Digital Commons Network^™

Deep Graph Convolutional Network For Us Birth Data Harmonization, Lishan Yu, Hamisu M Salihu, Deepa Dongarwar, Luyao Chen, Xiaoqian Jiang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In this paper, we developed a feasible and efficient deep-learning-based framework to combine the United States (US) natality data for the last five decades, with changing variables and factors, into a consistent database. We constructed a graph based on the property and elements of databases, including variables, and conducted a graph convolutional network (GCN) to learn the embeddings of variables on the constructed graph, where the learned embeddings implied the similarity of variables. Specifically, we devised a loss function with a slack margin and a banlist mechanism (for a random walk) to learn the desired structure (two nodes sharing more …

Apaview: A Web-Based Platform For Alternative Polyadenylation Analyses In Hematological Cancers, Xi Hu, Jialin Song, Jacqueline Chyr, Jinping Wan, Xiaoyan Wang, Jianqiang Du, Junbo Duan, Huqin Zhang, Xiaobo Zhou, Xiaoming Wu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Hematologic malignancies, such as acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), are cancers that start in blood-forming tissues and can affect the blood, bone marrow, and lymph nodes. They are often caused by genetic and molecular alterations such as mutations and gene expression changes. Alternative polyadenylation (APA) is a post-transcriptional process that regulates gene expression, and dysregulation of APA contributes to hematological malignancies. RNA-sequencing-based bioinformatic methods can identify APA sites and quantify APA usages as molecular indexes to study APA roles in disease development, diagnosis, and treatment. Unfortunately, APA data pre-processing, analysis, and visualization are time-consuming, inconsistent, …

Hyperbranched Poly(Β-Amino Ester)S (Hpaes) Structure Optimisation For Enhanced Gene Delivery: Non-Ideal Termination Elimination, Yinghao Li, Zhonglei He, Jing Lyu, Xianqing Wang, Bei Qiu, Irene Lara-Saez, Jing Zhang, Ming Zeng, Qian Xu, Sigen Sigen A., James Curtin, Wenxin Wang

Articles

Growing at an impressive pace, gene therapy has emerged as a prospective segment in the biotechnology field and presents a bright outlook, given the increasing investments in R&D and the mounting incidence of genetic disorders [1]. Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for gene therapy, estimated at 1.2 billion dollars in the year 2022, is projected to reach a revised size of 2.7 billion dollars by 2026, according to the Cision PR Newswire. However, the lack of efficient gene delivery vectors still hinders the large-scale manufacturing of gene therapy agents. Viral vectors, such as the adeno-associated virus, lentivirus, retrovirus, …

Beta Glucan Enriched Oat-Wheat Naan - Nutritional, Sensory, And Rheological Evaluation Of Par-Baked Leavened Flatbreads, Anjana Adhikari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Development Of A Chromatographic Method To Authenticate Aspirin Brands, Megan Guetzloff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Counterfeit pharmaceuticals pose a threat to society that can include inaccurate amounts of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), no API, or containing off-target compounds. For example, there are many recent examples of counterfeit pharmaceuticals containing potentially lethal doses (> 2 mg) of fentanyl (i.e., a synthetic opioid). Current measures to combat illicit pharmaceuticals (e.g., unique packaging and product serialization) have merit, however with evolved technologies, counterfeiters can relatively easily simulate these measures and continue to distribute illicit pharmaceuticals. The only accurate way to definitively determine that a suspected counterfeit is, in fact, counterfeit is advanced chemical analysis. However, current methods …

Development Of Genomic Resources In Vitis Riparia For Discoveries On Pre- And Post-Transcriptional Molecular Regulators Of Early Induction Into Endodormancy, Michael Robben

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Grapevine is one of the most important fruit crops in the world, responsible for billions in global sales annually. The largest threat to grapevine and other crop production is global climate change resulting human activities. This brings unpredictable and drastic changes in ambient air temperatures to many climates in which grapes are grown. Lower temperatures and inclement weather are already responsible for millions in lost revenue due to tissue damage of established plants. Thus, protecting grapevine crops from weather-related damage is the biggest concern to growers aside from pathogen- and diseaserelated crop damage. The primary mechanism for winter survival in …

Polymeric Nanovaccine Delivery System For Influenza Vaccine, Chaitanya K. Valiveti

