Digital Commons Network^™

Chronic And Acute Respiratory Pathogens: Evolutionary And Epidemiological Characteristics Of Tuberculosis, Influenza-Like Illness, And Covid-19, Julie Allison Spencer

Biology ETDs

Tuberculosis and influenza-like illness cause major disease burden for humans. In our first study, we conducted a pangenome analysis of 67 Mycobacterium tuberculosis genomes from Peru. We supported the paradigm that M. tuberculosis is highly clonal; however, a small amount of genetic diversity originates from infrequent recombina- tion events. In our second study, we reviewed the literature for parameters of five common viruses that contribute to influenza-like illness: influenza, RSV, rhinovirus, human coronavirus, and adenovirus. We found that their epidemiological parameters vary considerably, and can have broad ranges; their basic transmission rates are the most important for model outcomes. When …

Sexual Dimorphism In Host Innate Response To Staphylococcus Aureus: Mechanisms Driving Sex Differences In Immune Cell Function And Host-Directed Interventions, Srijana Pokhrel

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

With the emerging antibiotic resistance, Staphylococcus aureus, primary causative agent of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) as well as other life-threatening conditions has become a global health concern. While factors contributing to host defense against S. aureus SSTIs has been well studied, impact of sex as a variable has not been reported. In Chapter 2, we uncover the sex-specific differences in host response to S. aureus SSTIs and the contribution of female sex hormone, estrogen (E2) in providing protection in females. In Chapter 3, we identify mechanisms of innate differences in neutrophils bactericidal efficacy between sexes and in …

The Mayfly Newsletter, Donna Giberson

The Mayfly Newsletter

The Mayfly Newsletter is the official newsletter of the Permanent Committee of the International Conferences on Ephemeroptera.

Photo-Characterization Of Selective Luminescent Protein Aggregate Sensors - Oligo-P-Phenylene Ethynylene (Opes), Florencia A. Monge

Biomedical Engineering ETDs

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease,

and related tauopathies, are a global health care challenge due to the lack of early

treatment and diagnostic options. These diseases take an emotional and physical

toll on patients, caretakers, and a rather large economic toll on taxpayer-based

health care systems. The pathologies of these diseases are characterized by the

aggregation of misfolded proteins, amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau, into β-sheet rich

structures called amyloids. Research has found that the presence of protein

aggregates predates cognitive symptoms by years. Current diagnostic tools are

based on the detection of these amyloid aggregates, historically by …

Well-Being In Trans And Gender Diverse Individuals: An Investigation Of Chosen Family Support, Kendal Cassidy

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Trans and gender diverse (TGD) individuals experience unique minority stressors that increase their experiences of psychological distress, and prior research has suggested social support may have protective factors for these unique stressors (Başar et al., 2016; Bockting et al., 2013; Clements-Nolle et al., 2006; Hull & Ortyl, 2018; Pflum et al., 2015; Lombardi et al., 2002; Staples et al., 2018; Tebbe & Moradi, 2016); however, little is understood about chosen family for TGD populations, and how chosen family might relate to minority stressors and mental health. It is also understood that mental illness and well-being reside on separate continuum, but …

“Pre-Packaged Sovereignty”: The Fallacy Of Indian Self-Determination In The Bureau Of Indian Affairs (Bia) Tribal Social Services Programs, April Kateri Chavez

American Studies ETDs

This thesis examines the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) tribal social services programs in New Mexico Native reservation communities. I rely on interviews with current/former BIA social workers and administrators to contextualize my analysis, while revealing the limits of existing social work scholarship and offering recommendations for future scholarship and community work. Using critical Indigenous studies and feminisms along with critical social work, I advance two primary arguments. The first is, despite the so-called self-determination era, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) functions as a settler colonial administration that diminishes tribal sovereignty and perpetuates racist and gendered violence. The capacity …

Review On Finite Element Model For Anti-Riot Kinetic Projectile Thorax Blunt Impact, Wang Song, Renjun Zhan

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: In order to promote the construction and verification of the finite element models of human thorax and non-lethal projectiles in the field of blunt ballistic impact, the detailed anatomical and analogous structures of the thorax finite element models are combed and five typical of them are compared and verified. The construction and verification methods of the typical non-lethal projectile models are refined and the impact injury assessment methods are summarized. The next research recommendations are given. In order to improve the accuracy and biological fidelity of the thorax model, it is necessary to establish the physical and finite …

Human Depth Maps Restoration Based On Guided Gan, Jingfang Yin, Dengming Zhu, Shi Min, Zhaoqi Wang

