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Stain-Free Detection Of Embryo Polarization Using Deep Learning, Cheng Shen, Adiyant Lamba, Meng Zhu, Ray Zhang, Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, Changhuei Yang

Open Access Publications

Polarization of the mammalian embryo at the right developmental time is critical for its development to term and would be valuable in assessing the potential of human embryos. However, tracking polarization requires invasive fluorescence staining, impermissible in the in vitro fertilization clinic. Here, we report the use of artificial intelligence to detect polarization from unstained time-lapse movies of mouse embryos. We assembled a dataset of bright-field movie frames from 8-cell-stage embryos, side-by-side with corresponding images of fluorescent markers of cell polarization. We then used an ensemble learning model to detect whether any bright-field frame showed an embryo before or after …

Fungal Mycobiome Drives Il-33 Secretion And Type 2 Immunity In Pancreatic Cancer, Aftab Alam, Eric Levanduski, Parker Denz, Helena Solleiro Villavicencio, Maulasri Bhatta, Lamees Alhorebi, Yali Zhang, Eduardo Cortes Gomez, Brian Morreale, Sharon Senchanthisai, Jun Li, Steven G Turowski, Sandra Sexton, Sheila Jani Sait, Prashant K Singh, Jianmin Wang, Anirban Maitra, Pawel Kalinski, Ronald A Depinho, Huamin Wang, Wenting Liao, Scott I Abrams, Brahm H Segal, Prasenjit Dey

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

TH2 cells and innate lymphoid cells 2 (ILC2) can stimulate tumor growth by secreting pro-tumorigenic cytokines such as interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-5, and IL-13. However, the mechanisms by which type 2 immune cells traffic to the tumor microenvironment are unknown. Here, we show that oncogenic KrasG12D increases IL-33 expression in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells, which recruits and activates TH2 and ILC2 cells. Correspondingly, cancer-cell-specific deletion of IL-33 reduces TH2 and ILC2 recruitment and promotes tumor regression. Unexpectedly, IL-33 secretion is dependent on the intratumoral fungal mycobiome. Genetic deletion of IL-33 or anti-fungal treatment decreases TH2 and ILC2 infiltration and increases …

Developing Microbial Co-Culture System For Enhanced Polyhydroxyalkanoates (Pha) Production Using Acid Pretreated Lignocellulosic Biomass, Rijuta Ganesh Saratale, Si-Kyung Cho, Avinash Ashok Kadam, Gajanan Sampatrao Ghodake, Manu Kumar, Ram Naresh Bharagava, Sunita Varjani, Supriya Nair, Dong-Su Kim, Han-Seung Shin, Ganesh Dattatraya Saratale

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In the growing polymer industry, the interest of researchers is captivated by bioplastics production with biodegradable and biocompatible properties. This study examines the polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) production performance of individual Lysinibacillus sp. RGS and Ralstonia eutropha ATCC 17699 and their co-culture by utilizing sugarcane bagasse (SCB) hydrolysates. Initially, acidic (H2SO4) and acidified sodium chlorite pretreatment was employed for the hydrolysis of SCB. The effects of chemical pretreatment on the SCB biomass assembly and its chemical constituents were studied by employing numerous analytical methods. Acidic pretreatment under optimal conditions showed effective delignification (60%) of the SCB biomass, leading to a maximum hydrolysis …

Edi Leaders Circle Symposium Program Booklet, 2022, Illinois State University

EDI Leaders Circle Symposium

We are pleased to offer a full-day event that inspires you in your EDI journey and empowers your entire team. Based on fall 2021 survey feedback from the EDI campus leaders, the spring 2022 Symposium includes specialty sessions aligned with Illinois State University’s “10 EDI Pillars of Progress”. These sessions will provide you and your team members with the skills, strategies, and ideas needed to effectively implement your EDI goals in your units, schools, departments, and colleges. Additionally, the day will offer ample opportunities to exchange concrete ideas to move your EDI committees forward with colleagues. On behalf of our …

