Digital Commons Network^™

A Universal Mechanism Of G Protein Inhibition, Tyson Daniel Todd

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

G protein coupled receptors transduce a truly staggering number of diverse extracellular signals including chemical messengers, physical force, and even photons into specific cellular responses through their coupling to heterotrimeric G proteins. G proteins amplify the originating signal through their binding to downstream effectors, activating a complex network of overlapping responses that allow the cell to respond perfectly to that specific stimulus. It is critical to the cell that this process is carried out faithfully in order to respond to the myriad environmental cues and avoid injury, exhaustion, and death for the individual cell or the development of pathology if …

Modernism As Public Art: Reawakening The Social Agency Of Abstract Public Sculpture, 1950–1980, Tola Porter

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a critical reassessment of postwar modern public sculpture and offers a framework for both the reevaluation and reawakening of these significant, inherited public images. Between 1950 and 1980, as a result of new national policies, the United Kingdom and the United States experienced a boom in public sculpture. That phenomenon was augmented by architectural modernism, whose stark buildings called for the addition of sculpture. The growing prestige of abstract art made it a popular choice for architects and commissioners, who sought to leverage the cachet of contemporary artists. For both private sector architects and public sector patrons, …

Genetic And Transcriptomic Aspects Of Major Depressive Disorder: In Vivo Functional Assays Of Risk-Associated Variation, Candidate Disease Cell Types, And Their Pharmacologic And Sex Interactions, Bernard Mulvey

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a debilitating illness that affects hundreds of millions globally, with substantial personal, medical, economic, and societal consequences. While depression occurs more commonly in females, the biology of the brain and sex underlying this skewed prevalence remains unclarified. This body of work explores two aspects of how biological sex may influence the brain at the level of gene expression: through intrinsic sex differences and through sex-mediated effects of depression risk genetics.The monoamine hypothesis of depression suggests that modulatory neurotransmitters including serotonin and norepinephrine constitute a key axis in development of MDD. Large-scale studies of MDD treatment …

Tracking Reducing Equivalents Between Cellular Compartments To Understand The Metabolic Demands Of Proliferation, Yahui Wang

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Proliferating cancer cells compartmentalize metabolic reactions, many of which require reducing equivalents. This compartmentalization is functionally important, but it is challenging to study with current technologies. As a consequence, our understanding of proliferating metabolism has been limited. Here, I developed an approach to track reducing equivalents between cellular compartments. By applying this method to a panel of different cell lines under various conditions, I investigated a dysregulated metabolic phenotype in proliferating cells known as “aerobic glycolysis”. Aerobic glycolysis is characterized by an elevated rate of glucose fermentation to lactate irrespective of oxygen availability. Using the NCI-60 cell lines, I first …

Mechanisms For High Light Tolerance In A Fast-Growing Cyanobacterium, Patricia Walker

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Through oxygenic photosynthesis, cyanobacteria, algae, and plants convert light into chemical energy. However, highly energetic light often damages the photosynthetic apparatus, which can lead to the decline of photosynthetic activity (photoinhibition), and prolonged photoinhibition can lead to cell death. Cyanobacteria enact various protective mechanisms to mitigate photodamage, many of which have been conserved in plants. Repair of PSII reaction centers, decreased light absorption, quenching of excess absorbed energy, and biosynthesis of antioxidants all work to mitigate damage during high light. Due to the adjustments to photosynthesis, acclimation to high light requires remodeling of cellular metabolism and physiology. Therefore, phototrophs have …

Roles Of Behavioral Novelty And Organismal Energetics In The Evolution Of Extreme Encephalization, Erika Laurie Schumacher

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Brains and their component brain regions vary widely in size and structure across vertebrates. However, extreme increases in total brain size relative to body size (extreme encephalization) and increases in specific major brain region sizes independent of other brain regions (mosaic brain evolution) are relatively rare. There are several hypotheses as to why, but the energetic cost of increased brain tissue and the regional interconnectedness in both brain development and function likely constrain how brains are able to change in response to selection. In this dissertation, I sought to address both how behavioral novelty relates to evolutionary changes in brain …

Dysregulation Of Gene Expression In Non-Photosensitive Trichothiodystrophy, Brittany Townley

