Digital Commons Network^™

Development Of A Semi-Quantitative Methodology For Evaluation Of Whole-Body Chemical, Biological, Radiological, And Nuclear Decontamination Using An Ultraviolet Fluorescent Aerosol, Emily M. Titus

Theses and Dissertations

This work describes a literature review which was conducted on publicly available literature on chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) decontamination to understand the body of knowledge and gaps in this body of knowledge, including the assumption that disrobing after a CBRN incident will remove 90% of contamination. Also included is a description of the design and characterization of an aerosol test chamber which was constructed for use in this research. Finally, the bulk of this work describes the development of a semi-quantitative methodology for visualizing contamination. This method uses an ultraviolet fluorescent aerosol (to simulate contamination by a chemical …

The Actin Cytoskeletal Network Plays A Role In Yeast Prion Transmission And Contributes To Prion Stability, Jane E. Dorweiler, Mitchell J. Oddo, Douglas R. Lyke, Jacob A. Reilly, Brett T. Wisniewski, Emily E. Davis, Abigail M. Kuborn, Stephen J. Merrill, Anita L. Manogaran

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Chaperone networks are required for the shearing and generation of transmissible propagons from pre‐existing prion aggregates. However, other cellular networks needed for maintaining yeast prions are largely uncharacterized. Here, we establish a novel role for actin networks in prion maintenance. The [PIN ⁺] prion, also known as [RNQ ⁺], exists as stable variants dependent upon the chaperone machinery for the transmission of propagons to daughter cells during cell division and cytoplasmic transfer. Loss of the Hsp104 molecular chaperone leads to the growth of prion particles until they are too large to be transmitted. Here, we isolated …

Berry Phenolic And Volatile Extracts Inhibit Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine Secretion In Lps-Stimulated Raw264.7 Cells Through Suppression Of Nf-Κb Signaling Pathway, Inah Gu, Cindi Brownmiller, Nathan Blaine Stebbins, Andy Mauromostakos, Luke Howard, Sun-Ok Lee

Food Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Berries are a rich source of phytochemicals, especially phenolics well known for protective activity against many chronic diseases. Berries also contain a complex mixture of volatile compounds that are responsible for the unique aromas of berries. However, there is very limited information on the composition and potential health benefits of berry volatiles. In this study, we isolated phenolic and volatile fractions from six common berries and characterized them by HPLC/HPLC-MS and GC/GC-MS, respectively. Berry phenolic and volatile fractions were evaluated for an anti-inflammatory effect using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage cells by measuring levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and the nuclear factor-kappa …

Quantifying Species Traits Related To Oviposition Behavior And Offspring Survival In Two Important Disease Vectors, Donald A. Yee, William C. Glasgow, Nnaemeka F. Ezeakacha

Faculty Publications

Animals with complex life cycles have traits related to oviposition and juvenile survival that can respond to environmental factors in similar or dissimilar ways. We examined the preference-performance hypothesis (PPH), which states that females lacking parental care select juvenile habitats that maximize fitness, for two ubiquitous mosquito species, Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus. Specifically, we examined if environmental factors known to affect larval abundance patterns in the field played a role in the PPH for these species. We first identified important environmental factors from a field survey that predicted larvae across different spatial scales. We then performed two experiments, …

Tick-Borne Pathogens Shape The Native Microbiome Within Tick Vectors, Abdulsalam Adegoke, Deepak Kumar, Cailyn Bobo, Muhammad Imran Rashid, Aneela Zameer Durrani, Muhammad Sohail Sajid, Shahid Karim

Faculty Publications

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Ticks are blood-feeding arthropods and transmit a variety of medically important viral, bacterial, protozoan pathogens to animals and humans. Ticks also harbor a diverse community of microbes linked to their biological processes, such as hematophagy, and hence affect vector competence. The interactions between bacterial and/or protozoan pathogens and the tick microbiome is a black-box, and therefore we tested the hypothesis that the presence of a protozoan or bacterial pathogen will alter the microbial composition within a tick. Hence, this study was designed to define the microbial composition of two tick species, …

Dynamic And Structural Analyses Of A Gravity Fish Cage Employing Copper Alloy Netting, Michael James Osienski

Master's Theses and Capstones

Aquaculture, the process of growing marine plants and animals in the ocean, has been rapidly expanding due to increased seafood consumption coupled with the steady decrease of wild fish stocks. Increasing environmental concerns due to near-shore farming practices have pressured farmers to expand into more energetic open ocean sites. Environmental loading in these off-shore sites can deform common non-rigid aquaculture fish cages, reducing the cage’s net chamber volume, which can severely impacting the health of the rearing fish.

