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Replication Study: Biomechanical Remodeling Of The Microenvironment By Stromal Caveolin-1 Favors Tumor Invasion And Metastasis, Mee Rie Sheen, Jennifer L. Fields, Brian Northan, Judith Lacoste, Lay-Hong Ang, Steven Fiering

Dartmouth Scholarship

As part of the Reproducibility Project: Cancer Biology we published a Registered Report (Fiering et al., 2015) that described how we intended to replicate selected experiments from the paper ‘Biomechanical remodeling of the microenvironment by stromal caveolin-1 favors tumor invasion and metastasis’ (Goetz et al., 2011). Here we report the results. Primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts (pMEFs) expressing caveolin 1 (Cav1WT) demonstrated increased extracellular matrix remodeling in vitro compared to Cav1 deficient (Cav1KO) pMEFs, similar to the original study (Goetz et al., 2011). In vivo, we found higher levels of intratumoral stroma remodeling, determined by fibronectin fiber orientation, in tumors …

Finite Element Analysis Of The Mechanisms Of Impact Mitigation Inherent To The North American Bison (Bison Bison) Skull, Andrea Karen Persons

Theses and Dissertations

North American bison (Bovidae: Bison bison) incur blunt impacts to the interparietal and frontal bones when they engage in head-to-head fights. To investigate the impact mitigation of these bones, a finite element analysis of the skull under loading conditions was performed. Based on anatomical and histological studies, the interparietal and frontal bones are both comprised of a combination of haversian and plexiform bone, and are both underlain by bony septa. Additionally, the interparietal bone is thicker than the frontal. Data regarding the mechanical properties of bison bone are scarce, but the results of a phylogenetic analysis infer that the material …

Localized Dielectric Loss Heating In Dielectrophoresis Devices, Tae Joon Kwak, Imtiaz Hossen, Rashid Bashir, Woo-Jin Chang, Chung-Hoon Lee

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Temperature increases during dielectrophoresis (DEP) can affect the response of biological entities, and ignoring the effect can result in misleading analysis. The heating mechanism of a DEP device is typically considered to be the result of Joule heating and is overlooked without an appropriate analysis. Our experiment and analysis indicate that the heating mechanism is due to the dielectric loss (Debye relaxation). A temperature increase between interdigitated electrodes (IDEs) has been measured with an integrated micro temperature sensor between IDEs to be as high as 70 °C at 1.5 MHz with a 30 V_pp applied voltage to our ultra-low …

A Hierarchical Machine Learning Model To Discover Gleason Grade-Specific Biomarkers In Prostate Cancer, Osama Hamzeh, Abedalrhman Alkhateeb, Zhuoran Zheng, Srinath Kandalam, Crystal Leung, Govindaraja Atikukke, Dora Cavallo-Medved, Nallasivam Palanisamy, Luis Rueda

Urology Articles

Background: One of the most common cancers that affect North American men and men worldwide is prostate cancer. The Gleason score is a pathological grading system to examine the potential aggressiveness of the disease in the prostate tissue. Advancements in computing and next-generation sequencing technology now allow us to study the genomic profiles of patients in association with their different Gleason scores more accurately and effectively.

Methods: In this study, we used a novel machine learning method to analyse gene expression of prostate tumours with different Gleason scores, and identify potential genetic biomarkers for each Gleason group. We obtained a …

Ramucirumab: A New Agent For Advanced Or Metastatic Gastric Junction Adenocarcinoma, Adam Smith, Rebecca Worden, Jessica Hoffert, Brendon Rasor, Hannah Stewart, David Koh

Pharmacy and Wellness Review

Ramucirumab (Cyramza®), approved April 21, 2014, is a vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) antagonist with a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) indication for the treatment of advanced or metastatic gastric/gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. Gastric cancer is a prevalent cancer in the United States with a poor prognosis. The phase 3 trial, REGARD, shows that ramucirumab, when used within four months after the last dose of first-line chemotherapy or six months after the last dose of adjuvant chemotherapy, increases overall survival. Also, ramucirumab has been included in combination therapy, such as in the RAINBOW trial, which demonstrated its effectiveness …

