Digital Commons Network^™

Effect Of Macronutrients On A Rat Model Of Clostridioides Difficile Infection, Stephanie Yang, Maria Niamba, Rose Jiang, Ashton Wippel, Efren Heredia, Liliko Watanabe, Katrina Valadez, Erica Bacab, Ernesto Abel-Santos

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) is an anaerobic, spore forming, gram-positive bacteria. C. diff is the causative agent of C. difficile infections (CDIs) and is recognized as the leading cause of nosocomial infective diarrhea worldwide. CDI is associated with the use of antibiotics that alter the gut microbiome and C. diff resides in the large intestine where onset of the disease then occurs. Having observed the impacts of CDI on mice models, the Abel-Santos lab now shifts to observing this infectious disease in rat models. Establishing the infectious dosage at 109 spores, this study aims to identify the correlation between diet …

Investigating A Mediterranean Dietary Pattern With White Potatoes On Cardiometabolic Health In Adults With Pre-Diabetes From Diverse Racial And Ethnic Backgrounds, Sedona Gronna, Neda S. Akhavan, Sara K. Rosenkranz, Richard R. Rosenkranz

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

In the United States, one in three adults has pre-diabetes, and 80% are unaware that they are at risk of developing type-2 diabetes (T2D). Elevated blood glucose levels are associated with an increased risk of heart disease, obesity, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. African-American and Hispanic individuals are disproportionately affected by pre-diabetes and its complications, such as arterial stiffness and obesity, compared to Caucasians. Approximately 70% of those with pre-diabetes may develop T2D, therefore it is crucial to find effective ways to manage and reverse these conditions. Potatoes, which contain a good source of resistant starch, potassium, and other beneficial nutrients, might …

Effects Of Fire Temperatures On Mojave Desert Native And Nonnative Seeds, Sophia Lorenzana, Lindsay Chiquoine

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Large-scale wildfires have been historically rare in hot deserts like the Mojave, largely due to the scarcity or uneven distribution of native plant biomass as fuel. Thus, native plants in these regions are ill-adapted to withstand spreading wildfire, resulting in slow post-fire recovery. Here, I test the hypothesis that nonnative grasses respond better to heat cues than native plant species. Seeds from 3 invasive and 13 native plant species were collected from research sites located in the eastern Mojave Desert, near surrounding Clark County Flood Control District weather stations. Seeds were buried in an artificial substrate mimicking field soil conditions …

Characterizing The Mechanical And Visoelastic Properties Of Sodium Alginate, Vesper Evereux

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

A crucial part of tissue engineering lies in understanding and characterizing the mechanical and viscoelastic properties of various types of biomaterials. Understanding these properties allows better biomaterials to be produced with characteristics more similar to those of the human body and with better biocompatability. In this study, sodium alginate was chemically crosslinked with calcium chloride and subsequently tested for it's instantaneous Elastic Modulus, instantaneous Shear Modulus, and equivalent viscosity using indentation testing methods consisting of a stress-relaxation test and nonlinear curve-fitting analysis. Two and three millimeter indentation tests were performed using a low-cost and portable device built in-lab that resulted …

Detection Of Methane Leaks By The Use Of Mid-Range Infrared Camera, Jared Rosario, Oscar Salcido

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Timely detection of methane leaks from natural gas infrastructure, like pipelines and valves, is essential for mitigating environmental and safety risks. This research focuses on using mid-wave infrared (MwIR) cameras on unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to detect leaks. By leveraging machine learning, the study aims to develop an efficient, real-time methane inspection system that operates directly on embedded processors on UAS platforms.

This project employs the FLIR G300a OGI camera for remote gas inspection, utilizing video preprocessing and optical flow to mask gas plumes in footage. The YOLOv8 deep learning model is used to detect gas pixels and segment the …

Effects Of Low Dose Exposure To Radiation And Sleep Fragmentation On Discrimination In String-Pulling Behavior With Female Rats, Jonathan F. Cortez, Diana Lloyd, T. L. Garcia, A. Adhikari, N. M. Attallah, N. Moges, D. H. Rodgers, K. S. Dhede, K. D. Omengan, A. A. Blackwell

