Digital Commons Network^™

Use Of Health Related Quality Of Life In Clinical Trials For Severe Asthma: A Systematic Review, Joseph W. Lanario, Lorna Burns

More Faculty of Health Research

No abstract provided.

From Mathematics To Medicine: A Practical Primer On Topological Data Analysis (Tda) And The Development Of Related Analytic Tools For The Functional Discovery Of Latent Structure In Fmri Data, Andrew Salch, Adam Regalski, Hassan Abdallah, Raviteja Suryadevara, Michael J. Catanzaro, Vaibhav A. Diwadkar

Mathematics Faculty Research Publications

fMRI is the preeminent method for collecting signals from the human brain in vivo, for using these signals in the service of functional discovery, and relating these discoveries to anatomical structure. Numerous computational and mathematical techniques have been deployed to extract information from the fMRI signal. Yet, the application of Topological Data Analyses (TDA) remain limited to certain sub-areas such as connectomics (that is, with summarized versions of fMRI data). While connectomics is a natural and important area of application of TDA, applications of TDA in the service of extracting structure from the (non-summarized) fMRI data itself are heretofore nonexistent. …

Longitudinal Assessment Of Cytokine Expression And Plasminogen Activation In Hantavirus Cardiopulmonary Syndrome Reveals Immune Regulatory Dysfunction In End-Stage Disease, Peter Simons, Yan Guo, Virginie Bondu, Susan L. Tigert, Michelle Harkins, Samuel Goodfellow, Cana Tompkins, Devon Chabot-Richards, Xuexian O. Yang, Laura Gonzalez Bosc, Steven Bradfute, Daniel A. Lawrence, Tione Buranda

Pathology Research and Scholarship

Pathogenic New World orthohantaviruses cause hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS), a severe immunopathogenic disease in humans manifested by pulmonary edema and respiratory distress, with case fatality rates approaching 40%. High levels of inflammatory mediators are present in the lungs and systemic circulation of HCPS patients. Previous studies have provided insights into the pathophysiology of HCPS. However, the longitudinal correlations of innate and adaptive immune responses and disease outcomes remain unresolved. This study analyzed serial immune responses in 13 HCPS cases due to Sin Nombre orthohantavirus (SNV), with 11 severe cases requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) treatment and two mild cases. We …

The Association Of Patients' Analgesic Treatment Beliefs And Trade-Offs With Analgesic Adherence Behaviors Among Outpatients With Cancer Pain, William E. Rosa

Dissertations

Pain is one of the most burdensome symptoms for patients with cancer. Per cancer pain guidelines, opioids remain one of the primary modalities for managing moderate to severe cancer pain. Analgesic nonadherence is common among cancer patients despite unmanaged pain symptoms. We investigated how patients prioritized analgesic treatment beliefs for cancer pain and whether those beliefs predicted objective analgesic adherence behaviors.

Cocrfeni High-Entropy Alloy As An Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution Catalyst In An Acidic Solution, Frank Mckay, Yuxin Fang, Orhan Kizilkaya, Prashant Singh, Duane D. Johnson, Amitava Roy, David P. Young, Phillip T. Sprunger, John C. Flake, William A. Shelton, Ye Xu

Faculty Publications

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) have intriguing material properties, but their potential as catalysts has not been widely explored. Based on a concise theoretical model, we predict that the surface of a quaternary HEA of base metals, CoCrFeNi, should go from being nearly fully oxidized except for pure Ni sites when exposed to O2 to being partially oxidized in an acidic solution under cathodic bias, and that such a partially oxidized surface should be more active for the electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acidic solutions than all the component metals. These predictions are confirmed by electrochemical and surface science experiments: the …

The Case For Shifting Clinical Dentistry Toward Regenerative Biological Treatment Using Stem Cells: A Life-Changing Impact On The Profession’S Future, Merna Gress

International Programs

The conventional current procedures targeting the periodontal treatment for the diseased teeth and gums are based on arresting the destruction of these supporting structures and limiting the number of bacteria present. However, an ideal treatment would be regenerative in nature and should be accompanied with the reconstruction of these periodontal tissues back to normal. The application of Regenerative Dentistry is achieved through using the concept of cell and molecular biology to empower dental treatments that target a repair process for oral tissues instead of utilizing synthetic materials. One of the main applications of this concept is adult tissue-derived Mesenchymal Stem …

Central High School Play Program, Memphis, 1916

Shelby County, Tennessee

Program for a performance of "As You Like It" by the June Class of Central High School, Memphis, Tennessee, on April 25, 1916. The program also lists the members of the 1916 graduating class and the faculty. The program was found in the scrapbook of Daisy Kirk of the West Tennessee State Normal School's Sigma Alpha Mu sorority.

