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Exploration Of Corona Charge As A Novel In Vitro Human T Cell Dna Transfection Method, Molly A. Skinner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With gene-based immunotherapies on the rise to treat a multitude of diseases, the ability to genetically modify cells in a rapid and efficient fashion is necessary to keep up with demand. Gene electrotransfer (gene transfer by electroporation) is an appealing transfection method due to its low cost, high efficiency compared to other physical forms of gene delivery, and low toxicity compared to liposomal or viral vectors.

Traditional gene delivery via electroporation is done within a cuvette where the cell suspension is placed between two plate electrodes. This method requires cells to be moved from the treatment cuvette to a growth …

Novel Treatments For Pxe: Targeting The Systemic And Local Drivers Of Ectopic Calcification, Ida Joely Jacobs, Qiaoli Li

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) is a heritable multisystem ectopic calcification disorder. The gene responsible for PXE, ABCC6, encodes ABCC6, a hepatic efflux transporter regulating extracellular inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi), a potent endogenous calcification inhibitor. Recent studies demonstrated that in addition to the deficiency of plasma PPi, the activated DDR/PARP signaling in calcified tissues provides an additional possible mechanism of ectopic calcification in PXE. This study examined the effects of etidronate (ETD), a stable PPi analog, and its combination with minocycline (Mino), a potent inhibitor of DDR/PARP, on ectopic calcification in an Abcc6-/- mouse model of PXE. Abcc6-/- mice, at 4 weeks of …

Bronchial Epithelial Gene Expression And Interstitial Lung Abnormalities, Aravind A Menon, Minyi Lee, Xu Ke, Rachel K Putman, Takuya Hino, Jonathan A Rose, Fenghai Duan, Samuel Y Ash, Michael H Cho, George T O'Connor, Josée Dupuis, Hiroto Hatabu, Marc E Lenburg, Ehab S Billatos, Gary M Hunninghake, Decamp Investigators

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA) often represent early fibrotic changes that can portend a progressive fibrotic phenotype. In particular, the fibrotic subtype of ILA is associated with increased mortality and rapid decline in lung function. Understanding the differential gene expression that occurs in the lungs of participants with fibrotic ILA may provide insight into development of a useful biomarker for early detection and therapeutic targets for progressive pulmonary fibrosis.

METHODS: Measures of ILA and gene expression data were available in 213 participants in the Detection of Early Lung Cancer Among Military Personnel (DECAMP1 and DECAMP2) cohorts. ILA was defined using …

The Significant Impacts Of Interleukin-8 Genotypes On The Risk Of Colorectal Cancer In Taiwan, Chia-Wen Tsai, Wen-Shin Chang, Te-Cheng Yueh, Yun-Chi Wang, Yu-Ting Chin, Mei-Due Yang, Yi-Chih Hung, Mei-Chin Mong, Ya-Chen Yang, Jian Gu, Da-Tian Bau

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Interleukin-8 (IL-8), a pro-inflammatory cytokine, is upregulated in CRC and plays an important role in its development and progression. Genetic variants in the IL-8 gene may impact the risk of CRC by modulating IL-8 levels. Our primary objective was to investigate the role of IL-8 genotypes in the development of CRC. To accomplish this, we employed the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method to analyze the genotypes of IL-8 rs4017, rs2227306, rs2227543, and rs1126647 in 362 CRC patients and 362 controls. Additionally, we evaluated the interactions between these genotypes and factors such as age, gender, smoking, alcohol consumption, …

Nasal Iodophor Antiseptic Vs Nasal Mupirocin Antibiotic In The Setting Of Chlorhexidine Bathing To Prevent Infections In Adult Icus: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Susan S Huang, Edward J Septimus, Ken Kleinman, Lauren T Heim, Julia A Moody, Taliser R Avery, Laura Mclean, Syma Rashid, Katherine Haffenreffer, Lauren Shimelman, Whitney Staub-Juergens, Caren Spencer-Smith, Selsebil Sljivo, Ed Rosen, Russell E Poland, Micaela H Coady, Chi Hyun Lee, Eunice J Blanchard, Kimberly Reddish, Mary K Hayden, Robert A Weinstein, Brandon Carver, Kimberly Smith, Jason Hickok, Karen Lolans, Nadia Khan, S Gwynn Sturdevant, Sujan C Reddy, John A Jernigan, Kenneth E Sands, Jonathan B Perlin, Richard Platt

