Digital Commons Network^™

Cyclobutanone Inhibitors Of Diaminopimelate Desuccinylase (Dape) As Potential New Antibiotics, Thahani Shifna Habeeb Mohammad, Emma H. Kelley, Cory T. Reidl Dr., Katherine Konczak, Megan Beulke, Janielle Javier, Ken W. Olsen, Daniel P. Becker Ph.D.

Chemistry: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Based on our previous success in using cyclobutanone derivatives as enzyme inhibitors, we have designed and prepared a 37-member library of α-aminocyclobutanone amides and sulfonamides, screened for inhibition of the bacterial enzyme diaminopimelate desuccinylase (DapE), which is a promising antibiotic target, and identified several inhibitors with micromolar inhibitory potency. Molecular docking suggests binding of the deprotonated hydrate of the strained cyclobutanone, and thermal shift analysis with the most potent inhibitor (3y, IC50 = 23.1 µM) enabled determination of a Ki value of 10.2 +/− 0.26 µM and observed two separate Tm values for H. influenzae DapE (HiDapE).

Periodontitis And Alzheimer’S Disease: Is There A Connection?, William Lundergan, Kavitha Parthasarathy, Navid Knight

Pacific Faculty Work

The oral health/systemic health connection has been an area of research interest that increased dramatically during the 1990s. Periodontal disease has been associated with a number of systemic conditions, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, pre-term low-birth-weight infants, respiratory conditions, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. Inflammation is the obvious link that connects periodontal disease with these conditions, but is this association casual or causal? We will address the biologic plausibility, evidence from human studies, evidence from animal studies, and therapeutic interventions as we review the current understanding of the link between periodontitis and Alzheimer’s disease.

Uncharted Waters: Should International Maritime Terrorism Be Included In The Jurisdiction Of The International Criminal Court?, Juan-Pablo Perez-Leon-Acevedo, Giorgi Chakhvadze

Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law

The International Criminal Court (ICC) lacks jurisdiction over international terrorism. Despite related academic literature, no academic publication discusses whether the ICC should have jurisdiction over international maritime terrorism. This deserves attention due to the increasing importance of this global phenomenon in the last few decades. Consequently, this Article considers whether international maritime terrorism should be included in the ICC’s jurisdiction. First, it discusses international maritime terrorism as a manifestation of the emerging international crime of international terrorism, examining i) whether there is an accepted or an emerging legal definition of international maritime terrorism, ii) whether international maritime terrorism is a …

Sleep Attitudes As An Indirect Predictor Of Risk For Metabolic Syndrome In First Year College Students, Sophie Hirsch, Hannah Peach, Trudy L. Moore-Harrison, Philip Zendels, Aria Ruggiero, Jane F. Gaultney

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Background: Habit formation can be a challenge for first-year students. Research has suggested that regardless of sleep knowledge, favorable sleep attitudes predict better sleep.

Aim: Our aim was to investigate whether sleep attitudes directly or indirectly predicted risk for metabolic syndrome via sleep.

Method: Students completed self-report and physiological measures. Participants wore wristwatches to collect sleep data. Path analyses investigated the direct or indirect effect of sleep attitude on risk for metabolic syndrome via subjective sleep (sleep quality, duration, risk for apnea) and objective sleep (sleep efficiency, duration, subjective risk for apnea).

Results: In our subjective analysis that sleep attitudes …

Effects Of Electrode Materials And Potential Gradient On Electro-Osmotic Consolidation For Marine Clayey Soils, Haihui Jin, Lei Zhang, Binghui Wang, Chen Fang, Liyan Wang

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

This study conducted experimental investigations into the effects of electrode material and potential gradient on the effectiveness of electro-osmotic consolidation (EO) in strengthening soft soils. Seven laboratory tests were conducted on high-water-content marine clayey soils through EO. In these experimental tests, four different types of electrodes made of steel, copper, aluminum, and composite carbon fiber (CCF) were employed in four tests each to evaluate the consolidation effectiveness. Additionally, four tests, one was the comparitive study for different eletrode materials, were carried out to determine the optimal gradient for the EO using CCF electrode. Several critical properties of the tested soils …

Fusionnw, A Potential Clinical Impact Assessment Of Kinases In Pan-Cancer Fusion Gene Network, Chengyuan Yang, Himansu Kumar, Pora Kim

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Kinase fusion genes are the most active fusion gene group in human cancer fusion genes. To help choose the clinically significant kinase so that the cancer patients that have fusion genes can be better diagnosed, we need a metric to infer the assessment of kinases in pan-cancer fusion genes rather than relying on the sample frequency expressed fusion genes. Most of all, multiple studies assessed human kinases as the drug targets using multiple types of genomic and clinical information, but none used the kinase fusion genes in their study. The assessment studies of kinase without kinase fusion gene events can …

The Rider (2024-01-22), Natalie Lapsley

The Rider Archives

Vol.9 No.16

A Blurry Lens: Assessing The Complicated Legal Landscape Of Biometric Privacy Through The Perspective Of Mobile Apps, Mackenzie K. Mendolla

Seton Hall Law Review

No abstract provided.

