Life Sciences Commons^™

The E2f4 Prognostic Signature Predicts Pathological Response To Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy In Breast Cancer Patients, Kenneth M. K. Mark, Frederick S. Varn, Matthew H. Ung, Feng Qian, Chao Cheng

Dartmouth Scholarship

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is a key component of breast cancer treatment regimens and pathologic complete response to this therapy varies among patients. This is presumably due to differences in the molecular mechanisms that underlie each tumor’s disease pathology. Developing genomic clinical assays that accurately categorize responders from non-responders can provide patients with the most effective therapy for their individual disease. We applied our previously developed E2F4 genomic signature to predict neoadjuvant chemotherapy response in breast cancer. E2F4 individual regulatory activity scores were calculated for 1129 patient samples across 5 independent breast cancer neoadjuvant chemotherapy datasets. Accuracy of the E2F4 signature in …

Functional Characterization Of A Multi-Cancer Risk Locus On Chr5p15.33 Reveals Regulation Of Tert By Znf148, Jun Fang, Jinping Jia, Matthew Makowski, Mai Xu, Zhaoming Wang, Tongwu Zhang, Jason W. Hoskins, Jiyeon Choi, Younghun Han, Mingfeng Zhang, Janelle Thomas, Michael Kovacs, Irene Collins, Marta Dzyadyk, Abbey Thompson, Maura O'Neill, Sudipto Das, Qi Lan, Roelof Koster, Panscan Consortium, Tricl Consortium, Genomel Consortium, Rachael S. Stolzenberg-Solomon, Peter Kraft, Brian M. Wolpin, Pascal W.T.C Jansen, Sara Olson, Katherine A. Mcglynn, Peter A. Kanetsky, Nilanjan Chatterjee, Jennifer H. Barrett, Alison M. Dunning, John C. Taylor, Julia A. Newton-Bishop, D. Timothy Bishop, Thorkell Andresson, Gloria M. Peterson, Christopher I. Amos

Dartmouth Scholarship

Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have mapped multiple independent cancer susceptibility loci to chr5p15.33. Here, we show that fine-mapping of pancreatic and testicular cancer GWAS within one of these loci (Region 2 in CLPTM1L ) focuses the signal to nine highly correlated SNPs. Of these, rs36115365-C associated with increased pancreatic and testicular but decreased lung cancer and melanoma risk, and exhibited preferred protein-binding and enhanced regulatory activity. Transcriptional gene silencing of this regulatory element repressed TERT expression in an allele-specific manner. Proteomic analysis identifies allele-preferred binding of Zinc finger protein 148 (ZNF148) to rs36115365- C, further supported by binding of …

Risc-Interacting Clearing 3’- 5’ Exoribonucleases (Rices) Degrade Uridylated Cleavage Fragments To Maintain Functional Risc In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Zhonghui Zhang, Fuqu Hu, Min Woo Sung, Chang Shu, Claudia Castillo-González, Hisashi Koiwa, Guiliang Tang, Martin Dickman, Pingwei Li, Xiuren Zhang

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) is composed of miRNAs and AGO proteins. AGOs use miRNAs as guides to slice target mRNAs to produce truncated 5’ and 3’ RNA fragments. The 5’ cleaved RNA fragments are marked with uridylation for degradation. Here, we identified novel cofactors of Arabidopsis AGOs, named RICE1 and RICE2. RICE proteins specifically degraded single-strand (ss) RNAs in vitro; but neither miRNAs nor miRNA*s in vivo. RICE1 exhibited a DnaQ-like exonuclease fold and formed a homohexamer with the active sites located at the interfaces between RICE1 subunits. Notably, ectopic expression of catalytically-inactive RICE1 not only significantly reduced miRNA levels; …

First Record Of Centruroides Alayoni Armas, 1999 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) From Haiti, Greater Antilles, Luis F. De Armas

Euscorpius

Centruroides haitiensis Lourenço, 2016, from Grande Cayemite, Haiti, is regarded as a junior synonym of Centruroides alayoni Armas, 1999, previously known from southern Pedernales Province (215 km east of Grande Cayemite), Dominican Republic. Consequently, C. alayoni is herein recorded for the first time from Haiti. The list of the Haitian species of the genus Centruroides Marx, 1890 is given.

