Digital Commons Network^™

Adult And Regenerating Planarians Respond Differentially To Chronic Drug Exposure, Kevin Bayingana , '23, Danielle Ireland, Elizabeth Rosenthal , '23, Christina Rabeler, Eva-Maria S. Collins

Biology Faculty Works

There is a lack of data on the effects of chronic exposure to common drugs and stimulants on the developing nervous system. Freshwater planarians have emerged as a useful invertebrate model amenable to high-throughput behavioral phenotyping to assay chemical safety in adult and developing brains. Here, we leverage the unique strength of the system to test in parallel for effects on the adult and developing nervous system, by screening ten common drugs and stimulants (forskolin, clenbuterol, LRE-1, MDL-12,330A, adenosine, caffeine, histamine, mianserin, fluoxetine and sertraline) using the asexual freshwater planarian Dugesia japonica. The compounds were tested up to 100 …

Morphometric Changes Among Testis Of Autoimmune Mouse Model And Healthy Strains, Zeinab Shouman

Mansoura Veterinary Medical Journal

Objective: to compare morphometrically among testis of the healthy strains (C57BL/6N and MRL/MpJ) and autoimmune mouse model (MRL/MpJ-Faslpr) revealing how the autoimmune disease affect cells lining the seminiferous tubules which in turn cause infertility. Design: Descriptive study. Sample: The testis of both healthy strains (C57BL/6N and MRL/MpJ) and autoimmune mouse model (MRL/MpJ-Faslpr) at early (3 months) and late (6 months) age were used (4 mice from each strain and age). Procedures: The testis were removed, fixed and immunostained by PAX7, CKIT, GATA4 as well as Hoechest to reveal the morphometric changes among them at early (3 months) and late (6 …

Prevalence, Genetic Characterization, And Antibiogram Of Salmonella Enterica Recovered From Buffalo Meat, Takwa Fathy, Amira Zakaria, Samir Abd-Elghany, Khalid Sallam

Mansoura Veterinary Medical Journal

Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence, virulence-associated genes and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella species recovered from buffalo meat at Mansoura city in Egypt. Salmonella virulence genes were detected using polymerase chain reaction targeting invA, stn, and hilA genes.Design: Observational study.Samples: 120 samples.Procedures: A total of 120 buffalo meat samples were bacteriologically analyzed to isolate and characterize the Salmonella spp. and its virulence genes, in addition to their antimicrobial resistance.Results: Thirty (25%) out of 120-samples from buffalo meat were positive Salmonella spp. Out of the 191 phenotypically identified Salmonella isolates, only 58 strains were molecularly confirmed as Salmonella spp. …

Improving Interventions On Cardiovascular Disease And Diet: A Policy Incentive Analysis, Sandra Hurst

Dissertations

Introduction: Various cardiovascular diseases (CVD) can be catastrophic and can lead to irreversible outcomes. There are limited, improved regulations on awareness of primordial and primary preventions that may decrease CVD progression and mortality. Before policies and recommendations can be set, policymakers should understand CVD and the importance of maintaining a healthy diet to decrease the risk of CVDs and improve patient adherence. Therefore, this project aims to analyze federal healthy food incentive policies to promote healthy diet behaviors that reduce CVD risk.

Method: The method used was existing data for a comparative policy analysis that included a policy proposal process: …

Undernutrition Among Children In Guatemala, Ellie Ostvig

Ballard Brief

Undernutrition in Guatemala is a serious issue that affects physical, mental, and social well-being. Children are most vulnerable to this dangerous condition, and in Guatemala, almost 50% of children experience inadequate growth and development due to a lack of appropriate nutrient intake. Because of food insecurity and lack of nutrients, young children do not have adequate access to the nutrition that they need. Guatemala is located in an area that makes it prone to natural disasters, which also contributes to the high rates of undernutrition. Undernourished children also experience intense disadvantages because of their weakened immune systems and cognitive underdevelopment. …

