Digital Commons Network^™

Site-Specific Effects Of Lysine Acetylation On Aminoacyl-Trna Synthetase, Hao Chen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (AARSs) are an ancient and highly conserved family of enzymes which can catalyze a two-steps aminoacylation reaction to charge tRNAs with their cognate amino acids, thus playing crucial roles in ribosomal protein synthesis. Naturally, the accurate amino acids and tRNA recognition of these synthetases are essential to the fidelity of translation process. To assure the correct recognition, some of these synthetases have evolved with an editing function to help remove the mischarged tRNAs. In addition to these functions, AARSs are also involved in various biological processes ranging from transcription to translation. Currently, a series of proteomic studies have …

Analysis Of Bacteriorhodopsin Suspended In A Bilayer Lipid Membrane, Moath Alhejji

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The bacteriorhodopsin protein’s unique characteristic of proton pumping can convert light energy to electric energy. The aim of this research was to generate photocurrent using bacteriorhodopsin in a bi-layer lipid membrane. Lipid monolayer and bilayer were formed using painting and folding methods, respectively. Capacitance and resistance of the lipid membranes were measured and used to validate the best methodology. My results show that the folding method is more efficient in incorporating Bacteriorhodopsin. The photocurrent was generated by illuminating a green laser (532 nm) on the bilayer lipid membranes. The patch clamp electrophysiology technique was used to apply voltage across the …

Efficacy Of Selected Powdered Floor Treatments And Turmeric Rhizome Powder Against Salmonella, E. Coli, And L. Monocytogenes On Polyurethane-Concrete Flooring Material Carriers, Robert Sidney Fuller

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The flooring in a food processing environment can become contaminated with pathogenic bacteria in many ways including foot and equipment traffic, incoming materials, and drain backups. Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) rhizome powder and seventeen other commercially available powdered floor treatments with a variety of active ingredients including quaternary ammonium compounds (QAC), sodium percarbonate and similar perhydrates (SPC), urea, and borax, were investigated for reducing the levels of pathogens on flooring thereby reducing the risk of cross-contamination from the floor to food contact surfaces. Some of the commercially available floor treatments were Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered antimicrobials while others were …

Investigation Of Iron-Nickel Films Based Catalysts: Controlling Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (Her) Through An Electrode-Electrolyte Engineering Approach, Sergio Ivan Perez Bakovic

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Electrochemical energy conversion technologies need to be economically viable in order to be adopted. Earth-abundant transition metals (i.e., Fe, Co, and Ni) have attracted attention due to their high availability, low cost, and catalytic characteristics that are in many cases found in and exploited by nature. Herein, we synthesize FexNi100-xOy electrocatalyst films and study how the electrocatalyst-electrolyte interactions alter the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER).In this work, FexNi100-xOy films were synthesized to study the composition, chemical state, and morphology. Characterization results provided a well-established electrocatalyst film platform to then proceed with electrochemical evaluations. The effects of the electrode composition and electrochemically …

Catalytic Activity Of Molybdenum-Dioxo Complexes, Randy Tran

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation details the development of rationally designed dioxomolybdenum catalyst active for deoxydehydration (DODH), the net reduction of diols and polyols into alkenes and dienes. Catalyst design involved variations on dioxomolybdenum(VI) supported by a dianionic meridional pincer ligand. Rational substrate scope was explored using aliphatic diols, aromatic diols, and biomass derived diols. Various reductants were tested for ability to catalyze the reaction. The substrate specific mechanism of DODH was explored utilizing NMR and in-situ infrared spectroscopy and important rate constants and rate determining steps were found to aid in the optimization of ideal reaction conditions. Catalytic activity was observed to …

Two-Way Load Flow Analysis Using Newton-Raphson And Neural Network Methods, Aya Emad Omar Al Shaltouni

Theses

This research presents a study of the optimal power flow for networked microgrids with multiple renewable energy sources (PV panels and wind turbines), storage systems, generators, and load. The OPF problem is performed using a conventional method and an Artificial Intelligence method. In this research, we investigated the performance of MGs system with renewable energy integration with focus on power flow studies. The calculation of the power flow is based on the well-known Newton-Raphson method and Neural Network method. The power flow calculation aims to evaluate the grid performance parameters such as voltage bus magnitude, angle, real and reactive power …

Flow Of Quantum Genetic Lotka-Volterra Algebras On M2(ℂ), Sondos Muhammed Syam

Theses

In this thesis, a class of flow quantum Lotka-Volterra genetic algebras (FQLVG-A) is investigated and its structure is studied. Moreover, the necessary and sufficient conditions for the associativity and alternatively of FQGLV-A are derived. In addition, idempotent elements in FQGLV-A are found. Also, derivations of a class of FQLVG-A are described. Also, the automorphisms of a class of FQLVG-A and their positivity are examined.

