sediment) of bacteria likely to establish symbiotic relationships with the host using amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. …

Is The Blood An Alternative For Programmed Cell Death Ligand 1 Assessment In Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer?, Emmanuel Acheampong, Isaac Spencer, Weitao Lin, Melanie Ziman, Michael Millward, Elin Gray

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Anti-programmed cell death (PD)-1/PD-ligand 1 (L1) therapies have significantly improved the outcomes for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients in recent years. These therapies work by reactivating the immune system and enabling it to target cancer cells once more. There is a general agreement that expression of PD-L1 on tumour cells predicts the therapeutic response to PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in NSCLC. Hence, immunohistochemical staining of tumour tissue biopsies from NSCLC patients with PD-L1 antibodies is the current standard used to aid selection of patients for treatment with anti-PD-1 as first line therapy. However, issues of small tissue samples, tissue heterogeneity, the …

The Sensitivity Of Marginally Stratified Shelf Sea Fronts To Turbulent Mixing Processes, Marcus Zanacchi

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Turbulent mixing plays an important role in controlling the vertical structure of temperature, salinity and density in shelf seas. It is crucial in controlling the seasonal stratification in temperate shelf seas, though our incomplete knowledge of the processes involved prevents an accurate representation in numerical shelf sea modelling. This study made use of both observational field work and numerical turbulence modelling to identify first- and second-order mixing mechanisms in weakly stratified waters in the Celtic Sea, U.K. Field work was conducted both in spring (May, 2012) and summer (August, 2012). During the 11-day field work in spring, an overall warming …

Home Range Impacts Of Cattle And Pony Grazing On A Lowland East Devon Pebblebed Heath, Philippa Ingle

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Home range impacts of cattle and pony grazing on a lowland East Devon Pebblebed Heath by Philippa Ingle Lowland heath is of ecological importance due to the rarity of the habitats and of the species supported. Bicton Common is an East Devon lowland Pebblebed heath comprised of Atlantic wet heath, dry heath and mire, of which the former two are both Annex I habitats. Both the wet heath and mire are in favourable recovery whereas, the dry heath is in unfavourable recovery partly due to the dominance of M. caerulea. The main aim of this study was to assess the …

Establishing A Link Between Composition And Toxicity Of Offshore Produced Waters Using Comprehensive Analysis Techniques – A Way Forward For Discharge Monitoring?, Lisbet Sørensen, Paul Mccormack, Dag Altin, William J. Robson, Andy M. Booth, Liv Guri Faksness, Steven J. Rowland, Trond R. Størseth

More Faculty of Science and Engineering Research

Extracts of produced waters from five mature Norwegian Sea oil fields were examined as total organic extracts (TOEs) and after fractionation into operationally-defined 'polar' and 'apolar' fractions. The TOEs and fractions were examined by gas chromatography (GC), GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), two dimensional GC-MS (GC × GC-MS) and liquid chromatography with high-resolution spectrometry (LC-HRMS) techniques. Low molecular weight aromatics, phenols and other common petroleum-derived hydrocarbons were characterized and quantified in the TOEs and fractions. In addition, a range of more uncommon polar and apolar constituents, including those likely derived from production chemicals, such as trithiolane, imidazolines and quaternary amine compounds (so-called …

Bioturbation In Estuarine Sediments: Modelling Macrofauna-Mediated Oxygen Dynamics, Xiaoyu Fang

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The aim of this thesis was to provide a comprehensive examination of the roles of macrofauna in estuarine biogeochemistry by adopting a multidisciplinary field and laboratory-based approach and integrating species distribution modelling with biomass-dependent ecosystem function relationships. Eventually, an ecosystem management tool to provide insights into the ecological consequences of anthropogenic disturbance in estuaries was developed using the Western Scheldt as a model system. To establish a baseline understanding of the spatio-temporal patterns of macrobenthos (activities) and ecosystem functioning in the Scheldt estuary, a seasonal survey was carried out during four consecutive seasons in 2015 and 2016, sampling three habitats …

