Digital Commons Network^™

Blockade Of Fibroblast Activation Protein In Combination With Radiation Treatment In Murine Models Of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma., Andrew J Gunderson, Tomoko Yamazaki, Kayla Mccarty, Michaela Phillips, Alejandro F Alice, Shelly Bambina, Lauren Zebertavage, David Friedman, Benjamin Cottam, Pippa Newell, Michael J. Gough, Marka R Crittenden, Pieter Van Der Veken, Kristina H Young

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by a fibrotic stroma with a poor lymphocyte infiltrate, in part driven by cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). CAFs, which express fibroblast activation protein (FAP), contribute to immune escape via exclusion of anti-tumor CD8+ T cells from cancer cells, upregulation of immune checkpoint ligand expression, immunosuppressive cytokine production, and polarization of tumor infiltrating inflammatory cells. FAP is a post-proline peptidase selectively expressed during tissue remodeling and repair, such as with wound healing, and in the tumor microenvironment by cancer-associated fibroblasts. We targeted FAP function using a novel small molecule inhibitor, UAMC-1110, and mice with germline knockout …

Measurement Properties Of The Minimal Disease Activity Criteria For Psoriatic Arthritis., Laura C Coates, Vibeke Strand, Hilary Wilson, Dennis Revicki, Brad Stolshek, Ahmed Samad, James B Chung, Dafna Gladman, Philip Mease

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

Objective: To comprehensively assess evidence on the measurement properties of the minimal disease activity (MDA) criteria, a composite measure of the state of disease activity in psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Methods: A targeted literature review was conducted to identify studies that informed the validity and/or ability of the MDA to detect change among patients known to have experienced a change in clinical status. The search was conducted using MEDLINE and Embase databases (published as of October 2017). Pertinent articles provided by investigators and identified from select conference proceedings were also evaluated.

Results: A total of 20 publications met the inclusion criteria. …

Lymphatic Migration Of Immune Cells., Henry R Hampton, Tatyana Chtanova

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

Lymphatic vessels collect interstitial fluid that has extravasated from blood vessels and return it to the circulatory system. Another important function of the lymphatic network is to facilitate immune cell migration and antigen transport from the periphery to draining lymph nodes. This migration plays a crucial role in immune surveillance, initiation of immune responses and tolerance. Here we discuss the significance and mechanisms of lymphatic migration of innate and adaptive immune cells in homeostasis, inflammation and cancer.

Performance Of Mechanical Filters Used In General Ventilation Against Nanoparticles, C. Brochot, A. Bahloul, P. Abdolghader, F. Haghighat

Résumés de conférences

No abstract provided.

Separating Families Without Due Process: Hidden Child Removals Closer To Home, Wendy Jennings

City University of New York Law Review

Americans across the political spectrum protested in response to the United States government’s family separation policy at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2018. The everyday family separations that occur in the U.S. child welfare system go unnoticed by many, however. This Note examines the lack of due process, the injustice, and the trauma caused by the child welfare system, focusing specifically on the common practice of removing children from their parents while home on “trial discharge,” when families reunite after children were in foster care. After reviewing the harm caused when children are removed from their parents, this Note explains the …

The Rogue Sovereign: Trump, Sovereignty & Revolution, A. Kayum Ahmed

City University of New York Law Review

In his inaugural U.N. General Assembly address, President Donald Trump mentioned the words ‘sovereign’ or ‘sovereignty’ 21 times. This article offers an analysis of the president’s invocation of the concept of sovereignty and the political effects of such an appropriation. While one must take caution to avoid over-analyzing a presidential speech or ascribe meaning where none exists, there may be a greater risk in failing to properly analyze Trump’s remarks or dismissing them as simply a reflection of an inconsistent, contradictory or uninformed understanding of the principle of sovereignty. As a result, Part I of this article offers a brief …

Birth Certificate With A Benefit: Using Lgbtq Jurisprudence To Make The Argument For A Transgender Person’S Constitutional Right To Amended Identity Documents, Bryanna Jenkins

City University of New York Law Review

The central argument of this note is that transgender people, particularly non-operative transsexual people, have the constitutional right to amend their birth certificates to reflect their accurate gender identity. In addition, this note argues that Pavan v. Smith—holding that same-sex couples have the constitutional right to be listed on their child’s birth certificate—will eventually advance the invalidation of inconsistent and antiquated gender marker laws across the country. Part I provides an overview of transgender-specific vocabulary that is used throughout this note. Part II expounds the importance of legally recognizing transgender identities. Part III discusses the U.S. Supreme Court’s LGBTQ jurisprudence, …