Baseline Studies On Sex-Disaggregated Statistics Of Members And Gender Roles Of Officers Among Recognized Uplb Student Organizations, Jickerson P. Lado, Marcelina C. Miranda, Katrina Joy M. Abriol-Santos, Charlotte H. Hagosojos, Jimby E. Casquete, Marites E. Mojica, Nina M. Cadiz

Journal Article

The sex disaggregated statistics of members of recognized UPLB students organizations for five academic years were determined. Furthermore, the prevailing gender roles in elected key positions were identified. This is the first attempt to create and profile reorganized UPLB student organizations in terms of sex-disaggregated data (SDD) that could translate to effective policies and campaign strategies to enable a harmonized and gender-sensitive culture in UPLB. It sought to identify the assess the SDD of members among recognized UPLB student organization using both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis. In a preliminary study, the data submitted by an average of 170 …

Rediscovering A Legacy Of A Lost Voice: A History Of Radyo Dzlb's School-On-The-Air, Mark Lester M. Chico

Journal Article

The school-on-the-air (SOA) is a pioneering broadcast program developed by Radyo DZLB in the University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines. Its history dates back to 1967 when the first SOA and dairy farming was launched. Over the years, SOAs were redesigned until a formal structure was arrived at. Radyo DZLB faced challenges that compelled SOA continuously find its rightful place in the airwaves. Now that it is off the air, how can Radyo DZLB sustain its advocacy of educating farmers, homemakers, and children, among others, through SOA? As the voice development, how can Radyo DZLB recover its lost …

Cross Evaluation Of Experience Level And Teaching Approaches In College Table Tennis Physical Education Students, Denise Anne M. Maso, Marie Toni A. Salangsang

Journal Article

This study was conducted to determine which approach is more effective between Random and Blocked practice in teaching Physical Education. It also focused on the effect of Random practice in motor-learning and memory capacity of individuals in learning a sport. The two approaches were used to teach the forehand and backhand skills of Table Tennis. Sixty-four students of the University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB) taking the course PE 2 Table Tennis were chosen as subjects and they were classified as Beginners, Intermediate and Advance players. These students were assigned into two training groups; the Blocked Practice and the Random …

Reassessing Associations Between White Matter And Behaviour With Multimodal Microstructural Imaging, Alberto Lazari, Piergiorgio Salvan, Michiel Cottaar, Daniel Papp, Olof Jens Van Der Werf, Ainslie Johnstone, Zeena-Britt Sanders, Cassandra Sampaio-Baptista, Nicole Eichert, Anderson M. Winkler

School of Medicine Publications

Several studies have established specific relationships between White Matter (WM) and behaviour. However, these studies have typically focussed on fractional anisotropy (FA), a neuroimaging metric that is sensitive to multiple tissue properties, making it difficult to identify what biological aspects of WM may drive such relationships. Here, we carry out a pre-registered assessment of WM-behaviour relationships in 50 healthy individuals across multiple behavioural and anatomical domains, and complementing FA with myelin-sensitive quantitative MR modalities (MT, R1, R2∗).

Surprisingly, we only find support for predicted relationships between FA and behaviour in one of three pre-registered tests. For one behavioural domain, …

Neuroimaging Association Scores: Reliability And Validity Of Aggregate Measures Of Brain Structural Features Linked To Mental Disorders In Youth, Luiza Kvitko Axelrud, André Rafael Simioni, Daniel Samuel Pine, Anderson M. Winkler, Pedro Mario Pan, João Ricardo Sato, André Zugman, Nadine Parker, Felipe Picon, Andrea Jackowski

School of Medicine Publications

In genetics, aggregation of many loci with small effect sizes into a single score improved prediction. Nevertheless, studies applying easily replicable weighted scores to neuroimaging data are lacking. Our aim was to assess the reliability and validity of the Neuroimaging Association Score (NAS), which combines information from structural brain features previously linked to mental disorders. Participants were 726 youth (aged 6–14) from two cities in Brazil who underwent MRI and psychopathology assessment at baseline and 387 at 3-year follow-up. Results were replicated in two samples: IMAGEN (n = 1627) and the Healthy Brain Network (n = 843). NAS …

