Digital Commons Network^™

Envenomation By A Gaboon Viper, Mary Claire Lark, Jarratt Lark

South Atlantic Division GME Research Day 2022

No abstract provided.

Perspectives On Primary Blast Injury Of The Brain: Translational Insights Into Non-Inertial Low-Intensity Blast Injury, Heather R. Siedhoff, Shanyan Chen, Hailong Song, Jiankun Cui, Ibolja Cernak, David X. Cifu, Ralph G. Depalma, Zezong Gu

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Publications

Most traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) during military deployment or training are clinically “mild” and frequently caused by non-impact blast exposures. Experimental models were developed to reproduce the biological consequences of high-intensity blasts causing moderate to severe brain injuries. However, the pathophysiological mechanisms of low-intensity blast (LIB)-induced neurological deficits have been understudied. This review provides perspectives on primary blast-induced mild TBI models and discusses translational aspects of LIB exposures as defined by standardized physical parameters including overpressure, impulse, and shock wave velocity. Our mouse LIB-exposure model, which reproduces deployment-related scenarios of open-field blast (OFB), caused neurobehavioral changes, including reduced exploratory activities, …

Impact Of Telelactation Services On Breastfeeding Outcomes Among Black And Latinx Parents: Protocol For The Tele-Milc Randomized Controlled Trial, Lori Uscher-Pines, Jill Demirci, Molly Waymouth, Rebecca Lawrence, Amanda Parks, Ateev Mehrotra, Kristin Ray, Maria Deyoreo, Kandice Kapinos

Psychology Publications

Background: Breastfeeding offers many medical and neurodevelopmental advantages for birthing parents and infants; however, the majority of parents stop breastfeeding before it is recommended. Professional lactation support by the International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs) increases breastfeeding rates; however, many communities lack access to IBCLCs. Black and Latinx parents have lower breastfeeding rates, and limited access to professional lactation support may contribute to this disparity. Virtual “telelactation” consults that use twoway video have the potential to increase access to IBCLCs among disadvantaged populations. We present a protocol for the digital Tele-MILC trial, which uses mixed methods to evaluate the …

Generation Of Nanomaterials By Reactive Laser Synthesis In Liquid, Laysa M. Frias Batista, Ashish B. Nag, Victoria K. Meader, Katharine M. Tibbetts

Chemistry Publications

Nanomaterials with tailored structures and surface chemistry are in high demand, as these materials play increasingly important roles in biology, catalysis, energy storage, and manu- facturing. Their heightened demand has attracted attention towards the development of syn- thesis routes, particularly, laser-synthesis techniques. These efforts drove the refinement of laser ablation in liquid (LAL) and related methods over the past two decades, and have led to the emergence of reactive laser-synthesis techniques that exploit these methods’ character- istic, non-equilibrium conditions. Reactive laser-synthesis approaches foster unique chemical reactions that enable the formation of composite products like multimetallic nanoparticles, supported nanostructures, and complex …

The Covid-19 Pandemic And The Importance Of Financing The Biotechnology Industry In South Africa, Ramazan Uctu, Karen Eksteen

The Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance

Whether it is a government research institution, a public-private partnership, or a private enterprise, the South African biotechnology industry requires funding for the biotechnology industry. Our goal with this research is to look into the role of venture capital (VC) in financing biotech enterprises and demonstrate how VC finance could aid in the development of diagnostic kits and vaccines for Covid-19 or future pandemics in South Africa.

The study aims to provide policymakers with a clear image of the importance of funding the biotechnology sector, notably during the Covid-19 period, as recognized by the industry's key players. We employed a …

A Study Protocol To Prepare An Rbd Protein For Vaccine Against Covid-19, Z.M.G. Sarwar Jahangir, Arleta Helena Marnik

Publications and Research

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is a global threat to humans and the world’s economy. Effective and safe vaccines against this virus are essential to control and eradicate the pandemic. The currently applied vaccines carry SARS-CoV-2 spike-protein mRNA/cDNA. These vaccines go through several cellular processes in the recipients for producing antigens. On the contrary, the SARS-CoV-2 RBD (receptor binding domain)-protein is an antigen. It will directly stimulate antibody production against SARS-CoV-2. Hence, we propose to produce SARS-CoV-2 RBD-protein as a fast acting, effective and safe vaccine.

