Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of Gamma Irradiation On Antioxidant Enzyme Activities In Black Carrot Callus Under Drought Stress, Damla Turan Büyükdi̇nç, Di̇lruba Tabay Sümbül, Sheikh Mansoor

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Daucus carota L. (carrot) is a commercially significant root vegetable widely cultivated in temperate regions for its edible taproot and valued for its high nutritional content. This study aimed to investigate the effects of drought stress on callus tissues of the Hatay black carrot (Daucus carota L. ssp. sativus var. atrorubens Alef.) genotype and to determine the impact of different gamma radiation doses on antioxidant enzyme activities. Black carrot callus tissues were exposed to gamma irradiation at doses of 0, 7, 8, and 9 Gy to evaluate their responses to drought stress. Antioxidant enzyme activities, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), …

Bioactive Profile And Mineral Composition Of Fruit Extracts From Four Wild Hawthorn (Crataegus Spp.) Species, Özlem Çakir, Kübra Çinar Topçu, Abdurrahman Sefali, İshak Bayyi̇ği̇t, Gülçe İlhan, Jyoti̇ Singh

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

This study compared the antioxidant capacity, total phenolic content (TPC), phenolic composition, lipid oxidation level, andmineral profiles of extracts obtained from four wild hawthorn species (Crataegus tanacetifolia, C. orientalis subsp. orientalis, C. orientalissubsp. szovitsii, and C. monogyna) collected from northeastern Türkiye. Significant interspecific variations were observed in DPPH,FRAP, and CUPRAC assays. While C. monogyna had the highest reducing capacity and TPC, C. orientalis subsp. szovitsii had the highestDPPH activity. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry analysis showed that catechin,epicatechin, chlorogenic acid, and quinic acid were the major phenolics, and were particularly abundant in C. monogyna. Despitehaving a …

Production Of The Antitumor Compound Deoxyharringtonine By Suspension-Culturedcells Of Cephalotaxus Hainanensis, Liang Wang, Muhammad Mubashar Zafar, Chongyu Wu, Zhiqiang Xiong, Jingyi Sun, Huapeng Sun, Hanqing Cong, Xuefei Jiang, Mahmoud F. Seleiman, Fei Qiao, Peter Nick

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Plant cell fermentation can be a sustainable biotechnological alternative to the wild collection of medicinal plants. As aparadigm, we explored the potential of using the highly endangered endemic tree Cephalotaxus hainanensis, which accumulatescephalotaxine esters—potent anticancer compounds. We successfully established a suspension cell line able to convert cephalotaxineinto its esters, including deoxyharringtonine, harringtonine, isoharringtonine and homoharringtonine at a remarkable maximalconversion rate of up to 86%, when supplemented with L-homoleucine, a precursor for the side chains of these esters. Furthermore, byadding elicitors, we were able to enhance the yield significantly beyond the values expected from the complete conversion of the addedcephalotaxine. In …

Merritt-Putnam Symposium | Tumor-Associated Epilepsy And Epilepsy-Associated Tumors: Exploring The Bidirectional Crosstalk Between Tumors And Seizures, Tracy A Bedrosian, Michael Wong, Erin L Heinzen, Benjamin Deneen, Catherine A Christian-Hinman

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Links between cancerous and noncancerous brain tumors and epilepsy have long been recognized. However, recent clinical and preclinical studies emphasize that not only do tumors impinge on surrounding brain tissue in ways that promote hyperexcitability and epileptogenesis, but that neural activity also influences tumor progression. In this review, inspired by the Merritt-Putnam Symposium of the 2025 meeting of the American Epilepsy Society, we present a cross-disciplinary dialog between cancer and epilepsy research, including discussion of tumors and epilepsies that are more prominent in pediatric versus adult populations. First, we discuss the neuropathology, genetics, and surgical outcomes of epileptogenic brain tumors, …

February 26, 2026, James Madison University

The Breeze, 2020-

The Breeze is the student newspaper of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Coordinated Stimulation Of Axon Regenerative And Neurodegenerative Transcriptional Programs By Atf4 Following Optic Nerve Injury, Preethi Somasundaram, Madeline M Farley, Melissa A Rudy, Katya Sigal, Andoni I Asencor, David G Stefanoff, Malay Shah, Puneetha Goli, Jenny Heo, Shufang Wang, Nicholas M Tran, Trent A Watkins

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Stress signaling is important for determining the fates of neurons following axonal insults. Previously, we showed that the stress-responsive kinase PERK contributes to injury-induced neurodegeneration (Larhammar et al., 2017). Here, we show that PERK acts primarily through activating transcription factor-4 (ATF4) to stimulate not only pro-apoptotic but also pro-regenerative responses following optic nerve damage. Using conditional knockout mice, we find an extensive PERK/ATF4-dependent transcriptional response that includes canonical ATF4 target genes and modest contributions by C/EBP Homologous Protein (CHOP). Overlap with c-Jun-dependent transcription suggests interplay with a parallel stress pathway that orchestrates regenerative and apoptotic responses. Accordingly, neuronal knockout of …

Pest Management For Utah Cut Flower Production: Insects And Their Relatives, Nick Volesky, Marion Murray, Melanie Stock

All Current Publications

Pest management is important in cut flower production, marketability, and farm profitability. This fact sheet focuses on animal pests (insects, arthropods, mollusks, and vertebrates), not diseases or weeds, and has two parts. Part 1 applies Integrated Pest Management (IPM): using preventive techniques, pest thresholds, and best management practices with pests in cut flower crop production. Part 2 highlights the top 10 common pests of cut flowers in Utah and their management.