Associations Of High-Sensitivity Troponin And Natriuretic Peptide Levels With Outcomes After Intensive Blood Pressure Lowering: Findings From The Sprint Randomized Clinical Trial, Jarett D Berry, Vijay Nambi, Walter T Ambrosius, Haiying Chen, Anthony A Killeen, Addison Taylor, Robert D Toto, Elsayed Z Soliman, John W Mcevoy, Ambarish Pandey, Parag H Joshi, Stefan Blankenberg, Dalane W Kitzman, Christie M Ballantyne, James A De Lemos

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

IMPORTANCE: Elevated high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hscTnT) and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP) levels are associated with risk of heart failure (HF) and mortality among individuals in the general population. However, it is unknown if this risk is modifiable.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that elevated hscTnT and NTproBNP levels would identify individuals with the greatest risk for mortality and HF and the largest benefit associated with intensive systolic blood pressure (SBP) lowering.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This is a nonprespecified post hoc analysis of the multicenter, prospective, randomized clinical Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT), conducted from October 20, …

Toward Rehumanization: Creolized Solidarity And Practical Empathy, Michelle India Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

This project seeks to engage political theory surrounding processes of creolization and solidarity, as well as their usefulness towards political movements. Current socialization within the United States promotes individualism and, as a result, an inability to see how various sociopolitical issues interact with one another and affect large portions of the population in ways that are not always obvious. Through a commitment to open engagement and practical empathy, creolized solidarity could provide a baseline from which to evaluate prevalent issues as well as our relationships with one another, the natural connection that comes from simply being human.

Latent Tuberculosis Infection In A Patient With A Negative Interferon Gamma Release Assay Prior To Biologic Initiation For Crohn's Disease, Muaaz Masood, Reid Wasserman, Vignesh Nagesh, Humberto Sifuentes

Student Publications

CASE: Biologic therapy has revolutionized the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Nevertheless, it is well known that biologics are associated with an increased risk of opportunistic infections such as tuberculosis (TB). Screening tests indicated before biologic initiation, namely interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) or tuberculin skin tests (TST), may be falsely negative. We present the case of a male with uncontrolled Crohn’s disease (CD) with a negative screen for TB and how a high index of suspicion led to the discovery of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and the appropriate deferment of biologic therapy. A 63-year-old South Asian male with …

Sleeping With The Enemy: Examining The Relationship Between Sleep And Pain In Post-9/11 Veterans, John L. Schwartz Jr.

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

United States veterans are a diverse group of individuals, yet as a result of their service, they share a unique set of customs, traditions, and values. Post-9/11 veterans are more likely to experience elevated levels of pain and poor sleep quality compared to their civilian counterparts; however, little is known about how beliefs related to veterans’ pain impact their sleep and how levels of pain acceptance influence the sleep-pain association. This study examined relationships between sleep and pain in a sample of 102 post-9/11 veterans. Results support associations between pain and sleep identified in other populations. Positive correlations were found …

Integrated Processing Of Municipal Solid Waste For Maximizing Waste Reduction, Carbon Recovery And Fuel Production, Kameron J. King

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Nationally and internationally, waste generation is increasing and along with it negative environmental impacts. Many people think waste ends at disposal; however, environmental impacts have already begun. Unfortunately, 50% of waste ends up in a landfill which is the third largest source of human related methane emissions and a leading cause of global climate change. This study investigated a novel waste management strategy in hopes of mitigating negative environmental effects caused by conventional waste management practices. The novelty of the study lies in the development of an integrated method of hydrothermal carbonization and an anaerobic digestion (HTC + AD) process …

Emotion Regulation Variability And Relationship Functioning In Emerging Adulthood, Laura B. Kenneally

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Emotion regulation is a transdiagnostic factor that functions as a crucial contributor to individual well-being and social functioning. Research seeking to identify adaptive or maladaptive strategies of emotion regulation has often focused on individual strategies, though emerging evidence suggests that what constitutes “adaptive” regulation is often context-dependent. Having a large repertoire of emotion regulation strategies that one is willing to use at different rates has been termed “emotion regulation variability,” and has been linked to positive individual outcomes. While the benefits of emotion regulation variability have been demonstrated on an individual level, the impact on romantic relationships has yet to …

Intention-Behavior Discrepancies For Alcohol Consumption Among College Students, Emily Kaye Junkin

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Unplanned drinkers may experience elevated risk for drinking-related harm. Research examining unplanned drinking focuses on the unplanned nature of a drinking episode (i.e., did the student drink when no drinking was planned), yet this does not capture the importance of the unintended quantity consumed. For instance, a discrepancy between drinking intentions and actual consumption has the potential to differentially impact alcohol-related outcomes beyond what is accounted for by unplanned drinking episodes. Further, research has not investigated how college students’ unintended drinking is associated with alcohol-related consequences. Moreover, utilization of protective behavioral strategies (PBS) has been shown to decrease negative outcomes …

Hydrothermal Processes For Extraction And Conversion Of Biomass To Produce Biofuels And Value-Added Products, Anuj Hemant Thakkar

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

An integrated biorefinery approach based on subcritical hydrothermal processes was developed to maximize utilization of biomass components by producing multiple products. Biomass from various sources like agricultural waste (lignocellulose), food waste (spent yeast), and dedicated cultivation (micro-algae) was used in this research.