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The pre-mRNA life cycle requires intron processing; yet, how intron processing defects influence splicing and gene expression is unclear. Here, we find TTDN1, which is frequently mutated in non-photosensitive trichothiodystrophy (NP-TTD), functionally links intron lariat processing to the spliceosome. The conserved TTDN1 C-terminal region directly binds lariat debranching enzyme DBR1, while its N-terminal intrinsically disordered region (IDR) binds the intron binding complex (IBC). The IDR forms condensates in vitro and is needed for IBC interaction. TTDN1 loss causes significant intron lariat accumulation, as well as splicing and gene expression defects, mirroring phenotypes observed in NP-TTD patient cells. Ttdn1∆/∆ mice recapitulate …

Non-Canonical Beta-Lactam Antibiotics, Brett Wesley Virgin-Downey

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

In canonical β-Lactam antibiotics, such as penicillin, the strained nature of the β-Lactam ring leads to acylation of the catalytic serine in the active site of transpeptidases. In 2018, our lab reported a novel mechanism for monocyclic β-lactam antibiotics in the inhibition of glutamine synthetase (GS) by a natural product, tabtoxinine-β-lactam (TβL) using a 3-hydroxy-β-lactam pharmacophore. This work aims to generalize the β-lactam scaffold from TβL to act as a warhead against ATP-dependent carboxylate-amine ligase enzymes, with dihydrofolate synthetase (DHFS) as the test case. A pure 3-hydroxy-β-lactam warhead was synthesized and ligated both chemically and chemoenzymatically to different pteridine mimics. …

An Online Vignette Study To Examine The Outcomes Of A Preclinical Alzheimer Disease Diagnosis, Matthew John Wynn

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

As Alzheimer disease research forges ahead, and new potential treatments are developed, a conceptualization is emerging of a presymptomatic disease stage. This stage, known as preclinical Alzheimer disease, is characterized by the buildup of amyloid beta and tau proteins in the brain to abnormal levels in a cognitively normal person. There are unknown potential risks and benefits of communicating biological marker risk information for Alzheimer disease using the preclinical Alzheimer disease diagnostic label. The current study uses a vignette methodology to measure older adults’ understanding of risk information when presented with information regarding their risk for developing Alzheimer dementia. Participants …

Mechanisms Regulating Photoreceptor Subtype Specification And Chromophore Utilization In Zebrafish, Leo Volkov

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The first step in vision is the detection of light by a photoreceptor cell. The spectral sensitivity of a photoreceptor, in turn, is determined by the composition of its visual pigment, which consists of an opsin protein and a covalently bound chromophore derived from either vitamin A1 or vitamin A2. In the course of evolution, opsin gene duplication and functional divergence led to the emergence of four distinctive cone opsins, maximally sensitive to ultraviolet (UV), blue, green, or red light, as well as the rod opsin. Subsequently, the expression of these functionally distinct opsins was segregated into distinct cell types …

Understanding Gene Regulation With High-Throughput Genome-Integrated Reporter Assays, Clarice Hong

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Proper spatiotemporal gene expression depends on specific interactions between cis-regulatory sequences (CRSs) and chromatin modifications at a genomic location. However, we do not yet understand the rules that determine how CRSs work together to influence gene expression. The goal of this thesis is to systematically assay and quantify how different genomic environments interact with CRSs to control gene expression output using a variety of genome-integrated massively parallel reporter assays (MPRAs). First, we tested the hypothesis that core promoters confer specificity by only responding to compatible enhancers and chromatin in specific genomic environments. We measured the activities of hundreds of core …

Secure Authentication Scheme Based On Numerical Series Cryptography For Internet Of Things, Dr Khaled Nagaty, Maha Aladin, Abeer Hamdy Dr.

Computer Science

The rapid advancement of cellular networks and wireless networks has laid a solid basis for the Internet of Things. IoT has evolved into a unique standard that allows diverse physical devices to collaborate with one another. A service provider gives a variety of services that may be accessed via smart apps anywhere, at any time, and from any location over the Internet. Because of the public environment of mobile communication and the Internet, these services are highly vulnerable to a several malicious attacks, such as unauthorized disclosure by hostile attackers. As a result, the best option for overcoming these vulnerabilities …

Wmu Board Of Trustees Formal Session December15, 2022, Wmu Board Of Trustees

WMU Board of Trustees Meetings

Acceptance of the Agenda

Approval of the Minutes (November 3, 2022 Meeting)

