Digital Commons Network^™

Candidal Carriage In Saliva And Subgingival Plaque Among Smokers And Non-Smokers With Chronic Periodontitis-A Cross-Sectional Study, Gayathri Santhana Krishnan, Dilip Naik, Ashita Uppoor, Sangeeta Nayak

Open Access archive

Background and Objectives. Studies of gum or periodontal disease have focused mainly on bacterial pathogens. However, information related to fungal species in the saliva and subgingival mileu is particularly lacking in smokers with periodontitis. This cross-sectional study compared the prevalence of various Candida species in saliva and subgingival plaque samples of smokers and non-smokers with periodontal disease. Methodology. Study subjects were recruited into three group-Group 1: Smokers with chronic periodontitis (N = 30), Group 2: Non-smokers with chronic periodontitis (N = 30) and Group 3: Healthy controls (N = 30). Clinical parameters recorded included plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), …

The Neuropeptide Drosulfakinin Regulates Social Isolation-Induced Aggression In Drosophila, Pavan Agrawal, Damian Kao, Phuong Chung, Loren L. Looger

Open Access archive

Social isolation strongly modulates behavior across the animal kingdom. We utilized the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster to study social isolation-driven changes in animal behavior and gene expression in the brain. RNA-seq identified several head-expressed genes strongly responding to social isolation or enrichment. Of particular interest, social isolation downregulated expression of the gene encoding the neuropeptide Drosulfakinin (Dsk), the homologue of vertebrate cholecystokinin (CCK), which is critical for many mammalian social behaviors. Dsk knockdown significantly increased social isolation-induced aggression. Genetic activation or silencing of Dsk neurons each similarly increased isolation-driven aggression. Our results suggest a U-shaped dependence of social isolation-induced aggressive …

Spatial And Climatic Variables Independently Drive Elevational Gradients In Ant Species Richness In The Eastern Himalaya, Aniruddha Marathe, Dharma Rajan Priyadarsanan, Jagdish Krishnaswamy, Kartik Shanker

Open Access archive

Elevational gradients are considered important for understanding causes behind gradients in species richness due to the large variation in climate and habitat within a small spatial extent. Geometric constraints are thought to interact with environmental variables and influence elevational patterns in species richness. However, the geographic setting of most mountain ranges, particularly continuity with low elevation areas may reduce the effect of geometric constraints at lower elevations. In the present study, we test the effects of climatic gradients and continuity with the low elevation plains of the eastern Himalayan mountain range on patterns of species richness. We studied species richness …

Cd1a+ And Cd207+ Cells Are Reduced In Oral Submucous Fibrosis And Orasquamous Cell Carcinoma, Luan César Da Silva, Felipe Paiva Fonseca, Oslei Paes De Almeida, Bruno Augusto Linhares De Almeida Mariz

Open Access archive

Background: The objective of this study investigated the distribution of immature dendritic cells (DCs), Langerhans cells and plasmacytoid DCs in oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF), OSMF associated with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSMF-OSCC), oral leukoplakia (OL), and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Material and Methods: Fourteen cases of OSMF, 9 of OSMF-OSCC, 8 of OL¸ 45 of OSCC and 8 of normal epithelium were retrospectively retrieved and their diagnoses confirmed. Immunoreactions against CD1a, CD207 e CD303 were performed and the number of positive cells quantified. Results: A significant decrease of CD1a+ was found in OSMF (p≤0.05), OSMF-OSCC (p ≤ 0.01), and …

Principles, Applications, And Biosafety Of Plant Genome Editing Using Crispr-Cas9, Kaoutar El-Mounadi, María Luisa Morales-Floriano, Hernan Garcia-Ruiz

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

The terms genome engineering, genome editing, and gene editing, refer to modifications (insertions, deletions, substitutions) in the genome of a living organism. The most widely used approach to genome editing nowadays is based on Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats and associated protein 9 (CRISPR-Cas9). In prokaryotes, CRISPR-Cas9 is an adaptive immune system that naturally protects cells from DNA virus infections. CRISPR-Cas9 has been modified to create a versatile genome editing technology that has a wide diversity of applications in medicine, agriculture, and basic studies of gene functions. CRISPR-Cas9 has been used in a growing number of monocot and dicot …

Mixed Ancestry From Wild And Domestic Lineages Contributes To The Rapid Expansion Of Invasive Feral Swine, Timothy J. Smyser, Michael A. Tabak, Chris Slootmaker, Michael S. Robeson Ii, Ryan S. Miller, Mirte Bosse, Hendrik-Jan Megens, Martien A.M. Groenen, Samuel Rezende Paiva, Danielle Assis De Faria, Harvey D. Blackburn, Brandon S. Schmit, Antoinette J. Piaggio