Corn stover (agricultural waste) was hydrothermally pretreated to remove lignin and xylan while preserving most of the glucan. The pretreated corn stover was utilized to produce levulinic acid (thermochemically) and fermentable sugars (biochemically). The solid residue generated during levulinic acid production was utilized to produce biocarbon electrode material. The results generated from the experiments were used for designing …

Design, Synthesis And Characterization Of Carbohydrate Based Macrocycles, Photo Responsive Derivatives, And Glycoconjugates Based Low Molecular Weight Gelators, Surya Bahadur Adhikari

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Functional glycoconjugates are important classes of compounds with many applications in different research fields. Our lab has been studying the synthesis and applications of different classes of glycoconjugates ranging from macrocycles to sugar heterocycle derivatives. Due to the importance of these compounds, our research is based on development of synthetic methods for various carbohydrate derivatives. This dissertation includes introduction and overview of projects, followed by the synthesis and studies of several different series of glycomacrolactones. The second project focuses on two classes of photoresponsive molecules, the coumarins and diarylethenes. The third project involves the synthesis and self-assembling properties of isoxazole-based …

Mechanisms Of Stress Survival In Gram Positive Bacterial Pathogens, Asia Poudel

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Anaerobic Gram-positive bacteria are not a well-characterized group but include many human pathogens that are resilient against stresses caused by the human immune system or by antibiotic treatment. This dissertation investigated the survival mechanisms of two clinically relevant Gram-positive organisms, Clostridioides difficile and Cutibacterium acnes under extracellular stresses. The response of the opportunistic skin pathogen Cutibacterium acnes to nanosecond electric pulses is characterized and found that growth in a biofilm, which usually protects bacteria from stress, renders this species more killable by this treatment. In addition, the stringent response (SR), a conserved bacterial stress survival mechanism, is studied in the …

Assessment Of The Hydrograv® Adapt Variable Height Secondary Clarifier Inlet At Hrsd Nansemond Treatment Plant, Matthew Poe

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) recently completed the first North American and center driven installation of the Hydrograv® Adapt Variable Height Secondary Clarifier Inlet (Adapt) at HRSD’s Nansemond Treatment Plant. This is a variable height inlet structure designed to decrease clarifier effluent turbidity and maintain low turbidity during high flow events. Low turbidity is achieved by feeding the secondary clarifier influent within the solids blanket during dry weather conditions and lifting the inlet structure during wet weather conditions to avoid disrupting the blanket. The Adapt clarifier was monitored alongside an identical fixed inlet clarifier to assess performance. Both clarifiers …

Tunable Compressive Mechanical Behavior Of Ice-Templated Materials, Sashanka Akurati

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The inherent hierarchical microstructural organization in natural materials is responsible for their excellent mechanical properties beyond that predicted by the simple rule-of-mixtures. Further exhibit synergy between strength and toughness, otherwise mutually exclusive in brittle materials. Conventional processing methods are unable to replicate hierarchical microstructures in engineering ceramics akin to that observed in natural materials. Ice-templating has emerged as a potential technique to fabricate bioinspired hierarchical materials. This process involves simultaneous unidirectional solidification and phase segregation of aqueous suspensions. Ice-templated porous ceramic materials have received significant attention for overcoming several limitations of conventional ceramic foams currently used in numerous engineering applications. …

The Effects Of Depression, Anxiety, And Stress On College Students: Examining The Role Of Mental Health Self-Efficacy On Willingness To Engage In Mental Health Services, Leeanna L. Golembiewski

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Relative to younger ages, mental health problems are more prevalent among college students (Pedrelli et al., 2015) and nearly 20% of U.S college students are diagnosed each year with a mental health problem (Blanco et al., 2008). College students’ self-efficacy may influence mental health outcomes by impacting an individual’s decision to change their behavior and execute a course of action (Bresó et al., 2011). Mental health may also be influenced by the degree of willingness that an individual possesses, such that those who are more willing to seek mental health treatment are also more likely to follow through and seek …

