Digital Commons Network^™

Biophysical Insight Into The Sars-Cov2 Spike–Ace2 Interaction And Its Modulation By Hepcidin Through A Multifaceted Computational Approach, Hamid Hadi-Alijanvand, Luisa Di Paola, Guang Hu, David M. Leitner, Gennady M. Verkhivker, Peixin Sun, Humanath Poudel, Alessandro Giuliani

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

At the center of the SARS-CoV2 infection, the spike protein and its interaction with the human receptor ACE2 play a central role in the molecular machinery of SARS-CoV2 infection of human cells. Vaccine therapies are a valuable barrier to the worst effects of the virus and to its diffusion, but the need of purposed drugs is emerging as a core target of the fight against COVID19. In this respect, the repurposing of drugs has already led to discovery of drugs thought to reduce the effects of the cytokine storm, but still a drug targeting the spike protein, in the infection …

Determinants Of Exclusive Breastfeeding And Mixed Feeding Among Mothers Of Infants In Dubai And Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, Haleama Al Sabbah, Enas A. Assaf, Zainab Taha, Radwan Qasrawi, Hadia Radwan

All Works

Breastfeeding (BF) is considered the ultimate method of infant feeding for at least the first 6 months of life. Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is one of the most effective interventions to improve child survival. The main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and duration of exclusive breastfeeding and the associated factors among women in Dubai and Sharjah, UAE. A cross-sectional study was conducted in four hospitals and four healthcare centers in Dubai and Sharjah between September 2017 and December 2017. Hospitals and centers are governmental and provide maternal and child health services. A convenience sample of 858 Arab …

Biliverdin Reductase Bridges Focal Adhesion Kinase To Src To Modulate Synaptic Signaling, Chirag Vasavda, Evan R Semenza, Jason Liew, Ruchita Kothari, Ryan S Dhindsa, Shruthi Shanmukha, Anthony Lin, Robert Tokhunts, Cristina Ricco, Adele M Snowman, Lauren Albacarys, Francesco Pastore, Cristian Ripoli, Claudio Grassi, Eugenio Barone, Michael D Kornberg, Xinzhong Dong, Bindu D Paul, Solomon H Snyder

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Synapses connect discrete neurons into vast networks that send, receive, and encode diverse forms of information. Synaptic function and plasticity—the neuronal process of adapting to diverse and variable inputs—depend on the dynamic nature of synaptic molecular components, which is mediated in part by cell adhesion signaling pathways. Here, we found that the enzyme biliverdin reductase (BVR) physically links together key focal adhesion signaling molecules at the synapse. BVR-null (BVR−/−) mice exhibited substantial deficits in learning and memory on neurocognitive tests, and hippocampal slices in which BVR was postsynaptically depleted showed deficits in electrophysiological responses to stimuli. …

Interview With The Tran And Yen Tran (Saigon Noodles), The Tran, Yen Tran, Alyssa Powell

Pacific Food Empires

The Tran is the owner of a Vietnamese restaurant in Salinas, California, called Saigon Noodles, located just a short distance away from the Northridge Mall. The Tran was born in Vietnam near the capital of Saigon, now called Ho Chi Min City, and later immigrated to the United States as a young adult. Growing up, The always ate Vietnamese food, and his favorite food was Vietnamese noodle soup, also called pho. About five years ago, in 2018, The opened Saigon Noodles with his brother and his wife, Yen Tran, who continues to help him at the restaurant. They named their …

Evaluation Of Heat Inactivation Of Human Norovirus In Freshwater Clams Using Human Intestinal Enteroids, Tsuyoshi Hayashi, Yoko Yamaoka, Atsushi Ito, Takashi Kamaishi, Ryuichi Sugiyama, Mary K Estes, Masamichi Muramatsu, Kosuke Murakami

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Foodborne disease attributed to the consumption of shellfish contaminated with human norovirus (HuNoV) is one of many global health concerns. Our study aimed to determine the conditions of the heat-inactivation of HuNoV in freshwater clams (Corbicula japonica) using a recently developed HuNoV cultivation system employing stem-cell derived human intestinal enteroids (HIEs). We first measured the internal temperature of the clam tissue in a water bath during boiling at 90 °C and found that approximately 2 min are required for the tissue to reach 90 °C. Next, GII.4 HuNoV was spiked into the center of the clam tissue, followed …

