Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Engineering Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Life Sciences

University of Kentucky

2020

Articles 1 - 19 of 19

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Nmr Spectroscopy Analysis Reveals Differential Metabolic Responses In Arabidopsis Roots And Leaves Treated With A Cytokinesis Inhibitor, Thomas E. Wilkop, Minmin Wang, Angelo Heringer, Jaideep Singh, Florence Zakharov, Viswanathan V. Krishnan, Georgia Drakakaki Nov 2020

Nmr Spectroscopy Analysis Reveals Differential Metabolic Responses In Arabidopsis Roots And Leaves Treated With A Cytokinesis Inhibitor, Thomas E. Wilkop, Minmin Wang, Angelo Heringer, Jaideep Singh, Florence Zakharov, Viswanathan V. Krishnan, Georgia Drakakaki

Physiology Faculty Publications

In plant cytokinesis, de novo formation of a cell plate evolving into the new cell wall partitions the cytoplasm of the dividing cell. In our earlier chemical genomics studies, we identified and characterized the small molecule endosidin-7, that specifically inhibits callose deposition at the cell plate, arresting late-stage cytokinesis in arabidopsis. Endosidin-7 has emerged as a very valuable tool for dissecting this essential plant process. To gain insights regarding its mode of action and the effects of cytokinesis inhibition on the overall plant response, we investigated the effect of endosidin-7 through a nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) metabolomics approach. In …

Go to article

Classifying Reflectance Targets Under Ambient Light Conditions Using Passive Spectral Measurements, Ali Hamidisepehr, Michael P. Sama, Joseph S. Dvorak, Ole O. Wendroth, Michael D. Montross Sep 2020

Classifying Reflectance Targets Under Ambient Light Conditions Using Passive Spectral Measurements, Ali Hamidisepehr, Michael P. Sama, Joseph S. Dvorak, Ole O. Wendroth, Michael D. Montross

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Collecting remotely sensed spectral data under varying ambient light conditions is challenging. The objective of this study was to test the ability to classify grayscale targets observed by portable spectrometers under varying ambient light conditions. Two sets of spectrometers covering ultraviolet (UV), visible (VIS), and near−infrared (NIR) wavelengths were instrumented using an embedded computer. One set was uncalibrated and used to measure the raw intensity of light reflected from a target. The other set was calibrated and used to measure downwelling irradiance. Three ambient−light compensation methods that successively built upon each other were investigated. The default method used a variable …

Go to article

A Strategy To Predict The Global Warming Gas From Stock Farming —Potential Scaling Law Of The Released Methane From Livestock—, Toshiaki Nakashima, Tsuneyoshi Matsuoka, Yuji Nakamura Aug 2020

A Strategy To Predict The Global Warming Gas From Stock Farming —Potential Scaling Law Of The Released Methane From Livestock—, Toshiaki Nakashima, Tsuneyoshi Matsuoka, Yuji Nakamura

Progress in Scale Modeling, an International Journal

This work examines a scaling approach to predict the amount of methane released from the daily activity of livestock on farms. The subject animals are ruminants, i.e. having rumen or a ruminant stomach, that generates methane through digestion processes via several microbial fermentation steps. The produced methane is mixed into their breathing and released into the atmosphere. Existing data on methane released from various kinds of ruminant livestock were correlated as a power function of an animal’s weight, with an exponent near 0.92. This value is larger than a value of 0.75 which was related to the general metabolism rates …

Go to article

The Behavior Of Micro Explosive Charge Underwater Explosion Near A Rigid Wall, Kazutaka Kitagawa, Atsushi Abe Aug 2020

The Behavior Of Micro Explosive Charge Underwater Explosion Near A Rigid Wall, Kazutaka Kitagawa, Atsushi Abe

Progress in Scale Modeling, an International Journal

The interactions between an underwater explosion and underwater structures is a research topic related to understanding strong impulsive forces for disaster preparation and prevention. This study is a part of series studying the behavior of underwater explosion bubbles near different boundaries and structures because understanding the boundary phases and the pulsation of bubbles could be a useful predictive tool. Micro explosive underwater explosions were conducted by detonating a very small amount of silver azide; the time evolution and attenuation of effects from the explosion were studied. Both numerical and experimental data were acquired and compared for underwater shock waves, gas …

