Digital Commons Network^™

Cellular And Molecular Mechanisms Of Neurodegeneration In Early-Stage Diabetic Retinopathy, Andrew Callan, Sonal V. Jha, Laura Valdez, Andrew Tsin

Research Symposium

Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) remains the leading cause of blindness in working age Americans. There has yet to be any effective treatment to prevent the onset of the condition, only to treat late-stage disease. Research on early signs of disease have shown that changes in neural layers of the retina are the earliest signs of disease, preceding the vascular changes that currently define DR. This has sparked interest in the pathogenesis of the neurodegeneration involved in DR. This review explains the current understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of neuronal degeneration in DR, as well as the potential pharmacological …

Investigation Of Melanin Nanoparticles For Radiation-Blocking And Antioxidant Properties, Giulia Stewart

Student Research Symposium (SRS)

Melanin, a naturally occurring organic dark pigment, has become the focus of extensive studies within the fields of biology, physiology, and now, nanomaterials. Naturally produced in the skin tissues of most mammals, it was found that melanin plays a significant role in protecting cellular DNA from radiation damage by absorbing UV radiation. This project’s objective was to synthesize bio-inspired melanin nanoparticles (MNPs) and optimize the radiation-blocking properties of natural melanin. Overall, the project had three phases: synthesis of melanin nanoparticles, electrospray of thin films, and radiation-blocking testing. Firstly, an MNP solution was synthesized by spontaneous oxidation of dopamine hydrochloride in …

Identification And Classification Of Fault Agent Detection Strategies In Nature, Dmytro Kravchenko

Student Research Symposium (SRS)

Modern systems need the type of resilience we see in nature. By increasing resilience, we are increasing systems ability to adapt and successfully recover from difficult situations. By observing processes within a biological multi-agent system, we can develop approaches to increase resilience of a wide range of artificial systems, from transportation networks to homeland security. One source of design inspiration to improve artificial systems is natural systems. In this research, we are particularly interested in observing and documenting natural processes which allow multi- agent systems to detect and recover from faults, even when the fault is an unknown, faulted member …

Between The Temples, Dereck Daschke

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Between the Temples (2024), directed by Nathan Silver.

Sasquatch Sunset, Dereck Daschke

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Sasquatch Sunset (2024), directed by David Zellner and Nathan Zellner.

The Dysfunctional “Functional Equivalent” Standard: Regulations Of Groundwater Discharges Since County Of Maui V. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, Ellie Maltby

University of Chicago Legal Forum

The distinction between “groundwater” and “navigable waters” has long created legal disputes. The most recent Supreme Court decision to grapple with the boundary between groundwater and navigable waters is County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund. Section 301(a) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) prohibits the discharge of any pollutant into navigable waters without a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The question in County of Maui is whether the CWA applies to pollutants that travel from a point source through groundwater, before entering navigable waters. The Supreme Court held that the CWA requires a permit when the discharge …

Characterization Of Variant Rnas Encapsidated During Bromovirus Infection By High-Throughput Sequencing, Sarah Dexheimer, Nipin Shrestha, Bandana Sharma Chapagain, Jozef J. Bujarski, Yanbin Yin

Food for Health: Publications

Previously, we described the RNA recombinants accumulating in tissues infected with the bromoviruses BMV (Brome mosaic virus) and CCMV (Cowpea chlorotic mottle virus). In this work, we characterize the recombinants encapsidated inside the purified virion particles of BMV and CCMV. By using a tool called the Viral Recombination Mapper (ViReMa) that detects recombination junctions, we analyzed a high number of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) short RNA sequence reads. Over 28% of BMV or CCMV RNA reads did not perfectly map to the viral genomes. ViReMa identified 1.40% and 1.83% of these unmapped reads as the RNA recombinants, respectively, in BMV and …

Integrated Rules Classifier For Predicting Pathogenic Non-Synonymous Single Nucleotide Variants In Human, Ahmed Barakat Hosseny, Marwa Said Hassan, A A. Shalan, Shymaa Khamis, M I. Dessouky

