Digital Commons Network^™

Lack Of Cd8+ T-Cell Co-Localization With Kaposi’S Sarcoma- Associated Herpesvirus Infected Cells In Kaposi’S Sarcoma Tumors, Salum J. Lidenge, For Yue Tso, Owen Ngalamika, Jaydeep Kolape, John R. Ngowi, Julius Mwaiselage, Charles Wood, John T. West

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Despite the close association between Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) and immune dysfunction, it remains unclear whether tumor infiltrating immune cells (TIIC), by their absence, presence, or dysfunction, are mechanistically correlated with KS pathogenesis. Therefore, their potential capacity to serve as prognostic biomarkers of KS disease progression or control is unclear. Because epidemic-KS (EpKS) occurs with HIV-1 co-infection, it is particularly important to compare TIIC between EpKS and HIV-negative African endemic-KS (EnKS) to dissect the roles of HIV-1 and Kaposi Sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) in KS pathogenesis. This cross-sectional study of 13 advanced KS (4 EnKS, 9 EpKS) patients and 3 healthy controls …

Prevalence Of Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus And Transfusion-Transmissible Infections In Tanzanian Blood Donors, Salum J. Lidenge, Tara Tran, For Yue Tso, John R. Ngowi, Danielle M. Shea, Julius Mwaiselage, Charles Wood, John T. West

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Objective: Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is the causative agent for Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), one of the most common cancers in Tanzania. We have investigated KSHV prevalence and factors associated with KSHV infection in Tanzania.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of voluntary blood-donors from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Plasma was screened for KSHV, HIV-1, HBV, HCV and Treponema pallidum (syphilis). Associations between KSHV sero-status and risk factors were analyzed. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) are reported to evaluate risk factors of KSHV infection. All tests were 2-tailed, and P-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Results: The overall KSHV seroprevalence was 56.9%. Significantly …

Incidence Of The Covid-19 In Iraq – Implications For Travellers, Maysaa Kadhim Al-Malkey, Maitham Ahmed Al-Sammak

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

The first emerged Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China at the end of 2019, then spread to the rest of China [1], followed by the spread of the COVID-19 epidemics into the world caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) [2]. Many epidemiological assessments in different countries from Asia, Europe, and North America have been published [3]. Nevertheless, there are countries in the Middle East like Iraq, with a rapid increase in cases and a high number of deaths, with a lack of studies. It is worth noting that the Iraqi Foreign Ministry was …

Cervico-Vaginal Inflammatory Cytokine And Chemokine Responses To Two Different Siv Immunogens, Nikki P.L. Toledo, Hongzhao Li, Robert W. Omange, Tamara G. Dacoba, Jose Crecente-Campo, Dane Schalk, Mohammad A. Kashem, Eva Rakasz, Nancy Schultz-Darken, Qingsheng Li, James B. Whitney, Maria J. Alonso, Francis A. Plummer, Ma Luo

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Studies have shown that vaccine vectors and route of immunization can differentially activate different arms of the immune system. However, the effects of different HIV vaccine immunogens on mucosal inflammation have not yet been studied. Because mucosal sites are the primary route of HIV infection, we evaluated the cervico-vaginal inflammatory cytokine and chemokine levels of Mauritian cynomolgus macaques following immunization and boost using two different SIV vaccine immunogens. The PCS vaccine delivers 12 20-amino acid peptides overlapping the 12 protease cleavage sites, and the Gag/Env vaccine delivers the full Gag and full Env proteins of simian immunodeficiency virus. We showed …

Genetic Diversity Of Potassium Ion Channel Proteins Encoded By Chloroviruses That Infect Chlorella Heliozoae, Carter Murry, Irina V. Agarkova, Jayadri S. Ghosh, Fiona C. Fitzgerald, Roger M. Carlson, Brigitte Hertel, Kerri Kukovetz, Oliver Rauh, Gerhard Thiel, James L. Van Etten

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Chloroviruses are large, plaque-forming, dsDNA viruses that infect chlorella-like green algae that live in a symbiotic relationship with protists. Chloroviruses have genomes from 290 to 370 kb, and they encode as many as 400 proteins. One interesting feature of chloroviruses is that they encode a potassium ion (K+) channel protein named Kcv. The Kcv protein encoded by SAG chlorovirus ATCV-1 is one of the smallest known functional K+ channel proteins consisting of 82 amino acids. The KcvATCV-1 protein has similarities to the family of two transmembrane domain K+ channel proteins; it consists of two transmembrane -helixes with a pore region …

