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Issue 353: July 23-August 6, 2020, The Local Voice

The Local Voice

No abstract provided.

Why Every Hospital Needs A Covid-19 Clinical Case Review Team, Ashley M. Wilde, Paul Schulz, Brian C. Bohn, Sarah E. Moore, Matthew Song, Clayton J. Patross, Bryan Denham, Jim Frazier, Steve T. Hester, Julio A. Ramirez

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

A hospital’s response to a global pandemic requires a coordinated effort to provide consistent guidance as information rapidly changes. In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, diagnosis and subsequent containment was challenging due to unfamiliarity with disease presentation, unknown reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction sensitivity, and inconsistent access to testing supplies. A centralized COVID-19 clinical case review team can provide guidance on test interpretation, isolation, resource coordination and more.

The Nurse Practitioner In The Time Of Covid, Julie Marfell, Lynn Kelso

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

No abstract provided.

Bullying By Teachers: Preventative Measures In Hogwarts, Zenobia Allen (1), Shannon Eshman (1), Ashley Mayer (1), Caitlin Schwartz (1)

Student Bibliography

In our case study, the Battle of Hogwarts, we decided to address the problem of bullying by teachers against students in the forms of discrimination, indoctrination, and maltreatment of students and how that might result in negative educational outcomes such as a lack of self-esteem, racist beliefs, discrimination, and stress. Students who were bullied before, during, and after the battle may have long-lasting problems that resulted from such instances of mistreatment. For example, professors such as Snape and the Carrows discriminated against Muggle-born students like Hermione. During the take-over of Hogwarts by the Death Eaters, Defense Against the Dark Arts …

Phase Transition Behaviour In Yeast And Bacterial Populations Under Stress, Stephen Ordway, Dawn King, David Friend, Christine Noto, Snowlee Phu, Holly Huelskamp, R. Inglis, Wendy Olivas, Sonya Bahar

Physics Faculty Works

Non-equilibrium phase transitions from survival to extinction have recently been observed in computational models of evolutionary dynamics. Dynamical signatures predictive of population collapse have been observed in yeast populations under stress. We experimentally investigate the population response of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to biological stressors (temperature and salt concentration) in order to investigate the system's behaviour in the vicinity of population collapse. While both conditions lead to population decline, the dynamical characteristics of the population response differ significantly depending on the stressor. Under temperature stress, the population undergoes a sharp change with significant fluctuations within a critical temperature range, …

Insulin Restores The Neurochemical Effects Of Nicotine In The Mesolimbic Pathway Of Diabetic Rats, Laura O'Dell

Departmental Papers (Psych)

No abstract provided.

Fox Dietary Ecology As A Tracer Of Human Impact On Pleistocene Ecosystems, Chris Baumann, Hervé Bocherens, Dorothée G. Drucker, Nicholas J. Conrad

KIP Articles

Nowadays, opportunistic small predators, such as foxes (Vulpes vulpes and Vulpes lagopus), are well known to be very adaptable to human modified ecosystems. However, the timing of the start of this phenomenon in terms of human impact on ecosystems and of the implications for foxes has hardly been studied. We hypothesize that foxes can be used as an indicator of past human impact on ecosystems, as a reflection of population densities and consequently to track back the influence of humans on the Pleistocene environment. To test this hypothesis, we used stable isotope analysis (δ13C, δ15N) …

Tensegrity And Recurrent Neural Networks: Towards An Ecological Model Of Postural Coordination, Martin Fultot

Doctoral Dissertations

Tensegrity systems have been proposed as both the medium of haptic perception and the functional architecture of motor coordination in animals. However, a full working model integrating those two aspects with some form of neural implementation is still lacking. A basic two-dimensional cross-tensegrity plant is designed and its mechanics simulated. The plant is coupled to a Recurrent Neural Network (RNN). The model’s task is to maintain postural balance against gravity despite the intrinsically unstable configuration of the plant. The RNN takes only proprioceptive input about the springs’ lengths and rate of length change and outputs minimum lengths for each spring …

Rsif Weekly Vol.1 No.8, Regional Scholarship And Innovation Fund (Rsif)

Rsif Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Insights From Population Genomics To Enhance And Sustain Biological Control Of Insect Pests, Arun Sethuraman, Fredric J. Janzen, David W. Weisrock, John J. Obrycki

