Digital Commons Network^™

The Presence Of A Pet Dog Is Associated With A More Balanced Response To A Social Stressor, Jaci Gandenberger, Aurélie Ledreux, Ashley Taeckens, Kerry Murphy, Jenni Forkin, Anah Gilmore, Kevin N. Morris

Institute for Human-Animal Connection: Faculty Scholarship

Acute and chronic stress each have physical manifestations in the human body that can lead to many negative health impacts. Today, reported stress levels worldwide are at an all-time high, spurring the search for non-pharmaceutical interventions to maintain healthy stress levels. In this study, we examined whether a pet dog’s presence influences healthy adults’ acute stress responses as assessed through self-reports, heart rate, plasma cortisol, and salivary alpha-amylase. Participating pet dog owners were randomly assigned to undergo the Trier Social Stress Test either with their pet dog or alone. While there was no group difference in perceived anxiety levels, participants …

The Echo: September 23, 2024, Taylor University

2024-2025 (Volume 112)

No abstract provided.

Advances In Hodgkin Lymphoma: Diagnosis Characteristics And Molecular Approaches, Xiaomin Peng, Ms

Student Papers, Posters & Projects

Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL) is a B-cell lymphoma with two distinct entities: classical Hodgkin Lymphoma (cHL) and Nodular Lymphocyte Predominant Hodgkin Lymphoma (NLPHL). Based on different tumor microenvironments, cHL is divided into four subtypes: Nodular Sclerosis CHL (NSCHL), Mixed Cellularity CHL (MCCHL), Lymphocyte-Depleted CHL (LDCHL), and Lymphocyte-Rich CHL (LRCHL). cHL and NLPHL have similar histology features, low concentration of malignant cells within abundant inflammation, the most significant difference is the molecular profiles of Reed-Sternberg (RS) cells and Lymphocyte Predominant (LP) cells. HL has a high cure rate with frontline treatment, but a small percentage of patients do not achieve treatment success, …

Tooth Type And Position In A Hypothetical Pectinodon..., Keith Snyder, Jonathon Campos, Neal Doran, Charity Simmons

Achieve

In 1856, Leidy rst identied Troodontidae as a taxonomic unit. It was not until 1945 that C.M. Sternberg assigned it to a family status. There has been much debate on taxonomic naming in this family, but in 1987, Currie conated all previous names into a single species, Troodon formosus. On the basis of isolated teeth, Carpenter (1982) suggested a second species, Pectinodon bakkeri from the Lance Formations. With limited specimens (24), Longrich (2008) proposed tooth positioning for the 4 tooth types he dened. This was especially challenging since no cranial or post-cranial skeletal structures have yet been identied.

Over the …

Effects Of Microplastic Biofilms On An Anthropogenically Impacted Suburban Lake, Paris M. Velasquez

Masters Theses

Plastics have been observed in every location on the planet, and their prevalence in the environment is due in part to their strong resistance to degradation. Inland lakes are susceptible to plastic pollution by highway runoff, which contains plastic fragments of brake pads, car tires, litter, and road paint. These plastics eventually enter freshwater environments and degrade into microplastics (

The Rider (2024-09-23), Natalie Lapsley

The Rider Archives

Vol.10 No.5

The C-Terminal 4cxxc-Type Zinc Finger Domain Of Cdca7 Recognizes Hemimethylated Dna And Modulates Activities Of Chromatin Remodeling Enzyme Hells, Akeo Shinkai, Hideharu Hashimoto, Chikako Shimura, Hiroaki Fujimoto, Kei Fukuda, Naoki Horikoshi, Masaki Okano, Hitoshi Niwa, Erik W Debler, Hitoshi Kurumizaka, Yoichi Shinkai

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers

The chromatin-remodeling enzyme helicase lymphoid-specific (HELLS) interacts with cell division cycle-associated 7 (CDCA7) on nucleosomes and is involved in the regulation of DNA methylation in higher organisms. Mutations in these genes cause immunodeficiency, centromeric instability, and facial anomalies (ICF) syndrome, which also results in DNA hypomethylation of satellite repeat regions. We investigated the functional domains of human CDCA7 in HELLS using several mutant CDCA7 proteins. The central region is critical for binding to HELLS, activation of ATPase, and nucleosome sliding activities of HELLS-CDCA7. The N-terminal region tends to inhibit ATPase activity. The C-terminal 4CXXC-type zinc finger domain contributes to CpG …

