Digital Commons Network^™

Genome-Scale Profiling Reveals Noncoding Loci Carry Higher Proportions Of Concordant Data, Robert Literman, Rachel Schwartz

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Many evolutionary relationships remain controversial despite whole-genome sequencing data. These controversies arise in part due to challenges associated with accurately modeling the complex phylogenetic signal coming from genomic regions experiencing distinct evolutionary forces. Here we examine how different regions of the genome support or contradict well-established hypotheses among three mammal groups using millions of orthologous parsimony-informative biallelic sites [PIBS] distributed across primate, rodent, and Pecora genomes. We compared PIBS concordance percentages among locus types (e.g. coding sequences, introns, intergenic regions), and contrasted PIBS utility over evolutionary timescales. Sites derived from noncoding sequences provided more data and proportionally more concordant sites …

Goodridge V. Department Of Public Health, Same-Sex Marriage, And The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court As Critical Social Movement Ally, Carlo A. Pedrioli

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

“[I]t is circular reasoning, not analysis, to maintain that marriage must remain a heterosexual institution because that is what it historically has been.”

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings In Childhood Epilepsy At A Tertiary Hospital In Kenya, Pauline Samia, Nicholas Odero, Maureen Njoroge, Shem Ochieng, Jacqueline Mavuti, Sheila Waa, Samson Gwer

Paediatrics and Child Health, East Africa

Background: Neuroimaging is important for determining etiology and guiding care in early childhood epilepsy. However, access to appropriate imaging in sub-Saharan Africa is modest, and as a consequence, etiological descriptions of childhood epilepsy in the region have been limited. We sought to describe MRI findings in children with epilepsy presenting to a tertiary hospital in Nairobi, Kenya, over a 6-year period of routine care.

Materials and Methods: We undertook a retrospective review of MRI findings of children aged between 0 and 18 years with a diagnosis of epilepsy presenting to the pediatric neurology department of Aga Khan University Hospital in …

Investigation Of Equine In Vivo And In Vitro Derived Metabolites Of The Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator (Sarm) Acp-105 For Improved Doping Control, Malin Nilsson Broberg, Heather Knych, Ulf Bondesson, Curt Pettersson, Scott Stanley, Mario Thevis, Mikael Hedeland

Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center Faculty Publications

Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMs) have anabolic properties but less adverse effects than anabolic androgenic steroids. They are prohibited in both equine and human sports and there have been several cases of SARMs findings reported over the last few years. The aim of this study was to investigate the metabolite profile of the SARM ACP-105 (2-chloro-4-[(3-endo)-3-hydroxy-3-methyl-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]oct-8-yl]-3-methylbenzonitrile) in order to find analytical targets for doping control. Oral administration of ACP-105 was performed in horses, where blood and urine samples were collected over a time period of 96 h. The in vivo samples were compared with five in vitro incubation models encompassing …

Sela/General News, Library News, And Personnel News

The Southeastern Librarian

News from SELA and member libraries as well as representative lists.

Predicting Supreme Court Behavior In Indian Law Cases, Grant Christensen

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

This piece builds upon Matthew Fletcher’s call for additional empirical work in Indian law by creating a new dataset of Indian law opinions. The piece takes every Indian law case decided by the Supreme Court from the beginning of the Warren Court until the end of the 2019-2020 term. The scholarship first produces an Indian law scorecard that measures how often each Justice voted for the “pro- Indian” outcome. It then compares those results to the Justice’s political ideology to suggest that while there is a general trend that a more “liberal” Justice is more likely to favor the pro-Indian …

Japan And The United Kingdom: Island Peoples Coming To Terms With Their Imperial Legacy, Trisha Ann Canessa

Senior Theses

Similar to the United States, other colonial nations such as Japan and the United Kingdom hold prejudicial pasts that have impacted their current social climates. In contrast to the U.S.’s long- time racial hostilities, Japan and Britain’s traditional institutions centered their nationalist campaigns with an anti-foreigner sentiment. The nationalist campaigns within Japan and Britain were prompted by their effort to re-establish their identities after the devastations of World War II. For Japan, conservatives prioritized the preservation of their cultural roots from foreign influence. For the United Kingdom, conservatives used imperial nostalgia to call for a revitalization of the height of …

Juliette Ratchford, ’16, Builds On Skills Developed At Gardner-Webb To Study Virtue, Office Of University Communications

Gardner-Webb NewsCenter Archive

As a student at Gardner-Webb University, Juliette Ratchford, ’16, was introduced to the concept of positive psychology. Through this curriculum, GWU students learn how to help their future clients build on positive emotions, relationships, and virtues. Instead of serving as a counselor, though, Ratchford’s interest is in conducting research and teaching.