Viral And Immunological Analytes Are Poor Predictors Of The Clinical Treatment Response In Kaposi’S Sarcoma Patients, Salum J. Lidenge, For Yue Tso, Yasaman Mortazavi, John R. Ngowi, Danielle M. Shea, Julius Mwaiselage, Charles Wood, John T. West

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpes virus (KSHV) is the etiologic agent for Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS). The prognostic utility of KSHV and HIV-1 (human immunodeficiency virus) viremia as well as immunological parameters in clinical management of participants with KS is unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate viral and immunological parameters as predictors of KS treatment responses in participants with KS from sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Plasma KSHV-DNA, HIV-1 viral load, total anti-KSHV antibody, KSHV-neutralizing antibody (nAb), cytokine/chemokine levels, and T-cell differentiation subsets were quantified before and after KS treatment in 13 participants with KS and in 13 KSHV-infected asymptomatic control individuals. …

Non-Naturally Occurring Porcine Reproduction And Respiratory Syndrome Virus (Prrsv) And Methods Of Using, Hiep Lai Xuan Vu, Fernando Osorio, William W. Laegreid, Asit K. Pattnaik, Fangrui Ma

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

A non-naturally occuring porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is provided herein, and methods of making and using the non-naturally occurring PRRSV also are provided.

Diversity Of Trna Clusters In The Chloroviruses, Garry A. Duncan, David D. Dunigan Ph. D., James L. Van Etten

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Viruses rely on their host’s translation machinery for the synthesis of their own proteins. Problems belie viral translation when the host has a codon usage bias (CUB) that is different from an infecting virus due to differences in the GC content between the host and virus genomes. Here, we examine the hypothesis that chloroviruses adapted to host CUB by acquisition and selection of tRNAs that at least partially favor their own CUB. The genomes of 41 chloroviruses comprising three clades, each infecting a different algal host, have been sequenced, assembled and annotated. All 41 viruses not only encode tRNAs, but …

Panel Discussion -- Predictions For The Bilateral Relationship, Diane Francis (Moderator), Lauren Gardner, Alexander Panetta

Canada-United States Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Pink Is The New Tax, Eliana Burns

Communication Senior Capstones

Historically women in America have made colossal advances that have proven they are just as capable as men. Women had fought and continued to challenge the system since 1919 with the 19th Amendment giving them a right to vote. However, even with this crucial progression, womens’ oppression can be found all around us only in much more subtle ways such as “ the pink tax”. As of 2020 there are currently no federal laws to outlaw companies from charging different prices depending on which gender they are meant to be marketed to. This rhetorical analysis will first address the concept …

Doing Gender: Cars And Culture In The United States, Adrian L. Zavala

Communication Senior Capstones

This qualitative research study aims to define and describe gender stereotypes and car culture. It will also explain how these stereotypes influence car culture and vice versa. This paper aims to explain how the mass media uses car culture in the United States and imposes gender stereotypes. The mass media I will be discussing includes but is not limited to commercials and magazine adverts. This paper asserts that by portraying what it means to be a man and what it means to be a woman, car companies build car culture and use pre-existing constructs of gender for marketing it. According …

Stereotyping Gender Roles: Children's Commercial Advertisement, Lucky J. Mcclelland

Communication Senior Capstones

Heteronormativity gives the individual in our society a binary optional choice: the first choice being the socially accepted ‘norm’ that follows the heteronormative binary, and the second being the socially disfavored choice of being deemed ‘abnormal’ if one chooses to go against this heteronormative binary. In return, we as a socially constructed society then deem the binary option of the ‘norm’ as the culturally preferred ‘good’ choice, while at the same time deem the other binary option of the ‘abnormal’ as the socially constructed ‘bad’ choice. This occurs both intentionally and unintentionally. The purpose behind my area of focus is …

Habitat Assessment Of Suitable Areas For Three Rare Plant Species (Layia Carnosa, Erysimum Menziesii, And Gilia Millefoliata) In The Barr Parcel On Friends Of The Dunes Property, Sophia Grubb, Almond Dodge, Jeremy Cashen

Environmental Science & Management Senior Capstones

Native rare plants are an important component of ecosystems. It is critical to preserve these species because it facilitates growth of native plants. Ecological restoration provides the necessary conditions to encourage native plant growth. Gilia millefoliata, Erysimum menziesii, and Layia carnosa are three rare plants found on the Friends of the Dunes property in Arcata, CA. In this assessment, we surveyed these three rare plants and came up with a management plan for the Barr Parcel on the Friends of the Dunes property. Friends of the Dunes recently acquired the Barr Parcel and are waiting for restoration permits …

