Digital Commons Network^™

Daily Posture Behavior Patterns Derived From Multitime-Scale Topic Models Using Wearable Triaxial Acceleration For Assessment Of Concern About Falling, Changhong Wang, Yu Wang, Haitao Zhao, Guanzheng Liu, Bijan Najafi

Center on Aging Staff Publications

Concern about falling is prevalent in older population. This condition would cause a series of adverse physical and psychological consequences for older adults' health. Traditional assessment of concern about falling is relied on self-reported questionnaires and thus is too subjective. Therefore, we proposed a novel multi-time-scale topic modelling approach to quantitatively evaluate concern about falling by analyzing triaxial acceleration signals collected from a wearable pendent sensor. Different posture segments were firstly recognized to extract their corresponding feature subsets. Then, each selected feature related to concern about falling was clustered into discrete levels as feature letters of artificial words in different …

Increased Hepatic Interleukin-1, Arachidonic Acid, And Reactive Oxygen Species Mediate The Protective Potential Of Peptides Shared By Gut Cysteine Peptidases Against Schistosoma Mansoni Infection In Mice, Hatem Tallima, Rashika El Ridi

Faculty Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Differences In Toxicity And Accumulation Of Metal From Copper Oxide Nanomaterials Compared To Copper Sulphate In Zebrafish Embryos: Delayed Hatching, The Chorion Barrier And Physiological Effects, Spp Pereira, D Boyle, A Nogueira, Rd Handy

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

The mechanisms of toxicity of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) to the early life stages of freshwater fish, and the relative hazard compared to dissolved metals, is only partially understood. In the present study, zebrafish embryos were exposed to lethal concentrations of copper sulphate (CuSO4) or copper oxide (CuO) ENMs (primary size ∼15 nm), and then the sub-lethal effects investigated at the LC10 concentrations over 96 h. The 96 h-LC50 (mean ± 95% CI) for CuSO4 was 303 ± 14 µg Cu L−1 compared to 53 ± 9.9 mg L−1 of the whole material for CuO ENMs; with the ENMs being orders …

Fresh Produce As A Potential Vector And Reservoir For Human Bacterial Pathogens: Revealing The Ambiguity Of Interaction And Transmission, Ahmed Esmael, Rashad R. Al-Hindi, Raed S. Albiheyri, Mona G. Alharbi, Amani A. R. Filimban, Mazen S. Alseghayer, Abdulaziz M. Almaneea, Meshari Ahmed Alhadlaq, Jumaa Ayubu, Addisu D. Teklemariam

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

The consumer demand for fresh produce (vegetables and fruits) has considerably increased since the 1980s for more nutritious foods and healthier life practices, particularly in developed countries. Currently, several foodborne outbreaks have been linked to fresh produce. The global rise in fresh produce associated with human infections may be due to the use of wastewater or any contaminated water for the cultivation of fruits and vegetables, the firm attachment of the foodborne pathogens on the plant surface, and the internalization of these agents deep inside the tissue of the plant, poor disinfection practices and human consumption of raw fresh produce. …

Spectrum, Volume 50, Issue 6, Sacred Heart University

Newspapers (Obelisk & Spectrum)

Highlights include: The Use of Al in Education -- Train Derailment in Ohio -- Roald Dahl Rewritten -- New Degree to Pursue: School Counseling -- Tired of Dining Hall Food? -- The Pogues Journey Continues -- “Mom, I Don’t Want-War” -- New Era For SHU Baseball -- Women’s Wrestling Competes at Nationals -- A Fellow Pioneer in Need

Hydraulic Modeling And Environmental Flows To Inform Ecological Models, Aubrey E. Harris

Civil Engineering ETDs

The widespread availability of high-quality terrain and long-term hydrologic monitoring data has increased opportunities in hydraulic modeling to support regional planning and decision-making. Hydraulic modeling is already a prevalent tool in riverine construction design for issues like flood control and erosion protection. Despite hydraulic models also being relevant for characterizing habitat conditions, the use of hydraulic modeling for ecological assessment has been fragmented in scale and application. The state of the science presents multiple ways to identify environmental flow criteria and hydraulic estimation of habitat areas. However, it has been challenging to combine these approaches as a parsimonious and effective …

An Essential Endoplasmic Reticulum-Resident N-Acetyltransferase Ortholog In Plasmodium Falciparum, Alexander J Polino, Muhammad M Hasan, Katherine Floyd, Yolotzin Avila-Cruz, Yujuan Yang, Daniel E Goldberg

