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Anti-Inflammatory And Antioxidant Effects Of Sea Urchin Spine Extract, Dina Magdy El Gamal

The Undergraduate Research Journal

Diadema savignyi spine extract in an experimental setup using L929 cell line in vitro. The cell metabolic activity of L929 cells is tested through an MTT assay. The sea urchin spine extract is applied to the cells in two concentrations: 100 μg/ml (136% viability) and 200 μg/ml (95% viability). The bioactive components of the sea urchin spine are identified via GC-MS, and the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities are evaluated using catalase assay (CAT), glutathione (GSH), and nitric oxide (NO) tests. Results show that the GC-MS identified bioactive components including the anti-inflammatory and anti-irritant bisabolol oxide and the pro-inflammatory oleic acid. …

Environmental Impacts Of Gamma Versus X-Ray Irradiation Sterilization, Robert Barrentine

Single Use Technologies VI: Established, Emergent, Agile, Sustainable?

Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract.

Steamed Broccoli Sprouts Alleviate Dss-Induced Inflammation And Retain Gut Microbial Biogeography In Mice, Johanna M. Holman, Louisa Colucci, Dorien Baudewyns, Joe Balkan, Timothy Hunt, Benjamin Hunt, Marissa Kinney, Lola Holcomb, Allesandra Stratigakis, Grace Chen, Peter L. Moses, Gary M. Mawe, Tao Zhang, Yanyan Li, Suzanne L. Ishaq

Pharmacy Faculty Scholarship

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are devastating conditions of the gastrointestinal tract with limited treatments, and dietary intervention may be effective and affordable for managing symptoms. Glucosinolate compounds are highly concentrated in broccoli sprouts, especially glucoraphanin (GLR), and can be metabolized by certain mammalian gut bacteria into antiinflammatory isothiocyanates, such as sulforaphane. Gut microbiota exhibit biogeographic patterns, but it is unknown if colitis alters these or whether the location of glucoraphanin-metabolizing bacteria affects antiinflammatory benefits. We fed specific pathogen-free C57BL/6 mice either a control diet or a 10% steamed broccoli sprout diet and gave a three-cycle regimen of 2.5% dextran sodium …

Bioreactivity Testing In Single Use Technologies; Industry Position Paper, Nicole Hunter, Monica Cardona, Ariana W. Gleisberg, Sade Mokuolu

Single Use Technologies VI: Established, Emergent, Agile, Sustainable?

Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract.

Revealing Gene Regulation-Based Neural Network Computing In Bacteria, Samitha S. Somathilaka, Sasitharan Balasubramaniam, Daniel P. Martins, Xu Li

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

Bacteria are known to interpret a range of external molecular signals that are crucial for sensing environmental conditions and adapting their behaviors accordingly. These external signals are processed through a multitude of signaling transduction networks that include the gene regulatory network (GRN). From close observation, the GRN resembles and exhibits structural and functional properties that are similar to artificial neural networks. An in-depth analysis of gene expression dynamics further provides a new viewpoint of characterizing the inherited computing properties underlying the GRN of bacteria despite being non-neuronal organisms. In this study, we introduce a model to quantify the gene-to-gene interaction …

Sctiger: A Deep-Learning Method For Inferring Gene Regulatory Networks From Single-Cell Gene Expression Data, Madison Dautle

Theses and Dissertations

Inferring gene regulatory networks (GRNs) from single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) data is an important computational question to reveal fundamental regulatory mechanisms. Although many computational methods have been designed to predict GRNs, none work on condition specific GRNs by directly using paired datasets of case versus control experiments, common in diverse biological research projects. We present a novel deep-learning based method, scTIGER, for GRN detection by using the co-dynamics of gene expression. scTIGER also employs cell type-based pseudotiming, an attention-based convolutional neural network method, and permutation-based significance testing to infer GRNs from gene modules. We first applied scTIGER to scRNA-seq datasets of …

A Novel Fuzzy Relative-Position-Coding Transformer For Breast Cancer Diagnosis Using Ultrasonography, Yanhui Guo, Ruquan Jiang, Xin Gu, Heng-Da Cheng, Harish Garg