Comparison Of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Composition And Concentration In Marginally- Versus Perennially-Inundated Sites On The Trinity River, Tate E. Libunao, Chris Cervi, Colton Trent, Lesli Mounivong

Environmental Science & Management Senior Capstones

Flow regulation has significant impacts on river ecosystems including aquatic vegetation, benthic macroinvertebrates, and salmonids (Caldwell et al., 2018). The Trinity River is an example of a flow-regulated river that has experienced a decline in fish populations and ecological health (Beechie et al., 2015). This study uses benthic macroinvertebrates (BMIs) as indicators of fish habitat quality. We compare the abundance and composition of BMI communities before and after a rain event that inundated marginal habitat. Samples were collected at marginally- and perennially-inundated sites on the Trinity River in Junction City, California in January and February 2020. The resulting data illuminated …

Trinidad State Beach Habitat Restoration Plan, Veronica Leah Farber, Marina Chow, Claudia Rodriguez

Environmental Science & Management Senior Capstones

California State Parks (CSP) is proposing to restore approximately 81 hectares (200 acres) of habitat at Trinidad State Beach (TSB). Over time, invasive non-native plants have established throughout TSB and are encroaching onto sensitive habitats. This project aims to restore coastal shrub communities and native forest understory by the removal of invasive non-native plant species currently inhabiting the area. The purpose of this project is to restore and protect these sensitive habitats while also preventing future degradation of these areas. The project will involve an integrated approach to invasive non-native plant control with treatment methods that will be determined by …

Jacoby Creek Site Inventory Assessment And Management Recommendations For Parcel 502-052-022, Sean M. Dent, Aida Tavakoli Ardakani, Mia C. Arnold

Environmental Science & Management Senior Capstones

Jacoby Creek is a 16.6 mi² watershed that discharges into Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, California. Legacy use of this watershed consisted of unmanaged logging and diking to create pastureland for agriculture until the 1970’s. Currently, 187 acres of the Jacoby Creek watershed is owned by the Jacoby Creek Land Trust (JCLT). JCLT focuses on creating a space for recreation and conservation within the Jacoby Creek watershed.

The parcel (parcel 502-052-022) was assessed to identify social trails, invasive species, tree density, and upland understory vegetation to provide restoration recommendations. Non-native invasive species, such as Hedera helix (English ivy) …

Patrick’S Point State Park Habitat Restoration Plan, Christopher M. Glavan, Marina De Paul, Katie Moore

Environmental Science & Management Senior Capstones

Ongoing efforts at Patrick’s Point State Park (PPSP) seek to restore the ecosystems contained therein. Over time, non-native invasive plant species have become established within the Park. This habitat restoration plan (or Plan) aims to aid in restoring native and sensitive habitat through the removal of non-native invasive species. The Plan will take many different approaches to targeting the invasive non-native plant species depending on the target species and specific site conditions.

Management Recommendations For Jacoby Creek Land Trust’S Off-Channel Pond Site At The Kotke Ranch And Nature Preserve, Marcos Adrian Sosa Morales, Maeve Flynn, Auston Tague

Environmental Science & Management Senior Capstones

Now more than ever there is a need for conservation easements within California because of ongoing degradation, urbanization, clear cutting and loss of habitat to ecosystems due to wildfires. The Jacoby Creek Land Trust (JCLT) is in need of a restoration and conservation plan regarding constructed off-channel ponds along Jacoby Creek. One of the ponds is flourishing and supporting different types of fishes during their migration. The other pond, our project location, is struggling to meet the JCLT’s project objectives. The pond is overgrown with European grasses due to the surrounding grazing land and has yet to see the pond's …

Modern Science And Ancient Wisdom: Tools For The 21st-Century Musician, Seth Quay

Piano Pedagogy: Masters Research Projects

Throughout human history, music has served as a powerful tool for healing, often associated with cultural ceremony, ritual and meditation. The emergence of the Music Therapy profession in the 20th century continues to utilize the medicinal effects of music as an aid in treating psychological and physical ailments. Advanced research methods now allow us to study the brain and nervous system alongside the acoustics of music to discover principles for meaningfully applying music as therapy. How can musicians apply these principles, through practice, performance, programming, and teaching, to reach larger audiences - reaching more than the typical single-person audience of …

Direct And Indirect Effects Of Sex Steroids On Gonadotrope Cell Plasticity In The Teleost Fish Pituitary, Romain Fontaine, Muhammad Rahmad Royan, Kristine Von Krogh, Finn-Arne Weltzien, Dianne M. Baker

