Digital Commons Network^™

The California Dream Or An Unrealistic Utopia? A Report On California Forever, Angelica Perez, Courtney Yamagiwa

California Initiative Review (CIR)

No abstract provided.

First Demonstration Of In Vivo Pde11a4 Target Engagement For Potential Treatment Of Age-Related Memory Disorders, Shams Ul Mahmood, Jeremy Eberhard, Charles S. Hoffman, Dennis Colussi, John Gordon, Wayne Childers, Elvis Amurrio, Janvi Patel, Michy P. Kelly, David P. Rotella

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

PDE11A4 is a target of interest for the treatment of age-related memory disorders. A previous report from our laboratories described an amide series of potent, selective PDE11A4 inhibitors that was metabolically unstable. Investigation of heterocyclic amide isosteres for the labile amide moiety revealed distinct structure-activity relationships and identified several compounds with potency comparable to the amide series. This manuscript describes the characterization of structure-activity and structure-property relationships in this set, leading to the identification of an orally bioavailable, brain-penetrant, selective and potent PDE11A4 inhibitor. Target engagement experiments demonstrated PDE11A4 inhibition in the hypothalamus of mice that was absent in PDE11A4 …

Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes October 10, 2024, University Of Rhode Island Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Standards And Best Practices For Assigning Subject Headings To Moving Images, Scott Dutkiewicz, Tomeka Jackson, Jen M. Jones

Presentations

This presentation discusses principles from assigning subject headings to moving images using case studies. Our focus is on the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH).

2024 Day Of Understanding Program, Office Of Institutional Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, And Belonging

Day of Understanding Programs

No abstract provided.

Core Operating Manual, 2025-26, Butler University

Policy Documents

This Core Operating Manual is intended to 1) provide students, faculty, and advisors an overview of Butler University’s core curriculum requirements and the value of the core, 2) provide faculty teaching in the core information about what is expected in core courses in terms of content, activities, and assignments, and 3) provide guidance on how the core is and should be administered. It is primarily a practical document; those seeking to learn about the original philosophical undergirding of the core should consult the Appendix, which is taken from our core curriculum’s original guiding document.

Faculty Senate Meeting Agenda October 10, 2024, University Of Rhode Island Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Meeting Agendas

No abstract provided.

Advances In Electrospun Poly(Ε-Caprolactone)-Based Nanofibrous Scaffolds For Tissue Engineering, Karla N. Robles, Fatima Tuz Zahra, Richard Mu, Todd Giorgio

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Tissue engineering has great potential for the restoration of damaged tissue due to injury or disease. During tissue development, scaffolds provide structural support for cell growth. To grow healthy tissue, the principal components of such scaffolds must be biocompatible and nontoxic. Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) is a biopolymer that has been used as a key component of composite scaffolds for tissue engineering applications due to its mechanical strength and biodegradability. However, PCL alone can have low cell adherence and wettability. Blends of biomaterials can be incorporated to achieve synergistic scaffold properties for tissue engineering. Electrospun PCL-based scaffolds consist of single or blended-composition …

The Grizzly, October 10, 2024, Kate Horan, Zach Cosme, Caitlin Cunnane, Caroline Bennett, Sidney Belleroche, Hadley Whitman, Adam Denn

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

My Big Fat Greek Cleanup • Bear Necessities Draws Big Brother Concern • Free Speech Lecture by Samantha Harris • A Bit About the B'Naturals • IIE Launches Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration • Opinions: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Clamer Hall • Men's Soccer Out to Triumphant Start • Cross Country Gears Up for Strong Finish!