Gardner-Webb Hosts Events To Celebrate Black History Month, Office Of University Communications

Gardner-Webb NewsCenter Archive

In celebration of Black History Month, Gardner-Webb University and the Office of Diversity and Intercultural Initiatives are sponsoring several programs. These programs will bring awareness to a variety of issues affecting Black and Brown Americans and also celebrate their history and contributions to the country.

Validation Of Oil Trajectory And Fate Modeling Of The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Deborah P. French-Mccay, Malcolm Spaulding, Deborah Crowley, Daniel Mendelsohn, Jeremy Fontenault, Matthew Horn

Ocean Engineering Faculty Publications

Trajectory and fate modeling of the oil released during the Deepwater Horizon blowout was performed for April to September of 2010 using a variety of input data sets, including combinations of seven hydrodynamic and four wind models, to determine the inputs leading to the best agreement with observations and to evaluate their reliability for quantifying exposure of marine resources to floating and subsurface oil. Remote sensing (satellite imagery) data were used to estimate the amount and distribution of floating oil over time for comparison with the model’s predictions. The model-predicted locations and amounts of shoreline oiling were compared to documentation …

Finding (Fictional) Pandemics In The Library: Problems In The Classification Of Fiction, Preston R. Salisbury

The Southeastern Librarian

Libraries have been forced to adjust their services in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has necessitated changes in patron behaviors. With shelf browsing no longer viable, discoverability of materials via the online public access catalog (OPAC) is more important than ever. However, works of fiction often lack subject or genre headings that enable users to locate them in this manner. This article examines a small sample of fictional works that are about epidemics, and looks at whether or not they are discoverable by conducting a subject search for epidemics in ten major southeastern library systems. It examines how the …

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, February 2021, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Volume 2. Issue 2

Contents:

[Page] 1 Dean's Message
[Page] 2 Awards and Recognition
[Page] 3 Geography Convention
[Page] 4 Open PRAIRIE Data
[Page] 5 Where did your interest in science begin?
[Page] 6 Research Spotlight: Dr. Lopez-Mosqueda
[Page] 7-8 Fall 2020 Dean's List

Use Of Taxonomic And Trait-Based Approaches To Evaluate The Effect Of Bt Maize Expressing Cry1ie Protein On Non-Target Collembola: A Case Study In Northeast China, Bai Feng Wang, Feng Ci Wu, Jun Qi Yin, Zhi Lei Jiang, Xin Yuan Song, Gadi V.P. Reddy

Faculty Publications

To evaluate the effect of Bt maize expressing Cry1Ie protein on non-target soil Collembola, a two-year field study was conducted in Northeast China. Bt maize line IE09S034 and its near isoline Zong 31 were selected as experimental crops; we investigated the collembolan community using both taxonomic and trait-based approaches, and elucidated the relationship between environmental variables and the collembolan community using redundancy analysis (RDA).The ANOVA results showed that maize variety neither had significant effect on the parameters based on taxonomic approach (abundance, species richness, Shannon–Wiener index, Pielou’s evenness index), nor on the parameters based on trait-based approach (ocelli number, body …

Characterization Of The Spatial Distribution Of Alfalfa Weevil, Hypera Postica, And Its Natural Enemies, Using Geospatial Models, Govinda Shrestha, Jhalendra P. Rijal, Gadi V.P. Reddy

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Understanding the spatio-temporal dynamics of prey and predator distributions can provide valuable insights into pest management strategies and conservation of natural enemies in agro-ecosystems. The alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica (Gyllenhal), is an economically important pest of alfalfa throughout the western United States. Coccinellids and nabids are among the most important natural enemies of this species, contributing to the biological control of H. postica in alfalfa fields. The spatio-temporal dynamics of H. postica and these two predator groups were investigated using 81 (= 9 × 9 grid) sample points in each of five alfalfa fields in north-central Montana. The data …

