Digital Commons Network^™

Diagnostic Outcome Of Pro Bono Neurogenetic Diagnostic Service In Sri Lanka: A Wealth Creation, Lakmal Gonawala, Nalaka Wijekoon, Darshika Attanayake, Pyara Ratnayake, Darshana Sirisena, Harsha Gunasekara, Athula Dissanayake, Ajantha Keshavaraj, Chandra Mohan, W M. Steinbusch, Eric P. Hoffman, Ashwin Dalal, K. Ranil D. De Silva

Pharmacy Faculty Scholarship

The inherited disease community in Sri Lanka has been widely neglected. This article aimed to present accumulated knowledge in establishing a pro bono cost-effective national, island-wide, free-of-charge molecular diagnostic service, suggesting a model for other developing countries. The project provided 637 molecular diagnostic tests and reports free of charge to a nation with limited resources. We pioneered the implementation of mobile clinics and home visits, where the research team acted as barefoot doctors with the concept of the doctor and the researcher at the patient’s doorstep. Establishing pro bono, cost-effective molecular diagnostics is feasible in developing countries with limited resources …

Soybean Arogenate Dehydratases (Gmadts): Involvement In The Cytosolic Isoflavonoid Metabolon Or Trans-Organelle Continuity?, Emily J. Clayton, Nishat S. Islam, Kelsey Pannunzio, Kuflom Kuflu, Ramtin Sirjani, Susanne E. Kohalmi, Sangeeta Dhaubhadel

Biology Publications

Soybean (Glycine max) produces a class of phenylalanine (Phe) derived specialized metabolites, isoflavonoids. Isoflavonoids are unique to legumes and are involved in defense responses in planta, and they are also necessary for nodule formation with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Since Phe is a precursor of isoflavonoids, it stands to reason that the synthesis of Phe is coordinated with isoflavonoid production. Two putative AROGENATE DEHYDRATASE (ADT) isoforms were previously co-purified with the soybean isoflavonoid metabolon anchor ISOFLAVONE SYNTHASE2 (GmIFS2), however the GmADT family had not been characterized. Here, we present the identification of the nine member GmADT family. We determined that the GmADTs …

Aspen And Spruce Densities Affect Tree Size, Future Stand Volume, And Aboveground Carbon Following Precommercial Thinning, Philip G. Comeau, Mike Bokalo

Aspen Bibliography

Data collected over a 30-year period from an experiment replicated across 21 locations in western Canada are used to explore the effects of precommercial thinning of trembling aspen to a range of densities in combination with three initial white spruce densities on tree growth and stand dynamics. Increasing differentiation amongst the 15 treatments was observed with age after thinning for both spruce and aspen responses. Spruce height and diameter declined with increasing aspen density. At age 10 spruce diameter with no aspen was 1.5× that of spruce in unthinned while it was 2.6× that of spruce in unthinned at age …

Distinct Interactions Stabilize Egfr Dimers And Higher-Order Oligomers In Cell Membranes, Krishna C. Mudumbi, Eric A. Burns, David J. Schodt, Zaritza O. Petrova, Anatoly Kiyatkin, Lucy W. Kim, Emma M. Mangiacapre, Irais Ortiz-Caraveo, Hector Rivera Ortiz, Chun Hu, Kumar D. Ashtekar, Keith A. Lidke, Diane S. Lidke, Mark A. Lemmon

Pathology Research and Scholarship

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a receptor tyrosine kinase with important roles in many cellular processes as well as in cancer and other diseases. EGF binding promotes EGFR dimerization and autophosphorylation through interactions that are well understood structurally. How these dimers relate to higher-order EGFR oligomers seen in cell membranes, however, remains unclear. Here, we used single-particle tracking (SPT) and Förster resonance energy transfer imaging to examine how each domain of EGFR contributes to receptor oligomerization and the rate of receptor diffusion in the cell membrane. Although the extracellular region of EGFR is sufficient to drive receptor dimerization, …

Gender-Specific Fine Motor Skill Learning Is Impaired By Myelin-Targeted Neurofibromatosis Type 1 Gene Mutation, Daniella P. Hernandez, Daniela M. Cruz, Celeste S. Martinez, Larisa M. Garcia, Ashley Figueroa, Marisol Villarreal, Liya M. Manoj, Saul Lopez, Karla D. López-Lorenzo, Alejandro Lopez-Juarez