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Vaccines are the most efficient and cost-effective method for preventing illnesses caused by infectious pathogens. Even though the great success of vaccines over decades, the development of safe and robust vaccines is still essential for emerging new pathogens, re-evolving old pathogens, and improving the insufficient protection given by existing vaccines. One of the most critical strategies for developing effective new vaccines is selecting and using a suitable adjuvant or immune stimulant. Immunologic adjuvants are essential for improving vaccine potency by enhancing the immune response of vaccine antigens. The amount of antigen could be spared with improved potency, especially during mass …

Microbial Communities And Nitrogen Dynamics In Prairie And Cropland Soils, Bikram Kumar Das

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Soil microbial communities are affected by many factors, such as soil nitrogen (N) and the quantity of grass-root exudates, changing seasons, fertilization method, plant diversity, and their origin. This holds for both natural and fertilized soils. This research was intended to expand the current understanding of soil microbial interactions associated with ecological functions. The objectives of the research were (I) to characterize prokaryotic soil communities, estimate functional potential, and quantify nitrogen cycle-associated prokaryotic gene expressions across three phases of the growing season, (II) to explore the diazotrophic community composition in a natural system using nifH sequencing as well as 16S …

Managing Water Quantity And Quality With Subsurface Drainage In Eastern South Dakota, Morghan Hurst

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Moisture extremes (excess and deficit) impact crop loss and water quality. Due to excessively wet springs and dry summers, crop damage can occur within the same county or field within the same year. To determine the magnitude of this problem in eastern South Dakota, indemnified crop insurance data for drought and excessive moisture claims were assessed for the years 1991-2020 for the occurrence of both excess moisture and drought in four counties in eastern South Dakota. Results show that there is greater than a 70% chance of the moisture extremes happening in the same year, making subsurface drainage, controlled drainage, …

Exploring Bioprocessing Technologies For Diverse Industrial Application Of Canola, Ahmad Fawzi N Alhomodi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Globally, canola is the second largest oilseed crop after soybean, which is processed for the commercial production of high value oil. The industrial processing steps for canola oil extraction include preprocessing (cleaning, pressing, flaking, and cooking), mechanical pressing, and/or organic solvents. This process results in large quantities of protein-rich (~ 40% dry basis) meal as a co-product. The meal is used partially in animal diet (<30% inclusion) due to high levels of antinutritional factors (ANFs) such as high fibers, phytic acid, and glucosinolates, and low metabolizable energy. Thus, this research was designed to examine various bioprocessing technologies (i.e., traditional sprouting, solid state fermentation, submerged state fermentation, co-culture fermentation, mild pretreatments, and their combinations) for possible advancement in canola use. Canola seed sprouting for 6-day period led to an increase in protein content and a reduction in ANFs and oil content of sprouts compared to ungerminated seed. Subsequent submerged state fermentation of 6- day old sprouts using three different strains (Aureobasidium pullulans, Trichoderma reesei and Neurospora crassa) further increased protein content and lowered ANFs. Solid-state fermentation of 144 h old sprouts using A. pullulans, N. crassa and T. reesei enhanced the protein content and reduced ANFs of sprouts. Sprouting canola seed for three days helped in hull removal, leading to high protein meal accompanied by low fiber and phytic acid level. Three-day seed sprouting had no effect on oil yield, but free fatty acid content was higher compared to seed oil. Co-culture fermentation of HECM under solid state process showed maximum reduction in fiber content with co-culture of A. pullulans and N. crassa while a combination of A. pullulans and T. reesei promoted the highest GLS and phytic acid reductions compared to other combinations, which indicated the advantage of coculture inoculation over monoculture in terms of ANFs reduction. Mild pretreatment of HECM using deionized water resulted in washed HECM (WHECM) with lower soluble sugars and GLS compared to untreated HECM, whereas protein and amino acid were concentrated due to the removal of soluble components. WHECM compared to HECM showed higher protein digestibility when fed to rainbow trout. Subsequent mono- and coculture fermentation of HECM and WHECM under submerged process resulted in higher protein and amino acid content and lower ANFs levels compared to uninoculated controls. The results of cellulase, endoglucanase and β-glucosidase activity indicated the crucial role of used substrates, fungi, fermentation modes (solid state/submerged stated) and inoculation methods (mono-/co-culture) on enzyme activities.

