Digital Commons Network^™

Process Intensification For Carbon Sequestration By Resonant Vibratory Mixing, Amirhosein Riahi

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

Due to the excessive consumption of fossil fuels, which leads to significant greenhouse gas emissions and rapid climate change, it is crucial to develop various Carbon Capture and Sequestration strategies. CO₂ sequestration in solid, porous adsorbents like low-cost biochar emerges as a promising method to achieve this goal. However, slow adsorption kinetics are one of the issues that limit the widespread use of biochar. While the characteristics of biochar are important and impact CO₂ adsorption, the conditions under which adsorption occurs are equally critical.

In this work, a novel process intensification strategy, namely Low-Frequency High Amplitude resonant vibratory …

Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling Of 12.25” Horizontal Wellbores To Identify The Effects Of Pipe Rotation On Cuttings Transport Efficiency, David Rathgeber

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

As global demand for oil and gas continues to rise alongside pressures to curb climate change, Exploration and Production (E&P) companies look to reduce their surface footprint and increase drilling efficiency through longer horizontal well drilling. In addition, the depletion of conventional reservoirs is causing E&P companies to target more difficult reservoirs, often miles offshore (Gupta et al., 2014; Meader et al., 2000a). The increased horizontal reach of these wells often leads to increased challenges in adequate hole cleaning during drilling operations. Efficient hole cleaning becomes a greater challenge in high-angle wells, with gravitational forces causing pipe eccentricity, flow channeling, …

Spending The Peace Dividend: Nato And The Failures Of American Diplomacy, Caleb Batman

Theses and Dissertations

Recent years have seen a massive increase in available resources pertaining to US-Russian diplomacy in the years immediately following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Using these newly available resources including diplomatic cables, declassified transcripts, and personal correspondence between President Clinton of the United States and President Yeltsin of the Russian Federation the author attempts to illustrate how the White House missed a chance for reconciliation with Russia during the first Clinton term. Additionally, this paper illustrates how it was not merely bad diplomacy that led to a resumption of Cold War hostilities, but willful policy in Washington that sought …

The Effects Of People, Time Of Day, And Season On Affiliative And Stereotypic Behaviors In Captive Rhinoptera Bonasus And Other Rays Across Two Human-Interactive Enclosures, Wren C. A. Newman

Theses and Dissertations

Cownose rays (Rhinoptera bonasus) are among the most common species found in aquaria, yet the impact of touch enclosures on their welfare remains largely unknown. While research on animal-visitor interactions has produced mixed results for other species, the lack of studies focusing on fish welfare poses a risk of overlooking potential welfare concerns. Therefore, we aimed to establish a baseline for cownose rays regarding stereotypic behaviors, sociality, and activity in captivity, and to examine the influence of human interaction on these behaviors. We collected over 700 hours of footage from two enclosures at Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ …

Sex Differences In The Diets Of Forest-Dwelling Baboons (Papio Anubis), Kara Hartunian

Theses and Dissertations

The ability to eat and switch between many food sources is an adaptative feeding strategy utilized for meeting nutritional needs across different environments, seasons, and physiological conditions. Baboons (genus Papio) excel at both dietary flexibility and foraging selectively, and consequently have one of the most widespread geographic distributions in the Order. To further expand to our understanding of baboon feeding ecology, I analyzed foraging activity and the nutritional characteristics of the diets of the relatively understudied rainforest baboons (Papio anubis) living in Kibale National Park, Uganda. I also investigated if there are differences in food type choice …

Assessment Of Tripeptides Self-Assembly & Er Stress On Cell Viability And Exosome Secretion In Mda-Mb231, Azmat Parveen

Theses and Dissertations

This study delves into the effects of tripeptides KYpF and WYpK(NBD) on MDA-MB-231 cells, uncovering KYpF's ability to reduce cell proliferation and exosome secretion in peptide treated cells. Conversely, WYpK(NBD) demonstrated significant toxicity at 10 μM. These insights pave the way for optimizing peptide-based cellular treatments for exosome secretion purposes.