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Astronauts will face harmful stressors, such as galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) and sleep fragmentation (SF), on a three-year space flight mission to Mars and back. Astronauts perform skilled reach-to-grasp behaviors on these missions, including interacting with controls to navigate the spacecraft. Recent work has shown that GCR and SF disrupt skilled reach-to-grasp behavior in rodent models; however, the underlying nature of these deficits is unknown. To determine if tactile sensation and proprioceptive feedback contribute to these impairments, this study evaluated the effects of radiation and SF exposure on memory and sensorimotor discrimination in a rodent model. Twenty-one outbred Wistar, retired …

Pathway-Based Polygenic Risk Score Analysis Of Brain Glial Indicates Cell-Type-Specific Roles In Alzheimer's Disease, Tyrell Pratt, Alice Lee, Jennifer Zheng, Faria Tavacoli, Hayley Ho, Tingwei Liu, Jingchun Chen

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive cognitive decline and extensive brain pathology, including amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and neuroinflammation. This study aims to identify any glial cell type-specific pathways associated with AD.

Methods: We first investigated the correlation between AD and the genetic risk of glia-specific pathways using pathway-based polygenic risk score (PRS) with PRSet software in the discovery data (ADc1234ADA) adjusted by the top two principal components (PC1, PC2) (Model 1), followed by additional adjustment with sex, age, and APOE ε4 count in Model 2. Further PRSet analyses were replicated in independent data …

Inferring Tumor Purity Using Multi-Omics Data Based On A Uniform Machine Learning Framework Motp, Qiqi Lu, Zhixian Liu, Xiaosheng Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Existing algorithms for assessing tumor purity are limited to a single omics data, such as gene expression, somatic copy number variations, somatic mutations, and DNA methylation. Here we proposed the machine learning Multi-omics Tumor Purity prediction (MoTP) algorithm to estimate tumor purity based on multiple types of omics data. MoTP utilizes the Bayesian Regularized Neural Networks as the prediction algorithm, and Consensus Tumor Purity Estimates as labels. We trained MoTP using multi-omics data (mRNA, microRNA, long non-coding RNA, and DNA methylation) across 21 TCGA solid cancer types. By testing MoTP in TCGA validation sets, TCGA test sets, and eight datasets …

Clc-Kb Pore Mutation Disrupts Glycosylation And Triggers Distal Tubular Remodeling, Yogita Sharma, Robin Lo, Viktor N Tomilin, Kotdaji Ha, Holly Deremo, Aishwarya V Pareek, Wuxing Dong, Xiaohui Liao, Svetlana Lebedeva, Vivek Charu, Neeraja Kambham, Kerim Mutig, Oleh Pochynyuk, Vivek Bhalla

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Mutations in the CLCNKB gene (1p36), encoding the basolateral chloride channel ClC-Kb, cause type 3 Bartter syndrome. We identified a family with a mixed Bartter/Gitelman phenotype and early-onset kidney failure and by employing a candidate gene approach, identified what we believe is a novel homozygous mutation (CLCNKB c.499G>T [p.Gly167Cys]) in exon 6 of CLCNKB in the index patient. We then validated these results with Sanger and whole-exome sequencing. Compared with wild-type ClC-Kb, the Gly167Cys mutant conducted less current and exhibited impaired complex N-linked glycosylation in vitro. We demonstrated that loss of Gly-167, rather than gain of a mutant Cys, …

Editorial: Special Issue On The Latest Advances And Challenges In Pancreas Cancer Research In Memory Of S Perwez Hussain, Christine Alewine, Curtis C Harris, Anirban Maitra, Sharon R Pine, David Tuveson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

The Zircon, November 22, 2024 [Spoof Issue], Dordt University

Dordt Diamond

No abstract provided.

Efficacy Of Banana Fibre Paper For The Management Of The Root-Knot Nematode, Meloidogyne Incognita, On Potato (Solanum Tuberosum) In Kenya, Dorris W. Kamau, Wanjohi Waceke, Laura Cortada, Onesmus Mwaura, Tahira Pirzada, Tim L. Sit, Eric Davis, Dick Guenther, Reny Mathew, Lokendra Pal, Saad Khan, Solveig Haukeland, James Kisaakye, Charles Opperman, Danny Coyne

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Globally, potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a key staple food crop. In Kenya, it is the second most important food crop after maize. Among the various constraints to potato production are plant-parasitic nematodes. In particular, root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) are a significant impediment to potato production, suppressing yield and reducing the quality of harvested tubers. The current study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of a lignocellulose fibre matrix (banana paper) either impregnated with a chemical or drenched with a biologically-based nematicide for the management of root-knot nematodes on potatoes, in Kenya. The experiment was conducted in both field and pot …

Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Arenavirus Utilises Intercellular Connections For Cell To Cell Spread, Owen Byford, Amelia B Shaw, Hiu Nam Tse, Alex Moon-Walker, Erica Ollmann Saphire, Sean P J Whelan, Martin Stacey, Roger Hewson, Juan Fontana, John N Barr

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The Arenaviridae family of segmented RNA viruses contains nearly 70 species with several associated with fatal haemorrhagic fevers, including Lassa, Lujo and Junin viruses. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis arenavirus (LCMV) is associated with fatal neurologic disease in humans and additionally represents a tractable model for studying arenavirus biology. Within cultured cells, a high proportion of LCMV spread is between directly neighbouring cells, suggesting infectivity may pass through intercellular connections, bypassing the canonical extracellular route involving egress from the plasma membrane. Consistent with this, we visualized abundant actin- and tubulin-rich connections conjoining LCMV-infected and uninfected cells within cultures, resembling tunnelling nanotubes (TNTs). Within …

Deep Learning Classification Of Mri Differentiates Brain Changes In Genetic And Idiopathic Parkinson’S Disease, Megan Courtman, Mark Thurston, Hongrui Wang, Sube Banerjee, Adam Streeter, Lucy Mcgavin, Stephen Hall, Lingfen Sun, Emmanuel Ifeachor, Stephen Mullin

Peninsula Medical School

BackgroundThe prospect of neuroprotective treatments for Parkinsons disease highlights the need for early diagnostic tests. Specialised MRI sequences suggest changes related to Parkinsons disease may be detectable. ObjectivesWe used the Parkinsons Progression Markers Initiative dataset to investigate whether deep learning can detect early brain MRI changes of idiopathic and GBA/LRRK2 prodromal Parkinsons disease. MethodsPairs of matched cohorts were used to train convolutional neural networks to classify T2 axial images. Explainability methods were used to visualise drivers of model predictions. ResultsModels built to distinguish between idiopathic Parkinsons disease scans (n=504) and matched controls exhibited good classification performance for scans taken more …

Identification Of Lrp1+Cd13+ Human Periosteal Stem Cells That Require Lrp1 For Bone Repair, Youngjae Jeong, Lorenzo Deveza, Laura Ortinau, Kevin Lei, John R Dawson, Dongsu Park

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Human periosteal skeletal stem cells (P-SSCs) are critical for cortical bone maintenance and repair. However, their in vivo identity, molecular characteristics, and specific markers remain unknown. Here, single-cell sequencing revealed human periosteum contains SSC clusters expressing known SSC markers, podoplanin (PDPN) and PDGFRA. Notably, human P-SSCs, but not bone marrow SSCs, selectively expressed identified markers low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) and CD13. These LRP1+CD13+ human P-SSCs were perivascular cells with high osteochondrogenic but minimal adipogenic potential. Upon transplantation into bone injuries in mice, they preserved self-renewal capability in vivo. Single-cell analysis of mouse periosteum further supported the preferential …

A Proteogenomic Analysis Of Cervical Cancer Reveals Therapeutic And Biological Insights, Jing Yu, Xiuqi Gui, Yunhao Zou, Qian Liu, Zhicheng Yang, Jusheng An, Xuan Guo, Kaihua Wang, Jiaming Guo, Manni Huang, Shuhan Zhou, Jing Zuo, Yimin Chen, Lu Deng, Guangwen Yuan, Ning Li, Yan Song, Jia Jia, Jia Zeng, Yuxi Zhao, Xianming Liu, Xiaoxian Du, Yansheng Liu, Pei Wang, Bing Zhang, Li Ding, Ana I Robles, Henry Rodriguez, Hu Zhou, Zhen Shao, Lingying Wu, Daming Gao

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Although the incidence of cervical cancer (CC) has been reduced in high-income countries due to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and screening strategies, it remains a significant public health issue that poses a threat to women's health in low-income countries. Here, we perform a comprehensive proteogenomic profiling of CC tumors obtained from 139 Chinese women. Integrated proteogenomic analysis links genetic aberrations to downstream pathogenesis-related pathways and reveals the landscape of HPV-associated multi-omic changes. EP300 is found to enhance the acetylation of FOSL2-K222, consequently accelerating the malignant proliferation of CC cells. Proteomic stratification identifies three patient subgroups with distinct features in prognosis, …