Computer Science Faculty and Staff Publications

Breast cancer is a leading cause of death in women worldwide, and early detection is crucial for successful treatment. Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems have been developed to assist doctors in identifying breast cancer on ultrasound images. In this paper, we propose a novel fuzzy relative-position-coding (FRPC) Transformer to classify breast ultrasound (BUS) images for breast cancer diagnosis. The proposed FRPC Transformer utilizes the self-attention mechanism of Transformer networks combined with fuzzy relative-position-coding to capture global and local features of the BUS images. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated on one benchmark dataset and compared with those obtained by …

The Rattler (Volume 112, Issue 1), St. Mary's University

The Rattler (Previous issues)

Founded in 1919, The Rattler is the student voice of St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. The newspaper documents campus life, academic and social issues, student opinion, and local and national events as they relate to the University community. Content typically includes news articles, editorial commentary, arts and culture coverage, sports reporting, and advertisements.

Detection Of Diagnostic And Prognostic Methylation-Based Signatures In Liquid Biopsy Specimens From Patients With Meningiomas, Grayson A. Herrgott, James M. Snyder, Ruicong She, Tathiane M. Malta, Thais S. Sabedot, Ian Y. Lee, Jacob Pawloski, Guilherme G. Podolsky-Gondim, Karam P. Asmaro, Jiaqi Zhang, Cara E. Cannella, Kevin K. Nelson, Bartow Thomas, Ana C. De Carvalho, Laura A. Hasselbach, Kelly M. Tundo, Rehnuma Newaz, Andrea D. Transou, Natalia S. Morosini, Victor Francisco, Laila M. Poisson, Dhananjay A. Chitale, Abir Mukherjee, Maritza S. Mosella, Adam M. Robin, Tobias Walbert, Mark Rosenblum, Tom Mikkelsen, Steven N. Kalkanis, Daniela P. C Tirapelli, Daniel J. Weisenberger, Carlos G. Carlotti, Jack Rock, Ana V. Castro, Houtan Noushmehr

Neurosurgery Articles

Recurrence of meningiomas is unpredictable by current invasive methods based on surgically removed specimens. Identification of patients likely to recur using noninvasive approaches could inform treatment strategy, whether intervention or monitoring. In this study, we analyze the DNA methylation levels in blood (serum and plasma) and tissue samples from 155 meningioma patients, compared to other central nervous system tumor and non-tumor entities. We discover DNA methylation markers unique to meningiomas and use artificial intelligence to create accurate and universal models for identifying and predicting meningioma recurrence, using either blood or tissue samples. Here we show that liquid biopsy is a …

September 13, 2023 Faculty Senate Minutes, University Of South Carolina

Faculty Senate

No abstract provided.

September 13, 2023 (Vol. 108, No. 4), Daily Eastern News

Daily Eastern News: 2023-2024

No abstract provided.

Cationic Cobalt(Ii) Bisphosphine Hydroformylation Catalysis: In Situ Spectroscopic And Reaction Studies, Drew M. Hood, Ryan A. Johnson, David J. Vinyard, Frank R. Fronczek, George G. Stanley

Faculty Publications

[HCo(CO)x(bisphosphine)](BF4), x = 1-3, is a highly active hydroformylation catalyst system, especially for internal branched alkenes. In situ infrared spectroscopy (IR), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and nuclear magnetic resonance studies support the proposed catalyst formulation. IR studies reveal the formation of a dicationic Co(I) paramagnetic CO-bridged dimer, [Co2(μ-CO)2(CO)(bisphosphine)2]²⁺, at lower temperatures formed from the reaction of two catalyst complexes via the elimination of H2. DFT studies indicate a dimer structure with square-pyramidal and tetrahedral cobalt centers. This monomer-dimer equilibrium is analogous to that seen for HCo(CO)4, reacting to eliminate H2 and form Co2(CO)8. EPR studies on the catalyst …

Analysing Gamma Frequency Components In Eeg Signals: A Comprehensive Extraction Approach, Tanvir Hasib, Vijayakumar Vengadasalam

