Digital Commons Network^™

Age Estimation And Validation In Otoliths, Spines, And Fin Rays From Four Central Texas Fishes, Meredith B. Pfennig, Derek P. Crane, Nate G. Smith, Dave L. Buckmeier

Biology

Age estimation methods have not been validated for many species. Thus, we focused this age estimation study on four species from central Texas: the Guadalupe Bass Micropterus treculii, Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus, Gray Redhorse Moxostoma congestum, and Redbreast Sunfish Lepomis auritus. Our objectives for each species were to (1) investigate whether increments form annually in otoliths, fin rays, or spines; (2) determine the seasonal timing of zone deposition in each calcified structure; and (3) compare age estimates between otoliths and fin rays or spines.

Fish were sampled from central Texas waters and injected with oxytetracycline (OTC) quarterly in 2021. In …

Investigation Of The Prevalence Of Ifitm3 Polymorphisms (Rs12252 And Rs34481144) In Turkish Population: A Pilot Study And Survey Conducted During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Dilek Pirim, Fatih Atilla Bağcı, Hasan Faruk Niş, Emin Halis Akalın

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

Interferon-induced Transmembrane Protein 3 (IFITM3) plays a substantial role in the immune system by repressing viral entry into host cells and restricting virus replication. Recent research suggests that IFITM3/rs34481144 and IFITM3/rs12252 contribute to susceptibility to viral infections across populations dependent on their population frequencies, which needs further clarification. Here, we conducted a population-based study to determine the prevalence of two regulator SNPs in the Turkish population and evaluated genotype and allele frequencies in individuals stratified into groups based on a pilot survey conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tetra-Primer Arms PCR (TPA-PCR) assays and Sanger sequencing methods were used for …

Researchers Crowdsource Public Videos To Identify Distinct Moose Sounds In Natural Environments, Robbin Ray

Media Relations

No abstract provided.

Earth Day 2024: Experts Comment On Climate Change, Plastics And Environmental Challenges, Robbin Ray

Media Relations

No abstract provided.

Common Questions And Misconceptions About Protein Supplementation: What Does The Scientific Evidence Really Show?, Jose Antonio, Cassandra Evans, Arny A. Ferrando, Jeffrey R. Stout, Brandi Antonio, Harry P. Cintineo, Patrick Harty, Shwn M. Arent, Darren G. Candow, Scott C. Forbes, Chad M. Kerksick, Flavia Pereira, Drew Gonzalez, Richard B. Kreider

Faculty Scholarship

Protein supplementation often refers to increasing the intake of this particular macronutrient through dietary supplements in the form of powders, ready-to-drink shakes, and bars. The primary purpose of protein supplementation is to augment dietary protein intake, aiding individuals in meeting their protein requirements, especially when it may be challenging to do so through regular food (i.e. chicken, beef, fish, pork, etc.) sources alone. A large body of evidence shows that protein has an important role in exercising and sedentary individuals. A PubMed search of “protein and exercise performance” reveals thousands of publications. Despite the considerable volume of evidence, it is …

Unveiling The Voices: Lived Experiences Of Adolescent Girls With Emotional Disturbance In Special Education, Jasmin Hagen

Counseling and Psychology Dissertations

This dissertation addresses a significant gap in existing research by exploring lived experiences of cisgender female adolescents (Grades 7–12) diagnosed with emotional disturbance (ED) in the U.S. Current statistics indicate that 28% of students in special education with an ED diagnosis are girls; yet, their perspectives remain largely absent from scholarly discourse. Rooted in critical constructivism, critical feminist theory, and dis/ability studies and critical race theory (DisCrit), this qualitative study aims to elucidate insights that can enhance academic success and elevate high school graduation rates for this demographic. This research investigates the experiences of seven participants from New England, representing …

Student Senate Meeting Minutes April 16, 2024, Student Senate-Winona State University

Student Senate Meeting Minutes

This document is the official Winona State University Student Senate Minutes for April 16, 2024.

Development Of Deep Neural Architecture For Continuous Sign Language Video Generation, Natarajan B

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a deep neural network based sign language video generation framework for translating the multilingual sentences into sign videos. This thesis addresses the challenges persist with the sign language video generation such as (i) Handling longer sequences of input sentences and new words (ii) Pose estimation with higher accuracy (iii) High quality photo realistic sign gesture video generation (iv) Improving realism in sign video generation. Hence, the thesis focuses four contributions to address the above issues.