A Proteogenomic Analysis Of Cervical Cancer Reveals Therapeutic And Biological Insights, Jing Yu, Li Ding, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Although the incidence of cervical cancer (CC) has been reduced in high-income countries due to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and screening strategies, it remains a significant public health issue that poses a threat to women's health in low-income countries. Here, we perform a comprehensive proteogenomic profiling of CC tumors obtained from 139 Chinese women. Integrated proteogenomic analysis links genetic aberrations to downstream pathogenesis-related pathways and reveals the landscape of HPV-associated multi-omic changes. EP300 is found to enhance the acetylation of FOSL2-K222, consequently accelerating the malignant proliferation of CC cells. Proteomic stratification identifies three patient subgroups with distinct features in prognosis, …

Gender Perspectives In Contemporary Eco-Theology, Metti Amirtham

Budhi: A Journal of Ideas and Culture

Despite several decades of research and education programs, humanity continues to deplete natural resources and pollute the ecosystem of the planet at an alarming rate. Given the widespread secular engagement with environmental issues, i am conscious of the crucial need for Christian theologians to take on board the scale and extent of the development of eco-theology right across the globe from within their own traditions. in this process of brewing theology, gender perspectives play a vital role, because, gender is an integral component of every aspect of the lives of individuals and societies. Moreover, there are important connections between the …

Authorship Of Articles By U.S. Government Employees: Implications And Opportunities For Medical Institutional Repositories, Jimmy Ghaphery

Medical Institutional Repositories in Libraries (MIRL) Symposium

Articles authored or co-authored by U.S. Government employees are generally in the public domain. The emerging National Institutes of Health Draft Public Access Policy, part of the 2022 OSTP memo "Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research," aligns with this spirit of copyright legislation regarding such articles. This presentation will share results from a recent study on the copyright labeling practices and open access status of articles authored or co-authored by employees of the National Cancer Institute. The study found that it is not uncommon for these articles to omit any assertion of public domain status, and …

Responding To The Global Crisis: Jacques Maritain, World War Ii, And New York's École Libre, Jacob Saliba

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article offers an interdisciplinary study of the French Catholic philosopher Jacques Maritain during World War II in order to provide an historical resource for understanding the global dimensions and possibilities at work in modern Catholicism. In 1941, while living in New York City, Maritain helped to cofound and lead the École Libre des Hautes Études (the “Free French University”). An initiative primarily created by American and French intellectuals, the university became an important hub for rescuing and employing nearly two hundred individuals from across the world. Elected president in late-1942, Maritain worked closely with the New School for Social …

Volume 11, 2024

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

No abstract provided.

Food Safety, Livestock Health, And Productivity Of A Layer Farm Following Implementation Of A Certified Haccp System In Japan, Hiroshi Akaike, Makoto Nagai, Tomomitsu Alexandre Okatani, Sumalee Boonmar, Yukio Morita

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

This study examined the safety and productivity of a layer farm over a 3-year period following the implementation of a farm Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system in 2019. The critical control point was “automatic egg collection” and no deviations from critical limits were observed, indicating the eggs were safe. In addition, the egg production rate increased and the feed conversion rate decreased. In contrast, the viability after the introduction of a farm HACCP system, in which the replenishment of new hens was discontinued after forced molting, showed an increasing trend. These results suggest that the HACCP system …

Tissue Proteomics Of Feline Mammary Carcinoma: Identification Of Potential Biomarkers Based On Metastatic Status And Histopathological Characteristics, Weejarin Paphussaro, Sittiruk Roytrakul, Narumon Phaonakrop, Sawanya Charoenlappanit, Anudep Rungsipipat, Theerawat Tharasanit, Gunnaporn Suriyaphol Assoc. Prof.