Journal of Informatics and Web Engineering

Gamma band activity is a high-frequency (30-100 Hz) oscillation of the electroencephalogram (EEG) that has been linked to a variety of cognitive processes including attention, memory and learning. However, extracting gamma band activity from EEG data can be challenging due to the relatively low signal-to-noise ratio of gamma band signals and the presence of other frequency bands such as beta and alpha. In this paper, we present a method for extracting gamma band activity from EEG data. We evaluated our method on a dataset of EEG data recorded from dyslexic patients. We found that our method was able to successfully …

Charting The Landscape Of Ventral Stream Neural Code On Generative Image Manifolds, Binxu Wang

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The natural world features high-dimensional retinal inputs to the visual system. In contrast, to study vision in the lab, only sparsely sampled image sets are used. Given this immense natural image manifold, what is a principled way to sample and understand the neural representations on it? In this thesis, we frame the neural coding question in a geometric way. Neural tuning can be conceptualized as a landscape on the natural image manifold, and generative models such as GANs provide a concrete instantiation of the manifolds. We hypothesized that the maximally activating images or peaks on these landscapes are critical for …

Resistance To Dna Interstrand Crosslinks In Escherichia Coli Arises Through Prevention Rather Than Repair, Travis Kim Worley

Dissertations and Theses

DNA interstrand crosslinks are particularly lethal lesions that form in DNA when certain molecules intercalate between complementary strands of DNA and form covalent bonds with both strands. Once formed, these lesions present an absolute block to replication and transcription, ultimately resulting in cell death. Because of this lethality, chemicals that form DNA interstrand crosslinks are found in nature as defensive chemicals produced by plants and microbes. Moreover, crosslinking agents have proven effective the treatment of dysplastic conditions and are often first line chemotherapeutics.

However, cancer cells can become resistant to DNA interstrand crosslinks. Unlike other DNA lesions, the double-stranded nature …

The Effectiveness Of Disinfection Protocols In Osteopathic Family Medicine Offices, Riley Phyu, Harrison A Patrizio, Thomas Boyle, Todd Schachter

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

CONTEXT: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) pose a substantial public health threat. Despite significant strides to curb HAIs in hospital environments, outpatient settings have not received the same degree of attention. Given their emphasis on holistic, patient-centered care, osteopathic family medicine offices are pivotal in both disease prevention and comprehensive patient treatment. The importance of simple yet effective disinfection protocols, such as thorough cleaning between patient appointments, cannot be overstated in these settings because they are integral to minimizing disease transmission.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to assess the effectiveness of the current disinfection protocols in osteopathic family medicine offices.

METHODS: A cross-sectional …

Transhuman Bodies: A Survey Of Three Avenues Of Societal Critique From Literature With Cyborg, Android, And Clone Subjects, Wesley Sanders

Student Theses and Dissertations

This thesis seeks to explore three different avenues of societal critique using works in Science Fiction which have as their subjects cyborgs, androids, or clones. In the thesis, I begin by addressing the unique way SF literature comments on gender politics through the use of objectified cyborgs and androids, typically with male creators and would be male masters. Following this, I explore the concept of a semiotic liminality surrounding cyborgs and androids and illustrate how that liminality complicates conceptions of what constitutes a living creature. Finally, the thesis shifts to the commodification of the cyborg where I attempt to illustrate …

A Cost-Based Dual Convnet-Attention Transfer Learning Model For Ecg Heartbeat Classification, Johnson Olanrewaju Victor, Xinying Chew, Khai Wah Khaw, Ming Ha Lee

Journal of Informatics and Web Engineering

The heart is a very crucial organ of the body. Concerted efforts are constantly put forward to provide adequate monitoring of the heart. A heart disorder is reported to cause a lot of hidden ailments resulting in numerous deaths. Early heart monitoring using an electrocardiogram (ECG) through the advancement of computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) systems is widely used. Meanwhile, the use of human reading of ECG results are faced with many challenges of inaccurate and unreliable interpretations. Over two decades, studies provided artificial intelligence (AI) technique using machine learning (ML) algorithms as a fast and reliable technique for ECG heartbeat classification. …

The Assistance Of Eye Blink Detection For Two- Factor Authentication, Wei-Hoong Chuah, Siew-Chin Chong, Lee-Ying Chong

