Digital Commons Network^™

Literature Review Of Omicron: A Grim Reality Amidst Covid-19, Suraj Arora, Vishakha Grover, Priyanka Saluja, Youssef Abdullah Algarni, Shahabe Abullais Saquib, Shaik Mohammed Asif, Kavita Batra, Mohammed Y. Alshahrani, Gotam Das, Rajni Jain, Anchal Ohri

School of Medicine Faculty Research

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) first emerged in Wuhan city in December 2019, and became a grave global concern due to its highly infectious nature. The Severe Acute Respiratory Coronavirus-2, with its predecessors (i.e., MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV) belong to the family of Coronaviridae. Reportedly, COVID-19 has infected 344,710,576 people around the globe and killed nearly 5,598,511 persons in the short span of two years. On November 24, 2021, B.1.1.529 strain, later named Omicron, was classified as a Variant of Concern (VOC). SARS-CoV-2 has continuously undergone a series of unprecedented mutations and evolved to exhibit varying characteristics. These mutations have largely occurred …

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 19: Social Evolution's Useful Idiots, Charles H. Smith

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

In today’s world liberals look at conservatives as the villains, and vice versa. How did this come to pass? In this essay a model of the biological roots of liberalism and conservatism is advanced; this is followed by a discussion of why cognitive dissonance may represent the key process in our social evolution. Alfred Russel Wallace’s experience with cognitive dissonance is then detailed, including how he dealt with it.

In Vitro Toxicological Evaluation Of Mesoporous Silica Microparticles Functionalised 1 With Carvacrol And Thymol, Cristina Fuentes, Ana Fuentes, Hugh Byrne, José Barat, María José Ruiz

Articles

The cytotoxicity of carvacrol- and thymol- functionalised mesoporous silica microparticles (MCM-41) was assessed in the human hepatocarcinoma cell line (HepG2). Cell viability, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), lipid peroxidation (LPO) and apoptosis/necrosis analysis were used as endpoints. Results showed that both materials induced cytotoxicity in a time and concentration-dependent manner, being more cytotoxic than free essential oil components and bare MCM-41. This effect was caused by the cell-particle interactions and not from degradation products released to the culture media, as demonstrated in the extract dilution assays. LDH release was seen to be …

Cc: Connecticut College Magazine, Winter 2022, Connecticut College

Alumni News/Connecticut College Magazine

No abstract provided.

Age-Associated Gut Dysbiosis, Marked By Loss Of Butyrogenic Potential, Correlates With Altered Plasma Tryptophan Metabolites In Older People Living With Hiv., Smita Ghare, Richa Singhal, Vaughn Bryant, Sabina Gautam, Chanakya Charan Tirumala, Praneet Kumar Srisailam, Andrea Reyes-Vega, Dushan Ghooray, Craig J. Mcclain, Kristi Hoffman, Joseph Petrosino, Kendall Bryant, Varand Govind, Ronald Cohen, Robert L. Cook, Shirish Barve

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Background:

Imbalance in tryptophan (TRP) metabolism and its neuroactive metabolites, serotonin and kynurenine (KYN), is a known pathogenic mechanism underlying neurocognitive impairment. Gut microbiota plays an important role in TRP metabolism, and the production of these neuroactive molecules affects neurocognitive function. Although both HIV infection and normal aging independently induce gut dysbiosis and influence TRP metabolism, their interactive effects on compositional/functional changes in gut microbiota and consequent alterations in TRP metabolites remain largely undetermined.

Methods:

Older people living with HIV infection (PLWH, aged 50–70 years, n = 22) were enrolled in this cross-sectional pilot study. Metagenomic analysis of fecal microbiome …

Barriers In Surgical Research: A Perspective From The Developing World, Nadeem Ahmed Siddiqui, Muhammad Aanish Raees, Rehan Nasir Khan, Farhan Zafar

Department of Surgery Docs

Research in surgery has led to significant advances over the last century in terms of how medicine is practised in and outside the operating rooms today. Surgical research in the developed countries is responsible for most of this advancement, but it is often inapplicable in resource-limited settings in the developing world. Lower- and middle-income countries are in a unique position to take this work further, but they are limited by certain barriers. These barriers could broadly be classified under social and cultural, infrastructure, financial, ethical, and personal categories. These barriers are often not fully realised, but can potentially be addressed …

A Novel Branched Polymer Gel System With Delayed Gelation Property For Conformance Control, Tao Song, Qi Feng, Thomas P. Schuman, Jie Cao, Baojun Bai