Reducing Broiler Breast Myopathies Through Supplementation Of Guanidinoacetic Acid In Broiler Diets, C. J. Maynard, D. S. Nelson, S. J. Rochell, C. M. Owens

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Performance and processing advantages have been noted in meat animal production when excess arginine is available in the diet. In addition, dietary inclusion of guanidinoacetic acid (GAA) has provided insight on sparing arginine for broiler chickens. Therefore, a study was conducted to assess dietary inclusion of GAA on broiler breast myopathy prevalence. Dietary treatments were established using a control basal diet fed over four feeding phases and treatments were allocated as an additional supplementation of 0.06% (GAA 0.06) and 0.12% (GAA 0.12) in the form of CreAMINO (Alzchem Group, Trostberg, Germany). Bi-weekly BW, body weight gain (BWG …

Saving The Planet With Legal Research, Wolf Law Library, William & Mary Law School

Library Book Displays

A selection of works in honor of World Wildlife Day (March 3).

On display in the Wolf Law Library March-May 2023.

Privatizing Copyright, Xiyin Tang

Michigan Law Review

Much has been written, and much is understood, about how and why digital platforms regulate free expression on the internet. Much less has been written— and even much less is understood—about how and why digital platforms regulate creative expression on the internet—expression that makes use of others’ copyrighted content. While § 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act regulates user-generated content incorporating copyrighted works, just as § 230 of the Communications Decency Act regulates other user speech on the internet, it is, in fact, rarely used by the largest internet platforms—Facebook and YouTube. Instead, as this Article details, creative speech …

Platelet-Derived Material For The Treatment Of Infrabony Periodontal Defects: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Armando U. Rivera D.D.S

The New York State Dental Journal

Aim: To compare the clinical outcomes of platelet-derived biomaterials, including recombinant human platelet-derived growth factors receptor BB (rhPDGF-BB), platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF), for treatment of periodontal infra-bony defects. Materials and Methods: A meta-analysis was conducted to compare pocket depth reduction (PRD) and clinical attachment gain (CAG) with and without rhPDGF-BB, PRP or PRF, for surgical treatments of periodontal infra-bony pockets. Eligible studies were randomized controlled clinical trials in adults with periodontal infra-bony defects. Results: Thirty-four randomized controlled trials involving 939 patients with a mean follow-up of 9.29(±2.49) months were included in this meta-analysis. All three platelet-derived materials …

Epigenome-Wide Association Study Reveals Cpg Sites Associated With Thyroid Function And Regulatory Effects On Klf9, Antoine Weihs, Layal Chaker, Tiphaine C Martin, Kim V E Braun, Purdey J Campbell, Simon R Cox, Myriam Fornage, Christian Gieger, Hans J Grabe, Harald Grallert, Sarah E Harris, Brigitte Kühnel, Riccardo E Marioni, Nicholas G Martin, Daniel L Mccartney, Allan F Mcrae, Christa Meisinger, Joyce B J Van Meurs, Jana Nano, Matthias Nauck, Annette Peters, Holger Prokisch, Michael Roden, Elizabeth Selvin, Marian Beekman, Diana Van Heemst, Eline P Slagboom, Brenton R Swenson, Adrienne Tin, Pei-Chien Tsai, Andre Uitterlinden, W Edward Visser, Henry Völzke, Melanie Waldenberger, John P Walsh, Anna Köttgen, Scott G Wilson, Robin P Peeters, Jordana T Bell, Marco Medici, Alexander Teumer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background:

Thyroid hormones play a key role in differentiation and metabolism and are known regulators of gene expression through both genomic and epigenetic processes including DNA methylation. The aim of this study was to examine associations between thyroid hormones and DNA methylation.