Cross-Cultural Preferences For Women’S Waist To Hip Ratio And Men’S Shoulder To Hip Ratio: Data From Iran, Norway, Poland, And Russia, Farid Pazhoohi, Reza Afhami, Razieh Chegeni, Dmitrii Dubrov, Katarzyna Gałasińska, Ray Garza, Nasim Ghahraman Moharrampour, Dmitry Grigoryev, Marta Kowal, Ståle Pallesen, Gerit Pfuhl

School of Psychology

Objectives: Body size and shape are sexually dimorphic in humans, with men being characterized with larger upper bodies, while women typically having broader pelvises. Such sexually dimorphic traits, quantified as shoulder to hip ratio (SHR) in men and waist to hip ratio (WHR) in women, serve as cues of an individual’s genetic fitness, reproductive potential, health, and resource holding power, and, thereby, functioning as attractiveness cues to the opposite sex. Methods: In the current study, we investigated men’s and women’s preference for the opposite sex body shape (WHR in women and SHR in men) in samples from Iran, Norway, Poland, …

Interplay Between Acetylation And Ubiquitination Of Imitation Switch Chromatin Remodeler Isw1 Confers Multidrug Resistance In Cryptococcus Neoformans, Yang Meng, Yue Ni, Zhuoran Li, Tianhang Jiang, Tianshu Sun, Yanjian Li, Xindi Gao, Hailong Li, Chenhao Suo, Chao Li, Sheng Yang, Tian Lan, Guojian Liao, Tongbao Liu, Ping Wang, Chen Ding

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Cryptococcus neoformans poses a threat to human health, but anticryptococcal therapy is hampered by the emergence of drug resistance, whose underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Herein, we discovered that Isw1, an imitation switch chromatin remodeling ATPase, functions as a master modulator of genes responsible for in vivo and in vitro multidrug resistance in C. neoformans. Cells with the disrupted ISW1 gene exhibited profound resistance to multiple antifungal drugs. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed that Isw1 is both acetylated and ubiquitinated, suggesting that an interplay between these two modification events exists to govern Isw1 function. Mutagenesis studies of acetylation and ubiquitination sites …

Sigma Leverages Protein Structural Information To Predict The Pathogenicity Of Missense Variants, Hengqiang Zhao, Huakang Du, Sen Zhao, Zefu Chen, Yaqi Li, Kexin Xu, Bowen Liu, Xi Cheng, Wen Wen, Guozhuang Li, Guilin Chen, Zhengye Zhao, Guixing Qiu, Deciphering Disorders Involving Scoliosis & Comorbidities (Disco) Study, Pengfei Liu, Terry Jianguo Zhang, Zhihong Wu, Nan Wu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Leveraging protein structural information to evaluate pathogenicity has been hindered by the scarcity of experimentally determined 3D protein. With the aid of AlphaFold2 predictions, we developed the structure-informed genetic missense mutation assessor (SIGMA) to predict missense variant pathogenicity. In comparison with existing predictors across labeled variant datasets and experimental datasets, SIGMA demonstrates superior performance in predicting missense variant pathogenicity (AUC = 0.933). We found that the relative solvent accessibility of the mutated residue contributed greatly to the predictive ability of SIGMA. We further explored combining SIGMA with other top-tier predictors to create SIGMA+, proving highly effective for variant pathogenicity prediction …

Extracellular Carriers Control Lipid-Dependent Secretion, Delivery, And Activity Of Wnt Morphogens, Taciani De Almeida Magalhaes, Jingjing Liu, Charlene Chan, Kleiton Silva Borges, Jiuchun Zhang, Andrew J Kane, Bradley M Wierbowski, Yunhui Ge, Zhiwen Liu, Prabhath Mannam, Daniel Zeve, Ron Weiss, David T Breault, Pengxiang Huang, Adrian Salic

