The Acute Effects Of A Grip-Constraint Tool On Upper Body And Racket Kinematics During Tennis Forehands, Nicholas Busuttil, Alexandra Roberts Dr, Marcus Dunn Dr, Kane Middleton Dr

ISBS Proceedings Archive

The purpose of this study was to compare the acute effect of a grip-constraint tool on upper body and racket kinematics during tennis single-handed forehand strokes. Upper-body and racket kinematics for two grip conditions, Preferred (self-selected) and Grip-constraint tool (fixed semi-western forehand grip) were captured for eleven tennis players using a 22-camera Vicon motion capture system (240 Hz). Using a grip-constraint tool resulted in a more closed racket face tilt (~4°) at ball impact while having variations in joint rotations across the shoulder, elbow and wrist. This possibly demonstrates the participant’s ability to self-organise compensatory angular rotations across the upper …

A Protein Kinase Coordinates Cycles Of Autophagy And Glutaminolysis In Invasive Hyphae Of The Fungus Magnaporthe Oryzae Within Rice Cells, Gang Li, Ziwen Gong, Nawaraj Dulal, Margarita Marroquin-Guzman, Raquel O. Rocha, Michael Richter, Richard A. Wilson

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

The blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae produces invasive hyphae in living rice cells during early infection, separated from the host cytoplasm by plantderived interfacial membranes. However, the mechanisms underpinning this intracellular biotrophic growth phase are poorly understood. Here, we show that the M. oryzae serine/threonine protein kinase Rim15 promotes biotrophic growth by coordinating cycles of autophagy and glutaminolysis in invasive hyphae. Alongside inducing autophagy, Rim15 phosphorylates NADdependent glutamate dehydrogenase, resulting in increased levels of α- ketoglutarate that reactivate target-of-rapamycin (TOR) kinase signaling, which inhibits autophagy. Deleting RIM15 attenuates invasive hyphal growth and triggers plant immunity; exogenous addition of α-ketoglutarate prevents these …

Identification Of T-Dna Structure And Insertion Site In Transgenic Crops Using Targeted Capture Sequencing, Eric Maina Magembe, Hui Li, Ali Taheri, Suping Zhou, Marc Ghislain

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

The commercialization of GE crops requires a rigorous safety assessment, which includes a precise DNA level characterization of inserted T-DNA. In the past, several strategies have been developed for identifying T-DNA insertion sites including, Southern blot and different PCR-based methods. However, these methods are often challenging to scale up for screening of dozens of transgenic events and for crops with complex genomes, like potato. Here, we report using target capture sequencing (TCS) to characterize the T-DNA structure and insertion sites of 34 transgenic events in potato. This T-DNA is an 18 kb fragment between left and right borders and carries …

Seesaw: Detecting Isoform-Level Allelic Imbalance Accounting For Inferential Uncertainty., Euphy Y Wu, Noor P Singh, Kwangbom Choi, Mohsen Zakeri, Matthew J Vincent, Gary Churchill, Cheryl L Ackert-Bicknell, Rob Patro, Michael I Love

Faculty Research 2023

Detecting allelic imbalance at the isoform level requires accounting for inferential uncertainty, caused by multi-mapping of RNA-seq reads. Our proposed method, SEESAW, uses Salmon and Swish to offer analysis at various levels of resolution, including gene, isoform, and aggregating isoforms to groups by transcription start site. The aggregation strategies strengthen the signal for transcripts with high uncertainty. The SEESAW suite of methods is shown to have higher power than other allelic imbalance methods when there is isoform-level allelic imbalance. We also introduce a new test for detecting imbalance that varies across a covariate, such as time.

Evaluation Of Simulation On Medication Errors In The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Carrie Clark

Dissertations

Problem: Medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States, the most common medical error being medication error. Pediatric patients are at an increased risk of medication error due to medication dosage calculation and the use of frequent high hazardous drugs.