Major Neurotransmitters In The Brain, Amy S. Yu '17

Independent Study

Arguably the most important and powerful organ in the human body, the brain controls virtually everything one does. From chewing gum to running a marathon, the brain dictates one’s physical responses and actions, while also mediating learning, memory, and emotions. These functions are all regulated by neurotransmitter activity in the brain. While the brain works in complex ways, recent discoveries about neurotransmitters allow us to better understand the underlying mechanisms of brain operation. Each neurotransmitter fulfills a distinct role, but they rely on one another to perform certain activities in the brain as well. The purpose of this review is …

Comparison Of Feather Pigments In Red-Winged Blackbirds (Agelaius Phoenicus) Between Historical And Modern Samples, Genevieve Nuttall

University Scholar Projects

Coloration is vital to birds; it is involved in mating, territorial display, communication, camouflage, and predation. Birds rely on their environment for the raw materials necessary to make most colors present in their feathers. As a result, habitat quality can have lifetime fitness consequences through the color pathway. Widescale habitat change has affected the quality of habitats accessible to birds worldwide. Consequently, the availability of pigment-containing resources within many altered habitats has shifted, leading to modification in the coloration of some birds’ feathers. I hypothesized that the red pigmentation in the feather shoulders, or epaulets, of red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius …

Place Events 2016-2017, Place

PLACE Historical Documents

This document describes PLACE events at Linfield College for 2016-2017.

Guide To The Byard Collection, Linfield College Archives

Linfield Archives Finding Aids

This collection is comprised of legal documents, wine labels and bottles, and other business materials from Don Byard’s time as owner and co-owner of Eola Hills Vineyard and Hidden Springs Winery.

Effect Of Postprandial Walking On The Glycemic Effect Of A Meal: Type I Diabetes, Samantha L. Hinojosa

Theses & Dissertations

This study was conducted to determine if 15 minutes of postprandial light walking has an effect on the glycemic response to a Boost® beverage in individuals with type 1 diabetes. Seven participants, 22.3 + 4.3 yrs, with type 1 diabetes completed the two days of data collection. On day 1, participants measured baseline fasting blood glucose (BG) with a glucometer, consumed a Boost® beverage, and sat quietly, repeating BG measurements 15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 minute. On day 2, participants repeated the protocol, but walked 15 minutes at a light pace (50-60% max HR) immediately after beverage consumption. The …

Preliminary Analyses Of The Diversity Of Soil Microbes On The Campus Of The University Of The Incarnate Word, Viridiana Wheeler

Theses & Dissertations

Soil samples were examined outside Bonilla Science Hall on the campus of the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, at three time points between the calendar years 2016 and 2017. These time points correspond to Fall, Winter, and Spring. Samples were taken at two topsoil depths, 1 cm and 4 cm, to determine if there is a difference in bacterial load or distribution across the time frame examined.

Soil samples were diluted and plated on nutrient agar plates in order to identify unique colony morphologies. A total of 132 distinct morphological isolates were identified and sequenced. Of …

Do Halogenated Natural Products Bioaccumulate In Narragansett Bay?, Christine Gardiner, Anna Robuck, Rainer Lohmann

Senior Honors Projects

In recent decades, a new family of chemical compounds has begun to garner research attention—halogenated natural products, or HNPs. These chemicals are produced by algae, bacteria, worms, and sponges, and many are structurally similar to harmful manmade compounds, such as polychlorinated diphenyls (PCBs), or brominated flame retardants (PBDEs), which are known to cause cancer, reproduction issues, endocrine disruption, and death. While HNPs are produced naturally, they are still considered pollutants because of their bioaccumulative behavior and apparent toxicity.