Modification Of Superabsorbent Hydrogels For Industrial Wastewater Treatment, Md. Owaleur Rahman, Md. Abdul Halim, Anjan Deb, Shafi Ahmed, Md. Wasikur Rahman, N. C. Dafader, S. M. Nur Alam, Shahjalal Khandaker, Md. Jahangir Alam

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

A breakthrough in superabsorbent hydrogel (SAH) preparation was studied in the current issue by blending potato starch and acrylic acid for wastewater treatment. Gamma irradiation source (60Co irradiation) was used to irradiate SAH from 1 to 10 kGy dose at room temperature (~27°C). The swelling ratio, water absorption, equilibrium water content, and gel fraction properties of the hydrogel were investigated. The as-prepared hydrogel treated with KOH (THG) showed excellent absorption capacity but less mechanical stability compared to untreated hydrogel (UHG). The gel fraction of treated SAH was slightly lower in methanol, but the utmost in water at 5 kGy infers …

Intranasal Dexamethasone: A New Clinical Trial For The Control Of Inflammation And Neuroinflammation In Covid-19 Patients, Graciela Cárdenas, María Chávez-Canales, Ana María Espinosa, Antonio Jordán-Ríos, Daniel Anica Malagon, Manlio Fabio Márquez Murillo, Laura Victoria Torres Araujo, Ricardo Leopoldo Barajas Campos, Rosa María Wong, Juan Carlos Lopez Alvarenga

School of Medicine Publications

Background: By end December of 2021, COVID-19 has infected around 276 million individuals and caused over 5 million deaths worldwide. Infection results in dysregulated systemic inflammation, multi-organ dysfunction, and critical illness. Cells of the central nervous system are also affected, triggering an uncontrolled neuroinflammatory response. Low doses of glucocorticoids, administered orally or intravenously, reduce mortality among moderate and severe COVID-19 patients. However, low doses administered by these routes do not reach therapeutic levels in the CNS. In contrast, intranasally administered dexamethasone can result in therapeutic doses in the CNS even at low doses.

Methods: This is an approved open-label, multicenter, …

What Are We Trying To Do Here? Epistemic Racism In Human Rights Teaching, Angelina Snodgrass Godoy

International Journal of Human Rights Education

Across the disciplines, universities increasingly incorporate course offerings focusing on human rights in which students examine problems that disproportionately affect communities of color. Instructors often assume our teaching about these issues contributes to the cause of social justice by spotlighting the problems themselves, but this research challenges that assumption. Based on interviews with students of color enrolled in social justice courses at a U.S. public R1 university, this article explores the ways students described their experiences as a form of epistemological racism rooted in the privileging of academic perspectives, themselves laden with legacies of exclusion, over ways of knowing rooted …

Three Boys, Three Murders: Children’S Rights, State Violence And The Open Wound Of The U.S.-Mexico Border, Genevieve M. Negrón-Gonzales

International Journal of Human Rights Education

This article examines the killing of three teenage boys at the U.S.-Mexico border between 2010 and 2013. Through an examination of these murders at the hands of U.S. Border Patrol and Customs and Border Enforcement agents, the article argues that the murders of Sergio Adrían Hernández Guereca, José Antonio Elena Rodríguez and Cruz Marcelino Velasquez Acevedo at the U.S.-Mexico border exemplify the reality that not all children are afforded the so-called universal protection of childhood as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international human rights law. We can see how the state …

Regenerative Tourism Model: Challenges Of Adapting Concepts From Natural Science To Tourism Industry, Asif Hussain, Marie Haley

Journal of Sustainability and Resilience

The study proposes a regenerative tourism model. The application of the natural science ideas of regeneration needs to be clarified before the tourism industry can adopt a regenerative tourism model. Without such clarification, there is a high risk of ‘green washing’ and inappropriate adaption of a regenerative model. The borrowing of natural science to industry and its application in social sciences confuse the essence of the true concept of regeneration. In a regenerative agriculture context restoring a holistic system that mimics nature and includes social and economic spheres contributes to improving the whole system. When a social system aims to …

