Digital Commons Network^™

Morphological Characterization Of Two Transgenic Strategies For Genetic Access To Semilunar Granule Neurons In The Mouse Dentate Gyrus, David T. Rexford

Masters Theses

Granule cells (GCs) of the dentate gyrus (DG) have been understood as a homogeneous class of neurons exhibiting a characteristic limited firing pattern. A subtype of GC called a semilunar granule cell (SGC) has been identified exhibiting variant morphology, electrophysiology, and positioning from normal GCs. SGCs represent an emerging novel subpopulation of GCs, however, there is presently no genetic tool to access SGCs separately from normal GCs. To provide access for future in vivo studies of this population, we examined two genetic strategies for putative SGC specificity in mouse brain slices. Morphological analysis was performed for quantitative identification of putative …

Veiled Victorian Vampires: What Literary Antagonists Reveal About Societal Fears Of 19th Century England, Jenna Harford

Honors Theses

In my thesis paper I look at three primary texts, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray to analyze their main antagonists through a vampiric lens. I explain how the characters of Bertha Mason, Miss Havisham, and Dorian Gray are all written with veiled vampiric traits that revolve around themes of sexuality, secrecy and seclusion, and unbridled physical and emotional violence. Although none of these texts is obviously a “vampire novel”, the authors lean into vampire tropes including eerie physical description, doubled relationships, and other vampire lore that can be best …

Vibrational Communication Of Hebetica Sylviae, Jenna Howard

Honors College Theses

There are many different modalities animals use to communicate. Substrate-borne vibrational communication is one that is in the infancy of research, but widely used by many members of the animal kingdom. The systems by which one species of treehopper, Hebetica sylviae, utilizes vibrational communication has yet to be described due to the recent nature of its discovery. This study aims to answer basic, but vital, questions regarding the key vibrational signals Hebetica sylviae use for the purposes of courtship. There were several calls found to be important to the male including a long-range signal, characterized by pulse trains produced …

The Rise In Anti-Asian Racism And Xenophobia In The Time Of Covid-19, Mitchell Alan Kaplan

Journal of Hate Studies

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a detrimental impact on the health of the American people and those abroad, the social consequences stemming from the spread of the virus have become an international crisis whose effects reach far beyond the medical issues associated with the disease. Racial and xenophobic propaganda about the illness promoted on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter and at campaign rallies by former President Trump has spurred a dramatic increase in anti-immigrant sentiments toward Asian Americans. The polarizing effects of the Administration’s anti-Asian rhetoric have become a battle cry that has given renewed …

The Twice Exceptional Learner Making The Classroom More Engaging For All, Josy Goodwin

Masters Projects

Around the world there is a population of our student bodies that are often missed within the educational world. These students are incredibly bright and could qualify as being labeled as gifted. However, these students often have a disability that impedes their gifts. This is the twice-exceptional or 2e population. As more research is being conducted to learn more about these students, it is time to begin exploring ways that teachers can help this student population through communication tools, student case studies, and project examples. All with the goal of providing a more inclusive, rigorous, and positive learning environment for …

Hica Toxin-Based Counterselection Marker For Allelic Exchange Mutations In Fusobacterium Nucleatum, Bibek Gc, Peng Zhou, Chenggang Wu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The study of fusobacterial virulence factors has dramatically benefited from the creation of various genetic tools for DNA manipulation, including galK-based counterselection for in-frame deletion mutagenesis in Fusobacterium nucleatum, which was recently developed. However, this method requires a host lacking the galK gene, which is an inherent limitation. To circumvent this limitation, we explored the possibility of using the hicA gene that encodes a toxin consisting of a HicAB toxin-antitoxin module in Fusobacterium periodonticum as a new counterselective marker. Interestingly, the full-length hicA gene is not toxic in F. nucleatum, but a truncated hicA gene version lacking the first …

Wellness Review 2022, Part 2, Martin Huecker, Brian A. Ferguson, Jacob Shreffler

Journal of Wellness

Introduction: Similar to prior reviews, the Journal of Wellness editors searched the literature from the second half of 2022 for an interesting and impactful selection of publications on wellness in healthcare professionals.