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications

Simple Summary

Most neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) patients present with neurological issues in parallel with abnormal brain white matter and myelin. Although links for NF1 neuropathophysiology and abnormal myelin were proposed long ago, no current data can openly support or refute this idea. Various studies suggest that Nf1 mutations affect myelin biology and function, but any impact on learning/memory remains unclear. Here, we show that mice with an Nf1 mutation induced in adult myelinating cells present learning, but not memory, issues in a voluntary fine motor skill test, the complex wheel (CW). The specific parameters shaping CW learning curves are …

Facpaac Minutes 01/23/2024, Faculty And P&A Affairs Committee

Faculty and P&A Affairs Committee

No abstract provided.

Tracing The Maternal Line In Glacial-Interglacial Migrations Of Populus Tremuloides: Finding Trees For Future Sustainable Forests By Searching In The Past, Luke R. Tembrock, Frida A. Zink, Guozhe Zhang, Andrea Schuhmann, Cuihua Gu, Zhiqiang Wu

Aspen Bibliography

Maintaining and planting sustainable forests is fundamental in perpetuating the essential functions of these ecosystems. A central aspect of managing forests for future resilience is the consideration of past migration and evolution of trees using genetic and genomic data to ensure that functionally appropriate diversity is conserved and utilized. In our study, we generated and compared genetic and genomic data from the plastome to better understand phylogeography and molecular evolution in the tree species Populus tremuloides (aspen). With these analyses, we found evidence of divergence and migration between northern and southern sites. Additionally, evidence of deep incomplete plastome sorting across …

Virgin Coconut Oil (Vco) Supplementation Relieves Symptoms And Inflammation Among Covid-19 Positive Adults: A Single-Blind Randomized Trial, Imelda Angeles-Agdeppa, Jacus S. Nacis, Fabian M. Dayrit, Keith V. Tanda

Chemistry Faculty Publications

A clinical study conducted in 2020 showed that virgin coconut oil (VCO) has been found effective in the rapid relief of COVID-19 symptoms and normalization of the C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration among probable and suspected cases of COVID-19. This present study aimed to validate those results and to evaluate the effects of VCO among COVID-19 patients through a 28-day randomized, single-blind trial conducted among 76 SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain report)-confirmed adults, with VCO given as a COVID-19 adjunct therapy. The results showed that VCO recipients were free from symptoms and had normal CRP concentrations by day 14. In comparison, …

January 23, 2024 Ereporter, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

eReporter (campus newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Htra1 Prevents And Reverses Α-Synuclein Aggregation, Rendering It Non-Toxic And Seeding Incompetent, Sheng Chen

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Protein misfolding and accumulation of misfolded species are associated with multiple neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). α-Synuclein (α-Syn) misfolding and accumulation into Lewy bodies is closely linked to Parkinson’s disease. In ALS and FTD, TDP-43 and FUS are found to be aggregated in disease pathology. These proteins aggregate and associate with both a toxic gain of function of misfolded form and a loss of function due to misfolding. Therefore, it is critical to understand molecular mechanisms by which cells can prevent protein misfolding and how the cell can reverse the aggregation …

Building Research Capacity In Low- And Middle-Income Countries And Pandemic Preparedness: Lessons Learned And Future Directions, Peter H. Kilmarx, Karen A. Goralesk, Erum Khan, John F. Lindo, Nancy Gore Saravia

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Research capacity is a critical component of pandemic preparedness, as highlighted by the challenges faced during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Recent global initiatives, such as the Research & Development Task Force of the Global Health Security Agenda and the World Health Assembly's resolution on strengthening clinical trials, emphasize the need for robust research capabilities. This Perspective discusses the experiences of leaders in infectious disease research and capacity building in low- and middle-income countries, focusing on Colombia, Jamaica, and Pakistan. These case studies underscore the importance of collaborative efforts, interdisciplinary training, and global partnerships in pandemic response. The experiences …

