Digital Commons Network^™

Alphaviruses Detected In Mosquitoes In The North-Eastern Regions Of South Africa, 2014 To 2018, Megan A Riddin, Caitlin Macintyre, Sontaga Manyana, Todd Johnson, Maarten Schrama, Erin E Gorsich, Basil D Brooke, Antonio Paulo G Almeida, Marietjie Venter

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The prevalence and distribution of African alphaviruses such as chikungunya have increased in recent years. Therefore, a better understanding of the local distribution of alphaviruses in vectors across the African continent is important. Here, entomological surveillance was performed from 2014 to 2018 at selected sites in north-eastern parts of South Africa where alphaviruses have been identified during outbreaks in humans and animals in the past. Mosquitoes were collected using a net, CDC-light, and BG-traps. An alphavirus genus-specific nested RT-PCR was used for screening, and positive pools were confirmed by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. We collected 64,603 mosquitoes from 11 genera, …

Base Editing Correction Of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy In Human Cardiomyocytes And Humanized Mice, Kenian Chen, Wei Tan, Ayhan Atmanli, John R Mcanally, Yu Zhang, Lin Xu, Ning Liu, Rhonda Bassel-Duby, Eric N Olson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The most common form of genetic heart disease is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), which is caused by variants in cardiac sarcomeric genes and leads to abnormal heart muscle thickening. Complications of HCM include heart failure, arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death. The dominant-negative c.1208G>A (p.R403Q) pathogenic variant (PV) in β-myosin (MYH7) is a common and well-studied PV that leads to increased cardiac contractility and HCM onset. In this study we identify an adenine base editor and single-guide RNA system that can efficiently correct this human PV with minimal bystander editing and off-target editing at selected sites. We show that delivery of …

Post-Irradiation Intratumoral Heterogeneity Modulates Response To Immune Checkpoint Inhibition Therapy In A Murine Melanoma Model, Jiajie Zhang, David Marron, Nicole Michelle Knape, Isaiah James Kim, Kyle Thomas Wagner, Tian Zhang, Yuxia Zhao, Genyan Guo, Andrew Z Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: The underlying mechanism for radiation as a potentiator of immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) is unclear. We developed a novel murine model to investigate the effects of post-irradiation intratumoral heterogeneity (ITH) on response to ICI.

Experimental design: Parental mouse melanoma B16F10 cells were irradiated in vitro (5Gy x 3 fractions), then an a priori determined number of resulting colonies were implanted in C57BL/6J immunocompetent mice creating syngeneic models of unirradiated (parental) and irradiated tumors with low (irradiated-L) and high (irradiated-H) ITH. Mice were treated with placebo, α-PD-L1, α-CTLA-4 or dual ICI. Murine tumors underwent whole exome sequencing (WES). Clinically correlated …

Updated Virophage Taxonomy And Distinction From Polinton-Like Viruses, Simon Roux, Matthias G. Fischer, Thomas Hackl, Laura A. Katz, Frederik Schulz, Natalya Yutin

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Virophages are small dsDNA viruses that hijack the machinery of giant viruses during the co-infection of a protist (i.e., microeukaryotic) host and represent an exceptional case of “hyperparasitism” in the viral world. While only a handful of virophages have been isolated, a vast diversity of virophage-like sequences have been uncovered from diverse metagenomes. Their wide ecological distribution, idiosyncratic infection and replication strategy, ability to integrate into protist and giant virus genomes and potential role in antiviral defense have made virophages a topic of broad interest. However, one limitation for further studies is the lack of clarity regarding the nomenclature and …

Comment: The United Nations And Robot Rights, Heather Alexander

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This comment predicts that robot rights under the law are likely to become a reality in the next fifty years, possibly in multiple countries, as governments pass laws granting rights to robots, including civil rights like voting. This comment calls on the United Nations (‘‘UN”) to be pro-active in guiding the emergence of robot rights by convening a working group on robot rights to better guide member states through what will be a time of momentous change.

