Digital Commons Network^™

Mining Gems In Literature And Genomes: A Proof Of Concept In Artemisia Tridentata, Carlos Dave Dumaguit, S. J. Galla, Anthony Melton, John M. A. Wojahn, P. Martinez, Sven Buerki

VIP 2020

Increasing temperatures and aridity negatively affect plant communities, including the recruitment of foundational species like sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata). While research on the genomic basis of plant resilience towards drought has been conducted in crops and model plants, fewer studies have evaluated natural plant communities. We provide a resource for identifying genes underpinning drought across a broad range of plants using a literature mining approach with the newly developed package G2PMineR. Using our initial gene pool query, we refined the pipeline and manually vetted the top 50 candidate genes/gene families for relatedness to plant stress drought response and categorized …

The Intentional Creation Of Green And Natural Spaces Is Instrumental In Animal, Human And Environmental Health Going Forward, Jessica Meyer, Kassidi Petersen, Jared Romero, Sara Rostron Lexi Shusterove, Micah Welch-Stockton, Cassie Wigfall, Justyne Wyer

VIP 2020

Animal, Human, and Environmental Health are all interconnected and reliant upon one another. Humans tend to think of themselves and their actions as separate from nature, rather than part of the larger interrelated system. Our species elitist thinking has resulted in our greatest challenges going forward as a planet, such as climate change, extreme weather events and wildfires, food insecurities, increased antimicrobial resistance, zoonosis, and currently a pandemic. The One Health Solutions VIP course analyzes complex global problems and encourages the development of solutions in an attempt to slow and possibly reverse humanity's role in changing our planet and provide …

Regenerate Idaho, Justyne Wyer, Jared Romero

VIP 2020

“Regenerative agriculture” is a rehabilitative approach to farming and grazing practices that focus on rebuilding topsoil and restoring soil biodiversity. Instead of using destructive practices like tilling and expensive products like chemical fertilizers and pesticides that degrade soil quality, farmers take a holistic approach incorporating conservation tillage, cover crops, crop rotation, livestock grazing, and composting to revitalize their soil. In recent years, the importance of the soil has become increasingly apparent. Its health may hold the key to ensuring food security and halting global climate change. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates, if we continue with current agricultural practices, …

Rabies And One Health: When The Forest Enters The City, Kassidi Petersen

VIP 2020

Rabies is a virus spread via saliva, often through a bite by infected animals to people and can be spread to any mammal, including house pets like dogs and cats. Signs to look for are behavioral changes, paralysis, vomiting, difficulty swallowing, and excessive saliva. The incubation of rabies varies greatly but until clinical signs are shown it cannot be transmitted and cannot be tested for in living animals, only by studying dead animal's brains. As of right now there is no cures for rabies, and it is most often deadly. There are on average 2 rabies cases in humans per …

Morse-Code Encoded Eye Blinking As A Source Of Biometric Authentication Via Eeg, Callum Young, Gabriel Miles, Ben Adams, Meghan Edgerton

VIP 2020

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) have historically provided many uses in the medical field, including mobility for individuals with differing levels of paralysis. Present day research is focused around testing the efficacy of such devices on mental diseases such as Alzheimer's, Dementia, and Parkinson's. Leading companies that are spearheading the research of such devices, are looking at BCI's as a tool for solving many of the problems that these diseases produce, with the end goal of generalizing BCIs to appeal to the healthy layperson by providing an additional interface between them and the technological world. If such devices were present in society …

Ocean Acidification, Micah Welch-Stockton

VIP 2020

Ocean acidification is a growing problem in our environment. This poster aims to explain what ocean acidification is, how it happens and the effects it has on ocean wildlife.

The Importance Of Coral Reefs And How To Ensure Their Longevity, A One Health Approach, Lexi Shusterove, Jared Romero

VIP 2020

Coral Reefs are large, diverse underwater ecosystems made from coral; the skeletons of colonial marine invertebrates. The reefs provide food, shelter, and areas for breeding for about 25% of the ocean's marine species. When it comes to the environment, reefs generate half of Earth's oxygen and absorb one-third of the carbon dioxide generated from burning fossil fuels. Along with this, the reefs provide people with food, jobs, new medicine opportunities, and even protection from storms and erosion. The coral reefs are not only important to the environment and marine life, but to the economy as well. However, coral reefs are …

Medical School Watercooler Newsletter - December 4, 2020, Lindsey Lyle

Watercooler Newsletter

This is the December 4, 2020 edition of the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine's newsletter - Watercooler.