Methods: The quality improvement (QI) project implemented the use of descriptive observational design using retro and prospective data. The data was collected over a 4-week and 4-week period by gathering data via safety and environmental management survey (SEMS).

Results: The data gathered consisted of an increase in medication errors of 150%. The data collected yielded …

Encouraging Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Uptake: A Healthcare Improvement Project, Lauren E. Woll

Dissertations

Abstract

Problem: Human papillomaviruses are the causative agents of >95% of cervical cancers, most oropharyngeal and anogenital cancers, yet the vaccination status of the population remains critically low despite Gardasil9 offering robust protection against HPV-related disease.

Methods: This quality improvement project utilized a descriptive, observational design to assess the effect of the HPV Encouragement Bundle, a two-step intervention to improve HPV vaccine uptake. Quantitative data was collected via retrospective chart review to assess the effect of the intervention on first-dose administration of Gardasil9 (series initiation), as well as overall Gardasil9 vaccine uptake.

Results: Following implementation, Gardasil9 first dose uptake increased …

Self-Care, Resilience, Self-Compassion, And Burnout In Doctoral Nursing Students: An Exploratory Needs Assessment, Logan Justice

Dissertations

Abstract

Problem: In the United States, one in three nurses experience symptoms of burnout, and doctoral nursing students are additionally challenged to juggle multiple school, work, and life demands (Reith, 2018; Woo et al., 2020). The purpose of this project was to explore the current self-care practices of doctoral nursing students to understand how self-care relates to resilience and burnout.

Methods: This exploratory needs assessment utilized a convenience sample of Doctor of Nursing practice (DNP) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) nursing students at a medium sized midwestern university. An electronic data collection survey was constructed to assess student self-care practices, …

Marine Macroalgae Derived Natural Product Inhibitors Of Advanced Glycation End Product Formation By Scavenging Of Reactive Carbonyl Species And Their Implications In Slowing The Progression Of Prevalent Chronic Diseases, George Hanna

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Reactive Carbonyl Species (RCS) arise from the degradation of essential primary metabolites—sugars and lipids. The resulting stress, derived from their ability to spontaneously react with proteins, DNA, and monoamine neurotransmitters, is a fundamental biological pressure that has driven the evolution of diverse mechanisms for minimizing its impact on organismal health. Relevant to human health, the complications that accompany metabolic disorders, such as diabetes, illustrate what happens when RCS stress exceeds the body’s capacity to prevent excessive damage and the formation of the resulting Advanced Glycation End Products (AGE). These include elevated risks for cardiovascular disease, liver disease, kidney disease, neurodegeneration, …

A Protein Kinase Coordinates Cycles Of Autophagy And Glutaminolysis In Invasive Hyphae Of The Fungus Magnaporthe Oryzae Within Rice Cells, Gang Li, Ziwen Gong, Nawaraj Dulal, Margarita Marroquin-Guzman, Raquel O. Rocha, Michael Richter, Richard Wilson

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

The blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae produces invasive hyphae in living rice cells during early infection, separated from the host cytoplasm by plantderived interfacial membranes. However, the mechanisms underpinning this intracellular biotrophic growth phase are poorly understood. Here, we show that the M. oryzae serine/threonine protein kinase Rim15 promotes biotrophic growth by coordinating cycles of autophagy and glutaminolysis in invasive hyphae. Alongside inducing autophagy, Rim15 phosphorylates NADdependent glutamate dehydrogenase, resulting in increased levels of α- ketoglutarate that reactivate target-of-rapamycin (TOR) kinase signaling, which inhibits autophagy. Deleting RIM15 attenuates invasive hyphal growth and triggers plant immunity; exogenous addition of α-ketoglutarate prevents these …

A Protein Kinase Coordinates Cycles Of Autophagy And Glutaminolysis In Invasive Hyphae Of The Fungus Magnaporthe Oryzae Within Rice Cells, Gang Li, Ziwen Gong, Nawaraj Dulal, Margarita Marroquin-Guzman, Raquel O. Rocha, Michael Richter, Richard Wilson