Journal of Informatics and Web Engineering

This paper discusses the implementation of a blink detection method using 68 facial markers and the eye aspect ratio (EAR) to provide strong protection for access systems. It investigates the importance of 68 facial markers and explores how to use eye landmarks to calculate the eye aspect ratio. Access systems, which should have good security measures and be difficult to decipher, are typically safeguarded by passwords or multi-factor verification, such as passwords combined with facial recognition. However, these methods have inherent weaknesses, including the risk of shoulder surfing with passwords and the potential to be deceived by fake face images …

Genregait: Gender Recognition Using Gait Features, Yue Fong Ti, Tee Connie, Michael Kah Ong Goh

Journal of Informatics and Web Engineering

Gender recognition based on gait features has gained significant interest due to its wide range of applications in various fields. This paper proposes GenReGait, a robust method for gender recognition utilizing gait features. Gait, the unique walking pattern of individuals, contains distinct gender-specific characteristics, such as stride length, step frequency, and body posture, making it a promising modality for gender estimation. The proposed GenReGait method begins by extracting landmark positions on the human body using a human keypoint estimation technique. These landmarks serve as informative cues for estimating gender based on their spatial and temporal characteristics. However, environmental factors can …

Workplace Preference Analytics Among Graduates, Sin-Yin Ong, Choo-Yee Ting, Hui-Ngo Goh, Albert Quek, Chin-Leei Cham

Journal of Informatics and Web Engineering

Graduates often find themselves difficult to secure a job after completing their education at universities or colleges. In this light, researchers have proposed various solutions to address this challenge. However, most of the work has largely focused on academic profile and personality traits; very few have highlighted the importance of workplace location characteristics. To address this challenge, this study has employed feature selection and machine learning approach to help graduates identify desired company type and sector based on their preferences and preferred location. The data used in this study was obtained from the Ministry of Higher Education Graduates Tracer Study's …

Folate Conjugated Nanomedicines For Selective Inhibition Of Mtor Signaling In Polycystic Kidneys At Clinically Relevant Doses, Rajasekharreddy Pala, Ayan K. Barui, Ashraf M. Mohieldin, Jing Zhou, Surya M. Nauli

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Although rapamycin is a very effective drug for rodents with polycystic kidney disease (PKD), it is not encouraging in the clinical trials due to the suboptimal dosages compelled by the off-target side effects. We here report the generation, characterization, specificity, functionality, pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic and toxicology profiles of novel polycystic kidney-specific-targeting nanoparticles (NPs). We formulated folate-conjugated PLGA-PEG NPs, which can be loaded with multiple drugs, including rapamycin (an mTOR inhibitor) and antioxidant 4-hydroxy-TEMPO (a nephroprotective agent). The NPs increased the efficacy, potency and tolerability of rapamycin resulting in an increased survival rate and improved kidney function by decreasing side effects and …

Bringing Oysters Back To Nh’S Great Bay, Nicholas Gosling

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Human Alcohol-Microbiota Mice Have Increased Susceptibility To Bacterial Pneumonia, Kelly C. Cunningham, Deandra R. Smith, Daniel N. Villageliú, Christi M. Ellis, Amanda E. Ramer-Tait, Jeffrey D. Price, Todd A. Wyatt, Daren L. Knoell, Mystera M. Samuelson, Patricia E. Molina, David A. Welsh, Derrick R. Samuelson

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Preclinical studies have shown that chronic alcohol abuse leads to alterations in the gastrointestinal microbiota that are associated with behavior changes, physiological alterations, and immunological effects. However, such studies have been limited in their ability to evaluate the direct effects of alcohol-associated dysbiosis. To address this, we developed a humanized alcohol-microbiota mouse model to systematically evaluate the immunological effects of chronic alcohol abuse mediated by intestinal dysbiosis. Germ-free mice were colonized with human fecal microbiota from individuals with high and low Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores and bred to produce human alcohol-associated microbiota or human control-microbiota F1 progenies. …

From Random To Rational: Improving Enzyme Design Through Electric Fields, Second Coordination Sphere Interactions, And Conformational Dynamics, Shobhit S. Chaturvedi, Daniel Bím, Christo Christov, Anastassia N. Alexandrova