Surface Modification Of Poly(4,4'-Oxydiphenilene Pyromellitimide) With Low-Pressure Plasma Treatment, Cihan Aktas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the change of the wetting characteristics of commercially availablepolyimide (PI), Kapton® HN, films a type of poly(4,4′-oxydiphenylene-pyromellitimide), following treatment with low-pressure plasmas of carbon tetrafluoride (CF4), air, hydrogen (H2), carbon-dioxide (CO2) and oxygen (O2) gases as well as the surface texturing via laser-exposure procedure. The water contact angle (CA) and surface free energy (SFE) of untreated PI films were determined as 82.4°±0.8 and 45.0±0.3 mN/m, respectively. After CF4 plasma gas treatment, the CA value of PI films increased to 110.2°±1.0, while it decreased to 9.3°±2.3 after O2 plasma gas treatment. The surface free energy (SFE) of PI …

Hybrid Electro-Plasmonic Modulation Of Neural Activity With Visible-Light-Sensitive Gold Nanotransducer Interface, Ratka Damnjanovic, Parveen Bazard, Robert Dana Frisina, Venkat Rama Bhethanabotla

USF Patents

A method of modulating neural activity using a combination of electrical and optical stimulation transmitted via a gold nanoparticle covered nanoelectrode is presented. The combination of short-duration green visible light optical pulses with the complementary sub-threshold level electric current pulses are capable of producing action potentials in neurons. Cells were found to have a greater than a 5× survival rate using this hybrid stimulation method as compared to pure plasmonic/optical stimulation. The cell stimulation success rate was 3× greater with hybrid stimulation.

The Combined And Individual Effects Of Azadirachta Indica L. Oil And Nahco3 On The Inhibition Of F. Oxysporum, Neya Murugesan

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

F. oxysporum is the causal agent of Fusarium wilt. This disease is known to penetrate the roots of plants and wilt the vascular system. The most common method for control is through the use of synthetic fungicides, which are known to cause adverse effects on the environment and human health. Thus, it is necessary that more methods of biocontrol be explored. Current literature shows that various salts and essential oils are effective for the biocontrol of F. oxysporum. However, the two types of substances have not yet been tested together, causing a gap in current research. Due to the antifungal …

The Effect Of The Addition Of Carrot Seed Oil And Raspberry Seed Oil On The Uv Intensity Of A Sunscreen, Isra Siddique

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

With continuous developments in research indicating the potential health risks of chemical sunscreen filters, the novel approach of incorporating natural oils with UV light blocking properties has been explored. Natural oils extracted from fruit and vegetables have been proven to possess photoprotective properties, but their effectiveness in combination with synthetic sunscreen filters has not been as thoroughly investigated. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the addition of carrot and raspberry seed oil to an SPF 30 sunscreen would decrease the UV intensity of UVB light passing through the sunscreen and oil mixture. It was hypothesized that if …

The Effect Of Exposure To Lentinula Edodes And Flammulina Velutipes On The Biodegradation Of Crystallized Polylactic Acid, Iraine Taine

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Crystallized polylactic acid (CPLA) is a prevalent bioplastic which, despite being biodegradable, is extremely resistant to decomposition in natural environments. As a result, CPLA waste contamination is rapidly becoming a prevalent issue. Lentinula edodes and Flammulina velutipes are two widespread white-rot fungi whose capabilities for bioplastic degradation have not been examined. This study aimed to determine a natural approach for reducing plastic waste by evaluating the ability of L. edodes and F. velutipes to degrade CPLA bioplastic. It was hypothesized that CPLA samples would decrease in mass when individually treated with L. edodes and F. velutipes due to their similarities …

The Effect Of Various Polyphenols On Associative Memory Loss And Dementia In A Drosophila Melanogaster Model Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Anagha Gowda

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), a prominent neurodegenerative disease (NDD), is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States; however, little is known about prevention. As a result, polyphenols (plant-based compounds) and other natural substances have been studied for their therapeutic potential in improving cognition and memory in AD cases. While the impacts of each polyphenol (phenolic acids, flavonoids, stilbenes, and lignans) contain fundamental similarities, each varies slightly in its impacts on the brain.The purpose of this study was to examine the impacts of polyphenol subgroups on associative memory in AD, tested by building an olfactory association, through the use …

Table Of Contents

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Rosmarinus Officinalis And Trachyspermum Ammi On The Growth Of Eruca Vesicaria Ssp. Sativa In Hydroponics Versus Natural Soil, Emna Guedhami