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: The depth maps captured by a small depth camera on mobile devices suffer from the problem of severe holes. The Guided Generative Adversarial Network (Guided GAN) based on deep learning is proposed to restore human depth maps with above problems. The high-precision human segmentation features and depth class features are extracted from the monocular RGB image by the guider based on the stacked hourglass network. The holes in the human depth maps are filled by the special generator under the guidance of the extracted human features. In order to get the more realistic results, the discriminator is introduced …

Interaction Of Optomechanical Cavities With Acoustic Waves And Oscillators, Ke Huang

Optical Science and Engineering ETDs

Resonators and oscillators are key elements in a wide variety of natural and manmade systems. As such understanding and exploiting their dynamics both as isolated devices and members of coupled systems has been the subject of intensive investigation for more than a century. The advent of optomechanical resonators (OMRs) that support strong coupling between optical and mechanical modes resulting in self-sustained optomechanical oscillations, has created new opportunities for device development and implementation of coupled oscillatory systems. One aspect of this thesis is focused on exploring some of the unique features of OMRs and optomechanical oscillators (OMOs) that can be exploited …

On Love And Treason: Critical White Feminist Thought For Social Justice Praxis, Amanda Joyce Parker

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

This dissertation is a theoretical piece that examines the positionality of white women in upholding white supremacy and a framework for critical white feminist thought that will move white women toward a self-reflexive and self-implicating praxis. A white matriarchy (Parker, 2018) is fully conceptualized as part of a powerful subsystem that operates under white supremacy. Concepts, such as a race-gender bribe and white women’s negative solidarity (Combahee River Collective, 1977), are exposed and discussed as part of the workings of white matriarchy. White emotionality (Matias, 2015), intergenerational whiteness, and antiracist parenting are also analyzed. I also suggest possibilities for resistance …

Fusion Of Elastin Like Polypeptides To Rna Binding Motifs For Programmable Binding Of Nucleic Acids, Dominic Medina

Biomedical Engineering ETDs

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) with RNA binding capability have recently been found to play important roles in several cellular processes, including the formation of phase separated membraneless organelles to regulate gene expression. An important class of membraneless organelles is stress granules, which enable cells to survive periods of environmental stress by regulating gene expression in the cytoplasm. Cells use a variety of ribonucleoprotein granules, primarily comprised of RNA and chaperone protein components, and can regulate cellular metabolism by sequestering and processing regulatory components, such as messenger RNAs, within these phases separated ‘organelles’. To recapitulate this cellular behavior, the genetically engineered …

The Effect Of Trust On Gaze-Mediated Attentional Orienting, Mariapaola Barbato, Aisha A. Almulla, Andrea Marotta

All Works

© Copyright © 2020 Barbato, Almulla and Marotta. The last two decades have witnessed growing interest in the study of social cognition and its multiple facets, including trust. Interpersonal trust is generally understood as the belief that others are not likely to harm you. When meeting strangers, judgments of trustworthiness are mostly based on fast evaluation of facial appearance, unless information about past behavior is available. In the past decade, studies have tried to understand the complex relationship between trust and gaze-cueing of attention (GCA) (i.e., attentional orienting following another person’s gaze). This review will focus on the studies that …

Stimulus Complexity And Chunk Tightness Interact To Impede Perceptual Restructuring During Problem Solving, Zhonglu Zhang, Christopher M. Warren, Yi Lei, Qiang Xing, Hong Li

Psychology Faculty Publications

The mutual influence of stimulus complexity and chunk tightness on perceptual restructuring was examined using a chunk decomposition task (CDT). Participants attempted to remove components of Chinese characters in order to produce new, valid characters. Participants had their electroencephalogram recorded while completing a CDT in conditions of low or high stimulus complexity, crossed with two levels of chunk tightness. Tight chunks overlapped spatially whereas loose chunks did not. Both increasing chunk tightness and increasing stimulus complexity impaired performance (lower accuracy, longer reaction times), and these factors interacted such that highly complex, tight chunks produced the worst performance. These factors also …

Evaluating Regional Agricultural Wastes As Substrates For The Mycelial Growth And Fruiting Body Yield Of Pleurotus Ostreatus, Daniel Rhiner

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

Pleurotus ostreatus, commonly known as the oyster mushroom, is a widely cultivated culinary mushroom known for its ability to colonize a variety of lignocellulosic agricultural wastes. The ability of P. ostreatus to utilize these types of wastes as growth substrates suggests a potential for this organism to convert agricultural waste streams into locally productive and regenerative systems. Agriculture is a leading contributor to Georgia’s economy, but it also produces large amounts of plant-based agricultural wastes of little to no value. Repurposing these wastes into profitable culinary and medicinal mushrooms has become an increasingly appealing approach to mitigating these wastes. …

Students Co-Author Peer-Reviewed Thyroid Hormone Research, Megan Baker

News and Events (Discontinued Series)

No abstract provided.