International And Domestic Tourist Hunting: A Critical Review On Environmental And Socio-Economic Implications In Sub-Saharan Africa, Abel A. Mamboleo

Journal of Sustainability and Resilience

Tourist hunting is a regular consumptive wildlife utilization occurring within and outside core protected areas for trophies and leisure attainments. It is one of the most renowned tourism undertakings which involve the killing of animals for recreational purposes. In essence, hunters acquire trophies for different purposes including production of decorations and traditional medicines. Currently, there is a hot debate on whether to continues or cease tourist hunting as animal activists, some conservation stakeholders believe that hunting is cruel to animals and threat to ecosystems. In this paper, the author reviewed and analyzed various documented evidences which opponents and proponents of …

Release Of A New Forage Bermudagrass Cultivar From The Usda-Npgs Cynodon Collection, Esteban F. Rios, José C. B. Dubeux Jr., João M. B. Vendramini, M. Wallau, C. H. Lopes De Souza, A. J. Grossman, Y. Lopez, P. Munoz, W. Anderson, L. Baxter, M. S. Castillo, M. C. Saha, K. Quesenberry, A. Blount, P. Reith, K. Kenworthy

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Warm-season perennial grasses are the backbone of the pasture-based livestock industry in the southeastern USA. In Florida specifically, bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flugge) and bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) support 1 million head of cattle and 15,000 beef cattle operations. Bermudagrass is the most widely planted forage species in the southeastern USA, planted in approximately 15 million ha and used for grazing, hay and silage. The genus Cynodon is native to southern Africa and germplasm collections have revealed a high degree of genetic variability within the genus. The United States Department of Agriculture National Plant Germplasm System (USDA-NPGS) maintains a collection …

Relationship Between Semi-Arid Rangelands Quality Parameters And Vegetation Indexes, P. Toro-Mujica, D. Enriquez-Hidalgo, S. Escobar

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

A large portion of the sheep production systems in the semi-arid zone of Central Chile base their feeding on the rangelands, adjusting both the production cycle and the use of supplementary feed to the natural supply of fodder. In this way, knowledge of the rangeland quantity and quality at the farm level emerges as an essential input for the decision-making of feed management. The objective of the study was to relate the herbage quality parameters of the semi-arid zone rangeland with Vegetation Indices (VI) and to determine which vegetation index report the best results. Vegetative indexes were obtained from aerial …

Predicting Forage Intake By Sheep Through The Pampa Corte Model Or Nrc, C. A. Pozo, Gilberto V. Kozloski, H. M. N. Ribeiro Filho, J. F. Tourrand, Vicente Celestino Pires Silveira

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the precision and accuracy of the Pampa Corte and National Research Council (2007; NRC) models for predicting forage intake (FI) by sheep. Individual data (n = 213) of observed FI, body weight and chemical composition of consumed diet were taken from fifteen indoor digestibility trials conducted with male sheep housed in metabolic cages and fed only forage ad libitum. The diets were composed of tropical grasses, temperate grasses and legumes. Individual observations of FI were averaged by treatment (n = 32) into each experiment which were then compared to FI …

Performance Of Napier Grass (Cenchrus Purpureus L.) Genotypes Grown Under Limited Soil Moisture, E. Habte, M. S. Muktar, A. T. Negawo, A. M. Sartie, C. S. Jones

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Napier grass (Cenchrus purpureus Schumach L.) is an important perennial forage native to Africa and grown in many tropical and subtropical countries. It is considered as a short-term drought tolerant forage which is a useful trait in areas that are characterized by low precipitation during the dry season. To exploit the potential of this grass and identify water use efficient (WUE) genotypes, a field drought stress trial was conducted at Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Eighty-four Napier grass genotypes were planted in a p-rep design in four replications. The genotypes were evaluated for forage performance during the dry season of 2019 and …