Trends In Reimbursement For All Billable Total Joint Replacement Procedures: An Analysis Of The Medicare Part B Database From 2013-2021, Nithin Gupta, Morgan Turnow, Jagroop Doad, Forrest Dunivin, Emily Sydow, Tyler Williamson, Taylor Manes, Jia Bao Lin, Jignesh Patel

Student Publications

Introduction

Total joint arthroplasty (TJA) remains highly prevalent, nearly rivaling the prevalence of other challenging conditions such as heart failure. Annually, there are over 790,000 total knee replacements and more than 450,000 hip replacements performed in the United States. As the demand for TJAs steadily increases, issues related to access, and quality have become increasingly pronounced. Despite the significant annual rise in volume of surgeries, there exists a notable gap pertaining to the epidemiology and reimbursement rates of TJAs within the United States.

Methods

Publicly available data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Database was extracted. The dataset …

Metadegron: Multimodal Feature-Integrated Protein Language Model For Predicting E3 Ligase Targeted Degrons, Mengqiu Zheng, Shaofeng Lin, Kunqi Chen, Ruifeng Hu, Liming Wang, Zhongming Zhao, Haodong Xu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Protein degradation through the ubiquitin proteasome system at the spatial and temporal regulation is essential for many cellular processes. E3 ligases and degradation signals (degrons), the sequences they recognize in the target proteins, are key parts of the ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis, and their interactions determine the degradation specificity and maintain cellular homeostasis. To date, only a limited number of targeted degron instances have been identified, and their properties are not yet fully characterized. To tackle on this challenge, here we develop a novel deep-learning framework, namely MetaDegron, for predicting E3 ligase targeted degron by integrating the protein language model and comprehensive …

Mta-Cooperative Prmt5 Inhibitors Enhance T Cell-Mediated Antitumor Activity In Mtap-Loss Tumors, Si Chen, Jiakai Hou, Roshni Jaffery, Ashley Guerrero, Rongjie Fu, Leilei Shi, Ningbo Zheng, Ritu Bohat, Nicholas A Egan, Chengtai Yu, Sana Sharif, Yue Lu, Wei He, Shuyue Wang, Donjeta Gjuka, Everett M Stone, Pooja Anil Shah, Jordi Rodon Ahnert, Taiping Chen, Xinli Liu, Mark T Bedford, Han Xu, Weiyi Peng

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Hyperactivated protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) are implicated in human cancers. Inhibiting tumor intrinsic PRMT5 was reported to potentiate antitumor immune responses, highlighting the possibility of combining PRMT5 inhibitors (PRMT5i) with cancer immunotherapy. However, global suppression of PRMT5 activity impairs the effector functions of immune cells. Here, we sought to identify strategies to specifically inhibit PRMT5 activity in tumor tissues and develop effective PRMT5i-based immuno-oncology (IO) combinations for cancer treatment, particularly for methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP)-loss cancer.

METHODS: Isogeneic tumor lines with and without MTAP loss were generated by CRISPR/Cas9 knockout. The effects of two PRMT5 inhibitors (GSK3326595 and MRTX1719) were …

The Centrosomal Protein Fgfr1op Controls Myosin Function In Murine Intestinal Epithelial Cells, Tihana Trsan, Vincent Peng, Takahiro E Ohara, Wandy L Beatty, Raki Sudan, Praveen Krishnamoorthy, Patrick Fernandes Rodrigues, Jose L Fachi, Gary Grajales-Reyes, Natalia Jaeger, James A J Fitzpatrick, Marina Cella, Susan Gilfillan, Marco Colonna, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Recent advances in human genetics have shed light on the genetic factors contributing to inflammatory diseases, particularly Crohn's disease (CD), a prominent form of inflammatory bowel disease. Certain risk genes associated with CD directly influence cytokine biology and cell-specific communication networks. Current CD therapies primarily rely on anti-inflammatory drugs, which are inconsistently effective and lack strategies for promoting epithelial restoration and mucosal balance. To understand CD's underlying mechanisms, we investigated the link between CD and the FGFR1OP gene, which encodes a centrosome protein. FGFR1OP deletion in mouse intestinal epithelial cells disrupted crypt architecture, resulting in crypt loss, inflammation, and fatality. …

Toward Standardized Brain Tumor Tissue Processing Protocols In Neuro-Oncology: A Perspective For Gliomas And Beyond, Manmeet Ahluwalia, Michael Mcdermott

