Digital Commons Network^™

Occlusionchip: A Functional Microcapillary Occlusion Assay Complementary To Ektacytometry For Detection Of Small-Fraction Red Blood Cells With Abnormal Deformability, Yuncheng Man, Ran An, Karamoja Monchamp, Zoe Sekyonda, Erdem Kucukal, Chiara Federici, William J. Wulftange, Utku Goreke, Allison Bode, Umut A. Gurkan

Faculty Scholarship

Red blood cell (RBC) deformability is a valuable hemorheological biomarker that can be used to assess the clinical status and response to therapy of individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD). RBC deformability has been measured by ektacytometry for decades, which uses shear or osmolar stress. However, ektacytometry is a population based measurement that does not detect small-fractions of abnormal RBCs. A single cell-based, functional RBC deformability assay would complement ektacytometry and provide additional information. Here, we tested the relative merits of the OcclusionChip, which measures RBC deformability by microcapillary occlusion, and ektacytometry. We tested samples containing glutaraldehyde-stiffened RBCs for up …

Modelling Neurological Diseases In Large Animals: Criteria For Model Selection And Clinical Assessment, Samantha L Eaton, Jonathan D Cooper, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

No abstract provided.

Performance Of Deep-Sea Habitat Suitability Models Assessed Using Independent Data, And Implications For Use In Area-Based Management, Kerry L. Howell, Kyran Graves, Giulia La Bianca

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Marine spatial management requires accurate data on species and habitat distributions. For the deep sea, these data are lacking. Habitat suitability modelling offers a robust defensible means to fill data gaps, provided models are sufficiently reliable. We tested the performance of published models of 2 deep-sea habitat-forming taxa at low and high resolutions (~1 km and 200 m grid-cell size), across the extended exclusive economic zones of the UK and Ireland. We constructed new data-rich models and compared new and old estimates of the area of habitat protected, noting changes in the protected area network since 2015. Results of independent …

Optical Redox Imaging Of Ex Vivo Hippocampal Tissue Reveals Age-Dependent Alterations In The 5xfad Mouse Model Of Alzheimer's Disease, He N. Xu, Sarah Gourmaud, Allison Podsednik, Xiaofan Li, Huaqing Zhao, Frances E. Jensen, Delia M. Talos, Lin Z. Li

School of Medicine Publications

A substantial decline in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) has been reported in brain tissue homogenates or neurons isolated from Alzheimer's disease (AD) models. NAD, together with flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), critically supports energy metabolism and maintains mitochondrial redox homeostasis. Optical redox imaging (ORI) of the intrinsic fluorescence of reduced NAD (NADH) and oxidized FAD yields cellular redox and metabolic information and provides biomarkers for a variety of pathological conditions. However, its utility in AD has not been characterized at the tissue level. We performed ex vivo ORI of freshly dissected hippocampi from a well-characterized AD mouse model with five familial …

Remnants Of Educational Leadership And Desegregation Etched In The Memories Of Black Educational Leaders: An Oral History, Janice Barge Clarke

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this study the experiences of Black (a.k.a. African Americans/ Negroes) educationalleaders were explored focusing on the period during the transition to a more desegregated public- school setting in the state of Florida. Using retrospective storytelling and reflections of ‘leading’ during desegregation, the lived experiences of those in educational leadership roles were captured in the form of oral histories and analyzed using critical race theory. The effects of desegregation is recounted from their vantage point, from the dissolution of the ‘all Black’ schools to the impact it had on the communities. The research question was: What are the stories told …

The Microrna Processor Drosha Is A Candidate Gene For A Severe Progressive Neurological Disorder, Scott Barish, Mumine Senturk, Kelly Schoch, Amanda L Minogue, Diego Lopergolo, Chiara Fallerini, Jake Harland, Jacob H Seemann, Nicholas Stong, Peter G Kranz, Sujay Kansagra, Mohamad A Mikati, Joan Jasien, Mays El-Dairi, Paolo Galluzzi, Francesca Ariani, Alessandra Renieri, Francesca Mari, Michael F Wangler, Swathi Arur, Yong-Hui Jiang, Shinya Yamamoto, Vandana Shashi, Hugo J Bellen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