The Mediating Role Of Interpersonal Skills In The Relationship Between Depressive Symptomatology And Dating Violence In Young Mothers, Lauren Catherine Wallace

Theses and Dissertations

Young mothers are an understudied group at high-risk for dating violence (DV) victimization and perpetration. Psychological distress, such as depression, increases young mothers' risk for DV (Thomas et al., 2019). In turn, depressive symptomology is associated with difficulties in interpersonal competence (Jones et al., 2019), which may increase DV risk (Bonache et al., 2017). In addition, young mothers may have few chances to learn the interpersonal skills associated with healthy adult romantic relationships due to a mismatch in developmental level and parenting status (Herrman et al., 2019; Moore et al., 2007). Using interpersonal stress generation theory (Hammen, 1991, 2006), we …

Developing Methods To Detect And Diagnose Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy During Life: Rationale, Design, And Methodology For The Diagnose Cte Research Project, Jeffrey Cummings, Numerous Authors, See Full List Below

School of Medicine Faculty Research

Background: Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease that has been neuropathologically diagnosed in brain donors exposed to repetitive head impacts, including boxers and American football, soccer, ice hockey, and rugby players. CTE cannot yet be diagnosed during life. In December 2015, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke awarded a seven-year grant (U01NS093334) to fund the “Diagnostics, Imaging, and Genetics Network for the Objective Study and Evaluation of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (DIAGNOSE CTE) Research Project.” The objectives of this multicenter project are to: develop in vivo fluid and neuroimaging biomarkers for CTE; characterize its clinical presentation; refine …

Formation Of Microcages From A Collagen Mimetic Peptide Via Metal-Ligand Interactions, Jeremy Gleaton, Ryan W. Curtis, Jean Chmielewski

Department of Chemistry Faculty Publications

Here, the hierarchical assembly of a collagen mimetic peptide (CMP) displaying four bipyridine moieties is described. The CMP was capable of forming triple helices followed by self-assembly into disks and domes. Treatment of these disks and domes with metal ions such as Fe(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Co(II), and Ru(III) triggered the formation of microcages, and micron-sized cup-like structures. Mechanistic studies suggest that the formation of the microcages proceeds from the disks and domes in a metal-dependent fashion. Fluorescently-labeled dextrans were encapsulated within the cages and displayed a time-dependent release using thermal conditions.

Loss Of N1-Methylation Of G37 In Trna Induces Ribosome Stalling And Reprograms Gene Expression, Isao Masuda, Jae-Yeon Hwang, Thomas Christian, Sunita Maharjan, Fuad Mohammad, Howard Gamper, Allen R. Buskirk, Ya-Ming Hou

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers

N¹-methylation of G37 is required for a subset of tRNAs to maintain the translational reading-frame. While loss of m¹G37 increases ribosomal +1 frameshifting, whether it incurs additional translational defects is unknown. Here, we address this question by applying ribosome profiling to gain a genome-wide view of the effects of m¹G37 deficiency on protein synthesis. Using E coli as a model, we show that m¹G37 deficiency induces ribosome stalling at codons that are normally translated by m¹G37-containing tRNAs. Stalling occurs during decoding of affected codons at the ribosomal A site, indicating …

Independent Contributions Of Structural And Functional Connectivity: Evidence From A Stroke Model, Lynsey M. Keator, Grigori Yourganov, Alexandra Basilakos, Argye E. Hillis, Gregory Hickok, Leonardo Bonilha, Chris Rorden, Julius Fridriksson

Faculty Publications

Altered functional connectivity is related to severity of language impairment in poststroke aphasia. However, it is not clear whether this finding specifically reflects loss of functional coherence, or more generally, is related to decreased structural connectivity due to cortical necrosis. The aim of the current study was to investigate this issue by factoring out structural connectivity from functional connectivity measures and then relating the residual data to language performance poststroke. Ninety-seven participants with a history of stroke were assessed using language impairment measures (Auditory Verbal Comprehension and Spontaneous Speech scores from the Western Aphasia Battery-Revised) and MRI (structural, diffusion tensor …

Heterotrophic Dinoflagellate Growth And Grazing Rates Reduced By Microplastic Ingestion, Victoria M. Fulfer, Susanne Menden-Deuer