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

IMPORTANCE: Universal nasal mupirocin plus chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) bathing in intensive care units (ICUs) prevents methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections and all-cause bloodstream infections. Antibiotic resistance to mupirocin has raised questions about whether an antiseptic could be advantageous for ICU decolonization.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of iodophor vs mupirocin for universal ICU nasal decolonization in combination with CHG bathing.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Two-group noninferiority, pragmatic, cluster-randomized trial conducted in US community hospitals, all of which used mupirocin-CHG for universal decolonization in ICUs at baseline. Adult ICU patients in 137 randomized hospitals during baseline (May 1, 2015-April 30, 2017) …

Dendritic Cells As Shepherds Of T Cell Immunity In Cancer, Mikael J Pittet, Mauro Di Pilato, Christopher Garris, Thorsten R Mempel

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In cancer patients, dendritic cells (DCs) in tumor-draining lymph nodes can present antigens to naive T cells in ways that break immunological tolerance. The clonally expanded progeny of primed T cells are further regulated by DCs at tumor sites. Intratumoral DCs can both provide survival signals to and drive effector differentiation of incoming T cells, thereby locally enhancing antitumor immunity; however, the paucity of intratumoral DCs or their expression of immunoregulatory molecules often limits antitumor T cell responses. Here, we review the current understanding of DC-T cell interactions at both priming and effector sites of immune responses. We place emerging …

Exploring Parameter Sensitivity Analysis In Mathematical Modeling With Ordinary Differential Equations, Viktoria Savatorova

CODEE Journal

This paper presents an exploration into parameter sensitivity analysis in mathematical modeling using ordinary differential equations (ODEs). Taking the first steps in understanding local sensitivity analysis through the direct differential method and global sensitivity analysis using metrics like Pearson, Spearman, PRCC, and Sobol’, we provide readers with a basic understanding of parameter sensitivity analysis for mathematical modeling using ODEs. As an illustrative application, the system of differential equations modeling population dynamics of several fish species with harvest considerations is utilized. The results of employing local and global sensitivity analysis are compared, shedding light on the strengths and limitations of each …

The Accumulation And Growth Of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa On Surfaces Is Modulated By Surface Mechanics Via Cyclic-Di-Gmp Signaling, Liyun Wang, Yu-Chern Wong, Joshua M. Correira, Megan Wancura, Chris J. Geiger, Shanice S. Webster, Ahmed Touhami, Benjamin J. Butler, George A. O’Toole, Richard M. Langford

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Attachment of bacteria onto a surface, consequent signaling, and accumulation and growth of the surface-bound bacterial population are key initial steps in the formation of pathogenic biofilms. While recent reports have hinted that surface mechanics may affect the accumulation of bacteria on that surface, the processes that underlie bacterial perception of surface mechanics and modulation of accumulation in response to surface mechanics remain largely unknown. We use thin and thick hydrogels coated on glass to create composite materials with different mechanics (higher elasticity for thin composites; lower elasticity for thick composites) but with the same surface adhesivity and chemistry. The …

Ucc Minutes 10-10-23, Angela Brock

UCC Agendas/Minutes

No abstract provided.

Approved Programs 10-10-23, Angela Brock

Programs Committee (PC)

No abstract provided.

Chimes: October 2, 2023, Calvin University

Chimes

Calvin sports medicine staff increase as athletic programs expand by Dillion Baumchen

What to know about COVID on campus this fall by Grace Buller

Gentex expands to Grand Rapids area in hopes of attracting local talent by Jacob Westra

WGA strike comes to an end by Maya Oeverman

Knights Cheer prepares for their inaugural season by Grace Buller

Non-CRC professors find a place at Calvin by Nolan Cowan

Sunscreen dispensers to be placed on campus as part of a public health initiative by Gabriel Choi

Project Neighborhood invests in this year's small cohort while planning for the future by Ethan …

High Throughput Laser Ablation Icp-Ms Bioimaging Of Silver Distribution In Animal Organisms And Plant Tissue After Exposure To Silver Sulfide Nanoparticles, G Marolt, S Novak, Aj Kokalj, I Talaber, V Kononenko, S Loureiro, Z Khodaparast, Pv Silva, Mb Fité, Rd Handy, D Drobne

