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Seasonal Movements And Habitat Use Of Juvenile Smooth Hammerhead Sharks In The Western North Atlantic Ocean And Significance For Management, Ryan K. Logan, Jeremy J. Vaudo, Lara L. Sousa, Mark Sampson, Bradley M. Wetherbee, Mahmood S. Shivji

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Upper trophic level predators dramatically impacted by fisheries include the large-bodied hammerhead sharks, which have become species of conservation concern worldwide. Implementing spatial management for conservation of hammerhead populations requires knowledge of temporal distribution patterns and habitat use, identification of essential habitat for protection, and quantification of interactions with human activities. There is little such information for the smooth hammerhead shark, Sphyrna zygaena. We used fin-mounted satellite tags to examine the movements and habitat use of juvenile smooth hammerheads, a demographic segment particularly threatened by exploitation. Six sharks were tagged off the US mid-Atlantic and tracked for 49–441 days …

Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus Infection Alters Bemisia Tabaci Med (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) Vulnerability To Flupyradifurone, Baiming Liu, Evan L. Preisser, Xiaoguo Jiao, Youjun Zhang

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The whitefly, Bemisia tabaci Gennadius, is a major phloem-feeding pest of agricultural crops that is also an important vector of many plant diseases. The B. tabaci Mediterranean (‘MED’) biotype is a particularly effective vector of Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), a devastating plant pathogen. Although insecticides play an important role in the control of MED and TYLCV, little is known about how TYLCV infection affects MED susceptibility to insecticides. We conducted research addressing how MED susceptibility to flupyradifurone, the first commercially available systemic control agent derived from the butenolide class of insecticides, was affected by TYLCV infection. We first …

Virginia Commonwealth University Courses [2020], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Listing of courses for the 2020-2021 year.

Virginia Commonwealth University Graduate Bulletin [2020], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Graduate bulletin for Virginia Commonwealth University for the academic year 2020-2021. It includes information on academic regulations, degree requirements, course offerings, faculty, academic calendar, and tuition and expenses for graduate programs.

Retinal Imaging In Alzheimer's And Neurodegenerative Diseases, Peter J. Snyder, Jessica Alber, Clemens Alt, Lisa J. Bain, Brett E. Bouma, Femke H. Bouwman, Delia Cabrera Debuc, Melanie C.W. Campbell, Maria C. Carrillo, Emily Y. Chew, M. Francesca Cordeiro, Michael R. Dueñas, Brian M. Fernández, Maya Koronyo-Hamaoui, Chiara La Morgia, Roxana O’Carare, Srinivas R. Sadda, Peter Van Wijngaarden, Heather M. Snyder

Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

In the last 20 years, research focused on developing retinal imaging as a source of potential biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, has increased significantly. The Alzheimer's Association and the Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment, Disease Monitoring editorial team (companion journal to Alzheimer's & Dementia) convened an interdisciplinary discussion in 2019 to identify a path to expedite the development of retinal biomarkers capable of identifying biological changes associated with AD, and for tracking progression of disease severity over time. As different retinal imaging modalities provide different types of structural and/or functional information, the discussion reflected on these …

Dredging Activity And Associated Sound Have Negligible Effects On Adult Atlantic Sturgeon Migration To Spawning Habitat In A Large Coastal River, Matthew Balazik, Michael Barber, Safra Altman, Kevin Reine, Alan Katzenmeyer, Aaron Bunch, Greg Garman

Rice Rivers Center Research

Dredging is considered a major threat/impedance to anadromous fish migrating to spawning habitat. Due to the perceived threat caused by dredging, environmental windows that restrict dredge operations are enforced within many rivers along the east coast. However, it is generally unknown how anadromous fish react to encountering an active dredge during spawning migrations. Atlantic sturgeon (ATS) are an endangered, anadromous species along the Atlantic slope of North America. To determine if and how an active dredge may affect ATS spawning migration, a Vemco Positioning System array was deployed around an active hydraulic-cutterhead dredge that adult ATS must traverse to reach …

The Historical Evolution Of The Methodology For Quantifying Federal Reserved Instream Water Rights For American Indian Tribes, Dylan R. Hedden-Nicely