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Excessive water production from oil reservoirs not only affects the economical production of oil, but it also results in serious environmental concerns. Polymer gels have been widely applied to decrease water production and thus improve oil production. However, traditional polymer gels such as partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM)/chromium (III) gel systems usually have a short gelation time and cannot meet the requirement of some conformance control projects. This paper introduces a novel polymer gel system of which crosslinking time can be significantly delayed. A branched polymer grafted from arginine by the surface initiation method is synthesized as the backbone, chromium acetate …

Belowground Mechanism Reveals Climate Change Impacts On Invasive Clonal Plant Establishment, Surendra Bam, Jacqueline P. Ott, Jack L. Butler, Lan Xu

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Climate change and disturbance can alter invasion success of clonal plants by differentially affecting the clonal traits influencing their establishment as young plants. Clonal traits related to the vegetative reproduction of native Pascopyrum smithii and non-native Bromus inermis grass seedlings were evaluated under altered precipitation frequencies and a single grazing event. Pascopyrum smithii maintained similar vegetative reproduction under three simulated precipitation frequencies whereas B. inermis vegetative reproduction declined as precipitation became more intermittent. Vegetative reproduction of the non-native B. inermis was greater than the native P. smithii under all simulated precipitation frequencies except the most intermittent scenario. A single grazing …

No-Till Pumpkin After Winter Rye Cover Crop, Northern Indiana, 2021, Elizabeth Maynard

Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports

No-till planting of pumpkin into a killed winter rye cover crop is a system used by growers in a number of states, including Indiana. Advantages mentioned by producers in addition to soil health benefits from the cover crop include cleaner pumpkins at harvest, and in rainy seasons, less mud in the field at harvest time. This paper reports on a project to develop a workable no-till system at a university research farm that can be used for demonstration and in future research to better understand and improve production practices. The trial included two methods for killing rye in no-till systems: …

Drought Imprints On Crops Can Reduce Yield Loss: Nature's Insights For Food Security, Peng Fu, Deepak Jaiswal, Justin M. Mcgrath, Shaowen Wang, Stephen P. Long, Carl J. Bernacchi

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The Midwestern “Corn-Belt” in the United States is the most productive agricultural region on the planet despite being predominantly rainfed. In this region, global climate change is driving precipitation patterns toward wetter springs and drier mid- to late-summers, a trend that is likely to intensify in the future. The lack of precipitation can lead to crop water limitations that ultimately impact growth and yields. Young plants exposed to water stress will often invest more resources into their root systems, possibly priming the crop for any subsequent mid- or late-season drought. The trend toward wetter springs, however, suggests that opportunities for …

Race And Sex Associations With Tacrolimus Pharmacokinetics In Stable Kidney Transplant Recipients, Kathleen M. Tornatore, Calvin J. Meaney, Kristopher Attwood, Daniel A. Brazeau, Gregory E. Wilding, Joseph D. Consiglio, Aijaz Gundroo, Shrley S. Chang, Vanessa Gray, Louise M. Cooper, Rocco C. Venuto

Pharmaceutical Science and Research

Study Objective: This study investigated race and sex differences in tacrolimus pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in stable kidney transplant recipients.

Design and Setting: A cross-sectional, open-label, single center, 12-h pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic study was conducted. Tacrolimus pharmacokinetic parameters included area under the concentration-time curve (AUC_0–12), AUC_0–4, 12-h troughs (C_{12 h}), maximum concentrations (C_max), oral clearance (Cl), with dose-normalized AUC_0–12, troughs, and C_max with standardized adverse effect scores. Statistical models were used to analyze end points with individual covariate-adjustment including clinical factors, genotypic variants CYP3A5*3, CYP3A5*6, CYP3A5*7(CYP3A5*3*6*7 …

Economics Of Cormorant Predation On Catfish Farms, Carole Engle, Ganesh Kumar, Terrel Christie, Brian S. Dorr, Brian Davis, Luke Roy, Anita Kelly

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The Double-crested Cormorant is the primary avian predator on catfish farms causing significant economic losses primarily due to 1) on-farm expenditures related to bird-management activities and 2) value of the catfish lost to cormorants. This comprehensive economic study quantified these two economic effects by surveying catfish farms in the delta regions of Mississippi and Arkansas. On-farm expenditures for bird scaring were used to quantify bird-management costs. Economic losses from fish consumed by cormorants were quantified by evaluating data from field studies of the abundance, distribution, and diet of cormorants in the Mississippi delta. This study found that catfish farmers …

