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Weedy Rice As A Model System For The Study Of Microevolutionary Interactions In Agricultural Contexts, Marshall Jon Wedger

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Just under one-half of the global population relies on cultivated rice (Oryza sativa) astheir primary source of calories, making the optimization of rice agriculture immensely important. One of the primary constraints to rice agriculture is the de-domesticated (feral) form of rice known as ‘weedy rice’ that aggressively competes for space, soil nutrients, and light. Heavy infestation can reduce crop yields by as much as 80%. As a closely-related weedy descendant of cultivated rice, chemical control is difficult in rice fields, and physical weeding is labor intensive, time consuming, and largely ineffective due to early life-stage mimicry of the crop. Weedy …

The Role Of Neuronal Atp-Sensitive Potassium Channels In Learning And Memory, Shaul Vladimir Yahil

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channels link cellular metabolism and membrane excitability in many tissues, including brain and pancreas. Gain-of-function (GOF) mutations to KATP channels cause neonatal diabetes, with some patients exhibiting developmental delay, epilepsy, and neonatal diabetes (DEND) syndrome. Diabetic symptoms have been attributed to loss of membrane excitability and insulin secretion in pancreatic β-cells, though the origin of neurological deficits and the effects of neuronal KATP-GOF mutations more generally remain elusive. In this dissertation, I will present evidence that mice expressing KATP-GOF mutations pan-neuronally (nKATP-GOF) demonstrated sensorimotor and cognitive deficits, whereas hippocampus-specific hKATP-GOF mice exhibited predominantly learning and memory deficits. …

Cancer Epigenome Reprogramming, Jennifer Ann Karlow

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The identification of recurrent genetic mutations in cancer and their functionalcharacterization has provided a strong foundation for our understanding of tumorigenesis. The more recent observation of recurrent and specific epigenetic changes also present in cancer has widened this view, now establishing cancer as a disease of both genetic and epigenetic misregulation. Enhancers, genomic regions primarily responsible for tissue-specific gene expression, have been shown to be frequent targets of both genetic and epigenetic abnormalities. The observation that DNA methylation within regulatory regions has traditionally correlated with reduced gene expression, coupled with the known role of enhancers in regulating tissuespecific gene expression, …

Developments In Proteomics, Trans-Splicing Technology And Endogenous Transcript Manipulation, Justin Alexander Melendez

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Technological innovation drives scientific discovery, unlocks new avenues of research, and allows us to ask questions in ways that were previously unavailable. With each technological advance, our ability to perturb and explore biological systems has grown in ways previously unimagined. The theme of my thesis is the development of new technologies in biology. To this end, I have worked on three technologies that contribute to the areas of protein sequencing, RNA barcoding for trans-splicing and single-cell applications, and a new method for transcriptional knockdown. In my first project, digital analysis of proteins by end sequencing (DAPES), we set out to …

Deep Learning For Automatic Microscopy Image Analysis, Shenghua He

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Microscopy imaging techniques allow for the creation of detailed images of cells (or nuclei) and have been widely employed for cell studies in biological research and disease diagnosis in clinic practices.Microscopy image analysis (MIA), with tasks of cell detection, cell classification, and cell counting, etc., can assist with the quantitative analysis of cells and provide useful information for a cellular-level understanding of biological activities and pathology. Manual MIA is tedious, time-consuming, prone to subject errors, and are not feasible for the high-throughput cell analysis process. Thus, automatic MIA methods can facilitate all kinds of biological studies and clinical tasks. Conventional …

Defining The Epigenetic And Transcriptional Regulatory Mechanisms By Which Hrsv Ns1 Alters Host Transcriptional Response, Nina Rose Beri

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Dissecting The Molecular Mechanism Of Familial Cardiomyopathies, Sarah Ruth Clippinger Schulte

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Familial cardiomyopathies, including hypertrophic (HCM), restrictive (RCM) and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), are the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young people. These diseases, which are characterized by altered cardiac contractility and remodeling of the heart, can lead to heart failure. These diseases are primarily caused by point mutations in sarcomeric proteins that generate or regulate heart contraction, such as troponin T. In the heart, the troponin complex together with tropomyosin lie along the actin filament and regulate myosin’s ability to bind actin and produce force. Here I show how mutations in troponin T affect contractility at the molecular level …

Influence Of Aging And Cerebrovascular Disease On Neuroimaging Measures Of Alzheimer Disease, Lauren Nicole Koenig

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The overall goal of this dissertation is to gain a better understanding of how Alzheimer disease relates to normal aging and cerebrovascular disease to impact neuroimaging measures in a clinically meaningful way. Both aging and cerebrovascular disease are known to influence measures of Alzheimer disease, making it difficult to separate what changes are attributable specifically to Alzheimer disease. We hypothesize that a better understanding of these relationships will allow future studies to appropriately take these factors into account. In Chapters 2 and 3 we attempt to separate out the influences of normal aging and Alzheimer disease on measures of atrophy. …