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Despite technology being developed to address the food shortages due to increasing population, current methods of cultivating crops are not sufficient. Scientists are addressing this issue by researching biostimulants that stimulate plant growth without harming the environment and researching the use of hydroponics, a way of growing crops without soil. The purpose of this study was to combine the use of essential oils and growing methods (hydroponics and soil) and measure its impact on the height of E. sativa. It was hypothesized that if E. sativa was grown hydroponically with added Rosmarinus officinalis (REO) and Trachyspermum ammi (TEO) over time, …

The Comparative Impact Of Acesulfame-Potassium, Stevia Extract, And Monk Fruit On The Lifespan Of Drosophila Melanogaster, Beverly Holton

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS), non-caloric sweetening devices, have been widely commercialized to reduce sugar consumption. This intent has associated NNS with health benefits, though reports have correlated the consumption of these substitutes with noncommunicable diseases. The interaction between NNS and distinct physiological processes has been examined, though research into the broader implications of these interactions, toward longevity, for instance, is lacking. The purpose of this study was to compare the impact of three recently FDA-approved NNS - acesulfame-Potassium (ace-K), stevia, and monk fruit - on the survival of Drosophila melanogaster, a model species for longevity research, to discern the possible impacts …

The Effect Of Crystalline Phase On The Toxicity Of Tio2 Nanoparticles To Chlorella, Jisoo Lee

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Nanoparticles (NPs), or particles with dimensions that go below 100 nanometers, can be released into the environment in various ways, such as through cosmetic products like sunscreen. Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is a commonly used nanoparticle in sunscreen, and it has the potential to be harmful to various aquatic organisms including algae. The purpose of this study was to examine how the crystalline phase of TiO₂ NPs (brookite or rutile) influenced their toxicity to the microalgae species Chlorella. It was hypothesized that brookite phase TiO₂ NPs would inhibit the growth of Chlorella more than rutile phase TiO …

Cracking Down On Egg Law: Legal Discrepancies Impacting Sales Of Ungraded Eggs In Texas, Parker Benton

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Right To Procreate By Nontraditional Methods, Elizabeth Kreager

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Parental Environnement Influences Offspring Gene Expression In The Olympia Oyster, Ostrea Lurida., Mark S. Yeats

LSU Master's Theses

The Olympia Oyster is the only native oyster species on the Pacific coast of North America. Seasonality in water temperatures across this threatened species’ broad and fragmented range has been linked to its development, reproductive timing, reproductive activity, growth, and survival rates. Recent evidence suggests parental environments can have carry-over effects on larval growth and respiration rates in response to temperature. In this study, we utilized transcriptomic methods to identify the underlying mechanisms of this cross-generation plasticity. Sequence libraries of adult ctenidia tissue and pooled larval replicates were extracted and spawned from hatchery raised oysters of the same parentage immediately …

Synergistic Protection Of Retinal Ganglion Cells (Rgcs) By Sarm1 Inactivation With Cntf In A Rodent Model Of Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy, Yan Guo, Zara Mehrabian, Jeffrey Milbrandt, Aaron Diantonio, Steven L Bernstein

2020-Current year OA Pubs

We evaluated whether inhibiting sterile alpha and (Toll/interleukin receptor (TIR)) motif-containing 1 (SARM1) activity protects retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) following ischemic axonopathy (rodent nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy: rNAION) by itself and combined with ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF). Genetically modified SARM1(-) rats were rNAION-induced in one eye and compared against equivalently induced wild-type animals of the same background. Optic nerve (ON) diameters were quantified using optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). RGCs were quantified 30 d post-induction using retinal stereology for Brn3a(+) nuclei. ON sections were analyzed by TEM and immunohistochemistry. SARM1(-)(-) and WT animals were then bilaterally sequentially rNAION-induced. One eye …

Human Whole-Exome Genotype Data For Alzheimer's Disease, Yuk Yee Leung, Carlos Cruchaga, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The heterogeneity of the whole-exome sequencing (WES) data generation methods present a challenge to a joint analysis. Here we present a bioinformatics strategy for joint-calling 20,504 WES samples collected across nine studies and sequenced using ten capture kits in fourteen sequencing centers in the Alzheimer's Disease Sequencing Project. The joint-genotype called variant-called format (VCF) file contains only positions within the union of capture kits. The VCF was then processed specifically to account for the batch effects arising from the use of different capture kits from different studies. We identified 8.2 million autosomal variants. 96.82% of the variants are high-quality, and …