Pasture Utilization At Islands In Northern Norway, V. Lind, Ø. Holand, F.-A. Haugen, G. Steinheim

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The Norwegian sheep industry is based on utilization of “free” rangeland pasture resources. Use of mountain pastures is dominating, with about two million sheep grazing these pastures during summer. Regional challenges related to e.g., loss of sheep to large carnivores make farmers think differently. The Norwegian coastline is among the longest globally and is scattered with islets and islands. Alone along the coast of Nordland county, it is estimated more than 14,000 islands. Use of islands for summer pasture is an alternative but there is a limited knowledge about such a management system. In this study, we examined lambs’ average …

Performance Of The Leucaena Leucocephala–Megathyrsus Maximus Cv Mombasa System And Local Range Grazed By Pelibuey Ewe-Lambs, E. Cortés Díaz, J. C. Campos Ojeda, P. Martínez Hernández, J. L. Zaragoza Ramírez

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Mombasa grass and leucaena have shown an excellent agronomic performance grown in tropical semi-arid ranges, the objective of this study was to compare the agronomic performance of Leucaena-Mombasa grown as a silvopastoral system at two leucaena plant densities (10000 and 15000 plants ha^-1) and of Pelibuey ewe-lambs grazing it against native unimproved tropical semi-arid range of the state of Morelos, México. Experimental design was a completely random with two replications. Unimproved native range was mainly deciduous shrubs and mixed herbaceous plants (Poaceae and Asteraceae). Stocking rate was the same across treatments and grazing lasted all rainy season. Of …

The Crucial Role Of Sestrins In Oxidative Stress Response And Disease: An Analysis Of Phosphorylation Mutation S110a In Hsesn2, Julianne Fay

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Sestrins are highly conserved proteins which are induced under environmentally stressful conditions to adjust the cell’s response to such disturbances. This protein possesses two domains critical for its dual function in reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) and regulating the mTORC1 complex. Sestrins may use diverse transcription factors, such as Nrf2, peroxiredoxin reductase activity, and a catalytic cysteine to regenerate oxidized species; however this was confirmed to be through a mechanism likely different than AhpD, for which there was distance sequence similarity. Furthermore, Sestrins are important regulators of TORC1 and AMPK, which are crucial energy sensors able to control cellular metabolism …

Recovery Strategies In Endurance Athletes, Robyn Braun-Trocchio, Austin J. Graybeal, Andreas Kreutzer, Elizabeth Warfield, Jessica Renteria, Kaitlyn Harrison, Ashlynn Williams, Kamiah Moss, Meena Shah

Faculty Publications

In order to achieve optimal performance, endurance athletes need to implement a variety of recovery strategies that are specific to their training and competition. Recovery is a multidimensional process involving physiological, psychological, emotional, social, and behavioral aspects. The purpose of the study was to examine current implementation, beliefs, and sources of information associated with recovery strategies in endurance athletes. Participants included 264 self-identified endurance athletes (male = 122, female = 139) across 11 different sports including placing top three overall in competition (em>n= 55) and placing in the top three in their age group or division (n = …

Sga 53 Senate 2022-02-13 Minutes, Niu Student Government Association Senate

Student Government Association Archives

No abstract provided.

Noninvasive Detection, Tracking, And Characterization Of Aerogel Implants Using Diagnostic Ultrasound, Sagar Ghimire, Martina Rodriguez Sala, Swetha Chandrasekaran, Grigorios Raptopoulos, Marcus Worsley, Patrina Paraskevopoulou, Nicholas Leventis, Firouzeh Sabri

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Medical implants are routinely tracked and monitored using different techniques, such as MRI, X‐ray, and ultrasound. Due to the need for ionizing radiation, the two former methods pose a significant risk to tissue. Ultrasound imaging, however, is non‐invasive and presents no known risk to human tissue. Aerogels are an emerging material with great potential in biomedical implants. While qualitative observation of ultrasound images by experts can already provide a lot of infor-mation about the implants and the surrounding structures, this paper describes the development and study of two simple B‐Mode image analysis techniques based on attenuation measurements and echogenicity comparisons, …

