Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of Fullerene C60 In Blue Mussels: Role Of Mtor In Autophagy Related Cellular/Tissue Alterations, Susanna Sforzini, Caterina Oliveri, Audrey Barranger, Awadhesh N. Jha, Mohamed Banni, Michael N. Moore, Aldo Viarengo

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Extreme-Tolerance Mechanisms In Meiofaunal Organisms: A Case Study With Tardigrades, Rotifers And Nematodes, Lorena Rebecchi, Chiara Boschetti, Diane R. Nelson

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Unboxing The Black Box: Reflections On Making With Ai And Automation, Polly Macpherson, Rachel Smith, Mike Phillips, Robert Dooley, Birgitte Aga, Patrick Crogan

School of Art, Design and Architecture

This collection presents thoughts, provocations and reflections onAI and automation in the arena of creative making from some of the SouthWest Creative Technologies Network’s Automation Fellows. The AutomationFellowship gathered together researchers, established creative producersand new talent to explore the challenges and opportunities of automationand AI for (re)making our personal and shared future.

Phenotypic Expression Of Two Candidate Genes Of Nonsyndromic Craniosynostosis In Danio Rerio, Annemarie Carver

UROP Posters

Phenotypic Expression of Two Candidate Genes of Nonsyndromic Craniosynostosis in Danio rerio

Annemarie Carver, Dept. of Biology with Dr. Rita Shiang, Dept. of Human and Molecular Genetics

Craniosynostosis, the premature fusion of cranial sutures, can be either syndromic or nonsyndromic. The majority of cases are nonsyndromic, the causes of which are rarely known. Craniosynostosis is relatively common and occurs in about 1 in every 2,000 babies. Bambia is suspected to cause craniosynostosis as a predicted deleterious stabilizing variant has been identified in affected individuals within one family, though when normally or under expressed no phenotypic differences are observed. Slc30a9, a …

Mapping New Olfactory Bulb Neurons At The Single-Cell Level Using Iron Oxide- Assisted Mri, Sarah Izabel

UROP Posters

Mapping New Olfactory Bulb Neurons at the Single-Cell Level Using Iron Oxide- Assisted MRI

Sarah Izabel, Dept. of Biology, with Dr. Jeffrey Dupree, Dept. of Anatomy and Neurobiology

Neurogenesis in the subventricular zone (SVZ) of adult mammalian brains persists throughout life. Precursor cells that are continuously born in the SVZ migrate long-distance to the olfactory bulb (OB), where they differentiate into specific neurons. The distribution of new neurons in the OB has been studied via histological and intravital techniques, which are limited longitudinally and in depth of imaging. In the past decade, in vivo studies using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) …

Fenofibrate-Loaded Biodegradable Nanoparticles For The Treatment Of Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Russell Simmers, Tuo Meng, Fangfang Qiu, Vineet Kulkarni, Jianxing Ma

UROP Posters

Fenofibrate-Loaded Biodegradable Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Russell Simmers, Depts. of Physics and Chemistry, with Dr. Qingguo Xu, VCU School of Pharmacy

Background: Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of visual impairment in the elderly population in the industrialized world. The current treatment for neovascular AMD is anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy; however, nearly 40-50% of patients do not fully respond to anti-VEGF therapy. Therefore, non-VEGF therapeutics are required for neovascular AMD treatment. Fenofibrate is a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) agonist and has demonstrated robust therapeutic effects on neovascular AMD in …

The Eco-Martyrs Of 2018 And Maslow: Is Self-Actualization Only For Colonizers?, Johanna Guz-Montgomery, Ian Mcfadden, Victoria Bee, Ashley Sanico, William Purrington, Christopher Latourrette, Rachel Creed, Kelly Rios-Santos, Alan Lankford

UROP Posters

The Eco-Martyrs of 2018 and Maslow: Is Self-Actualization Only for Colonizers?