A Direct Measure Of Stand Density Based On Stand Growth, Thomas J. Dean, Anthony W. D'Amato, Brian J. Palik, Mike A. Battaglia, Constance A. Harrington

Faculty Publications

Standardizing gross volume increment on periodic height increment of the dominant trees is a means of minimizing the effects of site quality and age in growth-growing-stock relations; however, volume increment per height increment contains more information than just a normalization method for fitting growth models. This study builds on previous work suggesting that the cumulative sum of the ratios between individual-tree volume increment and height increment may be a direct measure of stand density. We used data from several levels of growing-stock studies for Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, and red pine to explore this hypothesis. Regression analysis indicated that the sum …

Disturbed Amazonian Forests Support Diminished Breeding Bird Communities, Cameron L. Rutt, Michael D. Kaller, Philip C. Stouffer

Faculty Publications

Twenty percent of the Brazilian Amazon has now been deforested, and deforestation rates are increasing. This compels us to evaluate the conservation potential of human-modified landscapes; yet the ecological value of regenerating and fragmented Amazonian forests remains poorly understood. To date, most faunal studies in disturbed forests have examined metrics derived from presence or abundance. Although valuable, these data cannot tell us how old-growth species are using disturbed forests. In this study, we complement presence data with breeding observations to assess more comprehensively the habitat quality of disturbed forests in central Amazonia. We synthesized breeding evidence from standardized passive mist-netting, …

Mobile Technology For Improved Contraceptive Care In Morocco, Manal Kharbouch, Ali Idri, Taoufik Rachad, Hassan Alami, Leanne Redman, Youssef Stelate

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

The fulfillment of unmet needs for contraception can help women reach their reproductive goals. Therefore, there is a growing concern worldwide about contraception and women’s knowledge of making an advised choice about it. In this aspect, an outgrown number of apps are now available providing information concerning contraception whether it concerns natural contraception or modern contraception. However, vast amounts of these apps contain inaccurate sexual health facts and non-evidence-based information concerning contraception. On these bases, and in respect to: (1) the needs of women to effectively prevent unintended pregnancies while conducting a stress-free healthy lifestyle. (2) the World Health Organization …

Association Of Initial Β-Amyloid Levels With Subsequent Flortaucipir Positron Emission Tomography Changes In Persons Without Cognitive Impairment, David S. Knopman, Emily S. Lundt, Terry M. Therneau, Sabrina M. Albertson, Jeffrey L. Gunter, Matthew L. Senjem, Christopher G. Schwarz, Michelle M. Mielke, Mary M. Machulda, Bradley F. Boeve, David T. Jones, Jon Graff-Radford, Prashanthi Vemuri, Kejal Kantarci, Val J. Lowe, Ronald C. Petersen, Clifford R. Jack, Paul Aisen, Michael Weiner, William Jagust, John Q. Trojanowki, Arthur W. Toga, Laurel Beckett, Robert C. Green, Andrew J. Saykin, Leslie M. Shaw, Zaven Khachaturian, Greg Sorensen, Maria Carrillo, Lew Kuller, Marc Raichle, Steven Paul, Peter Davies, Howard Fillit

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Importance: Tau accumulation in Alzheimer disease (AD) is closely associated with cognitive impairment. Quantitating tau accumulation by positron emission tomography (PET) will be a useful outcome measure for future clinical trials in the AD spectrum. Objective: To investigate the association of β-amyloid (Aβ) on PET with subsequent tau accumulation on PET in persons who were cognitively unimpaired (CU) to gain insight into temporal associations between Aβ and tau accumulation and inform clinical trial design. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study included individuals aged 65 to 85 years who were CU and had participated in the Mayo Clinic Study of …

Fire Alters Plant Microbiome Assembly Patterns: Integrating The Plant And Soil Microbial Response To Disturbance, Nicholas C. Dove, Dawn M. Klingeman, Alyssa A. Carrell, Melissa A. Cregger, Christopher W. Schadt