Methods:

We carried out a fixed-effect meta-analysis of epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) of blood DNA methylation sites from 8 cohorts from the ThyroidOmics Consortium, incorporating up to 7073 participants of both European and African ancestry, implementing a discovery and replication stage. Statistical analyses were conducted using normalized beta CpG values as dependent and log-transformed thyrotropin (TSH), free thyroxine, …

The Crossroads Of Oil: Perpetuation Of Settler Colonialism Based In Native American Treaties And Sustained Through The Construction And Protection Of Oil Pipelines In The American Great Lakes Region, Samuel Johnson

College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Theses and Dissertations

This thesis focuses on structures of international law and Native American treaties that were drafted throughout the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries and how they directly affect today’s energy infrastructure standards. These Native American land rights treaties stemming back to the mid eighteenth century were the initial legal renderings that imposed Euro-American ideals of private property ownership on the Great Lakes region, and its already established peoples, in the long process of settler-colonialism of the Americas. The two new nation-states of the United States and Canada were wrought from, and took shape on, what was already lands home to indigenous …

Dysregulated Amino Acid Sensing Drives Colorectal Cancer Growth And Metabolic Reprogramming Leading To Chemoresistance, Sumeet Solanki, Katherine Sanchez, Varun Ponnusamy, Vasudha Kota, Hannah N Bell, Chun-Seok Cho, Allison H Kowalsky, Michael Green, Jun Hee Lee, Yatrik M Shah

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a devastating disease that is highly modulated by dietary nutrients. Mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) contributes to tumor growth and limits therapy responses. Growth factor signaling is a major mechanism of mTORC1 activation. However, compensatory pathways exist to sustain mTORC1 activity after therapies that target oncogenic growth factor signaling. Amino acids potently activate mTORC1 via amino acid-sensing GTPase activity towards Rags (GATOR). The role of amino acid-sensing pathways in CRC is unclear.

METHODS: Human colon cancer cell lines, preclinical intestinal epithelial-specific GATOR1 and GATOR2 knockout mice subjected to colitis-induced or sporadic …

It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's A Superhero Seal: The Use Of A Therapeutic Robotic Seal To Facilitate Rehabilitation In The Pediatric Icu, Christina Bach, Abigail Wawers, Jennifer M. Heusinkvelt, Alison Moody, Sara Kinsella, Haley Haefner, Kevin A. Kupzyk, Breanna D. Hetland

Posters and Presentations: College of Nursing

No abstract provided.

Encoding Permanent Records Of Transcription In The Genome, Francesco Ettore Emiliani

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Current approaches to study cellular transcriptional states offer only a single frame in the life of a cell, often in a destructive fashion. This means that our state snapshot neither has the context of the past, nor the ability to be traced into the future. To overcome this, we present a technology that can permanently encode gene expression for later recovery. Our technology uses transcriptional responses to guide CRISPR/AsCas12a to ‘write’ information into the cell’s own genome, creating a permanent and heritable record of this response. By placing a set of AsCas12a guides under the control of a Wnt-responsive TCF/LEF …

Reinforcement Learning Framework For The Unreal Engine, Justin B. Wheeler

Master's Theses

This dissertation addresses the need for using machine learning-based methods rather than traditional rule-based methods for controlling non-playable characters (NPCs). The goal of the Reinforcement Learning Framework for the Unreal Engine is to enable game development studios to create, train, and more easily implement smarter, more compelling AI characters in major video game releases. The framework contains three distinct software libraries: an Unreal Engine reinforcement learning library whose purpose is to enable Unreal Engine levels to act as reinforcement learning environments, a python library which provides convenient abstractions and implementations to the reinforcement learning process, and a flexible connection system …

Trajectory-Tracking Control Of The Ball-And-Plate System, Dominic E. Riccoboni

Master's Theses

The Mechatronics group in the Mechanical Engineering department of Cal Poly is interested in creating a demonstration of a ball-and-plate trajectory tracking controller on hardware. The display piece will serve to inspire engineering students to pursue Mechatronics and control theory as an area of study. The ball-and-plate system is open-loop unstable, underactuated, and has complicated, nonlinear equations of motion. These features present substantial challenges for control - especially if the objective is trajectory tracking. Because the system is underactuated, common nonlinear trajectory tracking control techniques are ineffective. This thesis lays out a theoretical foundation for controlling the hardware.