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Microplastics are ubiquitous contaminants in marine ecosystems worldwide, threatening fisheries production, food safety, and human health. Ingestion of microplastics by fish and large zooplankton has been documented, but there are few studies focusing on single-celled marine predators, including heterotrophic dinoflagellates. In laboratory experiments, the heterotrophic dinoflagellate species Oxyrrhis marina and Gyrodinium sp. readily ingested both algal prey and polystyrene microplastic spheres (2.5–4.5 μm), while Protoperidinium sp. did not ingest microplastics. Compared to algae-only fed dinoflagellates, those that ingested microplastics had growth rates reduced by 25–35% over the course of 5 days. Reduced growth resulted in a 30–50% reduction of secondary …

Inflammation And Altered Signaling In Obstetric Pathologies, Ya-Fang Tsai

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research project was to elucidate the molecular interactions and detail the signaling pathways in obstetric pathologies. This work first seeks to understand inflammation related complications relevant to obstetrics. Prior research in our lab identified the implications of the receptor of advanced glycation end products (RAGE) during inflammatory response in the placenta. Current work identified the presence of DNA double-strand breaks (DNA-DSBs) in inflammation associated pregnancy complications of preeclampsia (PE) and preterm labor (PTL) and demonstrated the positive role of RAGE in repairing the damage. The confluent relevance of disrupted mitochondrial function and inflammation has been recognized …

Family & Friends, Volume 3, Number 3

Family & Friends, 1998-2006

Anita C. Moyt, Managing Editor. Contributors: J. Shane Wilson, Dana Ferguson, Steven Bradford, Melinda McSparrin, Laine McNeil, Rex Wockner, Gip Plaster, John Anderson.

Special thanks to Rhodes College and the Paul Barret Jr. Library for providing initial scanning of this collection.

The Age And Growth Of The Yellow Stingray (Urobatis Jamaicensis) In Southeast Florida, Jessica Schieber

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

The yellow stingray, Urobatis jamaicensis (Cuvier 1816), is a coastal species that has limited known life-history information, especially regarding their age and growth patterns. Age estimates were assigned by counting band-pairs deposited on the vertebral centrum of stingrays caught between 2003 and 2019 (n = 195). Marginal increment analysis of different size classes was used to validate age estimates, with the largest class having verified annual band deposition (ANOVA, F(9,7), P = 0.029). Age estimates ranged between females, and rates, but females attained larger sizes with the largest observed DW being 241-mm and 216-mm for females and males, respectively. …

An Empirical Comparative Study On The Two Methods Of Eliciting Singers’ Emotions In Singing: Self-Imagination And Vr Training, Jin Zhang, Ziming Xu, Yueying Zhou, Pengpai Wang, Ping Fu, Xijia Xu, Daoqiang Zhang

Library Scholarship

Emotional singing can affect vocal performance and the audience’s engagement. Chinese universities use traditional training techniques for teaching theoretical and applied knowledge. Self-imagination is the predominant training method for emotional singing. Recently, virtual reality (VR) technologies have been applied in several fields for training purposes. In this empirical comparative study, a VR training task was implemented to elicit emotions from singers and further assist them with improving their emotional singing performance. The VR training method was compared against the traditional self-imagination method. By conducting a two-stage experiment, the two methods were compared in terms of emotions’ elicitation and emotional singing …

Productivity Trends And Pattern Of Scientific Collaboration Of Bibliometric Research: An Exploratory Analysis, Sk Sofik, Ziaur Rahman Dr, Sabahat Nausheen Dr

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Bibliometrics is an emerging thrust area of research and has become a standard tool of science policy and research management in the last decades and attracted much attention because of the substantial expansion of literature. This study aims to systematically review the worldwide productivity trends, the pattern of scientific collaboration, and research outputs of Bibliometrics research from Web of Science (WoS) web database, Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-E). A bibliographic database of scientific papers published by authors affiliated worldwide, and containing the keywords “Bibliometric(s)” or “Scientometric(s)” or “Informetric(s)” or “Altmetric(s)” was built. A corpus of 9,630 publications was obtained and …

Macrocyclic Immunoproteasome Inhibitors As A Potential Therapy For Alzheimer's Disease, Min Jae Lee, Deepak Bhattarai, Hyeryung Jang, Ahreum Baek, In Jun Yeo, Seongsoo Lee, Zachary Miller, Sukyeong Lee, Jin Tae Hong, Dong-Eun Kim, Wooin Lee, Kyung Bo Kim