Why are robots likely to soon gain rights in some UN member states? There have been huge advances in AI that can pass …

Foreseeability Conventions, John Fabian Witt, Morgan Savige

Cardozo Law Review

How has the foreseeability standard survived its critics? Law relies on foreseeability to solve hard legal problems in a vast array of doctrinal fields. But for a century and more, critics have pilloried the standard as hopelessly indeterminate. Decisionmakers, observe the critics, can characterize virtually any consequence as either foreseeable or unforeseeable. It all depends on how one tells the story. This Article explains the conundrum of foreseeability’s puzzling persistence by offering a novel account of how foreseeability has flourished in fields like tort, contract, and crime. Foreseeability has survived and flourished, the Article proposes, not because it carries determinate …

Winter Connectivity And Leapfrog Migration In A Migratory Passerine, Rafael Rueda‐Hernández, Christen M. Bossu, Thomas B. Smith, Andrea Contina, Ricardo Canales Del Castillo, Kristen Ruegg, Blanca E. Hernández-Baños

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

Technological advances in migratory tracking tools have revealed a remarkable diversity in migratory patterns. One such pattern is leapfrog migration, where individuals that breed further north migrate to locations further south. Here, we analyzed migration patterns in the Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) using a genetic‐based approach. We started by mapping patterns of genetic variation across geographic space (called a genoscape) using 386 individuals from 25 populations across the breeding range. We then genotyped an additional 230 samples from 31 migration stopover locations and 178 samples from 16 wintering locations to map patterns of migratory connectivity. Our analyses of …

Communication During Covid-19 Crisis: A Case Of Hotels In Turkey, Ayse Selin Dulger, Ayse Bas Collins, Aysegul Gunduz Songur, Cihan Cobanoglu

Journal of Global Hospitality and Tourism

During the COVID-19 pandemic, which has spread all over the world, the importance of communication in terms of knowledge sharing has increased even more in the tourism sector, as in all sectors. Each hotel business has benefited from various communication tools in the pandemic crisis. The aim of this study is to provide an understanding of the crisis communication strategy tackled by the hotels in Turkey during this unprecedented period, via both conventional and internet based public relations and communication platforms within the framework of crisis communication management. For this purpose, in-depth interviews were conducted with 25 hotel managers in …

Is A Genetic Diathesis For Poor Nutrition Becoming More Crucial Due To The Uniformity Of Covid Social Stress?, M. Catherine Desoto

Faculty Publications

The important role of nutrition in proper neural functioning and mental health has seen wider acceptance, but is still sadly under recognized given the existent body of research. This Special Issue was designed to unite authoritative information on this topic in one volume. This editorial provides an overview of the issue, and suggests that the combination of social isolation, lack of exercise, and remaining indoors that overtook industrialized societies during 2020 are specific factors expected to change the Gene × Environment interactions for anxiety and depression. Importantly, the recent environmental changes may make biological diatheses for nutritional deficiencies even more …

Racial Injustice In Astrid Lindgren’S Kati In America, Irina I. Holden

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

This article addresses Astrid Lindgren’s Kati in America, which was written in 1950 and translated into English in 1964. The novel reflects Lindgren’s impressions of the United States, where she traveled in 1948 on assignment for the publishing house Åhland and Åkerlund. By chance, the author of this article discovered that there is a fifteenth chapter of the book in the Russian, Polish, French, Spanish, and German translations, but which is missing in the English. This missing chapter describes the racism Lindgren’s protagonist witnesses during her visit to New Orleans. Astrid Lindgren’s depiction of racial injustice in the South …

A Molecular Signature Defining Exercise Adaptation With Ageing And In Vivo Partial Reprogramming In Skeletal Muscle, Ronald G. Jones Iii, Andrea Dimet-Wiley, Amin Haghani, Francielly Morena Da Silva, Camille R. Brightwell, Seongkyun Lim, Sabin Khadgi, Yuan Wen, Corey M. Dungan, Robert T. Brooke, Nicholas P. Greene, Charlotte A. Peterson, John J. Mccarthy, Steve Horvath, Stanley J. Watowich, Christopher S. Fry, Kevin A. Murach

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Faculty Publications and Presentations

Exercise promotes functional improvements in aged tissues, but the extent to which it simulates partial molecular reprogramming is unknown. Using transcriptome profiling from (1) a skeletal muscle-specific in vivo Oct3/4, Klf4, Sox2 and Myc (OKSM) reprogramming-factor expression murine model; (2) an in vivo inducible muscle-specific Myc induction murine model; (3) a translatable high-volume hypertrophic exercise training approach in aged mice; and (4) human exercise muscle biopsies, we collectively defined exercise-induced genes that are common to partial reprogramming. Late-life exercise training lowered murine DNA methylation age according to several contemporary muscle-specific clocks. A comparison of the murine soleus transcriptome …

The Link Between Serum Omentin Level And Insulin Resistance Biomarkers, Lipid Profile, And Atherogenic Indices In Iraqi Obese Patients., Tahrir Etihad Kadium, Abdulhadi Alrubaie, Salim Abd Mohammed Ghanim