Go to article

Near Simultaneous Laser Scanning Confocal And Atomic Force Microscopy (Conpokal) On Live Cells, Joree N. Sandin, Surya P. Aryal, Thomas E. Wilkop, Christopher I. Richards, Martha E. Grady Aug 2020

Near Simultaneous Laser Scanning Confocal And Atomic Force Microscopy (Conpokal) On Live Cells, Joree N. Sandin, Surya P. Aryal, Thomas E. Wilkop, Christopher I. Richards, Martha E. Grady

Physiology Faculty Publications

Techniques available for micro- and nano-scale mechanical characterization have exploded in the last few decades. From further development of the scanning and transmission electron microscope, to the invention of atomic force microscopy, and advances in fluorescent imaging, there have been substantial gains in technologies that enable the study of small materials. Conpokal is a portmanteau that combines confocal microscopy with atomic force microscopy (AFM), where a probe "pokes" the surface. Although each technique is extremely effective for the qualitative and/or quantitative image collection on their own, Conpokal provides the capability to test with blended fluorescence imaging and mechanical characterization. Designed …

Go to article

Characterization And Enzyme Engineering Of A Hyperthermophilic Laccase Toward Improving Its Activity In Ionic Liquid, Joseph Craig Stevens, David W. Rodgers, Claire Dumon, Jian Shi Jul 2020

Characterization And Enzyme Engineering Of A Hyperthermophilic Laccase Toward Improving Its Activity In Ionic Liquid, Joseph Craig Stevens, David W. Rodgers, Claire Dumon, Jian Shi

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Ionic liquids (ILs) are organic salts molten at room temperature that can be used for a wide variety of applications. Many ILs, such as 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([C2C1Im][OAc]), have been shown to remove a significant fraction of the complex biopolymer lignin from biomass during pretreatment. Valorizing lignin via biological pathways (e.g., enzymes) holds promise but is limited by the low biocompatibility of many ILs used for pretreatment. The discovery of thermostable enzymes and the application of enzyme engineering techniques have yielded biocatalysts capable of withstanding high concentrations of ILs. Converting lignin from a waste product to value-added …

Go to article

Plasma And Serum Proteins Bound To Nanoceria: Insights Into Pathways By Which Nanoceria May Exert Its Beneficial And Deleterious Effects In Vivo, D. Allan Butterfield, Binghui Wang, Peng Wu, Sarita S. Hardas, Jason M. Unrine, Eric A. Grulke, Jian Cai, Jon B. Klein, William M. Pierce, Robert A. Yokel, Rukhsana Sultana Jul 2020

Plasma And Serum Proteins Bound To Nanoceria: Insights Into Pathways By Which Nanoceria May Exert Its Beneficial And Deleterious Effects In Vivo, D. Allan Butterfield, Binghui Wang, Peng Wu, Sarita S. Hardas, Jason M. Unrine, Eric A. Grulke, Jian Cai, Jon B. Klein, William M. Pierce, Robert A. Yokel, Rukhsana Sultana

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Nanoceria (CeO2, cerium oxide nanoparticles) is proposed as a therapeutic for multiple disorders. In blood, nanoceria becomes protein-coated, changing its surface properties to yield a different presentation to cells. There is little information on the interaction of nanoceria with blood proteins. The current study is the first to report the proteomics identification of plasma and serum proteins adsorbed to nanoceria. The results identify a number of plasma and serum proteins interacting with nanoceria, proteins whose normal activities regulate numerous cell functions: antioxidant/detoxification, energy regulation, lipoproteins, signaling, complement, immune function, coagulation, iron homeostasis, proteolysis, inflammation, protein folding, protease inhibition, adhesion, protein/RNA …

Go to article

Non-Destructive Technologies For Detecting Insect Infestation In Fruits And Vegetables Under Postharvest Conditions: A Critical Review, Akinbode A. Adedeji, Nader Ekramirad, Ahmed Rady, Ali Hamidisepehr, Kevin D. Donohue, Raul T. Villanueva, Chadwick A. Parrish, Mengxing Li Jul 2020

