Digital Commons Network^™

Optimization Of A Novel Nipam-Based Thermoresponsive Copolymer For Intramuscular Injection As A Myoblast Delivery Vehicle To Combat Peripheral Artery Occlusive Disease, Quentin R. Klueter

Master's Theses

There is a need for a minimally invasive delivery method to enable cell therapies to combat peripheral artery occlusive disease (PAOD) in end stage patients. Myoblasts show promise as a cell mediated therapy but warrant an improved delivery method to increase cell retention in the region of interest because of their adherent nature, relative to previously used BM-MNC’s that are non-adherent. Contemporary issues with achieving successful cell therapies of vasculature can be mainly characterized by the lack of clinical translation from promising animal studies and absence of cell delivery scaffolding. Naturally, polymers have been widely experimented with as grafts to …

Impact Of Primary Myoblasts On Macrophage Polarization In-Vitro, Olivia Welch

Master's Theses

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is characterized by the development of atherosclerotic plaques on arterial walls, leading to the narrowing of blood vessels, resulting in ischemia in the downstream tissue. In the United States, 12% of the adult population is affected by PAD and its related symptoms. Current surgical revascularization techniques can be effective in part of the patient population, but there is a need for other options. Alternatively, collateral blood vessels, or natural bypass arteries, enlarge to increase blood flow to the ischemic tissue in a process called arteriogenesis, which has been studied as a therapeutic option. Cell-based therapies, such …

A Guide To Creating Core Ocean Gdp Accounts, Charles S. Colgan

Publications

Start with a simple question. What does the ocean contribute to the national economy? This might seem like a trivial question. After all, the contributions of other major natural resources such as agriculture or forest products are regularly counted as the output of farming, food, and fibre industries along with lumber and other forest products. But in most countries, there is no identifiable “ocean economy”. Industries like marine transportation or fishing are accounted for, but nothing that ties all the varied ocean-related economic activity together. Without a deliberate effort to identify and measure all relevant economic activity related to the …

March 2022 Quicknotes, Southern Adventist University

QuickNotes – Advancement e-Newsletter

QuickNotes is an e-newsletter that comes from Advancement at Southern Adventist University. The March 2022 edition features information on disaster relief and Southern's Giving Day.

Why Deep Neural Networks: Yet Another Explanation, Ricardo Lozano, Ivan Montoya Sanchez, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

One of the main motivations for using artificial neural networks was to speed up computations. From this viewpoint, the ideal configuration is when we have a single nonlinear layer: this configuration is computationally the fastest, and it already has the desired universal approximation property. However, the last decades have shown that for many problems, deep neural networks, with several nonlinear layers, are much more effective. How can we explain this puzzling fact? In this paper, we provide a possible explanation for this phenomena: that the universal approximation property is only true in the idealized setting, when we assume that all …

March 2022, Lisa Friesen

The CETL Correspondent

SWOSU Faculty Focus - Dr. Mark Garcia

Originally from California, Dr. Mark Garcia was born and raised in a small Central Valley town. Growing up among the farm animals and hiking through the rolling foothills of the valley gave Dr. Garcia a great appreciation for nature and animals.

Honors Oracle, March 2022, Marshall University Honors College

Honors Oracle

Marshall University’s Honors College newsletter.

Center For Grassland Studies, March 2022

Center for Grassland Studies: Newsletters

Contents

New Course: Research Experiences in Grasslands by Dan Uden

Center for Grassland Studies Policy Advisory Committee

Director’s Column by Jerry Volesky (Interim Director)

Educational Trunk to Focus on Grasslands by Cheryl Dunn

Form a Team and Grab Your Clubs by Scott Holly

Collaborative Adaptive Management for the Barta Brothers Ranch by Craig Allen

Nebraska Range Short Course, June 20-23

Registration Opens for 2022 Nebraska Ranch Practicum by Troy Walz

Nebraska Sandhills Rates as World’s Most Intact Prairie by Scott Schrage

Nebraska Youth Range Camp, June 6-9, Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture, Curtis, Nebraska