Fisetin Deters Cell Proliferation, Induces Apoptosis, Alleviates Oxidative Stress And Inflammation In Human Cancer Cells, Hela, Nazia Afroze, Sreepoorna Pramodh, Jasmin Shafarin, Khuloud Bajbouj, Mawieh Hamad, Madhumitha Kedhari Sundaram, Shafiul Haque, Arif Hussain

All Works

Background: Fisetin, a flavonol profusely found in vegetables and fruits, exhibited a myriad of properties in preclinical studies to impede cancer growth. Purpose: This study was proposed to delineate molecular mechanisms through analysing the modulated expression of various molecular targets in HeLa cells involved in proliferation, apoptosis and inflammation. Methods: MTT assay, flow cytometry, nuclear morphology, DNA fragmentation and Annexin–Pi were performed to evaluate the anti-cancer potential of fisetin. Furthermore, qPCR and proteome profiler were performed to analyse the expression of variety of gene related to cell death, cell proliferation, oxidative stress and inflammation and cancer pathways. Results: Fisetin demonstrated …

Thermal Safety Margins Of Plant Leaves Across Biomes Under A Heatwave, Nawatbhrist Kitudom, Sophie Fauset, Yingying Zhou, Zexin Fan, Murong Li, Mingjian He, Shubin Zhang, Kun Xu, Hua Lin

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Climate change has great impacts on forest ecosystems, especially with the increasing frequency of heatwaves. Thermal safety margin (TSM) calculated by the difference between body temperature and thermotolerance threshold is useful to predict thermal safety of organisms. It has been widely used for animals, whereas has rarely been reported for plants. Besides, most of the previous studies used only thermotolerance to estimate thermal safety or used thermotolerance and air temperature (Ta) to calculate TSM. However, leaf temperature (Tl) is the real "body" temperature of plant leaves. Tl decoupling from Ta might induce large error in TSM. Here, we investigated TSM …

Occurrence And Chemical Characteristics Of Microplastic Paint Flakes In The North Atlantic Ocean, Andrew Turner, Clare Ostle, Marianne Wootton

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Non-fibrous microplastics sampled by the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) Survey throughout the North Atlantic Ocean during 2018 have been recorded and a selection (n = 17, or 16.7%) physically and chemically characterised. The average abundance of non-fibrous particles captured by the plankton silks and detectable by microscopy was estimated to be around 0.01 m-3, with the highest concentrations evident in shelf seas of northwest Europe. Amongst the samples analysed, median size was 180 μm and, based on visible properties (e.g., brittleness, layering) and infra-red spectra, all but one were identified as flakes of paint. Semi-quantitative analysis by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence …

Comorbidities Associated With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder In Children And Adolescents At A Tertiary Care Setting, Jigar Jogia, Alia H. Sharif, Faisal A. Nawaz, Abdul Rahman Khan, Raed H. Alawami, Maryam A. Aljanahi, Meshal A. Sultan

All Works

Studies have revealed high rates of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric comorbid conditions among individuals diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, research on this topic in the Arab world has been limited. This study evaluates the medical, neurodevelopmental, and psychiatric comorbidities in children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). A total of 428 pediatric patients diagnosed with ADHD were included. Children and adolescents with ADHD had high rates of comorbid disorders. Twenty comorbid conditions were identified. More than 3 quarters of the study sample had at least 1 comorbid disorder. The most common comorbidity among children was …

Mangrove Diversity Is More Than Fringe Deep, Steven W.J. Canty, John Paul Kennedy, Graeme Fox, Kenan Matterson, Vanessa L. González, Mayra L. Núñez-Vallecillo, Richard F. Preziosi, Jennifer K. Rowntree

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

AbstractMangroves form coastal tropical forests in the intertidal zone and are an important component of shoreline protection. In comparison to other tropical forests, mangrove stands are thought to have relatively low genetic diversity with population genetic structure gradually increasing with distance along a coastline. We conducted genetic analyses of mangrove forests across a range of spatial scales; within a 400 m2 parcel comprising 181 Rhizophora mangle (red mangrove) trees, and across four sites ranging from 6–115 km apart in Honduras. In total, we successfully genotyped 269 R. mangle trees, using a panel of 677 SNPs developed with 2b-RAD methodology. Within …

Smart House As An Input To The Application Of Technological Development And Rationalization Of Energy Consumption In Buildings And Achieve Sustainability., Azza Elsakka