Non-Destructive Technologies For Detecting Insect Infestation In Fruits And Vegetables Under Postharvest Conditions: A Critical Review, Akinbode A. Adedeji, Nader Ekramirad, Ahmed Rady, Ali Hamidisepehr, Kevin D. Donohue, Raul T. Villanueva, Chadwick A. Parrish, Mengxing Li

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

In the last two decades, food scientists have attempted to develop new technologies that can improve the detection of insect infestation in fruits and vegetables under postharvest conditions using a multitude of non-destructive technologies. While consumers' expectations for higher nutritive and sensorial value of fresh produce has increased over time, they have also become more critical on using insecticides or synthetic chemicals to preserve food quality from insects' attacks or enhance the quality attributes of minimally processed fresh produce. In addition, the increasingly stringent quarantine measures by regulatory agencies for commercial import-export of fresh produce needs more reliable technologies for …

Go to article

Nanohybrid Membrane Synthesis With Phosphorene Nanoparticles: A Study Of The Addition, Stability And Toxicity, Joyner Eke, Philip Alexander Mills, Jacob Ryan Page, Garrison P. Wright, Olga V. Tsyusko, Isabel C. Escobar Jul 2020

Nanohybrid Membrane Synthesis With Phosphorene Nanoparticles: A Study Of The Addition, Stability And Toxicity, Joyner Eke, Philip Alexander Mills, Jacob Ryan Page, Garrison P. Wright, Olga V. Tsyusko, Isabel C. Escobar

Center of Membrane Sciences Faculty Publications

Phosphorene is a promising candidate as a membrane material additive because of its inherent photocatalytic properties and electrical conductance which can help reduce fouling and improve membrane properties. The main objective of this study was to characterize structural and morphologic changes arising from the addition of phosphorene to polymeric membranes. Here, phosphorene was physically incorporated into a blend of polysulfone (PSf) and sulfonated poly ether ether ketone (SPEEK) doping solution. Protein and dye rejection studies were carried out to determine the permeability and selectivity of the membranes. Since loss of material additives during filtration processes is a challenge, the stability …

Go to article

Β-Amyloid And Tau Drive Early Alzheimer's Disease Decline While Glucose Hypometabolism Drives Late Decline, Tyler C. Hammond, Xin Xing, Chris Wang, David Ma, Kwangsik Nho, Paul K. Crane, Fanny Elahi, David A. Ziegler, Gongbo Liang, Qiang Cheng, Lucille M. Yanckello, Nathan Jacobs, Ai-Ling Lin Jul 2020

Β-Amyloid And Tau Drive Early Alzheimer's Disease Decline While Glucose Hypometabolism Drives Late Decline, Tyler C. Hammond, Xin Xing, Chris Wang, David Ma, Kwangsik Nho, Paul K. Crane, Fanny Elahi, David A. Ziegler, Gongbo Liang, Qiang Cheng, Lucille M. Yanckello, Nathan Jacobs, Ai-Ling Lin

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Clinical trials focusing on therapeutic candidates that modify β-amyloid (Aβ) have repeatedly failed to treat Alzheimer’s disease (AD), suggesting that Aβ may not be the optimal target for treating AD. The evaluation of Aβ, tau, and neurodegenerative (A/T/N) biomarkers has been proposed for classifying AD. However, it remains unclear whether disturbances in each arm of the A/T/N framework contribute equally throughout the progression of AD. Here, using the random forest machine learning method to analyze participants in the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative dataset, we show that A/T/N biomarkers show varying importance in predicting AD development, with elevated biomarkers of Aβ …

Go to article

A Comparative Study Of Sleep And Diurnal Patterns In House Mouse (Mus Musculus) And Spiny Mouse (Acomys Cahirinus), Chanung Wang, Lauren E. Guerriero, Dillon M. Huffman, Asma'a A. Ajwad, Trae C. Brooks, Sridhar Sunderam, Ashley W. Seifert, Bruce F. O'Hara Jul 2020