The Value Of Social Capital For The Success Of Spac Ipos, R Haniffa, M Hudaib, T Nawaz

Plymouth Business School

This paper explores the role of social capital in contributing to the success of a new breed of organizations known as ‘blank check companies’ or special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) that are set up solely to target and acquire listed companies as a fast-track route to gain listing status in the stock market. The paper is a case study of Pershing Square Holdings Ltd., St. Peter Port, UK (PSH), which launched SPAC IPOs (Initial Public Offerings), Pershing Square Tontine Holdings Ltd., New York, NY, USA (PSTH), which succeeded in raising the largest capital from influential investors in 2020. Social capital …

Ezh2 Engages Tgfβ Signaling To Promote Breast Cancer Bone Metastasis Via Integrin Β1-Fak Activation, Lin Zhang, Jingkun Qu, Yutao Qi, Yimin Duan, Yu-Wen Huang, Zhifen Zhou, Ping Li, Jun Yao, Beibei Huang, Shuxing Zhang, Dihua Yu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Bone metastases occur in 50-70% of patients with late-stage breast cancers and effective therapies are needed. The expression of enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) is correlated with breast cancer metastasis, but its function in bone metastasis hasn't been well-explored. Here we report that EZH2 promotes osteolytic metastasis of breast cancer through regulating transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) signaling. EZH2 induces cancer cell proliferation and osteoclast maturation, whereas EZH2 knockdown decreases bone metastasis incidence and outgrowth in vivo. Mechanistically, EZH2 transcriptionally increases ITGB1, which encodes for integrin β1. Integrin β1 activates focal adhesion kinase (FAK), which phosphorylates TGFβ receptor type …

Identification Of Biomarkers Of Response To Preoperative Talazoparib Monotherapy In Treatment Naïve Gbrca+ Breast Cancers, Xuan Liu, Zhongqi Ge, Fei Yang, Alejandro Contreras, Sanghoon Lee, Jason B White, Yiling Lu, Marilyne Labrie, Banu K Arun, Stacy L Moulder, Gordon B Mills, Helen Piwnica-Worms, Jennifer K Litton, Jeffrey T Chang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Germline mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 exist in ~2-7% of breast cancer patients, which has led to the approval of PARP inhibitors in the advanced setting. We have previously reported a phase II neoadjuvant trial of single agent talazoparib for patients with germline BRCA pathogenic variants with a pathologic complete response (pCR) rate of 53%. As nearly half of the patients treated did not have pCR, better strategies are needed to overcome treatment resistance. To this end, we conducted multi-omic analysis of 13 treatment naïve breast cancer tumors from patients that went on to receive single-agent neoadjuvant talazoparib. We looked …

Bnsf Strategic Analysis, Bella Tran

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC. (BNSF), is an American railroad that is concentrated in the western two-thirds of the U.S. This railroad has a history stretching back over a century that has led the company to now function as one of the leading Class I Railroad with over 30,000 employees and over 30,000 miles of laid track. Two methods of analysis were used to examine the competitive environment in which BNSF operates. The first is the PESTEL analysis which examines the macro-environment. The second is Porter’s Five Forces which analyzes the competitive environment of an industry. The analyses concluded that …

A Strategic Audit Of Seaworld, Thomas Wolfe

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

A strategic audit of SeaWorld

Data Management In Web Applications To Balance Performance And Security, Caleb Marcoux

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

As web applications become increasingly popular, many are running several calculations and data processing on the client machine, it is important to consider data management practices on the front-end of these web applications. Typically, some data from the server is stored in the client's memory or hard disk. How much data should be stored for how long, as well as many other considerations, influence the time and space performance of the web application, as well as its security. In this thesis, we explore several challenges, solutions, and design patterns in web application data management through the lens of a senior …

Mesosphere And Lower Thermosphere Changes Associated With The 2 July 2019 Total Eclipse In South America Over The Andes Lidar Observatory, Cerro Pachon, Chile, A. Liu, F. Vargas, G. Swenson, C. Segura, P. Vega, J. Fuentes, D. Pautet, M. Taylor, Y. Zhao, Y. Morton, H. Bourne