Dnmt3a In The Hippocampal Ca1 Is Crucial In The Acquisition Of Morphine Self‐Administration In Rats, Jian-Jun Zhang, Feng-Ze Jiang, Wei Zheng, Ying Duan, Su-Bo Jin, Fang Shen, Jing Liang, Ming Li, Nan Sui

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Drug‐reinforced excessive operant responding is one fundamental feature of long-lasting addiction‐like behaviors and relapse in animals. However, the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms responsible for the persistent drug‐specific (not natural rewards) operant behavior are not entirely clear. In this study, we demonstrate a key role for one of the de novo DNA methyltransferase, DNMT3a, in the acquisition of morphine self‐administration (SA) in rats. The expression of DNMT3a in the hippocampal CA1 region but not in the nucleus accumbens shell was significantly up‐regulated after 1‐ and 7‐day morphine SA (0.3 mg/kg/infusion) but not after the yoked morphine injection. On the other hand, saccharin …

Salivary Total Immunoglobulin G As A Surrogate Marker Of Oral Immune Activity In Salivary Bioscience Research, Jenna L. Riis, Crystal I. Bryce, John L. Stebbins, Douglas A. Granger

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The integration of salivary biomeasures in biobehavioral, psychophysiological, and clinical research has greatly expanded our ability to study the biopsychosocial processes underlying health. Much of this research, however, has failed to adequately assess and adjust for the impact of oral immune activity on salivary biomeasure concentrations and associations with serum levels. Aiming to improve the validity and reliability of salivary biomeasure data, we examine salivary total Immunoglobulin G (IgG) as a potential surrogate marker of oral inflammation and immune activity. During a single study visit in Baltimore, Maryland, healthy young adult participants provided matched blood and saliva samples (N …

Biological Risk Profiles Among Latino Subgroups In The Health And Retirement Study, Catherine García, Jennifer A. Ailshire

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Background and Objectives: Latinos residing in the United States exhibit an increased risk for cardiovascular and meta- bolic diseases compared to non-Latino whites. This elevated risk contributes to a significantly higher prevalence of diabetes and hypertension among Latino adults. Examining biological risk profiles of older Latinos as a “pan-ethnic group” and by Latino subpopulations may help to explain the increased burden of disease in later life among this population. The objec- tive of this study is to document biological risk profiles among a nationally representative sample of older U.S. Latinos by nativity and country of origin.

Research Design and Methods: …

Culture And The Development Of Traditional Medicine In Africa, Rowland Edet, Oyedolapo Isaac Bello, Julianah Babajide

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Traditional medicine has been the dominant healthcare system in Africa before westernization, civilization and colonialism. For people living in the rural areas, traditional medicine is easily available, accessible and affordable. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the cultural way of the life of Africans has contributed to the emergence and development of traditional therapeutic systems in the continent. By explaining the way Africans perceive illness and disease, this paper argues that various forms of healing were predicated on the sociocultural environment of the people. The paper therefore opts for concerted efforts in the development of traditional medicine …

Disability And The Immigrant Health Paradox: Gender And Timing Of Migration, Marc A. Garcia, Adriana M. Reyes, Sunshine Rote

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Although research has documented better health and longer life expectancy among the foreign-born relative to their U.S.-born counterparts, the U.S. Mexican-origin immigrant population is diverse and the healthy immigrant effect likely varies by key structural and demographic factors such as gender, migration history, and duration in the United States. Using a life course framework, we use data from the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (H-EPESE 1993–2013) which includes Mexican-American individuals aged 65 and older to assess the heterogeneity in the immigrant health advantage by age of migration and gender. We find that age of migration …

Childhood Misfortune And Handgrip Strength Among Black, White, And Hispanic Americans, Natalie R. Smith, Kenneth F. Ferraro, Blakelee R. Kemp, Patricia M. Morton, Sarah A. Mustillo, Jacqueline L. Angel

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Objective: Although early-life insults may affect health, few studies use objective physical measures of adult health. This study investigated whether experiencing misfortune during childhood is associated with handgrip strength (HGS) in later life.

Method: Data on childhood misfortune and adult characteristics from the Health and Retirement Study were used to predict baseline and longitudinal change in HGS among White, Black, and Hispanic American men and women.