Structural Variants Are A Major Source Of Gene Expression Differences In Humans And Often Affect Multiple Nearby Genes, Alexandra Jane Scott

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Structural variants (SVs), including copy number variants (CNVs), balanced rearrangements, and mobile element insertions (MEIs), are an important source of diversity in the human genome but their functional effects are not well understood. SVs are technically difficult to detect and genotype1, and mapping is dependent on deep whole genome sequencing (WGS) which was, until recently, unaffordable for large cohorts. For these reasons SVs are not included in most genome-wide studies of functional variants, despite the fact that SVs are known causal agents in multiple clinical disorders2-16. However, recent advancements in high-throughput sequencing technologies that allow for widespread use of WGS, …

Deep Multi-Omics Investigations Elucidate Novel Oncogenesis Paradigms, Therapeutic Targets, And Mechanisms Of Treatment Resistance In Cancer, Daniel Cui Zhou

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Systematic Study Of Neutron Production In Two Versions Of The Mevion Proton-Therapy System, Nima Tatari

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a study of neutron production in two types of proton-therapy systems: passive scattering Mevion S250, and active scanning Mevion S250i. The scattering system has been operating at Washington University in St. Louis since 2013. The scanning system was installed in the same building in 2020. The scanning system has the advantage of producing fewer neutrons due to a focused scanned beam and the absence of beam scatterers, collimators, and a static brass aperture. A systematic particle transport Monte Carlo analysis using the Geant4 toolkit has been performed to track the neutrons produced in various components of each …

Regional Reprogramming And The Small Intestine: Analysis And Modeling Of Adaptive Regeneration Of The Epithelium, Sarah Elizabeth Waye

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The small intestine in homeostasis is capable of regular regeneration, but in cases of massive injury like Short Bowel Syndrome, the innate human response often fails to fully compensate for the loss of nutrient absorptive surface area that accompanies bowel resection. Murine models display an active compensatory reaction deemed “adaptation” in which the surface area of the bowel is increased to accommodate nutrient absorptive needs. This observation has highlighted several gaps in knowledge regarding bowel adaptation. Firstly, what occurs on a molecular level in murine models during adaptation? Secondly, how can the findings in mice be applied to humans in …

Identification Of Multi-Tissue Protein Quantitative Trait Loci And Causal Inference Of Protein Effects In Neurological And Other Complex Human Diseases Via Mendelian Randomization, Chengran Yang

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease, affecting 6.2 million people mostly aged 65 years or older in the United States as of early 2021. AD has been widely studied and characterized worldwide, but there is still no effective treatment or cure. Even the latest FDA-approved treatment, Aducanumab, cannot stop decline or improve cognition. To develop a truly effective treatments, researchers keep discovering genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying the disease. Protein biomarkers are keys to bridge the mechanisms to disease. Here, I first used a high-throughput proteomic dataset from three tissues (CSF, plasma, and brain) with array-based genotype …

Development And Application Of A Novel Acoustic Microfluidic Technology For Single Cell Per Well Trapping And High-Resolution Analysis Of Cilia Motion In Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii, Mingyang Cui

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Acoustic manipulation of cells and microorganisms is a label-free and contact-free technique with promise for biological and biomedical applications. When exposed to an ultrasonic standing wave field, particles suspended in microfluidic channels will be moved to pressure minima (nodes) or maxima (antinodes) due to the acoustic impedance mismatch between particles and the suspension medium. Cilia motion is fundamental to understanding biological and biomedical problems related to dysfunctional human cilia, including primary ciliary dyskinesia, blindness, and male infertility. However, in vivo and ex vivo mammalian ciliated cell research is laborious and time-consuming due to difficulty in growing, maintaining, and imaging these …

On The Study Of Age-Related Physiological Decline In C. Elegans, Drew Benjamin Sinha

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Aging decline is a universal and unescapable phenomenon; as organisms reach maturity and continue living, physiological function inevitably declines, resulting in mortality. While the study of mortality has been long studied, technical and practical challenges have limited the equally important study of how/when individuals deteriorate and what types of factors affect that deterioration. This gap in knowledge is not only evident in a relative lack of empirical data on physiological decline, but considerable debate around the analysis and conceptual interpretations of the little data that is available.