Copper alloy nets have emerged as a possible alternative to traditional polymer (nylon) twine used in the net chamber of fish cages. …

Mesenchymal Stem Cells And Their Extracellular Vesicles: A Potential Game Changer For The Covid-19 Crisis, Dina H. Kassem, Mohamed M. Kamal

Pharmacy

Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global public health crisis. The high infectivity of the disease even from non-symptomatic infected patients, together with the lack of a definitive cure or preventive measures are all responsible for disease outbreak. The severity of COVID-19 seems to be mostly dependent on the patients’ own immune response. The over-activation of the immune system in an attempt to kill the virus, can cause a “cytokine storm” which in turn can induce acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), as well as multi-organ damage, and ultimately may lead to death. Thus, harnessing the immunomodulatory properties of mesenchymal …

How Can The Church Today Uplift The Family Without Worshipping It?, Aaron Baart

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Our children need to hear and see that it is precisely because we love them that we teach and model for them what truly matters most."

Posting about faith formation in the home from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/how-can-the-church-today-uplift-the-family-without-worshipping-it/

Mathematics For Human Flourishing (Book Review), Calvin Jongsma

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Reviewed Title: Mathematics for Human Flourishing by Frances Su. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2020. 274 pp. ISBN: 9780300237139.

Earthkeeping And Character: Exploring A Christian Ecological Virtue Ethic (Book Review), Jeff Ploegstra

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Reviewed Title: Earthkeeping and Character: Exploring a Christian Ecological Virtue Ethic by Steven Bouma-Prediger. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2020. 198 pp. ISBN: 9780801098840.

Setting The Framework For Biometric Privacy Legislation After The "Big Bang" Of Biometrics In The Workplace, Joshua Valentino

Hofstra Labor & Employment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Complete Genome Sequence Of Microcystis Aeruginosa Fd4, Isolated From A Subtropical River In Southwest Florida, Hidetoshi Urakawa, Taylor L. Hancock, Jacob H. Steele, Elizabeth K. Dahedl, Haruka E. Urakawa, Luka K. Ndungu, Lauren E. Krausfeldt, Barry H. Rosen, Jose V. Lopez

Biology Faculty Articles

We report the first complete genome of Microcystis aeruginosa from North America. A harmful bloom that occurred in the Caloosahatchee River in 2018 led to a state of emergency declaration in Florida. Although strain FD4 was isolated from this toxic bloom, the genome did not have a microcystin biosynthetic gene cluster.

Parental Involvement As A Mediator Of Ace Scores And Intelligence Among Children, Shirin Mostofi

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) include physical, sexual, or psychological maltreatment, domestic violence, household mental illness, household substance abuse and incarceration of parents. ACEs may have negative impacts on children, including brain development and health outcomes. Parents are pivotal figures in children’s lives that contribute significantly to their health, and cognitive development, and may be a critical protective factor, contributing to children’s resiliency and healthy growth. This study focused on the intellectual development of 5-11 year-old children whom may have been exposed to ACEs in their homes. More specifically, the purpose of this study was to examine parental involvement as a …

The Relationship Between Subsyndromal Symptomatic Depression And Cognitive Dysfunction, Bryce Jacobson

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Subsyndromal Symptomatic Depression (SSD), or subthreshold depression, affects roughly 15% of community-dwelling older adults and puts them at increased risk for developing Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), which represents a risk factor for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and may expedite disease progression. While the relationship between MDD and AD has been well established, the interaction between SSD and cognitive functioning has not been explored in depth. Further, clinicians have long postulated that depression is not a monolithic disorder but rather a group of disorders which are heterogeneous in onset, symptoms, course, and treatment. One hundred and six participants, 65 and older were …

The Effects Of A Polyphenol-Rich Diet In A Fruit-Fly Model Of Traumatic Brain Injury, Alexandra D. Trofimova

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death in the United States. Inflammation and oxidative stress activated by the TBI can lead to systemic inflammation. Gastrointestinal complications are common secondary injuries to TBI and are associated with elevated levels of common pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress found across the body. Intestinal permeability after TBI has also been established in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Pomegranate polyphenols have strong anti-inflammatory properties that may reduce brain and intestinal inflammation and improve functioning after TBI. This study examined the protective effects of pomegranate polyphenol supplementation in a Drosophila model of TBI. …

Adverse Childhood Experiences And Cigarette Smoking: Demographic Moderators, Taylor Cosanella

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Research suggests that there is a dose-response relationship between ACE score and cigarette smoking, such that as ACE score increases, so does smoking behavior, but little is known about what factors moderate this relationship. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine demographic characteristics as potential moderators of relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and cigarette smoking. A secondary data analysis was conducted using the 2013 California Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data. The sample included 2,604 U.S. adults (54.8% female; Age: M = 53.3, SD = 8.10; 83.6%; Caucasian, 6.4% Asian, 5.9% Black or African American, 3.1% American …