Rapid Assessment Of Opisthorchis Viverrini Igg Antibody In Serum: A Potential Diagnostic Biomarker To Predict Risk Of Cholangiocarcinoma In Regions Endemic For Opisthorchiasis., Rutchanee Rodpai, Vor Luvira, Lakkhana Sadaow, Wattana Sukeepaisarnjaroen, Amnat Kitkhuandee, Krisada Paonariang, Oranuch Sanpool, Wannaporn Ittiprasert, Victoria H. Mann, Pewpan M Intapan, Paul J. Brindley, Wanchai Maleewong

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Opisthorchiasis is caused by an infection with fish-borne liver flukes of the genus Opisthorchis. Opisthorchiasis frequently leads to chronic inflammation in the biliary tract and is classified as a group 1 biological carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer: a definitive risk for cholangiocarcinoma (CCA).

METHODS: We used the rapid immunochromatographic test (ICT) to detect anti-Opisthorchis viverrini IgG and IgG4 subclass antibodies in sera of patients with CCA. The ICT kits were developed based on soluble antigens excreted and secreted by O. viverrini adult worms.

RESULTS: ICT indicated sera was positive for IgG and IgG4 antibodies, respectively, …

Campus Assembly Minutes 03/01/2022, Campus Assembly

Campus Assembly

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Leaf Decomposition In Macroinvertebrate Colonization, Bethany Mabel Lian Schorr, Kevin Geedey

Independent Research Projects

Decomposition plays an important ecological role in carbon and nutrient cycling that supply food and energy resources to food webs. This study investigates the potential role that leaf decomposition of different leaf species may play in macroinvertebrate assemblages in upper Midwest streams. We hypothesized that the different decomposition rates experienced with different leaf species and in different streams would have an effect on invertebrate colonization due to the variance in nutrient availability. Due to altered fire regimes and other influences, forests are experiencing declines in fire-adapted, heliophytic species such as oaks and compositional shifts toward shade-tolerant, mesophytic species such as …

In Silico Tools For Analysis Of Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms In The Bovine Transferrin Gene, Aarif Ali, Muneeb U. Rehman, Syed Mudasir Ahmad, Tabish Mehraj

Faculty and Student Publications

Dairy cattle with a high milk yield are susceptible to many infectious diseases, such as mastitis. Subclinical mastitis (SCM) is the most prevalent form of mastitis that predominantly affects animal health, and causes adverse effects on the quality and quantity of milk. In dairy animals, subclinical mastitis often remains undetected, as no gross changes in udder characteristics are visible. In the present study, 135 Holstein Friesian dairy animals were selected and screened as healthy (n = 25) and mastitic (n = 110) based on diagnostic tests such as the California mastitis test, pH, electrical conductivity, and somatic cell count. In …

Chemical Composition Analysis, Cytotoxic, Antimicrobial And Antioxidant Activities Of Physalis Angulata L.: A Comparative Study Of Leaves And Fruit, Jayachithra Ramakrishna Pillai, Adil Farooq Wali, Godfred Antony Menezes, Muneeb U. Rehman

Faculty and Student Publications

Physalis angulata L. belongs to the family Solanaceae and is distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions. Physalis angulata leaf and fruit extracts were assessed for in vitro anticancer, antioxidant activity, and total phenolic and flavonoid content. The GC-MS technique investigated the chemical composition and structure of bioactive chemicals reported in extracts. The anticancer activity results revealed a decrease in the percentage of anticancer cells’ viability in a concentration-and time-dependent way. We also noticed morphological alterations in the cells, which we believe are related to Physalis angulata extracts. Under light microscopy, we observed that as the concentration of ethanolic extract …

Groundwater Level Modeling With Machine Learning: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Mojtaba Sadegh

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Groundwater is a vital source of freshwater, supporting the livelihood of over two billion people worldwide. The quantitative assessment of groundwater resources is critical for sustainable management of this strained resource, particularly as climate warming, population growth, and socioeconomic development further press the water resources. Rapid growth in the availability of a plethora of in-situ and remotely sensed data alongside advancements in data-driven methods and machine learning offer immense opportunities for an improved assessment of groundwater resources at the local to global levels. This systematic review documents the advancements in this field and evaluates the accuracy of various models, following …

Fluorescence Spectrum Of A Laser Driven Polar Quantum Emitter Damped By Degenerate Squeezed Vacuum With Finite Bandwidth, Nikolai N. Bogolyubov, Jr., Andrey V. Soldatov

Applied Mathematics & Information Sciences

A two-level quantum emitter with broken inversion symmetry driven by external monochromatic high-frequency electromagnetic (e.g. laser) field and damped by squeezed vacuum reservoir with finite bandwidth was studied. The squeezed vacuum field source is assumed to be a degenerate parametric oscillator (DPO). It was shown that low-frequency fluorescence spectrum of the emitter can be effectively shaped by controlling the effective pump amplitude, cavity damping and phase of the squeezing of the vacuum field source.