Articles

From the earliest days of their relationship with the United States, the tribes from the region today referred to as the Northwestern United States have been steadfast in their effort to protect the land, waters, plants, and animals of their traditional homelands. That effort is not coincidental; North America's indigenous people have a singular relationship to the environment they have been a part of for millennia. In particular, they have relied on the streams of their territory for food, fiber, transportation, recreation, cultural, and spiritual sustenance. As a result, through litigation, restoration, and conservation management, tribes have focused on maintaining …

Indigenous Rights And Climate Change: The Influence Of Climate Change On The Quantification Of Reserved Instream Water Rights For American Indian Tribes, Dylan R. Hedden-Nicely

Articles

The people indigenous to the Western portion of the lands now referred to as North America have relied on aquatic species for physical, cultural, and spiritual sustenance for millennia. Such indigenous peoples, referred to in the American legal system as Indian tribes, are entitled to water rights for fish habitat pursuant to the Winters Doctrine, which holds that the federal government impliedly reserved water rights for tribes when reservations were created. Recently, the methodology for quantifying these rights has been the Instream Flow Incremental Methodology (IFIM) and/or one of its major components, the Physical Habitat Simulation Model (PHABSIM). These models …

Reproductive Dreams And Nightmares: Sperm Donation In The Age Of At-Home Genetic Testing, Nofar Yakovi Gan-Or

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

Recent technological developments surrounding genetic testing pose new challenges to well-established reproductive practices. One current example is the fertility industry’s struggle to maintain gamete donor anonymity against the growing use of direct-to-consumer DNA tests. Consider the widely covered story of Danielle Teuscher, who in 2019 accidentally discovered the identity of her daughter’s anonymous sperm donor after using a 23andMe DNA test. Danielle’s attempt to reach out to the newfound family member was followed by a cease and desist letter from the sperm bank for violating their agreement. In addition, the sperm bank refused to give Danielle the four vials of …

Full Issue-- Volume 3 Issue 1, 2020, Issue 1 Volume 3

Pursue: Undergraduate Research Journal

PURSUE: Undergraduate Research Journal

Volume 3 Issue 1, 2020

Article 1 - Harvesting Electrical Energy Produced by Electrogenic Bacteria in Microbial Fuel Cells

Article 2 – The Effects of Fertilizer Rate on the Growth of Egyptian Spinach in a Greenhouse

Article 3 – Exploring the Association Between Nutrition and Mental Health in Adolescence: A Systematic Literature Review

Article 4— Biological Pathways Associated with Wild and Domestic Animals

Exploring The Association Between Nutrition And Mental Health In Adolescence: A Systematic Literature Review, Asia Walker, Andrea Mcdonald, Angela Branch-Vital

Pursue: Undergraduate Research Journal

Introduction: Throughout life, proper nutrition is important to the brain as it affects cognition and intellectual development. Studies have shown that a lack of certain nutrients can affect the body’s ability to perform mentally and physically. Annually, 14% of children in the United States receive mental health illness diagnoses. However, the link between nutrition and mental health is not clear. The purpose of this systematic literature review on mental health and nutrition in adolescence is to identify any gaps that require future research efforts. Methods: The Elton Bryson Stephens Company ( EBSCO), ProQuest, and Journal Storage (JSTOR) databases were used …

Decacationic Pillar[5]Arene: A New Scaffold For The Development Of 129xe Mri Imaging Agents, P. U. Ashvin I. Fernando, Yurii Shepelytskyi, Paul T. Cesana, Alanna Wade, Vira Grynko, Adriana M. Mendieta, Lauren E. Seveney, Joseph D. Brown, Francis T. Hane, Mitchell S. Albert, Brenton Deboef

Chemistry Faculty Publications

A decacationic water-soluble pillar[5]arene possessing a nonsolvated hydrophobic core has been designed and synthesized. This supramolecular host is capable of binding xenon, as evidenced by hyperCEST depletion experiments. Fluorescence-based studies also demonstrate that xenon binds into the cavity of the pillararene with an association constant of 4.6 × 103 M−1. These data indicate that the water-soluble pillararene is a potential scaffold for building contrast agents that can be detected by xenon-129 magnetic resonance imaging.