Basic Science Engineering

The most prevalent kind of genetic variants in humans are non-synonymous single nucleotide variants (nsSNVs). Several prediction tools have been launched to forecast the effect of amino acid substitutes on human protein function. These tools sort variants as pathogenic or neutral. We developed an Integrated Rules Classifier (Integration Score through JRip “ISTJRip”), which integrates the four individual tools that are publicly available; iFish, Mutation Assessor, FATHMM, and SIFT-based on the JRip machine learning technique. Additionally, we compared the ISTJRip approach with the other three created integration classifiers; Integration Score through J48 “ISTJ48”, Integration Score through RF “ISTRF”, and Integration …

Confronting Legacies Of Indigenous Injustice: Lessons From Sweden, Sara L. Ochs

Seton Hall Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Post-Dobbs Future: Bailing Water Downstream To Center Democracy’S Children, Charisa Smith

Seton Hall Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Blurry Lens: Assessing The Complicated Legal Landscape Of Biometric Privacy Through The Perspective Of Mobile Apps, Mackenzie K. Mendolla

Seton Hall Law Review

No abstract provided.

Women At Work: Pathways From Gender Stereotypes To Gender Bias And Discrimination, Madeline E. Heilman, Suzette Caleo, Francesca Manzi

Faculty Publications

Despite important advances, gender-based discrimination continues to hin-der women’s career progress. This review examines the role that gender stereotypes play in promoting gender bias and discrimination. After review- ing what is known about the content of gender stereotypes and examining both their descriptive and prescriptive aspects, we discuss two pathways through which stereotypes result in discrepant work outcomes for women and men. First, we consider how the characterization of women as com- munal but not agentic conflicts with the perceived demands of many male gender-typed jobs and fields, thus promoting perceptions of women’s lack of competence in those areas. Second, …

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Agenda January 22, 2024, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• 3:30 Call to Order
• Approval of Minutes - December 11, 2023
• 3:35 University Business
• 3:50 Faculty Senate Business
• 4:00 Information
• Education Policies Committee
• Policy 200: Executive Summary
• Policy 382: Time and Attendance
• Policy 326
• 4:25 Reports
• Honorary Degrees and Awards
• Office of Research Annual Report
• PRPC Annual Report
• School of Graduate Studies Annual Report
• 4:45 Old Business
• 4:50 New Business
• Adjourn: 5:00 pm

Self-Renewing Human Naïve Pluripotent Stem Cells Dedifferentiate In 3d Culture And Form Blastoids Spontaneously, Mingyue Guo, Jinyi Wu, Chuanxin Chen, Xinggu Wang, An Gong, Wei Guan, Rowan M Karvas, Kexin Wang, Mingwei Min, Yixuan Wang, Thorold W Theunissen, Shaorong Gao, José C R Silva

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Human naïve pluripotent stem cells (hnPSCs) can generate integrated models of blastocysts termed blastoids upon switch to inductive medium. However, the underlying mechanisms remain obscure. Here we report that self-renewing hnPSCs spontaneously and efficiently give rise to blastoids upon three dimensional (3D) suspension culture. The spontaneous blastoids mimic early stage human blastocysts in terms of structure, size, and transcriptome characteristics and are capable of progressing to post-implantation stages. This property is conferred by the glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3) signalling inhibitor IM-12 present in 5iLAF self-renewing medium. IM-12 upregulates oxidative phosphorylation-associated genes that underly the capacity of hnPSCs to generate blastoids …

Pangenome Graphs Improve The Analysis Of Structural Variants In Rare Genetic Diseases., Cristian Groza, Carl F. Schreck, Warren A. Cheung, Emily G. Farrow, Isabelle Thiffault, Juniper Lake, William B. Rizzo, Gilad Evrony, Tom Curran, Guillaume Bourque, T Pastinen