A Multivariate Ecological Approach To Delineate Unionid Freshwater Mussel Species, Ava M. Laszlo

Biology Theses

Freshwater mussels represent one of the most imperiled faunal groups on the planet and are critical to freshwater ecosystems. If mussel species are not carefully defined, our conservation plans may miss differences in the habitat needs of different species and the conservation strategies may not be as successful. Because ecological niche models can be used to provide evidence to support similar or dissimilar ecological niches and habitat requirements, I used modelling to forecast suitable habitat for Fusconaia askewi and F. lananensis, two purported threatened Texas species. The modeling results indicated that these species are not ecologically different. Based upon …

Modeling The Effects Of Distribution System Topology On Water Quality, Chun-Ying Chao

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Inadequate treatment of drinking water causes the formation of disinfection by-products and the regrowth of harmful microbial species. Various studies have addressed the problem of water quality monitoring, but very few have employed topological analysis, a valuable mathematical tool widely applied in biological, business, and social research. This thesis examines the relationship between the topological properties of water distribution systems and water-quality models. In particular, the research proposes a novel framework for mapping network topological attributes to water-quality models. This research adopts topological metrics to assess the accuracy of the predictions of chlorine concentrations in dead ends. It examines four …

Pharmacognostical Study Of Combretum Aculeatum Vent. Growing In Sudan, Kamal M. Hamad, Manal M. Sabry, Sabah H. Elgayed, Abdel-Rahman El Shabrawy, Ahlam M. El-Fishawy

Bulletin of Faculty of Pharmacy Cairo University

Aim of Study: Combretum aculeatum Vent is commonly used in traditional medicine but no published botanical characterization was available. Macro- and microscopical characters of the aerial parts (leaf, stem and bark) have been studied with the aim to find the diagnostic features, and pointed towards their identification in both entire and powdered form. Results: Proximate analysis like moisture contents (7.52 %), total ash (14.09%), water-soluble ash (0.7%), acid-insoluble ash (2.99%) and alcohol soluble extract (9.5%) were determined. Percentage yield of sequential extractive values of sample in petroleum ether (1.85%), methylene chloride (0.92%), ethyl acetate (2.2%) and n-butanol (1.66%) were also …

Aglycon Modifications Of Ipomoeassin F: Synthetic Route Development And Analog Synthesis To Enable Further Sar Studies, Eric Barber

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The ipomoeassin family of resin glycosides were discovered to have a high potency against numerous cancer cell line, with ipomoeassin F being the most potent among the family of natural products. Interestingly, one of the few differences between ipomoeassin F and the other compounds is the length of the fatty-acid derived aglycon. As the mechanism of action for this family of resin glycosides is unknown and didn’t have any significant COMPARE correlation with the recorded anticancer agents in the National Cancer Institute (NCI), further SAR studies are needed. Drawing on the differences between ipomoeassin F and the other ipomoeassins, it …

Efficient And Robust Nk-Cell Transduction With Baboon Envelope Pseudotyped Lentivector., Aurelien B L Colamartino, William Lemieux, Panojot Bifsha, Simon Nicoletti, Nitin Chakravarti, Joaquín Sanz, Hugo Roméro, Silvia Selleri, Kathie Béland, Mélanie Guiot, Camille Tremblay-Laganière, Renée Dicaire, Luis Barreiro, Dean A Lee, Els Verhoeyen, Elie Haddad