Johanna Guz-Montgomery, Dept. of Psychology, Ian McFadden, Victoria Bee, Ashley Sanico, William Purrington, Christopher Latourrette, Rachel Creed, Kelly Rios-Santos, and Alan Lankford, with Dr. Richard Bargdill, Dept. of Psychology

Every year the Global Witness organization complies and releases a list of forest, earth, water and animal protectors who have been murdered while defending the earth and people. There have been about 2000 “eco-martyrs” since 2002. Most of these persons are farmers, indigenous people, nature lovers or in other words--ordinary people. In their efforts to stop projects that would lead …

Storytelling Through Play, Allison Heerwagen

UROP Posters

Storytelling Through Play

Allison Heerwagen, Depts. of Graphic Design and Anthropology, with Dr. Bernard K. Means, Dept. of Anthropology

As children interpret and build on narratives with their own imagination, storytelling as a cultural practice involves even the youngest of a community. Children raised with folktales, myths, legends, and more can bring the stories to life through play inspired by the characters, setting, and stories shared with them. The most accessible tools for children to share and build stories are toys that can be used to interpret the beliefs, practices, and imagination of their culture. In addition, many children’s toys …

Ecological Mechanisms Explaining Interactions Within Plant–Hummingbird Networks: Morphological Matching Increases Towards Lower Latitudes, J Sonne, J Vizentin-Bugoni, Pk Maruyama, Ac Araujo, E Chávez-González, Ag Coelho, Pa Cotton, Oh Marín-Gómez, C Lara, Lr Lasprilla, Cg Machado, Ma Maglianesi, Ts Malucelli, Amm González, Gm Oliveira, Pe Oliveira, R Ortiz-Pulido, Ma Rocca, Lc Rodrigues, I Sazima, Bi Simmons, B Tinoco, Ig Varassin, Mf Vasconcelos, B O'Hara, M Schleuning, C Rahbek, M Sazima, B Dalsgaard

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Interactions between species are influenced by different ecological mechanisms, such as morphological matching, phenological overlap and species abundances. How these mechanisms explain interaction frequencies across environmental gradients remains poorly understood. Consequently, we also know little about the mechanisms that drive the geographical patterns in network structure, such as complementary specialization and modularity. Here, we use data on morphologies, phenologies and abundances to explain interaction frequencies between hummingbirds and plants at a large geographical scale. For 24 quantitative networks sampled throughout the Americas, we found that the tendency of species to interact with morphologically matching partners contributed to specialized and modular …

Applicability, Safety, And Biological Activity Of Regulatory T Cell Therapy In Liver Transplantation, A Sánchez‐Fueyo, Gavin Whitehouse, Nathali Grageda, Matthew E. Cramp, Tiong Y. Lim, Marco Romano, Sarah Thirkell, Katie Lowe, Laura Fry, Julie Heward, Alex Kerr, Jakia Ali, Chris Fisher, Gillian Lewis, Andrew Hope, Elisavet Kodela, Mike Lyne, Farzin Farzaneh, Shahram Kordasti, I Rebollo‐Mesa, Lozano J Jose, Niloufar Safinia, Nigel Heaton, Robert Lechler, M Martínez‐Llordella, Giovanna Lombardi

Peninsula Medical School

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are a lymphocyte subset with intrinsic immunosuppressive properties that can be expanded in large numbers ex vivo and have been shown to prevent allograft rejection and promote tolerance in animal models. To investigate the safety, applicability, and biological activity of autologous Treg adoptive transfer in humans, we conducted an open-label, dose-escalation, Phase I clinical trial in liver transplantation. Patients were enrolled while awaiting liver transplantation or 6-12 months posttransplant. Circulating Tregs were isolated from blood or leukapheresis, expanded under good manufacturing practices (GMP) conditions, and administered intravenously at either 0.5-1 million Tregs/kg or 3-4.5 million Tregs/kg. …

Gone With The Wind: Seasonal Distribution And Habitat Use By The Reef Manta Ray ( Mobula Alfredi ) In The Maldives, Implications For Conservation, Joanna L. Harris, Peter K. Mcgregor, Yvonne Oates, Guy M.W. Stevens

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) are one of the ocean's largest and most charismatic species. Pressure from targeted and bycatch fisheries coupled with their conservative life-history traits including slow growth, late maturity, and low fecundity has led to catastrophic declines of the global population. The species is now listed as Vulnerable to Extinction on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The global M. alfredi population is widely distributed in highly fragmented subpopulations. The Maldives supports the world's largest known subpopulation that undergoes seasonal migrations which are thought to be linked to peaks in ocean productivity induced by the South Asian …