Cyclodextrin-Based Contrast Agents For Medical Imaging, Yurii Shepelytskyi, Camryn J. Newman, Vira Grynko, Lauren E. Seveney, Brenton Deboef, Francis T. Hane, Mitchell S. Albert

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Cyclodextrins (CDs) are naturally occurring cyclic oligosaccharides consisting of multiple glucose subunits. CDs are widely used in host–guest chemistry and biochemistry due to their structural advantages, biocompatibility, and ability to form inclusion complexes. Recently, CDs have become of high interest in the field of medical imaging as a potential scaffold for the development of a large variety of the contrast agents suitable for magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound imaging, photoacoustic imaging, positron emission tomography, single photon emission computed tomography, and computed tomography. The aim of this review is to summarize and highlight the achievements in the field of cyclodextrin-based contrast agents …

Thymocid®, A Standardized Black Cumin (Nigella Sativa) Seed Extract, Modulates Collagen Cross-Linking, Collagenase And Elastase Activities, And Melanogenesis In Murine B16f10 Melanoma Cells, Huifang Li, Nicholas A. Dasilva, Weixie Liu, Jialin Xu, George W. Dombi, Joel A. Dain, Dongli Li, Jean Christopher Chambeu, Navindra P. Seeram, Hang Ma

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Black cumin (Nigella sativa) seed extract has been shown to improve dermatological conditions, yet its beneficial effects for skin are not fully elucidated. Herein, Thymocid^®, a chemically standardized black cumin seed extract, was investigated for its cosmeceutical potential including anti-aging properties associated with modulation of glycation, collagen cross-linking, and collagenase and elastase activities, as well as antimelanogenic effect in murine melanoma B16F10 cells. Thymocid^® (50, 100, and 300 µg/mL) inhibited the formation of advanced glycation end-products (by 16.7–70.7%), collagen cross-linking (by 45.1–93.3%), collagenase activity (by 10.4–92.4%), and elastases activities (type I and III by 25.3–75.4% …

Effects Of Different Types Of Forensic Evidence On Arrest Probability: Toward A New Typology Of Evidence, Morgan Steele Ph.D.

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Forensic evidence is an important component in criminal justice decision - making. Yet, few studies have examined the effectiveness of the various macro - types of forensic evidence in facilitating arrest. This article analyzed over 4000 case files from five cities to determine how the collection and analysis of three macro - types of forensic evidence (Classification, Identification, and Progenitor) affect the probability of arrest across five different crime types. The results of several sets of logistic regression analyses suggest that forensic evidence affects the probability of arrest, but that the impact is not consistent across different types of crime …

50 Years Celebrating Earth, Atmosphere, Astronomy, And Oceans: Stories Of A Great Department, William Henry Hoyt

EAS Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Global Survey On Pancreatic Surgery During The Covid-19 Pandemic., A. Oba, T. F. Stoop, M. Löhr, T. Hackert, N. Zyromski, W. H. Nealon, M. Unno, R. D. Schulick, M. H. Al-Musawi, M. Del Chiaro, +6 Additional Authors

Journal Articles

OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to clarify the role of pancreatic surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic to optimize patients' and clinicians' safety and safeguard health care capacity. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA:The COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacts health care systems worldwide. Cancer patients appear to have an increased risk for adverse events when infected by COVID-19, but the inability to receive oncological care seems may be an even larger threat, particularly in case of pancreatic cancer. METHODS:An online survey was submitted to all members of seven international pancreatic associations and study groups, investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pancreatic surgery …

Editorial: The Role Of Hmgb1 In Immunity, M. Son, B. Diamond, J. Shin

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Network Science: Insights For Pandemics, Julia Mcquillan, Patricia Wonch Hill

Worlds of Connections Resources

The focus of our current project is on helping members of the public to better understand the role of network science theories and tools for improving public health because often public health is connected to complex systems. We’ll focus today on the relevance of network science for understanding how to contain viruses that cause diseases.