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

NK-cell resistance to transduction is a major technical hurdle for developing NK-cell immunotherapy. By using Baboon envelope pseudotyped lentiviral vectors (BaEV-LVs) encoding eGFP, we obtained a transduction rate of 23.0 ± 6.6% (mean ± SD) in freshly-isolated human NK-cells (FI-NK) and 83.4 ± 10.1% (mean ± SD) in NK-cells obtained from the NK-cell Activation and Expansion System (NKAES), with a sustained transgene expression for at least 21 days. BaEV-LVs outperformed Vesicular Stomatitis Virus type-G (VSV-G)-, RD114- and Measles Virus (MV)- pseudotyped LVs (p < 0.0001). mRNA expression of both BaEV receptors, ASCT1 and ASCT2, was detected in FI-NK and NKAES, with higher expression in NKAES. Transduction with BaEV-LVs encoding for CAR-CD22 resulted in robust CAR-expression on 38.3 ± 23.8% (mean ± SD) of NKAES cells, leading to specific killing of NK-resistant pre-B-ALL-RS4;11 cell line. Using a larger vector encoding a dual CD19/CD22-CAR, we were able to transduce and re-expand dual-CAR-expressing NKAES, even with lower viral titer. These dual-CAR-NK efficiently killed both CD19KO- and CD22KO-RS4;11 cells. Our results suggest that BaEV-LVs may efficiently enable NK-cell biological studies and translation of NK-cell-based immunotherapy to the clinic.

Information Visualization Research Publications During 1990-2018: A Scientometric Analysis, Kunwar Singh, Abhishek Ranjan, Somesh Rai

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

To understand the history and research status of information visualization, information visualization research citation data has been collected from the Scopus expanded during the period from 1990 to 2018. Results indicated that the research of information visualization has increased during the studied 29-year period. The country with the highest research output was the United States with 1996 publications, while the institution with the highest research output was the CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. The majority of research articles have been contributed from developed countries. It also revealed that developed countries have more research advantages in comparison to developing …

Investigating Administrators’ Resistance To Implementing Restorative Practices, Beri Deister

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this case study, the researcher investigated the barriers to school administrators’ implementation of restorative practices as a management approach to student behavior. Based on the claim that restorative practices is a promising alternative to exclusionary disciplinary placements for changing behavior, the researcher used an emergent explanatory mixed methods design to better understand administrators’ resistance to change despite overwhelming evidence that exclusionary disciplinary practices are the primary contributors to national trends in disciplinary disproportionality and institutional discrimination. The researcher identified and analyzed barriers to create recommendations for addressing administrators’ resistance through organizational change strategies using systems theory.

Elevated Glucose Acts Directly On Osteocytes To Increase Sclerostin Expression In Diabetes, Donna M. Pacicca, Tammy Brown, Dara Watkins, Karen Kover, Yun Yan, Matthew Prideaux, Lynda Bonewald

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

© 2019, The Author(s).

Bone quality in diabetic patients is compromised, leading to weaker bones and increased fracture risk. However, the mechanism by which this occurs in diabetic bone remains to be fully elucidated. We hypothesized that elevated glucose and glucose variation would affect the function of osteocytes, essential regulators of bone homeostasis and quality. To first test this hypothesis, we used the IDG-SW3 osteocyte-like cell line to examine the effects of glucose levels on osteocyte function and viability in vitro. We confirmed our in vitro findings using the in vivo streptozotocin-induced (STZ) diabetic rat model and ex-vivo cultured osteocytes …

A Deda Family Membrane Protein Is Required For Burkholderia Thailandensis Colistin Resistance, Pradip R. Panta, Sujeet Kumar, Caroline F. Stafford, Caitlin E. Billiot, Martin V. Douglass, Carmen M. Herrera, M. Stephen Trent, William T. Doerrler

Faculty Publications

© Copyright © 2019 Panta, Kumar, Stafford, Billiot, Douglass, Herrera, Trent and Doerrler. Colistin is a “last resort” antibiotic for treatment of infections caused by some multidrug resistant Gram-negative bacterial pathogens. Resistance to colistin varies between bacterial species. Some Gram-negative bacteria such as Burkholderia spp. are intrinsically resistant to very high levels of colistin with minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) often above 0.5 mg/ml. We have previously shown DedA family proteins YqjA and YghB are conserved membrane transporters required for alkaline tolerance and resistance to several classes of dyes and antibiotics in Escherichia coli. Here, we show that a DedA family …