Methods: We propose to reconstruct a plasmid carrying three types of DNA sequences: RBD cDNA, FP …

Inflammatory Response To Sleep Fragmentation In Skeletal, Cardiac, And Smooth Muscle Tissues In Female Mice, Patton Allen

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Sleep is a critical process that the body undergoes. When sleep is interrupted, so that an individual is awakened for some period before going back into sleep, the sleep can be described as fragmented. Studies in the past have shown that sleep fragmentation (SF) promotes an inflammatory environment, especially in the brain and peripheral tissue. However, studies have not been conducted to observe inflammatory responses in muscle. To examine this, C57BL/6J female mice were subjected to either a control group (no SF) or a SF group which involved using an automated SF chamber to disrupt sleep every 2 min over …

Chemical Analysis Of Amoxicillin Samples Using Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography In Tandem With Mass Spectrometry For The Distributed Pharmaceutical Analysis Laboratory, Sophie Samiee

Pitzer Senior Theses

The global health crisis of “fake” drugs is rampant worldwide and causes 1 million deaths and $30 billion in damage annually, according to a recent report by the United States Pharmacopeia in 2021. Substandard and falsified medicines remain uncontrolled due to underreporting, poor detection methods, and a lack of cooperation between countries. To combat this, the University of Notre Dame and Chemists Without Borders established the Distributed Pharmaceutical Analysis Laboratory (DPAL) in 2014 to provide high quality, validated analysis of pharmaceutical samples from partners in the developing world. Heretofore, ultra-performance liquid chromatography in tandem with mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) has not …

Affinity Of Cadmium Versus Zinc For The Carbonic Anhydrase Active Site, Rachel Phan

Honors Scholars Collaborative Projects

Cadmium is a heavy metal found in tobacco plants, nickel-cadmium batteries, and as a byproduct of metal mining. The similarities between the properties of zinc ions and cadmium ions in proteins due to their 2+ charges may cause displacement of zinc by cadmium if encountered and has been shown to do so in several transcription factors. Cadmium’s ability to replace zinc- a metal found in around 3,000 human proteins- is a cause for concern, especially due to its toxicity, long half-life in the body, and larger size.

Carbonic anhydrase is an important metalloprotein protein that relies on a central zinc(II) …

Longitudinal Dynamics Between Parenting And Adolescent Deviance: Direct Links And Underlying Mechanisms, Dan Liu

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The current dissertation, based on three separate and yet closely related studies, tested the longitudinal dynamic relationships of maternal and paternal parenting factors with adolescent deviance, the direct links as well as underlying mechanisms. Study 1, based on longitudinal data collected from 570 early adolescents, part of the Brno Longitudinal Study of Youth (BLSY), used latent growth modeling and tested the development of three parenting measures, including parental solicitation, knowledge, and peer approval, and deviance during early adolescence, as well as the developmental (i.e., growth to growth) links of these three parenting measures with adolescent deviance over time. Results indicated …

Ms Environmental Biology Capstone Project, Dylan Brown

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Chapter 1- Revisiting Tamarisk Invasion in Riparian Ecosystems: An Argument Against Single Species Management of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus)

Chapter 2- Temporal Trends of Tamarisk Remediation to Native Vegetation Establishment

Chapter 3- Assessing Effectiveness of Tamarisk Removal Treatments Through a Meta Regression Analysis

Chapter 4- Legal Challenges of Tamarisk Removal in the Southwestern United States

Learning By Playing: A Curriculum Utilizing Improvisational Theater To Develop Prosocial Behavior Skills And Self-Efficacy In Young Adolescents, Lynn Lovett Barr

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Prosocial behavior requires competency in social-emotional skills including interpersonal skills, conflict resolution, and emotional regulation. During the developmental stage of early adolescence, youth are learning these skills and are more likely to engage in prosocial behavior if they feel efficacious in them. However, most social-emotional learning programs focus on conceptual knowledge in these areas without providing sufficient opportunities for practice, which does not allow students to develop sufficient procedural knowledge and self-efficacy. Improvisational theater offers a solution to this problem; used in concert with social-emotional lessons, it provides practice scenarios and procedural learning opportunities. This project consists of a curriculum …