Maternal And Other Social Influences On Signature Whistle Structure Of A Captive Group Of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus), Riley Synan

Theses and Dissertations

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are social animals that use acoustics as a major method of communicating across a marine environment. They also live in fission-fusion groups and thus interact with many conspecifics over a lifetime. Individual dolphins have a signature whistle that functions as an identity call and serves to maintain group cohesion in murky waters or during reconciliation. Dolphins exhibit vocal learning and the signature whistle of a calf may be modeled after the whistle of their mother or another individual in the pod as they develop. Mother-calf pairs or other related animals sometimes have similar whistle types. Some …

Assessing Comprehension And Competence In Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) On The Concept: Do Something Different, Charlotte M. Mulligan

Theses and Dissertations

Many studies have been conducted using a training paradigm based on the research of Pryor et al. (1969) wherein the participants are trained on the abstract concept: do something different. This paradigm challenges working memory and requires the participants to respond with a behavior, either previously trained or novel, which has not yet been offered within the session. The work of Braslau-Schneck (1994) expanded this concept and demonstrated the ability of dolphins to successfully complete this task in synchronized pairs, though the method of accomplishing this task remained unclear. The present research was conducted as part of a broader …

Enhancing The Visual Environment Of Indoor Housed Laboratory Cynomolgus Macaques (Macaca Fascicularis) To Reduce Stress And Maladaptive Behavior, Jeannine C. Rodgers

Theses and Dissertations

Nonhuman primates housed in indoor laboratory environments are generally exposed to nondescript background visual stimuli. This environment is not ideal for species whose primary sensory modality is visual. To provide a more naturalistic visual environment that would potentially improve their welfare, this study assessed the efficacy of a passive natural visual stimulus in the reduction of stress and stereotypy and agonistic behaviors in a cohort of four (2 male, 2 female) Cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) housed in an indoor laboratory facility in New York City. The macaques were exposed to four different videos depicting scenes of natural landscapes that were …

The Effect Of The Lunar Cycle On The Demographics Of Asian Elephants Observed In Open Areas In A Protected Wildlife Sanctuary And Surrounding Crop Fields, Serene K. Rivera

Theses and Dissertations

Due to human development and habitat fragmentation, Asian elephants increasingly use human landscapes and encounter people. These interactions have led to negative interactions between humans and elephants, such as crop-raiding. Despite efforts to mitigate these conflicts, farmers have not been able to consistently protect their crops from elephant foraging. Therefore, it is important to understand elephant behavior in these landscapes to help create long term mitigation plans. Specifically, research regarding demographic patterns in Asian elephants’ perceived predation risk can inform wild elephant management. This study used camera traps in Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary in Kanchanaburi, Thailand to observe the wild Asian …

Genere E L’Identità Femminile In Ariosto E Castiglione, Patricia Stumpp

Theses and Dissertations

A discussion of the attitude toward women expressed in Orlando Furioso and The Book of the Courtier seen through an historical and cultural lens. Included is an English translation of portions of Cantos 9 and 10 of Orlando Furioso important in the development of the character of Olimpia.

Optimizing The Protein Yield Of The Collagen Mimetic Peptide: Col108, Fahmida Akter

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The fibril-forming collagen mimetic peptide Col108, produced in E. Coli, has shown potential for innovative biomaterial applications. However, further research is constrained by its limited yield. My study aims to enhance the experimental parameters and has successfully pinpointed rifampicin as an efficient method to boost the production of Col108.

Prelimbic Neuronal Ensembles In Natural Reward Seeking, Roger Ian Grant

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

External cues can become powerful motivators of behavior when paired with rewarding stimuli, such as natural rewards or drugs of abuse, as is the case in individuals with substance use disorder (SUD). The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) has been implicated as a neural substrate which encodes cue-reward associations and has been shown to exert top-down control over both natural and drug reward seeking. We and others have shown that activity within the dmPFC is heterogeneous during reward seeking, with some neurons displaying excitatory responses to reward-predictive cues, and others showing inhibitory responses to the same cues. Furthermore, this response heterogeneity …

Summer Commencement: August 2, 2024, University Of North Dakota

UND Commencement Programs

UND Sumer Commencement program from August 2, 2024.