Computational Repurposing And Experimental Validation Of Ybx1 Inhibitors In Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Omar Karkoutly, Veerababu Nagati, Subhash Chauhan, Manish Tripathi

School of Medicine Publications

Background/Objectives: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer worldwide. While early-stage HCC can often be treated with surgical resection, ablation, or liver transplantation, advanced disease typically relies on systemic chemotherapy. Sorafenib is the standard first-line therapy for advanced and unresectable HCC; however, both intrinsic and acquired resistance remain major clinical challenges. The Y-box binding protein-1 (YBX1), a transcription factor implicated in drug resistance across multiple cancers, is highly expressed in HCC and represents a potential therapeutic target. This study aimed to identify novel YBX1 inhibitors using a drug repurposing strategy to overcome sorafenib resistance. Methods: A …

Hiv Infection, Neurotoxicity, Inflammation, Premature Aging, And Therapeutic Challenges To Plwh: An Overview, Mudit Tyagi, Ulhas P. Naik, Kratika Tyagi, Madhulika Sharma, Gagan Kaushal, Alok Bhushan, Michael Bukrinsky, Priya Tyagi

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

HIV infection remains a major global health challenge due to its complex pathogenesis and lifelong persistence in people living with HIV (PLWH). A central barrier to eradication is the virus's ability to establish long-lived latent reservoirs in different tissues, including the central nervous system (CNS), where it evades immune clearance and antiretroviral therapy (ART). These reservoirs, seeded early during infection, fuel viral rebound if ART is interrupted, requiring lifelong treatment. In the CNS, HIV persists despite systemic viral suppression because of limited ART penetration across the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and infection of long-lived cells such as microglia and perivascular macrophages. …

Decyl Caffeate Inhibits The Proliferation Of Human Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells, Che-Yi Chao, Woei-Cheang Shyu, Chih-Lung Lin, En-Pei Isabel Chiang, Yueh-Hsiung Kuo, Feng-Yao Tang

BioMedicine

Background: Over recent decades, considerable attention has been directed toward the discovery of novel compounds capable of targeting survival-related signaling networks as therapeutic candidates for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Central to TNBC pathobiology are the Akt/mTOR and MAPK/ERK signaling axes, both contribute to tumor progression and therapeutic resistance. Caffeic acid (CA), a naturally derived phenolic compound with anti-inflammatory activity, has previously been investigated for its anti-cancer potential. Purpose: In the present study, we explored the therapeutic value of newly synthesized CA derivatives in TNBC models using both cellular and animal-based systems. Methods: The anti-tumor efficacy of these CA derivatives was …

Increased Dairy Product Consumption Is Associated With Shorter Telomere Length In Buccal Cells Among Normotensive Adults, Hsin-Hwa Tsai, Yang-Di Su, Zi-Lun Lai, Chia-Yu Lin, Shu-Fan Lin, Hsiu-Ching Hsu, Wen-Yuan Lin, Po-Ren Hsueh

BioMedicine

Background: Telomere length (TL) is a biomarker of biological aging and a predictor of age-related diseases. Dietary patterns, including dairy consumption, may influence telomere dynamics, but the evidence remains limited, particularly in Asian populations. This study investigates the association between dairy consumption and relative telomere length (RTL) in Taiwanese adults, with results analyzed by hypertension status.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 259 adults in Taipei, Taiwan. RTL was measured using quantitative PCR from buccal cells. Dietary intake was assessed through self-reported questionnaires, with a focus on dairy frequency and fat content. Multiple linear regression models were used to …

Empathy Training Program As A Strategy To Improve Empathy In Elementary School Students, Rizqi Hanabella

Jurnal Pendidikan Humaniora

This study examined the effectiveness of an empathy training program for elementary school students using a non-randomized quasi-experimental design (untreated control group with pretest-posttest and follow-up measurements). The participants were 39 students from Grade IV and Grade V who were assigned to groups based on existing class membership. The program was developed from Davis's empathy framework (perspective-taking, fantasy, empathic concern, and personal distress), and empathy was measured using an Interpersonal Reactivity Index based scale adapted for elementary students. Data were analyzed using a mixed-design ANOVA. The findings showed a significant time-by-group interaction, and the experimental group demonstrated a significant increase …

Book Review: Gone Feral: Unruly Women And The Undoing Of Normative Femininity, Ali Saha

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

To What Extent?, Carson Dangberg

Fresh Voices: Composition at Cal Poly

No abstract provided.