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) is a method with high potential to visualize the distribution of elements in different samples, including a variety of organisms. This study aimed to demonstrate the broad application of LA-ICP-MS in nanomaterial-biota fate studies as a high throughput bioimaging tool and to broaden the choice of standard organism models in material-biota interaction research. In this study, operation parameters of LA-ICP-MS were optimised on one organism, woodlice Porcellio scaber. Subsequently, the scanning conditions were tested on a range of aquatic (Girardia tigrina, Lumbriculus variegatus, and Oncorhynchus mykiss), terrestrial organisms (Lumbricus rubellus, Porcellio scaber) …

Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Disrupt Development And Function Of The Olfactory Sensory System Impairing Olfaction-Mediated Behaviour In Zebrafish, Aya Takesono, Sylvia Dimitriadou, Nathaniel J. Clark, Richard D. Handy, Sulayman Mourabit, Matthew J. Winter, Tetsuhiro Kudoh, Charles R. Tyler

School of Health Professions

Zinc (Zn) is an essential metal present in numerous enzymes throughout the body, playing a vital role in animal and human health. However, the increasing use of zinc oxide nanomaterials (ZnONPs) in a diverse range of products has raised concerns regarding their potential impacts on health and the environment. Despite these concerns, the toxicity of ZnONP exposure on animal health remain poorly understood. To help address this knowledge gap, we have developed a highly sensitive oxidative stress (OS) biosensor zebrafish capable of detecting cell/tissue-specific OS responses to low doses of various oxidative stressors, including Zn, in a live fish embryo. …

Paired Liver:Plasma Pfas Concentration Ratios From Adolescents In The Teen-Labs Study And Derivation Of Empirical And Mass Balance Models To Predict And Explain Liver Pfas Accumulationn, Brittney O Baumert, Fabian C Fischer, Flemming Nielsen, Philippe Grandjean, Scott Bartell, Nikos Stratakis, Douglas I Walker, Damaskini Valvi, Rohit Kohli, Thomas Inge, Justin Ryder, Todd Jenkins, Stephanie Sisley, Stavra Xanthakos, Sarah Rock, Michele A La Merrill, David Conti, Rob Mcconnell, Lida Chatzi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Animal studies have pointed at the liver as a hotspot for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) accumulation and toxicity, however, these findings have not been replicated in human populations. We measured concentrations of seven PFAS in matched liver and plasma samples collected at the time of bariatric surgery from 64 adolescents in the Teen-Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (Teen-LABS) study. Liver:plasma concentrations ratios were perfectly explained (r2 > 0.99) in a multi-linear regression (MLR) model based on toxicokinetic (TK) descriptors consisting of binding to tissue constituents and membrane permeabilities. Of the seven matched plasma and liver PFAS concentrations compared in this …

Textbook Tasks For Social Change: Instantiation Of Development Debates And Interposition Of Pedagogical Interventions In Media Literacy Education, John N. Ponsaran

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

As materialization of their discursive stance as instructional communicators and media producers, textbook authors instantiate various development debates as well as interpose a wide range of pedagogical interventions for critical reflection and adoption by learners. This qualitative study sought to situate these development debates and the counterpart pedagogical interventions within the context of textbook task design as an application and embodiment of social justice communication. The development debates serve as the proposed contexts for media text analyses, reflective exercises, case studies, and media production, among others. Correspondingly, the interposition of interventions allows students to make sense of and act upon …

A Critique Of Modern Agriculture And Its Effect On Personhood, Chelsea Richardson

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

This paper outlines ways in which the alienated labor conditions of capitalism and certain technological applications in industrial agriculture contribute to the diminishing of one’s personhood through the production and consumption of industrial food. Personhood is defined as a person’s capacity to produce and consume food. The works of Karl Marx and Albert Borgmann are instrumental to the conclusions of this essay. Ultimately, the combination of Marx’s and Borgmann’s theories allow me to argue that a diminished form of personhood is the consequence of a food practice which encompasses the production and consumption of food using industrial agriculture.