Biology Faculty Publications

Biological control—the use of organisms (e.g., nematodes, arthropods, bacteria, fungi, viruses) for the suppression of insect pest species—is a well-established, ecologically sound and economically profitable tactic for crop protection. This approach has served as a sustainable solution for many insect pest problems for over a century in North America. However, all pest management tactics have associated risks. Specifically, the ecological non-target effects of biological control have been examined in numerous systems. In contrast, the need to understand the short- and long-term evolutionary consequences of human-mediated manipulation of biological control organisms for importation, augmentation and conservation biological control has only recently …

Rluipa At 20: A Quantitative Study Of Its Impact On Land Use And Religious Minorities, Lucien J. Dhooge

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Assessing College Students’ Perceived Risk For Developing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Carletta Weatherspoon

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Translational and Clinical Research Projects

This study assesses the effectiveness of an evidence-based educational intervention affecting the perception of the risk for developing type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in college students and examined relationships between demographic factors and perception of risk for T2DM. Seventy-seven students from the Georgia College Association of Nursing Students (GCANS) and the Personal Health and Fitness Class participated. Of these, 43 participants completed the post-educational email survey. Instruments measured demographic characteristics, perception of risk for developing diabetes, and diabetes risk. The Risk Perception Survey for Developing Diabetes (RPS-DD) assessed students’ perception of risk at baseline and one week post intervention. There was …

Intermittent Fasting After Spinal Cord Injury Does Not Improve The Recovery Of Baroreflex Regulation In The Rat, Matthew R. Zahner, Eric Beaumont

ETSU Faculty Works

Modest recovery of somatic function after incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI) has been widely demonstrated. Recently we have shown that spontaneous recovery of baroreflex regulation of sympathetic activity also occurs in rats. Dietary restriction in the form of every other day fasting (EODF) has been shown to have beneficial effects on the recovery of motor function after SCI in rats. The goal of this study was to determine if EODF augments the improvement of baroreflex regulation of sympathetic activity after chronic left thoracic (T8) surgical spinal hemisection. To determine this, we performed baroreflex tests on ad-lib fed or EODF rats …

Me And My Fear, Grace Praytor

Diverse Families Bookshelf Lesson Plans and Activities

No abstract provided.

Wild Mice With Different Social Network Sizes Vary In Brain Gene Expression, Patricia C. Lopes, Barbara König

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Appropriate social interactions influence animal fitness by impacting several processes, such as mating, territory defense, and offspring care. Many studies shedding light on the neurobiological underpinnings of social behavior have focused on nonapeptides (vasopressin, oxytocin, and homologues) and on sexual or parent-offspring interactions. Furthermore, animals have been studied under artificial laboratory conditions, where the consequences of behavioral responses may not be as critical as when expressed under natural environments, therefore obscuring certain physiological responses. We used automated recording of social interactions of wild house mice outside of the breeding season to detect individuals at both tails of a distribution …

The Gcn5 Complexes In Drosophila As A Model For Metazoa, Eliana F. Torres-Zelada, Vikki M. Weake

Department of Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The histone acetyltransferase Gcn5 is conserved throughout eukaryotes where it functions as part of large multi-subunit transcriptional coactivator complexes that stimulate gene expression. Here, we describe how studies in the model insect Drosophila melanogaster have provided insight into the essential roles played by Gcn5 in the development of multicellular organisms. We outline the composition and activity of the four different Gcn5 complexes in Drosophila: the Spt-Ada-Gcn5 Acetyltransferase (SAGA), Ada2a-containing (ATAC), Ada2/Gcn5/Ada3 transcription activator (ADA), and Chiffon Histone Acetyltransferase (CHAT) complexes. Whereas the SAGA and ADA complexes are also present in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, ATAC has only been …

Cbd & Ethanol Disrupt Early Embryonic Development, Janasha Goffigan-Holmes

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

The heavily conserved neural circuits that govern the vertebrate reward system, receive sensory stimuli and produce appropriate, self-preserving responses that correspond to experience-based learning and are driven by the communication of dopamine. Many of these circuits lie within the endocannabinoid system (ECS). At the most basic level, the ECS drives homeostatic behaviors, such as seeking nutrients, avoiding danger, and reproductive function. Unfortunately, this system can be hijacked by psychoactive drugs which ultimately alter the expression of dopamine. Cannabis sativa has two main active ingredients, THC and CBD, which modify the ECS receptor’s ability to bind to hormones and neurotransmitters such …