Baghdad Science Journal

Omentin (or intelectin) is a main visceral fat secretory adipokine. There is a growing interest to link omentin, obesity and co-morbidity factors. The aim of the present study is to evaluate serum omentin and its association to insulin resistance biomarkers, lipid profile and atherogenic indies. This cross – sectional study was conducted in Obesity Research and Therapy Unit-Alkindy College of Medicine by recruiting (115) individuals; 49 males /66 females. Subjects between (20 to 60) years of age were selected and classified into two groups according to their Body mass index (BMI). Group1 involved healthy lean volunteers (25 male/ 36 female; …

Revision Of Some Biomarkers With Cytokines In Breast Cancer, Araz Yousif

Baghdad Science Journal

Breast cancer is the most repeatedly detected cancer category and the second reason cause of cancer-linked deaths among women worldwide. Tumor bio-indictor is a term utilized to describe possible indicators for carcinoma diagnosis, development and progression. The goal of this study is to evaluate part of some cytokines and biomarkers for both serum and saliva samples in breast cancer then estimate their potential value in the early diagnosis of breast cancer by doing more researches in saliva, and utilizing saliva instead of blood (serum and plasma) in sample collection from patients. Serum and salivary samples were taken from 72 patients …

Analysis Of Freight Movements In The San Joaquin Valley, Aly Tawfik, Utsav Shah

Mineta Transportation Institute

Freight transportation plays a primary role in supply chains, costs, and availability of goods and is a major part of the economy. This study identifies, assesses, and utilizes different data sources to uncover and understand the patterns and movements of different types of freight in the San Joaquin Valley’s (SJV's) different counties. The San Joaquin Valley region consists of eight counties: San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, and Tulare. This research explored some major datasets with freight information, such as Global Trade Atlas (GTA), Port Imports and Exports Reporting Systems (PIERS), and Streetlight data insights for the year 2019 …

Myo/Nog Cells Give Rise To Myofibroblasts During Epiretinal Membrane Formation In A Mouse Model Of Proliferative Vitreoretinopathy., Mara Crispin, Jacquelyn Gerhart, Alison Heffer, Mark Martin, Fathma Abdalla, Arturo Bravo Nuevo, Nancy J Philp, Ajay E Kuriyan, Mindy George-Weinstein

PCOM Scholarly Works

PURPOSE: Myo/Nog cells are the source of myofibroblasts in the lens and synthesize muscle proteins in human epiretinal membranes (ERMs). In the current study, we examined the response of Myo/Nog cells during ERM formation in a mouse model of proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR).

METHODS: PVR was induced by intravitreal injections of gas and ARPE-19 cells. PVR grade was scored by fundus imaging, optical coherence tomography, and histology. Double label immunofluorescence localization was performed to quantify Myo/Nog cells, myofibroblasts, and leukocytes.

RESULTS: Myo/Nog cells, identified by co-labeling with antibodies to brain-specific angiogenesis inhibitor 1 (BAI1) and Noggin, increased throughout the eye with …

Does The Preoperative Fasting Period Affect The Liver In A Distant Organ Model Of Renal Ischaemia Reperfusion?, Yasemin Akcaalan, Ersin Gurkan Dumlu, Ebru Menekse, Mustafa Cem Yilmaz, Ezgi Erkilic, Betul Ogut, Aylin Sepıcı Dıncel

Saudi Medical Journal

Objectives: To experimentally evaluate the effects of preoperative fasting duration on distant organ liver in renal ischaemia-reperfusion (IR) injury. Methods: This is an experimental study. In the study, 3 groups were formed. In Group A, abdominal laparotomy was carried out after 12 hours of preoperative fasting without any IR damage. In Group B, IR injury was carried out after 12 hours of preoperative fasting, and abdominal laparotomy was carried out, in Group C after 2 hours of fasting after IR injury. Apoptosis, congestion, balloon degeneration, nuclear pleomorphism, and leukocyte infiltration were examined histopathologically and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL) …

Using Virtual Simulations Of Future Extreme Weather Events To Communicate Climate Change Risk, Terry Van Gevelt, Brian G. Mcadoo, Jie Yang, Linlin Li, Fiona Williamson, Alex Scollay, Aileen Lam, Kwan Nok Chan, Adam D. Switzer