A Comparative Study Of Sleep And Diurnal Patterns In House Mouse (Mus Musculus) And Spiny Mouse (Acomys Cahirinus), Chanung Wang, Lauren E. Guerriero, Dillon M. Huffman, Asma'a A. Ajwad, Trae C. Brooks, Sridhar Sunderam, Ashley W. Seifert, Bruce F. O'Hara

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Most published sleep studies use three species: human, house mouse, or Norway rat. The degree to which data from these species captures variability in mammalian sleep remains unclear. To gain insight into mammalian sleep diversity, we examined sleep architecture in the spiny basal murid rodent Acomys cahirinus. First, we used a piezoelectric system validated for Mus musculus to monitor sleep in both species. We also included wild M. musculus to control for alterations generated by laboratory-reared conditions for M. musculus. Using this comparative framework, we found that A. cahirinus, lab M. musculus, and wild M. musculus were …

Go to article

Recent Shrinkage And Fragmentation Of Bluegrass Landscape In Kentucky, Bo Tao, Yanjun Yang, Jia Yang, S. Ray Smith, James F. Fox, Alex C. Ruane, Jinze Liu, Wei Ren Jun 2020

Recent Shrinkage And Fragmentation Of Bluegrass Landscape In Kentucky, Bo Tao, Yanjun Yang, Jia Yang, S. Ray Smith, James F. Fox, Alex C. Ruane, Jinze Liu, Wei Ren

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

The Bluegrass Region is an area in north-central Kentucky with unique natural and cultural significance, which possesses some of the most fertile soils in the world. Over recent decades, land use and land cover changes have threatened the protection of the unique natural, scenic, and historic resources in this region. In this study, we applied a fragmentation model and a set of landscape metrics together with the satellite-derived USDA Cropland Data Layer to examine the shrinkage and fragmentation of grassland in the Bluegrass Region, Kentucky during 2008–2018. Our results showed that recent land use change across the Bluegrass Region is …

Go to article

Thoroughbred Racehorse Welfare Through The Lens Of ‘Social License To Operate—With An Emphasis On A U.S. Perspective, Camie Heleski, C. Jill Stowe, Julie Fiedler, Michael L. Peterson, Colleen Brady, Carissa Wickens, James N. Macleod Feb 2020

Thoroughbred Racehorse Welfare Through The Lens Of ‘Social License To Operate—With An Emphasis On A U.S. Perspective, Camie Heleski, C. Jill Stowe, Julie Fiedler, Michael L. Peterson, Colleen Brady, Carissa Wickens, James N. Macleod

Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications

This review addresses the question of whether Thoroughbred horse racing is sustainable in the context of current social values. A recently acknowledged framework, known as ‘Social License to Operate’ (SLO), provides us with a lens through which to view and assess racehorse welfare. In multiple surveys of the general public, the horse owning public, and university students, the primary topics of concern regarding Thoroughbred racing show considerable concordance: concern about catastrophic injuries—particularly as related to track surfaces, concern over the racing of two-year-olds, whip use by jockeys, drug/medication policies, and aftercare opportunities for retired Thoroughbred racehorses. Legitimacy of an industry, …

Go to article

Fluvial Sediment Organic Matter Degradation Identified With Elemental And Isotopic Fate During Laboratory Incubation, Brenden Riddle Jan 2020

Fluvial Sediment Organic Matter Degradation Identified With Elemental And Isotopic Fate During Laboratory Incubation, Brenden Riddle

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

Fluvial sediment is well recognized as a critical factor in both carbon and nutrient budgets within stream systems. However, we find very few studies of reactivity and isotope enrichment for stream water from agricultural and urban streams and the class of substrate known as fluvial sediment organic matter. This study investigated the hypothesis that fluvial sediment is subject to degradation even though many previous studies have considered this class of substrate generally inert. Therefore we qualify that elemental and isotopic signatures of fluvial sediment organic matter should be considered potentially non-conservative when used in tracer studies. Methods applied to this …