Evaluation Of Biofloc Technology Effects On White Leg Shrimp, Litopenaeus Vannamei Growth Performance And Water Quality Of Super-Intensive Culture Ponds, Yasser Abdul Kader Al-Gahwari, Ahmed Abdullah Al-Buhaishi

Hadhramout University Journal of Natural & Applied Sciences

Six grow-out ponds were designed with an area of 0.3 ha per pond. Each pond was stocked by 500 individual/m² of Litopenaeus vannamei with an average weight of 0.26 g. Three ponds were used for biofloc technology (BFT) and other three were used for water exchange system (control). Waters of BFT were filtered, aerated, and fertilized by organic and inorganic materials to create blooms of microbial community, while the control waters were stocked without any fertilizers. In a period of over 140 days (20 weeks), the effects of BFT were evaluated on L. vannamei growth performance as well as …

Preliminary Study Of Application Of A Drug Derived From Commiphora Gileadensisi (Bisham) In Treatment Of Wounds And Burns, Balqees Bin Breek, Salem Bin Salman, Sally Salem Abdullah

Hadhramout University Journal of Natural & Applied Sciences

Bisham (Commiphora gileadensis) is a member of the family Burseraceae. The bark of these trees is known Balsam, mostly for producing fragrant resins of economic, medicinal, and cultural value. It grows wildly today in Yemen. The aim of this study is to investigate the treatment effects of the Commiphora gileadensis (Bisham) on healing burns and wounds based on its application in folk medicine. The preliminary studies reviewed in this work have shown that the C. gileadensis effectively treats many diseases and heals burns and wounds. It is widely used in folk medicine in Hadhramout as a treatment for burns and …

Prevalence And Risk Factors Of Pediculus Capitis Among Primary Schools Children In Al-Mukalla City, Hadhramout Governorate, Yemen: A School-Based Cross-Sectional Study, Omar Aa Bamaga1, Talal Alharazi, Nazeh Al-Abd

Hadhramout University Journal of Natural & Applied Sciences

Head lice infestations (Pediculus humanus capitis) are the most common parasitic condition among children in the world, especially in poor communities. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence and risk factors of head lice infestation among children in Al-Mukalla city schools, Hadhramout governorate, Yemen. Data were collected from 467 students from six different primary schools in Al-Mukalla city. A pretested questionnaire was used to collect demographic data, social-economic factors, practice hygiene and treatment history. The overall prevalence of pediculosis capitis was (58.5%). a significantly higher prevalence was showed among: female gender; long and medium hair; age group …

Racial, Ethnic, And Urban/Rural Differences In Transitions Into Diabetes: Evidence From The Health And Retirement Survey Biomarker And Self-Reported Data, Hyeran Chung, Mary Arends-Kuenning

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

We examine differences in transitions between stages of type 2 diabetes across racial, ethnic, and urban/rural statuses. The individual-level data from the 2006 to 2012 waves of the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS) and county-level data from the 1990-2000 U.S. Censuses, the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care, and the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research are used to analyze the transition from the stage of prediabetic to diabetic, and the transition from having no diabetes to being prediabetic and diabetic. The HRS includes both biomarker data and self- reported doctors’ diagnoses of diabetes, which allow us to identify people …

Exploring Rural-Urban Differences In Polygenic Associations For Health Among Older Adults In The United States, Trent Davidson, Jason D. Boardman, Lori M. Hunter

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

A complex combination of genes and environment influence health and, as a result, both genes and environment can play a role in shaping health disparities. We consider distinctions in these influences across rural and urban settings, expanding upon work that shows lower genetic associations in rural compared to urban places by studying an older age group and examining more than the typical outcomes of alcohol/substance abuse. Using a sample of 14,994 adults from the 1992 through 2016 waves of the Health andRetirement Study, our results suggest genetic associations for BMI and heart conditions are significantly lower in rural compared to …

