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Ojo Guareña: A Hotspot Of Subterranean Biodiversity In Spain, Ana Isabel Camacho, Carlos Puch

KIP Articles

Ojo Guareña Natural Monument in Burgos (Spain) is an important and large karstic system. It consists of more than 110 km of surveyed galleries, and it has rich sources of organic material from the surface and permanent water circulation. It is the fourth largest cave system in the Iberian Peninsula, and one of the 10 largest in Europe. Ojo Guareña also ranks 23rd among the world’s largest caves. To date, only volcanic caves in the Canary Islands, in which between 28 and 38 subterranean species occur, are considered subterranean diversity hotspots in Spain. Here, we provide the first list of …

Teacher Perception Towards The Use Of Information And Communication Technology (Ict) In Secondary Schools In Ebonyi State, Nigeria, Chinwe Enyi, Mkpoikanke Otu

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study examined the teacher perception towards the use of (ICT) in teaching Biology in secondary schools in Okposi education zone of Ebonyi state. Ten schools and all 15 Biology teachers in the schools were used for the study which adopted descriptive survey design. Two instruments were used. The first one was a checklist on availability of (ICT) facilities in schools while the second was a questionnaire for Biology teachers on their perception on the use of ICT and the problems militating against the integration of ICT in their work. Simple percentages and mean were used in answering the research …

Citations Versus Expert Opinions: Citation Analysis Of Featured Reviews Of The American Mathematical Society, Lawrence Smolinsky, Daniel S. Sage, Aaron J. Lercher, Aaron Cao

Faculty Publications

Peer review and citation metrics are two means of gauging the value of scientific research, but the lack of publicly available peer review data makes the comparison of these methods difficult. Mathematics can serve as a useful laboratory for considering these questions because as an exact science, there is a narrow range of reasons for citations. In mathematics, virtually all published articles are post-publication reviewed by mathematicians in Mathematical Reviews (MathSciNet) and so the data set was essentially the Web of Science mathematics publications from 1993 to 2004. For a decade, especially important articles were singled out in Mathematical Reviews …

Investigation Of Alpl Variant States And Clinical Outcomes: An Analysis Of Adults And Adolescents With Hypophosphatasia Treated With Asfotase Alfa., Priya S. Kishnani, Guillermo Del Angel, Shanggen Zhou, Eric T. Rush

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Background: Hypophosphatasia (HPP), a rare metabolic disease, can be inherited in an autosomal recessive (biallelic) or an autosomal dominant (monoallelic) manner. Most of the severe, early-onset, frequently lethal HPP in infants is acquired through recessive inheritance; less severe, later-onset, typically nonlethal HPP phenotypes are acquired through either dominant or recessive inheritance. HPP's variable clinical presentation arises from >400 identified ALPL pathogenic variants with likely variable penetrance, especially with autosomal dominant inheritance. This post hoc analysis investigated the relationship between ALPL variant state (biallelic and monoallelic) and clinical outcomes with asfotase alfa in HPP.

Methods: Data were pooled from two phase …

Albinism In Africa: Examining Identity Formulation, Corinne Tinkham

Honors Theses

Albinism is a genetic condition that often intersects at disability and perceived notions of race; this double-stigmatization has proved problematic for people with albinism living in Africa, who not only appear physically different from others in their community but are also commonly regarded as ontologically different. Individuals with albinism in Africa undergo frequent challenges throughout their lifetime that significantly shape their identities. This process of identity formation begins in early childhood and is greatly impacted by unequal access to healthcare and schooling, harmful rumors and mythologies surrounding the condition’s origins, violence, workplace discrimination, income inequality, and many other factors. In …

3d Printable And Computational Models Of The Bone Marrow Mechanical Environment, Alexander Regner

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Aged individuals and astronauts experience bone loss despite rigorous physical activity. Bone mechanoresponse is in part regulated by mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). We reported that daily low intensity vibration (LIV) restores MSC proliferation in senescence and simulated microgravity models, suggesting reduced mechanical signal delivery to MSCs likely contributes to declining bone mechanoresponse. To this end, we have developed a 3D bone marrow analog which controls trabecular geometry, marrow mechanics and external stimuli.