Plant Volatiles Induced By Herbivore Eggs Prime Defences And Mediate Shifts In The Reproductive Strategy Of Receiving Plants, Foteini G. Pashalidou, Lisa Eyman, James Sims, James Buckley, Nina E. Fatouros, Moraes Cm De, Mark C. Mescher

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Potting For Crustaceans On Temperate Rocky Reef Habitats: Implications For Management, Sarah C. Gall, Lynda D. Rodwell, Sarah Clark, Tim Robbins, Martin J. Attrill, Luke A. Holmes, Emma V. Sheehan

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

May Day: The Green Vision Of Chicago’S Gilded Age Anarchists, Colin Fisher

History: Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Neurotic: Neuroscience Tool For Interactive Characterization, Hillel J. Chiel

Faculty Scholarship

A software tool for synchronization of video with signals would be of broad general use to behavioral neuro-scientists. A new program, called neurotic (NEUROscience Tool for Interactive Characterization), allows users to review and annotate signal data synchronized with video, performs simple initial analyses including signal filtering and spike detection, is easy to use, and supports a variety of file formats. The program also facilitates collaborations by using a portable specification for loading and processing data and retrieving data files from online sources. Two examples are shown in which the software is used to explore experimental datasets with extracellular nerve or …

The Societal Influence On Individual Identity And The Relationship Of Costume Design In Caryl Churchill’S Cloud 9, Laura Kay Plikerd

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Cloud 9 is a play written by Caryl Churchill in 1978. Act one of the play takes place in 1870, British Occupied Africa and act two takes place in contemporary London. In our production, contemporary London was set in 2018. The dramatic shift in time during the two acts brings attention to the changing societal ideals and practices of each era. The costumes for this production of Cloud 9, illuminated the differences between the times by highlighting the stark differences in societally accepted fashion in the chosen time periods and regions.

In Cloud 9, the costumes create a …

Changes At The Edge: Trends In Sea Ice, Ocean Temperature And Ocean Color At The Northwest Atlantic/Southern Arctic Interface, Ashley V. York, Karen E. Frey, Luisa N.C. Young

Geography

Spatial and temporal trends of remotely sensed sea-ice cover, sea surface temperatures, chlorophyll-a concentration and primary production in the Baffin Bay, Davis Strait and Labrador Sea were analyzed for the 1998-2017 period. We found spatial variability in the trends of these cryospheric, biologic and oceanographic phenomena. For example, in the northern Baffin Bay, we observed decreases in annual sea-ice persistence, yet increases along the Labrador Sea-ice edge during winter, with the latter having significant correlations with broader atmospheric patterns. In general, we observed increases in summer sea surface temperatures across the study region, except a small area of cooling along …

Covid-19, Serendipity, And Strange Interlude: Gloria In Absurdicum With An Apology To Ovid, Lawrence Charles Parish, W Clark Lambert

Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology Faculty Papers

The absurd edicts initially issued by several governors, including those of Michigan and New York, prohibiting physicians from ordering hydroxychloroquine for patients suspected of or diagnosed with COV-19 are reprehensible. Their reasoning is beyond the pale.

Hydroxychloroquine was first approved by the FDA in 1955 and has a remarkable safety record in its use as a preventative for malaria and in the treatment of several immunologic and/or light induced diseases. Its use came about serendipitously, and its mechanism of action is unclear, but the fact remains that it seems to work.

Christian History As World History A Review Essay, Joel A. Carpenter

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

This review essay discusses the status of “World Christianity” as a field of study, then highlights the features of the book at hand. It is an exercise in world history more than church history, focusing on how Christianity in various parts of the world responded to the twentieth century’s greatest challenges. The book addresses the rise of millenarianism and fundamentalism, neo-orthodoxy, liberation theology, Pentecostalism, and ecumenism. But its more intent focus is on how Christianity addressed the century’s world wars, colonialism, nationalism, secularism, rise of radical Islam, human rights, migration, and the growing power of the state.