Methods: Editors conducted a standard keyword search in Pubmed, focusing chiefly on large journals, interventional trials, and other prospective research. We included papers published between July 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022.

Literature in Review: Finding several hundred publications, we excluded editorials, reviews, and some smaller, less generalizable papers. A final 25 significant studies focusing on wellness in medical professionals were sorted into the following categories: logistics, creativity …

Minutes From April 26 2023, University Senate

University Senate Minutes

Minutes from April 26 2023 University Senate Meeting

196 - Neural Correlates Of Empathy And Their Association With Psychopathology, Thomas Griffin, Melissa Kaplan, Michelle Fitting, Catherine Elliott, Rachel Echols, Julia Vaughn, Lillian Woodworth

GREAT Day Posters

Our study looks at brain activity underlying empathy processing and its association with underlying mental health. Using a functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) measuring device, we measured blood oxygenation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a brain region associated with reasoning and decision-making, while participants engaged in two different empathy tasks. The first task is the Frith-Happé Animations – an assessment of Theory of Mind, the ability to take the perspective of another – and the second task is the EU-Emotional Stimulus Set, which assesses emotion recognition connected to empathy. Accuracy of performance and brain activity during these tasks were then …

257 - Increasing Plant-Based Options On College Campuses To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Gianna Minnuto

GREAT Day Posters

Increasing the amount of plant-based options on college campuses could lead to great decreases in carbon emissions, and an improvement in student health, nationwide. Expanding the plant-based options on the SUNY Geneseo campus could encourage students to convert from a meat-based diet to a plant-based diet, which could contribute to a drastic decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from college campuses in the United States. SUNY Geneseo should consider expanding the plant-based options offered in its dining halls to better accommodate students who embrace or are interested in consuming a plant-based diet, which in turn would help decrease greenhouse gas emissions …

351 - Drinking In The Dark (Did): A Mouse Model Of Keto Influenced Binge-Like Alcohol Intake In The C57bl/6j Mice, Alana Aga

GREAT Day Posters

Binge drinking is a widespread problem that can have serious consequences for health and social behavior. Previous studies have shown that a ketogenic diet (KD) can reduce alcohol intake in rodents, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. In this study, we used C57BL/6J mice to investigate the effect of a high fat KD diet on binge-like alcohol intake, and to determine if this intervention could lead to long-term changes in drinking behavior. Our results demonstrate that mice on a KD diet consumed less alcohol compared to those on a standard diet. Interestingly, female mice were found to be …

116 - The Effects Of Tetrahydrocannabinol On Circadian Rhythmicity And The Response To Nicotine In Long-Evans Rats, Lauren Mac Taggart, Anna Hendricks, Joey Morgan, Vincent Markowski

GREAT Day Posters

The marijuana legalization trend promotes the notion that cannabinoids such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) can be safe and effective medications for conditions such as insomnia. Unfortunately, exposure to THC during development has been shown to impair cognition and motor behavior in humans and laboratory animals. The current study used VitalView software and cage-top infrared activity monitors to quantify the effects of a range of THC doses on activity and circadian rhythms in adult rats that were exposed to THC throughout adolescence. Rats were further administered acute nicotine drug challenges to determine if THC altered the development of the acetylcholine neurotransmitter system. …

126 - The Effects Of Perinatal Or Peripubertal Exposure To Tetrahydrocannabinol On Developmental Milestones, Motor Behavior, And Somatosensation In Rats, Anna Hendricks, Lindsey Toole, Allyson Surowick, Danielle Roemer, Vincent Markowski