Program Evaluation On The Kids First Program, Katherine E. Yamauchi

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This study is a program evaluation of the Kids First program, an eight-week psychoeducation program, on parents and children who have experienced a divorce and/or separation. This study was conducted to assess the usefulness of specific program interventions as it relates to parental insight, co-parenting, and child adjustment. A descriptive analysis was conducted to examine results of the evaluations. Results indicated over 85% of the sample rated program satisfaction as moderately or very valuable, suggesting parents gained some knowledge and saw value in the program. Results also endorsed 95% of parents moderately or highly valued the effectiveness of the program’s …

Stage 2 Outpatient Adolescent Recovery (Soar) Program Family Therapy Manual, Sarah Yelim Nam An

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Rising suicide rates among adolescents is a serious public health concern. The frequency of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors drastically increases in the transition from childhood to adolescence (Nock et al., 2008; Nock et al., 2013). Suicide was the third highest cause of death between 1999-2006 for adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19, following unintentional deaths and homicide (Miniño, 2010). Despite the growing problem of adolescent suicide, treatments that meet Level One criteria, the highest level of research support for therapy as defined by the American Psychological Association (APA, 2006), are lacking. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for Adolescents (DBT-A), a …

Distress Among Parents Of Overweight Children With Developmental Disabilities, Lilit Hovsepyan

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The epidemic of childhood obesity, which occurs at higher rates for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), has been shown to have many deleterious health effects for both children and their parents. Previous research has consistently shown that child externalizing and internalizing behaviors are predictive of parenting stress in parents of children with IDD. Less is known about the nature of this relationship when an additional barrier, child weight status, is examined in the context of this relationship. The current study investigated child and parent factors related to parental distress in a sample of children with IDD who present …

The Development Of A Therapeutic Alliance Focused Intervention, Amanda L. Mendez

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The therapeutic working alliance is defined as the collaborative relationship between the therapist and the patient. This relationship largely determines whether the patient experiences therapy as helpful or unhelpful in reaching their agreed upon goals. The relationship between the therapeutic alliance and psychotherapy outcome has been well documented in the literature. The therapeutic alliance is considered a “main curative component” in the interpersonal process of therapy, and is the foundation necessary for successful therapy outcomes across various orientations of psychotherapy. Still, far less research has examined the relationship between specific therapist personality characteristics and the quality of the therapeutic alliance. …

Validity Of The Perceptual Ability Test, Brandon Schmid

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The Perceptual Ability Test (PAT), a subtest of the Dental Admissions Test (DAT), has been used for many years by US Dental Schools to evaluate the perceptual ability of incoming applicants of their program. Perceptual ability is broadly defined as the ability to accurately process and interpret visual sensory information. Perceptual Ability skills are important in the field of Dentistry, as they are critical to the applied use of various dental tools and in surgical skills. It is assumed that performance on the PAT is predictive of dental students’ surgical skill development. However, multiple studies have found that the PAT …

Oxidative Stress, Proton Fluxes, And Chloroquine/Hydroxychloroquine Treatment For Covid-19, Christina B. Klouda, William L. Stone

ETSU Faculty Works

Chloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) have been proposed as treatments for COVID-19. These drugs have been studied for many decades, primarily in the context of their use as antimalarials, where they induce oxidative stress-killing of the malarial parasite. Less appreciated, however, is evidence showing that CQ/HCQ causes systemic oxidative stress. In vitro and observational data suggest that CQ/HCQ can be repurposed as potential antiviral medications. This review focuses on the potential health concerns of CQ/HCQ induced by oxidative stress, particularly in the hyperinflammatory stage of COVID-19 disease. The pathophysiological role of oxidative stress in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has …

Osteoclasts And Microgravity, John Kelly Smith

ETSU Faculty Works

Astronauts are at risk of losing 1.0% to 1.5% of their bone mass for every month they spend in space despite their adherence to diets and exercise regimens designed to protect their musculoskeletal systems. This loss is the result of microgravity-related impairment of osteocyte and osteoblast function and the consequent upregulation of osteoclast-mediated bone resorption. This review describes the ontogeny of osteoclast hematopoietic stem cells and the contributions macrophage colony stimulating factor, receptor activator of the nuclear factor-kappa B ligand, and the calcineurin pathways make in osteoclast differentiation and provides details of bone formation, the osteoclast cytoskeleton, the immune regulation …

Prognostic Factors In Patients With Salivary Gland Malignancy: A Retrospective Cohort Study, Moghira Iqbaluddin Siddiqui, Haissan Iftikhar, Umar Farooq Bhatti, Mubasher Ikram

Section of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery

Our objective was to determine the factors affecting the prognosis in patients with major salivary gland malignancy presenting to Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi. Retrospective cohort study was carried out at our center on patients diagnosed and treated for salivary gland cancers. Presentation and treatment offered was reviewed from medical charts. Telephonic interviews were conducted to assess the survival of patients who were lost to follow-up. Log rank test was used to compare the mean survival times. A total of 36 patients were included in the study. The mean age was 45.1 +/- 14.6 years. Majority were male 21 …