Adding The Third Dimension: 3d Convolutional Neural Network Diagnosis Of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, Erik Kaestner, Reihaneh Hassanzadeh, Ezequiel Gleichgerrcht, Kyle Hasenstab, Rebecca W. Roth, Allen Chang, Theodor Rüber, Kathryn A. Davis, Patricia Dugan, Ruben Kuzniecky, Julius Fridriksson Ph.D., Alexandra Parashos, Anto I. Bagić, Daniel L. Drane, Simon S. Keller, Vince D. Calhoun, Anees Abrol, Leonardo Bonilha, Carrie R. Mcdonald

Faculty Publications

Convolutional neural networks (CNN) show great promise for translating decades of research on structural abnormalities in temporal lobe epilepsy into clinical practice. Three-dimensional CNNs typically outperform two-dimensional CNNs in medical imaging. Here we explore for the first time whether a three-dimensional CNN outperforms a two-dimensional CNN for identifying temporal lobe epilepsy-specific features on MRI. Using 1178 T1-weighted images (589 temporal lobe epilepsy, 589 healthy controls) from 12 surgical centres, we trained 3D and 2D CNNs for temporal lobe epilepsy versus healthy control classification, using feature visualization to identify important regions. The 3D CNN was compared to the 2D model and …

A Simple And Fast Optical Clearing Method For Whole-Mount Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (Fish) Imaging, Junwoo Suh, Yehe Liu, Jordan Smith, Michiko Watanabe, Andrew M. Rollins, Michael W. Jenkins

Faculty Scholarship

We report a single-step optical clearing method that is compatible with RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) imaging. We previously demonstrated microscopy imaging with immunohistochemistry and genetic reporters using a technique called lipid-preserving refractive index matching for prolonged imaging depth (LIMPID). Our protocol reliably produces high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) images with minimal aberrations using high magnification objectives, captures large field-of-view images of whole-mount tissues, and supports co-labeling with antibody and FISH probes. We also custom-designed FISH probes for quail embryos, demonstrating the ease of fabricating probes for use with less common animal models. Furthermore, we show high-quality 3D images using a …

Re-Evaluating Hypertragulid Diversity In The John Day Basin, Oregon, Usa, Nicholas A. Famoso, Lana K. Jewell

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Despite their relative abundance, members of the family Hypertragulidae (Artiodactyla, Mammalia) have proved a conundrum regarding species diversity in the Turtle Cove Member (Oligocene) of the John Day Formation, located in central and eastern Oregon. Three species and two separate genera are described in the area, but previous research lacks statistical support for this level of variation. We use coefficients of variation (V) on measurements of dentition and astragali of hypertragulid specimens designated Hypertragulus hesperius, Hypertragulus minutus, and Nanotragulus planiceps as a metric for determining whether there were multiple species present in the population. Asymptotic and modified signed-likelihood ratio V …

2024 Draft Final Butte Reduction Works (Brw) Smelter Area Mine Waste Remediation And Contaminated Groundwater Hydraulic Control Site Quality Assurance Project Plan (Qapp) For Microbial Analysis And Biotreatability Study, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Racial Residential Segregation And Covid-19 Health Outcomes: Evidence From The State Of Georgia, Palak Patel, Simon Medcalfe, Catherine P. Slade

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

ABSTRACT

Background:

According to the Georgia Department of Public Health (GDPH), the state of Georgia reported 563,658 cumulative COVID-19 cases and 9,845 total deaths in 2020. Decades of research on racial disparities in health outcomes suggest we should not be surprised with the disproportionate number of cases, hospital visits, and deaths of non-white and Black Georgia residents. Racial disparities in health are often defined by a Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) model. One understudied SDOH is racial residential segregation. In this study we explore the relationship between racial residential segregation and COVID-19 health outcomes. Our paper addresses critical challenges for …

Rapid Evolution Of Mitochondrion-Related Genes In Haplodiploid Arthropods, Yiyuan Li, Gregg W C Thomas, Stephen Richards, Robert M Waterhouse, Xin Zhou, Michael E Pfrender

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Mitochondrial genes and nuclear genes cooperate closely to maintain the functions of mitochondria, especially in the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) pathway. However, mitochondrial genes among arthropod lineages have dramatic evolutionary rate differences. Haplodiploid arthropods often show fast-evolving mitochondrial genes. One hypothesis predicts that the small effective population size of haplodiploid species could enhance the effect of genetic drift leading to higher substitution rates in mitochondrial and nuclear genes. Alternatively, positive selection or compensatory changes in nuclear OXPHOS genes could lead to the fast-evolving mitochondrial genes. However, due to the limited number of arthropod genomes, the rates of evolution for nuclear …