Post Traumatic Growth Amongst Australian Bravery Award Recipients, Tom Voigt, Joanne Williams, Catherine M. Bennett, Angela Dew, Susan Balandin

Heroism Science

This study explored aspects of Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) amongst Australian Bravery Award recipients exposed to serious or life-threatening trauma. PTG is the process whereby some people experience growth following traumatic experiences. Previous PTG research has focused on specific disasters, incidents or cohorts of survivors. We explored a range of incidents in both civilian and non-civilian award recipients. Sixty-five Australian Bravery Award recipients (37 civilian and 28 non-civilian) completed the Post Traumatic Growth Inventory and provided additional demographic information about their bravery incident. Results showed that civilians experienced significantly higher growth (mean PTG score = 49.7 than non-civilians (mean PTG …

Participatory Evaluation Of Urochloa And Megathyrsus Forage Species In Western Kenya: Farmers Perspective, Ruth Odhiambo, Solomon Mwendia, David Mwangi, Alfred Juma, An Notenbaert

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Despite western Kenya potential in dairy production, it has lagged behind compared to other regions in the country. This comes against growing per capita milk consumption in Kenya currently estimated at 120 litres per person per year. As a result, western Kenya is largely net importer of milk from neighbouring counties albeit the possibility improving productivity within. Among the most prevalent constraint to increased productivity is limited forage quality and quantity throughout the year. Napier stunting disease, which suppresses forage production from Napier grass, the most prevalent cultivated forage in western Kenya, exacerbates this. To contribute to addressing the problem, …

Nutritional Quality Of Available Forages For Small Stock During A Drought In An Arid Pastoral Landscape In South Africa, M. I. Samuels, F. L. Müller, C. F. Cupido, M. B. V. Swarts, L. F. Cyster

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

This study aimed to assess the nutritional quality of the available forage species during a drought in an arid pastoral system in South Africa. Forage biomass was collected during the wet and dry seasons whilst following livestock herds consisting of boer goats, swakara sheep and mixed breed sheep, in both the summer and winter rainfall regions of the pastoral system. Mineral nutrient content in the plant species revealed that the forages utilized by the livestock generally contained adequate concentrations of Mg, Ca, Na, and K to meet the dietary requirements of the small stock in both the winter and summer …

Mineral Profile Of Panicum Maximum Var. Ntchisi As Influenced By Organic Nitrogen Rate And Age At Harvest, P. Dele, B. Akinyemi, O. Oyeleke, C. Anotaenwere, F. Salawu, S. O. Onifade

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The study was aimed at profiling the mineral contents of Panicum maximum var Ntchisi as influenced by organic (poultry) nitrogen rate and age at harvest. The study was carried out at the organic research farm of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria in 2016. The experiment was laid in a 4 x 3 factorial arrangement in a split plot design with four (4) organic nitrogen rate (0, 100, 200 and 300 kgNha^-1) as the main plot and three (3) age at harvest (4, 8 and 12 weeks after cutback) as the subplot which amounts to twelve (12) …

Nutritional Characterisation Of Introduced Improved Brachiaria Grasses In Rwanda, M. Mutimura, P. C. Hitimana

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

A study aimed at characterising nutritive value of introduced Brachiaria grasses in Rwanda was conducted. Four Brachiaria grasses including, Brachiaria decumbens cv. Basilisk, Brachiaria brizantha cv. MG4, Brachiaria brizantha cv. Piata and Brachiaria cv. Cayman with Panicum coloratum as control were planted in two contrasting environments of low rainfall in Kirehe district and acidic soils in Nyamagabe district. The experiment was set in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications and the treatments were harvested after 60 days and 90 days. Data collected were dry matter (DM), crude proteins (CP), organic matter (OM), cellulose, neutral detergent fibre (NDF), …