Several important …

Carceral Socialization As Voter Suppression, Danieli Evans

Articles

In an era of mass incarceration, many people are socialized through interactions with the carceral state. These interactions are poweful learning experiences, and by design, they are contrary to democratic citizenship. Citizenship is about belonging to a community of equals, being entitled to mutual respect and concern. Criminal punishment deliberately harms, subordinates, and stigmatizes. Encounters with the carceral system are powerful experiences of anti-democratic socialization, and they impact peoples' sense of citizenship and trust in government. Accordingly, a large body of social science research shows that eligible voters who have carceral contact are significantly less likely to vote or to …

The Anchor: March 2023, Hope College

The Anchor: 2023

The Anchor began in 1887 and was first issued weekly in 1914. Covering national and campus news alike, Hope College’s student-run newspaper has grown over the years to encompass over two-dozen editors, reporters, and staff. For much of The Anchor's history, the latest issue was distributed across campus each Wednesday throughout the academic school year (with few exceptions). In recent years The Anchor moved to monthly print issues and a more frequently updated website. The Anchor is now published in print twice per academic semester. Occasionally, the volume and/or issue numbering is irregular.

Full Issue

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Toxicity Of Aluminum Oxide Nanoparticles (Al2o3 Nps) Prepared By Laser Ablation Technique On Blood Components, Tuqa Sabah, Kareem H. Jawad, Nebras Essam

Journal of Applied Sciences and Nanotechnology

Along with its uses in a wide range of sectors, NP toxicity research was one of the fastest-growing areas of research, so the growing commercial applications brought aluminum oxide nanoparticles under the purview of toxicologists. This study shows the toxicity of Aluminum oxide Nanoparticles on blood components prepared using the pulsed laser ablation (PLA) Nd: YAG laser method. We confirmed the synthesis of aluminum Oxide nanoparticles by measuring color absorbance, UV-vis, scanning electron microscope techniques (SEM), and FTIR as characterization of Aluminum oxide Nanoparticles. The complete blood count (CBC) was used in the study of the toxicity effect of these …

Antioxidant Properties Of Galangin With Β-Cyclodextrin: An In Vitro And In Vivo, Zainab Abbas, Ghassan Sulaiman, Majid Jabir, Hamdoon Mohammed, Salman Mohammed

Journal of Applied Sciences and Nanotechnology

Galangin, a non-toxic phytochemical, is known to have a variety of therapeutic uses. This study looked into the role of inclusion complexes of galangin/β-cyclodextrin in increasing antioxidant activity over pure galangin. The role of this inclusion complex in increasing antioxidant activity in comparison to pure galangin. In this study, hydrogen peroxide assays were used in vitro. Galangin demonstrated concentration-dependent scavenging action in the 2-50 µg mL-1 range, with the highest level of activity possible 92.00% at 50 µg mL-1. In pure galangin, a decrease of 85.00% was observed. The ferric thiocyanate lipoperoxidation method was clarified by using galangin and galangin/β-cyclodextrin …

Biosynthesis And Optimization Of Polyhydroxyalkanoate (Pha) Production By Acinetobacter Lwoffii Isolate, Karrar Hameed, Iman Gatea, Amal Hussein

Journal of Applied Sciences and Nanotechnology

Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) is an eco-friendly polymer that has various important biomedical uses, as well as biodegradability, drug delivery, and medical implants. It is a kind of polyester synthesized by various microorganisms as energy reserve material under inappropriate conditions. This study focused on testing waste cooking oil as the source of carbon to optimize PHA production. The tests included the most important environmental components within the culture medium affecting the growth of the bacterial isolate under the experiment and its ability to produce a polymer. Results revealed that the cultivation of Acinetobacter lwoffii, pre-isolated from hydrocarbon contaminated soil, under optimum conditions …