Points Of Pride, Georgia Southern University

Points of Pride (2013-2023)

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Individual And Simultaneous Voltammetric Determination Of Ultra- Trace Environmental Contaminant Dihydroxybenzene Isomers Based On A Composite Electrode Sandwich-Like Structure, Ziad Khalifa, Khalid Hassan Dr, Mohamed Fathi Abo Oura Mr, Abla Hathoot Prof, Magdi Abdel Azzem Prof

Chemical Engineering

An advanced electroanalytical technique for the simultaneous assessment of environmental contaminant dihydroxybenzene isomers, catechol (CC), hydroquinone (HQ), and resorcinol (RC), has been investigated using palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) incorporated onto a poly(1,5-diaminonaphthalene) (DAN) matrix over a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). Concurrently, these types of phenols can be assessed by the PdDAN/GCE modified electrode employing square wave voltammetry and cyclic voltammetry (CV) techniques under optimal conditions. This modified electrode has demonstrated linear responses for CC, HQ, and RC from 50.0 to 1000.0 mM; concomitantly, low detection limits of 0.22, 0.22, and 0.47 nM and low quantification limits of 0.740, 0.758, and 1.590 …

Technique Of Plant Regeneration From Immature Inflorescence Of Pennisetum Purpureum In Vitro, Xiaoxian Zhong, Jianming She, Hongru Gu, Jianli Zhang

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

Mixed Messages: Examining External Barriers To University Student Ethical Clothing Consumption, Jazlyn Marcos

DePaul Discoveries

While a majority of research in ethical fashion consumption is largely focused on contexts such as means of production or the decision-making process of consumers, this research seeks to explore external barriers to millennial consumption of sweatshop-free clothing. Consumer concern and consumer awareness has increased, but this is not reflected in the market. This research seeks to deepen the knowledge into some external factors beyond that of consumer decision-making and other internal factors of the self (i.e. guilt) that impact purchasing. A two-part survey was conducted, featuring a choice experiment where respondents had to choose from various white t-shirt options. …

Lipidomic Profiling Of The Epidermis In A Mouse Model Of Dermatitis Reveals Sexual Dimorphism And Changes In Lipid Composition Before The Onset Of Clinical Disease., Jackeline Franco, Bartek Rajwa, Christina R Ferreira, John P Sundberg, Harm Hogenesch

Faculty Research 2020

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a multifactorial disease associated with alterations in lipid composition and organization in the epidermis. Multiple variants of AD exist with different outcomes in response to therapies. The evaluation of disease progression and response to treatment are observational assessments with poor inter-observer agreement highlighting the need for molecular markers. SHARPIN-deficient mice (Sharpincpdm) spontaneously develop chronic proliferative dermatitis with features similar to AD in humans. To study the changes in the epidermal lipid-content during disease progression, we tested 72 epidermis samples from three groups (5-, 7-, and 10-weeks old) of cpdm mice and their WT littermates. …

Vaccine-Preventable Diseases In The Time Of Covid, Thaddeus Zajdowicz, Margan Zajdowicz

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Temperature-Dependent H/D Exchange Mass Spectrometry Experiments., Nastaran N Tajoddin, Lars Konermann

Chemistry Publications

H/D exchange (HDX) mass spectrometry (MS) is a widely used technique for interrogating protein structure and dynamics. Backbone HDX is mediated by opening/closing (unfolding/refolding) fluctuations. In traditional HDX-MS, proteins are incubated in D₂O as a function of time at constant temperature (T). There is an urgent need to complement this traditional approach with experiments that probe proteins in a T-dependent fashion, e.g., for assessing the stability of therapeutic antibodies. A key problem with such studies is the absence of strategies for interpreting HDX-MS data in the context of T-dependent protein dynamics. Specifically, it has …

Nicotine Exposure During Pregnancy And Risk Of Behavioral Disorders In Offspring, Bailey Eklund

Theses and Graduate Projects

Background: Smoking during pregnancy has been linked to various health outcomes in offspring. The relationship between nicotine (smoke) exposure during pregnancy and behavioral disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), has been studied for years yielding mixed results. These studies have varied in quality of design and methods, alluding to varied association conclusions. The purpose of this summative review is to determine the association between prenatal nicotine exposure and risk of developing behavioral disorders, such as ADHD.