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Previously, we reported that immunoproteasome (iP)-targeting linear peptide epoxyketones improve cognitive function in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in a manner independent of amyloid β. However, these compounds' clinical prospect for AD is limited due to potential issues, such as poor brain penetration and metabolic instability. Here, we report the development of iP-selective macrocyclic peptide epoxyketones prepared by a ring-closing metathesis reaction between two terminal alkenes attached at the P2 and P3/P4 positions of linear counterparts. We show that a lead macrocyclic compound DB-60 (

Developing Methods To Detect And Diagnose Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy During Life: Rationale, Design, And Methodology For The Diagnose Cte Research Project, Michael L Alosco, Daniel S Marcus, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease that has been neuropathologically diagnosed in brain donors exposed to repetitive head impacts, including boxers and American football, soccer, ice hockey, and rugby players. CTE cannot yet be diagnosed during life. In December 2015, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke awarded a seven-year grant (U01NS093334) to fund the "Diagnostics, Imaging, and Genetics Network for the Objective Study and Evaluation of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (DIAGNOSE CTE) Research Project." The objectives of this multicenter project are to: develop in vivo fluid and neuroimaging biomarkers for CTE; characterize its clinical presentation; refine …

Racial/Ethnic Disparities In Alzheimer’S Disease Risk: Role Of Exposure To Ambient Fine Particles, Diane Younan, Xinhui Wang, Tara Gruenewald, Margaret Gatz, Marc L. Serre, William Vizuete, Meredith N. Braskie, Nancy F. Woods, Ka Kahe, Lorena Garcia, Fred Lurmann, Joann E. Manson, Helena C. Chui, Robert B. Wallace, Mark A. Espeland, Jiu-Chiuan Chen

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Whether racial/ethnic disparities in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk may be explained by ambient fine particles (PM_2.5) has not been studied.

Methods

We conducted a prospective, population-based study on a cohort of Black (n=481) and White (n=6004) older women (aged 65-79) without dementia at enrollment (1995-98). Cox models accounting for competing risk were used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) for racial/ethnic disparities in AD (1996-2010) defined by DSM-IV and the association with time-varying annual average PM_2.5 (1999-2010) estimated by spatiotemporal model.

Results

Over an average follow-up of 8.3 (±3.5) years with 158 incident cases (21 in …

Population Sequencing Data Reveal A Compendium Of Mutational Processes In Human Germline, Vladimir B. Seplyarskiy, Ruslan A. Soldatov, Evan Koch, Ryan J. Mcginty, Jakob M. Goldmann, Ryan D. Hernandez, Kathleen Barnes, Adolfo Correa, Esteban G. Burchard, John Blangero

School of Medicine Publications

Mechanistic processes underlying human germline mutations remain largely unknown.Variation in mutation rate and spectra along the genome is informative about the biological mechanisms. We statistically decompose this variation into separate processes using a blind source separation technique. The analysis of a large-scale whole genome sequencing dataset (TOPMed) reveals nine processes that explain the variation in mutation properties between loci. Seven of these processes lend themselves to a biological interpretation. One process is driven by bulky DNA lesions that resolve asymmetrically with respect to transcription and replication. Two processes independently track direction of replication fork and replication timing. We identify a …

Niche Partitioning And Utilization Of Different Nitrogen Sources By Marine Cyanobacteria Synechococcus, Angel Bui, Anne W. Thompson

McNair Symposium

The Cyanobacterium Synechococcus plays a major role in the ocean’s biochemical processes and is responsible for a significant amount of primary production, especially around coastal areas. Synechococcus has a wide geographical distribution that includes both polar and high-nutrient waters. Within the genus, there are defined subpopulations that are ecologically distinct that allow them to niche partition the dynamic oceans. To further explore niche partitioning of Synechococcus, this project combines a bioinformatic and culture-based approach. I examined data along the North Pacific Subtropical Front (NSPF) to analyze the community structure. This analysis demonstrated that a particular ecotype identified as clade II …

Toward A Cohesive Management Of Earth’S Orbital Environment: Applying Policy And Collaboration To A Design For The Present And Future, Charles Lee Mudd Jr.