Contents Include:

• USA research on NAD+ featured in national journal’s special issue
• Details set for 2020 College of Medicine Research Forum
• Medical student to present findings on diabetes, COVID outcomes at national symposium
• Mark your calendar: Upcoming grand rounds
• Piazza receives grant to further study potential treatment for aggressive cancers

Resilient And Rapid Recovery Of Native Trout After Removal Of A Non-Native Trout, Phaedra E. Budy, Timothy Walsworth, Gary P. Thiede, Paul D. Thompson, Matthew D. Mckell, Paul B. Holden, Paul D. Chase, W. Carl Saunders

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

While the importance of reducing impacts of non-native species is increasingly recognized in conservation, the feasibility of such actions is highly dependent upon several key uncertainties including stage of invasion, size of the ecosystem being restored, and magnitude of the restoration activity. Here, we present results of a multi-year, non-native brown trout (Salmo trutta) removal and native Bonneville cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii utah) response to this removal in a small tributary in the Intermountain West, United States. We monitored trout for 10 years prior to the onset of eradication efforts, which included 2 years of mechanical …

The Bison, December 4, 2020

The Bison Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Responsible Fatherhood Program For Native Men: A Mixed-Method Evaluation Of The Good Road Of Life Training, Allyson Kelley, Clayton Small Dr., Maha Charani

Journal of Family Strengths

Objective. The purpose of this evaluation was to document the impact of the Good Road of Life (GRL) Training on Native men from four communities in the Western US. Design: A mixed-method evaluation design was used to document changes in participant responses (N=60) based on pre/post assessments and qualitative data provided. Results. Findings from the quantitative analysis show statistically significant increases in overall mean pre and post knowledge scores for healthy relationships, help seeking behaviors, self-esteem, confidence, and communication skills. Qualitative themes demonstrate the positive impact GRL has on American Indian fathers. Themes related to impacts include …

2020-12-04, Board Of Regents, Murray State University

Board of Regents Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Capitalisms, Generative Projects And The New Sts, Kelly Moore

Sociology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Mainstream science studies has long marginalized the intersection of capitalisms and technoscience, instead placing interactionist, liberal, and Foucaultian analysis at its forefront, and has had little to say about scientists as critics of the capitalizations of knowledge. Yet at the interstices of the field, scientists, decolonial, feminist, and critical race scholars were engaging capitalisms in ways that rejected conventional Marxism. Some of the roots of these analyses were visible in the journal Science for the People (SftP) revived in 2019, after thirty years of dormancy. Newer journals, including Tapuya, Catalyst, and East Asian Science, Technology and Society are …

Systematic Comparison Of Sea Urchin And Sea Star Developmental Gene Regulatory Networks Explains How Novelty Is Incorporated In Early Development., Gregory A Cary, Brenna S Mccauley, Olga Zueva, Joseph Pattinato, William J R Longabaugh, Veronica F Hinman

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

The extensive array of morphological diversity among animal taxa represents the product of millions of years of evolution. Morphology is the output of development, therefore phenotypic evolution arises from changes to the topology of the gene regulatory networks (GRNs) that control the highly coordinated process of embryogenesis. A particular challenge in understanding the origins of animal diversity lies in determining how GRNs incorporate novelty while preserving the overall stability of the network, and hence, embryonic viability. Here we assemble a comprehensive GRN for endomesoderm specification in the sea star from zygote through gastrulation that corresponds to the GRN for sea …

Structural Characterization And In Vitro Lipid Binding Studies Of Non-Specific Lipid Transfer Protein 1 (Nsltp1) From Fennel (Foeniculum Vulgare) Seeds, Mekdes Megeressa, Bushra Siraj, Shamshad Zarina, Aftab Ahmed

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Non-specific lipid transfer proteins (nsLTPs) are cationic proteins involved in intracellular lipid shuttling in growth and reproduction, as well as in defense against pathogenic microbes. Even though the primary and spatial structures of some nsLTPs from different plants indicate their similar features, they exhibit distinct lipid-binding specificities signifying their various biological roles that dictate further structural study. The present study determined the complete amino acid sequence, in silico 3D structure modeling, and the antiproliferative activity of nsLTP1 from fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) seeds. Fennel is a member of the family Umbelliferae (Apiaceae) native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean …

Molecular Virology Of Kshv In The Lymphocyte Compartment—Insights From Patient Samples And De Novo Infection Models, Farizeh Aalam, Jennifer Totonchy

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The incidence of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)-associated Kaposi Sarcoma has declined precipitously in the present era of effective HIV treatment. However, KSHV-associated lymphoproliferative disorders although rare, have not seen a similar decline. Lymphoma is now a leading cause of death in people living with HIV (PLWH), indicating that the immune reconstitution provided by antiretroviral therapy is not sufficient to fully correct the lymphomagenic immune dysregulation perpetrated by HIV infection. As such, novel insights into the mechanisms of KSHV-mediated pathogenesis in the immune compartment are urgently needed in order to develop novel therapeutics aimed at prevention and treatment of KSHV-associated lymphoproliferations. …

Citation Metrics For Promotion And Tenure Presentation Powerpoint, Carolyn V. Mills

UConn Library Presentations

No abstract provided.