All Publications

Implementation of standardized protocols in neurooncology during the surgical resection of brain tumors is needed to advance the clinical treatment paradigms that use tissue for diagnosis, prognosis, bio-banking, and treatment. Currently recommendations on intraoperative tissue procurement only exist for diffuse gliomas but management of other brain tumor subtypes can also benefit from these protocols. Fresh tissue from surgical resection can now be used for intraoperative diagnostics and functional precision medicine assays. A multidisciplinary neuro-oncology perspective is critical to develop the best avenues for practical standardization. This perspective from the multidisciplinary Oncology Tissue Advisory Board (OTAB) discusses current advances, future directions, …

Semiautomated Generation Of Species-Specific Training Data From Large, Unlabeled Acoustic Datasets For Deep Supervised Birdsong Isolation, Justin Sasek, Brendan Allison, Andrea Contina, David Knobles, Preston Wilson, Timothy Keitt

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

Background

Bioacoustic monitoring is an effective and minimally invasive method to study wildlife ecology. However, even the state-of-the-art techniques for analyzing birdsongs decrease in accuracy in the presence of extraneous signals such as anthropogenic noise and vocalizations of non-target species. Deep supervised source separation (DSSS) algorithms have been shown to effectively separate mixtures of animal vocalizations. However, in practice, recording sites also have site-specific variations and unique background audio that need to be removed, warranting the need for site-specific data.

Methods

Here, we test the potential of training DSSS models on site-specific bird vocalizations and background audio. We used a …

Strategic Stabilization Of Arousal Boosts Sustained Attention, Jan Willem De Gee, Zakir Mridha, Marisa Hudson, Yanchen Shi, Hannah Ramsaywak, Spencer Smith, Nishad Karediya, Matthew Thompson, Kit Jaspe, Hong Jiang, Wenhao Zhang, Matthew J Mcginley

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Arousal and motivation interact to profoundly influence behavior. For example, experience tells us that we have some capacity to control our arousal when appropriately motivated, such as staying awake while driving a motor vehicle. However, little is known about how arousal and motivation jointly influence decision computations, including if and how animals, such as rodents, adapt their arousal state to their needs. Here, we developed and show results from an auditory, feature-based, sustained-attention task with intermittently shifting task utility. We use pupil size to estimate arousal across a wide range of states and apply tailored signal detection theoretic, hazard function …

Enduring Heroism In The Face Of Inequality And Injustice: Who Steps Up And Why?, Carol D. Ryff

Heroism Science

Enduring heroism defined as persistent efforts to confront inequality and injustice is the focus of this article. Six exemplars are considered: Harriet Tubman, Crazy Horse, Jane Addams, Mohandas Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Malcolm X. Similarities and differences in their pursuits are considered and linked to the larger literature on heroism. They are also contrasted with enduring anti-heroes to elevate roles of virtue and benevolence in long-term efforts to correct societal ills. What motivates enduring heroism is a central question. A hypothesis put forth is that distinct dimensions of eudaimonic well-being – especially, purpose in life, autonomy, environmental mastery, and personal growth …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Uio-66-Nh2 (Zr) Metal–Organic Frameworks: Chitosan And Its Aminated Derivatives To Remove Toxic Cr (Vi) From Industrial Wastewater, Bassma M. Ali, Zainab Ali, Elen Emad, Ragaa Ahmed, Ayat Khasawneh, Khalideh Al Bkoor Alrawashdeh, Rebhi A. Damseh, Jalal A. Al-Tabbal, Kamel K. Al-Zboon, Petros Samaras, Yasser Dessouky, Kareem Tonbol

Blue Economy

This study used adsorbent hydrogel beads on chitosan coated with the commercially prepared metal-organic framework (MOF) and its aminated derivative to chromium (VI) ions from their aqueous solutions. Higher removal (%) and higher adsorption capacity values were recorded using chitosan and its aminated derivatives, UiO-66-NH₂ (Zr) (0.5 % CS) adsorbent (87 % and 95 mgg^-1), respectively, compared with those using CS adsorbent (86% and 93 mg/g using 1% CS); contact time was 180 min, with maximum removal (%) reaching 87% and maximum adsorption capacity of 95 mgg^-1. The pH of the studied medium was in …

Tree Diversity Across The Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Area In Relation To Climate And Social Vulnerability, Adrienne B. Keller, Leslie A. Brandt, Jeannine Cavender-Bares, Joseph F. Knight, Sarah E. Hobbie