Learning To Think In The Language Of Strangers: Indigenous Education In A Colonized And Globalized Pacific, Konai Helu Thaman

International Journal of Human Rights Education

This notes from the field article is about my personal, educational, and professional journeys as an Indigenous woman living and working in the small island states of Oceania. My own story describes the struggles that continue today among many young Indigenous students, be they in school or in higher education institutions with structures and processes that do not take their cultural backgrounds or identities into consideration. The results are often damaging both to the students, as well as to the institutions themselves. However, in this work, I advocate for the inclusion of Indigenous knowledges in education, as I have for …

Wildlife Survey Of National Parks To Assess Reptilian Biodiversity, Ajk, Jibran Haider, Inayatullah Malik, Sabiha Shamim

Journal of Bioresource Management

The class Reptilia belongs to phylum Chordata. This group forms a large community of the land vertebrates. However, they remain relatively under-examined. Roll et al. (2017) studied the global distribution of more than 10,000 reptiles. Nearly194 reptilian species have been reported from Pakistan (WWF, n.d.). Five protected parks were studied from February 2008 to May 2010. Dhirkot Nature Reserve (DNR), Banjosa Nature Reserve (BNR), Tolipir National Park (TNP), Pir Chanasi National Park (PCNP) and Pir Lasura National Park (PLNP) were considered. Fifteen species of reptiles were observed in TNP. Ten species of reptiles were recorded from PCNP. Ten species of …

Medical School Watercooler Newsletter - October 27, 2019, Lindsey Lyle

Watercooler Newsletter

This is the October 27, 2019 edition of the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine's Newsletter - Watercooler.

Contents Include:

Simulations transport medical students inside human organs

Department of Surgery to host Frazer/Leigh Memorial Lecture

Macaluso examines federal efforts on tick-borne diseases

Magnetocaloric Effect Near Room Temperature In Quintenary And Sextenary Heusler Alloys, Benjamin D. White, R. I. Barabash, O. M. Barabash, I. Jeon, M. B. Maple

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

An inverse magnetocaloric effect is studied in Ni₂Mn_1+xX_1-x-type Heusler alloys. Principally known for their shape-memory properties, these alloys also exhibit significant entropy and temperature changes (ΔS and ΔT_Ad, respectively) under adiabatic conditions when a modest magnetic field is applied. We investigated the impact on magnetocaloric properties of introducing substantial chemical disorder on the X-site (X = Si, Ga, In), of replacing Ni with nonmagnetic Ag, and of replacing a small amount of Mn with Gd. While a reduction in ΔS is observed in the first two cases, we observe a significant enhancement …

Cpue Standardization For The Pacific Saury (Cololabis Saira) Fishery In The Northwest Pacific, Wen-Bin Huang, Chih-Hao Hsieh, Tai-Sheng Chiu, Wei-Ting Hsu, Chih-Shin Chen

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

In stock assessment and fisheries management, the standardization of catch per unit effort (CPUE) is critical to derive an effective index of the abundance of exploited fish stocks. In addition to developing various statistical models, a method including the relative fishing power (RFP) of individual vessels has been developed from an intuition concept and applied to bottom trawl fisheries using logbookbased data. This is a convenient and traightforward approach for standardizing the catch-effort data of a fishery. The Pacific saury is a pelagic fish species, and its stock in the Northwest Pacific has been targeted by international fleets since the …

Survival And Development Of Striacosta Albicosta (Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Immature Stages On Dry Beans, Non-Bt, Cry1f, And Vip3a Maize, Débora G. Montezano, Thomas E. Hunt, Alexandre Specht, Priscila C. Luz, Julie A. Peterson

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Striacosta albicosta is a crop pest that causes economic damage in the United States and Canada. Only maize and dry beans are shown to be suitable hosts, since larval development is incomplete on other hosts. The objective of this study was to describe the developmental parameters of immature stages of S. albicosta feeding on dry beans, non-Bt, Cry1F, and Vip3A maize. For Vip3A, mortality was 100% after 24 h. Larvae feeding on non-Bt maize had the highest larval survival (70.6%) compared to the other hosts. Maize expressing Cry1F had higher survival (31.3%) than dry beans (26.0%). Larvae feeding on dry …

Syntheses, Characterization, And Preliminary Evaluation Of Potential Ruthenium Anticancer Complexes Containing Schiff Base Ligands, Stephen Mensah

Theses and Dissertations

Platinum-based drugs have over the years been administered in the treatment of tumours.