Techné Logos And The (Neg) Anthropocene: The First Annual Conference Of The European Culture And Technology Laboratory, Noel Fitzpatrick (Ed), Conor Mcgarrigle (Ed)

Books

The European Culture and Technology Lab (ECT Lab+) is part of the European University of Technology (EUt+) which commenced in 2020 and is funded by the European Universities Initiative. The ECT Lab+ poses questions about the relation between culture and technology, the emerging environments (or milieux) of technology which are cultural, cosmological, technical, social, economic, and political. The emerging environment could be considered as a study of evolution, a history of technical organs, this we can term a general organology. The ECT Lab+ brings together researchers who are interested in the impacts of technology on society, these impacts can be …

Rethinking Higher Education Models: Towards A New Education Paradigm For The Un 2030 Agenda For Sustainable Development, Jon-Hans Coetzer, Lucia Morales, Cormac Macmahon

Papers

The United Nations 2030 Agenda unfolded a comprehensive package of Sustainable Development Goals that seek global cooperation, participation, and coordinated efforts to 2030 for the betterment of humanity within the ecological constraints of the planet. However, it has become evident that the agenda is very ambitious and afflicted by a lack of solid governance principles vital to ensuring the successful achievement of the goals and targets. This paper offers critical insights into the pivotal role of higher education in promoting and implementing the goals. We argue that there is a need to raise awareness of the goals and educate relevant …

Human Leukocyte Antigen Distributions Do Not Share A Copula Across Sub-Populations, Daniel Schellhas, Robert C. Green Ii

Computer Science Faculty Publications

The distribution of human leukocyte antigens in the population assists in matching solid organ donors and recipients when the typing methods used do not provide sufficiently precise information. This is made possible by linkage disequilibrium (LD), where alleles co-occur more often than random chance would suggest. There is a trade-off between the high bias and low variance of a broad sample from the population and the low bias but high variance of a focused sample. Some of this trade-off could be alleviated if subpopulations shared LD despite having different allele frequencies. These experiments show that Bayesian estimation can balance bias …

Managing South Dakota Alfalfa Diseases With Commercial Biological Control Agents, Travis R. Rebstock, Conner L. Tordsen, Brandon Daniels, Oleksandra Rachynska, Andrew E. Sathoff

External Research Posters

Alfalfa is the fourth most valuable crop in the United States and is widely grown as feed for livestock due to its high protein content. In 2021, South Dakota harvested 1,320,000 acres of alfalfa and has some of the most acres growing in the United States. Alfalfa seedlings are highly susceptible to disease, which reduces field establishment and yield. Oomycete pathogens, Aphanomyces euteiches and Pythium sp., have devastating effects on newly seeded alfalfa fields causing seed rot and reduced root development. Current management strategies are fungicidal seed coatings and planting disease resistant alfalfa varieties. To create more of an Integrated …

Quantitative Real-Time Pcr Identification Of Soybean Pathogens In Eastern South Dakota Soil, Brandon Daniels, Oleksandra Rachynska, Travis R. Rebstock, Conner L. Tordsen, Andrew E. Sathoff

External Research Posters

According to the 2021 State Agricultural Overview, South Dakota (SD) planted 5,450,000 acres of soybeans in 2021, and 5.8% of potential soybean production was lost due to diseases. Revealing prevalent soil borne soybean pathogens throughout the state and utilizing the proper management strategies could in crease SD soybean yields. With the relatively recent (2014) first report of soybean sudden death syndrome (SDS) in SD and confirmation of SOS in three more counties in 2017, we utilized quantitative realtime polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays to detect pathogens that cause SDS and other soilborne soybean pathogens using DNA extracted from the soil. …

Assessing Commercial Biological Control Agents For Activity Against Alfalfa Root Rotting Pathogens, Travis R. Rebstock, Conner L. Tordsen, Brandon Daniels, Oleksandra Rachynska, Andrew E. Sathoff