DROSHA encodes a ribonuclease that is a subunit of the Microprocessor complex and is involved in the first step of microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis. To date, DROSHA has not yet been associated with a Mendelian disease. Here, we describe two individuals with profound intellectual disability, epilepsy, white matter atrophy, microcephaly and dysmorphic features, who carry damaging de novo heterozygous variants in DROSHA. DROSHA is constrained for missense variants and moderately intolerant to loss-of-function (o/e = 0.24). The loss of the fruit fly ortholog drosha causes developmental arrest and death in third instar larvae, a severe reduction in brain size and loss …

The Roles Of Gut Microbiome And Plasma Metabolites In The Associations Between Abo Blood Groups And Insulin Homeostasis: The Microbiome And Insulin Longitudinal Evaluation Study (Miles), Ruifang Li-Gao, Kirk Grubbs, Alain G Bertoni, Kristi L Hoffman, Joseph F Petrosino, Gautam Ramesh, Martin Wu, Jerome I Rotter, Yii-Der Ida Chen, Anne M Evans, Richard J Robinson, Laura Sommerville, Dennis Mook-Kanamori, Mark O Goodarzi, Gregory A Michelotti, Patricia A Sheridan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Non-O blood groups are associated with decreased insulin sensitivity and risk of type 2 diabetes. A recent study pinpointed the associations between ABO blood groups and gut microbiome, which may serve as potential mediators for the observed increased disease risks. We aimed to characterize associations between ABO haplotypes and insulin-related traits as well as potential mediating pathways. We assessed insulin homeostasis in African Americans (AAs; n = 109) and non-Hispanic whites (n = 210) from the Microbiome and Insulin Longitudinal Evaluation Study. The ABO haplotype was determined by six SNPs located in the ABO gene. Based on prior knowledge, …

Gender Mainstreaming Challenges And Opportunities In Government Agencies In Selected Government Offices In Fogera District, Ethiopia, Asrat Dagnew Kelkay

Journal of International Women's Studies

The main objectives of this study were to assess current gender mainstreaming practices and to identify opportunities and challenges in mainstreaming of gender issues in selected government offices in Fogera district, Ethiopia. The specific objectives of the study were to assess and analyze the practice of gender mainstreaming, to identify the existing opportunities for gender mainstreaming and to examine the major practical problems that inhibit gender mainstreaming. The study used qualitative research methods and case study research design. Consequently, purposive sampling was used to select the informants and discussants of the study. The findings showed that most participants of the …

Snowflakebxtch: A Case Study Of Women’S Raptivism In Morocco: Rapping Against Social Injustice And Traditional Gender Roles, Maha Tazi

Journal of International Women's Studies

In this study, I am interested in investigating the concept of RAPtivism in Morocco from a feminist perspective by examining the potential of women’s rap in constituting a countercultural sphere that is capable of creating wider social and political awareness. To do so, I focus on the case study of Snowflakebxtch, a twenty-four years old Moroccan woman rapper who is known for her outspoken and transgressive freestyles. I draw on a mix research methodology where I combine a content analysis of two interviews conducted with Aisha Fukushima, the founder of RAPtivism, and the selected Moroccan rapper along with a textual …

The Turkish Angel In The House: A Travelling Concept In The Housewife Poems Of Ziya Gökalp And Halide Nusret Zorlutuna, Fatma Fulya Tepe, Per Bauhn

Journal of International Women's Studies

In the present study, a close reading of the “Housewife” poems of Ziya Gökalp and Halide Nusret Zorlutuna reveals not only a travelling concept – that of the angel in the house, originally introduced by the British Victorian poet Coventry Patmore – but also illustrates how this concept mirrors the contradictions inherent in the early republican conception of Turkish women. On the one hand, women were recognized as holders of rights; on the other hand, they were idealised as submissive domestic helpers of their husbands. The concept of the angel in the house, as employed by Gökalp and Zorlutuna, …

Collateral Damage From Agricultural Netting To Open-Country Bird Populations In Thailand, Rongrong Angkaew, Philip D. Round, Dusit Ngoprasert, Larkin A. Powell