Results: Regression analyses revealed that multiple indicators of childhood misfortune were related to HGS at baseline, but the relationships were distinct for men and women. Over the study, having one childhood impairment predicted steeper …

Late Life Depressive Symptoms And Cognitive Function Among Older Mexican Adults: The Past And The Present, Joseph L. Saenz, Marc A. Garcia, Brian Downer

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Objective: To evaluate associations between depression and individual cognitive domains and how changes in depressive symptoms relate to cognition three years later in the context of Mexico, a developing country experiencing rapid aging.

Method: Data comes from waves 3 (2012) and 4 (2015) of the Mexican Health and Aging Study (n=12,898, age 50+). Depression is ascertained using a modified Center for Epidemiologic Studies – Depression Scale. Cognition is assessed using verbal learning, verbal memory, visual scanning, verbal fluency, visuospatial ability, visual memory, and orientation tasks. Depressive symptoms and cognitive functioning were both measured in 2012 and 2015. Scores across cognitive …

An Instructional Module For Nurses To Teach Patients With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus, Josephine Onyekachi Ollawa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a carbohydrate metabolism issue during pregnancy that is dangerous for mother and the baby. GDM occurs in 1 out of 3 diabetic women in 16.2% of live births. GDM knowledge and treatment practices among nurses were found inadequate when nurses’ effectiveness in treating a disease they have a shallow knowledge about (GDM) was investigated in the local medical facility. A GDM instructional module was applied and its effectiveness in promoting nurse’s use of GDM education as a treatment strategy tested. The total concept for knowledge and care, empowerment and the social cognitive theories grounded this …

Third-Grade Reading Teachers' Views On Achieve3000 For The Florida Standards Assessment Test, Ennis L. Brinson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Educators are challenged with meeting the academic needs of students, particularly in the subject area of reading. School districts purchase tools such as Achieve3000 to help students improve their proficiency in reading; however, implementation of such interventions has not been explored from the educators' perspective. This study explored 3rd grade reading teachers' views on Achieve3000 as a tool for improving reading proficiency and preparedness for the Florida State Standards English Language Arts assessment. The conceptual framework included the theory of social validity and current research as it related to differentiated instruction. This study utilized a basic qualitative approach to answer …

When Viruses Infect Plants, Hernan Garcia-Ruiz

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Just as human beings can catch a cold, plants can also get viral infections. Understanding the mechanisms regulating the interactions between plants and viruses is the first step towards developing better management strategies and using biotechnology methods to immunise plants and engineer genetic resistance to viruses in plants. This is the focus of research by Dr Hernan Garcia-Ruiz and his team based at the University of Nebraska, USA.

Viral diseases in plants can cause important economic losses as a result of poor-quality products and lower yield. This impact can particularly seriously affect developing countries which are more likely to be …

Host Factors Against Plant Viruses, Hernan García-Ruiz

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Plant virus genome replication and movement is dependent on host resources and factors. However, plants respond to virus infection through several mechanisms, such as autophagy, ubiquitination, mRNA decay and gene silencing, that target viral components. Viral factors work in synchrony with pro-viral host factors during the infection cycle and are targeted by antiviral responses. Accordingly, establishment of virus infection is genetically determined by the availability of the pro-viral factors necessary for genome replication and movement, and by the balance between plant defence and viral suppression of defence responses. Sequential requirement of pro-viral factors and the antagonistic activity of antiviral factors …

Libraries' Shifting Roles And Responsibilities In The Networked Age, Michael W. Carroll

Contributions to Books

My goal in this chapter is to advance the argument that access denied to resources in digital form is a more serious, and more solvable, problem than one might glean from the literature. Digital networks make access possible to a degree that would have been unimaginable in the analog era. What was once a mix of technological and economic constraints on access is now reduced to legal, rather than technological, constraints. The library community should more explicitly commit itself to the goal of ubiquitous access to digital content.

The role of the library in public life should be to minimize …

Allowable Take Of Black Vultures In The Eastern United States, Guthrie Zimmerman, Brian A. Millsap, Michael L. Avery, John R. Sauer, Michael C. Runge, Kenneth D. Richkus

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Black vultures (Coragyps atratus) have been increasing in density and expanding their range in the eastern United States since at least the 1960s. In many areas, their densities have increased to the level where they are causing damage to property and livestock and the number of requests for allowable take permits has increased throughout these areas. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) requires updated information to help inform the number of take permits that could reduce conflicts while meeting obligations under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.We expanded analyses used to estimate allowable take in Virginia to …

Effects Of Repeated Sublethal External Exposure To Deep Water Horizon Oil On The Avian Metabolome, Brian S. Dorr, Katie C. Hanson-Dorr, Fariba M. Assadi-Porter, Ebru Selin Selen, Katherine A. Healy, Katherine E. Horak