External Research Posters

Alfalfa is the fourth most valuable crop in the United States and is widely grown as feed for livestock due to Its high protein content. According to the USDA 2021 Crop Production Summary, the United States planted 1,646,000 acres of newly seeded alfalfa, and alfalfa seedlings are highly susceptible to disease. Pathogens such as Aphanomyces euteiche.s and Pythium sp. have devastating effects on newly seeded alfalfa stands causing seed rot, reduced root development, and diminished stand establishment. Current management strategies for these diseases are fungicidal seed treatments and planting of disease resistant alfalfa varieties. To expand upon these management strategies, …

Assessing Commercial Biological Control Agents For Activity Against South Dakota Alfalfa Pathogens, Conner L. Tordsen, Andrew E. Sathoff

External Research Posters

Alfalfa is the third most valuable crop in the United States and is commonly grown in South Dakota. It is used as a protein-rich feed for livestock, a cover crop that protects against soil erosion, and a natural fertilizer because of its ability to fix nitrogen in the soil. According to the USDA 2021 Crop Production Summary, South Dakota ranks third in the US for newly seeded acres, and alfalfa seedlings are highly susceptible to disease. Oomycete pathogens are arguably the most economically important pathogens causing negative effects on alfalfa field establisthment and yield. These root rotting pathogens (Aphanomyces euteiches …

Seasonal Hypoxia Impacts Nutrient Fluxes And Microbial Communities In Narragansett Bay Sediments, Katherine Elizabeth Bell

Open Access Master's Theses

Global climate and environmental changes have led to declines in oxygen content in both marine and fresh water systems globally. Hypoxia (dissolved oxygen (≤2 mg/L) is enhanced at the sediment water interface, where organic matter and the microbial communities it supports accumulate and boost respiration rates. When dissolved O₂ concentrations fall below the threshold for hypoxia, bacterial communities shift to reflect species better suited to low oxygen conditions. Many of these microbes participate in metabolisms that affect water column nutrient cycles by regulating exchange across the sediment-water interface. Understanding community shifts that may impact nutrient cycling and how quickly …

Structural Modification Of The Propyl Linker Of Cjoc42 For Enhanced Gankyrin Binding And Anti-Cancer Activity, Tejashri Chavan

Theses and Dissertations

Gankyrin was first identified as an oncoprotein in hepatocellular carcinoma but was later found to be overexpressed in multiple cancer types. Gankyrin’s oncogenic ability is primarily manifested through its interactions with tumor suppressor proteins, regulation of transcription factors, and ability to moderate various signaling pathways. Additionally, gankyrin has been shown to decrease tumor suppressor protein levels (e.g., Rb and p53) in liver cancer cells. Cjoc42 was the first small molecule inhibitor of gakyrin; however, it also demonstrated poor anti-proliferative activity against liver cancer cells. Molecular modeling studies of cjoc42 with gankyrin suggests cjoc42 adopts a U-shape conformation upon binding to …

Repurposing An Anti-Epileptic Drug For The Treatment Of Glioblastoma, Anjali Yadav

Theses and Dissertations

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a grade IV malignant glioma. It is a highly proliferative form of brain tumor with 5-year survival rate ~ 5% indicating a high mortality rate. Current treatment strategies for GBM include surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Surgical resection is challenging due to vital function of brain and as GBM often metastasizes in different brain regions. Additionally, development of resistance against the standard of care drug temozolomide (TMZ) is a major challenge in GBM management. GBM is also shielded with the blood brain barrier (BBB) which prevents the entry of several drugs. Therefore, a new drug must overcome …

Appearance And Performance Enhancing Drug Usage And Body Image Across Three Age Cohorts Of Fitness Enthusiast Men, Jessica Strübel, Rose Leger, Xintong Guan

Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design Faculty Publications

Background: Because research findings on men’s body image and compensatory behaviors (e.g., appearance and performance enhancing drug (APED) usage) across the lifecycle in men is contradictory, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between age and body image concerns, and to investigate the specific types of APEDs used across the three age cohorts (emerging, established, and middle-aged men). Methods: Using an online survey and a sample of 1020 fitness enthusiast men, we investigated (1) type of APED/supplements used across three periods of life (emerging adulthood, established adulthood, middle age), and (2) any relationship between period …

A Vascular Flora Of The Selkirk Mountains, Bonner And Boundary Counties, Idaho, Harpo Faust, Ben Legler, David C. Tank