Fleischer Cohen, Gloria, Kathryn Amend

Bronx Jewish History Project

Summarizer: Sophia Maier

Gloria Fleischer Cohen, b. 1934, was raised by foreign born parents on Thieriot Avenue. Her family had moved there when she was very young after their apartment was robbed; the area around Thieriot Avenue, conversely, was safer. Fleischer Cohen describes the neighborhood as primarily Jewish, with others like Italians and Irish, with apartment houses like her own and private houses. As a child she would play in the street, games like jump rope, punch ball, and roller skating. In the summers, she went to Castle Hill Pool and Orchard Beach. She attended PS 102 and later Hunter …

Multivariable Mendelian Randomization With Incomplete Measurements On The Exposure Variables In The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study Of Latinos, Yilun Li, Kin Yau Wong, Annie Green Howard, Penny Gordon-Larsen, Heather M Highland, Mariaelisa Graff, Kari E North, Carolina G Downie, Christy L Avery, Bing Yu, Kristin L Young, Victoria L Buchanan, Robert Kaplan, Lifang Hou, Brian Thomas Joyce, Qibin Qi, Tamar Sofer, Jee-Young Moon, Dan-Yu Lin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Multivariable Mendelian randomization allows simultaneous estimation of direct causal effects of multiple exposure variables on an outcome. When the exposure variables of interest are quantitative omic features, obtaining complete data can be economically and technically challenging: the measurement cost is high, and the measurement devices may have inherent detection limits. In this paper, we propose a valid and efficient method to handle unmeasured and undetectable values of the exposure variables in a one-sample multivariable Mendelian randomization analysis with individual-level data. We estimate the direct causal effects with maximum likelihood estimation and develop an expectation-maximization algorithm to compute the estimators. We …

Impact Of Age On Pharmacogenomics And Treatment Outcomes Of B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Satoshi Yoshimura, Zhenhua Li, Yoshihiro Gocho, Wenjian Yang, Kristine R Crews, Shawn H R Lee, Kathryn G Roberts, Charles G Mullighan, Mary V Relling, Jiyang Yu, Allen E J Yeoh, Mignon L Loh, Caner Saygin, Mark R Litzow, Sima Jeha, Seth E Karol, Hiroto Inaba, Ching-Hon Pui, Marina Konopleva, Nitin Jain, Wendy Stock, Elisabeth Paietta, Elias Jabbour, Steven M Kornblau, William E Evans, Jun J Yang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) can occur across all age groups, with a strikingly higher cure rate in children compared with adults. However, the pharmacological basis of age-related differences in ALL treatment response remains unclear.

Methods: Studying 767 children and 309 adults with newly diagnosed B-cell ALL enrolled on frontline trials at St Jude Children's Research Hospital, MD Anderson Cancer Center, the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, and the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group, we determined the ex vivo sensitivity of leukemia cells to 21 drugs. Twenty-three ALL molecular subtypes were identified using RNA sequencing. We systematically characterized the associations …

An Epiq Mass Shelter Training For Public Health Nurses In Georgia To Improve Core Competencies In Disaster Preparedness: A Pilot Study, Ashlie L. Pullen, Sonya Shinhoster

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Background: Research shows that nurses are often ill-prepared for disaster response. A survey conducted by the Georgia Department of Public Health Office of Nursing in April of 2021, demonstrated that 45% of the public health nurses surveyed had never deployed to a mass congregate shelter, and 43% reported they had no formal training related to emergency preparedness or mass sheltering. The purpose of this pilot study was to measure public health nurses’ improvement in familiarity with emergency preparedness and disaster response core competencies as defined by the Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire (EPIQ) after a focused educational program and tabletop workshop. …

Whole Genome Analyses Of Introgression In British And Irish Apis Mellifera Mellifera, Victoria G. Buswell, J. Vanessa Huml, Jonathan S. Ellis, Andrew Brown, Mairi E. Knight