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

WNT morphogens trigger signaling pathways fundamental for embryogenesis, regeneration, and cancer. WNTs are modified with palmitoleate, which is critical for binding Frizzled (FZD) receptors and activating signaling. However, it is unknown how WNTs are released and spread from cells, given their strong lipid-dependent membrane attachment. We demonstrate that secreted FZD-related proteins and WNT inhibitory factor 1 are WNT carriers, potently releasing lipidated WNTs and forming active soluble complexes. WNT release occurs by direct handoff from the membrane protein WNTLESS to the carriers. In turn, carriers donate WNTs to glypicans and FZDs involved in WNT reception and to the NOTUM hydrolase, …

Crispr-Dipoff: An Interpretable Deep Learning Approach For Crispr Cas-9 Off-Target Prediction, Md Toufikuzzaman, Md Abul Hassan Samee, M Sohel Rahman

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

CRISPR Cas-9 is a groundbreaking genome-editing tool that harnesses bacterial defense systems to alter DNA sequences accurately. This innovative technology holds vast promise in multiple domains like biotechnology, agriculture and medicine. However, such power does not come without its own peril, and one such issue is the potential for unintended modifications (Off-Target), which highlights the need for accurate prediction and mitigation strategies. Though previous studies have demonstrated improvement in Off-Target prediction capability with the application of deep learning, they often struggle with the precision-recall trade-off, limiting their effectiveness and do not provide proper interpretation of the complex decision-making process of …

Chimes: January 22, 2024, Calvin University

Chimes

Calvin's theater minor returns by Ashley Hamons

Calvin's Service Learning Center provides spring break opportunities to work in disaster relied by Ethan Meyers

Student Senate survey reveals areas of focus for Student Senate projects by Savannah Shustack

The Rivalry: Calvin takes down Hope by Lauren Nyong

Calvin Knights men's basketball receives highest ranking in 19 season by Dillion Baymchen

Switching paths post-grad: Calvin introduces Master of Arts in Teaching program by Savannah Shustack

Moodle's redesign is much-needed and long-deserved by Jacob Westra

Incubating Education: The Lived Experiences Of Louisiana Elementary And Middle School Teachers When Piloting A 4-H Stem School Enrichment Curriculum, Crystal Rose Ahrens

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study addressed a deficiency in the agricultural literacy of the U.S. population by focusing on the challenges that core subject teachers face when integrating agriculture into their curriculum. Using a phenomenological research approach, this investigation explored the lived experiences of Louisiana teachers who piloted a 4-H STEM curriculum, focusing on the growth in agricultural literacy of the teachers while instructing third and eighth-grade students on the agricultural-based and STEM-focused topic of embryology. Employing a transcendental phenomenological approach, I acknowledged my biases through reflexivity and adhered to ethical considerations, including informed consent and confidentiality. Key findings emerged through four themes …

Self-Renewing Human Naïve Pluripotent Stem Cells Dedifferentiate In 3d Culture And Form Blastoids Spontaneously, Mingyue Guo, Jinyi Wu, Chuanxin Chen, Xinggu Wang, An Gong, Wei Guan, Rowan M Karvas, Kexin Wang, Mingwei Min, Yixuan Wang, Thorold W Theunissen, Shaorong Gao, José C R Silva

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Human naïve pluripotent stem cells (hnPSCs) can generate integrated models of blastocysts termed blastoids upon switch to inductive medium. However, the underlying mechanisms remain obscure. Here we report that self-renewing hnPSCs spontaneously and efficiently give rise to blastoids upon three dimensional (3D) suspension culture. The spontaneous blastoids mimic early stage human blastocysts in terms of structure, size, and transcriptome characteristics and are capable of progressing to post-implantation stages. This property is conferred by the glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3) signalling inhibitor IM-12 present in 5iLAF self-renewing medium. IM-12 upregulates oxidative phosphorylation-associated genes that underly the capacity of hnPSCs to generate blastoids …

Pangenome Graphs Improve The Analysis Of Structural Variants In Rare Genetic Diseases., Cristian Groza, Carl F. Schreck, Warren A. Cheung, Emily G. Farrow, Isabelle Thiffault, Juniper Lake, William B. Rizzo, Gilad Evrony, Tom Curran, Guillaume Bourque, T Pastinen

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Rare DNA alterations that cause heritable diseases are only partially resolvable by clinical next-generation sequencing due to the difficulty of detecting structural variation (SV) in all genomic contexts. Long-read, high fidelity genome sequencing (HiFi-GS) detects SVs with increased sensitivity and enables assembling personal and graph genomes. We leverage standard reference genomes, public assemblies (n = 94) and a large collection of HiFi-GS data from a rare disease program (Genomic Answers for Kids, GA4K, n = 574 assemblies) to build a graph genome representing a unified SV callset in GA4K, identify common variation and prioritize SVs that are more likely to …

The Coming Wave By Mustafa Suleyman: A Review, Puspa Damai

Critical Humanities

A Review of Mustafa Suleyman's The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the 21^st Century’s Greatest Dilemma (NY: Crown, 2023).

