Digital Commons Network^™

Endothelial Foxc1 And Foxc2 Promote Intestinal Regeneration After Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury., Can Tan, Pieter R. Norden, Wei Yu, Ting Liu, Naoto Ujiie, Sun Kyong Lee, Xiaocai Yan, Yaryna Dyakiv, Kazushi Aoto, Sagrario Ortega, Isabelle G. De Plaen, Venkatesh Sampath, Tsutomu Kume

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Intestinal ischemia underlies several clinical conditions and can result in the loss of the intestinal mucosal barrier. Ischemia-induced damage to the intestinal epithelium is repaired by stimulation of intestinal stem cells (ISCs), and paracrine signaling from the vascular niche regulates intestinal regeneration. Here, we identify FOXC1 and FOXC2 as essential regulators of paracrine signaling in intestinal regeneration after ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. Vascular endothelial cell (EC)- and lymphatic EC (LEC)-specific deletions of Foxc1, Foxc2, or both in mice worsen I/R-induced intestinal damage by causing defects in vascular regrowth, expression of chemokine CXCL12 and Wnt activator R-spondin 3 (RSPO3) in blood ECs …

Brain Structure Correlates Of Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Traits, Allison Moreau

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) is the most common personality disorder, yet much remains unknown about its etiology. Although neural contributions to many other psychiatric disorders have been extensively studied, few existing studies have examined neural correlates of OCPD. Furthermore, all have had insufficient sample sizes to produce reliable results. Large samples are needed to reliably detect the expected small brain-behavior relationships. However, large neuroimaging studies often do not assess for personality disorders, although many assess for normative personality. The present study employed a Five-Factor Model of personality disorders, which conceptualizes personality disorders as maladaptive extremes of normative personality traits, to …

Investigating Cassava Susceptibility To Xanthomonas Induced Bacterial Blight Using Disease Phenotyping And Genome Engineering Strategies, Kiona Rajene Elliott

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

In nature, plants regularly contend with bacterial, viral, and fungal pathogens, which employ strategies that promote pathogen fitness and subsequently elicit disease in the host. Xanthomonads are a group of bacterial phytopathogens that induce disease in an extensive range of host plants. Mechanisms underlying pathogen disease promotion have been understudied in food staple crops such as cassava. Cassava is a starchy root crop susceptible to cassava bacterial blight (CBB) a disease caused by the pathogen Xanthomonas phaseoli pv. manihotis (Xpm). Xpm and other bacterial pathogens use effector molecules to manipulate host genes that promote disease susceptibility. Xpm has specialized effector …

Circadian Disruption And Colorectal Cancer Incidence In Black Women, Lauren E Barber, Trang Vopham, Laura F White, Hemant K Roy, Julie R Palmer, Kimberly A Bertrand

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Animal and experimental studies suggest circadian disruption increases colorectal cancer risk, but evidence in humans is limited. We examined night shift work, chronotype, and residential position within a time zone, proxies for circadian disruption, in relation to colorectal cancer risk.

METHODS: Participants in the Black Women's Health Study, a prospective cohort of 59,000 Black American women established in 1995, reported history of night shift work and chronotype on follow-up questionnaires. Residential position within a time zone was estimated using participant addresses at each questionnaire cycle. Number of colorectal cancer cases and follow-up duration varied by analysis depending on timing …

Tissue Mass Spectrometry: How Solid Is Our Future?, Daisy Unsihuay, William S Phipps, Amanda G Paulovich, Jessica R Chapman, Axel Ducret, Livia S Eberlin, Jeffrey M Spraggins, Richard J A Goodwin

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Regulation Of Nucleotide Excision Repair, Wenzhi Gong

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Nucleotide excision repair (NER), a “cut and patch” mechanism, has two subpathways, namely transcription coupled repair (TCR) and global genome repair (GGR). TCR rapidly removes UV photoproduct (UV PP) in the transcribed strand (TS) of an actively transcribed gene, whereas GGR removes those DNA lesions throughout the genome. This dissertation mainly focused on identifying novel factors that function in NER and investigating the potential molecular mechanisms underlying initial damage recognition and downstream processes in NER. We identified Rpb7, a subunit of RNA polymerase II, represses TCR via its multiple regions. Specifically, the conserved region of Rpb7 that interacts with the …

Differences In Plant Hormone Responses Between Arabidopsis Thaliana And Schrenkiella Parvula Facing Lithium Toxicities, Jifeng Li