Finite element (FE) models of hydrogels, representing bone marrow, were generated using instantaneous compression (1000% strain/s, 20% strain) and relaxation experiments (100s) of both gelatin and hyaluronin-based hydrogels. …

Vitamin B12 Deficiency Does Not Stimulate Amyloid-Beta Toxicity In A Ceanorhabditis Elegans Model Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Opeyemi F. Showemimo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is symptomized by amyloid-beta plaques in the brain and accounts for more than 65 percent of dementia cases. Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) deficiency can result in similar cognitive impairment and roughly 15% of the elderly are vitamin B12 deficient. Vitamin B12 deficiency results in the accumulation of toxic methylmalonic acid and homocysteine. Hyperhomocysteinemia is a strong risk factor for AD. To test if vitamin B12 deficiency stimulates amyloid-beta toxicity, Caenorhabditis elegans expressing amyloid-beta in muscle were fed either vitamin B12-deficient OP50-1 or vitamin B12-rich HT115(DE3) E. coli bacteria. Increased amyloid-beta toxicity was found in worms fed the …

Machine Learning Models For Deciphering Regulatory Mechanisms And Morphological Variations In Cancer, Saman Farahmand

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The exponential growth of multi-omics biological datasets is resulting in an emerging paradigm shift in fundamental biological research. In recent years, imaging and transcriptomics datasets are increasingly incorporated into biological studies, pushing biology further into the domain of data-intensive-sciences. New approaches and tools from statistics, computer science, and data engineering are profoundly influencing biological research. Harnessing this ever-growing deluge of multi-omics biological data requires the development of novel and creative computational approaches. In parallel, fundamental research in data sciences and Artificial Intelligence (AI) has advanced tremendously, allowing the scientific community to generate a massive amount of knowledge from data. Advances …

Analyzing The Effects Of E-Hook Peptides On Kinesin-1, Ashton Ward Murrah, Baylee Hope Howard

Honors Theses

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Cancerous growth is a result of oncogenes, or mutated genes that increase the rate of cell division in an uncontrolled manner. Cell division, which consists of mitosis and cytokinesis phases, is dependent upon the active movement of kinesin motor proteins along microtubules to rearrange the cytoskeleton for equitable distribution of genetic material to daughter cells. As kinesins are vital to this process, if we could prevent kinesin from binding to the microtubules, cell division would cease.

The goal of this study is to develop a method to prevent …

Novel N-Derivatized-7-Nitroindolines For The Synthesis Of Photocleavable Crosslinkers, And For Solid Phase Peptide Synthesis, Hector Patricio Del Castillo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

7-Nitroindoline-based photochemistry has focused mostly on N-acyl-7-nitroindolines, which have been used as photocleavable protecting groups for carboxylic acids that can be efficiently removed by illumination with UV-light. They offer an alternative to the more commonly used o-nitrobenzyl-based photocleavable protecting groups. N-acyl-7-nitroindolines can also be used as photochemical acylating agents in inert solvents. For example, they have found application in peptide fragment condensation, the convergent synThesis of N-glycopeptides, and the synThesis of peptide thioesters, forming amide and thioester bonds with amine and thiol nucleophiles, respectively, under neutral conditions. The photochemical activation of N-acyl-7-nitroindolines can occur with UV light (λ = 350 …

Engineering Cardiac Tissues With Three-Dimensional Bioprinting For Biomedical Applications, Matthew Alonzo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The role of a biomedical engineer is to solve unmet health-related needs that face society. For the past couple of decades, heart disease (HD) has remained the leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. The disease is characterized by various pathologies that affect the heart. Indeed, malfunction of one of the bodyâ??s most vital organs is bound to manifest poor health and even death in patients. Despite advances in medicine and technology, heart disease continues to be prevalent and diminishes the quality of life for many around the world. Certainly, there exists a need for developing new tools to better …

Metastable State Photoacids And Ultrasound Responsive Carbon Monoxide Releasing Polymer Micelle, Osamah Zaid Saleh Alghazwat

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation described my Ph.D. work on the development of a novel metastable state photoacids (mPAH), which can be activated by near infrared light and a reversible mPAH switched by different wavelengths of light. Also, it described the development of a micelle that responded to ultrasound to localized carbon monoxide CO delivery. An introduction of metastable state photoacid is given in Chapter 1. In Chapter 2, described my work on the development of a novel mPAH, which can be activated by near infrared light is an important factor for various biological functions. mPAH was designed and synthesized with a donor-acceptor-donor …