Currently, there is limited research on their presence and effects, with a few studies from Europe and the Pacific highlighting their importance …

Native Science In Practice: Cases For Broadening Understanding And Engagement Of Science In Education As A Plea For Future Generations, G. Sue Kasun, Dave López

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

We make a departure from the U.S.’s traditional “science education” in recognition of several stark realities—from the genocidal practices that have eliminated so many indigenous populations in the U.S. to the problems our planet faces, such dire environmental degradation. We are faced daily with a dissonance of knowing our planet needs our respect and care while at the same time bearing witness to “modern” lifestyles based in property rights and individualism. We engage Native science—which encapsulates all of Western science and expands upon it by including the spiritual and emotional realms as well as the physical and mental dimensions of …

Avs Corner, May 2017, Peyton Voirin, Leslie Wood, Kim Hill, Johanna Johnson, Annie Kate Herlong

AVS Corner

No abstract provided.

Transcriptomic Effects Of Dispersed Oil In A Non-Model Decapod Crustacean, Hernan Vazquez-Miranda, Brent Thoma, Juliet Wong, Darryl Felder, Keith A. Crandall, Heather Bracken-Grissom

Computational Biology Institute

Background. Oil spills are major environmental disasters. Dispersants help control spills, as they emulsify oil into droplets to speed bioremediation. Although dispersant toxicity is controversial, the genetic consequences and damages of dispersed oil exposure are poorly understood. We used RNA-seq to measure gene expression of flatback mudcrabs (Eurypanopeus depressus, Decapoda, Brachyura, Panopeidae) exposed to dispersed oil.

Methods. Our experimental design included two control types, oil-only, and oil-dispersant treatments with three replicates each. We prepared 100 base pair-ended libraries from total RNA and sequenced them in one Illumina HiSeq2000 lane. We assembled a reference transcriptome with all replicates per treatment, …

Assessment Of Functional Movement Screening™ By Assessors Of Three Different Skill Levels, Mackenzie Cole, Marissa Mccollister, Neil Greier, Siobhan Fagan, Andrew W. Froehle, Nicholas Curry, Jason Bradford, Brad Muse, Scott Bruce

School of Health and Exercise Sciences Faculty Publications

• The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) is a series of 7 physical tests

• FMS screens fundamental movement patterns that require mobility, stability, and motor control

• FMS is comprised of deep squat (DS), hurdle step (HS), in-line lunge (IL), shoulder mobility (ShM), active straight leg raise (ASLR), trunk stability push-up (TSP), and rotary stability (RS) (Figures 1-4)

• Sports medicine clinicians use FMS to assess for dysfunctional movement patterns

• FMS is not intended to be a diagnostic tool

• The inter-rater reliability for FMS has values ranging from 0.37 to .95

• The intra-rater reliability for FMS has …

A Framework For Evaluating And Enhancing Resilience Integration In Conservation Policy: The Case Of Massachusetts, Kyle Pilkington

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper develops a framework for evaluating conservation policy from the perspective of integrating resilience, using Massachusetts as a case study. After an intensive literature review on the topics of resilience and conservation, five resilience-enhancing attributes were identified: biodiversity, stakeholder engagement, acknowledgement of climate change, multiple species or species interaction focus and ecosystem or environment health. The framework ranks the policies with respect to the effectiveness of following the resilience-enhancing attributes. Three Massachusetts-based conservation policies, Massachusetts Endangered Species Act (MESA), State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) and MassWildlife Habitat Management Grant Program (MHMGP), were chosen to demonstrate the evaluative capacity of …

Atole De Maíz Azul: Building Climate-Change Resilience With Local Knowledge/Food Sovereignty In Northern New Mexico, Katherine C.R. Dixon

Sustainability and Social Justice

The impacts of climate change in Northern New Mexico will cause a variation in seasonal precipitation and increased drought conditions. Northern New Mexico is home to numerous indigenous and rural-agricultural communities who rely on these water resources for subsistence and cultural practices. They are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

This paper investigates the impacts of climate change to Northern New Mexico. It examines the role of participatory methods and local knowledge in building community resilience. This paper is informed primarily through secondary research, and also draws upon a series of personalized interviews from Northern New …

The Effect Of Blood Flow Restriction Training With The Quadmill On Peak Isometric Knee Extensor Strength 2017, Brandon Schrom

Master's Theses

Traditional training methodologies that improve muscular strength use loads as low as 75% of a person’s one-repetition maximum and as high as 110% of a person’s one repetition maximum. With these high loads comes a greater risk for injury. Blood flow restriction (BFR) training is a potential solution to this problem. BFR training originated in Japan, where it was called Kaatsu. With this method of training, a trainee ties a tourniquet around the proximal end of a limb to reduce blood flow to and from the limb’s muscles. The purpose of this study was to determine whether three-weeks of BFR …