Translational Modeling-Based Evidence For Enhanced Efficacy Of Standard-Of-Care Drugs In Combination With Anti-Microrna-155 In Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer, Prashant Dogra, Vrushaly Shinglot, Javier Ruiz-Ramírez, Joseph Cave, Joseph D Butner, Carmine Schiavone, Dan G Duda, Ahmed O Kaseb, Caroline Chung, Eugene J Koay, Vittorio Cristini, Bulent Ozpolat, George A Calin, Zhihui Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Elevated microRNA-155 (miR-155) expression in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) promotes cisplatin resistance and negatively impacts treatment outcomes. However, miR-155 can also boost anti-tumor immunity by suppressing PD-L1 expression. Therapeutic targeting of miR-155 through its antagonist, anti-miR-155, has proven challenging due to its dual molecular effects.

METHODS: We developed a multiscale mechanistic model, calibrated with in vivo data and then extrapolated to humans, to investigate the therapeutic effects of nanoparticle-delivered anti-miR-155 in NSCLC, alone or in combination with standard-of-care drugs.

RESULTS: Model simulations and analyses of the clinical scenario revealed that monotherapy with anti-miR-155 at a dose of 2.5 mg/kg …

Plan Comparison Of Hybrid Dynamic Conformal Arc Therapy (Hdcat) And 3-Dimensional Conformal Radiation Therapy (3dcrt) In Palliative Treatment Of Thoracic Spine Tumors, Maria Juchartz

Masters Projects

Abstract

Introduction

When cancer spreads from its place of origin to a new location, it is termed ‘metastatic’. Metastatic cancer is often not curable, however palliative care can be given. One common method of palliation is in the form of radiation therapy. A common site of metastasis is in the thoracic spine, which has several nearby organs that can make treatment planning difficult. These treatments often consist of three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy methods. The purpose of this study was to compare the traditional 3DCRT techniques to a hybrid dynamic conformal arc technique. HDCAT has been used in previous studies, however none …

Evaluating Attitudes On Health-Seeking Behavior Among A Network Of People Who Inject Drugs, Ayako Shimada, Ashley Buchanan, Natallia Katenka, Benjamin Skov, Gabrielle Lemire, Stephen Kogut, Samuel Friedman

Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Cancer Biology Faculty Papers

People who inject drugs (PWID) are often members of HIV/AIDS risk networks, where individuals engage in sexual and injection risk behavior. Engagement in HIV care is important for this population. Low socioeconomic status, stigmatization, and lack of access to medical care often complicate successful engagement in the HIV cascade of care for PWID. This study investigates how individual’s attitudes about how much control they have over HIV/AIDS risk in their life (i.e., locus of control and self-blame) affect health-seeking behavior in PWID participants and their community members. We applied causal inference methodology to PWID HIV risk networks ascertained from the …

Impact Of Climate Change And Restoration On Phosphorus Loading In An Impaired Wetland, Katherine M. Lucas

Masters Theses

Restoring wetlands can increase biodiversity and water quality in both the wetland and connecting ecosystems; however, failing to consider past land uses can result in negative water quality effects. Prior agricultural practices at a coastal wetland restoration site in West Michigan have caused high legacy phosphorus (P) concentrations in sediments, as well as high P levels in the water column. Sediment dredging is being considered as a restoration tool to control internal phosphorus loading (IPL). In addition, climate warming is resulting in increases in both mean temperature and temperature extremes, which may affect IPL. I examined the effects of both …

Meta-Analytical Evidence For Frequency-Dependent Selection Across The Tree Of Life, Miguel Gomez-Llano, Ronald D. Bassar, Erik I. Svensson, Simon P. Tye, Adam M. Siepielski