Unfortunately, platinum resistance and the severe side effects associated with the treatments has necessitated the research for new anti-cancer drugs. Ruthenium(II) and Ruthenium(III) complexes have shown promise as useful alternative anticancer agents. The lead candidates include the Ru(II) complex RAPTA-C, a ruthenium(II)-arene complex [Ru(η6-p-cymene)Cl2(1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane)] and the Ru(III) complex NAMI-A [imidazoleH][trans-Ru(imidazole) (dimethyl sulfoxide)Cl4]. Both compounds have shown potent cytotoxic activity in several primary human tumor models. Unfortunately, NAMI-A could not advance in clinical evaluations due to limited efficacy in vivo, while the clinical evaluation of RAPTA-C is unknown. …

Leaf And Petiole Extract Of Centella Asiatica Are Potential For Antifertility And Antimicrobial Material, Susie Amilah, Sukarjati Sukarjati, Diaz P Rachmatin, Masruroh Masruroh

Folia Medica Indonesiana

Ethanol extract of leaves and petiole of pegagan (Centella asiatica) is potential as antimicrobial and antifertility. This study was to investigate whether ethanol extracts of leaf and petiole of Centella asiatica has potential as an antimicrobial and can decrease sperm quality and spermatogenic cells of mice. This was a randomized controlled study using Centella asiatica plant from which we made ethanol extract. The extract of the leaves and petiole of Centella asiatica was subjected to antimicrobial test using the bacteria S. aureus, S. epidermidis, and A. aerogenes. Then the observation was done after a 24-hour-old bacterial cultures by measuring the …

Interaction Of A Platinum Triamine Complex Having A Seven-Membered Chelate Ring With N-Acetyl-Lmethionine And Guanosine 5'-Monophosphate, Jae Ko

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In the 1960s, Rosenberg and his colleagues confirmed the anti-cancer activity of cisplatin. Although cisplatin was capable of killing testicular cancer cells there were also serious side effects. It was necessary to find alternate ways of overcoming side effects, and soon many researchers have discovered novel platinum compounds that show similar reactivity. Recently, replacing one chloride group to a heterocyclic amine group showed significant cytotoxicity with a different binding activity than cisplatin. Previously in our lab, [Pt(Me5dien)(NO3)]+ and [Pt(Et2dien)Cl]+ have been synthesized and reacted with NAcetyl- L-methionine (N-AcMet) and Guanosine 5’-monophosphate (5’-GMP) showed unusual reactivity. Unlike most previously studied platinum …

Age And Growth Of Hardhead Catfish And Gafftopsail Catfish In Coastal Louisiana, Usa, Shane Flinn, Stephen Midway

Faculty Publications

The Hardhead Catfish Ariopsis felis and Gafftopsail Catfish Bagre marinus are marine catfishes that have low recreational and commercial landings in U.S. waters, although they are among the most abundant species in coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Few biological studies exist on marine catfishes, with most studies focusing on their unique reproductive biology. This study evaluated weight-length relationships for Gafftopsail Catfish (n = 264) and Hardhead Catfish (n = 823) sampled from across coastal Louisiana, USA, during 2016-2018; subsamples (93 and 266, respectively) were aged using lapilli for age and growth analyses. Hardhead Catfish showed a small but …

Connecting The Molecular Function Of Micrornas To Cell Differentiation Dynamics., Russell Posner, Reinhard Laubenbacher