2020-Current year OA Pubs

N-terminal acetylation is a common eukaryotic protein modification that involves the addition of an acetyl group to the N-terminus of a polypeptide. This modification is largely performed by cytosolic N-terminal acetyltransferases (NATs). Most associate with the ribosome, acetylating nascent polypeptides co-translationally. In the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, exported effectors are thought to be translated into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), processed by the aspartic protease plasmepsin V and then N-acetylated, despite having no clear access to cytosolic NATs. Here, we used inducible gene deletion and post-transcriptional knockdown to investigate the primary ER-resident NAT candidate, Pf3D7_1437000. We found that it localizes to …

Kdm6a Loss Triggers An Epigenetic Switch That Disrupts Urothelial Differentiation And Drives Cell Proliferation In Bladder Cancer, Hong Qiu, Jennifer K Bolzenius, Angela Halstead, Vivek Arora, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

UNLABELLED: Disruption of KDM6A, a histone lysine demethylase, is one of the most common somatic alternations in bladder cancer. Insights into how KDM6A mutations affect the epigenetic landscape to promote carcinogenesis could help reveal potential new treatment approaches. Here, we demonstrated that KDM6A loss triggers an epigenetic switch that disrupts urothelial differentiation and induces a neoplastic state characterized by increased cell proliferation. In bladder cancer cells with intact KDM6A, FOXA1 interacted with KDM6A to activate genes instructing urothelial differentiation. KDM6A-deficient cells displayed simultaneous loss of FOXA1 target binding and genome-wide redistribution of the bZIP transcription factor ATF3, which in turn …

The Alpha7 Integrin Subunit In Astrocytes Promotes Endothelial Blood-Brain Barrier Integrity, Zhihua Chen, Jack R Kelly, John E Morales, Raymond C Sun, Arpan De, Joseph H Mccarty

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a vascular endothelial cell boundary that partitions the circulation from the central nervous system to promote normal brain health. We have a limited understanding of how the BBB is formed during development and maintained in adulthood. We used quantitative transcriptional profiling to investigate whether specific adhesion molecules are involved in BBB functions, with an emphasis on understanding how astrocytes interact with endothelial cells. Our results reveal a striking enrichment of multiple genes encoding laminin subunits as well as the laminin receptor gene Itga7, which encodes the alpha7 integrin subunit, in astrocytes. Genetic ablation of Itga7 …

Sequential Targeting Of Retinoblastoma And Dna Synthesis Pathways Is A Therapeutic Strategy For Sarcomas That Can Be Monitored In Real Time, Tuyen Duong Thanh Nguyen, Yan Wang, Tuyen N Bui, Rossana Lazcano, Davis R Ingram, Varshini Vakulabharanam, Marc A Pina, Cansu Karakas, Mi Li, Nicole M Kettner, Neeta Somaiah, Peter J Hougton, Osama Mawlawi, Alexander J Lazar, Kelly K Hunt, Khandan Keyomarsi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Treatment strategies with a strong scientific rationale based on specific biomarkers are needed to improve outcomes in patients with advanced sarcomas. Suppression of cell cycle progression through reactivation of the tumor suppressor retinoblastoma (Rb) using CDK4/6 inhibitors is a potential avenue for novel targeted therapies in sarcomas that harbor intact Rb signaling. Here, we evaluated combination treatment strategies (sequential and concomitant) with the CDK4/6 inhibitor abemacicib to identify optimal combination strategies. Expression of Rb was examined in 1043 sarcoma tumor specimens, and 50% were found to be Rb-positive. Using in vitro and in vivo models, an effective 2-step sequential combination …

Sequential Targeting Of Retinoblastoma And Dna Synthesis Pathways Is A Therapeutic Strategy For Sarcomas That Can Be Monitored In Real Time, Tuyen Duong Thanh Nguyen, Yan Wang, Tuyen N Bui, Rossana Lazcano, Davis R Ingram, Varshini Vakulabharanam, Marc A Pina, Cansu Karakas, Mi Li, Nicole M Kettner, Neeta Somaiah, Peter J Hougton, Osama Mawlawi, Alexander J Lazar, Kelly K Hunt, Khandan Keyomarsi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Treatment strategies with a strong scientific rationale based on specific biomarkers are needed to improve outcomes in patients with advanced sarcomas. Suppression of cell-cycle progression through reactivation of the tumor suppressor retinoblastoma (Rb) using CDK4/6 inhibitors is a potential avenue for novel targeted therapies in sarcomas that harbor intact Rb signaling. Here, we evaluated combination treatment strategies (sequential and concomitant) with the CDK4/6 inhibitor abemacicib to identify optimal combination strategies. Expression of Rb was examined in 1,043 sarcoma tumor specimens, and 50% were found to be Rb-positive. Using in vitro and in vivo models, an effective two-step sequential combination strategy …