Tn-Seq Reveals Hidden Complexity In The Utilization Of Host-Derived Glutathione In Francisella Tularensis, Kathryn M. Ramsey, Hannah E. Ledvina, Tenayaann M. Tresko, Jamie M. Wandzilak, Catherine A. Tower, Thomas A. Tallo, Caroline E. Schramm, S. Brook Peterson, Shawn J. Skerrett, Joseph D. Mougous, Simon L. Dove

Cell and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications

Host-derived glutathione (GSH) is an essential source of cysteine for the intracellular pathogen Francisella tularensis. In a comprehensive transposon insertion sequencing screen, we identified several F. tularensis genes that play central and previously unappreciated roles in the utilization of GSH during the growth of the bacterium in macrophages. We show that one of these, a gene we named dptA, encodes a proton-dependent oligopeptide transporter that enables growth of the organism on the dipeptide Cys-Gly, a key breakdown product of GSH generated by the enzyme γ-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT). Although GGT was thought to be the principal enzyme involved in …

Heterogeneity Of Dengue Illness In Community-Based Prospective Study, Iquitos, Peru, William H. Elson, Robert C. Reiner, Crystyan Siles, Isabel Bazan, Stalin Vilcarromero, Amy R. Riley-Powell, Ania B. Kawiecki, Helvio Astete, Robert D. Hontz, Chris M. Barker, Gonzalo M. Vazquez-Prokopec, Amy C. Morrison, Thomas W. Scott, John P. Elder, Alan L. Rothman, Valerie A. Paz-Soldan

Cell and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications

Measuring heterogeneity of dengue illness is necessary to define suitable endpoints in dengue vaccine and therapeutic trials and will help clarify behavioral responses to illness. To quantify heterogeneity in dengue illness, including milder cases, we developed the Dengue Illness Perceptions Response (IPR) survey, which captured detailed symptom data, including intensity, duration, and character, and change in routine activities caused by illness. During 2016–2019, we collected IPR data daily during the acute phase of illness for 79 persons with a positive reverse transcription PCR result for dengue virus RNA. Most participants had mild ambulatory disease. However, we measured substantial heterogeneity in …

A Low-Water Crossing Impacts Northern Hog Sucker Hypentelium Nigricans Movement In An Ozark Stream, Jeffrey M. Williams, Hope R. Dodd, Debra S. Finn

College of Natural and Applied Sciences

Streams are complex systems that rely on connectivity to maintain natural ecological function. Low-water crossings are common in small-intermediate sized streams and can restrict longitudinal movement of fishes. The Current River in Missouri (USA) contains a single anthropogenic barrier to longitudinal connectivity: the Cedar Grove low-water crossing, which spans the main channel (10 culverts) and a side channel (4 culverts). In July 2017, we radio-tagged Northern Hog Sucker Hypentelium nigricans upstream (henceforth ‘above’; N = 24) and downstream (henceforth ‘below’; N = 26) of the crossing and followed their movements monthly for a year to assess fish passage and maximum …

Validation And Optimization Of Hyperspectral Reflectance Analysis-Based Predictive Models For The Determination Of Plant Functional Traits In Cornus, Rhododendron, And Salix, Milton I. Valdiviezo

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) has become increasingly widespread throughout various fields as an alternative method for efficiently phenotyping crops and plants at rates unparalleled by conventional means. With growing reliability, the convergence of NIR spectroscopy and modern machine learning represent a promising methodology offering unprecedented access to rapid, high throughput phenotyping at negligible costs, representing prospects that excite agronomists and plant physiologists alike. However, as is true of all emergent methodologies, progressive refinement towards optimization exposes potential flaws and raises questions, one of which is the cornerstone of this study. Spectroscopic determination of plant functional traits utilizes plants' morphological and …

Association Between Sports Participation And Levels Of Physical Fitness, Jordan Italiano

Scholarship in Medicine - All Papers

Objective: Physical activity is a major component of overall health, especially in children. Increased physical activity in children provides many health benefits, and organized sports provide a great opportunity to meet the physical activity recommendations. In fact, participation in organized sports provides further health advantages, such as lower BMIs, compared to those who engaged in self organized physical activity and has shown to promote continued healthy habits throughout life. However, there has not been research looking at which sports are associated with the greatest level of fitness and provide the greatest health benefit for participants. In this study, we examine …

Applied Artificial Intelligence In Modern Warfare And National Security Policy, Brian Seamus Haney

UC Law Science and Technology Journal

Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications in modern warfare have revolutionized national security power dynamics between the United States, China, Russia, and the private industry. The United States has fallen behind in military technologies and is now at the mercy of big technology companies to maintain peace. After committing $150 billion toward the goal of becoming the AI technology world leader, China claimed success in 2018. In 2019, Chinese researchers published open-source code for AI missile systems controlled by deep reinforcement learning algorithms. Further, Russia’s continued interference in United States’ elections has largely been driven by AI applications in cybersecurity. Yet, despite …