In this dissertation, I use quantitative reasoning and analysis of longitudinal data to …

Plasmonically-Enhanced Dna-Rna Hybrid-Based Bioassay For Amplification-Free Quantification Of Sars-Cov-2, Yuxiong Liu

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COIVD-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a highly infectious respiratory illness. Within just a few months, it spread around the whole world and became a global pandemic. Real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) works as a gold standard method diagnosing COVID-19 with high sensitivity and specificity. But due to the programs of RT-PCR, it usually takes more than 24 hours to get the results while specialized devices are also required. False-negative results can happen as well using RT-PCR which increase the risk of spreading coronavirus. To promote quicker detection of COVID-19, …

Acceptance, Confidence, And Time: Exploring Dynamics Of Middle And Secondary Science Teacher Autonomy In Teaching Evolution In The Southeastern United States, Amanda L. Townley

Middle Grades & Secondary Education: Faculty Publications

Evolution education represents the greatest challenge to scientific literacy in the United States. Long accepted as the foundational concept of biology, in the public realm evolution elicits controversy. The Southeastern United States is a breeding ground for this, and other, anti-science thinking that has far-reaching implications as seen during the 2020 pandemic and antiscience legislation from the region. One approach to close gaps in understanding evolution is to ensure that it is taught in schools in a way that is robust and accurate, as teachers are the front lines in the fight for scientific literacy. For that to happen, teachers …

Smoking, Alcohol Consumption, And Depression In Association With Incidence Of Type 2 Diabetes Among Mexican Americans In Starr County, Texas, Gabriela Rubannelsonkumar

Honors Program Theses and Research Projects

Previous studies on conditions like obesity, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have explored the correlations between them and various other human conditions, including aortic stiffness, left ventricular hypertrophy and sleep apnea, as they predict possibilities of developing certain diseases in Mexican Americans. This study aims to observe the correlation between lifestyle decisions that could relate to the onset of the depression in normal, prediabetic, and diabetic individuals. These include smoking habits and alcohol consumption. Many papers have previously conducted research on these lifestyle habits as they relate to obesity, hypertension, diabetes, however, have done so in a singular …

Sex Differences In Treatment Strategy For Coronary Artery Aneurysms: Insights From The International Coronary Artery Aneurysm Registry, F Arslan, I. J. Núñez-Gil, R Rodríguez-Olivares, E Cerrato, M Bollati, L Nombela-Franco, B Terol, E Alfonso-Rodríguez, S. J. Camacho Freire, Pedro A. Villablanca, I. J. Amat Santos, J. M. De La Torre Hernández, I Pascual, C Liebetrau, M Alkhouli, A Fernández-Ortiz

Cardiology Articles

INTRODUCTION: Sex disparities exist in coronary artery disease (CAD) in terms of risk profile, clinical management and outcome. It is unclear if differences are also present in coronary aneurysms, a rare variant of CAD.

METHODS: Patients were selected from the international Coronary Artery Aneurysm Registry (CAAR; ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02563626), and differences between groups were analysed according to sex. The CAAR database is a prospective multicentre registry of 1565 patients with coronary aneurysms (336 females). Kaplan-Meier method was used for event-free survival analysis for death, major adverse cardiac events (MACE: composite endpoint of death, heart failure and acute coronary syndrome) and bleeding. …

Is Official League Data A Safe Bet: Benefits And Concerns With Requiring Sportsbooks To Purchase League Data Feeds, Robert J. Sheran

Seton Hall Journal of Legislation and Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Demography, Comorbidities, Biomarkers, And Severity Of Infection In Admitted Covid-19 Patients: Experience From A Tertiary Care Hospital In South India, Indira Kedlaya, Yashas V. Kedlaya, Saad H. Usmani

Manipal Journal of Medical Sciences

Introduction: This retrospective study analyses the demographics, clinical features, and comorbidities of patients admitted with COVID-19. The study also evaluates the association of two biomarkers namely D-dimer and CRP (C-reactive protein) with the severity of the infection. Methods: Data of COVID-19 patients admitted from 1 June 2020 to 31 August 2020 was collected based on age, sex, date of admission and discharge, the severity of infection, final disposition, treatment, biomarkers (C-reactive protein and D-dimer), other associated presentations, and comorbidities through a chart review. The severity of infection was categorized into asymptomatic, mild, moderate, or severe, based on WHO criteria. Results: …

Virology: Mutagenizing The Proteolytic Cleavage Site In The Major Capsid Protein In Ssv1, Thejanee Liyanaarachchi

University Honors Theses

SSV1, spindle-shaped virus 1, is an archaeal virus with a unique shape that belongs to the family of fuselloviruses and infects hyperthermophilic archaea that thrive at 80°C and pH 3. SSV1 has two capsid proteins, VP1 and VP3, that presumably produce the lemon-shaped virion structure characteristic of fuselloviruses. The VP1 amino acid sequence is highly conserved among SSVs. Here, we investigate the importance of the proteolytic cleavage site in position E66 in VP1 by changing its glutamic acid to the other 19 amino acids. We have developed a new protocol for creating SSV1 mutants through HiFi Assembly (NEB) to increase …