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We assessed adverse effects of external sublethal exposure of Deepwater Horizon, Mississippi Canyon 252 oil on plasma and liver metabolome profiles of the double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), a large (1.5 to 3.0 kg) diving waterbird common in the Gulf of Mexico. Metabolomics analysis of avian plasma showed significant negative effects on avian metabolic profiles, in some cases after only two external exposures (26 g cumulative) to oil. We observed significant (p < 0.05) changes in intermediate metabolites of energy metabolism and fatty acid and amino acid metabolic pathways in cormorants after repeated exposure to oil. Exposure to oil increased several metabolites (glycine, betaine, serine and methionine) that are essential to the one-carbon metabolism pathway. Lipid metabolism was affected, causing an increase in production of ketone bodies, suggesting lipids were used as an alternative energy source for energy production in oil exposed birds. In addition, metabolites associated with hepatic bile acid metabolism were affected by oil exposure which was correlated with changes observed in bile acids in exposed birds. These changes at the most basic level of phenotypic expression caused by sublethal exposure to oil can have effects that would be detrimental to reproduction, migration, and survival in avian species.

The Conundrum Of Agenda-Driven Science In Conservation, M. Zachariah Peery, Gavin M. Jones, R. J. Gutierrez, Steve M. Redpath, Alan B. Franklin, Daniel Simberloff, Monica G. Turner, Volker C. Radeloff, Gary C. White

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Conservation biology is a value-laden discipline predicated on conserving biodiversity (Soulé 1985), a mission that does not always sit easily with objective science (Lackey 2007; Pielke 2007; Scott et al. 2007). While some encourage scientists to be responsible advocates for conservation (Garrard et al. 2016), others worry that objectivity in conservation research may suffer (Lackey 2007). At this time, we believe advocacy by scientists is essential for environmental conservation and, indeed, humanity. It is difficult to envision the state of our environment had scientists failed to encourage policy makers and the public to address emerging conservation problems. Nevertheless, conservation scientists …

Group Effects Of A Non-Native Plant Invasion On Rodent Abundance, Bryan M. Kluever, Trinity N. Smith, Eric M. Gese

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is the most prolific invading plant in western North America. Investigations determining the impact of this invasion on population state variables and community dynamics of rodents have largely occurred at the community or species level, creating a knowledge gap as to whether rodents affiliated by a shared taxonomy or other grouping are differentially affected by cheatgrass invasion. We examined rodent abundance along a gradient of cheatgrass cover using various groupings of two nocturnal rodent taxa comprising the majority of the rodent community in the Great Basin Desert. In the summers of 2010–2013, rodents were sampled …

Machine Learning To Classify Animal Species In Camera Trap Images: Applications In Ecology, Michael A. Tabak, Mohammad S. Norouzzadeh, David W. Wolfson, Steven J. Sweeney, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Nathan P. Snow, Joseph M. Halseth, Paul A. Di Salvo, Jesse S. Lewis, Michael D. White, Ben Teton, James C. Beasley, Peter E. Schlichting, Raoul K. Boughton, Bethany Wight, Eric S. Newkirk, Jacob S. Ivan, Eric A. Odell, Ryan K. Brook, Paul M. Lukacs, Anna K. Moeller, Elizabeth G. Mandeville, Jeff Clune, Ryan S. Miller

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

1. Motion-activated cameras (“camera traps”) are increasingly used in ecological and management studies for remotely observing wildlife and are amongst the most powerful tools for wildlife research. However, studies involving camera traps result in millions of images that need to be analysed, typically by visually observing each image, in order to extract data that can be used in ecological analyses.

2. We trained machine learning models using convolutional neural networks with the ResNet-18 architecture and 3,367,383 images to automatically classify wildlife species from camera trap images obtained from five states across the United States. We tested our model on an …

Cause‐Specific Mortality Of The World’S Terrestrial Vertebrates, Jacob E. Hill, Travis L. Devault, Jerrold L. Belant

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Aim: Vertebrates are declining worldwide, yet a comprehensive examination of the sources of mortality is lacking. We conducted a global synthesis of terrestrial vertebrate cause‐specific mortality to compare the sources of mortality across taxa and determine predictors of susceptibility to these sources of mortality.

Location: Worldwide.

Time period: 1970–2018.

Major taxa studied: Mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.