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Feline mammary carcinoma (FMC) is a prevalent and aggressive cancer with high metastatic potential. Few tissue biomarkers have been reported to help evaluate disease progression in FMC. This study aimed to analyze the tissue proteomic profiles of metastatic feline mammary carcinoma (mFMC) and non-metastatic FMC (NmFMC) across various histological grades (HGs) and histological types (HTs) using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Tissue samples were collected from 13 NmFMC, 26 mFMC and 13 healthy controls (CTRL). Samples were trypsinized and subjected to LC-MS/MS. Proteome results were analyzed based on the metastatic status, HGs and HTs of the samples. The findings revealed …

Holistic Correlation Measure For Enhanced Encapsulation Of Trait Heterogeneity And Discovery Of Co-Expression, Zachary Valleroy

Theses

Large-scale, high-dimensional data analyses can be computationally prohibitive due to combinatorial explosion of the search space for finding complex patterns; a viable alternative is network modeling for abstraction and quantifying intrinsic data associations. Prominent network analysis methods furnish frameworks for model synthesis and validation but rely on standard correlation measures impaired by semi-supervised biases, latent heterogeneity, and uneven discretization techniques. Here we investigate a holistic measure for encapsulating data heterogeneity for enhanced efficacy of revealing complex patterns through network analysis. Our unique correlation metric, K-medoids Utility for Duo Original Similarities (Kudos), exhaustively factors real-valued analyte data to compute …

The View From Ventress - 2023-2024 Academic Year, University Of Mississippi, College Of Liberal Arts

Liberal Arts Newsletters

News from the College of Liberal Arts

Birth Privilege As White Privilege, Jennifer Scuro Phd

Philosophy: Faculty Publications

In The Pregnancy ≠ Childbearing Project: A Phenomenology of Miscarriage (2017), I argued the need to ‘disentangle the plot’ of pregnancy as it has a naturalised and uncritical access to heteronormative gender privilege. In this paper, with the premise that, ‘whiteness is property,’ as argued by Cheryl Harris in 1993, I extend this work to how birthing is only a story for the white entitled few, and as an entitlement, is tied to the making and preserving of the ‘nuclear family’ and ‘family values.’ As this history of birth privilege as white privilege is also a trauma history, I include …

The Roddey Mcmillan Record - November 21, 2024, Winthrop University

The RMR 2020-2029

The Roddey McMillan Record (RMR) is Winthrop’s monthly multicultural student publication. The RMR has been a significant voice of the minority population of the Winthrop comunity since its creation by Gail Harris in April 1986. It promotes awareness and understanding of issues concerning minorities for the prosperity of the entire Winthrop community. The purpose of the RMR is to shine light on the many diverse cultures at Winthrop, focusing on issues, concerns and happenings of those who represent the multicultural community on campus. The Roddey McMillan Record is named after Dr. Cynthia Roddey and Atty, Sheila McMillan. Cynthia Roddey was …

Spaulding, Bryan, Thomas Wreck

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Bryan Spaulding, also known as Letta the Queen, is a 22 year-old drag

performer known for both adult and children’s performances in Southern Maine. In this interview, he discusses his family, including his close relationship with his mother and two sisters; coming out; and friendships and chosen family. He then talks about the meanings of drag and drag performance, as well as his own roles within that genre. He also discusses how drag can serve as a powerful form of political activism. Spaulding describes his experiences as a theater major; as a Residential Assistant for the Rainbow floor on the …

Molecular Diagnosis Of Cantu Syndrome: Implications For Katp Channel Function And Drug Therapy, Jian Gao

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Subunit Kir6.1 and SUR2B form a subtype of ATP sensitive potassium channel (KATP) which is mainly expressed in vascular, gastrointestinal and lymphatic smooth muscles controlling the muscle contractility tones. Gain-of-function mutations of this channel lead to Cantu Syndrome, featured with hypertrichosis, coarse facial expression, cardiac hypertrophy and sometimes lymphedema. Conventional patch-clamp assays are available for studying the consequences of Cantu Syndrome, however, the throughput is low. In this thesis, two higher throughput fluorescence -based assays, thallium flux assay and DiBAC4(3) assay with unique capabilities of large and small current detections respectively were developed for more comprehensive mutation characterizations together with …

Navigating The Aftermath: Understanding Covid Impact & Addressing Health Disparities In The Post-Pandemic Recovery Symposium Executive Report, Ashlee Young, Zuri Dale

COVID Research

While the immediate crisis may have passed, the pandemic exposed significant vulnerabilities in public health systems. A comprehensive examination of the ongoing effects of the pandemic offering insights into the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead as we continue to recover and rebuild four years after the pandemic began is crucial. Our bold vision is to improve health and quality of life and further the science that transforms lives. This reflection is crucial to prepare for future pandemics or global health crises. The 2024 theme, Navigating the Aftermath: Understanding COVID Impact and Addressing Health Disparities in Post-Pandemic Recovery, was a …