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Nets are used across a wide variety of food production landscapes to control avian pests typically resulting in deaths of entangled birds. However, the impact of nets on bird populations is a human–wildlife conflict that remains mostly unquantified. Here, we examined the scale of netting in the central plains of Thailand, a region dominated by ricefields, among which aquaculture ponds are increasingly interspersed. Nets/exclusion types, number of individual birds and species caught were recorded on 1312 road-survey transects (2-km length × 0.4-km width). We also interviewed 104 local farmers. The transect sampling took place in late- September 2020, and from …

Educational Policies Committee, Agenda, September 1, 2022, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Agenda

1. Approval of Minutes - April 7, 2022
2. Subcommittee Reports

   a. Curriculum Subcommittee(Chad Simon) Course Approvals – 83

   b. Academic Standards Subcommittee (Renee Galliher) No Meeting | Report

   c. General Education Subcommittee (Matt Sanders) Minutes – April 19, 2022

3. Other Business
4. Adjourn: 4:00pm

Program Proposals

• Request from the Departments of Applied Sciences, Technology and Education and Aviation and Technical Education in College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences to create a new Department of Technology, Design and Technical Education.
• Request from the Department of Plants, Soils and Climate in the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences to discontinue the Horticulture: …

R-Loop Formation In Meiosis: Roles In Meiotic Transcription-Associated Dna Damage., Yasuhiro Fujiwara, Mary Ann Handel, Yuki Okada

Faculty Research 2022

Meiosis is specialized cell division during gametogenesis that produces genetically unique gametes via homologous recombination. Meiotic homologous recombination entails repairing programmed 200-300 DNA double-strand breaks generated during the early prophase. To avoid interference between meiotic gene transcription and homologous recombination, mammalian meiosis is thought to employ a strategy of exclusively transcribing meiotic or post-meiotic genes before their use. Recent studies have shown that R-loops, three-stranded DNA/RNA hybrid nucleotide structures formed during transcription, play a crucial role in transcription and genome integrity. Although our knowledge about the function of R-loops during meiosis is limited, recent findings in mouse models have suggested …

Mercury Biomagnification In A Coastal Louisiana Food Web Following The 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Katelyn J. Lamb, Stephen R. Midway, Rebecka L. Brasso, Paola C. López-Duarte, Matthew E. Kimball, Michael J. Polito

Faculty Publications

The estuarine environments surrounding coastal Louisiana create favorable conditions for microbially mediated mercury (Hg) methylation and subsequent bioaccumulation by biota. In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill released large amounts of oil which, despite having low Hg concentrations, had the potential to influence methylmercury (MeHg) bioavailability in the coastal zone. To explore this possibility, we assessed Hg concentrations and trophodynamics in the coastal Louisiana food web prior to and immediately following the DWH oil spill and compared these metrics with an adjacent coastal ecosystem in the northern Gulf of Mexico. We found no differences in MeHg concentrations between oysters …

Gardner-Webb Celebrates Academic Achievements Of Students At Fall Opening Convocation, Office Of University Communications

Gardner-Webb NewsCenter Archive

Each year at the Fall Opening Convocation, Gardner-Webb University recognizes the outstanding academic achievements of its students. Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Karen Aubrey presented the 2021-22 Scholastic Awards to 30 students with the highest GPA at the conclusion of one, two and three years of study at the University.

Improving Australia’S Containerised Grain Exports, Ross Kingwell, Scott Mckay, Peter White Dr

Research Reports

This report provides an overview of Australia’s containerised grain export supply chains and compares them to Australia’s bulk grain supply chains. The report outlines the main broad ways in which Australia’s containerised grain supply chains can be improved by investment, policy or regulatory change and education.