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Investigating stress responses in plants is central to plant development studies and crop research. Identifying mechanisms of plant abiotic stress tolerance and adaptation will be keys to relieve the conflict between an increasing global population and declining agronomic land. Studies on extremophytes and their genetic responses to environmental stress are a way to help understand how and why these extremophile plants can develop well under extreme environments including high salinity and heavy metal toxicity. The studies herein first focus on comparative responses at the genetic level to lithium toxicity between Arabidopsis thaliana and Schrenkiella parvula. Based on elemental quantification …

Rad51 Foci As A Biomarker Predictive Of Platinum Chemotherapy Response In Ovarian Cancer, Amanda J Compadre, Lillian N Van Biljon, Mark C Valentine, Emily Graham, Bisiayo Fashemi, Emilee N Kotnik, Isaac Cooper, Lindsay M Kuroki, Carolyn K Mccourt, Andrea R Hagemann, Premal H Thaker, David G Mutch, Matthew A Powell, Lulu Sun, Nima Mosammaparast, Peinan Zhao, Elena Lomonosova, Dineo Khabele, Mary M Mullen, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

PURPOSE: To determine the ability of RAD51 foci to predict platinum chemotherapy response in high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) patient-derived samples.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: RAD51 and γH2AX nuclear foci were evaluated by immunofluorescence in HGSOC patient-derived cell lines (n = 5), organoids (n = 11), and formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor samples (discovery n = 31, validation n = 148). Samples were defined as RAD51-High if >10% of geminin-positive cells had ≥5 RAD51 foci. Associations between RAD51 scores, platinum chemotherapy response, and survival were evaluated.

RESULTS: RAD51 scores correlated with in vitro response to platinum chemotherapy in established and primary ovarian cancer cell …

Evaluating The Generalizability Of Predictive Classifiers Built From Desi Imaging Lipid Data Across Mass Spectrometry Platformsjournal Of The American Society For Mass Spectrometry, Rachel J Dehoog, Monica Lin, Gregory Roman, Roy Martin, James Suliburk, Livia S Eberlin

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

In this study, we evaluate the generalizability of predictive classifiers built from DESI lipid data for thyroid fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy analysis and classification using two high-performance mass spectrometers (time-of-flight and orbitrap) suited with different DESI imaging sources operated by different users. The molecular profiles obtained from thyroid samples with the different platforms presented similar trends, although specific differences in ion abundances were observed. When using a previously published statistical model built to discriminate thyroid cancer from benign thyroid tissues to predict on a new independent data set obtained, agreement for 24 of the 30 samples across the imaging …

An Overview On The Validation Of The Critical Race Theory Measurement, Erica Campbell

Journal of Research Initiatives

The Critical Race Theory Measurement (CRTM) was developed to evaluate the understanding of the six major principles of CRT and the significance of race relating to the preparation of practitioners providing services to people of color. The objective of this study was to evaluate the scale's psychometric properties. The CRTM self-assessment instrument measures the six Critical Race Theory principles. It consists of 19 items assessing endemic racism, the social construction of race, differential racialization, convergence/determinism, racial narratives, and intersectionality. The validation of the CRTM was based on its administration to 175 social work and counseling practitioners. This paper discusses the …

Regulation Of Cora, The Magnesium, Nickel, Cobalt Transporter, And Its Role In The Virulence Of The Soft Rot Pathogen, Pectobacterium Versatile Strain Ecc71, Caleb M. Kersey, Korsi Dumenyo

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Pectobacterium versatile (formally P. carotovorum) causes disease on diverse plant species by synthesizing and secreting copious amount of plant-cell-wall-degrading exoenzymes including pectate lyases, polygalacturonases, cellulases, and proteases. Exoenzyme production and virulence are controlled by many factors of bacterial, host, and environmental origin. The ion channel forming the magnesium, nickel, and cobalt transporter CorA is required for exoenzyme production and full virulence in strain Ecc71. We investigated CorA’s role as a virulence factor and its expression in P. versatile. Inhibiting the transport function of CorA by growing a CorA+ strain in the presence of specific CorA inhibitor, cobalt (III) hexaammine (Co …

Estimating Body Weight And Body Condition Score Of Mature Beef Cows Using Depth Images, Yijie Xiong, Isabella C.F.S. Condotta, J. A. Musgrave, Tami M. Brown-Bandl, J. Travis Mulliniks