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Explaining the maintenance of genetic variation in fitness-related traits within populations is a fundamental challenge in ecology and evolutionary biology. Frequency-dependent selection (FDS) is one mechanism that can maintain such variation, especially when selection favours rare variants (negative FDS). However, our general knowledge about the occurrence of FDS, its strength and direction remain fragmented, limiting general inferences about this important evolutionary process. We systematically reviewed the published literature on FDS and assembled a database of 747 effect sizes from 101 studies to analyse the occurrence, strength, and direction of FDS, and the factors that could explain heterogeneity in FDS. Using …

G12/13 Signaling In Asthma, Elizabeth L. Mcduffie, Reynold A Panettieri, Charles P. Scott

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers

Shortening of airway smooth muscle and bronchoconstriction are pathognomonic for asthma. Airway shortening occurs through calcium-dependent activation of myosin light chain kinase, and RhoA-dependent calcium sensitization, which inhibits myosin light chain phosphatase. The mechanism through which pro-contractile stimuli activate calcium sensitization is poorly understood. Our review of the literature suggests that pro-contractile G protein coupled receptors likely signal through G12/13 to activate RhoA and mediate calcium sensitization. This hypothesis is consistent with the effects of pro-contractile agonists on RhoA and Rho kinase activation, actin polymerization and myosin light chain phosphorylation. Recognizing the likely role of G12/13 signaling in the pathophysiology …

Promoting Equitable And Holistic Education: The Role Of Arts Education And Whole Child Policy In Unleashing Potential And Advancing Progress, Collette Ain Williams Alleyne

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Inclusive arts education policy considers the arts a viable entry point to a holistic educational experience. It encourages educators to engage with students on a social and emotional level. Several studies have explored challenges with policy implementation that identify educators' interpretation of policy or assimilation to existing policy as a barrier to the full actualization of policy. Through a rigorous convergent mixed-methods study using convenience sampling, I present a thorough analysis of data that reflects internalized values, beliefs, and ideas. Seven contributors, five educational leaders, and two alumni completed interviews, and twenty-one educational leaders completed surveys utilizing Qualtrics (www.qualtrics.com/), a …

The Effect Of Augmentative And Alternative Communication Devices On Preschool-Aged Children With Disabilities, Jocelyn N. Fox

Masters Projects

Speech and language needs are not being met effectively in preschool-aged children. These skills are incredibly important, as speech and language skills affect all other areas of development (Greenwood et al., 2013). To help solve this problem, professionals who work with this population of students need to have effective practices in place to address the needs of these students. This project aims to provide preschool-aged children who have speech and language needs the access to communication they deserve. Through Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices, many speech and language needs can be addressed. This project will provide training on AAC …

Kinesin Facilitates Phenotypic Targeting Of Therapeutic Resistance In Advanced Prostate Cancer, Maddison Archer, Diane Begemann, Edgar Gonzalez-Kozlova, Prerna R Nepali, Estefania Labanca, Peter Shepherd, Navneet Dogra, Nora Navone, Natasha Kyprianou

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Understanding the mechanisms underlying resistance is critical to improving therapeutic outcomes in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Previous work showed that dynamic interconversions between epithelial-mesenchymal transition to mesenchymal-epithelial transition defines the phenotypic landscape of prostate tumors, as a potential driver of the emergence of therapeutic resistance. In this study, we use in vitro and in vivo preclinical MDA PCa patient-derived xenograft models of resistant human prostate cancer to determine molecular mechanisms of cross-resistance between antiandrogen therapy and taxane chemotherapy, underlying the therapeutically resistant phenotype. Transcriptomic profiling revealed that resistant and sensitive prostate cancer C4-2B cells have a unique differential …