Short-Term Exposure To Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Does Not Alter Stress Responses In Breeding Tree Swallows, Bradley D. Scholten, Abigail R. Beard, Hyeryeong Choi, Dena M. Baker

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Recent studies suggest that visual and acoustic anthropogenic disturbances can cause physiological stress in animals. Human-induced stress may be particularly problematic for birds as new technologies, such as drones, increasingly invade their low-altitude air space. Although professional and recreational drone usage is increasing rapidly, there is little information on how drones affect avian behavior and physiology. We examined the effects of drone activity on behavior and physiology in adult, box-nesting tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). Specifically, we monitored bird behavior during drone flights and in response to a control object and measured telomere lengths and corticosterone levels as indicators of longer-term …

C-Jun Nh2-Terminal Kinase Signaling Controls Cellular Mechanisms Of Guided Cortical Interneuron Migration, Skye Eleanor Smith

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The cerebral cortex is an intricately organized brain structure responsible for high-level functions including sensory perception, movement, memory, language, and cognition. During corticogenesis, cortical excitatory neurons and inhibitory interneurons migrate from their respective progenitor zones into the developing cerebral cortex, deposit in the correct cortical layer, and establish connections with their appropriate synaptic partners. The balance between excitation and inhibition is critical for cortical circuitry development and function. Aberrant migration of inhibitory interneurons can alter the formation of cortical circuitry and lead to several neurodevelopmental disorders including epilepsy, autism spectrum disorder, and schizophrenia. Therefore, elucidating the mechanisms responsible for inhibitory …

A Sense Of Brutality: Philosophy After Narco-Culture, Carlos Alberto Sánchez

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Contemporary popular culture is riddled with references to Mexican drug cartels, narcos, and drug trafficking. In the United States, documentary filmmakers, journalists, academics, and politicians have taken note of the increasing threats to our security coming from a subculture that appears to feed on murder and brutality while being fed by a romanticism about power and capital. Carlos Alberto Sánchez uses Mexican narco-culture as a point of departure for thinking about the nature and limits of violence, culture, and personhood. A Sense of Brutality argues that violent cultural modalities, of which narco-culture is but one, call into question our understanding …

Where’S Social Work? A Critical Analysis Of Gender Invisibility, Ethical Conflict, And Advocacy In Medical Teams, Roxanna Duntley-Matos, Robert M. Ortega, Maria M. Matos

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

The traditional biomedical and person-in-environment (PIE) perspectives are often found in conflict when framed within broader gender discrimination and consumerist health care practices. Our critical feminist analysis addresses the case of Katie, a vulnerable health care recipient, whose intersecting identities fall outside of the “margins of acceptability.” Communication deficits among team members and a lack of clear care protocols become evident. Insurance demands to justify coverage undermine the processes of beneficence and the ethic of care required for emancipatory advocacy. We present the tripartite paradigm of transformative complicity, cultural humility, and systems-based empowerment to address the complex ethical dilemmas that …

Scaling And Ecological Relationships In The Visual Ecology Of Sharks, Brianna Hall

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Adaptations of visual systems, such as acuity, sensitivity, and eye size can be used to infer the relative importance of vision to an organism. The high metabolic cost of visual system development and maintenance suggests that large relative eye size (as it relates to body length) may have a significant ecological or evolutionary role. Elasmobranchs are morphologically diverse and inhabit a wide range of marine and freshwater niches. As energetic and ecological demands shift over time, several species occupy different predatory niches across their lifetime, yielding a large array of visual habitats. Additionally, eye size changes with body length allometrically, …

A Unified Constitutional View Of Financial Punishment: Synthesizing The Excessive Fines Clause And Bearden­ Based Protections, Joshua A. Feinzig

Faculty Scholarship

This Note coordinates the Eighth Amendment Excessive Fines Clause with the Fourteenth Amendment wealth-discrimination protection set forth in Bearden v. Georgia It is generally assumed that the two protections operate independently: while the Excessive Fines Clause protects individuals against exorbitant financial obligations, Bearden limits the state from converting criminal debt into a severe liberty deprivation. But in recognizing how the two doctrines are normatively and functionally reinforcing, this Note proposes a single framework for considering financial punishment's constitutionality.