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Invasive alien species are a significant threat to both economic and ecological systems. Identifying the processes that give rise to invasive populations is essential for implementing effective control strategies. We conducted an ancestry analysis of invasive feral swine (Sus scrofa, Linnaeus, 1758), a highly destructive ungulate that is widely distributed throughout the contiguous United States, to describe introduction pathways, sources of newly emergent populations and processes contributing to an ongoing invasion. Comparisons of high-density single nucleotide polymorphism genotypes for 6,566 invasive feral swine to a comprehensive reference set of S. scrofa revealed that the vast majority of feral swine were …

The Role Of European Starlings (Sturnus Vulgaris) In The Dissemination Of Multidrug- Resistant Escherichia Coli Among Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, Jeffrey C. Chandler, Jennifer E. Anders, Nicolas A. Blouin, James C. Carlson, Jeffrey T. Lejeune, Lawrence D. Goodridge, Baolin Wang, Leslie A. Day, Anna M. Mangan, Dustin A. Reid, Shannon M. Coleman, Matthew W. Hopken, Bledar Bisha

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Antimicrobial use in livestock production is a driver for the development and proliferation of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Wildlife interactions with livestock, acquiring associated AMR bacteria and genes, and wildlife’s subsequent dispersal across the landscape are hypothesized to play an important role in the ecology of AMR. Here, we examined priority AMR phenotypes and genotypes of Escherichia coli isolated from the gastrointestinal tracts of european starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) found on concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). European starlings may be present in high numbers on cAfos (>100,000 birds), interact with urban environments, and can migrate distances exceeding 1,500 km in North …

Reporting The Limits Of Detection And Quantification For Environmental Dna Assays, Katy E. Klymus, Christopher M. Merkes, Michael J. Allison, Caren S. Goldberg, Caren C. Helbing, Margaret E. Hunter, Craig A. Jackson, Richard F. Lance, Anna M. Mangan, Emy M. Monroe, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Joel P. Stokdyk, Chris C. Wilson, Catherine A. Richter

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Background: Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis is increasingly being used to detect the presence and relative abundance of rare species, especially invasive or imperiled aquatic species. The rapid progress in the eDNA field has resulted in numerous studies impacting conservation and management actions. However, standardization of eDNA methods and reporting across the field is yet to be fully established, with one area being the calculation and interpretation of assay limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ).

Aims: Here, we propose establishing consistent methods for determining and reporting of LOD and LOQ for single‐species quantitative PCR (qPCR) eDNA studies.

Materials …

Safety, Immunogenicity, And Efficacy Of Intramuscular And Oral Delivery Of Era-G333 Recombinant Rabies Virus Vaccine To Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus Fuscus), Amy T. Gilbert, Xianfu Wu, Felix R. Jackson, Richard Franka, Gary F. Mccracken, Charles E. Rupprecht

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Attenuated strains of rabies virus (RABV) have been used for oral vaccination of wild carnivores in Europe and North America. However, some RABV vaccines caused clinical rabies in target animals. To improve the safety of attenuated RABV as an oral vaccine for field use, strategies using selection of escape mutants under monoclonal antibody neutralization pressure and reverse genetics–defined mutations have been used. We tested the safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of one RABV construct, ERA-g333, developed with reverse genetics by intramuscular (IM) or oral (PO) routes in big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus). Twenty-five bats received 5×10⁶ mouse intracerebral …

Psychological Drivers Of Risk-Reducing Behaviors To Limit Human–Wildlife Conflict, Stacy A. Lischka, Tara L. Teel, Heather E. Johnson, Courtney Larson, Stewart Breck, Kevin R. Crooks

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Conflicts between people and wild animals are increasing globally, often with serious consequences

for both. Local regulations or ordinances are frequently used to promote human behaviors that minimize these conflicts (risk-reducing behaviors), but compliance with ordinances can be highly variable. While efforts to increase compliance could be improved through applications of conservation psychology, little is known about the relative influence of different factors motivating compliance. Using concepts from psychology and risk theory, we conducted a longitudinal study pairing data from mail surveys with direct observations of compliance with a wildlife ordinance requiring residents to secure residential garbage from black bears …

Crystal Structure Of The Atypically Adhesive Spab Basal Pilus Subunit: Mechanistic Insights About Its Incorporation In Lactobacillar Spacba Pili, Abhin Kumar Megta, Shivendra Pratap, Abhiruchi Kant, Airi Palva