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Architecture has been and remains the mirror that reflects the civilization of peoples throughout the ages, which is happening now in the field of global architecture is a shift in the general thought as a whole, as the modern era in which we live now is undoubtedly the era of technology and information revolution has reflected this image on buildings And imposed itself and the idea of smart systems and intelligent buildings emerged as an automatic response to architecture on the scientific and technological development. There is a major problem is through two aspects: The first aspect is to limit …

Environmental Impacts Of Drainage Water Reuse On The Freshwater Of El-Salam Canal (Egypt)., M. Eizeldin, N. K. Abdelghani, Aiman Elsaadi, M. Ashmawy, Mohamed Hegazy

Mansoura Engineering Journal

In Egypt, the Water Quality of fresh waterways, especially those receiving the wastewater from agricultural drainage such as El-Salam Canal is every, now, and then, precarious for some water use. Although, Egypt relies on this marginal water quality in order to cover the resulting gap between water needs and supply. The reuse of drainage water appears to be one of the most promising, practical, and economical means of increasing the Egyptian water budget in which the Government of Egypt has been looking for. The use of mathematical models for the quality assessments of waterways can be considered as one of …

Psyx 385.01: Psychology Of Personality - Methodology, Theories, & Application, Duncan G. Campbell

University of Montana Course Syllabi, 2021-2025

No abstract provided.

Exploring Pre-Service Teachers’ Perspectives: Gender And Gender Representation Across Human Protagonists In Picture Books, Taraneh Matloob Haghanikar, Shan Jiang, Sara Tomek, Lisa M. Hooper

Faculty Publications

Gender is ever present in education preparation, school materials, curriculum, and school systems. To improve our knowledge about different facets of gender and the extent to which the depiction of gender has changed over time in picture books, there is a need to dig beneath the surface of questions about gender representation in picture books. Given that in-service teachers have proximity to approximately 75 million K-12 students, how in-service teachers think about gender, gender representation, and their own experiences with gender socialization have important implications on how K-12 students think, act, and feel about gender. In this study, we focused …

Historical Sisters: Black Feminist Actions Across History And Literary Studies, Jazz A. Milligan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis seeks to understand how the actions of Black women from the past have inspired the modern Black female literary movement. This thesis focuses on three historical women: Phillis Wheatley, Elizabeth Freeman, and Cathay Williams, and their literary sisters: bell hooks, Barbara Smith, and Patricia Hill Collins. By viewing the lives of these historical women through a modern-day lens, we can understand how their actions created a ripple effect that Black women are still discussing today. Black feminism did not start in a vacuum, and the actions of everyday Black women have pushed us forward to being more accepting …

Bonded Amalgam As A Fissure Sealant In Low-Income Setting: A Randomised Controlled Trial, Farhan Raza Khan, Samreen Liaquat, Ghazala Rafique, Syed Iqbal Azam, Arshad Hasan

Section of Dental-Oral Maxillofacial Surgery

Objectives: To compare one year retention rate of bonded amalgam sealants (BAS) with that of conventional resin-based sealant (RBS).
Methods: It was a parallel group, equivalence, randomised controlled trial done during March 2018 to December 2019 at the dental clinics of Dow University of Health Sciences, and the Jinnah Sind Medical University, Karachi, Pakistan on children aged 12-16 years, who were randomly assigned to one of the two treatment groups (BAS vs. RBS). Complete retention of the sealant at one year follow-up was labeled as success. Multi-level mixed effect logistic regression model was employed. Study was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov # …

Impact Of Culture Media Composition, Nutrients Stress And Gamma Radiation On Biomass And Lipid Of The Green Microalga, Dictyochloropsis Splendida As A Potential Feedstock For Biodiesel Production, Sanaa Mahmoud Metwally Shanab, Mervat Aly Mohamed Abo-State, Hamdy Elsayed Ahmed Ali

Baghdad Science Journal

Biodiesel production from microalgae depends on the biomass and lipid production. Both biomass and lipid accumulation is controlled by several factors. The effect of various culture media (BG11, BBM, and Urea), nutrients stress [nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), magnesium (Mg) and carbonate (CO3)] and gamma (γ) radiation on the growth and lipid accumulation of Dictyochloropsis splendida were investigated. The highest biomass and lipid yield of D. splendida were achieved on BG11 medium. Cultivation of D. splendida in a medium containing 3000 mg L−1 N, or 160 mg L−1 P, or 113 mg L−1 Mg, or 20 mg L-1 CO3, led to …

Milk Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha And Interleukin-1beta Among Toxoplasma Gondii-Free And Infected Women, Alaa Tareq Shakir Al-Hassnawi, Kassim Abdulla Hamza Al-Morshidy, Nuha Yaarub Al-Harbi