Effectiveness Of Public Versus Private Ownership: Violations Of The Safe Drinking Water Act (Sdwa), Guanlong Fu, Pengfei Liu, Stephen K. Swallow

Environmental and Natural Resource Economics Faculty Publications

The relative performance of public and private enterprises has been long debated. We construct a comprehensive violation dataset based on the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System to empirically investigate the compliance behavior of publicly and privately owned Public Water Systems (PWSs). Our results show that publicly owned PWSs commit significantly more Maximum Contamination Level, Treatment Technique, and Health-Related violations but fewer Monitor and Reporting violations than privately owned PWSs. We also find that municipal-level heterogeneities explain a substantial amount of variation in violation behaviors among PWSs, suggesting water supply quality depends crucially on location-specific regulations and local economic conditions.

Prospective Evaluation Of The Impact Of Stress, Anxiety, And Depression On Household Income Among Young Women With Early Breast Cancer From The Young And Strong Trial, Erin E. Cook, Shoshana M. Rosenberg, Kathryn J. Ruddy, William T. Barry, Mary L. Greaney, Jennifer Ligibel, Kim Sprunck-Harrild, Michelle D. Holmes, Rulla M. Tamimi, Karen M. Emmons, Ann H. Partridge

Public Health Faculty Publications

Background: Young women with breast cancer tend to report lower quality of life and higher levels of stress than older women with breast cancer, and this may have implications for other psychosocial factors including finances. We sought to determine if stress, anxiety, and depression at diagnosis were associated with changes in household income over 12-months in young women with breast cancer in the United States.

Methods: This study was a prospective, longitudinal cohort study comprised of women enrolled in the Young and Strong trial. Of the 467 women aged 18–45 newly diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer enrolled in …

Fertilization Value Of Biosolids On Nutrient Accumulation And Environmental Risks To Agricultural Plants, Hoi Yan Chow, Livia Min Pan

Faculty of Design & Environment (THEi)

Amendment with treated biosolids can increase soil fertility and plant nutrition to the soil, but the fertilization value compared with other commercial soil amendments on the soil ecosystem is poorly understood. The effects of different proportions (0%, 5%, 10%, and 15%) of thermal and pH-treated biosolid applications on the growth performance, nutrient contents, and toxicity performance of carrots (Daucus carota L.) and choy sum (Brassica chinensis var. parachinensis) were studied. Different commercial organic soil amendments, such as biochar, chicken manure (CM), and food waste compost (FWC), were also used as a comparison in the experiment to determine the feasibility of …

Physical Profiling Of International Cricket Players: An Investigation Between Bowlers And Batters, Anthony Weldon, Neil D. Clarke, Lee Pote, Chris Bishop

Faculty of Management & Hospitality (THEi)

This study aimed to develop a physical profile of international cricketers, and investigate if positional differences exist between bowlers and batters. Nineteen, international male cricketers, eleven bowlers (age 24.1 ± 5.2 years; height 179.73 ± 5.27 cm; weight 73.64 ± 6.65 kg), and eight batters (age 22.9 ± 3.8 years; height 180.25 ± 5.57 cm; weight 77.01 ± 8.99 kg) participated in this study. The physical test battery included; power, speed, strength and aerobic fitness tests. Batters demonstrated significantly higher scores for the countermovement jump (p < 0.03; ES = -1.55) and squat jump (p < 0.03; ES = -0.98). Furthermore, batters showed non-significant but small ES for faster 0–5 m (ES = 0.40) and 0–10 m (ES = 0.35) sprint times, superior hand grip strength (ES = -0.20), and higher Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test scores (ES = -0.46). Bowlers showed non-significant but small ES for faster 5 km time trials (ES = -0.51), lower bodyweight (ES = -0.42) and lower body fat percentage (ES = -0.30). However, intra-positional (i.e., seam and spin bowlers) and individual differences amongst players were observed. The physical profiles presented in this study can be used by coaches responsible for the physical development of cricket players to compare their existing data with. Furthermore, it is recommended that practitioners account for individual physical fitness profiles in addition to team profiles, to effectively design and evaluate tailored programs, with the aim of improving both physical and cricket performance.

Similar Bird Communities Across Grazing Systems In The Nebraska Sandhills, M. Sliwinski, L.A. Powell, W. Schacht

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.