Michigan Tech Publications

Enzymes are versatile and efficient biological catalysts that drive numerous cellular processes, motivating the development of enzyme design approaches to tailor catalysts for diverse applications. In this perspective, we investigate the unique properties of natural, evolved, and designed enzymes, recognizing their strengths and shortcomings. We highlight the challenges and limitations of current enzyme design protocols, with a particular focus on their limited consideration of long-range electrostatic and dynamic effects. We then delve deeper into the impact of the protein environment on enzyme catalysis and explore the roles of preorganized electric fields, second coordination sphere interactions, and protein dynamics for enzyme …

Pathogen-Driven Crispr Screens Identify Trex1as A Regulator Of Dna Self-Sensing During Influenza Virus Infection, Cason R King, Yiping Liu, Katherine A Amato, Grace A Schaack, Clayton Mickelson, Autumn E Sanders, Tony Hu, Srishti Gupta, Ryan A Langlois, Judith A Smith, Andrew Mehle

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Host:pathogen interactions dictate the outcome of infection, yet the limitations of current approaches leave large regions of this interface unexplored. Here, we develop a novel fitness-based screen that queries factors important during the middle to late stages of infection. This is achieved by engineering influenza virus to direct the screen by programming dCas9 to modulate host gene expression. Our genome-wide screen for pro-viral factors identifies the cytoplasmic DNA exonuclease TREX1. TREX1 degrades cytoplasmic DNA to prevent inappropriate innate immune activation by self-DNA. We reveal that this same process aids influenza virus replication. Infection triggers release of mitochondrial DNA into the …

Bond Strength Of Reline Materials To 3d-Printed Provisional Crown Resins, Jorge Palavicini, Sherrod L. Quin, Wael Zakkour, Karim Zakkour, Safa Manafi Varkiani, Xiaoming Xu, Nathaniel C. Lawson, Amir Hossein Nejat

School of Dentistry Faculty Publications

(1) Purpose: The aim of the present study was to compare the bond strength between two 3D-printed resins designed for long-term provisional crowns and three different reline materials. (2) Materials and Methods: Rectangular specimens were prepared from two 3D-printed resins (Envision Tech and NextDent C&B) and a conventional self-cure PMMA. Transparent tubes filled with three different reline materials including composite resin, Bis-acryl, and PMMA were bonded to the 3D-printed specimens (n = 11 per group, total of 6 study groups). Tubes filled with PMMA were bonded to the prepared PMMA specimens which served as the control group (n = 11, …

Natural Products As Drug Candidates For Redox-Related Human Disease, Jong H. Kim, Kirkwood M. Land, Canhua Huang, Yuan-Yuan Zhang

Pacific Faculty Work

No abstract provided.

Examining Pi3k-Signaling-Dependent Regulation Of Lens Organelle Free Zone Formation Via Immunolocalization And Immunoblotting In Chick Embryos, Rifah Gheyas, A. Sue Menko

Computational Medicine Center Faculty Papers

The elimination of lens organelles during development, required for mature lens function, is an autophagy-dependent mechanism induced through suppression of PI3K signaling. Here, we present a protocol for investigating the signaling pathways responsible for induction of the formation of this lens organelle free zone. We describe steps for preparation of lens organ culture and use of signaling pathway inhibitors. We then detail procedures for analyzing their impact using both confocal microscopy imaging of immunolabeled lens cryosections and immunoblot approaches. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Gheyas et al. (2022).

Resilin Distribution And Abundance In Apis Mellifera Across Biological Age Classes And Castes, Audrey Anderson, Noah Keime, Chandler Fong, Andrew Kraemer, Carol Fassbinder-Orth

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The presence of resilin, an elastomeric protein, in insect vein joints provides the flexible, passive deformations that are crucial to flapping flight. This study investigated the resilin gene expression and autofluorescence dynamics among Apis mellifera (honey bee) worker age classes and drone honey bees. Resilin gene expression was determined via ddPCR on whole honey bees and resilin autofluorescence was measured in the 1m-cu, 2m-cu, Cu-V, and Cu2-V joints on the forewing and the Cu-V joint of the hindwing. Resilin gene expression varied significantly with age, with resilin activity being highest in the pupae. Autofluorescence of the 1m-cu and the Cu-V …