Digital Commons Network^™

Elephant Megacarcasses Increase Local Nutrient Pools In African Savanna Soils And Plants, Courtney G. Reed, Michelle L. Budny, Johan T. Du Toit, Ryan Helcoski, Joshua P. Schimel, Izak P.J. Smit, Tercia Strydom, Aimee Tallian, Dave I. Thompson, Helga Van Coller, Nathan P. Lemoine, Deron E. Burkepile

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

African elephants (Loxodonta africana) are the largest extant terrestrial mammals, with bodies containing enormous quantities of nutrients. Yet, we know little about how these nutrients move through the ecosystem after an elephant dies. Here, we investigated the initial effects (1–26 months postmortem) of elephant megacarcasses on savanna soil and plant nutrient pools in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. We hypothesized that (H1) elephant megacarcass decomposition would release nutrients into soil, resulting in higher concentrations of soil nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and micronutrients near the center of carcass sites; (H2) carbon (C) inputs into the soil would stimulate …

Long-Term Increases In Wing Length Occur Independently Of Changes In Climate And Climate-Driven Shifts In Body Size, Tiffany Dias, Nathan P. Lemoine, Scott W. Yanco, Marketa Zimova, Rachael A. Bay, Brian C. Weeks

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Recent widespread reductions in body size across species have been linked to increasing temperatures; simultaneous increases in wing length relative to body size have been broadly observed but remain unexplained. Size and shape may change independently of one another, or these morphological shifts may be linked, with body size mediating or directly driving the degree to which shape changes. Using hierarchical Bayesian models and a morphological time series of 27 366 specimens from five North American migratory passerine bird species, we tested the roles that climate and body size have played in shifting wing length allometry over four decades. We …

Editorial: Women In Antimicrobials, Resistance And Chemotherapy: 2023, Cindy Shuan Ju Teh, Krassimira R. Hristova, Ana R. Freitas

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Sample Ascertainment And Recruitment Sources In The Accelerating Medicines Partnership Schizophrenia Program, Jean Addington, Daniel Mamah, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: This paper presents the recruitment sources of clinical high-risk (CHR) and community controls (CC) from the Accelerating Medicines Partnership Schizophrenia (AMP SCZ) program, which aims to study various clinical variables and biomarkers in 2040 CHR and 652 CC participants.

METHODS: A total of 1640 CHR and 514 CC had recruitment source data. The Positive Symptoms and Diagnostic Criteria for the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States Harmonized with the SIPS was utilized to assess CHR criteria and severity of attenuated psychotic symptoms (APSs), and the Global Functioning: Social Scale was used for social functioning. Participants were recruited through various …

An Explainable Ai Approach For Mapping Multivariate Regional Brain Age And Clinical Severity Patterns In Alzheimer's Disease, Gauri Darekar, Taslim Murad, Hui-Yuan Miao, Deepa S Thakuri, Alzheimer’S Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, Ganesh B Chand

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Age is a significant risk factor for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) and identifying brain age patterns is critical for comprehending the normal aging and MCI/AD processes. Prior studies have widely established the univariate relationships between brain regions and age, while multivariate associations remain largely unexplored. Herein, various artificial intelligence (AI) models were used to perform brain age prediction using an MRI dataset (

Phase I Study Of Nt-I7, A Long-Acting Interleukin-7, In Severe Treatment-Related Lymphopenia Following Standard Radiation And Temozolomide For High-Grade Glioma, Jian L Campian, Milan G Chheda, John F Dipersio, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: High-grade gliomas (HGG) have a poor prognosis despite aggressive treatment. Severe, persistent lymphopenia occurring in HGG patients after concurrent chemoradiation is associated with worse survival. NT-I7, a long-acting interleukin-7 analog, has been shown to increase CD4 and CD8 counts in healthy, septic, and HIV-positive adults. This multi-institutional, NCI-funded dose-escalation trial is the first to evaluate NT-I7 safety and activity in HGG patients with severe treatment-related lymphopenia (TRL) and the effect of co-administered glucocorticoids.

METHODS: Eligible HGG patients had CD4 counts < 300 cells/mm

RESULTS: NT-I7 was well tolerated in all 12 patients (median age 64; median CD4 count 161 cells/mm³) before the …

The Lim-7p::Ced-1::Gfp Transgene From The Md701 Strain Increases Embryonic Lethality In C. Elegans, Nina M. Zampetti, Kristin A. Quaglia, Lisa N. Petrella

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

The lim-7p::ced-1::GFP transgene has been widely used for evaluating germline apoptosis in C. elegans. Here we observed an increase in embryonic lethality in the MD701 strain that contains the lim-7p::ced-1::GFP transgene and a strain that outcrossed the lim-7p::ced-1::GFP transgene into the N2 wild-type strain. While the outcrossed strain had a significantly lower level of embryonic lethality than MD701, it still showed significantly higher embryonic lethality than wild type. Our results suggest that the presence of the lim-7p::ced-1::GFP transgene significantly increases embryonic lethality, but there may also be a secondary mutation in the MD701 strain that further increases embryonic lethality.

Preliminary Investigation Of Obstructive Sleep Apnea And Alzheimer's Disease In Down Syndrome, Dasoo M Yoon, David T Plante, Victoria Fleming, Benjamin Handen, Patrick Lao, Jamie Peven, Bradley Christian, Ozioma Okonkwo, Charles Laymon, Beau Ances, Christy Hom, Brian Helsel, Sigan L Hartley

2020-Current year OA Pubs

This study provided a preliminary examination of indices of obstructive sleep apsnea (OSA) and sleep disruptions in adults with Down syndrome (DS), and their associations with Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology and symptomatology. A total of 93 adults with DS (aged 25-61 years) from the Alzheimer Biomarker Consortium-DS completed cognitive assessments, MRI and positron emission tomography (PET) scans (assessing amyloid-beta [Aβ] and tau), and a one-night home sleep study using the WatchPAT-300 device. Study partners also reported on depressive symptoms and diagnoses. Correlational analyses examined relationships between sleep variables, PET biomarkers, and AD symptomatology (cognitive functioning and depressive mood), controlling for …

Improving The Scores Of The Mathematics Texas Success Initiative Assessment 2.0 (Tsia2), Lori Lamar Moreno

Education Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this improvement science study was to increase mathematics readiness for the Texas Success Initiative Assessment 2.0 (TSIA2) among high school seniors in a South Texas border community. The study addressed persistently low TSIA2 mathematics passing rates, particularly among Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students. Guided by the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) framework, two improvement cycles were conducted using an embedded mixed-methods design. In Cycle 1, the Texas College Bridge (TCB), a self-paced platform built on NROC’s EdReady and the only Texas Education Agency–approved program for TSIA preparation, was implemented as the baseline intervention. Quantitative analysis indicated an 11.5% pass rate …