Kdm6a Loss Triggers An Epigenetic Switch That Disrupts Urothelial Differentiation And Drives Cell Proliferation In Bladder Cancer, Hong Qiu, Vladimir Makarov, Jennifer K Bolzenius, Angela Halstead, Yvonne Parker, Gopakumar V Iyer, Daniel Kim, Varna Thayaparan, Daniel J Lindner, Georges-Pascal Haber, Angela H Ting, Bing Ren, Timothy A Chan, Vivek Arora, David B Solit, Byron H Lee

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Disruption of KDM6A, a histone lysine demethylase, is one of the most common somatic alternations in bladder cancer. Insights into how KDM6A mutations affect the epigenetic landscape to promote carcinogenesis could help reveal potential new treatment approaches. Here, we demonstrated that KDM6A loss triggers an epigenetic switch that disrupts urothelial differentiation and induces a neoplastic state characterized by increased cell proliferation. In bladder cancer cells with intact KDM6A, FOXA1 interacted with KDM6A to activate genes instructing urothelial differentiation. KDM6A-deficient cells displayed simultaneous loss of FOXA1 target binding and genome-wide redistribution of the bZIP transcription factor ATF3, which in turn repressed …

Safety Of Nivolumab Added To Chemoradiation Therapy Platforms For Intermediate And High-Risk Locoregionally Advanced Head And Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Rtog Foundation 3504, Maura L Gillison, Robert L Ferris, Jonathan Harris, A Dimitrios Colevas, Loren K Mell, Richard C Jordan, Minh-Tam Truong, Claudia Kirsch, Arnab Chakravarti, Dukagjin M Blakaj, David A Clump, James P Ohr, John F Deeken, Michael F Gensheimer, Nabil F Saba, Jennifer A Dorth, David I Rosenthal, Rom S Leidner, Randall J Kimple, Mitchell Machtay, Walter J Curran, Pedro Torres-Saavedra, Quynh Thu Le

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: Programmed death-1 immune checkpoint blockade improves survival of patients with recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), but the benefits of addition to (chemo)radiation for newly diagnosed patients with HNSCC remain unknown.

METHODS AND MATERIALS: We evaluated the safety of nivolumab concomitant with 70 Gy intensity modulated radiation therapy and weekly cisplatin (arm 1), every 3-week cisplatin (arm 2), cetuximab (arm 3), or alone for platinum-ineligible patients (arm 4) in newly diagnosed intermediate- or high-risk locoregionally advanced HNSCC. Patients received nivolumab from 2 weeks prior to radiation therapy until 3 months post-radiation therapy. The primary endpoint was dose-limiting …

Powerpoint - Post-Planting Biodiversity Inventory, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

No abstract provided.

Lesson Plan - Post-Planting Biodiversity Inventory, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

The purpose of this lesson is to conduct post-planting biodiversity inventories

Dwarfism And Gigantism Drive Human-Mediated Extinctions On Islands, Roberto Rozzi, Mark V. Lomolino, Alexandra A.E. Van Der Geer, Daniele Silvestro, S. Kathleen Lyons, Pere Bover, Josep A. Alcover, Ana Benítez-López, Cheng-Hsiu Tsai, Masaki Fujita, Mugino O. Kubo, Janinie Ochoa, Matthew E, Scarborough, Samuel T. Turvey, Alexander Zizka, Jonathan M. Chase

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Islands have long been recognized as distinctive evolutionary arenas leading to morphologically divergent species, such as dwarfs and giants. We assessed how body size evolution in island mammals may have exacerbated their vulnerability, as well as how human arrival has contributed to their past and ongoing extinctions, by integrating data on 1231 extant and 350 extinct species from islands and paleo islands worldwide spanning the past 23 million years. We found that the likelihood of extinction and of endangerment are highest in the most extreme island dwarfs and giants. Extinction risk of insular mammals was compounded by the arrival of …

Powerpoint - Attracting Pollinators, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

No abstract provided.

Academic Senate - Agenda, 3/14/2023, Academic Senate

Academic Senate Agendas

No abstract provided.