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Obtaining accurate body weight (BW) is crucial for management decisions yet can be a challenge for cow–calf producers. Fast-evolving technologies such as depth sensing have been identified as low-cost sensors for agricultural applications but have not been widely validated for U.S. beef cattle. This study aimed to (1) estimate the body volume of mature beef cows from depth images, (2) quantify BW and metabolic weight (MBW) from image-projected body volume, and (3) classify body condition scores (BCS) from image-obtained measurements using a machine-learning-based approach. Fifty-eight crossbred cows with a mean BW of 410.0 ± 60.3 kg and were between 4 …

A Novel Method Of Rapid Detection For Heavy Metal Copper Ion Via A Specific Copper Chelator Bathocuproinedisulfonic Acid Disodium Salt, Yali Wang, Tinglin Ma, Joseph Brake, Zhaoyue Sun, Jiayu Huang, Jing Li, Xiaobin Wu

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

The extensive usage and production of copper may lead to toxic effects in organisms due to its accumulation in the environment. Traditional methods for copper detection are time consuming and infeasible for field usage. It is necessary to discover a real-time, rapid and economical method for detecting copper to ensure human health and environmental safety. Here we developed a colorimetric paper strip method and optimized spectrum method for rapid detection of copper ion based on the specific copper chelator bathocuproinedisulfonic acid disodium salt (BCS). Both biological assays and chemical methods verified the specificity of BCS for copper. The optimized reaction …

Applicability Of Bio-Adsorbents Synthesized From Maize/Corn Plant Residues For Heavy Metals Removal From Aquatic Environments: An Insight Review, Jonas Bayuo, Mwemezi J. Rwiza, Kelvin Mark Mtei

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

The underutilization of agricultural waste products in recent years has resulted in environmental issues owing to improper disposal. As a result, heavy metals removal from aqueous systems utilizing sorbent materials produced from agricultural wastes has received a lot of attention. The current study provides an insightful review of the use of bio-adsorbents synthesized from maize/corn residues to decontaminate various toxicants from wastewater. Although bio-adsorbents made from maize/corn residues have shown to be efficient in the sequestration of heavy metals from wastewater, no study has looked at hybrid bio-adsorbents made from various parts of the maize/corn plant. Moreover, all studies practically …

Morphological Trait Evolution In Solanum (Solanaceae): Evolutionary Lability Of Key Taxonomic Characters, Rebecca Hilgenhof, Edeline Gagnon, Sandra Knapp, Xavier Aubriot, Eric Tepe, Lynn Bohs, Leandro Giacomin, Yuri Gouvea, Andres Orejuela, Christopher T. Martine, Clara Ines Orozco, Iris E. Peralta, Tina Sarkinen

Faculty Journal Articles

Solanum is one of the world's largest and economically most important plant genera, including 1245 currently accepted species and several major and minor crops (e.g., tomato, potato, brinjal eggplant, scarlet eggplant, Gboma eggplant, lulo, and pepino). Here we provide an overview of the evolution of 25 key morphological traits for the major and minor clades of this giant genus based on stochastic mapping using a well-sampled recently published phylogeny of Solanum. The most evolutionarily labile traits (showing >100 transitions across the genus) relate to plant structure (growth form and sympodial unit structure), herbivore defence (glandular trichomes), pollination (corolla shape …

Advantage Of Precision Metagenomics For Urinary Tract Infection Diagnostics, Sadia Almas, Rob E. Carpenter, Chase Rowan, Vaibhav Tamrakar, Rahul Sharma

Human Resource Development Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) remain a diagnostic challenge and often promote antibiotic overuse. Despite urine culture being the gold standard for UTI diagnosis, some uropathogens may lead to false-negative or inconclusive results. Although PCR testing is fast and highly sensitive, its diagnostic yield is limited to targeted microorganisms. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) is a hypothesis-free approach with potential of deciphering the urobiome. However, clinically relevant information is often buried in the enormous amount of sequencing data.

Methods: Precision metagenomics (PM) is a hybridization capture-based method with potential of enhanced discovery power and better diagnostic yield without diluting clinically relevant …

Global Assessment Of Marine Plastic Exposure Risk For Oceanic Birds, Bethany L. Clark, Ana P.B. Carneiro, Elizabeth J. Pearmain, Marie Morgane Rouyer, Thomas A. Clay, Win Cowger, Richard A. Phillips, Andrea Manica, Carolina Hazin, Marcus Eriksen, Jacob González-Solís, Josh Adams, Yuri V. Albores-Barajas, Joanna Alfaro-Shigueto, Maria Saldanha Alho, Deusa Teixeira Araujo, José Manuel Arcos, Fiona Mcduie, For Full Author List, See Comments Below