The Impact Of Facebook Affordances On Doomscrolling Behaviors During The Relational Dissolution Process, Emma Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The affordances provided by social networking sites (SNSs) impact how different social media platforms are used. Facebook has unique affordances such as ease of use, community, information seeking, escapism, and common interests that impact Facebook use. Interpersonal electronic surveillance, categorized as doomscrolling for this study, is a behavior of continuous scrolling and consumption of negative content. Facebook affordances, paired with digital artifacts from terminated relationships, create an environment for doomscrolling (IES) behavior. Building off of the “grave-dressing” and “resurrection” stages of relational dissolution, I examined the relationships of these Facebook affordances with doomscrolling (IES) behaviors through an online survey (N …

Antibacterial Activity Of Commiphora Molmol (Myrrha) Against The Yeast, Mohammad Hassan Alshehri

Selected Full-Text Master Theses 2021-

Commiphora molmol (myrrha) is widely used as a traditional medicine around the globe against inflammatory diseases. It is also considered to be effective as anti-fungal, anti-cancer and anti-oxidant agent. The minimum inhibitory concentration, bactericidal activity and heat stability of antibiotic component in myrrha oil extract has been investigated. The MIC was determined in nutrient free buffer and in nutrient rich peptone glucose buffer. The results showed that MIC was 0.6% in nutrient free buffer as no growth was shown by cells, whereas, in peptone glucose media a slight increase in cell count was seen. It can be concluded that it …

Role Of Aurora Kinase A, Rab4a, And Endolysosomes In The Development Of Alzheimer’S Disease-Like Pathology, Zahra Afghah

Theses and Dissertations

Endosomes and lysosomes (endolysosomes) are organelles that play key roles in cell survival and cell death. These acidic intracellular organelles are the principal sites for intracellular hydrolytic activity required for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis. Endolysosomes are involved in the degradation of plasma membrane components, extracellular macromolecules, as well as intracellular macromolecules and cellular fragments. Understanding the physiological significance and pathological relevance of endolysosomes is now complicated by relatively recent findings of physical and functional interactions between endolysosomes and other intracellular organelles including endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, plasma membranes, and peroxisomes. Indeed, evidence clearly indicates that endolysosome dysfunction and inter-organellar signaling …

Relationships Between Handgrip Strength Asymmetry And Multimorbidity In Canadian Adults Aged 40 Years And Older: Results From The Canadian Health Measures Survey, Morgan Ann Flann

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Hand-grip strength (HGS) is a convenient, valid, and reliable measure of overall muscle strength that is significantly related to current and future health. HGS asymmetry is an additional aspect of muscle function that can also be measured using handheld dynamometry. The aim of this study was to examine associations between HGS asymmetry and multimorbidity in a nationally representative sample of Canadian adults aged 40 years or older. Methods: A secondary analysis of cross-sectional data was performed on adults aged 40-79 years from six cycles (2007- 2017) of the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS). HGS was assessed using handheld dynamometry, …

Internet Training Modules Targeting Home-Based Parent Involvement With Students In Early Childhood Special Education, Nicole Marie Reybok

Theses and Dissertations

Parental engagement is an essential element in the social-emotional and academic achievement of students. However, barriers to this involvement continue to exist. Barriers may take many forms including time, school and staff perceptions and bias, power dynamic, communication with teachers, curriculum, and differences in language and culture. Barriers to parent engagement are typically increased for parents of children with special education needs. Therefore, it is the responsibility of school staff to identify barriers that may exist for families and help them to develop solutions to overcome those barriers. This quantitative study investigated possible barriers to home-based parent involvement in Early …

West Tennessee River Basin Authority (Wtrba) Annual Report 2021, Tennessee. Department Of Environment & Conservation.

WTRBA Annual Report

No abstract provided.