Biological Sciences Research

The pituitary gland controls many important physiological processes in vertebrates, including growth, homeostasis, and reproduction. As in mammals, the teleost pituitary exhibits a high degree of plasticity. This plasticity permits changes in hormone production and secretion necessary to meet the fluctuating demands over the life of an animal. Pituitary plasticity is achieved at both cellular and population levels. At the cellular level, hormone synthesis and release can be regulated via changes in cell composition to modulate both sensitivity and response to different signals. At the cell population level, the number of cells producing a given hormone can change due to …

Hedonic Games And Monte Carlo Simulation, Sheida Etemadidavan, Andrew J. Collins

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Hedonic games have applications in economics and multi-agent systems where the grouping preferences of an individual is important. Hedonic games look at coalition formation, amongst the players, where players have a preference relation over all the coalition. Hedonic games are also known as coalition formation games, and they are a form of a cooperative game with a non-transferrable utility game. Some examples of hedonic games are stable marriage, stable roommate, and hospital/residence problem. The study of hedonic games is driven by understanding what coalition structures will be stable, i.e., given a coalition structure, no players have an incentive to deviate …

Efficiency Of Spider Block (Poly Shrub) As An Estuarine Fish Aggregating Device, Jaci Martinez

Theses & ETDs

This preliminary study tested the efficacy of the spider block, a fish aggregating device popular in the media. It has been claimed that the spider block, or poly shrub, will increase fish populations by providing a habitat and protection for juvenile and prey fish. In order to test whether or not fish were attracted to the device, a tank was visually separated in half and three trials were run: a trial with no spider block, a trial with a spider block on the left side of the tank, and a trial with a spider block on the right side of …

An Observational And Spatial Analysis Of Red Tide Events From Pinellas To Lee County Between 2000-2018, Justin Williams

Theses & ETDs

Karenia brevis is a toxic dinoflagellate that naturally occurs in Florida’s west coast waters. When the populations of K. brevis bloom it is commonly called red tides, which is a type of Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) that causes many problems for Florida’s marine and human populations. This research focuses on an area of Florida from Pinellas to Lee county examining existing public databases of K. brevis density and water nutrient levels from 2000-2018. Spatial and temporal analyzes helped to examine the existing data and determine if any possible patterns or smaller areas of interest are present. Temporal methods revealed anomalous …

Translational Ecology And Environmental Law, Robert W. Adler

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

Translational ecology is a comparatively new approach to the pursuit of ecology and other environmental sciences, the implications of which for environmental law have not previously been explored significantly. Emulating the concepts of translational medicine, proponents of transactional ecology seek to increase the relevance of their research to important environmental problems by improving how effectively they communicate research results to end users of that science, collaborating with those end users to identify research that is “actionable” rather than purely “curiosity-driven” or theoretical, recognizing that values as well as science have a legitimate role in environmental decisions, and engaging in ongoing …

U.S. V. Briggs: Brief Of Members Of Congress As Amici Curiae In Support Of Petitioner, Paul Cassell, John Ehrett, Allyson N. Ho, Bradley Hubbard, Philip Axt, Jodeph Barakat, Thomas Molloy

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

This amicus brief filed in the U.S. Supreme Court case of United States v. Briggs on behalf of a bipartisan group of thirteen members of Congress discusses the absence of any statute of limitation for rape prosecutions within the military. It argues that the Constitution entrusts Congress with authority over military discipline, including the authority to determine what (if any) statutes of limitations apply to crimes that occur within the military. By classifying rape as an “offense punishable by death” and stipulating that “offenses punishable by death” are not subject to statutes of limitations, Congress entrenched the policy that rape …

Association Between Breastfeeding And Child Stunting In Mexico, Ana Paola Campos, Mireya Vilar-Compte, Summer Sherburne Hawkins