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Plastic pollution is distributed patchily around the world's oceans. Likewise, marine organisms that are vulnerable to plastic ingestion or entanglement have uneven distributions. Understanding where wildlife encounters plastic is crucial for targeting research and mitigation. Oceanic seabirds, particularly petrels, frequently ingest plastic, are highly threatened, and cover vast distances during foraging and migration. However, the spatial overlap between petrels and plastics is poorly understood. Here we combine marine plastic density estimates with individual movement data for 7137 birds of 77 petrel species to estimate relative exposure risk. We identify high exposure risk areas in the Mediterranean and Black seas, and …

Interdisciplinary Studies In General Music Education: Enhancing Learning Across Content Areas, Tara Kathleen Roof Stradley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Some perspectives of educators and community members in small rural school districts fail to see the academic benefits of music education and the importance of integrated forms of study, despite the many clear connections that can be seen between the general music curriculum and other content areas such as math and language arts. Interdisciplinary studies in general music education are essential for student growth across content areas. This study reveals the importance of music integration and interdisciplinary music studies in small rural elementary schools. It gives example lessons of mathematics and language arts in the elementary music curricula. Guided by …

The Impact Of Socioeconomic Status On The Achievement Of Chronically Absent Grade 5 Students, Sakeena Alexandra Ash-Cary

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Chronic absenteeism has been shown to be a strong predictor of student achievement. However, there is a lack of research studies that examine if differences exist among chronically absent students in Title I and non-Title I settings. The purpose of this causal-comparative study was to determine if socioeconomic status imparts any additional impacts on the achievement of chronically absent students as measured by the Virginia SOLs. The data collected include achievement data from the Virginia SOLs. A quantitative research design was used to examine, analyze, and compare standardized mathematics, English, and science test scores along with attendance rates of fifth …

Occupational Therapist Perceptions On How Eye Movement Therapy Supports Working Memory In Children Diagnosed With Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Latres M. Bell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Previous research reports that children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show a deficit in their working memory. Working memory is the ability to temporarily manipulate, store, and retrieve information during cognitive tasks. Working memory is considered a critical deficiency in individuals diagnosed with ADHD. Working memory has been shown to be a mechanism for symptoms of disorganization and inattention in individuals diagnosed with ADHD. This qualitative research study reviewed occupational therapists’ perceptions on their role working with children, aged six to 10 years old, diagnosed with ADHD and low working memory, who have had eye movement therapy. The occupational therapists’ perceptions …

Cultivating Employee Relationships, Kimberly Lynn England

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The study was a qualitative flexible study on the actions and behaviors of employees and their leaders in cultivating internal relationships that have an impact on the business results of an organization. Using various triangulation methods, interviews, observations, and archived data, the study is constructive in design. I interpreted the experiences of the 20 participants (6 leaders and 14 employees). The flexible design allowed for follow-up questions that required changing the scope of the data collection as more data occurred. Validity and reliability are important factors in the qualitative research as these factors add to the credibility of the findings. …

Instructors’ Experiences With Employing Kinesthetic Instructional Strategies In Gatekeeper Community College Courses: A Single Holistic Case Study, Jodie S. Hogan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative, single holistic case study was to understand how community college instructors use kinesthetic instructional strategies to engage students enrolled in gatekeeper college courses at a community college in the Northeastern United States. The theory guiding this study was domains of learning theory, as it explains how faculty approach instruction according to how students experience the six levels of the cognitive taxonomy and provides a foundation for the consideration of how the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains are intertwined. A qualitative methodology with a single case study design was used to address the central research question, …

It’S Black And White: An Investigation Into The Founding Of Three Post-Civil War Black Colleges, Melvin Gamble Miller

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This work examines how White and Black Baptist worked together to form and developed three historically Black Colleges immediately after the Civil War in the most contested region of the Eastern seaboard—Shaw University, Virginia Union University and Benedict College. After the Civil War, there were different schools of thought on how to fill the void in African American education. Ex-slaves, Radical southerners, Freemen, Northern Baptist, Black Baptist, Southern Baptists, and missionary organizations from various denominations all offered varying perspectives on what forms of educations were relevant for the newly emancipated slave. Some held to the notion that industrial education was …

A Clinical Nurse Leader Nurse Navigator Program For Heart Failure Patients, Shanna Lantel Negron

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this integrative review is to examine the literature regarding nurse-led educational interventions, transitional care (TC) strategies for heart failure (HF) patients, nurse navigation, HF self-care, and the clinical nurse leader (CNL) role to support integrating a CNL into the care delivery model serving as a nurse navigator (NN) for adult HF patients being discharged home from the hospital. The basis for this review is to identify an innovative way to improve patient reported and clinical outcomes for the HF population which increases each year. The economic and symptom burden associated with this disease is high further enhanced …