Socioeconomic Status And Physical Attractiveness In Partner Selection 32 Years Later: An Empirical Replication And Extension Of Townsend And Levy (1990), Elena Kelsey Henderson

Theses and Dissertations

Partnership is a universal part of human existence. Human partner selection has been long studied within evolutionary and sociocultural frameworks. One study by Townsend and Levy (1990) found that physical attractiveness and socioeconomic status influence male and female partner selection in distinct ways. The present study replicated and extended the work of Townsend and Levy, investigating how physical attractiveness, socioeconomic status, and race and ethnicity influence relationship willingness at various levels of involvement. A repeated measures ANOVA was conducted, and planned post hoc pairwise comparisons and parameter estimates were analyzed. We analyzed responses from 503 single American adults of four …

Parent And Child Acculturation Differences: Sleep And Weight Outcomes In Latinx Pre-Adolescents, Kelsey K. Zaugg

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: The present study aimed to evaluate associations between parent-child acculturation differences and sleep and weight outcomes in Latinx pre-adolescents aged 10-12 years. Parent and child stress were considered as possible mediators through which parent-child discordance in acculturation may negatively impact sleep quality and body fatness. Pre-adolescent resilience and ethnic pride were explored as possible personal strengths that may ameliorate the impact of this association. Method: Data from mothers, fathers, and pre-adolescents were collected on two occasions separated by one year. In our sample, only language-specific acculturation was significantly different between parents and children. Thus, parent-child language difference was a …

Drone-Based Water Sampling And Characterization Of Three Freshwater Harmful Algal Blooms In The United States, Regina Hanlon, Stephen J. Jacquemin, Johnna A. Birbeck, Judy A. Westrick, Charbel Harb, Hope Gruszewski, Andrew P. Ault, Durelle Scott, Hosein Foroutan, Shane D. Ross, Javier González-Rocha, Craig Powers, Lowell Pratt, Harry Looney, Greg Baker, David G. Schmale

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Freshwater harmful algal blooms (HABs), caused mostly by toxic cyanobacteria, produce a range of cyanotoxins that threaten the health of humans and domestic animals. Climate conditions and anthropogenic influences such as agricultural run-off can alter the onset and intensity of HABs. Little is known about the distribution and spread of freshwater HABs. Current sampling protocols in some lakes involve teams of researchers that collect samples by hand from a boat and/or from the shoreline. Water samples can be collected from the surface, from discrete-depth collections, and/or from depth-integrated intervals. These collections are often restricted to certain months of the year, …

Office Of Research, Economic Engagement And Outreach Update, August 24, 2022, Office Of Research, Economic Engagement And Outreach

Office of Research, Economic Engagement and Outreach

No abstract provided.

Economically Optimizing Elevation Of New, Single-Family Residences For Flood Mitigation Via Life-Cycle Benefit-Cost Analysis, Ehab Gnan, Carol J. Friedland, Rubayet Bin Mostafiz, Md Adilur Rahim, Thanos Gentimis, Arash Taghinezhad, Robert V. Rohli

Faculty Publications

Construction with freeboard—vertical height of a structure above the minimum required—is commonly accepted as a sound investment for flood hazard mitigation. However, determining the optimal height of freeboard poses a major decision problem. This research introduces a life-cycle benefit-cost analysis (LCBCA) approach for optimizing freeboard height for a new, single-family residence, while incorporating uncertainty, and, in the case of insured homes, considering the costs from losses, insurance, and freeboard (if any) to the homeowner and National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) separately. Using a hypothetical, case study home in Metairie, Louisiana and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers design depth-damage functions for …

Mechanisms And Roles Of Dynamic Actin Assembly Around Dysfunctional Mitochondria, Tak Shun Fung

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Possessing the ability to efficiently generate ATP required to sustain cellular functions, mitochondria are often considered the ‘powerhouses of the cell’. However, our understanding of mitochondria in cell biology was further expanded when we recognized that communication between this unique organelle and the rest of the cell regulates cellular bioenergetics, metabolism and signaling processes such as mitophagy and apoptosis. Here, I investigate signaling between mitochondria and the actin cytoskeleton, and how this signaling regulates mitochondrial dynamics and cellular function. Specifically, I find that, upon mitochondrial dysfunction, actin polymerizes rapidly around the dysfunctional organelle, which we term ‘acute damage-induced actin’ (ADA). …