Railton’S Moral Properties And Sinclair’S Critique Of Them, Reyes Espinoza

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

The field of Ethics in philosophy is confusing for many, even those having worked in the field a few years. Thus, the field of Meta-ethics may be even more confusing. Meta-ethics, in a nutshell, is arguing about how to argue about Ethics. A question to ask in this field is what are moral properties? That is, what makes claims about morality true or false? Peter Railton takes them to be naturalistic properties (facts in the natural and social sciences) that play an explanatory role in empirical theories. Railton’s ethical naturalism is one such theory of morality. Here I will focus …

Evolutionary Ethics And The Moral Skeptic, Philip Yaure

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

In this paper, I examine the relation between moral skepticism and evolutionary ethics. I focus on Robert Richards’ ‘Revised Theory’ of evolutionary ethics (in his “A Defense of Evolutionary Ethics), and Robert Joyce’s introduction of the moral skeptic as an objection to Richards’ view (in his The Evolution of Morality). I argue that Joyce’s application of the moral skeptic (an individual who denies common-sense moral judgments) is misaimed—for Richards can utilize a traditional response in moral theory and simply consider the skeptic beyond the pale of moral discourse. I then proceed to argue that the skeptic can be reintroduced at …

Machine Functionalism: Brains As Computing Machines, Yolanda Walker

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

Machine functionalism, or, the computational theory of mind, states that the inner workings of the brain are akin to the information processing of a computer. There are numerous faults with this view. Not only are computers inaccurate models for brain states, but also consciousness--as understood as generating appropriate (behavior) outputs to corresponding inputs--can’t be generated through mechanical means.

Physiological, Psychological, And Performance Differences Between Wii Fitness Gaming And Traditional Gym Exercises, Mike R. Bumgarner, David S. Senchina

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

Video gaming systems market themselves as tools for promoting physical activity or physical therapy. In this investigation, we wanted to compare the Wii console system game EA Sports Active to traditional gym exercises using five activities: basketball passing, basketball shooting, biceps curls, body squats, and jogging. Our hypotheses were that: (1) physiological demand would be greater in the gym than on the Wii, (2) psychological measures of exertion would be greater in the gym than on the Wii, and (3) performance would be poorer in the gym than on the Wii. Ten young adults participated in the study, completing all …

The Myth Of Broad Naturalism: The Case Of Owen Flanagan, Nicholas Ogle

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

In The Really Hard Problem, Owen Flanagan seeks to explain how we can live meaningfully in a material world despite naturalism’s supposed scientific reductionism, which more often engenders disenchantment with reality than the “joyful optimism” he believes ought to be produced by the naturalist position. In this paper I argue that Flanagan’s theory of subjective realism, as well as his faulty identification of consciousness with neurological states, fails to overcome the criticisms he and others have pinned against scientific reductionism, and thus he fails to ever go beyond it. While Flanagan’s intentions to make a case for ethical and political …

The Self-Alienation Of Nature: An Anti-Teleological Environmental Ethic, Thomas P. Reagan

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

Understanding Nature itself is an essential component of developing an environmental ethic. However, many of the ‘positive ethics’ (i.e. ethics based on aesthetics, biophila, teleology) lack the critical observation that Nature does not act kindly or attempt to preserve an organism’s life and well being, but rather, statistically, operates by continually ending life. This paper develops from this notion that biological concepts such as symbiogenesis and biotic potentials point towards an environmental ethic founded upon aligning with Nature’s process of turning against itself. This paper claims that humans, being within Nature ontologically yet separated experientially, are alienated from the ideal …

Memory, The Self And Why We Are Conscious (Or Alternatively: Why We Don’T Do Consciousness), Sebastian Orlander

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

This paper aims at examining a new assessment of a foundational paradigm for conducting science within the fields of neurology and its corresponding philosophy of mind. The main view examined is that of Alva Noë, professor of philosophy at UC Berkeley, and the view he forwards in his book Out of Our Heads. His main thesis rests on a critique of current scientific methodology and the foundational paradigm of functionalism, which he counters with a view from a more radical examination of what consciousness is in terms of living beings in their environments and the processes that animate these living …

Meaning And (F)Act: Ray Brassier’S Speculative Nihilism And Its Implications For Dialectics, Geran Wales

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

This paper seeks to frame the proper place for the empirical phenomenon of human meaning in the scientifically disenchanted world described by Ray Brassier. I embrace Brassier’s statement that “Nihilism is not an existential quandary but a speculative opportunity” but disagree with his injunction that human meaning is unimportant. Meaning should be an object of philosophy insofar as we are biologically bound to experiencing the world in a meaningful way. Brassier’s work is exciting for its application of rigorous analytic techniques to continental discourse, in a manner that makes contributions to both metaphysics and philosophy of science.