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

The blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae produces invasive hyphae in living rice cells during early infection, separated from the host cytoplasm by plantderived interfacial membranes. However, the mechanisms underpinning this intracellular biotrophic growth phase are poorly understood. Here, we show that the M. oryzae serine/threonine protein kinase Rim15 promotes biotrophic growth by coordinating cycles of autophagy and glutaminolysis in invasive hyphae. Alongside inducing autophagy, Rim15 phosphorylates NADdependent glutamate dehydrogenase, resulting in increased levels of α- ketoglutarate that reactivate target-of-rapamycin (TOR) kinase signaling, which inhibits autophagy. Deleting RIM15 attenuates invasive hyphal growth and triggers plant immunity; exogenous addition of α-ketoglutarate prevents these …

Prebiotic Effects Of Dietary Xylooligosaccharides On Fish Gut Microbiota, Growth, And Immunological Parameters – A Review, Claudious Gufe, Daniel L. Merrifield, Seyed Hossein Hoseinifar, Triwit Rattanarojpong, Pongsak Khunrae, Mohsen Abdel-Tawwab

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Xylooligosaccharides (XOSs) are increasingly being explored as prebiotics in fish diets; however, their effects and modes of action have not been well evaluated. Reports have shown that dietary XOS has the potential to improve the proliferation of beneficial gut microbes, and their metabolites, and enhance disease resistance in several fish species. In contrast, other studies report no substantial changes in immune and growth parameters compared to control groups. Like all prebiotics, the mode of action of XOS is based on their selective stimulation of beneficial gut microbiota, which will outcompete and prevent pathogen proliferation in the gut, and produce metabolites …

Lonnie Burt, Lonnie Burt

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Lonnie Burt recently retired as the Senior Food & Child Nutrition Services Director for the Hartford Public Schools where she oversaw the school meal program, including Breakfast, Lunch, Afterschool Snacks, At-Risk Supper, Summer Feeding and the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Grant. She has worked in Child Nutrition for the nearly 35 years and has been in Hartford since 2004. Lonnie also works as an Adjunct Professor for Manchester Community College where she teaches classes in Nutrition, Human Resources, and Food Service Safety and Sanitation for the Hospitality Program. Lonnie is a Registered Dietitian who earned a Bachelor’s Degree in …

Effects Of Nalcn-Encoded Na+ Leak Currents On The Repetitive Firing Properties Of Scn Neurons Depend On K+-Driven Rhythmic Changes In Input Resistance, Nien-Du Yang, Rebecca L Mellor, Tracey O Hermanstyne, Jeanne M Nerbonne

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Neurons in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) generate circadian changes in the rates of spontaneous action potential firing that regulate and synchronize daily rhythms in physiology and behavior. Considerable evidence suggests that daily rhythms in the repetitive firing rates (higher during the day than at night) of SCN neurons are mediated by changes in subthreshold potassium (K

An Observed Increase In Cardiovascular And Respiratory-Disease Related Hospitalizations And Mortality In An Area Surrounding A Hazardous Waste Thermal Treatment Plant, Liana Isabelle Dela Torre Baconguis

LSU Master's Theses

Particulate matter (PM) pollution is highly correlated with respiratory and cardiovascular disease incidence. The generation of oxidative stress is a major way by which PM can damage the body. Environmentally persistent free radical-containing PM are generated by combustion processes and are capable of exerting increased damage on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems due to their ability to remain stable and regenerate reactive oxygen species for up to five years. Clean Harbors, LLC operates a thermal treatment plant near the city of Colfax, LA in Central Louisiana. Its regular open burning of explosives causes disturbances to the community, such as loud …

Wave Attenuation Through Mangrove Forest Using Lidar Representation, Elizabeth Bogan