Small Satellite Conference

The response to Starlink solar reflectivity by some industry leaders, scientists, and other interested actors demonstrates the ability for diverse space actors to collaborate through dialogue and innovation to solve nuanced technological problems. These efforts should be encouraged and modeled to implement a response to and prevention of future dynamics that affect Earth’s orbital environment. In a separate but related context, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) proposed and implemented new regulations regarding orbital debris. In 2021, the final regulations on orbital debris mitigation should be adopted, published, and implemented. This context suggests that the policy climate within the FCC should …

Empirical Fitting Of Periodically Repeating Environmental Data, Pavel Bělík, Andrew Hotchkiss, Brandon Perez, John Zobitz

Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics

We extend and generalize an approach to conduct fitting models of periodically repeating data. Our method first detrends the data from a baseline function and then fits the data to a periodic (trigonometric, polynomial, or piecewise linear) function. The polynomial and piecewise linear functions are developed from assumptions of continuity and differentiability across each time period. We apply this approach to different datasets in the environmental sciences in addition to a synthetic dataset. Overall the polynomial and piecewise linear approaches developed here performed as good (or better) compared to the trigonometric approach when evaluated using statistical measures (R^{2 …}

Understanding The Metabolic Regulation Of Trained Immunity By Palmitic Acid, Khaleda Aqaei, Brooke A. Napier

McNair Symposium

Sepsis is an inflammatory disease that occurs when the body’s response to an infection becomes dysregulated, and infection-fighting processes of the body damage tissues via inflammation, resulting in organ failure and death. Currently, the role for diet in regulating sepsis susceptibility and severity is not fully understood. The Western Diet (WD), the most prevalent diet worldwide, is high in saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and sucrose, and low in fiber. Previously, we have used a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced sepsis mouse model to show that mice fed a Western Diet (WD) or a diet enriched only in SFAs (Ketogenic Diet; KD), experience increased …

Hybrid-Lipid Coated Silver Nanoparticles As An Antimicrobial, Alexandria Murphy, Marilyn R. Mackiewicz, Michael S. Bartlett

McNair Symposium

Silver has been known to be an antimicrobial for hundreds of years, but wasn’t thought to be useful in the medical field until the 1960’s. In more recent years people have been designing different methods of synthesis for silver nanoparticles, yet none of these methods prevent the oxidized silver (Ag+), which is toxic. As the use of silver nano materials for antimicrobial activity has expanded there has been an increase in interest in the medical field, and how silver nanoparticles can be used as an antimicrobial without having toxic effects. While there is a large availability of silver nanoparticles (AgNp’s) …

Exploring How Gentrification-Related Effects Impact The Health Of Older Black Adults, Ann Wachana, Holly Hinson

McNair Symposium

Black adults living in gentrifying neighborhoods experience cultural incongruence with new, often younger, high SES and White residents. In addition, older Black adults are losing deep ties to their neighborhood. This is a major loss to their social network and their sense of belonging within their own neighborhoods. Disruption of long-standing social ties can cause changes in mental health and raises concerns about gentrification’s potentially disruptive impact on cognitive health and the brain aging process. In order to learn more about the experience of older Black adults within a rapidly changing city, focus group discussions from the Sharing History through …

Is Addicted Phenomenology Just Human Phenomenology?, Benji Mahaffey, Tom Seppalainen

McNair Symposium

The phenomenon of addiction precedes, by millennia, our scientific inquiries into its psychological manifestations and neural bases. We did not need psychiatrists to ‘discover’ it; we have long been aware of its dark shadow lurking in our psyches. The discernable, often troubling behaviors of addicts notwithstanding, addiction is not the kind of phenomenon one observes; addiction is experienced, from the first-person perspective. Its defining features are qualitative: a subjective loss of control, an obsession, a compulsion. The overwhelming phenomenological salience of these features—especially of “compulsion”—has led addicts, philosophers, and psychiatrists alike to imagine that addiction is a discrete (phenomenological, natural, …

Cd40l And Tnf-Alpha Levels After Traumatic Injury, Queen Revollido, Martin Schreiber

McNair Symposium

The biomarkers CD40 ligand and TNF-alpha are proteins that exhibit proinflammatory and prothrombotic effects. A small clinical study has shown that soluble CD40 ligand may have a role in early coagulopathy and inflammatory complications in severely injured patients. It is known that a CD40 ligand increases the production of cytokines such as TNF-alpha, thus, the current study aims to investigate the kinetics of these biomarkers and the extent of upregulation after traumatic injury. Frozen samples collected from baseline, 8, 24, and 48 hours after admission will be used. CD40 ligand and TNF-alpha levels will be quantified using Luminex that will …