Baghdad Science Journal

Pro-inflammatory cytokines play an important role in intercellular communications. In the last two decades, many cytokines have been identified in human milk. These cytokines are variable according to different conditions such as pathogenic infections which strongly stimulated the immune response. The present study aims to determine of IL1β and TNF-α in Toxoplasma gondii-free and infected women in an attempt to clarify the impacts of the infections on cytokines especially in mother's milk. The serum and milk sample were collected from 96 samples (48 for seropositive and 48 for seronegative). To confirm the Toxoplasma gondii infection; enzyme linked immunofluorescence assay (ELIFA) …

Theoretical And Experimental Study Of Corrosion Behavior Of Carbon Steel Surface In 3.5% Nacl And 0.5 M Hcl With Different Concentrations Of Quinolin-2-One Derivative, Rehab Majid Kubba, Mustafa Alaa Mohammed

Baghdad Science Journal

A theoretical and protection study was conducted of the corrosion behavior of carbon steel surface with different concentrations of the derivative (Quinolin-2-one), namely 7-Ethyl-4-methyl-1-[(4-nitro-benzylidene)-amino]-1H-quinolin-2-one (EMNQ2O). Theoretically, Density Functional Theory (DFT) of B3LYP/ 6-311++G/ 2d, 2p level was carried out to calculate the geometrical structure, physical properties and chemical inhibition chemical parameters, with the local reactivity in order to predict both the reactive centers and to know the possible sites of nucleophilic and electrophilic attacks, in vacuum and two solvents (DMSO and H2O), all at the equilibrium geometry. Experimentally, the inhibition efficiencies (%IE) in (3.5% NaCl) and (0.5M HCl) solutions were …

Rights Retrenchment In Immigration Law, Catherine Y. Kim

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Examining The Relationship Between The Testate Amoeba Hyalosphenia Papilio (Arcellinida, Amoebozoa) And Its Associated Intracellular Microalgae Using Molecular And Microscopic Methods, Agnes K.M. Weiner, Billie Cullison, Shailesh V. Date, Tomáš Tyml, Jean Marie Volland, Tanja Woyke, Laura A. Katz, Robin S. Sleith

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Symbiotic relationships between heterotrophic and phototrophic partners are common in microbial eukaryotes. Among Arcellinida (Amoebozoa) several species are associated with microalgae of the genus Chlorella (Archaeplastida). So far, these symbioses were assumed to be stable and mutualistic, yet details of the interactions are limited. Here, we analyzed 22 single-cell transcriptomes and 36 partially-sequenced genomes of the Arcellinida morphospecies Hyalosphenia papilio, which contains Chlorella algae, to shed light on the amoeba-algae association. By characterizing the genetic diversity of associated Chlorella, we detected two distinct clades that can be linked to host genetic diversity, yet at the same time show a biogeographic …

Heterogeneous Biodiesel Catalyst From Steel Slag Resulting From An Electric Arc Furnace, Mai H. Roushdy

Chemical Engineering

Biodiesel is one of the most environmentally friendly and renewable fuels, as it is a non-polluting fuel and is made from living resources, such as vegetable oils. The steel industry generates a variety of solid wastes, including electric arc furnace slag (EAFS). The synthesis of biodiesel from waste sunflower cooking oil was examined in this study, utilizing EAFS as a catalyst, which mainly contains ferric and ferrous oxides, calcium oxide, and silica. To evaluate their impact on biodiesel production, four independent variables were chosen: temperature (50–70 ◦C), catalyst loading (1–5%), methanol-to-oil (M:O) molar ratio (5–20), and time (1–4 h). The …

Two Heads Are Better Than One: Current Landscape Of Integrating Qsp And Machine Learning, Tongli Zhang, Ioannis P. Androulakis, Peter Bonate, Limei Cheng, Tomáš Helikar, Jaimit Parikh, Christopher Rackauckas, Kalyanasundaram Subramanian, Carolyn R. Cho

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP) modeling is applied to address essential questions in drug development, such as the mechanism of action of a therapeutic agent and the progression of disease. Meanwhile, machine learning (ML) approaches also contribute to answering these questions via the analysis of multi-layer ‘omics’ data such as gene expression, proteomics, metabolomics, and high-throughput imaging. Furthermore, ML approaches can also be applied to aspects of QSP modeling. Both approaches are powerful tools and there is considerable interest in integrating QSP modeling and ML. So far, a few successful implementations have been carried out from which we have learned about …