Brca1-Mediated Dual Regulation Of Ferroptosis Exposes A Vulnerability To Gpx4 And Parp Co-Inhibition In Brca1-Deficient Cancers, Guang Lei, Chao Mao, Amber D Horbath, Yuelong Yan, Shirong Cai, Jun Yao, Yan Jiang, Mingchuang Sun, Xiaoguang Liu, Jun Cheng, Zhihao Xu, Hyemin Lee, Qidong Li, Zhengze Lu, Li Zhuang, Mei-Kuang Chen, Anagha Alapati, Timothy A Yap, Mien-Chie Hung, Mingjian James You, Helen Piwnica-Worms, Boyi Gan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Resistance to poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) limits the therapeutic efficacy of PARP inhibition in treating breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1)-deficient cancers. Here we reveal that BRCA1 has a dual role in regulating ferroptosis. BRCA1 promotes the transcription of voltage-dependent anion channel 3 (VDAC3) and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4); consequently, BRCA1 deficiency promotes cellular resistance to erastin-induced ferroptosis but sensitizes cancer cells to ferroptosis induced by GPX4 inhibitors (GPX4i). In addition, nuclear receptor coactivator 4 (NCOA4)-mediated ferritinophagy and defective GPX4 induction unleash potent ferroptosis in BRCA1-deficient cancer cells upon PARPi and GPX4i …

Rosiglitazone And Trametinib Exhibit Potent Anti-Tumor Activity In A Mouse Model Of Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer, Sakina A Plumber, Tiffany Tate, Hikmat Al-Ahmadie, Xiao Chen, Woonyoung Choi, Merve Basar, Chao Lu, Aaron Viny, Ekatherina Batourina, Jiaqi Li, Kristjan Gretarsson, Besmira Alija, Andrei Molotkov, Gregory Wiessner, Byron Hing Lung Lee, James Mckiernan, David J Mcconkey, Colin Dinney, Bogdan Czerniak, Cathy Lee Mendelsohn

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Muscle invasive bladder cancers (BCs) can be divided into 2 major subgroups-basal/squamous (BASQ) tumors and luminal tumors. Since Pparg has low or undetectable expression in BASQ tumors, we tested the effects of rosiglitazone, Pparg agonist, in a mouse model of BASQ BC. We find that rosiglitazone reduces proliferation while treatment with rosiglitazone plus trametinib, a MEK inhibitor, induces apoptosis and reduces tumor volume by 91% after 1 month. Rosiglitazone and trametinib also induce a shift from BASQ to luminal differentiation in tumors, which our analysis suggests is mediated by retinoid signaling, a pathway known to drive the luminal differentiation program. …

Dihydrothiazolo Ring-Fused 2-Pyridone Antimicrobial Compounds Streptococcus Pyogenes Skin And Soft Tissue Infection, Zongsen Zou, Pardeep Singh, Jerome S Pinkner, Chloe L P Obernuefemann, Wei Xu, Taylor M Nye, Karen W Dodson, Fredrik Almqvist, Scott J Hultgren, Michael G Caparon

2020-Current year OA Pubs

We have developed GmPcides from a peptidomimetic dihydrothiazolo ring-fused 2-pyridone scaffold that has antimicrobial activities against a broad spectrum of Gram-positive pathogens. Here, we examine the treatment efficacy of GmPcides using skin and soft tissue infection (SSTI) and biofilm formation models by

Caspase-2 Is Essential For Proliferation And Self-Renewal Of Nucleophosmin-Mutated Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Dharaniya Sakthivel, Alexandra N Brown-Suedel, Karla E Lopez, Suruchi Salgar, Luiza E Coutinho, Francesca Keane, Shixia Huang, Kenneth Mc Sherry, Chloé I Charendoff, Kevin P Dunne, Dexter J Robichaux, Alexander Vargas-Hernández, Baochau Le, Crystal S Shin, Alexandre F Carisey, Marcin Poreba, Jonathan M Flanagan, Lisa Bouchier-Hayes

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Mutation in nucleophosmin (NPM1) causes relocalization of this normally nucleolar protein to the cytoplasm (NPM1c+). Despite NPM1 mutation being the most common driver mutation in cytogenetically normal adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the mechanisms of NPM1c+-induced leukemogenesis remain unclear. Caspase-2 is a proapoptotic protein activated by NPM1 in the nucleolus. Here, we show that caspase-2 is also activated by NPM1c+ in the cytoplasm and DNA damage–induced apoptosis is caspase-2 dependent in NPM1c+ but not in NPM1wt AML cells. Strikingly, in NPM1c+ cells, caspase-2 loss results in profound cell cycle arrest, differentiation, and down-regulation of stem cell pathways that regulate …