If the Eighth Amendment protection applies at the imposition of a financial punishment, Bearden provides a "second look" at the constitutionality of …

Assessing Hotel Employee Knowledge On Risk Factors And Risk Management Procedures For Microbial Contamination Of Hotel Water Distribution Systems, Brandon Leftwich

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Background: Compromised hotel water supply lines by neglect or by physical and structural damage can lead to exposure of harmful pathogens to guests and staff. To reduce the risk of having contaminated water in a hotel plumbing system, some facilities may incorporate a water safety plan (WSP). WSPs are not mandatory for hotels in many US states, including the state of Georgia. As such, many hotel personnel are uninformed of WSPs and the precautions to take if their hotel water system is compromised. The purpose of this study was to identify hotel personnel’s knowledge and practices of WSPs through a …

Forest-Linked Livelihoods In A Globalized World, Johan A. Oldekop, Laura Vang Rasmussen, Arun Agrawal, Anthony J. Bebbington, Patrick Meyfroidt, David N. Bengston, Allen Blackman, Stephen Brooks, Iain Davidson-Hunt, Penny Davies, Stanley C. Dinsi, Lorenza B. Fontana, Tatiana Gumucio, Chetan Kumar, Kundan Kumar, Dominic Moran, Tuyeni H. Mwampamba, Robert Nasi, Margareta Nilsson, Miguel A. Pinedo-Vasquez, Jeanine M. Rhemtulla, William J. Sutherland, Cristy Watkins, Sarah J. Wilson

Geography

Forests have re-taken centre stage in global conversations about sustainability, climate and biodiversity. Here, we use a horizon scanning approach to identify five large-scale trends that are likely to have substantial medium- and long-term effects on forests and forest livelihoods: forest megadisturbances; changing rural demographics; the rise of the middle-class in low- and middle-income countries; increased availability, access and use of digital technologies; and large-scale infrastructure development. These trends represent human and environmental processes that are exceptionally large in geographical extent and magnitude, and difficult to reverse. They are creating new agricultural and urban frontiers, changing existing rural landscapes and …

Divergent Density Feedback Control Of Migratory Predator Recovery Following Sex-Biased Perturbations, Daisuke Goto, Martin J. Hamel, Mark A. Pegg, Jeremy J. Hammen, Matthew L. Rugg, Valery E. Forbes

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Uncertainty in risks posed by emerging stressors such as synthetic hormones im-pedes conservation efforts for threatened vertebrate populations. Synthetic hor-mones often induce sex-biased perturbations in exposed animals by disrupting gonad development and early life-history stage transitions, potentially diminishing per capita reproductive output of depleted populations and, in turn, being manifest as Allee effects. We use a spatially explicit biophysical model to evaluate how sex-biased perturbation in life-history traits of individuals (maternal investment in egg production and male-skewed sex allocation in offspring) modulates density feedback control of year-class strength and recovery trajectories of a long-lived, migratory fish—shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus)—under spatially …

Mirna- And Cytokine-Associated Extracellular Vesicles Mediate Squamous Cell Carcinomas, Joseph P. Flemming, Brianna L. Hill, Mohammed W. Haque, Jessica Raad, Claudine S. Bonder, Larry A. Harshyne, Ulrich Rodeck, Adam J. Luginbuhl, James K. Wall, Iii, Kenneth Y. Tsai, Peter J Wermuth, Andrew M. Overmiller, Mỹ G. Mahoney

Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Chytrid Fungus Pathogen On The Skin Microbiome Of Frogs In Northern Idaho And Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, Washington, Philip M. Campos

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Amphibians worldwide are under threat from the infectious disease chytridiomycosis, which is caused by the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Bd is associated with the population declines of an estimated 501 species, 90 of which are presumed or confirmed extinct, making this the greatest documented loss of biodiversity attributed to a disease. Researching the amphibian skin microbiome may provide solutions to conservation of amphibians. Two main relationships have been observed between Bd and the microbiome: 1) bacteria producing antifungal metabolites can inhibit Bd and improve survival against the disease and 2) infection by Bd is believed to affect the composition …