GREAT Day Posters

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the primary psychoactive agent in marijuana, one of the most popular recreational drugs in the world. As the legalization trend in the U.S. expands, more women are consuming THC during pregnancy and more teens are experimenting with the drug. Unfortunately, the effects of THC on fetal and adolescent brain development are poorly understood. The current study was designed to identify the developmental and somatomotor effects of THC exposure. Long-Evans rats were assigned to one of two cohorts: prenatal exposure where pregnant rats were administered THC from gestational day 1 to postnatal day 21 or juvenile exposure where …

129 - Analysis Of Corpus Callosum And Ventricles In Brain Tissue Of Mk801/Cdppb Treated C57bl6/J Mice, Ryan Pelkey, Noah Massey, Evan Eshenaur, Zander Purcell, Vincent Markowski

GREAT Day Posters

The neurodevelopmental hypothesis depicts schizophrenia as a long-term consequence of aberrant development of the glutamate and dopamine neurotransmitter systems during the perinatal period. The drug MK-801 is a glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist that produces schizophrenia-like symptoms in laboratory rodents when administered early in development. Our laboratory has been investigating whether CDPPB, a positive allosteric modulator of the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5), would reverse the effects of MK-801. To test this, mice were first administered 0.25 mg/kg MK-801 as neonates, and later given 10.0 mg/kg CDBBD or saline during their juvenile period. Previously, our lab found that MK-801 produced …

178 - Ketogenic Diet And Social Behavior In A Mouse Model Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Macy Kuebler, Abigail Grzeskowiak, Emily Trabulsi, Abigail Schwartzman, Gabrielle Skiba

GREAT Day Posters

Impaired social interaction is one of three key diagnostic criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Other criteria for ASD include repetitive behavior and impaired communication skills. This developmental condition is increasing within the United States, yet no cure is currently available. Ketogenic diet (KD) is a high fat, low carb diet proven to help many neurological issues in humans and reduce repetitive behavior in the mouse model. This study uses a FVB mouse model predisposed to developing stereotypical behaviors, specifically, repetitive circling to investigate the effects of KD on social and repetitive behavior. Subjects were old and young mice fed …

Overcoming Adaptive Resistance To Anti-Vegf Therapy By Targeting Cd5l, Christopher J Lafargue, Paola Amero, Kyunghee Noh, Lingegowda S Mangala, Yunfei Wen, Emine Bayraktar, Sujanitha Umamaheswaran, Elaine Stur, Santosh K Dasari, Cristina Ivan, Sunila Pradeep, Wonbeak Yoo, Chunhua Lu, Nicholas B Jennings, Vinod Vathipadiekal, Wei Hu, Anca Chelariu-Raicu, Zhiqiang Ku, Hui Deng, Wei Xiong, Hyun-Jin Choi, Min Hu, Takae Kiyama, Chai-An Mao, Rouba Ali-Fehmi, Michael J Birrer, Jinsong Liu, Ningyan Zhang, Gabriel Lopez-Berestein, Vittorio De Franciscis, Zhiqiang An, Anil K Sood

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Antiangiogenic treatment targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway is a powerful tool to combat tumor growth and progression; however, drug resistance frequently emerges. We identify CD5L (CD5 antigen-like precursor) as an important gene upregulated in response to antiangiogenic therapy leading to the emergence of adaptive resistance. By using both an RNA-aptamer and a monoclonal antibody targeting CD5L, we are able to abate the pro-angiogenic effects of CD5L overexpression in both in vitro and in vivo settings. In addition, we find that increased expression of vascular CD5L in cancer patients is associated with bevacizumab resistance and worse overall survival. …

Potential Sex Differences In Noradrenergic Circuitry And Modulation Of Anxiety-Like Behavior, Marcis Scroger

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Rates of anxiety disorders have been increasing in recent years, especially in nations such as the United States. The rates of these diagnoses are not distributed equally amongst the sexes, as women are more prone to being diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, and more likely to be impacted by the disorder more. Noradrenaline (NE) is a major brain stress signal that is made by the locus coeruleus (LC). LC neurons innervate many structures, including the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) which is involved in stress and arousal. The female LC is larger and contains more NE-containing neurons. However, it is not …