Blenny Territoriality At Oyster Landing, North Inlet Estuary, South Carolina: Seasonal Patterns And Ecological Factors, Sydney Davis, Juliana Harding

Honors Theses

Temperate oyster reef blennies use oyster shells that are still articulated as habitat year round. During the breeding season when water temperatures are > 18-20°C, many species of blenny males use the oyster valves as nesting sites. Male blennies exhibit territorial behavior when guarding their nesting sites and can interact differently with conspecific and transient species. Striped blenny (Chasmodes bosquianus) and freckled blenny (Hypsoblennius ionthas) behavior was described from April 2020 to August 2020 at Oyster Landing, North Inlet estuary, South Carolina to quantify typical blenny behavior, general presence or absence of residents, and potential environmental parameters …

Infaunal Bivalve Density And Richness In North Inlet Estuary, South Carolina: Seasonal Patterns And Ecological Factors, Valerie M. Knowles, Juliana Harding

Honors Theses

Estuarine bivalves recruit to benthic habitats after the larvae are in the planktonic stage. The observed infaunal bivalve density relates to larval supply from adult reproduction during warmer months as well as larval and juvenile mortality post-recruitment. The purpose of this research was to examine annual and seasonal patterns of infaunal bivalve density and richness in the context of habitat water temperature and salinity. Cores were collected biweekly from Bly Creek in North Inlet estuary between January 2019 and February 2020. Temperatures ranged from 9-30 ºC and salinity ranged from ~17-36 psu. Bivalves were sieved out of the cores, counted, …

Using Track Widths Of Loggerhead (Caretta Caretta) Sea Turtles As A Proxy For Predicting Nesting Characteristics, Kelly M. Detmer

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Global populations of sea turtles have suffered major declines over the past century. Thus, it is critical to determine accurate demographic parameters and abundance estimates to fill current data gaps and inform effective conservation and recovery strategies. Population models with greater complexity and predictive capacities are necessary to more accurately assess population trends and responses. This study examines the relationships between track width, female body size (as measured by straight and curved carapace lengths and widths), and nesting variables (chamber depth, clutch size, and hatching success) of loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) nesting in southeastern Florida. Track width was significantly …

Ocean Acidification And Fish Respiration: A Study On The Anatomical, Physiological, And Behavioral Adaptations Of Fishes And Their Ability To Cope With Decreasing Seawater Ph, Mark P. Rogers

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Abstract

Fish stocks across the globe are increasingly being relied upon to supply the ever-growing human population with high quality protein and other nutrients. In addition to fishing pressure, stressors brought on by climate changes, including ocean acidification and hypoxic conditions, have the potential for providing substantial negative impacts on the efficiency of fish respiration, internal acid-base balance, and energy budgets. To meaningfully integrate the potential impacts of ocean acidification on fishes into management practices it is important to study the anatomical, physiological, and behavioral adaptations that enable fish to cope with decreasing seawater pH and how those mechanisms might …

Disability Discrimination In Higher Education: The Enabling Spirit Of American Disability Legislation In Conflict With Judicial Interpretation, Travis Murray

Student Scholarship

Disabled individuals have historically been treated as second-class citizens in the United States. While improvements have certainly been made over time, disabled individuals still face significant barriers to enjoying full and equal participation in society. Higher education is one aspect of American society still lacking proportional representation of the disabled community. To try and understand why disabled Americans fail to thrive in higher education at rates approaching those of non-disabled individuals, this paper will examine the following: how the history of disability discrimination in America influenced passage of powerful anti-discrimination legislation; how American courts have generally interpreted that legislation to …

Suffix Tree, Minwise Hashing And Streaming Algorithms For Big Data Analysis In Bioinformatics, Sairam Behera

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In this dissertation, we worked on several algorithmic problems in bioinformatics using mainly three approaches: (a) a streaming model, (b) sux-tree based indexing, and (c) minwise-hashing (minhash) and locality-sensitive hashing (LSH). The streaming models are useful for large data problems where a good approximation needs to be achieved with limited space usage. We developed an approximation algorithm (Kmer-Estimate) using the streaming approach to obtain a better estimation of the frequency of k-mer counts. A k-mer, a subsequence of length k, plays an important role in many bioinformatics analyses such as genome distance estimation. We also developed new methods that use …

Toxicology And Analysis Of Psychoactive Tryptamines., Sara Malaca, Alfredo Fabrizio Lo Faro, Alice Tamborra, Simona Pichini, Francesco Paolo Busardò, Marilyn A. Huestis