Adverse Outcomes And An Immunosuppressed Endotype In Septic Patients With Reduced Ifn-Γ Elispot, Evan L. Barrios, Drew E. Del Toro, Alexandra Dram, Sandra Meszaros, Sydney Miles, Andrew H. Walton, Anne M. Drewry, Isaiah R. Turnbull, Richard S Hotchkiss, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUNDSepsis remains a major clinical challenge for which successful treatment requires greater precision in identifying patients at increased risk of adverse outcomes requiring different therapeutic approaches. Predicting clinical outcomes and immunological endotyping of septic patients generally relies on using blood protein or mRNA biomarkers, or static cell phenotyping. Here, we sought to determine whether functional immune responsiveness would yield improved precision.METHODSAn ex vivo whole-blood enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot (ELISpot) assay for cellular production of interferon γ (IFN-γ) was evaluated in 107 septic and 68 nonseptic patients from 5 academic health centers using blood samples collected on days 1, 4, and 7 …

An Orally Available Compound Suppresses Glucagon Hypersecretion And Normalizes Hyperglycemia In Type 1 Diabetes, Farzad Asadi, Subhadra C. Gunawardana, Roland E. Dolle, David W. Piston

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Suppression of glucagon hypersecretion can normalize hyperglycemia during type 1 diabetes (T1D). Activating erythropoietin-producing human hepatocellular receptor type-A4 (EphA4) on α cells reduced glucagon hypersecretion from dispersed α cells and T1D islets from both human donor and mouse models. We synthesized a high-affinity small molecule agonist for the EphA4 receptor, WCDD301, which showed robust plasma and liver microsome metabolic stability in both mouse and human preparations. In islets and dispersed islet cells from nondiabetic and T1D human donors, WCDD301 reduced glucagon secretion comparable to the natural EphA4 ligand, Ephrin-A5. In diabetic NOD and streptozotocin-treated mice, once-daily oral administration of WCDD301 …

Neuronal Deletion Of The Circadian Clock Gene Bmal1 Induces Cell-Autonomous Dopaminergic Neurodegeneration, Michael K. Kanan, Patrick W. Sheehan, Jessica N. Haines, Pedro G. Gomez, Adya Dhuler, Collin J. Nadarajah, Zachary M. Wargel, Brittany M. Freeberg, Hemanth R. Nelvagal, Mariko Izumo, Joseph S. Takahashi, Jonathan D. Cooper, Albert A. Davis, Erik S. Musiek

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Circadian rhythm dysfunction is a hallmark of Parkinson disease (PD), and diminished expression of the core clock gene Bmal1 has been described in patients with PD. BMAL1 is required for core circadian clock function but also serves nonrhythmic functions. Germline Bmal1 deletion can cause brain oxidative stress and synapse loss in mice, and it can exacerbate dopaminergic neurodegeneration in response to the toxin MPTP. Here we examined the effect of cell type-specific Bmal1 deletion on dopaminergic neuron viability in vivo. We observed that global, postnatal deletion of Bmal1 caused spontaneous loss of tyrosine hydroxylase+ (TH+) dopaminergic neurons in the substantia …

Acetic Acid: An Underestimated Metabolite In Ethanol-Induced Changes In Regulating Cardiovascular Function, Andrew D. Chapp, Zhiying Shan, Qing Hui Chen

Michigan Tech Publications

Acetic acid is a bioactive short-chain fatty acid produced in large quantities from ethanol metabolism. In this review, we describe how acetic acid/acetate generates oxidative stress, alters the function of pre-sympathetic neurons, and can potentially influence cardiovascular function in both humans and rodents after ethanol consumption. Our recent findings from in vivo and in vitro studies support the notion that administration of acetic acid/acetate generates oxidative stress and increases sympathetic outflow, leading to alterations in arterial blood pressure. Real-time investigation of how ethanol and acetic acid/acetate modulate neural control of cardiovascular function can be conducted by microinjecting compounds into autonomic …