Aspen Bibliography

• It is increasingly evident that the plant microbiome is a strong determinant of plant health. While the ability to manipulate the microbiome in plants and ecosystems recovering from disturbance may be useful, our understanding of the plant microbiome in regenerating plant communities is currently limited.
• Using 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region amplicon sequencing, we characterized the leaf, stem, fine root, rhizome, and rhizosphere microbiome of < 1-yr-old aspen saplings and the associated bulk soil after a recent high-intensity prescribed fire across a burn severity gradient.
• Consistent with previous studies, we found that soil microbiomes are responsive to fire. We extend these findings by showing that certain plant tissue microbiomes also change in response to …

In This Issueclinical Guidelinesoriginal Articlescase Report

Saudi Medical Journal

No abstract provided.

Capsule Carbohydrate Structure Determines Virulence In Acinetobacter Baumannii, Yuli Talyansky, Travis B. Nielsen, Jun Yan, Ulrike Carlino-Macdonald, Gisela Di Venanzio, Somnath Chakravorty, Amber Ulhaq, Mario F. Feldman, Thomas A. Russo, Evgeny Vinogradov, Brian Luna, Meredith S. Wright, Mark D. Adams, Brad Spellberg

Open Access Publications

Acinetobacter baumannii is a highly antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogen for which novel therapeutic approaches are needed. Unfortunately, the drivers of virulence in A. baumannii remain uncertain. By comparing genomes among a panel of A. baumannii strains we identified a specific gene variation in the capsule locus that correlated with altered virulence. While less virulent strains possessed the intact gene gtr6, a hypervirulent clinical isolate contained a spontaneous transposon insertion in the same gene, resulting in the loss of a branchpoint in capsular carbohydrate structure. By constructing isogenic gtr6 mutants, we confirmed that gtr6-disrupted strains were protected from phagocytosis in vitro and …

Irrigation Management In Potato (Solanum Tuberosum L.) Production: A Review, Koffi Djaman, Suat Irkmak, Komlan Koudahe, Samuel Allen

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Limited water resources coupled with the increase of the human population calls for more efficient use of water in irrigated agriculture. Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the most widely grown crops worldwide and is very sensitive to water stress due to its shallow rooting system. With the dilemma of potato sensitivity to drought and limited available water resources restricting crop production, researchers and crop growers have been investigating different approaches for optimizing potato yield and improving crop water use efficiency under different irrigation methods. While potato response to water is affected by other management practices such as fertilizer …

Ifn-Γ/Il-27 Axis Induces Pd-L1 Expression In Monocyte-Derived Dendritic Cells And Restores Immune Tolerance In Cns Autoimmunity, Asrita Vattikonda, Giacomo Casella, Javad Rasouli, Rodolfo Thome, Hélène C. Descamps, Larissa Ishikawa, Alexandra Boehm, Daniel Hwang, Weifeng Zhang, Dan Xiao, Jeongho Park, Guang-Xian Zhang, Jorge I. Alvarez, Abdolmohamad Rostami, Bogoljub Ciric

Phase 1

Antigen (Ag)-specific tolerance induction by intravenous (i.v.) injection of high-dose auto-Ags has been explored for therapy of autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS). It is thought that the advantage of such Ag-specific therapy over non-specific immunomodulatory treatments would be selective suppression of a pathogenic immune response without impairing systemic immunity, thus avoiding adverse effects of immunosuppression. Auto-Ag i.v. tolerance induction has been extensively studied in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of MS, and limited clinical trials demonstrated that it is safe and beneficial to a subset of MS patients. Nonetheless, mechanisms of i.v. tolerance induction are incompletely understood, …

Investigation Of The Reciprocal Relationship Between C7, Tsp1, And Tgf-Β Activation In Normal Fibroblasts, Alicia Kenyon, Andrew South, Phd

Phase 1

Introduction: Recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) is a rare skin blistering disorder due to a loss of function mutation in the collagen 7 (C7) gene. C7 activity loss upregulates thrombospondin-1 (TSP1), stimulating tissue growth factor-ß (TGF-ß), which promotes the development of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) in RDEB patients. This C7-TSP1 interaction has not been described in normal fibroblasts; therefore, in this study, we tested the hypothesis that the level of intracellular C7 negatively correlates with TSP1 expression in normal fibroblasts.