Design And Synthesis Of Polymeric Metastable State Photoacid And Photo Co-Releasing Materials, Adnan Abdallah Muftah Elgattar

Theses and Dissertations

Metastable state photoacids (mPAHs) are molecules that possess a photoinduced metastable state with high acidity and good reversibility. The metastable state lasts long enough to produce a high proton concentration, which can drive various proton transfer processes. MPAHs have been intensively studied in recent years and applied to different chemical, material, biomedical areas. Covalently linking many mPAHs in a polymer allows the generation of a local proton concentration higher than that of the overall system. This dissertation described my PhD work on the synthesis of mPAH polymers using different radical and ring-opening polymerization methods. These polymers can repeatedly produce a …

The Potential Of Physical Exercise To Mitigate Radiation Damage—A Systematic Review, David S. Kim, Tobias Weber, Ulrich Straube, Christine E. Hellweg, Mona Nasser, David A. Green, Anna Fogtman

More Faculty of Health Research

There is a need to investigate new countermeasures against the detrimental effects of ionizing radiation as deep space exploration missions are on the horizon.Objective: In this systematic review, the effects of physical exercise upon ionizing radiation-induced damage were evaluated.Methods: Systematic searches were performed in Medline, Embase, Cochrane library, and the databases from space agencies. Of 2,798 publications that were screened, 22 studies contained relevant data that were further extracted and analyzed. Risk of bias of included studies was assessed. Due to the high level of heterogeneity, meta-analysis was not performed. Five outcome groups were assessed by calculating Hedges' g effect …

Surface Functionalization Of Elastomers For Tunable Crystal Growth And Smart Adhesives, John Kapitan

Department of Chemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Silicone rubbers have seen extensive work on modulation of their surface environments for use in microfluidics, cell adhesion, and sensing. Most surface procedures utilize a common initial step of oxidation of the surface to increase the number of active surface functional groups. Following oxidation more permanent functionalities can be imparted on the surface using silanization, grafting polymer brushes, or creating ionic bonds to the surface. Of these three, silanization proves to be the most pervasive due to the range of procedures available and how easy the procedures prove to be. However, the mechanism by which silanization is performed heavily involves …

Total Synthesis And Biological Evaluation Of Siderophores: Key To Develop Iron Chelators And Tackle Antibiotic Delivery To Gram-Negative Bacteria, .Pratibha Desman

Research Symposium

Siderophores are molecules that act as iron carriers in bacteria. As they sequester iron from the environment and penetrate bacterial cells through active transporters, they can bypass the porin-mediated transportation in Gram-negative bacteria. Therefore, conjugating antibiotics that lacks the ability to pass through porins to siderophores and forming “sideromycins” has been proven as a way to battle antibiotic resistance in Gram-negative bacteria. My research will focus on synthesizing two siderophores, catenulobactin B and talarazine A as well as their analogs and exploring their potential to synthesize sideromycins. These molecules will be synthesized in a modular way and their cytotoxicity, ability …

Herbal Extracts As Neuroprotective Agents In An In-Vitro Model Of Aluminum Neurotoxicity, Nada Ezzelarab

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Aluminum toxicity due to environmental or industrial exposure, medical applications, or from cooking utensils is a serious medical problem. The current study aims to investigate three herbal extracts: pomegranate peel extract, Achillea fragrantissima extract, and papaya fruit extract to combat this neurotoxicity.

Methods: Chemical characterization of the three extracts were evaluated using HPLC MS while their neuroprotective activity was assayed using MTT assay on SHSY5Y cells and nitric oxide levels.

Results: Using HPLC-MS chromatography, we have identified twenty-one compounds in the hydro-alcoholic Achillea fragrantissima, seventeen were determined in the pomegranate peel, eleven were assessed in the Carica papaya …

Structure, Function And Inhibition Of Critical Protein-Protein Interactions Involving Mixed Lineage Leukemia 1 And Its Fusion Oncoproteins, Xin Li, Yongcheng Song

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Mixed lineage leukemia 1 (MLL1, also known as MLL or KMT2A) is an important transcription factor and histone-H3 lysine-4 (H3K4) methyltransferase. It is a master regulator for transcription of important genes (e.g., Hox genes) for embryonic development and hematopoiesis. However, it is largely dispensable in matured cells. Dysregulation of MLL1 leads to overexpression of certain Hox genes and eventually leukemia initiation. Chromosome translocations involving MLL1 cause ~ 75% of acute leukemia in infants and 5-10% in children and adults with a poor prognosis. Targeted therapeutics against oncogenic fusion MLL1 (onco-MLL1) are therefore needed. Onco-MLL1 consists of the N-terminal DNA-interacting domains …