LSU Master's Theses

Mangrove forests can be found along the world’s intertidal tropical and sub-tropical coastlines. These forested wetlands provide many ecosystem services, including supporting coastal food chains, trapping sediment, and shoreline stabilization. Mangroves are also known for flood damage mitigation by dissipating waves and surge during flooding events. Thus, coastal communities declare a vested interest in the performance of the forest to mitigate flood damage. Physical models using artificial mangrove structures have shown that red mangrove-dominated fringe forests can protect built infrastructure by reducing wave height due to increased drag. One way to estimate the contribution of red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) prop …

Writing Trauma At Home: The Poetics Of Testimony In Iraq’S Literary And Cultural Production, Imran Alkhalifah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

This dissertation explores the unconventional forms of testimony to trauma in Iraq. Due to a long history of war and/or sectarian violence, Iraq’s literary and cultural production provide unique ways of representing traumatic experience. These representations, I argue, challenge the predominate western notions of representing trauma. The unique ways of writing/expressing trauma examined in this dissertation offer a new perspective of reading trauma as opposed to the postmodern trauma aesthetics that highlights fragmentation, repetition, and dissociation as symptoms of traumatic experience. This hegemonic approach has led to a deprived investigation of the unique social and historical contexts in which trauma …

Lipid Membranes Mediated Interactions And Self-Assembly Of Janus Nanoparticles, Yu Zhu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Since many advanced applications require specific assemblies of nanoparticles (NPs), considerable efforts have been made to fabricate nanoassemblies with specific geometries. In this dissertation, we demonstrate the potential of lipid membranes as a medium for the self-assembly of NPs. To control their degree of adhesion to lipid membranes, the NPs are surface modified into hydrophilic Janus NPs such as one moiety interacts more attractively with the lipid head groups than water while the other moiety interacts more attractively with water than the lipid head groups. First, using extensive molecular dynamics simulations of a coarse-grained implicit-solvent model, in conjunction with the …

Relative Burden Of Cancer And Noncancer Mortality Among Long-Term Survivors Of Breast, Prostate, And Colorectal Cancer In The Us, Madhav Kc, Jane Fan, Terry Hyslop, Sirad Hassan, Michael Cecchini, Shi-Yi Wang, Andrea Silber, Michael S. Leapman, Ira Leeds, Stephanie B. Wheeler, Lisa P. Spees, Cary P. Gross, Maryam Lustberg, Rachel A. Greenup, Amy C. Justice, Kevin C. Oeffinger, Michaela A. Dinan

Kimmel Cancer Center Faculty Papers

IMPORTANCE: Improvements in cancer outcomes have led to a need to better understand long-term oncologic and nononcologic outcomes and quantify cancer-specific vs noncancer-specific mortality risks among long-term survivors.

OBJECTIVE: To assess absolute and relative cancer-specific vs noncancer-specific mortality rates among long-term survivors of cancer, as well as associated risk factors.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cohort study included 627 702 patients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results cancer registry with breast, prostate, or colorectal cancer who received a diagnosis between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2014, who received definitive treatment for localized disease and who were alive 5 …

The Limitations Of Periapical X-Ray Assessment In Endodontic Diagnosis—A Systematic Review, A Gliga, M Imre, S Grandini, C Marruganti, C Gaeta, D Bodnar, Ba Dimitriu, F Foschi

Peninsula Dental School

Diagnosis is a key aspect in endodontic treatment, in a decade where invasive interventions are misapprehended as social tendency instead of medical necessity. All diagnostic facets should be considered before intending the operative phase. Intraoral endodontic radiology-based diagnosis has been shown to be limited. Periapical X-ray is the most used endodontic imaging, yet it does not provide high accuracy. Traditionally, dentists have been trained to diagnose a cyst by certain aspects (size, shape and appearance); hence, an assumption that teeth are affected by “periapical cyst” were subjected to unnecessary extraction or apicoectomy. The aim of this systematic review is to …