How Fears Of Ai In The Classroom Reflect Anxieties About Choosing Sophistry Over True Knowledge In The American Education System, David Arellano Smith

Critical Humanities

The rise of ChatGPT has educators across the United States of America worried about scholastic integrity like never before. This paper argues, however, that underneath this initial concern lies an even greater one, that the education system in the United States so closely resembles the style of teaching used by the sophists in Ancient Greece that it has ultimately failed to cultivate critical thinking skills in America’s youth, so much so that ChatGPT has become a far greater issue than it ever needed to be. The practice of ‘teaching to the test’ and the commodification of education, which is akin …

Cognitive Reappraisal Is Associated With Lower Dysphoria Symptoms During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Nadia Armstrong, Diane Moon, Holly Bowen

SMU Journal of Undergraduate Research

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented mental health concerns generally, but particularly for young adults navigating an already fluctuating and uncertain period of their lives. While there are many factors related to mental health, it is well-documented that emotion regulation– the ability to modulate an emotion or set of emotions– and risk perception appear to be relevant to the development, maintenance, and treatment of psychopathology. The current study aimed to assess the relationship between emotion regulation processes, COVID-19 risk perception, and dysphoria symptoms during the early months of the pandemic. Between April - May 2020, 243 undergraduate participants completed the …

Acute Ingestion Of Dark Chocolate Fails To Affect Running Economy In Recreational Female Runners, Bianca J. De Lucia, Beau Kjerulf Greer, Christopher B. Taber

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology Volume 5: Issue 1, Article 1, 2024. Ingestion of dark chocolate (DC), a dietary source high in flavanols, may increase nitric oxide bioavailability. Elevating blood nitric oxide concentrations may augment metabolic efficiency by reducing the amount of oxygen or energy needed to perform a given task. Utilizing a crossover design, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of acute ingestion of DC on running economy (RE). Nineteen recreationally trained females (age: 20±1 years) volunteered for this investigation, with 16 completing all procedures (n = 16). Two-hours before RE assessment, participants consumed …

The Cetacean Sanctuary: A Sea Of Unknowns, Jason N. Bruck

Faculty Publications

Housing cetaceans in netted sea pens is not new and is common for many accredited managed- care facilities. Hence, the distinction between sanctuary and sea pen is more about the philosophies of those who run these sanctuary facilities, the effects of these philosophies on the animals’ welfare, and how proponents of these sanctuaries fund the care of these animals. Here, I consider what plans exist for cetacean sanctuaries and discuss the caveats and challenges associated with this form of activist-managed captivity. One goal for stakeholders should be to disregard the emotional connotations of the word “sanctuary” …

Gender In Children's Literature And Kindergartener's Responses To Gender In Interactive Read-Alouds, Vahide Yigit-Gencten, Mehmet Gultekin, Rabia Ozen Uyar, Filiz Aydemir

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications and Presentations

The underrepresentation of women and the perpetuation of gender stereotypes in children's literature has long been a concern. This study examined the portrayal of women in children's picture books and the potential of interactive read-alouds to promote gender equity in early childhood education, with the aim of shedding light on gender inequality. This study used critical discourse analysis, theoretically informed by Rosenblatt's transactional theory and gender schema theory, to analyse 19 books and interactive read-aloud sessions between preservice teachers and children in six preschools. The results showed that books on women's inequality are discussed in three categories: the absence of …

Ecological Assessment Of Drainage Water Input On The Water Quality Of A Coastal Estuary, Mediterranean Coast Of Egypt, Fatma A. Zaghloul, Hoda A. E. Hemaida, Hayat M. Faragallah, Ahmed A. Radwan

Blue Economy

El Mex Bay, located west of Alexandria City, is identified as a hot spot of pollution along the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. It is a large, shallow, and turbid water body of socioeconomic importance. However, El Mex Bay receives a large amount of untreated industrial wastewater, as well as agricultural runoff from different land-based sources.