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Background: Globally, the prevalence of child stunting has been decreasing over the past decades. How-ever, in low-and middle-income countries such as Mexico, stunting is still the most prevalent form of undernutrition affecting a large number of children in the most vulnerable conditions. Breastfeeding has been identified as one of the key affordable and modifiable maternal health behaviors protecting against child stunting. Objective: To examine the association between breastfeeding (defined as never breastfed, any breast-feeding for <6 months, and any breastfeeding for ≥6 months) and other individual-, household-, and area-level factors with child stunting (defined as length/height-for-age-z-score for sex under –2 standard deviations of the World Health Organization child growth standards’ median) in Mexico. Methods: Secondary data analysis using the 2012 Mexican Health and Nutrition Survey, which allowed representativeness of rural and urban areas at national level and among 4 regions in Mexico. Our subset included data on 2,089 singleton Mexican children aged 6–35 months with information on previously identified risk and protective factors for stunting. We conducted fixed-and mixed-effects logistic regression models sequentially controlling for each level of factors. Findings: Overall, 12.3% of children were stunted and 71.1% were breastfed for ≥6 months. Any breast-feeding and being female were consistent protective factors against child stunting across all models. In contrast, child low birthweight, maternal short stature, higher number of children aged <5 years per household, and moderate to severe food insecurity were consistent risk factors for child stunting across all models. Conclusions: According to our findings, efforts to reduce child stunting in Mexico should include prenatal strategies aiming to prevent low birthweight offspring particularly among short-stature women, moderate to severe food insecure households, families with a higher number of children aged <5 years, and indigenous communities. Postnatal components should include multilevel strategies to support breastfeeding.

The Folding Propensity Of Α/Sulfono-Γ-Aa Peptidic Foldamers With Both Left- And Right-Handedness, Peng Teng, Mengmeng Zheng, Darrell Cerrato, Yan Shi, Mi Zhou, Songyi Xue, Wei Jiang, Lukasz Wojtas, Li-June Ming, Yong Hu, Jianfeng Cai

Chemistry Faculty Publications

The discovery and application of new types of helical peptidic foldamers have been an attractive endeavor to enable the development of new materials, catalysts and biological molecules. To maximize their application potential through structure-based design, it is imperative to control their helical handedness based on their molecular scaffold. Herein we first demonstrate the generalizability of the solid-state right-handed helical propensity of the 413-helix of L-α/L-sulfono-γ-AA peptides that as short as 11-mer, using the high-resolution X-ray single crystallography. The atomic level folding conformation of the foldamers was also elucidated by 2D NMR and circular dichroism under various conditions. Subsequently, we show …

The Activity Of Sulfono-Γ-Aapeptide Helical Foldamers That Mimic Glp-1, Peng Sang, Zhihong Zhou, Yan Shi, Candy Lee, Zaid Amso, David Huang, Timothy Odom, Vân T.B. Nguyen-Tran, Weijun Shen, Jianfeng Cai

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Existing long α-helix mimicking necessitates the retention of most natural amino acid residues to maintain their biological activity. Here, we report the exploration of helical sulfono-γ-AApeptides with entire unnatural backbones for their ability to structurally and functionally mimic glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1). Our findings suggest that efficient construction of novel GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists could be achieved with nanomolar potencies. In addition, the resulting sulfono-γ-AApeptides were also proved to display remarkable stability against enzymatic degradation compared to GLP-1, augmenting their biological potential. This alternative strategy of α-helix mimicking, as a proof of concept, could provide a new paradigm to prepare …

Cornus Officinalis Promotes Igfbp2 And Autophagy In Human 1.1b4 Pancreatic Cell Line As Revealed By Employing A Global Proteomic Approach Via Mass Spectrometry, Arielle Elizabeth Tawfik, Jennifer Guergues, Stanley M. Stevens Jr, Brant Roger Burkhardt

Molecular Biosciences Faculty Publications

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) results in the loss of pancreatic beta cells and subsequent loss of insulin production. Exogenous insulin is the only effective treatment, but there is still no cure or interventional therapy available to inhibit progression of T1D. Successful T1D interventional therapy must protect pancreatic beta cells from autoimmunity while enhancing beta cell survival and function. Our data suggests Cornus officinalis (CO) may be a candidate for interventional therapy to protect pancreatic beta cells from autoimmune attack and increase their function. CO has been used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for over 2,000 years and has shown characteristics …

Molecular Tools For Coral Reef Restoration: Beyond Biomarker Discovery, John Everett Parkinson, Andrew C. Baker, Iliana B. Baums, Sarah W. Davies, Andréa G. Grottoli, Sheila A. Kitchen, Mikhail V. Matz, Margaret W. Miller, Andrew A. Shantz, Carly D. Kenkel

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

As coral reefs continue to decline due to climate change and other stressors, scientists have proposed adopting genomic tools, such as biomarkers, to aid in the conservation and restoration of these threatened ecosystems. Biomarkers are easily measured indicators of biological processes that can be used to predict or diagnose health, resilience, and other key performance metrics. The ultimate goal of developing biomarkers is to determine the conservation value and utility of a given coral colony, including the host animal, its algal symbionts, and their microbial partners. However, this goal remains distant because most efforts have not yet moved beyond the …