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

The Western honey bee, Apis mellifera (A. mellifera) Linnaeus, is one of the world’s most economically important pollinators. Conserving genetic resources in this species is therefore of significant value. Despite this, little attention has been paid to the potential erosion of locally adapted genetic variants by transhumance of particular subspecies favoured by beekeepers. In particular, introgression and hybridisation by repeated backcrossing can disrupt naturally-selected allele combinations and therefore erode local adaptation. Here we use whole genome sequencing (WGS) to assess levels of introgression in the native subspecies Apis mellifera mellifera (A. m. mellifera) across a wide geographical scale in Britain …

Molecular Characterization Of Sterol C4-Methyl Oxidase In Leishmania Major, Yu Ning, Somrita Basu, Fong-Fu Hsu, Mei Feng, Michael Zhuo Wang, Kai Zhang

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Sterol biosynthesis requires the oxidative removal of two methyl groups from the C-4 position by sterol C-4-demethylase and one methyl group from the C-14 position by sterol C-14-demethylase. In

Larp1 Haploinsufficiency Is Associated With An Autosomal Dominant Neurodevelopmental Disorder, James Chettle, Raymond J Louie, Olivia Larner, Robert Best, Kevin Chen, Josephine Morris, Zinaida Dedeic, Anna Childers, R Curtis Rogers, Barbara R Dupont, Cindy Skinner, Sébastien Küry, Kevin Uguen, Marc Planes, Danielle Monteil, Megan Li, Aviva Eliyahu, Lior Greenbaum, Nofar Mor, Thomas Besnard, Bertrand Isidor, Benjamin Cogné, Alyssa Blesson, Anne Comi, Ingrid M Wentzensen, Blake Vuocolo, Seema R Lalani, Roberta Sierra, Lori Berry, Kent Carter, Stephan J Sanders, Sarah P Blagden

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) that affects approximately 4% of males and 1% of females in the United States. While causes of ASD are multi-factorial, single rare genetic variants contribute to around 20% of cases. Here, we report a case series of seven unrelated probands (6 males, 1 female) with ASD or another variable NDD phenotype attributed to de novo heterozygous loss of function or missense variants in the gene LARP1 (La ribonucleoprotein 1). LARP1 encodes an RNA-binding protein that post-transcriptionally regulates the stability and translation of thousands of mRNAs, including those regulating cellular metabolism and …

Churning The Tides Of Care: When Nurse Turnover Makes Waves In Patient Access To Primary Care, Kelley Arredondo, Ashley M Hughes, Houston F Lester, Trang N D Pham, Laura A Petersen, Lechauncy Woodard, Richard Sorelle, Cheng Rebecca Jiang, Frederick L Oswald, Daniel R Murphy, Hilary N Touchett, Joshua Hamer, Sylvia J Hysong

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Team-based primary care (PC) enhances the quality of and access to health care. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) implements team-based care through Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACTs), consisting of four core members: a primary care provider, registered nurse (RN) care manager, licensed vocational nurse, and scheduling clerk. RNs play a central role: they coordinate patient care, manage operational needs, and serve as a patient point of contact. Currently, it is not known how varying levels of RN staffing on primary care teams impact patient outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to empirically assess how the stability of RN staffing within …

October 10, 2024, The Daily Mississippian

Daily Mississippian (all digitized issues)

No abstract provided.

Systematic Perturbations Of Setd2, Nsd1, Nsd2, Nsd3, And Ash1l Reveal Their Distinct Contributions To H3k36 Methylation, Gerry A Shipman, Reinnier Padilla, Cynthia Horth, Bo Hu, Eric Bareke, Francisca N Vitorino, Joanna M Gongora, Benjamin A Garcia, Chao Lu, Jacek Majewski

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Methylation of histone 3 lysine 36 (H3K36me) has emerged as an essential epigenetic component for the faithful regulation of gene expression. Despite its importance in development and disease, how the molecular agents collectively shape the H3K36me landscape is unclear.