Methods: We searched for studies that used telemetry to determine the cause of death of terrestrial vertebrates. We determined whether each mortality was caused by anthropogenic or natural sources and further classified mortalities within these two categories (e.g. harvest, vehicle collision and predation). …

Feral Swine Harming Insular Sea Turtle Reproduction: The Origin, Impacts, Behavior And Elimination Of An Invasive Species, Richard M. Engeman, Robert W. Byrd, Jamie Dozier, Mark A. Mcalister, James O. Edens, Elizabeth M. Kierepka, Timothy J. Smyser, Noel Myers

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Feral swine are among the world's most destructive invasive species wherever they are found, with translocations figuring prominently in their range expansions. In contrast, sea turtles are beloved species that are listed as threatened or endangered throughout the world and are the focus of intense conservation efforts. Nest predation by feral swine severely harms sea turtle reproduction in many locations around the world. Here we quantify and economically assess feral swine nest predation at North Island, South Carolina, an important loggerhead sea turtle nesting beach. Feral swine depredation of North Island sea turtle nests was first detected in 2005, with …

A Bioeconomic Model For The Optimization Of Local Canine Rabies Control, Aaron Anderson, Johann Kotze, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Brody Hatch, Chris Slootmaker, Anne Conan, Darryn Knobel, Louis H. Nel

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We present a new modeling tool that can be used to maximize the impact of canine rabies management resources that are available at the local level. The model is accessible through a web-based interface that allows for flexibility in the management strategies that can be investigated. Rabies vaccination, sterilization, chemo-contraception, and euthanasia can be specified and limited to specific demographic groups. Additionally, we allowed for considerable complexity in the specification of management costs. In many areas, the costs of contacting additional dogs increases as management effort increases, and this can have important strategic implications. We illustrated the application of the …

No Detection Of Brodifacoum Residues In The Marine And Terrestrial Food Web Three Years After Rat Eradication At Palmyra Atoll, Central Pacific, A. Wegmann, G. Howald, S. Kropidlowski, N. Holmes, A.B. Shiels

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Invasive alien species represent one of the greatest threats to native plants and animals on islands. Rats (Rattus spp.) have invaded most of the world’s oceanic islands, causing lasting or irreversible damage to ecosystems and biodiversity. To counter this threat, techniques to eradicate invasive rats from islands have been developed and applied across the globe. Eradication of alien rats from large or complex island ecosystems has only been successful with the use of bait containing a rodenticide. While effective at eradicating rats from islands, rodenticide can persist in the ecosystem longer than the time required to eradicate the target rat …

Ecological Functions Of Vertebrate Scavenging, James C. Beasley, Zachary H. Olson, Nuria Selva, Travis L. Devault

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Introduction

The role of vertebrate scavenging in food web dynamics has historically been minimalized and portrayed as the activity of a select group of obligate scavengers (e.g., vultures), with a simplistic linkage between carrion and detritivores in food webs. Research in the last few decades, however, has revealed that the role of carrion in food web dynamics is severely underestimated, highly complex, and pervasive among ecosystems across the globe (DeVault et al. 2003; Selva and Fortuna 2007; Wilson and Wolkovich 2011). Such observations have led to a surge in research interest in scavenging ecology that continues to reveal new information …

Biomass Yield In A Genetically Diverse Miscanthus Sinensis Germplasm Panel Evaluated At Five Locations Revealed Individuals With Exceptional Potential, Lindsay V. Clark, Maria S. Dwiyanti, Kossonou G. Anzoua, Joe E. Brummer, Bimal Kumar Ghimire, Katarzyna Glowacka, Megan Hall, Kweon Heo, Xiaoli Jin, Alexander E. Lipka, Junhua Peng, Toshihiko Yamada, Ji Hye Yoo, Chang Yeon Yu, Hua Zhao, Stephen P. Long, Erik J. Sacks

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

To breed improved biomass cultivars of Miscanthus ×giganteus, it will be necessary to select the highest‐yielding and best‐adapted genotypes of its parental species, Miscanthus sinensis and Miscanthus sacchariflorus. We phenotyped a diverse clonally propagated panel of 569 M. sinensis and nine natural diploid M. ×giganteus at one subtropical (Zhuji, China) and five temperate locations (Sapporo, Japan; Leamington, Ontario, Canada; Fort Collins, CO; Urbana, IL; and Chuncheon, Korea) for dry biomass yield and 14 yield‐component traits, in trials grown for 3 years. Notably, dry biomass yield of four Miscanthus accessions exceeded 80 Mg/ha in Zhuji, China, approaching …