Michigan Tech Publications

Urban tree canopy cover is often unequally distributed across cities such that more socially vulnerable neighborhoods often have lower tree canopy cover than less socially vulnerable neighborhoods. However, how the diversity and composition of the urban canopy affect the nature of social-ecological benefits (and burdens), including the urban forest's vulnerability to climate change, remains underexamined. Here, we synthesize tree inventories developed by multiple organizations and present a species-specific, geolocated database of more than 600,000 urban trees across the 7-county Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) metropolitan area in the Upper Midwest of the United States. We find that tree diversity across the MSP …

Fifteen Years Of Findings: Advancements In Spring Dead Spot Research From 2009 To 2024, W. J. Hutchens, J. K. Anders, E. L. Butler, J. P. Kerns, D. S. Mccall, G. L. Miller, N. R. Walker

Horticulture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Spring dead spot (Ophiosphaerella spp.; SDS) is one of the most detrimental diseases to warm-season turfgrasses, particularly bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.), growing in climates where cold temperatures induce dormancy. The pathogen can infect the crowns, stolons, rhizomes, and roots of bermudagrass most of the year, but infection in the fall predisposes the turf to winter injury and plant death. Symptoms typically appear the following spring, making management of SDS challenging. Moreover, the biology, epidemiology, and management of SDS are not fully understood. Ample research has been conducted on SDS which was thoroughly summarized before 2009 by Tredway et al. …

Melanism In Polymorphic Terrestrial Snakes: A Meta-Analysis And Systematic Review, Ryan A. Martin

Faculty Scholarship

Background and Aim: Colour polymorphic populations constitute excellent model systems for testing ecological and evolutionary hypotheses, as alternate colourations are associated with differences in various biological, behavioural and life-history traits. Melanism is the most common and most obvious form of polymorphism. In reptiles in general (and snakes in particular), thermal melanism has been a popular hypothesis used to explain the appearance of black individuals. It suggests that a trade-off exists between superior thermoregulation and reduced protection through the loss of crypsis. Surprisingly, despite the growing body of literature available, to date, there are only two qualitative reviews on the evolutionary …

Inequities In Air Pollution On Stroke Mortality Among Older Americans: A U.S. Nationwide Analysis, Jean-Luc K. Kabangu, Danny Fowler, Amanda Hernandez, Takara R. Newsome-Cuby, Benson Joseph, John Dugan, Lane Fry, Momodou G. Bah, Sonia V. Eden

Student Publications

Background: Air pollution is a known risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, including stroke. This study examines the impact of county-level air pollution on ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke mortality among U.S. individuals aged 65 and older, emphasizing racial and socioeconomic disparities.

Methods: Using data from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Interactive Atlas of Heart Disease and Stroke, we analyzed county-level ischemic stroke mortality rates for older residents between 2016 and 2020. The data on air pollution at the county level, specifically particulate matter (PM2.5) levels, were obtained from the CDC. We applied multivariable linear and logistic regression models to examine …

Mutual Relationships Of Nanoconfined Hexoses: Impacts On Hydrodynamic Radius And Anomeric Ratios, Bridget L. Gourley, Mia R. Halliday, Samantha L. Miller, Christopher D. Gale, Jenna R. Deckard, Nancy E. Levinger

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Although all hexose sugars share the same chemical formula, C6H12O6, subtle differences in their stereochemical structures lead to their various biological roles. Due to their prominent role in metabolism, hexose sugars are commonly found in nanoconfined environments. The complexity of authentic nanoconfined biological environments makes it challenging to study how confinement affects their behavior. Here, we present a study using a common model system, AOT reverse micelles, to study hexose sugars in nanoconfinement. We examine how reverse micelles affect the hexoses, how the hexoses affect reverse micelle formation, and the differences between specific hexoses: glucose, mannose, and galactose. We find …

Irrigation Pumping Plants: Energy Consumption And Pumping Plant Performance [Class Handout], Derek M. Heeren, Saleh Taghvaeian, Abia Katimbo, Xin Qiao

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Irrigation can be a large contributor to energy consumption on an irrigated farm. It is important to understand factors that impact irrigation energy use and to identify opportunities to reduce energy consumption. This class handout introduces a set of equations for calculating energy consumption for an irrigation pumping plant based on flow conditions and pump efficiency. It also presents typical values for motor performance (including both electric motors and internal combustion engines) in both SI and USCS units. Finally, the handout introduces the concept of a field evaluation of an irrigation pumping plant along with the Nebraska Pumping Plant Performance …