A Multiscale Linkage Between Riverscape And Fish Community Coevolution, Loren W. Stearman

Dissertations

Sediment dynamics are foundational to stream and watershed morphology. Yet aquatic ecologists have relied on an oversimplified model of sediment dynamics characterizing sediments as agents of stream bed burial, and which fails to describe many types of aquatic habitat evolution. In this dissertation I employ both fluvial geomorphic and ecological frameworks to gain a deeper understanding of how sediment dynamics shape stream morphology and fish community evolution at multiple scales. Using a paired historic and contemporary approach, I analyzed geomorphic evolution and fish community change in the Bayou Pierre, Mississippi, from the 1980s to recent. Patterns of erosion due to …

An Investigation Of The Response By Arkansas Administrators To Students Vaping In Their Schools, Andrew Schroeder

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

As school safety continues to be a growing issue in public schools, this study takes an exploratory approach to examine the impact vaping is having on public schools in Arkansas. Student vaping is rapidly becoming a common issue in schools. This study examined the response to vaping from administrators in Arkansas. The study surveyed 82 Arkansas Public School Administrators serving grades anywhere from 1^st grade through 12^th grade. The questions included multiple choice, open response, and Likert Scale type questions to gather a plethora of data to gain insight about the response administrators are implementing in their schools. …

Improving Recognition Of Depression Among The Older Adult Population, Keirstin E. Uomoto

Dissertations

Depression is a common mental health disorder faced by older adults that can go undetected and untreated. It was determined that the project site was not using a screening tool for depression among their patient population to identify or treat possible depression. The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental quality improvement project was to determine if the implementation of Yesavage's Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15) would impact the identification of risk factors for depression and the initiation of pharmacological treatment, follow-up, and referral to a mental health specialist among adults 65 and older.

Spoilage Pseudomonas Survive Common Thermal Processing Schedules And Grow In Emulsified Meat During Extended Vacuum Storage, Samuel C. Watson, Rebecca A. Furbeck, Samodha C. Fernando, Byron D. Chaves, Gary Sullivan

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Some Pseudomonas species are common meat spoilage bacteria that are often associated with the spoilage of fresh meat. The recently reported ability of these bacteria to also spoil cooked and vacuum packaged meat products has created the need to investigate all potential routes of spoilage they may be able to utilize. The objective of this experiment was to determine if spoilage Pseudomonas spp. survive thermal processing and grow during refrigerated storage under vacuum. Pseudomonas spp. isolates collected from spoiled turkey products were inoculated into a salted and seasoned meat emulsion that was vacuum sealed and thermally treated to final temperatures …

Understanding The Effects Of Trenbolone Acetate, Polyamine Precursors, And Polyamines On Proliferation, Protein Synthesis Rates, And The Abundance Of Genes Involved In Myoblast Growth, Polyamine Biosynthesis, And Protein Synthesis In Murine Myoblasts, Laura A. Motsinger, Lillian L. Okamoto, Nikole E. Ineck, Brynne A. Udy, Christopher L. Erickson, Youssef Harraq, Caleb C. Reichhardt, Gordon K. Murdoch, Kara Jean Thornton-Kurth

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Research suggests that androgens increase skeletal muscle growth by modulating polyamine biosynthesis. As such, the objective of this study was to investigate effects of anabolic hormones, polyamine precursors, and polyamines relative to proliferation, protein synthesis, and the abundance of mRNA involved in polyamine biosynthesis, proliferation, and protein synthesis in C2C12 and Sol8 cells. Cultures were treated with anabolic hormones (trenbolone acetate and/or estradiol), polyamine precursors (methionine or ornithine), or polyamines (putrescine, spermidine, or spermine). Messenger RNA was isolated 0.5 or 1, 12, or 24 h post-treatment. The cell type had no effect (p > 0.10) on proliferation, protein synthesis, or …

Glut1 Is Redundant In Hypoxic And Glycolytic Nucleus Pulposus Cells Of The Intervertebral Disc, Shira N. Johnston, Elizabeth S. Silagi, Vedavathi Madhu, Duc H. Nguyen, Irving M. Shapiro, Makarand V. Risbud

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Faculty Papers

Glycolysis is central to homeostasis of nucleus pulposus (NP) cells in the avascular intervertebral disc. Since the glucose transporter, GLUT1, is a highly enriched phenotypic marker of NP cells, we hypothesized that it is vital for the development and postnatal maintenance of the disc. Surprisingly, primary NP cells treated with 2 well-characterized GLUT1 inhibitors maintained normal rates of glycolysis and ATP production, indicating intrinsic compensatory mechanisms. We showed in vitro that NP cells mitigated GLUT1 loss by rewiring glucose import through GLUT3. Of note, we demonstrated that substrates, such as glutamine and palmitate, did not compensate for glucose restriction resulting …