Exploratory Study Of Communication As A Psychosocial Factor Influencing Safer Sex Experiences Among Individuals Who Identify As Polyamorous, Cecilia Brooke Cholka

Communication ETDs

Even with over three decades of research on and promotion of safer sex, the rates of sexually transmitted infections continue to rise in the United States (CDC, 2017). Although communication about risk and protective factors is key to the promotion of safer sex behaviors, the meaning and impact of such communication is contingent upon culturally grounded understandings of safer sex among individuals of diverse sexual subcultures. This dissertation focuses on individuals who self-identified as polyamorous, a style of non-monogamy, and their understandings and experiences with safer sex. Drawing on the application of the AIDS Risk Reduction Model and narrative inquiry …

Critical Micrornas And Regulatory Motifs In Cleft Palate Identified By A Conserved Mirna-Tf-Gene Network Approach In Humans And Mice, Aimin Li, Peilin Jia, Saurav Mallik, Rong Fei, Hiroki Yoshioka, Akiko Suzuki, Junichi Iwata, Zhongming Zhao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cleft palate (CP) is the second most common congenital birth defect. The etiology of CP is complicated, with involvement of various genetic and environmental factors. To investigate the gene regulatory mechanisms, we designed a powerful regulatory analytical approach to identify the conserved regulatory networks in humans and mice, from which we identified critical microRNAs (miRNAs), target genes and regulatory motifs (miRNA-TF-gene) related to CP. Using our manually curated genes and miRNAs with evidence in CP in humans and mice, we constructed miRNA and transcription factor (TF) co-regulation networks for both humans and mice. A consensus regulatory loop (miR17/miR20a-FOXE1-PDGFRA) and eight …

Sustainable Nutrient Management Through Technology-Level Evaluation And System-Level Optimization, Xiaofan Xu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The need for wastewater and stormwater quality control, especially the control of nutrients, has been recognized due to the widespread problem of water eutrophication. Sustainable nutrient management is essential to reduce nutrient-related impacts and supply the growing nutrient demands.

This research focused on the nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) in the urban water environment with nitrogen as the nutrient of interest since nitrogen is the primary nutrient responsible for eutrophication in the coastal areas. It aimed to enhance the sustainability of urban nutrient management through technology-level evaluation and system-level optimization of technology implementation with consideration of life cycle environmental impacts and …

Integrative Medicine In Health And Well-Being, Andrew Newberg, Madeline Becker

Department of Family & Community Medicine Presentations and Grand Rounds

For integrative approaches to become part of standard care, research is required to understand clinical effects. Clinical data needs to be supplemented by mechanistic studies. Integrative medicine and general medicine have multiple areas of intersection. Studies can evaluate mental and physical disorders such as depression or anxiety or chronic pain and fatigue. Studies can evaluate psychological symptoms associated with other medical and neurological disorders. It is important to establish efficacy and also mechanism. Future collaborations are very welcome!

The Aspergillus Fumigatus Transcription Factor Rglt Is Important For Gliotoxin Biosynthesis And Self-Protection, And Virulence, Laure N.A. Ries, Lakhansing Pardeshi, Zhiqiang Dong, Kaeling Tan, Jacob L. Steenwyk, Ana Cristina Colabardini, Filho Ja Ferreira, Castro Pa De, Lilian P. Silva, Nycolas W. Preite, Fausto Almeida, Assis Lj De, Santos Rac Dos, Paul Bowyer, Michael Bromley, Rebecca A. Owens, Sean Doyle, Marilene Demasi, Diego C.R. Hernández, Luís Eduardo S. Netto, Monica T. Pupo, Antonis Rokas, Flavio V. Loures, Koon H. Wong, Gustavo H. Goldman

School of Biomedical Sciences

No abstract provided.

From The Provost: Classroom Safety, July 15, 2020, University Of Northern Iowa

UNI Response to COVID-19

A memo to faculty from Provost Wohlpart addressing the steps taken to promote safety in the classrooms to combat the spread of COVID-19 on campus.