Institute of Emerging Health Professions Faculty Papers

Our understanding of tryptamines is poor due to the lack of data globally. Tryptamines currently are not part of typical toxicology testing regimens and their contribution to drug overdoses may be underestimated. Although their prevalence was low, it is increasing. There are few published data on the many new compounds, their mechanisms of action, onset and duration of action, toxicity, signs and symptoms of intoxication and analytical methods to identify tryptamines and their metabolites. We review the published literature and worldwide databases to describe the newest tryptamines, their toxicology, chemical structures and reported overdose cases. Tryptamines are 5-HT2A receptor agonists …

Now Read/See/Hear This, Jeaneen Parsons

Materials from the University of Dayton Magazine Website

Editor's picks from books, music, film, etc.

Genome-Wide Identification, Phylogenetic And Expression Pattern Analysis Of Gata Family Genes In Brassica Napus, Weizhuo Zhu, Yiyi Guo, Yeke Chen, Dezhi Wu, Lixi Jiang

Publications

BACKGROUND: Transcription factors GATAs are involved in plant developmental processes and respond to environmental stresses through binding DNA regulatory regions to regulate their downstream genes. However, little information on the GATA genes in Brassica napus is available. The release of the reference genome of B. napus provides a good opportunity to perform a genome-wide characterization of GATA family genes in rapeseed. RESULTS: In this study, 96 GATA genes randomly distributing on 19 chromosomes were identified in B. napus, which were classified into four subfamilies based on phylogenetic analysis and their domain structures. The amino acids of BnGATAs were obvious divergence …

Genetic And Epigenetic Determinants Of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma, Tanner Bakhshi, Philippe T. Georgel

Biomedical Sciences

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common type of lymphoma and is notorious for its heterogeneity, aggressive nature, and the frequent development of resistance and/or relapse after treatment with standard chemotherapy. To address these problems, a strong emphasis has been placed on researching the molecular origins and mechanisms of DLBCL to develop effective treatments. One of the major insights produced by such research is that DLBCL almost always stems from genetic damage that occurs during the germinal center (GC) reaction, which is required for the production of high-affinity antibodies. Indeed, there is significant overlap between the mechanisms that …

Amplification Of Structural Inequalities: Research Sabbaticals During Covid-19, Carrie N. Baker

Study of Women, Gender, & Sexuality: Faculty Publications

With the closing of schools and child care centers, the pandemic has significantly increased parents’ caregiving labor, especially mothers, who do much more caregiving than fathers. The pandemic is hitting communities of color particularly hard, placing a heavy burden of stress and caregiving responsibilities for ill family members on Black and Brown women. In this essay, I examine how the pandemic is influencing the ability of female faculty members to engage in research and writing during sabbaticals, with particular attention to the impact of parenthood status, race/ethnicity, and socio-economic background. I argue that the pandemic is amplifying pre-existing structural inequalities …

Effect Of Intrauterine Smoke Exposure On Microrna-15a Expression In Human Lung Development And Subsequent Asthma Risk., Sunita Sharma, Alvin T. Kho, Divya Chhabra, Kathleen Haley, Carrie A. Vyhlidal, R Gaedigk, J Steven Leeder, Kelan G. Tantisira, Benjamin Raby, Scott T. Weiss

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Background: In utero smoke (IUS) exposure is associated with asthma susceptibility.

Objective: We sought to test the hypothesis that changes in miRNA expression by IUS exposure during human lung development is associated with asthma susceptibility.

Methods: Gene expression was profiled from 53 IUS unexposed and 51 IUS exposed human fetal lung tissues. We tested for the differential expression of miRNAs across post-conception age and by IUS using linear models with covariate adjustment. We tested the IUS-associated miRNAs for association with their gene expression targets using pair-wise inverse correlation. Using our mouse model, we investigated the persistence of the IUS-associated miRNA …

Pharmacological Inhibition Of Cdk8 In Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cell Line Mda-Mb-468 Increases E2f1 Protein, Induces Phosphorylation Of Stat3 And Apoptosis, Wade A. Russu, Jensen-Marie Spear, Zhixin Lu

School of Pharmacy Faculty Articles

Cyclin-dependent kinase 8 (CDK8) has been identified as a colon cancer oncogene. Since this initial observation, CDK8 has been implicated as a potential driver of other cancers including acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and some breast cancers. Here, we observed different biological responses to CDK8 inhibition among colon cancer cell lines and the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell line MDA-MB-468. When treated with CDK8 inhibitor 4, all treated cell lines responded with decreased cell viability and increased apoptosis. In the MDA-MB-468 cell line, the decrease in cell viability was dependent on increased phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 …