Nh125 Sensitizes Staphylococcus Aureus To Cell Wall-Targeting Antibiotics Through The Inhibition Of The Vras Sensor Histidine Kinase, Shrijan Bhattarai, Lane Marsh, Kelsey Knight, Liaqat Ali, Antonio Gomez, Allison Sunderhaus, May H. Abdelaziz

Pharmacy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Staphylococcus aureus utilizes the two-component regulatory system VraSR to receive and relay environmental stress signals, and it is implicated in the development of bacterial resistance to several antibiotics through the upregulation of cell wall synthesis. VraS inhibition was shown to extend or restore the efficacy of several clinically used antibiotics. In this work, we study the enzymatic activity of the VraS intracellular domain (GST-VraS) to determine the kinetic parameters of the ATPase reaction and characterize the inhibition of NH125 under in vitro and microbiological settings. The rate of the autophosphorylation reaction was determined at different GST-VraS concentrations (0.95 to 9.49 …

Sex Sounds: Vectors Of Difference In Electronic Music, Daniele Shlomit Sofer

Books and Book Chapters by University of Dayton Faculty

In Sex Sounds, Daniele Shlomit Sofer investigates the repeated focus on sexual themes in electronic music since the 1950s. Debunking electronic music's origin myth—that it emerged in France and Germany, invented by Pierre Schaeffer and Karlheinz Stockhausen, respectively—Sofer defines electronic music more inclusively to mean any music with an electronic component, drawing connections between academic institutions, radio studios, experimental music practice, hip-hop production, and histories of independent and commercial popular music. Through a broad array of detailed case studies—examining music that ranges from Schaeffer's musique concrète to a video workshop by Annie Sprinkle—Sofer offers a groundbreaking look at the …

The Impact Of Injury On Depression In Athletes: A Systematic Review, Nergis Akkaya

Theses and Dissertations

There are nearly 500,00 collegiate and professional athletes in the United States, and studies have shown how physical and mental demands of practice and competition (e.g., overtraining, exhaustion, injury) in addition to other external elements (e.g., trauma, retirement) adversely impact mental health. Injuries create a variety of emotional responses some of which can negatively affect athlete well-being. The focus of this systematic review was to build connections between mental health and sport and address two primary research questions:1. In what ways do injuries impact athlete depression? 2. How is depression experienced among athletes as a result of an injury? A …

Introduction: Amr Belongs In The Pandemic Instrument, Susan Rogers Van Katwyk, Kevin Outterson

Faculty Scholarship

In the wake of COVID-19, the World Health Organization established an Intergovernmental Negotiating Body to negotiate a new instrument for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. This special issue of the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics brings together multidisciplinary scholarship to address the question of whether antimicrobial resistance should be included in this new instrument. Drawing from disciplines including law, anthropology, history, public health, public policy, economics, and veterinary medicine, this special issue explores the inclusion of AMR within the Pandemic Instrument from three perspectives: first, through the lens of global AMR governance, second, from the perspective of technical governance …

Waldenström Macroglobulinemia: Mechanisms Of Disease Progression And Current Therapies, Ava J. Boutilier, Lina Huang, Sherine F. Elsawa

Faculty Publications

Waldenström macroglobulinemia is an indolent, B-cell lymphoma without a known cure. The bone marrow microenvironment and cytokines both play key roles in Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) tumor progression. Only one FDA-approved drug exists for the treatment of WM, Ibrutinib, but treatment plans involve a variety of drugs and inhibitors. This review explores avenues of tumor progression and targeted drug therapy that have been investigated in WM and related B-cell lymphomas.

Pieces Of The Whole: Using The Research Process To Integrate Data Management And Information Literacy Skills, Patricia Condon, Megan Bresnahan, Eugenia Opuda

Faculty Publications

The research process is naturally embraced as part of the academic curriculum in higher education. Graduate students write theses and dissertations based on their original scholarships, undergraduate stu­dents produce papers for courses and work in labs or in the field, and both participate in faculty-led research projects. The research process is tack­led holistically through coursework, yet when library instructors are invited to teach students about information literacy and research data management topics, these may be presented as tangential to or mistimed with other course content and learning activities. In this chapter, the authors present a com­prehensive, student-centered model for teaching …

Meat May Never Die, Carlo Alvaro

Publications and Research

The goal of ethical veganism is a vegan world or, at least, a significantly vegan world. However, despite the hard work done by vegan activists, global meat consumption has been increasing. Vegan advocates have focused on ethics but have ignored the importance of tradition and identity. And the advent of veggie meat alternatives has promoted food that emulates animal products thereby perpetuating the meat paradigm. I suggest that, in order to make significant changes toward ending animal exploitation, ethical vegans give more attention to tradition and identity. Furthermore, I propose that raw veganism is the most ethical diet and can …

Assessment Of The Geographic Distribution And Tools To Assist With Conservation Of Spotted Turtles (Clemmys Guttata) In West Virginia, Joel Leal Mota