Go to article

Atv Dynamics And Pediatric Rider Safety, James T. Auxier Ii Jan 2020

Atv Dynamics And Pediatric Rider Safety, James T. Auxier Ii

Theses and Dissertations--Biomedical Engineering

It has been observed through numerous academic and governmental agency studies that pediatric all-terrain vehicle ridership carries significant risk of injury and death. While no doubt valuable to safety, the post-hoc approach employed in these studies does little to explain the why and how behind the risk factors. Furthermore, there has been no prolonged, widespread, organized, and concerted effort to reconstruct and catalog the details and causes of the large (20,000+) number of ATV-related injuries that occur each year as has been done for road-based motor vehicle accidents. This dissertation takes the opposite approach from a meta-analysis and instead examines …

Go to article

Characterization And Enzyme Engineering Of Laccases Towards Lignin Valorization In Aqueous Ionic Liquids, Joseph Stevens Jan 2020

Characterization And Enzyme Engineering Of Laccases Towards Lignin Valorization In Aqueous Ionic Liquids, Joseph Stevens

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Lignin is one of the most abundant polymers found in nature, making up 15 – 40% of the weight of terrestrial biomass. Due to the structural and monomeric heterogeneity of lignin, it is recalcitrant thermochemical and biological valorization methods. Converting lignin to value-added products via sustainable and cost-effective pathways will reduce waste and add value to future cellulosic biorefineries. Biological methods for lignin valorization (e.g. lignin degrading enzymes or microbes) is limited by low lignin solubility in biocompatible solvents, resulting in low product yield. Recent reports on biocatalysts for lignin valorization have focused on the lignolytic multicopper oxidase laccase, …

Go to article

Physicochemical Characterization, Structural Determination, And Molecular Dynamic Modeling Of Proso Millet Proteins For Enhanced Food Functionality, Felix Akharume Jan 2020

Physicochemical Characterization, Structural Determination, And Molecular Dynamic Modeling Of Proso Millet Proteins For Enhanced Food Functionality, Felix Akharume

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

More than one-third of Americans today incorporate plant-based protein into their diet and about 40% believed that plant-based protein is healthier than animal protein, especially Millennials. The increasing global demand for plant-based proteins driven by the high cost of animal proteins, consumers’ desire for lean protein, vegetarianism, and the need for more sustainable green protein products have necessitated research into alternate emerging and underutilized sources of protein to complement or supplement the major plant protein in the market- soy, pea, and gluten. Therefore, this dissertation is focused on the valorization of the proteins in proso millet. Specifically, this work focused …

Go to article

Ecosystem Of Bagged Grain Stored Under Naturally Ventilated Warehouse: Analysis And Modelling, Michael Ayodele Omodara Jan 2020

Ecosystem Of Bagged Grain Stored Under Naturally Ventilated Warehouse: Analysis And Modelling, Michael Ayodele Omodara

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Grain in Africa and indeed most developing parts of the world are stored in polypropylene or jute bags arranged in stacks of varied dimensions in naturally ventilated warehouses. This practice is, however, associated with high postharvest losses due to poor temperature and moisture management during storage. This constitutes a major economic and food security challenge in these countries. Therefore, this study characterizes changes in moisture content and temperature occurring in a stack of bagged corn by determining the permeability of bag materials that influence moisture transfer and developing a mathematical model of heat and mass transfer which incorporates the unique …

Go to article

Correlating The Physicochemical Properties Of Magnesium Stearate With Tablet Dissolution And Lubrication, Julie L. Calahan Jan 2020

Correlating The Physicochemical Properties Of Magnesium Stearate With Tablet Dissolution And Lubrication, Julie L. Calahan

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacy

Magnesium stearate (MgSt) is the most commonly used pharmaceutical excipient and is present in over half the tablet formulations on the market. In spite of its popularity as an effective lubricant, it has been repeatedly recognized that there is significant variability between MgSt samples, which can cause inconsistent lubrication between batches of MgSt. The hypothesis of this research is that the batch-to-batch variability in tablet lubrication and dissolution observed in tablet formulations containing different MgSt samples can be correlated with differences in MgSt physicochemical properties (fatty acid salt composition, crystal hydrate form, particle size and surface area). Developing correlations between …

Go to article