Spectrum, Volume 50, Issue 11, Sacred Heart University

Newspapers (Obelisk & Spectrum)

Highlights include: Board of Trustees Panel Set for May 2 -- Mifepristone Access Granted by Supreme Court -- UAE spacecraft takes close-up photos of Mars' little moon -- A Curtis Hall Carnival -- New Leaders Coming Soon -- The Last Dance -- From Your DS to the Big Screen -- A “Masterful” Job Done by Coach McGreevy

Bridging Clinic And Wildlife Care With Ai-Powered Pan-Species Computational Pathology, Khalid Abduljabbar, Simon P Castillo, Katherine Hughes, Hannah Davidson, Amy M Boddy, Lisa M Abegglen, Lucia Minoli, Selina Iussich, Elizabeth P Murchison, Trevor A Graham, Simon Spiro, Carlo C Maley, Luca Aresu, Chiara Palmieri, Yinyin Yuan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cancers occur across species. Understanding what is consistent and varies across species can provide new insights into cancer initiation and evolution, with significant implications for animal welfare and wildlife conservation. We build a pan-species cancer digital pathology atlas (panspecies.ai) and conduct a pan-species study of computational comparative pathology using a supervised convolutional neural network algorithm trained on human samples. The artificial intelligence algorithm achieves high accuracy in measuring immune response through single-cell classification for two transmissible cancers (canine transmissible venereal tumour, 0.94; Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease, 0.88). In 18 other vertebrate species (mammalia = 11, reptilia = 4, aves …

An Investigation Of Second-Site Non-Complementation Among Motile Cilia Genes In Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii, Gervette M. Penny

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION An Investigation of Second-Site Non-Complementation among Motile Cilia Genes in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii by Gervette M. Penny Doctor of Philosophy in Biology and Biomedical Sciences Molecular Genetics and Genomics Washington University in St. Louis, 2023 Professor Susan K. Dutcher, Chair Motile cilia are complex microtubule-based organelles used by eukaryotic cells for locomotion or directing fluid flow. In humans, motile cilia defects cause primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), characterized by neonatal respiratory distress, recurrent lung infections, bronchiectasis, and low nitric oxide. Situs inversus and/or male infertility are present in about 50% of cases. PCD inheritance is recessive; both copies …

Displacement And Replacement: The Political History Of David Duke, Patrick Buchanan, And Racial Resentment, Dylan Weir

Journal of Hate Studies

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, David Duke and Patrick Buchanan drew on long-running discourses about White replacement and displacement in their political campaigns. Duke, former leader of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, used White displacement fears to earn elected office in the Louisiana state legislature. He then ran for governor, senator, and president, but was thwarted in these campaigns partly thanks to Black voters. Duke’s presidential ambitions were also undercut by the journalist and television personality Patrick Buchanan, who coopted Duke’s message to seize his base. Despite trying several times, however, Buchanan was also unable to …

Nuclear Threat As Race Hatred, John Streamas

Journal of Hate Studies

Nuclear weapons, since their advent in the 1940s, have been regarded as so massively destructive and lethal that few have questioned whether particular groups might be targeted. Deaths across their geographical sweep seem to be total and indiscriminate. I argue, however, that it is no accident or coincidence that the Bomb was first used on a non-White nation; people of color in the United States such as Langston Hughes believed it would never be used against a White enemy. On the other hand, even if it is a race weapon, it is also still a species weapon, so that even …

The Dialogic Classroom: Holding The Door Open For Hope, Ivon Prefontaine

Journal of Hate Studies

Schools are an essential institution for providing education and direction for children and youth. A key learning is how to engage in civil dialogue intertwined with hope for the future. At the heart of civil dialogue in a classroom are large topics referred to as “public moral [stories] … moral in the sense that [they are] founded on ultimate questions—of life and death, of how persons should be treated, preferred patterns of living” (Fisher, 1994, p. 173). These existential stories and their emergent questions are eloquent and can excite and engage even reluctant participants who otherwise might find themselves concerned …

Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Β Cells: Truly Immature Islet Β Cells For Type 1 Diabetes Therapy?, Helen Jiang, Fang-Xu Jiang

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

A century has passed since the Nobel Prize winning discovery of insulin, which still remains the mainstay treatment for type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) to this day. True to the words of its discoverer Sir Frederick Banting, “insulin is not a cure for diabetes, it is a treatment”, millions of people with T1DM are dependent on daily insulin medications for life. Clinical donor islet transplantation has proven that T1DM is curable, however due to profound shortages of donor islets, it is not a mainstream treatment option for T1DM. Human pluripotent stem cell derived insulin-secreting cells, pervasively known as stem cell-derived …

Ensemble Concerts: University And Symphonic Band, April 26, 2023, F. Mack Wood, T.J. Mack, John Gonzalez, Jeason Lopez, Tori Puffer

School of Music Programs

Center for the Performing Arts
April 26th, 2022
Wednesday Evening
8:00 p.m.

Inulin Diet Uncovers Complex Diet-Microbiota-Immune Cell Interactions Remodeling The Gut Epithelium, Renan Oliveira Corrêa, José Luís Fachi, Marco Colonna, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: The continuous proliferation of intestinal stem cells followed by their tightly regulated differentiation to epithelial cells is essential for the maintenance of the gut epithelial barrier and its functions. How these processes are tuned by diet and gut microbiome is an important, but poorly understood question. Dietary soluble fibers, such as inulin, are known for their ability to impact the gut bacterial community and gut epithelium, and their consumption has been usually associated with health improvement in mice and humans. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that inulin consumption modifies the composition of colonic bacteria and this impacts …

Blind Fighter – A Video Game For The Visually Impaired, Avery Wayne Harrah

ATU Scholars Symposium

Blind Fighter is a video game made to be playable by anyone, regardless of any visual impairments the player may have. The game relies on auditory queues to allow players to understand what is happening in the game without ever having to see the screen. The project’s goal is to serve as a proof of concept that video games can be made inclusive with a few additions during development, without sacrificing overall quality. To do this, the game features full graphics in addition to testing many strategies for visually impaired players, including direction-based audio, unique sound effects for each game …

Lyme Disease Neuroretinitis: A Case Report And Review Of Immunologic Workup, Michael Wingard, Od, Jeffery Curry, Od, Jeffrey L. Weaver, Od, Ms

Optometric Clinical Practice

Background: Lyme disease is an infection caused by a bacterial spirochete of the borrelia genus. The human vector is from a tick bite by an infected tick of the ixodes genus, commonly referred to as the deer tick or black legged tick. The incidence of Lyme disease is increasing in the United States. Once infected, Lyme disease manifestations usually depend on the stage of infection with late stage infection often causing debilitating illness.¹

Case Report: Neuroborreliosis refers to borrelia, causing neurological infection and can occur as acute or late manifestation of Lyme disease. Neuroretinitis is a rare …

Optic Disc Drusen Resulting In Disqualifying Field Loss, Robert C. Binkley, Od

Optometric Clinical Practice

Background: Optic nerve (or disc) drusen is the presence of hyaline bodies at the optic nerve head. The drusen may be visible upon funduscopic examination or may present as buried. Timely diagnosis and responsible imaging may help inform the patient of the potential for future concerns. The long-term prognosis is good for most patients, however, they may experience progressive peripheral vision loss that may reduce the patient’s quality of life. Neuroprotective options have previously been discussed with minimal clinical effectiveness, however, new medications may aid in future treatment.

Case Report: A patient presenting with mild and slowly progressing vision loss …

You Can Lead A Horse To Water, Paul B. Freeman, Od

Optometric Clinical Practice

Letter from the Editor