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Virtual simulations of future extreme weather events may prove an effective vehicle for climate change risk communication. To test this, we created a 3D virtual simulation of a future tropical cyclone amplified by climate change. Using an experimental framework, we isolated the effect of our simulation on risk perceptions and individual mitigation behaviour for a representative sample (n = 1507) of the general public in Hong Kong. We find that exposure to our simulation is systematically associated with a relatively small decrease in risk perceptions and individual mitigation behaviour. We suggest that this is likely due to climate change scepticism, …

Swarming Infrastructures, Jack Greatrex

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

The first car on the roads of Malacca, a town in the British Straits Settlements colony on the Malay Peninsula, was reportedly nicknamed The Swallow. Images of the eponymous bird were painted onto the vehicle: an avian metaphor fitting for the new, emerging age of the automobile, with its associations with freedom, rapidity and the smoother flows of modern life (Hillier 1961: 99).1

Curcumin Release From Biomaterials For Enhanced Tissue Regeneration Following Injury Or Disease, Adelle E. Hamilton, Ryan J. Gilbert

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Curcumin, a bioactive phenol derived from turmeric, is an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial molecule. Although curcumin exhibits beneficial effects in its innate form, it is highly hydrophobic, which leads to poor water solubility and, consequently, low bioavailability. The lack of bioavailability limits curcumin's effectiveness as a treatment and restricts its use in clinical applications. Furthermore, to achieve beneficial, clinically relevant results, high doses of curcumin are required for systemic administration. Many researchers have utilized biomaterial carriers, including electrospun fibers, nanoparticles, hydrogels, and composite scaffolds, to overcome curcumin's principle therapeutic limitation of low bioavailability. By using biomaterials to deliver curcumin directly …

Spectrum, Volume 50, Issue 1, Sacred Heart University

Newspapers (Obelisk & Spectrum)

Highlights include: Marijuana Officially Legal in Connecticut -- A Week of Service for 16 Sacred Heart Students -- US Soccer announces program to ensure player safety -- Morgan Craig: Proud to (Finally) Be an American -- Avatar Sequel Grosses Over $2 Billion -- Pio’s On The Rise as Mannetti Pins 100 NEC Wins.

The Death Of The Legal Subject, Katrina Geddes

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The law is often engaged in prediction. In the calculation of tort damages, for example, a judge will consider what the tort victim’s likely future earnings would have been, but for their particular injury. Similarly, when considering injunctive relief, a judge will assess whether the plaintiff is likely to suffer irreparable harm if a preliminary injunction is not granted. And for the purposes of a child custody evaluation, a judge will consider which parent will provide an environment that is in the best interests of the child.

Relative to other areas of law, criminal law is oversaturated with prediction. Almost …

Co-Authorship Between Photographers And Portrait Subjects, Molly Torsen Stech

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

work with the intent of merging their contributions into inseparable or interdependent parts of a unitary whole, the authors are considered joint authors. For photographic works, judicial precedent establishes that the creative contributions necessary to support a copyright claim include the author’s choices concerning elements such as lighting, pose, garments, background, facial expression, and angle. In many visual works, however, those creative elements are determined not solely by a photographer, but also by the subject, who can sulk or smile, stand with good posture or stoop, and be situated in full light or obfuscated by shadow, among many other options. …

Genomic Or Non-Genomic? A Question About The Pleiotropic Roles Of Vitamin D In Inflammatory-Based Diseases, Michael F. Holick, Luciana Mazzei, Sebastián García Menéndez, Virna Margarita Martín Giménez, Fatme Al Anouti, Walter Manucha

All Works

Vitamin D (vit D) is widely known for its role in calcium metabolism and its importance for the bone system. However, various studies have revealed a myriad of extra-skeletal functions, including cell differentiation and proliferation, antibacterial, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and anti-inflammatory properties in various cells and tissues. Vit D mediates its function via regulation of gene expression by binding to its receptor (VDR) which is expressed in almost all cells within the body. This review summarizes the pleiotropic effects of vit D, emphasizing its anti-inflammatory effect on different organ systems. It also provides a comprehensive overview of the genetic and epigenetic …

Coming-Of-Age Of Teenage Female Arab Gothic Fiction: A Feminist Semiotic Study, Zoe Hurley, Zeina Hojeij

All Works

This feminist semiotic study explores the folkloric imaginary of the jinn in the context of children’s and young adults’ Arab Gothic literature. Across the Middle East, the jinn is a common trope in literature, folklore and oral storytelling who, in diegetic terms, can manifest as the Gothic figure of an aging female, deranged older woman or succubus (known as sa’lawwa in Arabic). In this study, a novel feminist semiotic framework is developed to explore the extent to which the Gothic female succubus either haunts or liberates Arab girls’ coming-of-age fictions. This issue is addressed via a feminist semiotic reading of …

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time (February 22-25, 2023), Mark Haddon

Student Theatre Programs

Program for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

To view the photos from this production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, please click here.