Not A Monster, Jessica Hadley

Fresh Voices: Composition at Cal Poly

No abstract provided.

The Translucent Culprit, Cammie Tolleshaug

Fresh Voices: Composition at Cal Poly

No abstract provided.

In Vitro Meat: Unnatural Or Life Saving, Joseph Coplon

Fresh Voices: Composition at Cal Poly

No abstract provided.

Defying Gender Roles With Friendship And Ponies, Liam Gow

Fresh Voices: Composition at Cal Poly

No abstract provided.

Wild Child, Dylan Grant

Fresh Voices: Composition at Cal Poly

No abstract provided.

Almost Heaven, Nicholai Busch

Fresh Voices: Composition at Cal Poly

No abstract provided.

A Beautiful Failure, Lydia Kwong

Fresh Voices: Composition at Cal Poly

No abstract provided.

Chipotle: "Food With Integrity", Emily Cheung

Fresh Voices: Composition at Cal Poly

No abstract provided.

A Pep Talk, Kaitlyn Krautkramer

Fresh Voices: Composition at Cal Poly

No abstract provided.

Not My Clay Doll, Kiana Chan

Fresh Voices: Composition at Cal Poly

No abstract provided.

Have You Ever Heard Of A Louisiana Tree Dog?, Alex Batta

Fresh Voices: Composition at Cal Poly

No abstract provided.

The Local Outsider: Sleeping Sickness Drug Trials, Social Exclusion, And Responses Of Women In The Uyui District Of Tanzania, 1964-2005, Hamisi M. Machangu

Journal of International Women's Studies

Unethical practices in sleeping sickness drug trials conducted in the Uyui District of Tanzania from 1964 to 2005 resulted in physical and psychological disabilities among participants and contributed to the social exclusion of its women participants. Although these practices are understood to have caused disabilities, existing studies have overlooked their contribution to the social exclusion of women. Drawing from both primary and secondary sources, this article treats the impact of such practices as a window to examine the nature and dimensions of social exclusion of women with disabilities and how these women responded to social exclusion at the grassroots level. …

Bodies And Beyond: Reading Liminal Corporealities In Ambai’S Short Stories, Keerthana S

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article demonstrates how the Indian writer Ambai’s short stories construct counter-narratives to phallogocentric structures, opening up fresh avenues of theoretical engagement in the cultural context of Tamil Nadu, India. Despite advancements towards gender equality, cultural symbols and metaphors such as tali (ornament worn by Tamil women denoting their marital status), karpu (chastity), and veera tai (valorous mother), often govern the lives of women to a great extent. I argue that Ambai’s stories both resist the hegemonic constraints of such cultural symbols and also endeavour to reconfigure them. Ambai’s renderings of cultural semiotics enable women to experience their bodies removed …

Recasting The Sacred: Gendered Embodiments In The Shadow Puppet Theatre Of Kerala, V. K. Karthika

Journal of International Women's Studies

Tholppavakkoothu, traditional leather shadow puppetry from Kerala, a southern state within India, has long been performed in temples as a sacred ritual. This ritual art form was a male-dominated performance in which ideas regarding physical purity (in connection with menstruating female bodies) excluded women from participating. Such patriarchal codifications were challenged when Pentholppavakkoothu, an all-women leather puppetry troupe, emerged in 2021, as it not only took the art outside temple premises but enabled the participation of women in the making and performance of the art. This paper critiques the gender dynamics within Tholppavakkoothu, analysing how cultural rituals and body politics …

Feminist Reflexivity In Practice: Addressing Positionality And Building Sisterhood Through Fieldwork With Black Migrant Sex Workers In Istanbul, Yeliz Kendir-Gök

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article addresses feminist reflexivity and researcher positionality in ethnographic fieldwork with undocumented Ugandan women sex workers in Istanbul’s Tarlabaşı and Aksaray neighborhoods. Drawing on fourteen months of immersive research, including participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and reflexive journaling, the study examines how both the researcher and participants engaged in strategic forms of resistance within racialized and gendered urban spaces. The analysis is grounded in a feminist epistemological framework that draws on Kandiyoti’s notion of patriarchal bargaining and Scott’s theory of hidden transcripts. Findings reveal how participants and the researcher used subtle forms of resistance, such as strategic silence or performative …

Whose Rules, Whose Rights?: Conflict-Related Sexual Violence And Legal Protections In Wartime, Sadaf Shabbir

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article critically analyzes conflict-related systematic sexual violence (CRSV) within the frameworks of international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Additional Protocols. Moving beyond viewing CRSV as an isolated atrocity, it situates sexual violence within the historical and political roots of conflict, using case studies from the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Syrian Arab Republic. The analysis demonstrates how sexual violence operates as a weapon within exploitative wartime economies, where institutional collapse and illicit resource networks enable the commodification and control of women’s bodies. Furthermore, the article introduces a sectarian lens to the study of CRSV, …