Methods: In this basic research cell study, C7, TSP1, and pSMAD3 (phosphorylated SMAD3), a marker of TGF-ß activation, were …

Anatomic Location And Mortality Of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: A Single Institution Study, Sophia Lam, Randi Zukas, Ida Micaily, Atrayee Basu Mallick

Phase 1

In pancreatic adenocarcinoma, it is believed that patients with proximal tumors (head) have earlier diagnosis and higher survival due to anatomic location compared to patients with distal tumors (body/tail). We hypothesized that differences in tumor biology would contribute to poorer survival in body/tail tumors compared to head tumors when diagnosed at the same stage.

We performed a retrospective chart review on 324 patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma (236 head and 88 body/tail) diagnosed from 2011-2017. We gathered electronic health records from a single center with a high volume of pancreatic cancer directed surgery. We compared median patient survival from onset of …

Predictors And Characteristics Of Rib Fracture Following Sbrt For Lung Tumors, Michael P. Carducci, Baskaran Sundaram, Md, Benjamin Greenberger, Md, Maria Werner-Wasik, Md, Gregory C. Kane, Md

Phase 1

See Additional Files section for the abstract.

A Virtual Educational Intervention Addressing Weight Bias In Medical Students, Gina Goldberg, Joseph Majdan, Md

Phase 1

Introduction:

Individuals with higher body weight experience severe and pervasive discrimination in nearly every walk of life. Stigmatizing treatment from healthcare providers increases anxiety, depression, body dissatisfaction and risk of weight gain while decreasing the likelihood that patients will seek preventative or emergency care. This study assessed whether a virtual session exploring obesity, which included the personal testimony of a Physician Professor with obesity, positively influenced the explicit attitudes and implicit biases of medical students towards people with higher body weight.

Methods:

SKMC medical students completed an Implicit Associations Test (IAT), a Universal Measure of Bias (UMB) and a …

El Leñador, February 2021, El Leñador Staff

El Leñador Newspaper

El Leñador is an English and Spanish newspaper produced by Humboldt State University students. Our staff cover and provide news to Latinx and other diverse communities on campus and in Humboldt County. We are committed to providing relevant news and expanding the representations and stories told about people of color and other marginalized groups. Our work helps create more social, political and cultural diversity in local media.

El Leñador es un periodico en español y inglés producido por estudiantes de la Universidad Estatal de Humboldt. Nuestro personal cubre y provee noticias a la comunidad Latinx y otras comunidades diversas en …

Artificial Nightlight Alters The Predator–Prey Dynamics Of An Apex Carnivore, Jesse R. Barber

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Artificial nightlight is increasingly recognized as an important environmental disturbance that influences the habitats and fitness of numerous species. However, its effects on wide‐ranging vertebrates and their interactions remain unclear. Light pollution has the potential to amplify land‐use change, and as such, answering the question of how this sensory stimulant affects behavior and habitat use of species valued for their ecological roles and economic impacts is critical for conservation and land‐use planning. Here, we combined satellite‐derived estimates of light pollution, with GPS‐data from cougars Puma concolor (n = 56), mule deer Odocoileus hemionus (n = 263) and locations of cougar‐killed …

Protocol For Monitoring Aquatic Invertebrates Of Small Streams In The Heartland Inventory & Monitoring Network, Version 2.1, David E. Bowles, Michael H. Williams, Hope R. Dodd, Lloyd W. Morrison, Janice A. Hinsey, J. Tyler Cribbs, Gareth A. Rowell, Michael D. Debecker, Jennifer L. Haack-Gaynor, Jeffrey M. Williams

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network (HTLN) is a component of the National Park Service’s (NPS) strategy to improve park management through greater reliance on scientific information. The purposes of this program are to design and implement long-term ecological monitoring and provide information for park managers to evaluate the integrity of park ecosystems and better understand ecosystem processes. Concerns over declining surface water quality have led to the development of various monitoring approaches to assess stream water quality. Freshwater streams in network parks are threatened by numerous stressors, most of which originate outside park boundaries. Stream condition and …