An Investigation Into The Relationship Between Obstetric Racism And Postpartum Depression In Black Women, Miguel A. Claxton Iii

University Honors Theses

Postpartum depression is the most common postpartum mood disorder, with 13% of new mothers reporting symptoms within the first year. Adverse birth outcomes, such as low birth weight and preterm birth co-index with the development of postpartum depression. This correlation is particularly alarming considering that Black women have about a 60% higher rate of preterm birth and an 88% higher rate of low birth weight infants than Caucasian women. By utilizing theories of stratified reproduction, necropolitics, and obstetric racism, this paper aims to situate postpartum depression in Black women as a psychological response to systems of medicolegal control and domination. …

Role Of Serum Amyloid A In Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm And Related Cardiovascular Diseases, Preetha Shridas, Avery C. Patrick, Lisa R. Tannock

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

Epidemiological data positively correlate plasma serum amyloid A (SAA) levels with cardiovascular disease severity and mortality. Studies by several investigators have indicated a causal role for SAA in the development of atherosclerosis in animal models. Suppression of SAA attenuates the development of angiotensin II (AngII)-induced abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) formation in mice. Thus, SAA is not just a marker for cardiovascular disease (CVD) development, but it is a key player. However, to consider SAA as a therapeutic target for these diseases, the pathway leading to its involvement needs to be understood. This review provides a brief description of the pathobiological …

Study Of How Cancers Spread Promises Treatment Options, Shea Stewart

University of Mississippi News

American Cancer Society funds UM professor's breast cancer research

Transcriptional Reprogramming Differentiates Active From Inactive Esr1 Fusions In Endocrine Therapy-Refractory Metastatic Breast Cancer, Xuxu Gou, Shunqiang Li, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Genomic analysis has recently identified multiple

Greta Thunberg: A Small But Mighty Voice For The Environment, Madilyn Mortelliti

Faculty Curated Undergraduate Works

Abstract

This research paper discusses Greta Thunberg and the impact she has as a climate change activist. Thunberg faces many challenges as a young woman, but overcomes these difficulties while encouraging others to follow in her footsteps. She presents herself as a positive role model for younger generations. Thunberg has many accomplishments as an extremely young woman that leads to her global iconicity. She makes her power known in front of the highest ranked men in the world which forces legislation to make a change. Thunberg motivates others to make a difference before all hope is lost.

Modifying The Aspect Survey To Support The Validity Of Student Perception Data From Different Active Learning Environments, Nicole Naibert, Erin E. Shortlidge, Jack Barbera

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Measuring students’ perceptions of active learning activities may provide valuable insight into their engagement and subsequent performance outcomes. A recently published measure, the Assessing Student Engagement in Class Tool (ASPECT), was developed to assess student perceptions of various active learning environments. As such, we sought to use this measure in our courses to assess the students’ perceptions of different active learning environments. Initial results analyzed with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated that the ASPECT did not function as expected in our active learning environments. Therefore, before administration within an introductory biology course that incorporated two types of active learning strategies, …

Age-Dependent Search Behavior In The Colorado Checkered Whiptail (Aspidoscelis Neotesselatus), Carina Kusaka, Kaera Utsumi, Catherine Staley, Rachael Pedersen, Julia Valdivia, Elizabeth Liu, Hannah Caracalas, Hannah Reynolds, Maria A. Eifler, Douglas A. Eifler

Western North American Naturalist

We compared movement and space use patterns of foraging adult and juvenile Colorado checkered whiptails (Aspidoscelis neotesselatus) in pinyon pine–juniper woodland. Through focal observations, we characterized (1) movement paths as a series of step lengths and turn angles at 30-s intervals, and (2) habitat use reflected by the proportion of time spent in different vegetation types and in the open. Adults and juveniles differed in both movement and habitat use. Adults spent more time in the open and in association with mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus), while juveniles were more frequently found in association with dead wood, …

Nesting Biology And Offspring Development Of The Cavity-Nesting Solitary Wasp Isodontia Elegans (F. Smith) From Trap-Nests In Oregon, Ronald C. Spendal, Kevin M. O'Neill, Casey M. Delphia

Western North American Naturalist

We studied the nesting biology and developmental schedules of the cavity-nesting solitary wasp Isodontia elegans in Oregon, USA. Trap-nests contained 1–15 brood cells each, separated by partitions, which adult females made with grass fragments. Before leaving nests to hunt, females made loose, temporary closures of longer fragments of dried grass and, upon returning, briefly deposited prey just inside the nest entrance before transferring them to a cell. Cells were provisioned with katydids (Meconema thalassinum, an invasive species in North America) and tree crickets (Oecanthus fultoni), the latter predominating as summers progressed. The inner cells of nests, …