The first contribution of this thesis automates the translation of multilingual sentences into sign glosses without manual intervention by incorporating Hybrid Neural …

The Practice Of Silence And Solitude And Its Results, Lizzie Suwala

Senior Honors Theses

Silence and solitude as a spiritual discipline is seen across many different worldviews including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Humanism, and can be exercised alongside disciplines like prayer, meditation, and mindfulness. Each worldview has a unique purpose in why silence and solitude is practiced such as to commune with God, to prepare one’s heart for times of prayer, to avoid suffering, to experience revelations, and to find peace in an anxious world. Loneliness stems from unmet expectations of social interactions that lead to aversion in one’s current relationships and within themselves. Understanding the purpose of silence and solitude leads to the …

Detection And Characterization Of Copy Number Variation In Three Differentially-Selected Nellore Cattle Populations, Lorena F. Benfica, Luiz F. Brito, Ricardo D. Do Bem, Leticia F. De Oliveira, Henrique A. Mulim, Larissa G. Braga, Joslaine N.S.G. Cyrillo, Sarah F.M. Bonilha, Maria Eugenia Z. Mercadante

Purdue University Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund

Introduction: Nellore cattle (Bos taurus indicus) is the main beef cattle breed raised in Brazil. This breed is well adapted to tropical conditions and, more recently, has experienced intensive genetic selection for multiple performance traits. Over the past 43 years, an experimental breeding program has been developed in the Institute of Animal Science (IZ, Sertaozinho, SP, Brazil), which resulted in three differentially-selected lines known as Nellore Control (NeC), Nellore Selection (NeS), and Nellore Traditional (NeT). The primary goal of this selection experiment was to determine the response to selection for yearling weight (YW) and residual feed intake (RFI) on Nellore …

1st Person Ev With Electronic Differential, Tessa Biondo

Honors Theses

The First Person EV with Electronic Differential for Vehicle Dynamics Analysis project makes a significant leap forward in the exploration of electric vehicle (EV) stability and performance enhancement. Lead by a team of skilled electrical engineering students under the guidance of WMU’s associate Professor Dr. Sandun Kuruppu, this project aims to improve EV stability by optimizing power and torque distribution between wheels using an electronic differential system. The project encompasses the design and assembly of a 1/7^th scale custom electric vehicle, capable of remote control via a first-person view (FPV) camera and modified USB wheel and pedal assembly. The …

Veterinarian Perception Of The Impact Of Covid-19 On The Mortality Of Pets, Jason Bainbridge

Honors Theses

The pandemic led to many changes in society, changes that may have affected pets either directly or indirectly from the new way people had to live life. The primary variable of investigation is if the changes were significant enough to affect pets enough to see a trend in mortality. This thesis used a survey, sent out to veterinarians for their perspective, to see the effects the pandemic had on the mortality of pets, as well as any secondary variables. This survey had 38 responses, with 34 being eligible to complete the survey. The survey did not obtain the information of …

The Pml1-Wdr5 Axis Regulates H3k4me3 Marks And Promotes Stemness Of Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer, Chun-Peng Pai, Han Wang, Darcie D. Seachrist, Neel Agarwal, Joshua A. Adams, Zhenghao Liu, Ruth A. Keri, Kaixiang Cao, William P. Schiemann, Hung-Ying Kao

Faculty Scholarship

The alternative splicing of PML precursor mRNA gives rise to various PML isoforms, yet their expression profile in breast cancer cells remains uncharted. We discovered that PML1 is the most abundant isoform in all breast cancer subtypes, and its expression is associated with unfavorable prognosis in estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancers. PML depletion reduces cell proliferation, invasion, and stemness, while heterologous PML1 expression augments these processes and fuels tumor growth and resistance to fulvestrant, an FDA-approved drug for ER+ breast cancer, in a mouse model. Moreover, PML1, rather than the well-known tumor suppressor isoform PML4, rescues the proliferation of PML …

Production Of Mrna Vaccine For Influenza, Christina Miller

Honors Theses

The objective of this project is to design a process to produce an mRNA influenza vaccine that serves as an alternative to conventional influenza vaccines, replacing current options with innovative mRNA technologies. Given that older populations are most likely to follow up on immunizations consistently, and the increasing average age worldwide, the market for this project appears to be expanding in the next 80 years. Additionally, experts predict more frequent mutations and outbreaks of viral disease from a variety of factors including globalization and global temperature trends. Rapid response to these viral outbreaks will continue to be as, or even …

Academic Senate - Minutes, 4/16/2024, Academic Senate

Academic Senate Minutes

No abstract provided.