Understanding The Effects Of Phthalate Exposure, Karen Orenshteyn

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Phthalates are found in nearly all everyday products; therefore, human exposure is inevitable. Phthalates are groups of chemicals classified as plasticizers that help increase the durability and shelf life of whatever product they are put into. The effects of phthalates can occur prenatally and throughout adulthood. Despite phthalates being understood to be endocrine disruptors, chemicals that block hormones and certain receptors, phthalate use within plastics is increasing every year- raising concern to find different alternatives. This research analysis will aim to define and explain what phthalates are and where they are found along with the harmful effects that occur due …

Characterizing A Muc4-Based Nanovaccine And Enhancing Its Efficacy By Targeting The Endothelin Axis, Mansi Gulati

Theses & Dissertations

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a lethal malignancy claiming over 49000 lives in the US in 2022. It is established as an immunosuppressive tumor that assists tumor pathogenesis and is associated with poor response to chemotherapy, radiation and immunotherapy. Immunotherapy is hampered by lack of neoantigens, upregulation of checkpoint molecules and obstructive stroma. PC is characterized by aberrant upregulation of mucins, and MUC4 is one of the differentially overexpressed mucins. Due to its overexpression and functional involvement in pathobiology, MUC4 has emerged as a promising therapeutic target. However, the excessive fibrosis and immunosuppression in the pancreatic tumor microenvironment (TME) are challenges …

From Free-Energy Profiles To Activation Free Energies, Johannes C. Dietschreit, Dennis J. Diestler, Andreas Hulm, Christian Ochsenfeld, Rafael Gómez-Bombarelli

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Given a chemical reaction going from reactant (R) to the product (P) on a potential energy surface (PES) and a collective variable (CV) discriminating between R and P, we define the free-energy profile (FEP) as the logarithm of the marginal Boltzmann distribution of the CV. This FEP is not a true free energy. Nevertheless, it is common to treat the FEP as the “free-energy” analog of the minimum potential energy path and to take the activation free energy, ΔF‡ _RP, as the difference between the maximum at the transition state and the minimum at R. We show that this …

2022 August 24 - From My Notepads Newsletter, Office Of The President, East Tennessee State University, Brian Noland

From My Notepads: A Newsletter from President Brian Noland

No abstract provided.

2021 2q Btl Chem Dump, Environmental Protection Agency, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Sanitizer Rotation On The Susceptibility, Biofilm Forming Ability And Caco-2 Cell Adhesion And Invasion Of Listeria, Md Asfakur Rahman, Nirakar Sahoo, Veerachandra K. Yemmireddy

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of sanitizer use conditions on the susceptibility, biofilm forming ability and pathogenicity of Listeria monocytogenes. Two different strains of L. monocytogenes and a non-pathogenic L. innocua were exposed to sodium hypochlorite, benzalkonium chloride and peroxyacetic acid at different concentrations (4 to 512 ppm) and treatment times (30 s to 5 min), respectively. Under the tested conditions, no significant difference (p > 0.05) in reduction was observed among the three tested sanitizers. A reduction of 1 to 8 log CFU/mL was observed depending upon the sanitizer concentration and treatment times. The survived …

Speeding Up The Quantification Of Contrast Sensitivity Functions Using Multidimensional Bayesian Active Learning, Shohaib Shaffiey

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Metabolomics Reveals Mouse Plasma Metabolite Responses To Acute Exercise And Effects Of Disrupting Ampk-Glycogen Interactions, Mehdi R. Belhaj, Nathan G. Lawler, John A. Hawley, David I. Broadhurst, Nolan J. Hoffman, Stacey N. Reinke

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Introduction: The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a master regulator of energy homeostasis that becomes activated by exercise and binds glycogen, an important energy store required to meet exercise-induced energy demands. Disruption of AMPK-glycogen interactions in mice reduces exercise capacity and impairs whole-body metabolism. However, the mechanisms underlying these phenotypic effects at rest and following exercise are unknown. Furthermore, the plasma metabolite responses to an acute exercise challenge in mice remain largely uncharacterized. Methods : Plasma samples were collected from wild type (WT) and AMPK double knock-in (DKI) mice with disrupted AMPK-glycogen binding at rest and following 30-min submaximal treadmill …