Oncolytic Ndv-Amha1 Strain Effective Against Glioblastoma Cancer Cells, Zahraa Kadhim, Ghassan Sulaiman, Ahmed Al-Shammari, Hamdoon Mohammed, Salman Mohammed

Journal of Applied Sciences and Nanotechnology

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is one of the most life-threatening types of cancer that is difficult to treat. The search for effective yet safe therapy is progressing and non-conventional therapies such as using viruses as a smart and selective agent against cancer are promising. The aim of the study was the presence of a reliable method to use Newcastle disease virus (NDV) as an oncolytic agent against GBM, which attempted to propagate the NDV in laboratory experiments. Ahmed Majeed Hamza Al-Shammari-1 (AMHA1) attenuated strain of NDV was propagated in chicken embryos. The virus's tittered in Vero-slamed cells to determine the infective …

Study Of The Physicochemical And Microbiological Properties Of Mozzarella Cheese Coated With Edible Casings Subsidized With Green Tea, Ihab Abdulhadi, Mahdi Shakak, Kifah Doosh

Journal of Applied Sciences and Nanotechnology

In this study, mozzarella cheese covered with edible biodegradable films made from whey proteins reinforced with green alcoholic extract was manufactured to reduce environmental impact from degradable plastics. Two types of mozzarella cheese were produced: the first unwrapped (control) and the second coated with whey proteins fortified with 3% green tea (envelope sample). The effect on prolonging storage life was evaluated by chemical and microbiological tests. The moisture content on the first day was 53.26% and 53.30% for the control and envelope samples, respectively. This percentage decreased significantly (P≤0.05) on the last day to 47% and 51.06%, respectively. The pH …

Extraction And Purification Of Pullulanase From Local Mushrooms, Dalal Bedan

Journal of Applied Sciences and Nanotechnology

Pullulanase is defined as an extracellular carbohydrase enzyme responsible for the hydrolysis of pullulan into maltotriose. Pullulanase can be extracted from Agaricus bisporus edible mushroom and concentrated by dialysis tube using Tris-HCl buffer. This enzyme was purified by different ratios of ammonium sulphate; the optimal ratio was 30%. It can be purified by ion exchange using a DEAE-cellulose column with a final yield of 5.25 and a purification fold of 4.38. Following Sephadex G-100 gel filtration with a yield of 2.60 and purification fold of 5.0, the total activity of the enzyme reached 160IU and the specific activity was 14.5 …

Role Of Microalgae In Environmental Biotechnology To Remove Heavy Metals, Muzhda Qader, Yahya Shekha

Journal of Applied Sciences and Nanotechnology

The objective of the study is to evaluate the role of microalgae in heavy metal remediation (Pb and Cd). Three microalgae species were used (Tetradesmus nygaardi, Scenedesmus quadricauda, and Coelastrella sp.) with four concentrations of both tested heavy metals (lead and cadmium) were, (5, 15, 35, and 50 ppm). Samples were analyzed every 4th day during the experimental study for 20 days. The result showed that during experimental days the lower concentration (5ppm) has the highest reduction percent for Pb and Cd by all microalgal species (Tetradesmus nygaardi, Scenedesemus quadricauda, and Coellastrella sp.). Whereas Coellastrella sp. had the highest efficiency …

Actin Cytoskeleton Vulnerability To Disulfide Stress Mediates Disulfidptosi, Xiaoguang Liu, Litong Nie, Yilei Zhang, Yuelong Yan, Chao Wang, Medina Colic, Kellen Olszewski, Amber Horbath, Xiong Chen, Guang Lei, Chao Mao, Shiqi Wu, Li Zhuang, Masha V Poyurovsky, M James You, Traver Hart, Daniel D Billadeau, Junjie Chen, Boyi Gan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