Microbe Hunters, Paul De Kruif

Zea E-Books Collection

Microbe Hunters by Paul de Kruif was first published in 1926 by Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York. It dramatically recounts the breakthrough discoveries of the fundamental elements of bacteriology. It features exciting profiles of Antony Leeuwenhoek, Lazzaro Spallanzani, Louis Pasteur, Robert Koch, Émile Roux, Emil Behring, Élie Metchnikoff, Theobald Smith, David Bruce, Ronald Ross, Battista Grassi, Walter Reed, and Paul Ehrlich. Their development of germ theory and its scientific proofs led to the first effective treatments for human diseases like anthrax, rabies, diptheria, malaria, sleeping sickness, syphilis, and yellow fever. They also made discoveries that saved the dairy, wine, …

Efficient Delivery Of Biological Cargos Into Primary Cells By Electrodeposited Nanoneedles Via Cell-Cycle-Dependent Endocytosis, Zongjie Wang, Hansen Wang, Sichun Lin, Mahmoud Labib, Sharif Ahmed, Jagotamoy Das, Stephane Angers, Edward H. Sargent, Shana O. Kelley

Peninsula Medical School

Nanoneedles are a useful tool for delivering exogenous biomolecules to cells. Although therapeutic applications have been explored, the mechanism regarding how cells interact with nanoneedles remains poorly studied. Here, we present a new approach for the generation of nanoneedles, validated their usefulness in cargo delivery, and studied the underlying genetic modulators during delivery. We fabricated arrays of nanoneedles based on electrodeposition and quantified its efficacy of delivery using fluorescently labeled proteins and siRNAs. Notably, we revealed that our nanoneedles caused the disruption of cell membranes, enhanced the expression of cell–cell junction proteins, and downregulated the expression of transcriptional factors of …

Functional Duplication Of The Short-Wavelength Sensitive Opsin In Sea Snakes: Evidence For Re-Expanded Colour Sensitivity Following Ancestral Regression, Ih Rossetto, Kl Sanders, B Fonseca Simoes, Nguyen C Van, Aj Ludington

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Color vision is mediated by ancient and spectrally distinct cone opsins. Yet, while there have been multiple losses of opsin genes during the evolution of tetrapods, evidence for opsin gains via functional duplication is extremely scarce. Previous studies have shown that some secondarily marine elapid snakes have acquired expanded “UV–blue” sensitivity via changes at key spectral tuning amino acid sites of the Short-Wavelength Opsin 1 (SWS1) gene. Here, we use elapid reference genomes to show that the molecular origin of this adaptation involved repeated, proximal duplications of the SWS1 gene in the fully marine Hydrophis cyanocinctus. This species possesses four …

Management Of Virtual Students' Anxiety With Virtual Counseling, Amy E. Teske

Masters Projects

Research has shown managing anxiety can be a significant challenge for virtual high school students, but virtual counseling can help them cope and heal in an effective way. A rising number of high school students are enrolling in virtual schools and struggling with various forms of anxiety. Only with virtual school counselors, who are uniquely trained to help students manage their emotions and improve their well-being, can these students' anxiety be helped. As virtual school counselors move into a virtual position, they still need to honor the same standards and adhere to the same ethics as school counselors working in …

Mettl3-Mediated M6a Modification Of Linc00839 Maintains Glioma Stem Cells And Radiation Resistance By Activating Wnt/Β-Catenin Signaling, Jianxing Yin, Fangshu Ding, Zhangchun Cheng, Xin Ge, Yanhui Li, Ailiang Zeng, Junxia Zhang, Wei Yan, Zhumei Shi, Xu Qian, Yongping You, Zhiliang Ding, Jing Ji, Xiefeng Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in glioma initiation and progression. Glioma stem cells (GSCs) are essential for tumor initiation, maintenance, and therapeutic resistance. However, the biological functions and underlying mechanisms of lncRNAs in GSCs remain poorly understood. Here, we identified that LINC00839 was overexpressed in GSCs. A high level of LINC00839 was associated with GBM progression and radiation resistance. METTL3-mediated m6A modification on LINC00839 enhanced its expression in a YTHDF2-dependent manner. Mechanistically, LINC00839 functioned as a scaffold promoting c-Src-mediated phosphorylation of β-catenin, thereby inducing Wnt/β-catenin activation. Combinational use of celecoxib, an inhibitor of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, greatly sensitized GSCs to …