Scapegoats, Michelle Leigh Brown

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Why The Dobbs Court Got It Wrong: Connecting The Dots Between Opposition To Abortion And Gender Animus, Shoshanna Ehrlich

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Chatting With Online Agent, Guoxi Robert Zhang

Honors Theses

This study investigates trust in AI-generated language fluency. Participants engaged with both human and AI-generated content, varying in fluency. Findings were to favor trust in fluent human and AI interactions over disfluent ones. Understanding fluency's impact can inform AI design and encourage critical thinking when dealing with AI-generated content. By using qualitative analysis of think-aloud reports, we examined strategies that people use to assess texts labeled as human-generated and AI-generated content.

Revolutionizing Diabetic Foot Ulcer Care: The Senotherapeutic Approach, Guiqin Zhang, Priyadarshani Nadeeshika Samarawickrama, Li Gui, Yuan Ma, Mei Cao, Hong Zhu, Wei Li, Honglin Yang, Kecheng Li, Yang Yang, Enfang Zhu, Wen Li, Yonghan He

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are a prevalent and profoundly debilitating complication that afflicts individuals with diabetes mellitus (DM). These ulcers are associated with substantial morbidity, recurrence rates, disability, and mortality, imposing substantial economic, psychological, and medical burdens. Timely detection and intervention can mitigate the morbidity and disparities linked to DFU. Nevertheless, current therapeutic approaches for DFU continue to grapple with multifaceted limitations. A growing body of evidence emphasizes the crucial role of cellular senescence in the pathogenesis of chronic wounds. Interventions that try to delay cellular senescence, eliminate senescent cells (SnCs), or suppress the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) have shown …

Self-Assembled Sting-Activating Coordination Nanoparticles For Cancer Immunotherapy And Vaccine Applications, Xiaoqi Sun, Xuehui Huang, Kyung Soo Park, Xingwu Zhou, Andrew A Kennedy, Carla D Pretto, Qi Wu, Ziye Wan, Yao Xu, Wang Gong, Jonathan Z Sexton, Andrew W Tai, Yu Leo Lei, James J Moon

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The cGAS-STING pathway plays a crucial role in innate immune activation against cancer and infections, and STING agonists based on cyclic dinucleotides (CDN) have garnered attention for their potential use in cancer immunotherapy and vaccines. However, the limited drug-like properties of CDN necessitate an efficient delivery system to the immune system. To address these challenges, we developed an immunostimulatory delivery system for STING agonists. Here, we have examined aqueous coordination interactions between CDN and metal ions and report that CDN mixed with Zn2+ and Mn2+ formed distinctive crystal structures. Further pharmaceutical engineering led to the development of a functional coordination …

The Pacifican April 16, 2024 A Year In Review, University Of The Pacific

All Issues - Student Newspaper, The Pacifican, Pacific Weekly

No abstract provided.

Development Of Novel Analytical Methods For The Investigation Of Mammalian Tissues And Cells, Grace A. Binder

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation endeavors to advance the frontiers of analytical chemistry by addressing critical challenges across three distinct chapters. In the first chapter, the focus is on the evaluation of digestion methods for the analysis of trace metals in mammalian tissues and the Standard Reference Material NIST 1577c. The primary goal is to optimize methodologies, laying the groundwork for reliable trace metal analysis and furthering our understanding of their roles in biological systems.

Transitioning into the realm of immunomodulation, the second chapter elucidates immune response, disease and treatment through the optimization and discovery of STING modulators, utilizing the luciferase assay for …

Emerging Variants Develop Total Escape From Potent Monoclonal Antibodies Induced By Ba4/5 Infection, Chang Liu, Raksha Das, Aiste Dijokaite-Guraliuc, Daming Zhou, Alexander J Mentzer, Piyada Supasa, Muneeswaran Selvaraj, Helen M E Duyvesteyn, Thomas G Ritter, Nigel Temperton, Paul Klenerman, Susanna J Dunachie, Neil G Paterson, Mark A Williams, David R Hall, Elizabeth E Fry, Juthathip Mongkolsapaya, Jingshan Ren, David I Stuart, Gavin R Screaton

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The rapid evolution of SARS-CoV-2 is driven in part by a need to evade the antibody response in the face of high levels of immunity. Here, we isolate spike (S) binding monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) from vaccinees who suffered vaccine break-through infections with Omicron sub lineages BA.4 or BA.5. Twenty eight potent antibodies are isolated and characterised functionally, and in some cases structurally. Since the emergence of BA.4/5, SARS-CoV-2 has continued to accrue mutations in the S protein, to understand this we characterize neutralization of a large panel of variants and demonstrate a steady attrition of neutralization by the panel of …