SLC7A11-mediated cystine uptake suppresses ferroptosis yet promotes cell death under glucose starvation; the nature of the latter cell death remains unknown. Here, we show that aberrant accumulation of intracellular disulfides in SLC7A11high cells under glucose starvation induces a previously uncharacterized form of cell death distinct from apoptosis or ferroptosis. We term this cell death disulfidptosis. Chemical proteomics and cell biological analyses showed that glucose starvation in SLC7A11high cells induces aberrant disulfide bonds in actin cytoskeleton proteins and F-actin collapse in a SLC7A11-dependent manner. CRISPR screens and functional studies revealed that inactivation of the WAVE regulatory complex (WRC, which promotes actin …

Highly Synchronized Cortical Circuit Dynamics Mediate Spontaneous Pain In Mice, Weihua Ding, Lukas Fischer, Qian Chen, Ziyi Li, Liuyue Yang, Zerong You, Kun Hu, Xinbo Wu, Xue Zhou, Wei Chao, Peter Hu, Tewodros Mulugeta Dagnew, Daniel M Dubreuil, Shiyu Wang, Suyun Xia, Caroline Bao, Shengmei Zhu, Lucy Chen, Changning Wang, Brian Wainger, Peng Jin, Jianren Mao, Guoping Feng, Mark T Harnett, Shiqian Shen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cortical neural dynamics mediate information processing for the cerebral cortex, which is implicated in fundamental biological processes such as vision and olfaction, in addition to neurological and psychiatric diseases. Spontaneous pain is a key feature of human neuropathic pain. Whether spontaneous pain pushes the cortical network into an aberrant state and, if so, whether it can be brought back to a "normal" operating range to ameliorate pain are unknown. Using a clinically relevant mouse model of neuropathic pain with spontaneous pain-like behavior, we report that orofacial spontaneous pain activated a specific area within the primary somatosensory cortex (S1), displaying synchronized …

Crk2 Controls Cytoskeleton Morphogenesis In Trypanosoma Brucei By Phosphorylating Β-Tubulin To Regulate Microtubule Dynamics, Kyu Joon Lee, Qing Zhou, Ziyin Li

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Microtubules constitute a vital part of the cytoskeleton in eukaryotes by mediating cell morphogenesis, cell motility, cell division, and intracellular transport. The cytoskeleton of the parasite Trypanosoma brucei contains an array of subpellicular microtubules with their plus-ends positioned toward the posterior cell tip, where extensive microtubule growth and cytoskeleton remodeling take place during early cell cycle stages. However, the control mechanism underlying microtubule dynamics at the posterior cell tip remains elusive. Here, we report that the S-phase cyclin-dependent kinase-cyclin complex CRK2-CYC13 in T. brucei regulates microtubule dynamics by phosphorylating β-tubulin on multiple evolutionarily conserved serine and threonine residues to inhibit …

Effect Of Sirolimus On Insulin Dynamics In Horses, Demia J De Tonnerre, Carlos E Medina Torres, Darko Stefanovski, Mary A Robinson, Kate L Kemp, François-René Bertin, Andrew W Van Eps

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Sirolimus, a mechanistic target of rapamycin inhibitor, suppresses insulin production in other species and has therapeutic potential for hyperinsulinemia in horses.

HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVE: Determine the pharmacokinetics (PKs) of sirolimus and evaluate its effect on insulin dynamics in healthy and insulin dysregulation (ID) horses.

ANIMALS: Eight Standardbred geldings.

METHODS: A PK study was performed followed by a placebo-controlled, randomized, crossover study. Blood sirolimus concentrations were measured by liquid chromatography-mass-spectrometry. PK indices were estimated by fitting a 2-compartment model using nonlinear least squares regression. An oral glucose test (OGT) was conducted before and 4, 24, 72, and 144 hours after administration of …