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Rare DNA alterations that cause heritable diseases are only partially resolvable by clinical next-generation sequencing due to the difficulty of detecting structural variation (SV) in all genomic contexts. Long-read, high fidelity genome sequencing (HiFi-GS) detects SVs with increased sensitivity and enables assembling personal and graph genomes. We leverage standard reference genomes, public assemblies (n = 94) and a large collection of HiFi-GS data from a rare disease program (Genomic Answers for Kids, GA4K, n = 574 assemblies) to build a graph genome representing a unified SV callset in GA4K, identify common variation and prioritize SVs that are more likely to …

Chimes: January 22, 2024, Calvin University

Chimes

Calvin's theater minor returns by Ashley Hamons

Calvin's Service Learning Center provides spring break opportunities to work in disaster relied by Ethan Meyers

Student Senate survey reveals areas of focus for Student Senate projects by Savannah Shustack

The Rivalry: Calvin takes down Hope by Lauren Nyong

Calvin Knights men's basketball receives highest ranking in 19 season by Dillion Baymchen

Switching paths post-grad: Calvin introduces Master of Arts in Teaching program by Savannah Shustack

Moodle's redesign is much-needed and long-deserved by Jacob Westra

Mechanisms Of Melanoma Progression And Treatment Resistance: Role Of Cancer Stem-Like Cells, Youssef Al Hmada, Robert T. Brodell, Naji Kharouf, Thomas W. Flanagan, Abdulhadi A. Alamodi, Sofie Yasmin Hassan, Hosam Shalaby, Sarah Lilly Hassan, Youssef Haikel, Mosaad Megahed, Simeon Santourlidis, Mohamed Hassan

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Melanoma is the third most common type of skin cancer, characterized by its heterogeneity and propensity to metastasize to distant organs. Melanoma is a heterogeneous tumor, composed of genetically divergent subpopulations, including a small fraction of melanoma-initiating cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) and many non-cancer stem cells (non-CSCs). CSCs are characterized by their unique surface proteins associated with aberrant signaling pathways with a causal or consequential relationship with tumor progression, drug resistance, and recurrence. Melanomas also harbor significant alterations in functional genes (BRAF, CDKN2A, NRAS, TP53, and NF1). Of these, the most common are the BRAF and NRAS oncogenes, with 50% …

2023 Library Annual Report, James White Library

Library Administration and Marketing

No abstract provided.

Willingness-To-Pay For Rationed Goods: Bobcat Harvest Permits In Indiana, Nicholas A. Lancaster, Carson Reeling, John G. Lee, Richard T. Melstrom, Joe N. Caudell, Geriann Albers

Department of Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications

We use contingent valuation to estimate hunter and trapper willingness to pay (WTP) for a hypothetical bobcat harvest permit being considered in Indiana. Harvest permits would be rationed, with limits on aggregate and individual harvests. A model of permit demand shows that WTP may be subject to “congestion effects” which attenuate welfare gains from relaxing harvest limits. Intuitively, relaxing limits may directly change an individual’s expected harvest and, hence, WTP. Participation may subsequently change, with congestion offsetting welfare increases. These effects may lead to apparent scope insensitivity that may be endemic in the context of rationed goods.

If You Build It, Will They Come? Assessing Habitat Quality For Marsh Birds At Created Marshes In Southeastern Louisiana, Katherine Aylett Lipford

LSU Master's Theses

Wetland loss occurs at an alarming pace globally, with extremely high rates along the northern Gulf of Mexico. Louisiana loses a football field of wetland every 100 minutes: that is 77,000 m² of wetland bird habitat lost daily. In Louisiana, marsh creation projects combat wetland loss, and while wildlife habitat is often used as a justification for restoration, wildlife receives little to no consideration during and after construction. Habitat characteristics such as site-specific hydrology, vegetation composition, and habitat structure affect the abundance of wetland birds and understanding these features is crucial to creating habitat that will benefit birds. My …

Incubating Education: The Lived Experiences Of Louisiana Elementary And Middle School Teachers When Piloting A 4-H Stem School Enrichment Curriculum, Crystal Rose Ahrens