Faculty Research 2019

MicroRNAs form a class of short, non-coding RNA molecules which are essential for proper development in tissue-based plants and animals. To help explain their role in gene regulation, a number of mathematical and computational studies have demonstrated the potential canalizing effects of microRNAs. However, such studies have typically focused on the effects of microRNAs on only one or a few target genes. Consequently, it remains unclear how these small-scale effects add up to the experimentally observed developmental outcomes resulting from microRNA perturbation at the whole-genome level. To answer this question, we built a general computational model of cell differentiation to …

Family Law's Coldest War: The Battle For Frozen Embryos And The Need For A Statutory White Flag, Mary Joy Dingler

Seattle University Law Review

Without concrete legislative guidance, courts are left to a variety of unsatisfactory methods of determining the disposition of frozen embryos in dissolutions and custody disputes. Beginning in 1992, courts have been issuing problematic rulings that are reached through the application of three approaches: (1) the balancing-interests test; (2) the contemporaneous mutual consent approach; and (3) the contractual approach. These approaches are examined in this Comment through the lens of selected cases and the largely inequitable outcomes for parties are critiqued. Courts even lament the lack of statutory guidance in deciding these disputes but are resigned to employing these largely flawed, …

Sequencing Heparan Sulfate Using Hilic Lc-Netd-Ms/Ms, Jiandong Wu, Juan Wei, Pradeep Chopra, Geert Jan Boons, Cheng Lin, Joseph Zaia

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Heparan Sulfate (HS) Mediates a Wide Range of Protein Binding Interactions Key to Normal and Pathological Physiology. Though Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) based Disaccharide Composition Analysis is Able to Profile Changes in HS Composition, the Heterogeneity of Modifications and the Labile Sulfate Group Present Major Challenges for Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) Sequencing of the HS Oligosaccharides that Represent Protein Binding Determinants. Here, We Report Online LC-MS/MS Sequencing of HS Oligosaccharides using Hydrophilic Interaction Liquid Chromatography (HILIC) and Negative Electron Transfer Dissociation (NETD). a Series of Synthetic HS Oligosaccharides Varying in Chain Length (Tetramers and Hexamers), …

Usft Prog Proposal Cas Cell Bio Microbio Molecular Bio Cell Molecular Bio Bs 20190913, Usf Libraries

All Assessment Data

No abstract provided.

9th Annual Postdoctoral Science Symposium, University Of Texas Md Anderson Cancer Center Postdoctoral Association

Annual Postdoctoral Science Symposium Abstracts

The mission of the Annual Postdoctoral Science Symposium (APSS) is to provide a platform for talented postdoctoral fellows throughout the Texas Medical Center to present their work to a wider audience. The MD Anderson Postdoctoral Association convened its inaugural Annual Postdoctoral Science Symposium (APSS) on August 4, 2011.

The APSS provides a professional venue for postdoctoral scientists to develop, clarify, and refine their research as a result of formal reviews and critiques of faculty and other postdoctoral scientists. Additionally, attendees discuss current research on a broad range of subjects while promoting academic interactions and enrichment and developing new collaborations.

Cobalt(Ii) Diphenylazodioxide Complexes Induce Apoptosis In Sk-Hep-1 Cells, Norah J. Alghamdi, Lakshmi Balaraman, Kylin A. Emhoff, Ahmed M.H. Salem, Ruhan Wei, Aimin Zhou, W. Christropher Boyd

Chemistry Faculty Publications

The cobalt(II) complex salts [Co(bpy)(az)₂](PF₆)₂ and [Co(az)₄](PF₆), each bearing the unusual cis-N,N'-diphenylazodioxide ligand, were both screened as possible anticancer agents against SK-HEP-1 liver cancer cells. Both compounds were found to induce substantial apoptosis as an increasing function of concentration and time. Measurement of apoptosis-related proteins indicated that both the extrinsic and intrinsic pathways of apoptosis were activated. The apoptotic activity induced by these salts is not displayed either by simple cobalt(II) salts or complexes or by the free nitrosobenzene ligand. Additionally, these compounds did not induce apoptosis, as assessed by poly(adenosine …