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Turtles are one of the most globally threatened vertebrate groups, largely due to habitat loss, commercial exploitation, climate change, disease, and invasive species. In the United States, the spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata) is among over 50 amphibian and reptile species recently petitioned to be listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service subsequently determined the spotted turtle to be a candidate species for listing. Historically, spotted turtles were known to occur at a few locations in the eastern panhandle region of West Virginia. However, previous attempts to determine the distributional extent …

Comparison Of Antimicrobials And Delivery Methods On The Inactivation Of Listeria Monocytogenes On Apples, Rebecca B. Stearns

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Introduction: Due to multi-state outbreaks of listeriosis on apples in 2015, 2017, and 2019, Listeria Monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) has been deemed an emerging, under researched pathogen by the USDA-NIFA. Therefore, this study evaluated the efficacy of SaniDate 5.0®’s (SD) ability to inactivate L. Monocytogenes on apples when delivered through electrostatic sprayer (ES), garden sprayer (GS), and dip methods.

Methods: Organic apples were dip-inoculated with L. monocytogenes for 5 min and then dried for 10 min. Once dried, the inoculated apples were untreated (control), sprayed with water only, or treated with SD, 0.0064, 0.1, 0.25 and 0.50% for 20 …

Assessment Of Quechers Extraction Protocol For The Lc-Ms/Ms Detection Of Emerging Fentanyl Analogs In Biological Specimens For Clinical And Forensic Purposes, Kylea M. Morris

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Drug abuse within the United States is a dynamic and pervasive issue that affects the quality and life expectancy of our society. One of the major drug classes that are constantly utilized is opioids. Opioids are prescribed for pain management in patients suffering from cancer and other medical illnesses. Long-term use of opioids could lead to tolerance in humans, which poses a risk of reaching fatal overdose levels. Unfortunately, opioids are abused recreationally, and in some instances, individuals are unaware of the presence of dangerous synthetic drugs like fentanyl, hidden in materials such as heroin, cocaine, oxycodone, and methamphetamine. Recent …

Psychosocial Influences On And Behavioral Characteristics Of Young Adult Food Addiction, Rachel A. Wattick

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Introduction. Research on food addiction has increased in recent years, but there are few studies focusing on college-attending young adults, who may be at risk of developing food addiction due to the stress of the college environment. Additionally, causes and characteristics of food addiction are under-explored.

Aim. This dissertation aims to 1) determine the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and other early life influences on the development of food addiction in college-attending young adults and 2) determine the psychosocial and behavioral characteristics of young adults with food addiction.

Methods. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was used for aims 1 …

Gan-Based Super-Resolution And Segmentation Of Retinal Layers In Optical Coherence Tomography Scans, Paria Jeihouni

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) has been identified as a noninvasive and cost-effective imaging modality for identifying potential biomarkers for Alzheimer's diagnosis and progress detection. Current hypotheses indicate that retinal layer thickness, which can be assessed via OCT scans, is an efficient biomarker for identifying Alzheimer's disease. Due to factors such as speckle noise, a small target region, and unfavorable imaging conditions manual segmentation of retina layers is a challenging task. Therefore, as a reasonable first step, this study focuses on automatically segmenting retinal layers to separate them for subsequent investigations. Another important challenge commonly faced is the lack of clarity …

Bottom‐Up Versus Top‐Down Strategies For Morphology Control In Polymer‐Based Biomedical Materials, Alexander B. Cook, Tristan D. Clemons

Faculty Publications

The size and shape of polymer materials is becoming an increasingly important property in accessing new functions and applications of nano-/microparticles in many scientific fields. New synthetic methods have allowed unprecedented capability for the facile fabrication of anisotropic and shape-defined nanomaterials. Bottom-up approaches including: emulsion polymerization techniques, amphiphile self-assembly, and polymerization-induced self-assembly, can lead to polymer particles with precise dimensions in the nanoscale. Top-down methods such as lithographic templating, and 3D printing, have increased the access to unique particle shapes. In this review, these recent developments are appraised and contrasted, with future research directions providing that focus on biomedical applications. …

Privacy Vs. Identity Rights: A Call For The United States To Adopt The United Kingdom’S “Open Id” System For Artificial Reproductive Technology, Rachel L. Emerson

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.