Musical Platonism: A Challenge To Levinson, Thien-Tin M. Le

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

Musical Platonism’s central thesis is that a musical work is a sound structure and nothing more. Given this, three consequences follow. First, musical works cannot be created. Second, if two musical works have the same sound structure, they are the same musical work. Third, a musical work’s instrumentation is not a necessary feature of its identity. Jerrold Levinson denies these three claims. He argues that musical works are created; that even if two musical works have the same sound structure, they are nevertheless two different musical works; and that a musical work’s instrumentation is a necessary feature of its identity. …

Plantinga’S Innocent Assumption: Self-Defeating Naturalism, And Churchland’S Response, Matt Destefano

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

Alvin Plantinga’s Evolutionary Argument Against Naturalism argues that given the story of biological evolution and naturalism, we wouldn’t expect our cognitive mechanisms to be reliable, or that the probability of any given belief being true is very low. Given that our beliefs are generated by our cognitive mechanisms we have a defeater for all of our beliefs which include both evolution and naturalism. Paul Churchland responded by arguing that it is not our native cognitive faculties that justify our beliefs of evolution and naturalism, but the faculties provided to us by the sciences through enhanced evaluation techniques and artificial sensory …

The Theory Of Structured Propositions And The Resolution Of Problems With The Essential Indexical, Landon Elkind

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

John Perry laid out an argument that he believes falsified the structured theory of propositions. He claims that indexicals cannot be accounted for by this theory. I maintain that indexicals are unproblematic for structured proposition theory, and that Perry has mistakenly presupposed that knowledge is ‘black or white’ – one either knows or does not know – rather than adopting a more subtle definition of knowledge. I also argue that he further presupposed that humans will reason perfectly. Disputing this assumption and defining knowledge accurately resolve the issues posed by Perry. Some consequences of my notion of knowledge are discussed.

Epistemology For Naturalists And Non-Naturalists: What’S The Difference?, Jason Poettcker

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

The current debates between Naturalists and Non-Naturalists about epistemology are difficult to navigate because there are so many forms of naturalism and non-naturalism and many different issues debated over. This paper will first attempt to explain and define what I think are the basic naturalist and non-naturalist positions on epistemology. Then it will compare the epistemology of three naturalists Quine, Hilary Kornblith, Jeagwon Kim with a non-naturalist/theist, Alvin Plantinga, to see if my formulation of the debate stands. I am making two separate claims: First, that one’s methodology will affect or determine one’s ontology. Second, that the main issue between …

Resonance In Human Walking Economy: How Natural Is It?, Elizabeth Arnall, Jessica Pyatt, Chelsie Rice, Katie L. Anderson

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

Locomotion and movement economy are cornerstone topics in movement science. Modeling the leg as a hybrid mass-spring pendulum shows walking economy should be optimized when stride frequency matches the resonant frequency of the limb. Human walking is described as self-optimizing because mean preferred (PSF) and modeled resonant (RSF) stride frequencies usually are statistically equivalent, but this depiction may not be fully justified. Purpose: To more thoroughly examine the self-optimization characterization and the consequences of obligating use of the RSF. Methods: Forty-seven individuals of diverse statures completed 3 consecutive days of preferred walking trials on a treadmill where stride rate, stride …

Sex, Lies, And Surgery: The Ethics Of Gender Reassignment Surgery, Maggi Colene Hume

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

In this paper, I argue that in cases in which competent adult patients have been suffering from long-term gender identity disorders which interfere with their everyday life functions, gender reassignment surgery is a morally permissible treatment option. Though many argue that it is morally impermissible to allow the use of surgery for such non-medical things as reassigning gender, I argue that the use of surgery for reassigning gender is morally permissible on the basis of Kantian autonomy and Utilitarian reasoning. In this paper, I will further discuss my argument, as well as the primary objections to the argument and my …