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study addressed a deficiency in the agricultural literacy of the U.S. population by focusing on the challenges that core subject teachers face when integrating agriculture into their curriculum. Using a phenomenological research approach, this investigation explored the lived experiences of Louisiana teachers who piloted a 4-H STEM curriculum, focusing on the growth in agricultural literacy of the teachers while instructing third and eighth-grade students on the agricultural-based and STEM-focused topic of embryology. Employing a transcendental phenomenological approach, I acknowledged my biases through reflexivity and adhered to ethical considerations, including informed consent and confidentiality. Key findings emerged through four themes …

Cyclobutanone Inhibitors Of Diaminopimelate Desuccinylase (Dape) As Potential New Antibiotics, Thahani Shifna Habeeb Mohammad, Emma H. Kelley, Cory T. Reidl Dr., Katherine Konczak, Megan Beulke, Janielle Javier, Ken W. Olsen, Daniel P. Becker Ph.D.

Chemistry: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Based on our previous success in using cyclobutanone derivatives as enzyme inhibitors, we have designed and prepared a 37-member library of α-aminocyclobutanone amides and sulfonamides, screened for inhibition of the bacterial enzyme diaminopimelate desuccinylase (DapE), which is a promising antibiotic target, and identified several inhibitors with micromolar inhibitory potency. Molecular docking suggests binding of the deprotonated hydrate of the strained cyclobutanone, and thermal shift analysis with the most potent inhibitor (3y, IC50 = 23.1 µM) enabled determination of a Ki value of 10.2 +/− 0.26 µM and observed two separate Tm values for H. influenzae DapE (HiDapE).

Interplay Between Acetylation And Ubiquitination Of Imitation Switch Chromatin Remodeler Isw1 Confers Multidrug Resistance In Cryptococcus Neoformans, Yang Meng, Yue Ni, Zhuoran Li, Tianhang Jiang, Tianshu Sun, Yanjian Li, Xindi Gao, Hailong Li, Chenhao Suo, Chao Li, Sheng Yang, Tian Lan, Guojian Liao, Tongbao Liu, Ping Wang, Chen Ding

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Cryptococcus neoformans poses a threat to human health, but anticryptococcal therapy is hampered by the emergence of drug resistance, whose underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Herein, we discovered that Isw1, an imitation switch chromatin remodeling ATPase, functions as a master modulator of genes responsible for in vivo and in vitro multidrug resistance in C. neoformans. Cells with the disrupted ISW1 gene exhibited profound resistance to multiple antifungal drugs. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed that Isw1 is both acetylated and ubiquitinated, suggesting that an interplay between these two modification events exists to govern Isw1 function. Mutagenesis studies of acetylation and ubiquitination sites …

Periodontitis And Alzheimer’S Disease: Is There A Connection?, William Lundergan, Kavitha Parthasarathy, Navid Knight

Pacific Faculty Work

The oral health/systemic health connection has been an area of research interest that increased dramatically during the 1990s. Periodontal disease has been associated with a number of systemic conditions, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, pre-term low-birth-weight infants, respiratory conditions, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. Inflammation is the obvious link that connects periodontal disease with these conditions, but is this association casual or causal? We will address the biologic plausibility, evidence from human studies, evidence from animal studies, and therapeutic interventions as we review the current understanding of the link between periodontitis and Alzheimer’s disease.