Remarks by the Chair

Remarks by the President

Updates by the Faculty Senate President

Updates by the Western Student Association President

Updates by the Graduate Student Association President

Solving the Unsolvable

Public Comments Regarding Action Items

Action Items

• Building Name Adjustment – Stadium Club
• Honorary Degree Recommendation for Frederick S. Upton

Consent Items

• Personnel Report
• Flexibility on Use of Funds – Beauregard Endowment

General Public Comments

Nanoparticle Conjugated Photosensitizer For Targeted Photodynamic Inactivation Of Cancer Cells, Symone D. Crowder

Honors College Theses

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is considered to be a potential replacement for traditional methods of chemotherapy. It includes the administration of photosensitizing agents (PS), which generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon excitation at a specific wavelength. With new outlooks and techniques, cancer research is advancing each day. It has allowed the progress of several theranostic drug delivery systems (DDS) exploring the area of nanomedicine.2 In the present work, a Rhodamine derivative, Rhodamine 6G (R6G) was used as the PS. In general, rhodamine compounds undergo cytotoxic reactions on photoexcitation by electron transfer reactions with folic acid within cells, making them a favorable …

Research Progress On Properties, Industrial Production Of Reduced Glutathione And Its Application In Big Health Industry, Cai You-Hua, Wu Zi-Hao, Huang Xiao-Chen, Lin Yu-Kuan, Zheng Ming-Ying

Food and Machinery

The structural characteristics and physiological activities of reduced glutathione (GSH), as well as its metabolic pathways in vivo were reviewed, and the research progress in preparation, extraction, purification, application and industrial production of GSH were summarized. Moreover, the future research directions in functional activity, industrial production and product application of GSH were prospected.

Study On Nutrition Labeling Optimization Based On Augmented Reality, Huang Ze-Ying, Li Hai-Jun

Food and Machinery

To optimize nutrition labeling in China, this paper tried to overlay virtual information on original information from the nutrition information table by using augmented reality (AR), and then added three new guidance functions of nutrition labeling knowledge popularization, nutritional content auxiliary calculation and precise nutrition guidance through database construction, 3D modeling building and mobile phone application making. For the implementation of AR nutrition labeling, some suggestions were put forward, such as the establishment of national nutrition health database, the forecast of the implementation effect of the labeling and the operation mechanism design.

Correlation Analysis Of Taste Intensity Of Tea Flavor Attribute Reference Based On Electronic Tongue And Artificial Senses, Liu Zhong-Ying, Ran Qian-Song, Zhang Tuo, Zheng Wen-Jia, Pan Ke

Food and Machinery

Objective: This study aimed to explore the correlation between electronic tongue and artificial senses on the taste intensity of tea taste attribute reference. Methods: Quinine, alum, sodium glutamate, sucrose and citric acid were used as the reference materials for bitter, astringent, fresh, sweet and sour taste attributes in turn. Based on the perception threshold, the relationship between concentration and taste intensity of each reference material for electronic tongue and artificial senses and its correlation were analyzed. Results: The bitterness perception threshold of quinine was 0.015 mg/mL, and the corresponding electronic tongue response value was 4.91. The detection …

Flavor Analysis Of Passion Beer Based On Gc-Ims Technology, Gong Xiao, Chen Ting-Hui, Hu Xiao-Jun, Fan Wei-Wei, Li Ya-Jun, Zhao Xin-Qiang

Food and Machinery

Objective: This study aimed to fully develop and utilize the resources of passion fruits. Methods: The volatile flavor compounds at different brewing stages were analyzed by GC-IMS technology. Results: A total of 63 kinds of flavor compounds were identified, including 26 kinds of esters, 10 kinds of alcohols, 9 kinds of aldehydes, 7 kinds of ketones, 6 kinds of alkanes, 2 kinds of acids, 2 kinds of furans and 1 kinds of ether. Principal components analysis (PCA) showed that the cumulative difference contribution rate of the first two principal components (PC1 and PC2) was 81.2%, indicating that …

Simultaneous Determination Of 45 Kinds Of Antibiotics In Aquatic Vegetables By High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Triple Quadrupole Linear Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry, Zhang Jin-Jun, Xia Hui-Li, Gao Hai-Bo, Zhang Fang-Fang