Modeling Variability In Personality Development: Quantifying, Explaining, And Examining The Predictive Utility Of Person-Specific Variance Around Personality Trajectories, Amanda Jo Wright

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Decades’ worth of research has identified replicable, average patterns of normative personality development across the lifespan. Underlying these findings lie a few assumptions, however, and work seeking to provide incremental knowledge seems to have yet offered a clear path forward. This impasse in progress, in conjunction with studies highlighting the complexity of personality, would suggest these assumptions are perhaps untenable. The current study uses five longitudinal datasets (N = 128,345) to examine personality development using mixed effects location scale models. This permits there to be individual differences in within-person residual variability, or sigma, around trajectories – thereby testing if standard …

Cardiovascular Sars-Cov-2 Tropism And Immunopathology, Oleksandr Dmytrenko

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by SARS-CoV-2, a member of beta-coronaviridae family. This single-stranded RNA virus is transmitted through a respiratory route, binds to a host receptor ACE2 and enters lung pneumocytes, causing fulminant pulmonary disease in a subset of patients. In addition to pulmonary disease, SARS-CoV-2 can also lead to extrapulmonary manifestations, affecting brain, kidneys, blood vessels and heart. Cardiac complications are common in COVID-19 patients with both mild and severe clinical courses. However, it remains unclear which cardiac cell types are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 and what the consequences of their infection are. In this work, I identified …

Characterization Of Subcellular Functional Domains In The Vesicular Glutamate Transporter 3-Expressing Retinal Amacrine Cell Using Correlative Light And Electron Microscopy, Karl Friedrichsen

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The following work seeks to better understand how neurons process multiple streams of information within the branches of their dendritic arbors. We use correlated light and electron microscopy to capture both live subcellular calcium responses and detailed morphology and synaptic connectivity in a unique retinal amacrine cell in order to directly study the relationship between structure and function. The vesicular glutamate transporter 3-expressing amacrine cell (VG3) selectively integrates and segregates visual information within its arbor branches and provides multiple target neuron types with appropriate excitatory or inhibitory synaptic inputs. By reconstructing VG3 arbor branches, synapses, and connected cell types, we …

The Bearing Earth: Colonization, Conservation, And Political Ecology In Costa Rica (Coto Brus 1948 - Present), Pablo Alonso Arias-Benavides

Latin American Studies ETDs

This thesis presents two questions: How are relationships between people in Coto Brus and the land – specifically, forest – mediated by social, political, and economic forces? How are personal and collective identities expressed through relationship with the landscape? I chose Coto Brus because it is a forested region of Costa Rica which was populated with state support in the 1950s, and because it is my father’s hometown. In order to understand the subjective experiences of Costa Ricans involved in deforestation and reforestation, I performed interviews in the canton, visited conservation sites, and analyzed historical sources. This study combines multiscale …

Access Cavity Design, Caries Driven Access, Canal Preparations, Finite Element Analysis, Mohamed Medhat Kataia, Mohamed Kataia

Dentistry

Aim: This study evaluated the influence of different access designs on maxillary two-rooted premolar teeth to assess their biomechanical behavior using finite element analysis. Methodology: Three simulated FEA models were accessed with three main different access cavity designs: the intact tooth (IT) model, the traditional access cavity (TAC), and the conservative access cavity (CAC). Two different radicular preparations were done for each simulated model. The buccal and palatal canals were prepared to the apical sizes #30/.04, and #40/.04. A cyclic load of 50 N was applied on the occlusal surface. The patterns of stress distribution, the maximum von Mises (VM), …

Sinaiscope, 1965, V6, March, Advocate Aurora Health

Historical Documents - Combined

Mount Sinai Hospital, Milwaukee, WI: Internal staff publication updating personnel on employment changes, announcements, and administrative developments. This issue features an article on the new research laboratory.