Biogeochemical Processes Affecting Arsenic (As) Release And Bioavailability Near Abandoned Mine Wastes, Cherie L. Devore

Civil Engineering ETDs

The aim of this dissertation was to investigate the biogeochemical processes affecting the mobilization and bioavailability of arsenic (As) from mining-impacted sediments to surface water sources and plants. The Cheyenne River Watershed has been affected by mining legacy for several decades. The biogeochemical cycling of As on tribal land is not well understood, which justified the following research objectives: 1) Investigate the effect of competing anions on the release of As from sediments exposed to oxidizing conditions; 2) Evaluate chemical and microbiological processes affecting the release of soluble As, Fe, and Mn from contaminated sediments under laboratory controlled aerobic and …

Disruption Of Pyoverdine Synthesis In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Through Periodic Disturbance Of Biofilm Structure, Rebecca J. Quinn

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Infections due to bacteria were once easily treated using antibiotics. However, the effective shelf life of antibiotics is diminishing due to the rise and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Accordingly, novel approaches to treating infections are required. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a multi-drug resistant, biofilm forming opportunistic pathogen. A determinant of P. aeruginosa’s pathogenicity is pyoverdine, a siderophore that is used to sequester iron from the environment. After being produced by a bacterium, pyoverdine is secreted into the environment where it complexes with iron. The pyoverdine-iron complex is then returned to the bacteria through diffusion, where it drives the synthesis of …

Single-Subject Grey Matter Network Trajectories Over The Disease Course Of Autosomal Dominant Alzheimer's Disease, Lisa Vermunt, Guoqiao Wang, Aylin Dincer, Shaney Flores, Sarah J Keefe, Carlos Cruchaga, Jason Hassenstab, Celeste M Karch, Eric Mcdade, John C Morris, Richard J Perrin, Chengjie Xiong, Randall J Bateman, Tammie L S Benzinger, Brian A Gordon, Et Al

Open Access Publications

Structural grey matter covariance networks provide an individual quantification of morphological patterns in the brain. The network integrity is disrupted in sporadic Alzheimer's disease, and network properties show associations with the level of amyloid pathology and cognitive decline. Therefore, these network properties might be disease progression markers. However, it remains unclear when and how grey matter network integrity changes with disease progression. We investigated these questions in autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease mutation carriers, whose conserved age at dementia onset allows individual staging based upon their estimated years to symptom onset. From the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network observational cohort, we selected …

An Important Role For Cd4 + T Cells In Adaptive Immunity To Toxoplasma Gondii In Mice Lacking The Transcription Factor Batf3, Roxane Tussiwand, Michael S Behnke, Nicole M Kretzer, Gary E Grajales-Reyes, Theresa L Murphy, Robert D Schreiber, Kenneth M Murphy, L David Sibley

Open Access Publications

Immunity to

The Genetics Of The Mood Disorder Spectrum: Genome-Wide Association Analyses Of More Than 185,000 Cases And 439,000 Controls, Jonathan R. I. Coleman, Héléna A. Gaspar, Julien Bryois, Enda M. Byrne, Ney Alliey Rodriguez

School of Medicine Publications

Background: Mood disorders (including major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder) affect 10% to 20% of the population. They range from brief, mild episodes to severe, incapacitating conditions that markedly impact lives. Multiple approaches have shown considerable sharing of risk factors across mood disorders despite their diagnostic distinction.

Methods: To clarify the shared molecular genetic basis of major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder and to highlight disorder-specific associations, we meta-analyzed data from the latest Psychiatric Genomics Consortium genome-wide association studies of major depression (including data from 23andMe) and bipolar disorder, and an additional major depressive disorder cohort from UK Biobank (total: …

Effect Of Water Stress And Rehydration On The Physiological And Biochemical Indices Of Alfalfa, Y. B. Sheng, G. L. Wang, C. L. Jia, S. Y. Chen, Q. L. Yang, B. Wu

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

Forests, Steppes And Grasslands In Morocco: Diversity, Ecological Importance And Socio‐Economic Role, Mohammed Sghir Taleb, Mohamed Fennane

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

Irish Grasslands 2010: A Sustainable Environment?, R. P. O. Schulte, N. Culleton

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

Regulatory Aspects Of Living Biological Material, S.-C. Jong, J.M. Birmingham

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Any living biological material is, in effect, a biotechnology factory complete with sophisticated process designs and its own source of venture capital. Biotechnology is the application of living material and its process system to obtain useful products or services. It is not limited to the recent developments in recombinant DNA techniques, monoclonal antibodies, and related processes and products, aspects with which it is most often identified, but includes the manufacture of nonrecombinant biological material, such as microorganisms and plants and animals from traditional breeding methods; biologically active compounds; and a variety of foods and drugs. Due to complex economic, social, …