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

The vascular flora described here covers ~2295 square kilometers (~886 square miles) of the Selkirk Mountains that lie in the Idaho Panhandle, covering an elevational range of 540–2330 m (1770–7670 ft). The majority of the mountain range is underlain by granitic rock of the Kaniksu Batholith, and is diversified by the rich glacial history of the Panhandle. The study area contains multiple pockets of alluvial and glacial deposition that serve as specialized habitat for present-day floristic diversity within the range. The Idaho Selkirks are part of the Northern Rocky Mountains and have floristic influences from the Pacific coast, boreal north, …

Investigating The Use Of Generative Adversarial Networks (Gans) For Pansharpening Thermal Satellite Imagery, Red Willow Coleman

HMC Senior Theses

Remotely sensed satellite imagery can be an important data source for observing and measuring environmental changes in urban areas. For example, thermal satellite imagery can be used to identify urban heat islands (UHIs) and provide motivation for urban cooling strategies. However, the spatial resolution of thermal satellite imagery is insufficient for many urban biodiversity applications (e.g., tree planting and shifting ranges of flora and fauna in response to climate change) because of the inherent heterogeneity and complexity of cities. In order to improve the usability of this imagery, artificial intelligence techniques can increase the spatial resolution of the thermal imagery …

How Deep Do We Have To Go To Rehabilitate Evolutionary Psychology? Reply To Bjorklund, Ellis, & Geary (2022), David S. Moore, David C. Witherington, Darcia Narvaez, Timothy I. Vandiver, Robert Lickliter

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

Disciplines like evolutionary-developmental psychology admirably focus on trying to rehabilitate Narrow Evolutionary Psychology (NEP) from within, by adding a developmental focus to NEP’s tenets of adaptationism and computationalism. We argue, however, that these tenets are fundamentally incompatible with taking psychology and its development seriously, and that the kinds of modifications introduced by evolutionary-developmental psychologists do not go deep enough to qualitatively change the non-developmental outlook of NEP.

Evolving Evolutionary Psychology, Darcia Narvaez, David S. Moore, David C. Witherington, Timothy I. Vandiver, Robert Lickliter

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

Which evolutionary theory can best benefit psychological theory, research, and application? The most well-known school of evolutionary psychology has a narrow conceptual perspective (a.k.a., “Narrow Evolutionary Psychology” or NEP). Proponents of NEP have long argued that their brand of evolutionary psychology represents a full-fledged scientific revolution, with Buss (2020) recently likening NEP’s scientific impact to that of a Copernican or Darwinian paradigm shift. However, NEP stands on two traditions that are now the subjects of serious debate and revision: the neo-Darwinian adaptationist framework within evolutionary biology, and the computationalist “mind-as-computer” framework within cognitive science. Although NEP calls itself revolutionary, the …

Coarse-Graining And The Haar Wavelet Transform For Multiscale Analysis, William Bosl, Tobias Loddenkemper, Solveig Vieluf

Nursing and Health Professions Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Introductory Physics For The Life Sciences In A Senior Biology Capstone Course, Benjamin D. Geller , '01, Jack Rubien , '20, Sara Hiebert Burch, Catherine Hirshfeld Crouch

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works

A goal of introductory physics for life sciences (IPLS) curricula is to prepare students to effectively use physical models and quantitative reasoning in biological and medical settings. To assess whether this goal is being met, we conducted a longitudinal study of the impact of IPLS on student work in later biology and chemistry courses. We report here on one part of that study, a comparison of written responses by students with different physics backgrounds on a diffusion task administered in a senior biology capstone course. We observed differences in student reasoning that were found to be associated with prior or …

Emotions In Educators Implementing A Social-Emotional Development Framework, Cindy Stolp

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the emotions of early childhood educators implementing the Pyramid Model social-emotional framework. The semi-structured interviews with 11 educators included discussing emotions correlated to Pyramid Model practices and organizational-level practices. The data suggested that patterns aligned with Roger’s (1962) diffusion of innovation theory. Emotional patterns emerged as unpleasant and high-intensity emotions such as stress and frustration, unpleasant and low-intensity emotions such as disappointment and sadness, pleasant and high-intensity emotions such as excitement, joy, and hope, pleasant and low-intensity emotions such as content and calm. Specific Pyramid Model practices and organizational interactions also created barriers and patterns of …