Publications

This article presents the results of a week of observations around the 2 July 2019, total Chilean eclipse. The eclipse occurred between 19:22 and 21:46 UTC, with complete sun disc obscuration at 20:38–20:40 UTC (16:38–16:40 LT) over the Andes Lidar Observatory (ALO) at (30.3°S, 70.7°W). Observations were carried out using ALO instrumentation with the goal to observe possible eclipse-induced effects on the mesosphere and lower thermosphere region (MLT; 75–105 km altitude). To complement our data set, we have also utilized TIMED/SABER temperatures and ionosonde electron density measurements taken at the University of La Serena's Juan Soldado Observatory. Observed events include …

Improved Multichannel Electromyograph Using Off-The-Shelf Components For Education And Research, Enrico M. Staderini, Stefano Mugnaini, Harish Kambampati, Andrea Magrini, Sandro Gentili

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

No abstract provided.

The Rise Of Neo-Fascist Populism And Islamophobia In The West, Mohamed Tawfiq Said Tabib

Dissertations and Theses

Trumpism can be defined as racist right-wing neo-fascist populism and nativism combined with a cult of personality. There is very little distinction between neo-fascists, the alt-right, and far-right groups. All can be identified by their socio-political philosophy and vehement beliefs of racial supremacy, ultranationalism, populism, xenophobia, nativism, and anti-immigrant sentiment, as well as being opposed to liberal Western democracy and its values. This thesis explores why there has been a popular international resurgence of far-right neo-fascist movements throughout the European Union and the United States and examines the impact on inter-group social and political relations with those of different racial …

Concerted Type I Interferon Signaling In Microglia And Neural Cells Promotes Memory Impairment Associated With Amyloid Β Plaques, Ethan R Roy, Gabriel Chiu, Sanming Li, Nicholas E Propson, Rupa Kanchi, Baiping Wang, Cristian Coarfa, Hui Zheng, Wei Cao

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The principal signals that drive memory and cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease (AD) remain elusive. Here, we revealed brain-wide cellular reactions to type I interferon (IFN-I), an innate immune cytokine aberrantly elicited by amyloid β plaques, and examined their role in cognition and neuropathology relevant to AD in a murine amyloidosis model. Using a fate-mapping reporter system to track cellular responses to IFN-I, we detected robust, Aβ-pathology-dependent IFN-I activation in microglia and other cell types. Long-term blockade of IFN-I receptor (IFNAR) rescued both memory and synaptic deficits and resulted in reduced microgliosis, inflammation, and neuritic pathology. Microglia-specific Ifnar1 deletion attenuated …

Dynamic Habitat Models Reflect Interannual Movement Of Cetaceans Within The California Current Ecosystem, Elizabeth A. Becker, Karin A. Forney, David L. Miller, Jay Barlow, Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho, R. Jorge Urbán, Jeff E. Moore

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The distribution of wide-ranging cetacean species often cross national or jurisdictional boundaries, which creates challenges for monitoring populations and managing anthropogenic impacts, especially if data are only available for a portion of the species’ range. Many species found off the U.S. West Coast are known to have continuous distributions into Mexican waters, with highly variable abundance within the U.S. portion of their range. This has contributed to annual variability in design-based abundance estimates from systematic shipboard surveys off the U.S. West Coast, particularly for the abundance of warm temperate species such as striped dolphin, Stenella coeruleoalba, which increases off California …

Creating Positive Lasting Changes With Utah Farmers Markets: Usda Farmers Market Promotion Program Impact Report 2018-2022, Roslynn Mccann, Regan Emmons, Lacee Jimenez, Kelsey Hall, Jaclyn Pace, Celina Wille, Carrie Durward, Mateja R. Savoie-Roskos

All Current Publications

This report identifies ways that farmers markets and direct marketing farmers can address and connect low-income and ethnic-minority populations to healthy food in Utah. It outlines three objectives and highlights program impacts.