Open Access archive

To successfully colonize a host or environment, certain genera and species of Gram-positive bacteria have evolved to utilize the so-called sortase-dependent pilus, a long multi-subunit and non-flagellar surface adhesin. One example of this is Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, a gut-adapted probiotic strain that produces SpaCBA pili. These structures are covalent hetero-oligomers built from three types of pilin subunit, each with a specific location and function (i.e., backbone SpaA for length, tip SpaC for adhesion, and basal SpaB for anchoring). Functionally, the SpaCBA pilus exhibits a promiscuous affinity for components on intestinal surfaces (e.g., mucus, collagen, and epithelial cells), which is largely …

Test-Retest Reliability Of Binaural Interaction Component (Bic) Using Speech And Non-Speech Evoked Abr, Kaushlendra Kumar, M. S. Divyashree, Ritik Roushan, Manita Thomas

Open Access archive

Background and Objective: Binaural hearing serves as an advantage in daily communication by facilitating better localization of sounds and perception of speech in the presence of noise. BIC of ABR has been used to understand the binaural representation of different stimuli, such as transient clicks, and complex signals, such as speech. The present study aimed to investigate the test-retest reliability of the binaural interaction component for click and speech evoked ABR. Methods: 30 individuals with normal hearing served as participants for the present study. ABR for click and speech stimuli (/da/) were recorded from these participants in monaural and binaural …

Effect Of Carnatic Music Listening Training On Speech In Noise Performance In Adults, Raksha Amemane, Archana Gundmi, Kishan Madikeri Mohan

Open Access archive

Background and Objectives: Music listening has a concomitant effect on structural and functional organization of the brain. It helps in relaxation, mind training and neural strengthening. In relation to it, the present study was aimed to find the effect of Carnatic music listening training (MLT) on speech in noise performance in adults. Subjects and Methods: A total of 28 participants (40-70 years) were recruited in the study. Based on randomized control trial, they were divided into intervention and control group. Intervention group underwent a short-term MLT. Quick Speech-in-Noise in Kannada was used as an outcome measure. Results: Results were analysed …

Comparison Of Biomechanical Parameters Between Medial And Lateral Compartments Of Human Knee Joints, Ashwin Kumar Devaraj, Kiran Kumar V. Acharya, Raviraja Adhikari

Open Access archive

Background: The knowledge of biomechanics helps in predicting stresses in different parts of the knee joint during daily activities. Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the biomechanical parameters of the knee joint, such as contact pressure, contact area, and maximum compressive stress, at full extension position during the gait cycle. Methods: The three-dimensional finite element models of human knee joints are developed from magnetic resonance images (MRI) of multiple healthy subjects. The knee joints are subjected to an axial compressive force of 1150 N at full extension position. Results: The maximum compressive stresses on the medial and …

Finite Difference Solution For Mhd Flow Between Two Parallel Permeable Plates With Velocity Slip, Nagaraj N. Katagi, Ashwini Bhat

Open Access archive

The problem of Hydromagnetic steady laminar flow of an electrically conducting viscous incompressible fluid between parallel pates has been studied. The nonzero tangential slip velocity at the permeable boundary is considered. A numerical solution is derived for the governing nonlinear boundary value problem using a novel Keller box scheme. The effect of suction Reynold number R, Hartman number M and slip coefficient ϕ on derived quantities such as velocity filed and skin friction at the boundaries are analyzed. The physical significance of the flow parameters is also discussed.

Comparative Evaluation Of The Origin, Evolution, Transmission, Diagnosis, And Vaccine Development Of Three Highly Pathogenic Human Coronaviruses (Sars-Cov, Mers-Cov And Sars-Cov-2), Prabhu Dutta Shaw, Nicky Patel, Shailee Patil, Richard Samuel

Open Access archive

Coronavirus infection in humans is not uncommon. The first coronavirus (HCoV-229E) in humans was isolated in 1965. Subsequently, three more coronaviruses were recognized: HCoV-NL63, HCoV-HKU1, and HCoV-229E. These viruses are endemic in humans and cause common cold and mild respiratory infections throughout the year. The three coronaviruses, SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 are highly pathogenic coronaviruses that cause very severe respiratory diseases in human. SARS-CoV-2 is a newly emerging coronavirus posing pandemic COVID-19 disease that has disrupted the human life in many ways. In this review, the origin, evolution, transmission, vaccine development, and clinical characteristics of these highly pathogenic human coronaviruses …