The Impact And Inability Of Leaders To Address Employee Grievances, Esther Ayomide Osayi

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Grievances are common within the workplace representing the major challenges that employees face making it difficult for them to work. Employee grievances are harmful to organizations because they reduce productivity, motivation, and job satisfaction undermining performance. The purpose of this flexible qualitative phenomenological study was to explore and expand the understanding of the impact and the inability of leaders to provide solutions to employee grievances in the healthcare industry in the northeastern part of the United States resulting in the reduction of organizational performance. The study involved conducting semi-structured interviews with 20 research participants consisting of 10 organizational leaders and …

High-Latitude Kelps And Future Oceans: A Review Of Multiple Stressor Impacts In A Changing World, Veronica Farrugia Drakard, Jordan Hollarsmith, Michael Stekoll

Faculty, Staff, and Students

Kelp forests worldwide are threatened by both climate change and localized anthropogenic impacts. Species with cold-temperate, subpolar, or polar distributions are projected to experience range contractions over the coming decades, which may be exacerbated by climatic events such as marine heatwaves and increased freshwater and sediment input from rapidly contracting glaciers. The northeast Pacific has an extensive history of harvesting and cultivating kelps for subsistence, commercial, and other uses, and, therefore, declines in kelp abundance and distributional shifts will have significant impacts on this region. Gaps in our understanding of how cold-temperate kelp species respond to climate stressors have limited …

The Long Game: A Functional Cure Is Possible With Nucleoside Analogues And The Tincture Of Time, Nicholas Noverati, Vivian Yan, Jay Jun, Dina Halegoua-De Marzio, Hie-Won Hann

Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Faculty Papers

Chronic hepatitis B is still prevalent globally. Many patients are treated for many years with nucleos(t)ide analogues to prevent the virus from actively replicating. However, although it typically requires consecutive treatment for more than 10 years, patients can achieve a functional cure from this virus. This case series presents details of functional cures in patients who received varying nucleos(t)ide therapies for an average of 15.3 years before losses of hepatitis B surface antigen and viral load were observed. It is imperative to understand that abbreviating therapy once a functional cure is achieved may be a possibility in treating patients in …

The Lived Experiences Of Student-Parents In Higher Education Who Utilize The Childcare Program At Eastern Community College: A Phenomenological Study, Kindra Lawanda Moore-Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of student-parents who use the Parents for Higher Education program at Eastern Community College. The theory that guided this study was McClusky’s theory of margin, which addresses the support and services adults need to accomplish their goals in life. This framework provided a connection that explained the importance of childcare subsidies and the needs met while attending classes for community college students—the transcendental phenomenology approach used. The setting for this study was the virtual platform Zoom. The study was conducted using 10 participants, all student-parents who participated in the …

A Descriptive, Multi-Site Case Study To Discover The Inclusion Of Disability Competencies In Undergraduate Public Health Program Curricula In California-Based Public Universities, Jacqueline Suzanne Siukola Tompkins

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Nearly one in four adults and one in six children in the United States (U.S.) have a disability. Despite the evidence documenting health differences, public health professionals receive inconsistent or little-to-no disability education in graduate public health curricula. Undergraduate public health (UGPH) programs have an expanding role in building the future public health workforce, including the U.S. governmental public health workforce. However, the inclusion of disability-related content within UGPH program curricula is currently unknown. The purpose of this multi-site case study was to conduct preliminary research to describe how disability-related curricula are or can be included in UGPH program curricula …

Short-Term Responses Of Soil Carbon, Nitrogen, And Microbial Biomass To Cover Crop Mixtures And Monocultures, Igor Alexandre De Souza, Amanda B. Daly, Jorg Schnecker, Nicholas D. Warren, Adalfredo Rocha Lobo Jr., Richard G. Smith, Andre Fonseca Brito, A. Stuart Grandy

Faculty Publications

Increasingly, cover crops are being adopted for the purpose of improving soil health, yet the timescale and magnitude by which living annual cover crops might modify soil chemical and biological aspects of soil health is not well understood. At the same time, there is growing interest among farmers in cover crop mixtures due to perceptions that species-rich cover crop communities will enhance soil health relative to monocultures. In a field experiment in southeast New Hampshire, we investigated how groups of cover crops grown as monocultures and mixtures for specific seasonal niches (winter/spring, summer, and fall) influenced levels of soil nitrogen …