A Generalized Machine Learning Model For Long-Term Coral Reef Monitoring In The Red Sea, Justin J. Gapper, Surendra Maharjan, Wenzhao Li, Erik Linstead, Surya Prakash Tiwari, Mohamed A. Qurban, Hesham El-Askary

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Coral reefs, despite covering less than 0.2 % of the ocean floor, harbor approximately 35 % of all known marine species, making their conservation critical. However, coral bleaching, exacerbated by climate change and phenomena such as El Niño, poses a significant threat to these ecosystems. This study focuses on the Red Sea, proposing a generalized machine learning approach to detect and monitor changes in coral reef cover over an 18-year period (2000–2018). Using Landsat 7 and 8 data, a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier was trained on depth-invariant indices (DII) derived from the Gulf of Aqaba and validated against ground …

Phytotherapeutic Approach To Enhance The Hepatoprotective Activity Of Some Edible Plants: Molecular Docking And Nanoformulation, Khaled Nematallah, Amgad Albohy, Noha Swilam

Pharmacy

This study used molecular docking to evaluate phytochemicals from 47 plants against liver fibrosis. It identified potent compounds, prompting further investigation of chamomile, pomegranate, ginseng, and artichoke. Extracts from these plants were characterized and formulated into a self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS). Studies on the herbal formula exhibited around 150% higher flavonoids, 50% higher polyphenols, 178% higher antioxidant activity, and synergistic In-vitro hepatoprotective effects compared to the average results of individual extracts. Both the aqueous suspension and the nanoformulation of the formula offered in-vivo protection against paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity in mice. The SMEDDS group showed superior outcomes, with no significant differences …

Contaminant Exposure And Liver And Kidney Lesions In North American River Otters In The Indian River Lagoon, Florida, Ami Krasner, Megan Stolen, David Rotstein, Spencer Fire

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Student Publications

The harmful algal bloom (HAB) liver toxin microcystin (MC) and trace element biomagnification were previously detected in organisms in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), Florida. Since there are no routine screening programs for these contaminants, liver tissue from North American river otters (Lontra canadensis), an important sentinel species in the IRL, was screened for MC via enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA), followed by confirmatory analyses via liquid-chromatography/mass spectrometry methods (LC-MS/MS). Liver and kidney samples were evaluated for trace element (As, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Mo, Pb, Se, Tl, and Zn) bioaccumulation via inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Histopathologic evaluation …

Phytotherapeutic Approach To Enhance The Hepatoprotective Activity Of Some Edible Plants: Molecular Docking And Nanoformulation, Khaled Nematallah, Amgad Abdallah, Noha Swilam

Pharmacy

This study used molecular docking to evaluate phytochemicals from 47 plants against liver fibrosis. It identified potent compounds, prompting further investigation of chamomile, pomegranate, ginseng, and artichoke. Extracts from these plants were characterized and formulated into a self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS). Studies on the herbal formula exhibited around 150% higher flavonoids, 50% higher polyphenols, 178% higher antioxidant activity, and synergistic In-vitro hepatoprotective effects compared to the average results of individual extracts. Both the aqueous suspension and the nanoformulation of the formula offered in-vivo protection against paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity in mice. The SMEDDS group showed superior outcomes, with no significant differences …

Prediction Of Mooring System Characteristics Of The Floating Barge Using Deep Neural Networks, Janghoon Seo, Dong-Woo Park

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The present study establishes deep learning models to predict the tensions and inclinations of mooring lines of a floating barge and verifies applicability of these models. Hydrodynamic and mooring analyses are conducted on the dataset used for the deep learning models. Three types of neural network models include a deep neural network (DNN) with input data representing the six degrees of freedom motions of a floating barge, convolutional neural network (CNN) with input images of the floating barge and mooring lines on a horizontal plane, and hybrid neural network (HNN) that consolidates the characteristics of DNN and CNN models. The …

Establishment And Spread Of The Scaly-Breasted Munia (Lonchura Punctulata) In Mississippi, Susan Epps, Jason D. Hoeksema

Mississippi Kite

No abstract provided.

Turkey Vulture Nest In A Union County, Mississippi Cave, Katelin Cross

Mississippi Kite

No abstract provided.

Aberrantly-Colored Yellow Northern Cardinals, Nicholas A. Winstead

Mississippi Kite

No abstract provided.