Who Said I Was A Cookie, Madison Ashley Hunter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Who Said I Was A Cookie is a poetry collection filled to the brim with fear-stained journal entries, calling-my-mama-for-the-5th-time-today rants, prayers about finding home within myself, half completed checklists as soundtracks and the sting of their cry for wanting to be whole, and satirical and soul immersing questionnaires. Readers receive a golden ticket to the party where every version of myself finally meets one another and devises a plan to ignore the false flavors of Black womanhood that people have menacingly mixed for me to embody while also baking the version of myself I desire to be. This is a …

A Pxrf, Ftir And Sem/Eds Analysis Of The White Pigment On White Cross-Lined Ware, Rachel Pinkman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The current study will examine the composition of the pigment used for decorating a type of Predynastic Egyptian ceramic vessels known as “white cross-lined ware” or “C-ware.” Two collections of white cross-lined ware have been analyzed by visual analysis, portable x-ray fluorescence (pXRF), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy with an electron dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS). The composition of this pigment may help scholars understand and recognize trade networks within and/or outside of Egypt, the types of materials Egyptian potters used and if different pigment recipes were employed for C-ware at different Predynastic sites. Furthermore, the identification …

Comparative Landscape Genetics And Dynamics In Demography Within Sympatric Ursids In Southeast Alaska, Philip Russell Douchinsky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The landscape along the northwest coast of North America structures species populations in and around Southeast Alaska. Brown bears (Ursus arctos) and American black bears (U. americanus) are sympatric in this region. They are similarly sized omnivores and interspecific competition directly affects the resources available to each species as brown bears are larger, more aggressive, and can competitively exclude; however, black bears can better utilize dispersed food sources. Within this system I asked two questions about brown and black bears in Southeast Alaska. The first question had two parts; how has the environment structured gene flow in both species, and …

Novel Jak Inhibitors To Reduce Graft-Versus-Host Disease After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation In A Preclinical Mouse Model, Sena Kim, Peter Ruminski, Megh Singh, Karl Staser, Kidist Ashami, Julie Ritchey, Sora Lim, John F Dipersio, Jaebok Choi

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) is a highly effective, well-established treatment for patients with various hematologic malignancies and non-malignant diseases. The therapeutic benefits of allo-HCT are mediated by alloreactive T cells in donor grafts. However, there is a significant risk of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), in which the donor T cells recognize recipient cells as foreign and attack healthy organs in addition to malignancies. We previously demonstrated that targeting JAK1/JAK2, mediators of interferon-gamma receptor (IFNGR) and IL-6 receptor signaling, in donor T cells using baricitinib and ruxolitinib results in a significant reduction in GvHD after allo-HCT. Furthermore, we showed that balanced …

Host Response During Unresolved Urinary Tract Infection Alters Female Mammary Tissue Homeostasis Through Collagen Deposition And Timp1, Samantha Henry, Xue-Yan He, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Exposure to pathogens throughout a lifetime influences immunity and organ function. Here, we explore how the systemic host-response to bacterial urinary tract infection (UTI) induces tissue-specific alterations to the mammary gland. Utilizing a combination of histological tissue analysis, single cell transcriptomics, and flow cytometry, we identify that mammary tissue from UTI-bearing mice displays collagen deposition, enlarged ductal structures, ductal hyperplasia with atypical epithelial transcriptomes and altered immune composition. Bacterial cells are absent in the mammary tissue and blood of UTI-bearing mice, therefore, alterations to the distal mammary tissue are mediated by the systemic host response to local infection. Furthermore, broad …

Ammonium Chemotaxis In Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii, Gabela Nelson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Analysis of ammonium chemotaxis in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is largely hindered, compared to that of phototaxis, despite equal importance on flagellated microalgal physiology. A major contribution of this shortfall is the lack of proper assay method. We developed a simple Petri dish assay method in which light is homogenously exposed while patterns of the cellular migration are tracked with a function of time. Using the method, new findings were revealed. First, this research presented that a strain lacking the eyespot organelle required for light gradient-sensing exhibits similar chemotactic behavior compared to a wild-type strain, suggesting Chlamydomonas sense an ammonium gradient not …

Natural Products In Food And Agriculture, Stephen O. Duke

Oxford ICSB

Before the National Center for Natural Products Research (NCNPR) existed, I was Director of a USDA weed management lab. Two of my interests were natural products as herbicides and the chemical ecology of weed/crop interactions (allelopathy). Dr. James McChesney and I had several conversations about his vision for the NCNPR on the University of Mississippi campus. I was very interested in becoming a part of this, as his plan was to have a USDA lab that would study natural products for use in food and agriculture as part of the center. The USDA Agricultural Research Service established the Natural Product …