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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, …

Whooping Crane (Grus Americana) Family Consumes A Diversity Of Aquatic Vertebrates During Fall Migration Stopover At The Platte River, Nebraska, Andrew J. Caven, Keith D. Koupal, David M. Baasch, Emma M. Brinley Buckley, Jenna Malzahn, Michael L. Forsberg, Mariah Lundgren

Western North American Naturalist

The Aransas-Wood Buffalo population of Whooping Cranes (Grus americana) migrates approximately 4000 km through the central Great Plains biannually, between their breeding and wintering grounds. Whooping Cranes depend on stopover sites to provide secure resting locations and the caloric resources necessary to complete their migration, such as the USFWS-designated critical habitat area in the Central Platte River Valley (CPRV) of Nebraska. This area includes braided river habitat characterized by low-elevation and submerged sandbars, which provide important roosting and foraging opportunities for migrating Whooping Cranes. We used long-range photography, videography, and behavioral scan sampling to document forage items consumed …

Front Matter, Vol. 81 No. 4

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

End Matter, Vol. 81 No. 4

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

Spatial Variability In Streambed Microbial Community Structure Across Two Watersheds, Philips Akinwole, Jinjun Kan, Louis A. Kaplan, Robert H. Findlay

Biology Faculty publications

Both spatial and temporal variability are key attributes of sedimentary microbial communities, and while spatial effects on beta-diversity appear to dominate at larger distances, the character of spatial variability at finer scales remains poorly understood, especially for headwater stream communities. We investigated patterns of microbial community structure (MCS) in biofilms attached to streambed sediments from two watersheds across spatial scales spanning ,1 m within a single stream to several hundred kilometers between watersheds. Analyses of phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiles indicated that the variations in MCS were driven by increases in the relative abundance of microeukaryotic photoautotrophs and their contribution …

Mixture Design Response Surface Methodology Analysis Of Seven Natural Bioactive Compounds To Treat Prostate Cancer, Ian Geddes Berlin

Theses and Dissertations

Natural bioactive compounds have drawn the interest of many researchers worldwide in their effort to find novel treatments, including prostate cancer (PC) treatment which is estimated to be 13.1% of all new cancer cases in the U.S. in 2021. Many of these bioactive compounds have been identified from treatments in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), that often have multiple bioactive compounds present. However, in vitro studies frequently focus on the compounds in isolation, or in simple combinations of two compounds. We used mixture design response surface methodology (MDRSM) to assess changes in PC cell viability after 48 hours of treatment to …

Analyzing The Arguments And Opinions Surrounding Space Privatization, Henry Yaeger

Theses

As space exploration technology advances and more private actors engage in independent space activities, national governments and international organizations need to reform and modernize their approach to regulating private space activities in order to better capture and distribute the benefits of those activities. This paper examines several disparate suggestions and ideas found in 38 articles ranging from current space policy literate to international treaties in order to generate four possible policy approaches to private space activities: the Status Quo, Self-Regulation, New International Treaties and Expanded Public-Private Partnership models. It then compares and contrasts these four alternatives to determine which can …

Analysis Of Camera Trap Footage Through Subject Recognition, Nirnayak Bhardwaj

Master's Projects

Motion-sensitive cameras, otherwise known as camera traps, have become increasingly popular amongst ecologists for studying wildlife. These cameras allow scientists to remotely observe animals through an inexpensive and non-invasive approach. Due to the lenient nature of motion cameras, studies involving them often generate excessive amounts of footage with many photographs not containing any animal subjects. Thus, there is a need for a system that is capable of analyzing camera trap footage to determine if a picture holds value for researchers. While research into automated image recognition is well documented, it has had limited applications in the field of ecology. This …

Genetic Diversity Of Huaya India (Melicoccus Oliviformis Kunth), A Neglected Neotropical Fruit Crop, Mónica I. Jiménez-Rojas, Rubén H. Andueza-Noh, Obed I. Noh-Ake, Daniel Potter, Matilde M. Ortiz-García, Renee S. Arias, Jaime Martínez-Castillo

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Currently, some species of Sapindaceae are important fruit crops worldwide. The Huaya India (Meliccocus oliviformis, Sapindaceae) is a neglected Neotropical fruit tree consumed locally in the Maya Lowlands of Mexico, where it exists in both wild and domesticated forms. Our objective was to evaluate the genetic diversity of the Huaya India in its possible domestication area and thus generate knowledge that serves as the basis for a commercial management. A total of 450 individuals collected from 15 natural vegetation sites and 15 Maya villages, were characterized using nine microsatellite loci and population genetics approaches were applied. STRUCTURE, Neighbor-Joining and PCoA …

Effect Of A Rehabilitation Program On Quality Of Life Among 2nd Degree Burn Adolescents Quasi Experimental Study, Sara Sayed Abdalla

Nursing

No abstract provided.

Deep Convolutional Neural Networks For Accurate Diagnosis Of Covid-19 Patients Using Chest X-Ray Image Databases From Italy, Canada, And The Usa, Amgad A. Salama, Samy H. Darwish, Samir M. Abdel-Mageed, Radwa A. Meshref, Ehab I. Mohamed

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

Introduction: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), famously known as COVID-19, has quickly become a global pandemic. Chest X-ray (CXR) imaging has proven reliable, fast, and cost-effective for identifying COVID-19 infections, which proceeds to display atypical unilateral patchy infiltration in the lungs like typical pneumonia. We employed the deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) ResNet-34 to detect and classify CXR images from patients with COVID-19 and Viral Pneumonia and Normal Controls.

Methods: We created a single database containing 781 source CXR images from four different international sub-databases: the Società Italiana di Radiologia Medica e Interventistica (SIRM), the GitHub Database, the …

Detecting Apple Crop Pest Insects From Eptesicus Fuscus (Big Brown Bat) Feces Using Metabarcoding In Southern Michigan Apple Orchards, Randi Lesagonicz

Masters Projects

Michigan is ranked third in the U.S. for apple production. Michigan State University identified 78 pest insect species that cause damage to Michigan’s crop. Orchards using conventional and integrated pest management (IPM) spend thousands of dollars on pest control substances, which are hazardous to the environment and human health, and do not prevent 100% of crop damage and losses. The public’s increasing desire for “cleaner” foods has led to studies on how to incorporate more naturally occurring pest biocontrol agents. Bats have been recognized as pest insect biocontrol agents in numerous U.S. agroecosystems like corn, cotton, and pecans; however, little …