Solvability For A Differential System Of Duffing Type Via Caputo-Hadamard Approach, Mohamed Bezziou, Zoubir Dahmani, Iqbal Jebril, Meriem Mansouria Belhamiti

Applied Mathematics & Information Sciences

In this work, we investigate a new sequential coupled differential system of Duffing type. The considered system involves Caputo Hadamard derivatives. Based on both Banach contraction principle and Scheafer fixed point theorems, we establish two results on the existence and uniqueness of solutions for the introduced problem. Some examples are presented to show the validity of our results. To give more interpretation to the examples, we establish a new approximation of Caputo-Hadamard derivative for the case 1 < β < 2. Then, we plot the dynamics of one of the examples in terms of time and space coordinates.

Male And Female Victims Experience Different Types Of Sexual Assault, Carolyn Allen, Samuel Payne, Julie Valentine

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Intro:

• Sexual assault kits (SAKs) contain forensic evidence and are collected following an assault
• Most research on SAK processing has been done with combined male and female assaults
• 10% of victims are male
• There is lots of research on female victims, but very little research on male victims

In-Class Evolution Discussions Change Bible Interpretation, Jessica Abele

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Conflict between religion and evolution is a major barrier for religious biology students. Educators have been working to increase evolution acceptance by using a variety of methods (e.g., increasing evolution knowledge, addressing creationism in class, etc.) with little success. However, recent research shows using a reconciliatory approach to evolution and religion increases evolution acceptance while overall religiosity is unaffected (Lindsay et al., 2019).

Genes Critical For Flagellar Motility In Agrobacterium Fabrum, Audrey Memmott, Joel Griffitts

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

The flagellum contains 24 structural proteins that are vital for bacterial motility and virulence (Liu). Additionally, these structural proteins must be assembled in the correct order and orientation for a bacterium to be motile via its flagellum (Armitage). Our current knowledge regarding the flagellum is limited, however, because the majority of it comes from studies focused on Escherichia coli. To increase existing knowledge regarding the flagellum and the genes vital for its functionality, we attempted to define all the genes vital for flagellar motility in A. fabrum by analyzing motility when specific genes are disrupted.

Dietary And Energetic Trends Of The Invasive Asian Shore Crab, Tanner Reese, Blaine D. Griffen

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

The Asian shore crab, Hemigrapsus sanguineus , is an invasive crab species that lives on the East Coast of the United States. It has become an important part of its invaded ecosystems and their energetic interactions. We studied this species’ energetics to better understand how they vary across season and latitude.

• The ratio of gut width to carapace width (“standardized gut size”) is indicative of long term diet quality in crabs (a larger gut corresponds to a lower average diet quality) (Griffen & Mosblack 2011)
• We measured standardized gut size and gut energy content to examine how this species’ diet …

Eeg As Successful Diagnostic Tool For Immune Effector Cell Associated Neurotoxicity Syndrome, Daniel Jones, Christine Eckhardt, Haoqi Sun, Ryan Tesh, Brandon Westover

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

CAR T cell therapy was first proven effective in 2013¹ for the treatment of certain cancer s . However, its widespread adoption is still hindered by side effects like immune effector cell associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS). Current research aims to better predict, diagnose, and treat ICANS so that CAR T cell therapy can be more widely applied. Although prior studies have attempted to identify an objective biomarker of ICANS² , current practice relies on clinical assessment to diagnose ICANS. We hypothesize that qualitative features of the EEG may be utilized to develop a physiological grading system of the …

Interruption Of Junctional Adhesion Molecules Shows Developmental Defects, Wesley Allen, Nathan Beckett, Lauren Hall, Emma Holdaway, Sion Jung, Meredith Mann, Spencer Thacker, Jacob Wengler, Cailey Winn, Dario Mizrachi, Michael Stark