The Concentration Of Heavy Metals In Lincoln Nebraska's Tap Water, Evan Neuhaus

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Heavy metals are commonplace in nature, and are typically found in scarce quantities in all drinking sources. However, in high enough concentrations, they can have a myriad of negative health effects. This study seeks to find the concentrations of such metals in the Lincoln water supply utilizing the resources of the Water Center at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. To test for discrete concentrations of trace elements, a method of using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) was implemented. ICP-MS uses plasma to ionize and atomize a sample which is then filtered into a series of cones into a …

Teaching Science For Social Justice: Curriculum, Pedagogy, And Critical Science Agency In Independent School Classrooms, Selene Y. Willis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research on social justice continues to be conducted in urban, diverse schools, while independent schools are traditionally overlooked and absent from research in many disciplines, including science education. This embedded case study uses a critical pedagogical lens to examine this gap in the research literature by examining and describing what it looks like to teach science for social justice within a suburban independent school in the southeastern United States.Research on social justice continues to be conducted in urban, diverse schools. In contrast, independent schools are traditionally overlooked and absent from research in many disciplines, including science education. This embedded case …

Diatom Diversity And Functional Groups In 72 Florida Lakes: Assessing Ecological Changes For Improved Protection And Management, Francesca M. Lauterman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Florida lakes are diverse ecosystems and are an important part of the state's biodiversity and ecosystem services. As human population and development increase across the state, many lakes have been documented as nutrient impaired and are unable to maintain essential ecological functions. In this study, diatom diversity and functional groups in 72 Florida lakes were assessed for their relationships with associated water-quality data. Common alpha diversity indices, including Shannon-Weiner Index, the Gini-Simpson Index, and Hill’s numbers were utilized to measure trends in diatom communities, while the relationships between diatom lifeform characteristics and environmental data were explored using multivariate methods and …

Creating The Listener Language: A Constructed Language With Semantic Rhythms And Tones, Dallyn H. Mccracken

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Through creating a language that uses semantic rhythms to convey information in ways that typical intonation does not, I was able to see the benefits and drawbacks of strict semantic intonation. The Listener language replaces intonation with rhythms, and it uses rhythms in place of intonation in cases where intonation would generally be used in other languages, though it also uses rhythms in all other speech. Rhythms in the Listener language are grammatical, and speaking the language without the rhythms is considered to be ungrammatical. During the language construction process, there were several setbacks, both expected and unexpected. The Listener …

Magnetized Chitosan Hydrogel And Silk Fibroin, Reinforced With Pva: A Novel Nanobiocomposite For Biomedical And Hyperthermia Applications, Reza Eivazzadeh-Keihan, Zeinab Pajoum, Hooman Aghamirza Moghim Aliabadi, Adibeh Mohammadi, Amir Kashtiaray, Milad Salimi Bani, Banafshe Pishva, Ali Maleki, Majid M Heravi, Mohammad Mahdavi, Elaheh Ziaei Ziabari

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Faculty Papers

Herein, a multifunctional nanobiocomposite was designed for biological application, amongst which hyperthermia cancer therapy application was specifically investigated. This nanobiocomposite was fabricated based on chitosan hydrogel (CS), silk fibroin (SF), water-soluble polymer polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄ MNPs). CS and SF as natural compounds were used to improve the biocompatibility, biodegradability, adhesion and cell growth properties of the nanobiocomposite that can prepare this nanocomposite for the other biological applications such as wound healing and tissue engineering. Since the mechanical properties are very important in biological applications, PVA polymer was used to increase the …

Foregrounding The Code: Computational Chemistry Instructional Activities Using A Highly Readable Fluid Simulation Code, Gianmarc Grazioli, Adam Ingwerson, David Santiago, Patrick Regan, Hee Kun Cho

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Computational chemistry instructional activities are often based around students running chemical simulations via a graphical user interface (GUI). GUI-based activities offer many advantages, as they enable students to run chemical simulations with a few mouse clicks. Although these activities are excellent for introducing students to the capabilities of chemical simulations, the disadvantage is that the students’ experience is not representative of how professional computational chemists work. Just as it is important that students in an organic chemistry instructional lab gain hands-on experience with equipment commonly used by professional organic chemists, students of computational chemistry must gain hands-on experience with coding, …