Co-Teaching Botany And History: An Interdisciplinary Model For A More Inclusive Curriculum, Frederica Bowcutt, Tamara Caulkins

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

This essay offers numerous ideas on how to integrate science and history into classroom pedagogy in a way that acknowledges the contributions of women and other groups underrepresented in science by highlighting the cultural and political contexts in which science developed rather than by adding token individuals to a history of science still largely defined by the achievements of a few great men. It details how students in a General Education class co-taught by a botanist and a historian of science at the Evergreen State College not only gained skills in field botany and vegetation analysis but also became more …

Coxsackievirus-B4 Infection Can Induce The Expression Of Human Endogenous Retrovirus W In Primary Cells, Arthur Dechaumes, Antoine Bertin, Famara Sane, Sandrine Levet

Open Access archive

Human Endogenous Retrovirus W Envelope (HERV-W ENV) mRNA or protein can be found in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and exocrine pancreas of patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Further, previous observations have shown an association between enteroviral infection and development of T1D; specifically, coxsackievirus-B (CV-B) has been detected in the blood and pancreas of patients with T1D. Notably, viruses can activate HERV-W expression. Hence, we evaluated the effect of CV-B4 infection on HERV-W ENV mRNA expression. Primary human pancreatic ductal cells were obtained from five brain-dead donors. In the pancreatic cells of three donors, the HERV-W ENV mRNA level …

Beyond Conflict: Exploring The Spectrum Of Human-Wildlife Interactions And Their Underlying Mechanisms, Saloni Bhatia, Stephen Mark Redpath, Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi, Charudutt Mishra

Open Access archive

Humans have lived alongside and interacted with wild animals throughout evolutionary history. Even though wild animals can damage property, or injure humans and domesticated animals, not all interactions between humans and wildlife are negative. Yet, research has tended to focus disproportionately on negative interactions leading to negative outcomes, labelling this human-wildlife conflict. Studies have identified several factors, ranging from gender, religion, socio-economics and literacy, which influence people's responses to wildlife. We used the ISI Web of Knowledge database to assess quantitatively how human-wildlife interactions are framed in the scientific literature and to understand the hypotheses that have been invoked to …

Targeting The Id1-Kif11 Axis In Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Using Combination Therapy, Archana P. Thankamony, Reshma Murali, Nitheesh Karthikeyan, Binitha Anu Varghese

Open Access archive

The basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors inhibitor of differentiation 1 (Id1) and inhibitor of differentiation 3 (Id3) (referred to as Id) have an important role in maintaining the cancer stem cell (CSC) phenotype in the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtype. In this study, we aimed to understand the molecular mechanism underlying Id control of CSC phenotype and exploit it for therapeutic purposes. We used two different TNBC tumor models marked by either Id depletion or Id1 expression in order to identify Id targets using a combinatorial analysis of RNA sequencing and microarray data. Phenotypically, Id protein depletion leads to cell …

Resource Plasticity-Driven Carbon-Nitrogen Budgeting Enables Specialization And Division Of Labor In A Clonal Community, Sriram Varahan, Vaibhhav Sinha, Adhish Walvekar, Sandeep Krishna

Open Access archive

Previously, we found that in glucose-limited Saccharomyces cerevisiae colonies, metabolic constraints drive cells into groups exhibiting gluconeogenic or glycolytic states. In that study, threshold amounts of trehalose-a limiting, produced carbon-resource, controls the emergence and self-organization of cells exhibiting the glycolytic state, serving as a carbon source that fuels glycolysis (Varahan et al., 2019). We now discover that the plasticity of use of a non-limiting resource, aspartate, controls both resource production and the emergence of heterogeneous cell states, based on differential metabolic budgeting. In gluconeogenic cells, aspartate is a carbon source for trehalose production, while in glycolytic cells using trehalose for …

“When I Breastfeed, It Feels As If My Soul Leaves The Body”: Maternal Capabilities For Healthy Child Growth In Rural Southeastern Tanzania, Zaina Mchome, Sepideh Yousefzadeh, Ajay Bailey, Hinke Haisma

Open Access archive

The burden of childhood stunting in Tanzania is persistently high, even in high food-producing regions. This calls for a paradigm shift in Child Growth Monitoring (CGM) to a multi-dimensional approach that also includes the contextual information of an individual child and her/his caregivers. To contribute to the further development of CGM to reflect local contexts, we engaged the Capability Framework for Child Growth (CFCG) to identify maternal capabilities for ensuring healthy child growth. Ethnographic fieldwork was conducted in Southeastern Tanzania using in-depth interviews, key informant interviews, participant observation, and focus group discussions with caregivers for under-fives. Three maternal capabilities for …