The Dietary Bioaccumulation And Detection Of Engineered Nanosilver In Fish, Nathaniel Clark

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Emerging contaminants, including engineered nanomaterials (ENMs), need to undergo environmental risk assessment, whereby they are tested for properties of persistence in the environment, toxicity or bioaccumulation. To date, little data exists for the bioaccumulation of ENMs in animals, particularly fish, with a focus on alternative methods to in vivo testing. Also, interpretation of data for hazard assessment is hampered by the lack of routine methods to detect the form of materials in the tissues following exposure. Therefore, there were three main aims to the thesis; the first was to determine the dietary accumulation of ENMs into fish, using a tiered …

Human Impacts On Oligotrophic Marine Ecosystems: Case Studies From Cyprus, Mediterranean Sea, Demetris Kletou

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Highly oligotrophic marine waters cover about a third of the Earth’s surface and have diverse communities that are affected by multiple stressors, such as ocean acidification, warming, marine litter, pollution, overfishing. The low nutrient Mediterranean Sea has high biodiversity and endemism but is heavily impacted by these human pressures and a recent major influx of invasive alien species that compete, predate and infect indigenous species. Aquaculture effluents and eutrophication alter water quality and add pressure on coastal ecosystems that are already subject to habitat loss and degradation due to coastal developments. This PhD dissertation reviews human impacts on highly oligotrophic …

Assessing The Exposure And Behavioural Response Of Grey Seals (Halichoerus Grypus) To Shipping Noise, Leah Trigg

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Marine mammals use sound to drive vital life functions such as communication, foraging and navigation, but the underwater soundscape upon which they rely is changing. Growth in global trade and manufacturing has driven a dramatic increase in the number and size of ships in the commercial fleet. These ships generate chronic underwater noise which has been associated with a number of negative ecological effects such as auditory damage, changes in behaviour and stress. As a result, regulatory bodies have recognised underwater noise as a pollutant. However, there is still a lack of data relating to the noise levels experienced by …

Applying Long Temporal Scale Plankton Data To Marine Strategy Development Under Climate Change, Jacob Bedford

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Assessing changes in the state of marine biodiversity is critical for underpinning sustainable marine management. As the cumulative effects of multiple anthropogenic pressures on marine ecosystems are increasingly understood, and the importance of marine ecosystems in providing goods and services to society is increasingly recognised, marine management frameworks are transitioning towards an ecosystem-based approach, explicitly addressing biodiversity change. Under the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), biodiversity indicators are used to assess the state of marine ecosystems against defined targets. Plankton communities are a key component of these biodiversity assessments and indicators for both phytoplankton and zooplankton are used to …

Disease Ecology Of Two Emerging Amphibian Pathogens In Costa Rica, Felicity Jennifer Wynne

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The emergence of infectious diseases is increasing globally, whilst biodiversity is being lost at an unprecedented rate. The amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) has driven the extinction of more species than any other known pathogen. This loss was particularly severe among Neotropical amphibians, with several infamous extinctions from Costa Rica. Although chytrid has been attributed to all enigmatic population declines in Costa Rica, its presence has only been investigated from a few populations. Alongside chytrid, another pathogen, ranavirus (Ranavirus spp.), is considered a significant threat to amphibian populations. Very little is known about ranaviruses outside of temperate regions, but its …

Driven To Distraction? Behavioural Impacts Of Anthropogenic Noise On The European Hermit Crab Pagurus Bernhardus From Individual To Group Level, Svenja Tidau

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Human activities are altering the planet at an unprecedented scale and pace, ranging from effects on global systems such as climate and carbon cycles to localised but globally wide-spread exposure to anthropogenic pollution such as noise. Anthropogenic noise is an example of human-induced rapid environmental change (HIREC) which can mask, distract and disrupt natural stimuli and sensory-cognitive processes. Since HIREC can alter the sensory environment of animals, and how they detect and process information from their biotic and abiotic environment to make accurate decisions, this process has been termed sensory pollution. While growing evidence shows detrimental effects on across taxa, …