Places To Live: A Multidisciplinary Approach To Modern Maya Houses In Yucatan, Mexico, Virginia J. Ochoa-Winemiller

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In 1938, Robert C. Wauchope’s Modern Maya Houses provided the first detailed description of traditional rural housing for the Maya area. Until today, no research has attempted to test Wauchope’s notion of cultural continuity in Maya domestic architecture from the prehistoric past up to the time of his pioneering study. By examining data from three municipios located in the state of Yucatan, Mexico, I compared contemporary information collected during visits to residential areas with that published by Wauchope in 1938. An integrated approach to data gathering and analysis, that is, a combination of interviews, questionnaires, archaeological survey, and geographic information …

Nasally Delivered Interferon-Λ Protects Mice Against Infection By Sars-Cov-2 Variants Including Omicron, Zhenlu Chong, Courtney E Karl, Peter J Halfmann, Yoshihiro Kawaoka, Emma S Winkler, Shamus P Keeler, Michael J Holtzman, Jinsheng Yu, Michael S Diamond

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Although vaccines and monoclonal antibody countermeasures have reduced the morbidity and mortality associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, variants with constellations of mutations in the spike gene jeopardize their efficacy. Accordingly, antiviral interventions that are resistant to further virus evolution are needed. The host-derived cytokine interferon lambda (IFN-λ) has been proposed as a possible treatment based on studies in human coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Here, we show that IFN-λ protects against SARS-CoV-2 B.1.351 (Beta) and B.1.1.529 (Omicron) variants in three strains of conventional and human ACE2 transgenic mice. Prophylaxis or therapy with nasally delivered IFN-λ2 limits …

Mortality After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement For Aortic Stenosis Among Patients With Malignancy: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Muhammad U Siddiqui, Omar Yacob, Joey Junarta, Ahmed K Pasha, Farouk Mookadam, Mamas A Mamas, D L Fischman

Division of Internal Medicine Faculty Papers & Presentations

Background: With advancements in cancer treatment, the life expectancy of oncology patients has improved. Thus, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) may be considered as a feasible option for oncology patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis (AS). We aim to evaluate the difference in short- and long-term all-cause mortality in cancer and non-cancer patients treated with TAVR for severe AS.

Methods: Medline, PubMed, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for relevant studies. Patients with cancer who underwent treatment with TAVR for severe AS were included and compared to an identical population without cancer. The primary endpoints were short- …

Single-Cell Profiling Of Human Dura And Meningioma Reveals Cellular Meningeal Landscape And Insights Into Meningioma Immune Response, Anthony Z Wang, Jay A Bowman-Kirigin, Rupen Desai, Liang-I Kang, Pujan R Patel, Bhuvic Patel, Saad M Khan, Diane Bender, M Caleb Marlin, Jingxian Liu, Joshua W Osbun, Eric C Leuthardt, Michael R Chicoine, Ralph G Dacey, Gregory J Zipfel, Albert H Kim, David G Denardo, Allegra A Petti, Gavin P Dunn

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Recent investigations of the meninges have highlighted the importance of the dura layer in central nervous system immune surveillance beyond a purely structural role. However, our understanding of the meninges largely stems from the use of pre-clinical models rather than human samples.

METHODS: Single-cell RNA sequencing of seven non-tumor-associated human dura samples and six primary meningioma tumor samples (4 matched and 2 non-matched) was performed. Cell type identities, gene expression profiles, and T cell receptor expression were analyzed. Copy number variant (CNV) analysis was performed to identify putative tumor cells and analyze intratumoral CNV heterogeneity. Immunohistochemistry and imaging mass …

A Genome-Wide Crispr-Cas9 Knockout Screen Identifies Essential And Growth-Restricting Genes In Human Trophoblast Stem Cells, Chen Dong, Shuhua Fu, Rowan M Karvas, Brian Chew, Laura A Fischer, Xiaoyun Xing, Jessica K Harrison, Pooja Popli, Ramakrishna Kommagani, Ting Wang, Bo Zhang, Thorold W Theunissen

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The recent derivation of human trophoblast stem cells (hTSCs) provides a scalable in vitro model system of human placental development, but the molecular regulators of hTSC identity have not been systematically explored thus far. Here, we utilize a genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screen to comprehensively identify essential and growth-restricting genes in hTSCs. By cross-referencing our data to those from similar genetic screens performed in other cell types, as well as gene expression data from early human embryos, we define hTSC-specific and -enriched regulators. These include both well-established and previously uncharacterized trophoblast regulators, such as ARID3A, GATA2, and TEAD1 (essential), and GCM1, …