High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography For Rutin, Chlorogenic Acid, Caffeic Acid, Ursolic Acid, And Stigmasterol Analysis In Periploca Aphylla Extracts, Raha Orfali, Shagufta Perveen, Hanan Y. Aati, Perwez Alam

Faculty and Student Publications

Periploca aphylla (PA), an interesting Saudi medicinal plant, is used in folk medicine to treat urticaria, cerebral fever, tumors, and swelling. To prove its use in folk medicine, two different extracts from the aerial parts of the plant: chloroform P-1, and n-butanol P-2 were subjected to biological assays to screen peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARα and PPARγ) agnostic, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, cytotoxic, and estrogenic activities. In addition, five bioactive secondary metabolites were isolated from the aerial parts of the plant: rutin, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, ursolic acid, and stigmasterol. P-1 and P-2 decreased cellular oxidative stress by 47.0% and 62.0%, respectively, compared …

Tracking Single Cell Lineages In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Guste Urbonaite

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

The ability to measure the number of gene-specific mRNA molecules in individual mammalian cells has transformed the transcriptomics field. Among the key technologies enabling single-cell mRNA sequencing has been Droplet Sequencing (Drop-Seq). While this method works efficiently for mammalian cells, its direct application to yeast cells has been problematic due to cell-type specific differences such as size, doublet formation rate, and cell wall. Here we introduce yeast DropSeq, a single-cell RNA sequencing method for the study of transcriptomics in yeast. I modified and optimized the original Drop-Seq method to address the issues that emerged from smaller cell sizes and the …

Gender Differences In Child Maltreatment: Child Sexual And Physical Abuse, Mary I. Sanchez-Rodriguez

Honors Projects

More than 2 million investigations of suspected maltreatment were opened by child protective services (CPS) in 2018 (Child Trend, 2019), and in 91.7% of cases, parents of the children or stepchild in question were the primary offenders (Child Trend, 2019). Child maltreatment is broken down into two categories: abuse and neglect. Abuse can be further broken down into child physical abuse (CPA), child sexual abuse (CSA), and child emotional abuse (CEA: Park, 2020; Behl, Conyngham, & May, 2003). In considering risk for perpetration of abuse, some notable gender differences have been identified in past research. Females are more likely to …

Columns Spring 2021, Southern Adventist University

Alumni Newsletter

Features the article "Giving Their All". Danae (Bland) Netteburg, ’02, MD, and her husband, Olen—also a medical doctor—have never made it their goal to earn praise or set records. Instead, dedicated to following God’s path for their lives, they have an internal drive to give their all, no matter if they are serving in the mission field or hiking the Appalachian Trail. Other articles discuss Southern student's outdoor adventures and the legacy of Dr. David Smith.

Design And Synthesis Of Selective Estrogen Receptor Agonists, Edward Edward Wetzel

Dissertations (1934 -)

Estrogens are hormones that regulates many different physiological functions. A decline in estrogen leads to significant issues that decrease the quality of life. Past treatments of menopausal symptoms included the administration of estrogen. However, side effects such as an increased risk of breast cancer, made this an unattractive therapeutic option. When a new estrogen receptor (ERβ) was discovered, it provided new hope for hormone replacement therapy (HRT). ERβ was shown to inhibit tumor growth, whereas ERα regulates breast cancer proliferation in certain types of breast cancer. The therapeutic benefits of targeting ERβ are vast; herein we focus on the benefits …

Molecular Basis Of Xenobiotic Metabolism And Resistance In Tetranychus Urticae, Leily Daneshian

Theses and Dissertations

Invasive pest species are a major cause of crop loss around the world and adversely affect the agricultural industry. We are focusing on Tetranychus urticae (two-spotted spider mite; TSSM), which is a polyphagous pest that targets more than 1100 plant species. The TSSM alone causes a loss of roughly $1.6 billion per year globally due to acaricide resistance. It is developing resistance to most acaricides due to rapid growth and reproduction. Therefore, new acaricides are needed to combat TSSM resistance and infestation [1]. To address this problem, four enzymes of TSSM, intradiol ring cleavage dioxygenases, a glutathione S-transferase, a β …

The Internal Blood Pressure Equation Involving Incomplete I-Functions, Kamlesh Jangid, S.D. Purohit, Kottakkaran Sooppy Nisar, T. Shefeeq

Information Sciences Letters

Mathematical structures are used in the areas of biology, physics, engineering and social sciences. A model will help us interpret the system, analyze the impacts of various components, and make behavioral predictions. In this paper, we developed an internal blood pressure model that involves incomplete I-functions. Next, while taking a course in the constraints of incomplete I- functions, we give a few special cases of our model, and also mention some known results.