A comprehensive environmental study was carried out seasonally during 2020-2021. To evaluate the effect of this discharged wastewater on the water quality of El Mex Bay.

The physicochemical parameters were measured at both the surface and near-bottom water at nine stations.

Principal component analysis indicated …

Chronic Pain Interventions: Considering Hypnotherapy As A Viable Treatment Option, Madelyn Isom

Student Works

Chronic pain is a widespread and debilitating condition, demanding advancements in current interventions. Conventional medical paradigms have traditionally treated the mind and body separately, but advancement has advocated shifts toward more integrated mind-body approaches to address holistic health. Despite prevailing skepticism and friction within patient-doctor relationships surrounding hypnosis, there is substantial support for its use as a pain management tool (Declercq, 2023; Thompson et al., 2019). This analysis explores the potential of hypnosis as a viable treatment for chronic pain, highlighting its merits and addressing current research limitations. Noteworthy findings underscore hypnosis’ distinctive influence on the physical body through mental …

Alumna Provides Support For Accountancy School, Andy Belt

University of Mississippi News

OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi's Patterson School of Accountancy plans to name two study spaces in its new home in honor of alumna Jackie Bailey's family, showing appreciation for their $100,000 gift to the school's new building fund.

Obstacle Avoidance Motion In Mobile Robotics, Yunchao Tang, Shaojun Qi, Lixue Zhu, Xianrong Zhuo, Yunqi Zhang, Fan Meng

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: The advancement of artificial intelligence technology has significantly enhanced the utilization of mobile robots in various fields such as industry, aerospace, and agriculture. The autonomous obstacle avoidance capability of these robots is crucial to the safety and efficiency of their operations in diverse settings. Path planning, a key technology in obstacle avoidance, plays an essential role in the overall performance of these systems. This paper presents a comprehensive review of path planning technology for mobile robots, categorizing the algorithms into global planning and local obstacle avoidance according to their operational requirements. Specific focus is given to the global planning …

Research On Campus Epidemic Evolution Based On Multi-Scale Modeling And Simulation In Microscopic & Microscopic View, Mingwei Hu, Wenjie Yang

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: High density of population leads to high possibility of cross-infection. It is necessary to focus on campus epidemic prevention and control. Basing on existing studies in macroscopic or microscopic view, this paper proposed a multi-scale means to analyze a short-term evolution of Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on campus and estimated the efficiency of prevention strategies. Macroscopic model was based on the susceptible-exposed-infections-recovered(SEIR) model, which exported the time curve of the number of asymptomatic patients and symptomatic patients. Microscopic model combined discrete event simulation modeling and agent-based modeling to simulate the behavior of campus students and the state evolution …

Mypathway Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 Basket Study: Pertuzumab + Trastuzumab Treatment Of A Tissue-Agnostic Cohort Of Patients With Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-Altered Advanced Solid Tumors, Christopher J Sweeney, John D Hainsworth, Ron Bose, Howard A Burris, Razelle Kurzrock, Charles Swanton, Claire F Friedman, David R Spigel, Tania Szado, Katja Schulze, Richard Price, Julia Malato, Amy A Lo, Jonathan Levy, Yong Wang, Wei Yu, Funda Meric-Bernstam

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Clinical trials frequently include multiple end points that mature at different times. The initial report, typically based on the primary end point, may be published when key planned co-primary or secondary analyses are not yet available. Clinical Trial Updates provide an opportunity to disseminate additional results from studies, published in JCO or elsewhere, for which the primary end point has already been reported.The MyPathway multiple-basket study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02091141) is evaluating targeted therapies in nonindicated tumors with relevant molecular alterations. We assessed pertuzumab + trastuzumab in a tissue-agnostic cohort of adult patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor …

Impacts Of Farrowing Pen Design, Season, And Sow Parity On Litter Performance And Piglet Mortality, Verônica Madeira Pacheco, Tami M. Brown-Bandl, Gary A. Rohrer, Rafael Vieira De Sousa, Luciane Silva Martello

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Piglet mortality during lactation is a significant concern in swine production, influenced by complex interactions involving sow, piglet, environmental, and management factors. While crushing by the sow may be the ultimate cause of piglet mortality, there are many factors influencing the outcome, including parity, thermal stress, and animal housing systems. New farrowing systems are continuously being developed; however, it is difficult for producers to make decisions without any scientific basis. This study aimed to assess the impact of different farrowing pen layouts on piglet performance, considering parity and season. A total of 546 sows and 9123 piglets were monitored across …