RESULTS: We use mouse mesenchymal stem cells to perturb the H3K36me methyltransferases (K36MTs) and infer the activities of the five most prominent enzymes: SETD2, NSD1, NSD2, NSD3, and ASH1L. We find that H3K36me2 is the most abundant of the three methylation states and is predominantly deposited at intergenic regions by NSD1, and partly by NSD2. In contrast, H3K36me1/3 are most …

Recent Progress In Modeling And Treating Diabetes Using Stem Cell-Derived Islets, Marlie M Maestas, Maggie H Bui, Jeffrey R Millman

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Stem cell-derived islets (SC-islets) offer the potential to be an unlimited source of cells for disease modeling and the treatment of diabetes. SC-islets can be genetically modified, treated with chemical compounds, or differentiated from patient derived stem cells to model diabetes. These models provide insights into disease pathogenesis and vulnerabilities that may be targeted to provide treatment. SC-islets themselves are also being investigated as a cell therapy for diabetes. However, the transplantation process is imperfect; side effects from immunosuppressant use have reduced SC-islet therapeutic potential. Alternative methods to this include encapsulation, use of immunomodulating molecules, and genetic modification of SC-islets. …

Sestrin 2 As A New Biomarker In Obesity And Diabetes Mellitus: A New Key Player In The Metabolic Regulation, Shashank M Patil, Jayanthi M K, Ramith Ramu

International Journal of Health and Allied Sciences

The global health crisis of diabetes linked to obesity necessitates innovative biomarkers for early diagnosis and targeted treatment. This study explores the pivotal role of sestrins, evolutionarily conserved proteins, in the intricate interplay between obesity and diabetes. Highlighting their significance as regulators of metabolic balance, stress response, and cellular homeostasis, particularly sestrin 2 (SESN2), the study delves into their impact on oxidative stress, insulin sensitivity, and inflammatory responses. Recent studies have highlighted the dysregulation of sestrins in obesity and diabetes mellitus, suggesting their potential as diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets. Examining the molecular processes involving AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and …

Curating And Validating Universally Applicable Primers For Efficient Its2-Based Dna Barcoding Across Plant Taxa, Ajay R Bhat, Subrahmanya Hegde, Supriya S Kammar, Mb Muthamma, Gaurav Mudgal, Prashanth Babu H, Rajulu Charukesi, Thotegowdanapalya C Mohan

International Journal of Health and Allied Sciences

Abstract: Rapid and accurate identification of plant species increasingly seeks to employ molecular techniques. The ITS2 region is highly regarded in DNA barcoding due to its short length and ease of sequencing, making it an ideal candidate for species identification

Epitope Identification Of Rabies Virus Nucleoprotein Using Immunoinformatics Approach, Kavitha G. Manjunatha, Chandrahasa Chethana, Akhila D. Sannejal, Mohammad Shueb, Devananda Devegowda, Shashanka K. Prasad, Deepak S. Pinto, Shrikrishna Isloor

International Journal of Health and Allied Sciences

Abstract

Background

Rabies is a deadly and preventable disease. The nucleoprotein of rabies virus has been found to have group-specific antigenic determinants. The rabies virus nucleoprotein can shield dogs and mice from the lethal infection. Early diagnosis of rabies is crucial for the prevention of rabies.

Methods

In this study, B-cell epitopes of the nucleoprotein gene of the rabies virus were identified, and the characteristics of the epitopes were analyzed using various bioinformatics tools, such as the immune epitope database's Bepipred Major Histocompatibility Complex II (IEDB MHC II) prediction tool, NetCTL 1.2, Vaxijen v20, AllerTOP v2.0 server.

Results

Fourteen epitopes …

Harnessing Nature's Power Of Azolla Pinnata Superfood With Biofertilizers For A Sustainable Future, Khalander Bibi, Sushma Shree Krishnappa, Charan Kumar Kachintaya, Shankramma Kalikeri, Lingaraju Honnuru Gurusiddappa

International Journal of Health and Allied Sciences

Azolla pinnata, a rapidly growing floating aquatic fern, flourishes in freshwater bodies throughout India. It forms clusters in marshes, drains, and rice fields, doubling its biomass every 1.9 days. Azolla, known for its versatility, is used in food, medicinal, water purification, biofertilizers, and livestock feed. Its use in animal diets improves live weight, protein efficiency, and feed conversion rates. Azolla has pharmaceutical benefits in addition to agricultural, including antioxidant and immunological stimulation, as well as hepatoprotective properties. It also plays an important part in phytoremediation and bioremediation. Azolla's potential extends to biofuel production, making it a promising feedstock for sustainable …