Classification Of Molecular Subtypes Of High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer By Maldi-Imaging., Wanja Kassuhn, Oliver Klein, Silvia Darb-Esfahani, Hedwig Lammert, Sylwia Handzik, Eliane T Taube, Wolfgang D Schmitt, Carlotta Keunecke, David Horst, Felix Dreher, Joshy George, David D Bowtell, Oliver Dorigo, Michael Hummel, Jalid Sehouli, Nils Blüthgen, Hagen Kulbe, Elena I Braicu

Faculty Research 2021

Despite the correlation of clinical outcome and molecular subtypes of high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC), contemporary gene expression signatures have not been implemented in clinical practice to stratify patients for targeted therapy. Hence, we aimed to examine the potential of unsupervised matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI-IMS) to stratify patients who might benefit from targeted therapeutic strategies. Molecular subtyping of paraffin-embedded tissue samples from 279 HGSOC patients was performed by NanoString analysis (ground truth labeling). Next, we applied MALDI-IMS paired with machine-learning algorithms to identify distinct mass profiles on the same paraffin-embedded tissue sections and distinguish HGSOC subtypes by …

Lindenwood Students Get Real Experience Interning At Saint Louis Zoo, Lindenwood University

Archived Lindenwood Press Releases

No abstract provided.

Nearshore Species Biodiversity Of A Marine Protected Area Off Santa Catalina Island, California, Audrey Looby, David W. Ginsburg

Western North American Naturalist

Santa Catalina Island, located ~35 km off the Southern California coast, is home to the Blue Cavern Onshore State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA). Although the conservation area is recognized as both an area of special biological significance and a marine life refuge, species richness of the nearshore taxa from this location is not known. In this study, we provide a comprehensive inventory of the intertidal and subtidal marine macroalgae, plants, invertebrates, and fishes documented from 5 different reef sites inside Blue Cavern Onshore SMCA. Species richness data were compiled using scuba-based visual surveys conducted in the field, references from the …

The Little Things That Count: Mapping Diversity Of West Florida’S Shelf, Nicole L. Seiden

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Biodiversity is essential to the ecosystem functions responsible for generating the multi-billion-dollar industries that the US relies on for food, storm mitigation, tourism and recreation, but is facing increasing natural and anthropogenic threats. High-resolution diversity data covering large spatial areas would enhance current ecology knowledge and better address conservation concerns in the Gulf of Mexico. However, acquiring and handling data of this nature is resource intensive and has not yet been established. In this study, high spatial resolution data was collected from gastropod living and death assemblages collected over 10 years from the West Florida Shelf (WFS). A multivariate regression …

The Case Of Lionfish (Pterois Miles) In The Mediterranean Sea Demonstrates Limitations In Eu Legislation To Address Marine Biological Invasions, Periklis Kleitou, Jason M. Hall-Spencer, Ioannis Savva, Demetris Kletou, Margarita Hadjistylli, Ernesto Azzurro, Stelios Katsanevakis, Charalampos Antoniou, Louis Hadjioannou, Niki Chartosia, Maria Christou, Yiannis Christodoulides, Ioannis Giovos, Carlos Jimenez, Sonia Smeraldo, Siân E. Rees

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

The European Regulation (EU) 1143/2014 on Invasive Alien Species entered into force in 2015, with the aim to fulfill regional and international biodiversity goals in a concerted manner. To date, the Regulation listed 66 Invasive Alien Species (IAS) that are subject to legal controls. Only one of these is marine. A recent lionfish (Pterois miles) invasion has been closely monitored in the Mediterranean and a detailed risk assessment was made about the profound impacts that this invasive fish is likely to have on the fisheries and biodiversity of the region. In 2016–21, lionfish rapidly became dominant predators along Eastern Mediterranean …