Searching For Imaging Biomarkers Of Psychotic Dysconnectivity, Amanda L. Rodrigue, Dana Mastrovito, Oscar Esteban, Joke Durnez, Marinka M. G. Koenis, Ronald Janssen, Aaron Alexander-Bloch, Emma M. Knowles, Samuel R. Mathias, John Blangero

School of Medicine Publications

Background: Progress in precision psychiatry is predicated on identifying reliable individual-level diagnostic biomarkers. For psychosis, measures of structural and functional connectivity could be promising biomarkers given consistent reports of dysconnectivity across psychotic disorders using magnetic resonance imaging.

Methods: We leveraged data from four independent cohorts of patients with psychosis and control subjects with observations from approximately 800 individuals. We used group-level analyses and two supervised machine learning algorithms (support vector machines and ridge regression) to test within-, between-, and across-sample classification performance of white matter and resting-state connectivity metrics.

Results: Although we replicated group-level differences in brain connectivity, individual-level classification …

Anterior-Posterior Axis Of Hippocampal Subfields Across Psychoses: A B-Snip Study, Elisabetta C. Del Re, Victor Zeng, Ney Alliey-Rodriguez, Paulo Lizano, Nicolas Bolo

School of Medicine Publications

Background: The hippocampus (HP) is affected across psychoses, including schizophrenia (SZ), bipolar type 1 (BDP) and schizoaffective (SAD) disorders. We examined HP subfield volumetric abnormalities along the anterior-posterior (ventral-dorsal) axis of the HP in psychosis probands, defined by traditional (DSM) diagnoses and biologically defined subtypes (biotypes, based on cognition and electrophysiology). We hypothesized that biotypes would be better discriminated by HP longitudinal axis subfields abnormalities than DSM. Methods: The sample included 455 probands from the Bipolar Schizophrenia Network for intermediate Phenotypes (BSNIP) dataset (age 35 ± 12.0): 124 unaffected (age 40.4 ± 15.8) and 299 healthy controls (HC; 37 ± …

Clinical Predictors Of Non-Response To Lithium Treatment In The Pharmacogenomics Of Bipolar Disorder (Pgbd) Study, Yian Lin, Adam X. Maihofer, Emma Stapp, Megan Ritchey, Ney Alliey Rodriguez

School of Medicine Publications

Background: Lithium is regarded as a first-line treatment for bipolar disorder (BD), but partial response and non-response commonly occurs. There exists a need to identify lithium non-responders prior to initiating treatment. The Pharmacogenomics of Bipolar Disorder (PGBD) Study was designed to identify predictors of lithium response.

Methods: The PGBD Study was an eleven site prospective trial of lithium treatment in bipolar I disorder. Subjects were stabilized on lithium monotherapy over 4 months and gradually discontinued from all other psychotropic medications. After ensuring a sustained clinical remission (defined by a score of ≤3 on the CGI for 4 weeks) had been …

The Influence Of Emotion Regulation And Neural Cognitive Control On Distress Tolerance, Alicia L. Milam

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Tolerance of negative emotions has been associated with transdiagnostic negative mental health outcomes. Theory and research implicate emotion regulation and cognitive control as factors in tolerance of negative emotions. But their unique contributions to tolerance of negative emotions and interdependency have been unclear due to methodological limitations. This study aimed to explicate cognitive and emotional factors affecting distress tolerance in a non-clinical sample of emerging adults. Undergraduate psychology students completed self-report measures of emotion regulation ability and tolerance of negative emotions. The N2 ERP component elicited by a Go-NoGo task was also used as a neurophysiological marker of cognitive control …

A Brief History Of Nearly Ev-Erything - The Rise And Rise Of Extracellular Vesicles, Yvonne Couch, Edit I Buzàs, Dolores Di Vizio, Yong Song Gho, Paul Harrison, Andrew F Hill, Jan Lötvall, Graça Raposo, Philip D Stahl, Clotilde Théry, Kenneth W Witwer, David R F Carter

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small cargo-bearing vesicles released by cells into the extracellular space. The field of EVs has grown exponentially over the past two decades; this growth follows the realisation that EVs are not simply a waste disposal system as had originally been suggested by some, but also a complex cell-to-cell communication mechanism. Indeed, EVs have been shown to transfer functional cargo between cells and can influence several biological processes. These small biological particles are also deregulated in disease. As we approach the 75th anniversary of the first experiments in which EVs were unknowingly isolated, it seems right to …