A New Perspective On Intervertebral Disc Calcification-From Bench To Bedside, Emanuel Novais, Rajkishen Narayanan, Jose Canseco, Koen Van De Wetering, Christopher Kepler, Alan Hilibrand, Alex Vaccaro, Makarand Risbud

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Faculty Papers

Disc degeneration primarily contributes to chronic low back and neck pain. Consequently, there is an urgent need to understand the spectrum of disc degeneration phenotypes such as fibrosis, ectopic calcification, herniation, or mixed phenotypes. Amongst these phenotypes, disc calcification is the least studied. Ectopic calcification, by definition, is the pathological mineralization of soft tissues, widely studied in the context of conditions that afflict vasculature, skin, and cartilage. Clinically, disc calcification is associated with poor surgical outcomes and back pain refractory to conservative treatment. It is frequently seen as a consequence of disc aging and progressive degeneration but exhibits unique molecular …

Sleep Attitudes As An Indirect Predictor Of Risk For Metabolic Syndrome In First Year College Students, Sophie Hirsch, Hannah Peach, Trudy L. Moore-Harrison, Philip Zendels, Aria Ruggiero, Jane F. Gaultney

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Background: Habit formation can be a challenge for first-year students. Research has suggested that regardless of sleep knowledge, favorable sleep attitudes predict better sleep.

Aim: Our aim was to investigate whether sleep attitudes directly or indirectly predicted risk for metabolic syndrome via sleep.

Method: Students completed self-report and physiological measures. Participants wore wristwatches to collect sleep data. Path analyses investigated the direct or indirect effect of sleep attitude on risk for metabolic syndrome via subjective sleep (sleep quality, duration, risk for apnea) and objective sleep (sleep efficiency, duration, subjective risk for apnea).

Results: In our subjective analysis that sleep attitudes …

The Rider (2024-01-22), Natalie Lapsley

The Rider Archives

Vol.9 No.16

Uncharted Waters: Should International Maritime Terrorism Be Included In The Jurisdiction Of The International Criminal Court?, Juan-Pablo Perez-Leon-Acevedo, Giorgi Chakhvadze

Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law

The International Criminal Court (ICC) lacks jurisdiction over international terrorism. Despite related academic literature, no academic publication discusses whether the ICC should have jurisdiction over international maritime terrorism. This deserves attention due to the increasing importance of this global phenomenon in the last few decades. Consequently, this Article considers whether international maritime terrorism should be included in the ICC’s jurisdiction. First, it discusses international maritime terrorism as a manifestation of the emerging international crime of international terrorism, examining i) whether there is an accepted or an emerging legal definition of international maritime terrorism, ii) whether international maritime terrorism is a …

Microglia-Derived Exosomes Modulate Myelin Regeneration Via Mir-615-5p/Myrf Axis, Xiao-Yu Ji, Yu-Xin Guo, Li-Bin Wang, Wen-Cheng Wu, Jia-Qi Wang, Jin He, Rui Gao, Javad Rasouli, Meng-Yuan Gao, Zhen-Hai Wang, Dan Xiao, Wei-Feng Zhang, Bogoljub Ciric, Yuan Zhang, Xing Li

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

Demyelination and failure of remyelination in the central nervous system (CNS) characterize a number of neurological disorders. Spontaneous remyelination in demyelinating diseases is limited, as oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), which are often present in demyelinated lesions in abundance, mostly fail to differentiate into oligodendrocytes, the myelinating cells in the CNS. In addition to OPCs, the lesions are assembled numbers of activated resident microglia/infiltrated macrophages; however, the mechanisms and potential role of interactions between the microglia/macrophages and OPCs are poorly understood. Here, we generated a transcriptional profile of exosomes from activated microglia, and found that miR-615-5p was elevated. miR-615-5p bound to …

Effects Of Electrode Materials And Potential Gradient On Electro-Osmotic Consolidation For Marine Clayey Soils, Haihui Jin, Lei Zhang, Binghui Wang, Chen Fang, Liyan Wang

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

This study conducted experimental investigations into the effects of electrode material and potential gradient on the effectiveness of electro-osmotic consolidation (EO) in strengthening soft soils. Seven laboratory tests were conducted on high-water-content marine clayey soils through EO. In these experimental tests, four different types of electrodes made of steel, copper, aluminum, and composite carbon fiber (CCF) were employed in four tests each to evaluate the consolidation effectiveness. Additionally, four tests, one was the comparitive study for different eletrode materials, were carried out to determine the optimal gradient for the EO using CCF electrode. Several critical properties of the tested soils …