Optical Biopsy And Optical Pathology: Affordable Health Care Under Low-Resource Settings, Swathi Rao, Reena John, Ajeetkumar Patil, V. K. Unnikrishnan

Open Access archive

In this paper the potential of optical spectroscopy based techniques for regular screening and early diagnosis of “Killer” diseases (various types of cancers, cardiovascular diseases, etc.) is discussed with focus on routine use under low-resource settings. A brief account of work carried out in our laboratory to design, assemble and optimize Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) based optical devices for routine screening, early diagnosis and discrimination of premalignant/malignant conditions in oral and other cancers is presented. An ultra-sensitive protein profiling system based on highly efficient High Performance Liquid Chromatograpy-Ultrasensitive Laser Induced Fluorescence (HPLC-LIF) detection, and its extensive use in monitoring various …

Gender-Specific 11-Dehydro-Thromboxane B2 Levels In Acute Coronary Syndrome And Its Association With Clinical Outcomes, Sheetal Chauhan, Ajit Singh, Yeshwanth Rao Karkala, Tom Devasia

Open Access archive

Despite knowing that females are at a higher risk of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) and poor prognosis after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), there are very few studies focusing on urinary 11-dehyrdothromboxane B2 (dh-TxB2) concentration (for aspirin non-responsiveness) differences among males and females. The present prospective observational study aimed to evaluate the dh-TxB2 levels and associate them with clinical outcomes in males and females with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) after PTCA. The dh-TxB2 ELISA assay was carried out twice, at baseline and 6 months follow-up, and outcomes were assessed for 1 year. The average cut-off value of dh-TxB2 was …

Anomalous Peritoneal Band Connecting Greater Omentum To The Ascending Colon: A Possible Cause For Dilation Of Ascending Colon, Satheesha B. Nayak, K. V. Soumya

Open Access archive

Anomalies of the peritoneum and the colon are quite common. Some of these anomalies can disturb the normal digestive and absorptive functions of the intestine and the others might result in formation of volvulus or impede the blood supply of the intestine. We report a rare, combined variation of peritoneum and ascending colon. In a 70-year-old male cadaver, the greater omentum was very small and extended only for about an inch below the transverse colon. From its lower end, a fibrous band extended to the right wall of the upper part of ascending colon. There was a deep constriction on …

Assessment Of Knowledge Of Use Of Electronic Cigarette And Its Harmful Effects Among Young Adults, Vidushi Gupta, Madhu Sharma, Natarajan Srikant, Nidhi Manaktala

Open Access archive

Background - The practice of young adults smoking e-cigarette may have been adopted as a way of smoking cessation or just to follow a trend. Most people still remain unaware of the detrimental effects of e-cigarette. This study was carried out to assess the prevalence of the habit of smoking e-cigarette and the awareness of its harmful effects among adults aged 18.23 years. Methods - A questionnaire adopted from a study conducted in Italy was used in the study following due permission. After taking their consent, participants were requested to fill the survey irrespective of their smoking status. Results - …

Estimating Global Injuries Morbidity And Mortality: Methods And Data Used In The Global Burden Of Disease 2017 Study, Spencer L. James, Chris D. Castle, Zachary V. Dingels, Jack T. Fox

Open Access archive

Background: While there is a long history of measuring death and disability from injuries, modern research methods must account for the wide spectrum of disability that can occur in an injury, and must provide estimates with sufficient demographic, geographical and temporal detail to be useful for policy makers. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 study used methods to provide highly detailed estimates of global injury burden that meet these criteria. Methods: In this study, we report and discuss the methods used in GBD 2017 for injury morbidity and mortality burden estimation. In summary, these methods included estimating cause-specific mortality …

Magnetohydrodynamic Flow Of Micropolar Fluid And Heat Transfer Between A Porous And A Non-Porous Disk, Ashwini Bhat, Nagaraj N. Katagi

Open Access archive

This paper presents a study of the MHD flow of micropolar fluid and also heat transfer between porous disk and a non-porous disk of infinite radii. The non-zero tangential slip velocity is considered at the porous disk. The self-similar ODEs are obtained using the Von-Karman similarity transformation from the governing PDEs. The resulting equations are then solved numerically by a very efficient Keller-box method based on a finite-difference scheme. The influence of various pertaining parameters on velocity, micro-rotation, temperature, skin friction, and couple stress coefficient have been analyzed. The obtained results agree well with the available literature for special cases. …