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Development of the central nervous system, the brain and the spinal cord, starts initially with the formation of the neural tube. This vital process starts as a sheet of cells which then folds into a cylindrical structure in the early stages of embryo development (Fig1). Defects in the formation of the neural tube can lead to permanent disabilities in babies after birth. This is important to understand as current statistics show that approximately 300,000 babies are born annually with neural tube defects. (NTDs). In addition to NTDs there are many other dangerous birth defects that are important to understand as …

Introducing Xanthoria Parietina: Invasive, Naturalized, Or Opportunistic?, Mikele Baugh, Steve Leavitt

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Lichens are one of the world’s ubiquitous group of organisms. They have been documented from frigid tundras to arid deserts. While some species are known to be particularly hardy and flexible in their habitats, many species are linked to specific growing conditions. As the global climate changes, the geographical range for different growing conditions shifts. Economic trade and human travel provide new opportunities for species to access new locations that are beginning to develop habitable conditions. Xanthoria parietina has been observed in the Great Basin (a region outside of its typical coastal distribution) found in newly built horticultural landscapes. Individuals …

Santa Margarita Watershed Sanitary Survey Update For 2021, Timothy Chen

Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Management Projects

The Watershed Sanitary Survey update evaluates the water quality of a groundwater aquifer utilized by the community of Santa Margarita as a municipal water source through Well No. 4. It was last conducted in 2011. The Watershed Sanitary Survey is a regulatory document for the compliance of Santa Margarita’s water system with the Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR), aimed at protecting the public from any sources of drinking water contamination. The unprecedented level of drought occurring over the last five years could spell unknown changes to the water quality of the aquifer, possibly increasing the concentration of pollutants. This poses …

The Minutes Of The Marshall University Faculty Senate Meeting, March 2022, Marshall University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Minutes

No abstract provided.

Exploring Undergraduate Biology And Chemistry Students' Understanding Of Enzymes, Em Micer

QuaesitUM

No abstract provided.

Age-Dependent Effects Of Social Isolation On Behaviors Related To Anxiety And Addiction In Mice, Serena J. Addison, Sophia E. Lemus, Deranda B. Lester

QuaesitUM

No abstract provided.

Toward An Environmentally Sustainable City In The Light Of Industrial Revolution 4.0: A Case Study Of Ho Chi Minh City, Tran Viet Dung

Centre for Commercial Law in Asia

Like other large cities in ASEAN, Vietnamese cities have been facing serious urban environment problems such as air pollution, land degradation, weak water drainage and lack of green spaces. These problems are caused by unsustainable patterns of development. City governments have failed to coordinate and integrate city planning consistently. Trends show that governments prefer to take short-term economic profit rather than focus on environmental protection.

Us Central American Identities In Roberto Quesada’S Big Banana And Nunca Entres Por Miami, Adrian Taylor Kane

World Languages Faculty Publications and Presentations

Following several calls in recent scholarship for increased attention to the study of the Central American diaspora in the United States, this article offers readings of Honduran-born author Roberto Quesada’s novels Big Banana (1999) and Nunca entres por Miami (2003). Written in New York City, where he has resided since 1989, Big Banana highlights issues of Central American identity, migration, and immigrant experiences. Published four years later, Nunca entres por Miami continues to engage with these important topics. My readings of Quesada’s novels focus on the ways in which they construct cultural memory and identity by providing critical historical context …

Salicylic Acid And N-Hydroxypipecolic Acid At The Fulcrum Of The Plant Immunity-Growth Equilibrium, Alyssa Shields, Vanessa Shivnauth, Christian Danve M. Castroverde

Biology Faculty Publications

Salicylic acid (SA) and N-hydroxypipecolic acid (NHP) are two central plant immune signals involved in both resistance at local sites of pathogen infection (basal resistance) and at distal uninfected sites after primary infection (systemic acquired resistance). Major discoveries and advances have led to deeper understanding of their biosynthesis and signaling during plant defense responses. In addition to their well-defined roles in immunity, recent research is emerging on their direct mechanistic impacts on plant growth and development. In this review, we will first provide an overview of how SA and NHP regulate local and systemic immune responses in plants. We …