Two New High Andean Species Of Liodessus Diving Beetles From Venezuela (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae, Bidessini), Michael Balke, David T. Bilton, Mauricio García, Ángel L. Viloria, Adrián Villastrigo, Lars Hendrich

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Two new species of the diving beetle genus Liodessus Guignot, 1939 are described from high mountain regions in Venezuela: Liodessus meridensissp. nov. from Laguna de Mucabají, Mérida and L. venezuelensissp. nov. from Laguna de Mucabají and below Pico Bolívar, Mérida. We delineate the species using morphological characters such as male genital structure and beetle size, shape and color. Mitochondrial cox1 sequence data provided an additional character source. Both new species occur at altitudes above 3,500 m and were collected in shallow water at the edge of high-altitude ponds.

Novel Method For Capturing, Storing, And Exchanging Security Key Performance Indicator (Kpi) Data For 5g Network Slicing, Prapanch Ramamoorthy, Akshay Dubey, Vijay Venugopal, Selina Sun

Defensive Publications Series

Network slicing is a key capability provided to Fifth Generation (5G) mobile network operators. The industry has defined many predefined network slice types that depend on various key performance indicators (KPIs) such as bandwidth, throughput, and latency. However, one missing component, in terms of KPIs for defining network slices, is security, as there is currently no mechanism to translate network security or segmentation of traffic into a 5G core network or Radio Access Network (RAN). Presented herein are techniques to enable micro segmentation of a 5G network by using security as a KPI. The techniques provided herein can be achieved …

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Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

No abstract provided.

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Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Videos of each lecture from the series “The Work of Hugh W. Nibley” are now available for viewing on the Maxwell Institute website. Speakers include Daniel C. Peterson, Richard L. Bushman, Robert L. Millet, Terry B. Ball, Ann Madsen, Eric D. Huntsman, Marilyn Arnold, Michael D. Rhodes, C. Wilfred Griggs, Alex Nibley, Zina Nibley Peterson, and William A. (Bert) Wilson. Bushman’s video begins with an introduction to the series and an overview of Nibley’s work by Paul Y. Hoskisson. The lectures celebrated the 100th anniversary of Nibley’s birth (27 March 1910).

Byu Hosts Papyrology Summer Institute, Lincoln Blumell

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

This past summer Brigham Young University, in collaboration with the American Society of Papyrologists (ASP), hosted the Seventh International Papyrology Summer Institute (June 20– July 29, 2011). The ASP began hosting these institutes in 2003 and plans to continue through 2015. The objective of the seminar is to teach participants how to read and use papyri and to provide them with the kind of practical experience that would enable them to make productive use of papyrus texts in their own research. Fields of study include Classics, ancient history, Egyptology, archaeology, ancient religions, and biblical studies.

The Perspective Of History, D. Morgan Davis

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

The perspective of history can be sobering, even humbling. Not so recently, two men from the same faith tradition but different perspectives joined in a debate about whether and how a man whom they both acknowledged as a prophet could have seen what he said he saw and be who he claimed to be. As it unfolded, their discussion touched upon many aspects of what it means to have faith in such a person and in his revelations. The role of reason in relation to revelation, the relevance of history to faith, and the connection of language to perception were …

New Mormon Studies Review A Scholarly Feast

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Emerging from a 22-year tradition of penetrating scholarly reviews and essays is the new Mormon Studies Review. Formerly titled The FARMS Review, it sports a sleeker design and larger format and promises to survey a broader spectrum of topics. In his editor’s introduction, Daniel C. Peterson reprises the Review’s history and attainments during the past two decades. He notes how it will continue to defend LDS scripture and faith claims through the kind of “vigorous and learned discourse” tempered with satire and wit that has set it apart from the beginning.

Cracking The Code On Melting Glaciers, Deanna Conklin

COD Library Student Research and Award Symposium

Cracking the Code on Melting Glaciers is about looking beyond the causes, effects, and solutions to the melting glaciers. This paper focuses more on how the glacial melt impacts arctic animals and their habitats, human life, and the surrounding environment we live in today. While we still have time to slow the rate at which these glaciers are melting, it's important to begin rebuilding our world, and our Earth to the way it once was. So that we can continue to grow, live, thrive, and sustain all living beings, without the worry of our Earth deteriorating before our eyes.

Faculty …