Methods: A systematic search using Lindell Library and PubMed was used to find peer- reviewed studies on the topics of maternal nicotine …

Climatic Variability And Climate Change: U.S. College Freshmen Attitudes And Spatio-Temporal Effects On Cavity-Nesting Passerines, Sara Elizabeth Harrod

Student Theses and Dissertations

Despite the scientific consensus that human activities are the primary cause, many people deny the problem of climate change. If mitigation efforts are to be successful, we need to determine young individuals’ attitudes toward and knowledge of climate change. Successful mitigation efforts are important for humans, as well as wildlife and the environment. Wildlife populations are already being affected, with many documented cases of negative impacts. Effects on populations can occur through impacts on demographic parameters, and if parameters are synchronized across species or populations, this could prove disastrous if climate change negatively affects these parameters. Here, I surveyed first-semester …

Evolutionary Algorithms Converge Towards Evolved Biological Photonic Structures, Mamadou Aliou Barry, Vincent Berthier, Bobo D. Wilts, Marie-Claire Cambourieux, Pauline Bennet, Rémi Pollès, Olivier Teytaud, Emmanuel Centeno, Nicolas Biais, Antoine Moreau

Publications and Research

Nature features a plethora of extraordinary photonic architectures that have been optimized through natural evolution in order to more efciently refect, absorb or scatter light. While numerical optimization is increasingly and successfully used in photonics, it has yet to replicate any of these complex naturally occurring structures. Using evolutionary algorithms inspired by natural evolution and performing particular optimizations (maximize refection for a given wavelength, for a broad range of wavelength or maximize the scattering of light), we have retrieved the most stereotypical natural photonic structures. Whether those structures are Bragg mirrors, chirped dielectric mirrors or the gratings on top of …

Danzantes Aztecas Y Promotoras Tradicionales: The Ritual Performances And Identity Politics Of A Mexican American Danzantes Aztecas Y Promotoras Tradicionales: The Ritual Performances And Identity Politics Of A Mexican American Ceremonial Community, Dina K. Barajas

American Studies ETDs

This dissertation is an ethnographic study which examined the ritual performances of an interconnected Mexican American and Mexican immigrant danza Azteca and curanderismo ceremonial community located in central and northern New Mexico, and central México. This project also explored if and how these rituals recognize the practitioners’ indigeneity. As a Mexican American and Native scholar and ceremonial participant of this community, I provided an “insider’s” understanding of the epistemologies and ontologies that inform these ceremonies. My positionality and methodology acted as a lens to critically examine danzantes’ and promotoras tradicionales’ claims of indigeneity. Importantly, this work provides a fluid conceptualization …

Evaluation Of Biased And Balanced Salvinorin A Analogs In Preclinical Models Of Pain, Kelly F. Paton, Andrew Biggerstaff, Sophia Kaska, Rachel S. Crowley, Anne C. La Flamme, Thomas E. Prisinzano, Bronwyn M. Kivell

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

In the search for safer, non-addictive analgesics, kappa opioid receptor (KOPr) agonists are a potential target, as unlike mu-opioid analgesics, they do not have abuse potential. Salvinorin A (SalA) is a potent and selective KOPr agonist, however, clinical utility is limited by the short duration of action and aversive side effects. Biasing KOPr signaling toward G-protein activation has been highlighted as a key cellular mechanism to reduce the side effects of KOPr agonists. The present study investigated KOPr signaling bias and the acute antinociceptive effects and side effects of two novel analogs of SalA, 16-Bromo SalA and 16-Ethynyl SalA. 16-Bromo …

Lyssavirus Vaccine With A Chimeric Glycoprotein Protects Across Phylogroups, Christine R Fisher, David E Lowe, Todd G Smith, Yong Yang, Christina L Hutson, Christoph Wirblich, Gino Cingolani, Matthias J. Schnell

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers

Rabies is nearly 100% lethal in the absence of treatment, killing an estimated 59,000 people annually. Vaccines and biologics are highly efficacious when administered properly. Sixteen rabies-related viruses (lyssaviruses) are similarly lethal, but some are divergent enough to evade protection from current vaccines and biologics, which are based only on the classical rabies virus (RABV). Here we present the development and characterization of LyssaVax, a vaccine featuring a structurally designed, functional chimeric glycoprotein (G) containing immunologically important domains from both RABV G and the highly divergent Mokola virus (MOKV) G. LyssaVax elicits high titers of antibodies specific to both RABV …