Humanized Patient-Derived Xenograft Models Of Disseminated Ovarian Cancer Recapitulate Key Aspects Of The Tumor Immune Environment Within The Peritoneal Cavity, Mara P. Steinkamp, Irina Lagutina, Kathryn J. Brayer, Fred Schultz, Danielle Burke, Vernon S. Pankratz, Sarah F. Adams, Laurie G. Hudson, Scott A. Ness, Angela Wandinger-Ness

Pathology Research and Scholarship

UNLABELLED: The importance of the immune microenvironment in ovarian cancer progression, metastasis, and response to therapies has become increasingly clear, especially with the new emphasis on immunotherapies. To leverage the power of patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models within a humanized immune microenvironment, three ovarian cancer PDXs were grown in humanized NBSGW (huNBSGW) mice engrafted with human CD34

SIGNIFICANCE: huPDX models are ideal preclinical models for testing novel therapies. They reflect the genetic heterogeneity of the patient population, enhance human myeloid differentiation, and recruit immune cells to the tumor microenvironment.

Humanized Patient-Derived Xenograft Models Of Disseminated Ovarian Cancer Recapitulate Key Aspects Of The Tumor Immune Environment Within The Peritoneal Cavity, Mara P. Steinkamp, Irina Lagutina, Kathryn J. Brayer, Fred Schultz, Danielle Burke, Vernon S. Pankratz, Sarah F. Adams, Laurie G. Hudson, Scott A. Ness, Angela Wandinger-Ness

Pathology Research and Scholarship

UNLABELLED: The importance of the immune microenvironment in ovarian cancer progression, metastasis, and response to therapies has become increasingly clear, especially with the new emphasis on immunotherapies. To leverage the power of patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models within a humanized immune microenvironment, three ovarian cancer PDXs were grown in humanized NBSGW (huNBSGW) mice engrafted with human CD34

SIGNIFICANCE: huPDX models are ideal preclinical models for testing novel therapies. They reflect the genetic heterogeneity of the patient population, enhance human myeloid differentiation, and recruit immune cells to the tumor microenvironment.

Carla+: An Evolution Of The Carla Simulator For Complex Environment Using A Probabilistic Graphical Model, Sumbal Malik, Manzoor Ahmed Khan, Aadam, Hesham El-Sayed, Farkhund Iqbal, Jalal Khan, Obaid Ullah

All Works

In an urban and uncontrolled environment, the presence of mixed traffic of autonomous vehicles, classical vehicles, vulnerable road users, e.g., pedestrians, and unprecedented dynamic events makes it challenging for the classical autonomous vehicle to navigate the traffic safely. Therefore, the realization of collaborative autonomous driving has the potential to improve road safety and traffic efficiency. However, an obvious challenge in this regard is how to define, model, and simulate the environment that captures the dynamics of a complex and urban environment. Therefore, in this research, we first define the dynamics of the envisioned environment, where we capture the dynamics relevant …

The Horse Versus The Ox During Medieval Times………And Horse Power Versus Horsepower Today, Thomas E. Lambert

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

In watching television or other films regarding agriculture in various nations, one can occasionally still see where horses, mules, donkeys, or oxen are used to plow/plough fields or haul produce from farm to market. These practices seem antiquated by today’s farming techniques which mostly employ large combustion engine combines or tractors, trucks, etc. Much has been written about the agricultural revolution that occurred throughout most developed nations between the world wars and especially after the second one in which the use of more and more machinery has been used to grow agricultural produce such as wheat, corn, barley, etc. Even …

An Evaluation Of Avian Influenza Virus Whole-Genome Sequencing Approaches Using Nanopore Technology, Hon S. Ip, Sarah Uhm, Mary Lea Killian, Mia K. Torchetti

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

As exemplified by the global response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, whole-genome sequencing played an important role in monitoring the evolution of novel viral variants and provided guidance on potential antiviral treatments. The recent rapid and extensive introduction and spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in Europe, North America, and elsewhere raises the need for similarly rapid sequencing to aid in appropriate response and mitigation activities. To facilitate this objective, we investigate a next-generation sequencing platform that uses a portable nanopore sequencing device to generate and present data in real time. This platform offers the potential to extend in-house sequencing …