Characterization Of Primary Cilia Features Reveal Cell-Type Specific Variability In In Vitro Models Of Osteogenic And Chondrogenic Differentiation, Priyanka Upadhyai, Vishal Singh Guleria, Prajna Udupa

Open Access archive

Primary cilia are non-motile sensory antennae present on most vertebrate cell surfaces. They serve to transduce and integrate diverse external stimuli into functional cellular responses vital for development, differentiation and homeostasis. Ciliary characteristics, such as length, structure and frequency are often tailored to distinct differentiated cell states. Primary cilia are present on a variety of skeletal cell-types and facilitate the assimilation of sensory cues to direct skeletal development and repair. However, there is limited knowledge of ciliary variation in response to the activation of distinct differentiation cascades in different skeletal cell-types. C3H10T1/2, MC3T3-E1 and ATDC5 cells are mesenchymal stem cells, …

Genomic-Based Identification Of Environmental And Clinical Listeria Monocytogenes Strains Associated With An Abortion Outbreak In Beef Heifers, Katherine J. Whitman, James L. Bono, Michael L. Clawson, John D. Loy, Joseph M. Bosilevac, Terrance M. Arthur, Jeff D. Ondrak

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: In a beef cattle facility an outbreak of abortions occurred over a 36-day period and included samples from two aborted (non-viable) fetuses and 21 post-abortion clinical cases. There are numerous etiologies, including clinical listeriosis. At the species level, Listeria monocytogenes is ubiquitous in cattle production environments, including soil, feed, and occasionally water sources, and is a common enteric resident of cattle and other mammals. There are four genetically distinct lineages of L. monocytogenes (I-IV), with most lineage III and IV isolates obtained from ruminants. Definitive diagnosis of L. monocytogenes as a causative agent in disease outbreaks relies upon case …

Introduction: Global Health And Human Rights, Lawrence O. Gostin, Benjamin Mason Meier

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This introduction highlights the foundational importance of human rights for global health and provides an academic framework for this book by laying out the role of human rights under international law as a basis for public health. Part I seeks to define the evolving conceptualization of health, examining both the shifting focus from medicine to public health and the shifting response from international health to global health. Framing global health as a human rights imperative, Part II examines the establishment of human rights under international law, the implementation of these rights in public policy, and the development of rights for …

Appealing To Human Intuitions To Reduce Animal Abuse, Yzar S. Wehbe, Todd K. Shackelford

Animal Sentience

Social scientists may be able to find ways to positively affect people’s evolved moral compasses, thereby doing the planet and its inhabitants a great kindness. They could help to shape a constituency that is increasingly opposed to animal abuse in its largest-scale manifestations, factory farming and wet markets. This would, in turn, motivate people to elect ethical leaders who view inaction with regard to animal abuse as a serious moral and medical mistake, if only indirectly due to factory farming’s exacerbation of the threats zoonoses pose to humans.

A Tale Of Winglets: Evolution Of Flight Morphology In Stick Insects, Yu Zeng, Connor O'Malley, Sonal Singhal, Faszly Rahim, Sehoon Park, Xin Chen, Robert Dudley

Publications and Research

The evolutionary transition between winglessness and a full-winged morphology requires selective advantage for intermediate forms. Conversely, repeated secondary wing reductions among the pterygotes indicates relaxation of such selection. However, evolutionary trajectories of such transitions are not well-characterized. The stick insects (Phasmatodea) exhibit diverse wing sizes at both interspecific and intersexual levels, and thus provide a system for examining how selection on flight capability, along with other selective forces, drives the evolution of flight-related morphology. Here, we examine variation in relevant morphology for stick insects using data from 1,100+ individuals representing 765 species. Although wing size varies along a continuous spectrum, …

Silicone Wristbands As Passive Samplers In Honey Bee Hives, Emma J. Bullock '19, Alexis M. Schafsnitz '17, Chloe H. Wang '17, Robert L. Broadrup, Helen K. White

Chemistry Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Early Life History And Stock Discrimination Of Kokanee Salmon (Oncorhynchus Nerka) In An Alpine Lake Environment, Alexandra Mccarrel

All Master's Theses

This study examines an ecologically and recreationally important population of kokanee salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) residing in Keechelus Lake and its tributary Gold Creek in the central Cascades of Washington State. This population of kokanee salmon is a vital food base for a population of ESA-listed resident bull trout. However, little is known about the early life history of this population and how it interacts with unique features in its rearing environment. With my research I described the early life history of kokanee salmon that spawn in the lake’s main tributary, Gold Creek, and proposed a framework to determine …

Wills Speak, Katheleen Guzman

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.