Food and Machinery

Objective: This study aimed to establish a rapid screening and confirmation method for the 45 kinds of antibiotics, including quinolones, sulfonamides, nitroimidazoles and macrolides in aquatic vegetable, by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole-linear ion trap mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-Trap-MS). Methods: The sample was extracted with acetonitrile containing 0.1% formic acid, then cleaned up with primary secondary amine (PSA), anhydrous magnesium sulfate (Na₂SO₄) and C₁₈. The analytes were detected by UPLC-Q-Trap-MS in the multiple-reaction monitoring with information-dependent acquisition of enhanced product ion (SMRM-IDA-EPI) mode, followed by matching retrieval of a multiple antibiotic database. The …

Construction Of Embedded Governance Model Of Food Safety Risk In China, Cai Shi-Qin

Food and Machinery

As an innovative research method, embedded governance not only pays attention to the impact of institutional factors on organizational change, but also pays more attention to the importance of economic, political, social and other factors in organizational development. The review summarized the practical problems of "decoupling" between the governance subject, governance mechanism, governance means and governance objectives in Chinese food safety risk, such as the unidirectional governance subject, the decoupling of governance means, and the hysteresis of governance mechanism. It is pointed out that the embedded management of food safety risks in China can be realized and the new model …

Study On Optimization Of Motion Parameters Of Catfish Headless Processing Device Based On Fem, Li Chen-Yang, Shan Hui-Yong, Zhang Cheng-Hao, Tian Yun-Chen, Wei Yong

Food and Machinery

Objective: Improve the mechanization and automation of the pretreatment process of China’s freshwater fish processing industry. Methods: The catfish head cutting simulation model is constructed by the numerical analysis software ANSYS/LS-DYNA, and the catfish head removal process is simulated and analyzed and the motion parameters are optimized by FEM. The blade speed and transportation speed are adjusted with the minimum cutting power consumption as the optimization goal, and the accuracy of the simulation results is verified by the prototype test. Results: When the speed of the blade is 850 r/min and the conveying speed is 14 cm/s, …

Online Visual Detection Method Of Defective Baoyu-Flavor-Slices Based On Mechanical Vision, Xiang Yu-Hang, Zhou Cong-Ling, Wang Yong-Qiang

Food and Machinery

Objective: To solve the problem of appearance defects of Baoyu-flavor-slices, such as edge damage, internal porosity and uneven wrapper thickness in the production process. Methods: An on-line detection method based on machine vision was proposed. The Baoyu-Flavor-Slices were arranged into a single layer array by mechanical carding device. After image acquisition, image segmentation, gray value stretching and contour edge extraction were selected for image processing. Edge damage detection was completed by using the feature of outer contour roundness, abnormal wrapper thickness detection was accomplished by measuring wrapper thickness, by calculating the porosity area, the porosity detection was completed. …

Research On Mill Distance Monitoring System Based On Machine Vision, Lu Shao-Jie, Wu Wen-Bin, Zhang Wen-Long, Hou Ning-Pei, Liu Pei-Kang, Zhao Qi-Feng

Food and Machinery

Objective: Real-time monitoring of the grinding roller distance of the pulverizer. Methods: CCD industrial camera was used to collect the rolling distance image, threshold segmentation and morphology were used to preprocess the gray image, and then the edge detection algorithm combined with MATLAB software and mathematical operation were used to eliminate the irrelevant edge points, and finally the rolling distance of the mill was calculated. The feasibility and veracity of the system were verified by comparing the value of gauge and the value of system monitoring. Results: The data fluctuation range of the online monitoring system was …

Efficientnet Edible Fungus Image Recognition Based On Improved Weight Decay, Yao Zhi-Xin, Zhang Tai-Hong, Zhao Yun-Jie

Food and Machinery

Objective: In order to solve the problem of edible fungus species identification, an EfficientNet edible fungus image classification model based on convolution neural network is proposed. Methods: Firstly, the edible fungus images were collected and the datasets were made according to different equipment and shooting environment, and then the model performance was improved through model training skills and network skills. A YWeight weight attenuation method was proposed to control the effective learning rate, and the generalization performance of the model was affected by controlling the cross-boundary. Results: This method makes EfficientNet-B0 obtain 79.82% (+0.85%) top-1 accuracy on …