Lipid Droplet-Associated Hydrolase Mobilizes Stores Of Liver X Receptor Sterol Ligands And Protects Against Atherosclerosis, Young-Hwa Goo, Janeesh Plakkal Ayyappan, Francis D Cheeran, Sushant Bangru, Pradip K Saha, Paula Baar, Sabine Schulz, Todd A Lydic, Bernhard Spengler, Andreas H Wagner, Auinash Kalsotra, Vijay K Yechoor, Antoni Paul

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Foam cells in atheroma are engorged with lipid droplets (LDs) that contain esters of regulatory lipids whose metabolism remains poorly understood. LD-associated hydrolase (LDAH) has a lipase structure and high affinity for LDs of foam cells. Using knockout and transgenic mice of both sexes, here we show that LDAH inhibits atherosclerosis development and promotes stable lesion architectures. Broad and targeted lipidomic analyzes of primary macrophages and comparative lipid profiling of atheroma identified a broad impact of LDAH on esterified sterols, including natural liver X receptor (LXR) sterol ligands. Transcriptomic analyzes coupled with rescue experiments show that LDAH modulates the expression …

Znf397 Deficiency Triggers Tet2-Driven Lineage Plasticity And Ar-Targeted Therapy Resistance In Prostate Cancer, Yaru Xu, Yuqiu Yang, Zhaoning Wang, Martin Sjöström, Yuyin Jiang, Yitao Tang, Siyuan Cheng, Su Deng, Choushi Wang, Julisa Gonzalez, Nickolas A Johnson, Xiang Li, Xiaoling Li, Lauren A Metang, Atreyi Mukherji, Quanhui Xu, Carla R Tirado, Garrett Wainwright, Xinzhe Yu, Spencer Barnes, Mia Hofstad, Yu Chen, Hong Zhu, Ariella B Hanker, Ganesh V Raj, Guanghui Zhu, Housheng H He, Zhao Wang, Carlos L Arteaga, Han Liang, Felix Y Feng, Yunguan Wang, Tao Wang, Ping Mu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Cancer cells exhibit phenotypical plasticity and epigenetic reprogramming that allows them to evade lineage-dependent targeted treatments by adopting lineage plasticity. The underlying mechanisms by which cancer cells exploit the epigenetic regulatory machinery to acquire lineage plasticity and therapy resistance remain poorly understood. We identified zinc finger protein 397 (ZNF397) as a bona fide coactivator of the androgen receptor (AR), essential for the transcriptional program governing AR-driven luminal lineage. ZNF397 deficiency facilitates the transition of cancer cell from an AR-driven luminal lineage to a ten-eleven translocation 2 (TET2)-driven lineage plastic state, ultimately promoting resistance to therapies inhibiting AR signaling. Intriguingly, our …

Pathways And Timescales Of Southern Ocean Hydrothermal Iron And Manganese Transport, Antony J. Birchill, Chelsea Baker, Neil Wyatt, Katsiaryna Pabortsava, Hugh Venables, Mark Moore, Isobel Turnbull, Angela Milne, Simon Ussher, Sophy Oliver, Adrian Martin

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Scarcity of iron and manganese limits the efficiency of the biological carbon pump over large areas of the Southern Ocean. The importance of hydrothermal vents as a source of these micronutrients to the euphotic zone of the Southern Ocean is debated. Here we present full depth profiles of dissolved and total dissolvable trace metals in the remote eastern Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean (55–60° S, 89.1° W), providing evidence of enrichment of iron and manganese at depths of 2000–4000 m. These enhanced micronutrient concentrations were co-located with ³He enrichment, an indicator of hydrothermal fluid originating from ocean ridges. …