Storage Stability Of Bilayer Indicator Films Containing Anthocyanin, Wang Wen-Yan, Zhou Xi, Wei Zhen, Yu Xi-Zheng, Xiong Guo-Yuan

Food and Machinery

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the best storage conditions for anthocyanin indicator films. Methods: The double-layer indicator films containing anthocyanins were investigated. The mechanical properties (tensile strength and elongation at break), thickness, color and antioxidant properties (DPPH free radical scavenging ability, total phenol content and ABTS free radical scavenging ability) of double-layer indicator films containing anthocyanins were determined at different storage time (0, 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35 d) and temperature (25, 4 and 18 ℃). Results: The results showed that the thickness of the indicator films was generally maintained at about 0.15 mm, and …

Application Of Information Visualization Technology In Tea Packaging Design, Xie Qi, Qin Yu-Yang

Food and Machinery

With functional information of tea as the starting point, information visualization as the means and tea packaging as the medium, benefiting from the visual communication between tea and consumers realized by the joint forces of the three, this paper discusses the principles and methods of information visualization in tea packaging design, and transmits the relevant information of tea to consumers easily, quickly and effectively to achieve the purpose of promotion.

Storage Endurance Evaluation Of 'Jinxiu' Yellow Peach With Different Sugar Content Based On Nmr And 1h-Mri Techniques, Zhou Hui-Juan, Ye Zheng-Wen, Zhang Zhi-Qiang, Du Ji-Hong, Zeng Si-Yi

Food and Machinery

Objective: To evaluate the storability of yellow peach with different sugar content. Methods: The respiration intensity, ethylene release rate, soluble solid content and texture of the fruit stored at 0, 14, 21, 28, 35, (35+3) d were measured. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) technique and proton magnetic resonance imaging (1H-MRI) were used to determine the content of free water (A2) and relaxation time (T2) to observe the changes of fruit stored at (2±0.5) ℃. Results: During storage and shelf, the decrease rate of firmness of pulp, flesh compactedness and chewiness was faster in low-sugar group, especially at the …

Numerical Simulation Of Pitaya Freeze-Drying Process Based On Fractal Theory, Zhang De-Zheng, Yu Ke-Zhi, Zhang Tong

Food and Machinery

Objective: To optimize the drying characteristics of dragon fruit freeze-drying process. Methods: Based on the fractal theory and the theory of heat and mass transfer in porous media, the COMSOL software was used to numerically simulate red pitaya slices with a thickness of 8, 10, 12, 14 mm and a radius of 40 mm to simulate the sublimation and drying stage of pitaya. The heat and mass transfer process in the internal porous medium, the real-time displacement of the ice interface during the ice sublimation process is obtained, the sublimation period is predicted, and the experimental verification is …

An Improved Automatic Detection Model For Egg Defection Based On Yolov5, Yao Xue-Feng, Li Chao

Food and Machinery

Objective: To solve the problems of low detection efficiency and poor accuracy of existing automatic detection methods for egg defect images. Methods: Based on the egg detection system, an improved YOLOv5 automatic detection model was proposed. Added the lightweight network MobileNetv3 to YOLOv5 model to reduce the complexity of the model, and deleted the neck network and small target detection at the output end. Results: Compared with the traditional control method, this method can detect the surface defects of egg targets more accurately and efficiently, with the complexity of more than 35% reducing, the detection time of …

Extraction Process, Structural Characteristics And Biological Activity Of Mesona Chinensis Polysaccharide, Dong Wei, Ma Sheng-Jian, Guo Jun-Xian, Luo Hao, Tao Mei-Hua

Food and Machinery

Objective: This study focused on improving the extraction rate and application of Mesona chinensis polysaccharide (MCP). Methods: MCP was obtained from fresh M. chinensis by thermally alkaline extraction, protein removal by trichloroacetic acid and purification by dialysis bag. The chemical structure was analyzed by ultraviolet and infrared spectrum scanning, X-ray diffraction and SEM scanning. The antioxidant activity was determined by in vitro antioxidant capacity, and the antibacterial activity was determined by antibacterial experiment. Results: The optimal extraction conditions of MCP were solid-liquid ratio of 1∶5.47 (g/mL), soaking time of 10.71 min, sodium bicarbonate concentration of 1.64%. Under …