Imposed Versus Affect-Based Resistance Training Intensities On Adherence, Session Affect, Session Perceived Exertion, And Intrinsic Motivation Measures During A Six-Week Program In Novice Female Lifters 2017, Ryan Joseph Brennan

Master's Theses

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that individuals perform resistance training exercises at a specific intensity based on external load (percentage of one repetition maximum; %1RM). However, only 29.6% of adults in 2013 reported strength training two or more times per week. Furthermore, individuals lifting at recommended percentages vary in their pleasure and displeasure. Self-selected exercise seems to promote positive affective responses, in part, due to the perceived autonomy. The effects of regulating exercise intensity using affect as opposed to imposed intensities as a means for improved fitness, promoting exercise behavior, and enhancing other psychological outcomes have yet …

Population Structure, Connectivity, And Phylogeography Of Two Balistidae With High Potential For Larval Dispersal: Balistes Capriscus And Balistes Vetula, Luca Antoni

Dissertations

The gray triggerfish (Balistes capriscus) and the queen triggerfish (Balistes vetula) are two exploited reef fish distributed in tropical and temperate shelf waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Both species are highly sedentary as adults but disperse pelagic larvae for extended periods of time potentially allowing connectivity across long distances under the action of oceanic currents. In this work population structure, phylogeography, and migration patterns were examined in the two species and contrasted with predictions of larval transport based on surface circulation data. A total of 1,017 gray triggerfish from twelve sampling localities …

Financial Assessment Of Agricultural Lands At Risk To Coastal Salt Marsh Migration In Relation To Climate Change Induced Sea Level Rise In Dorchester County, Maryland, Jewell Porter

Sustainability and Social Justice

The increasing rate and effects of sea level rise is a major environmental concern in the Chesapeake Bay. This paper evaluates the impacts of rising sea level on coastal salt marshes and the surrounding agricultural lands at risk in Dorchester County, Maryland to build off existing environmental monitoring work performed by NOAA’s Sentinel Site Program. The results of the spatial analysis were used to estimate monetary benefits to incentivize farmers to protect these marshes by making their land available for marsh migration to occur. Looking at three scenarios of sea level rise and marsh migration, grain crops (corn, soybeans, and …

Why Do Curly Tail Lizards (Genus Leiocephalus) Curl Their Tails? An Assessment Of Displays Toward Conspecifics And Predators, Bonnie K. Kircher, Michele A. Johnson

Biology Faculty Research

Animal display behaviors are used to convey specific messages to other animals, including potential mates, rivals, and predators. However, because these different types of interactions can be mediated by a single behavioral display, or conversely, multiple signals can be used to convey one specific message, interpretation of any particular behavioral display can be difficult. Leiocephalus lizards (i.e., curly tails) provide an excellent opportunity to study the use of display behaviors across multiple contexts. Previous research has demonstrated that the use of tail curling in these lizards is associated with predation risk, but less is known regarding the use of this …

Phenotypic Variation And Genetic Purity Of The Original 'Prime-Jim®' X 'Arapaho' Population, Loren M. Luther

Horticulture Undergraduate Honors Theses

In 2013, Castro et al., produced the first linkage map for primocane-fruiting blackberries using the cross ‘Prime-Jim®’ x ‘Arapaho.’ This mapping population has been maintained since the original experiment with the hopes of conducting future studies. Further research was determined to be needed on the population to better characterize additional phenotypic traits, and since nine years had passed since the seedlings were established, there was a need to assess the continued genetic purity of the population using molecular methods. Phenotypic data was collected to analyze the variation of the population including soluble solids content, titratable acidity, average weight, shape, and …

Mapping The Interaction Between Lrrc59 And Cip2a Oncoprotein, Tamika C. Reed

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Theses and Dissertations

The oncogene cancerous inhibitor of protein phosphatase 2A (CIP2A) has been shown to promote oncogenesis through numerous protein-protein interactions. CIP2A was initially found to be a direct inhibitor of the PP2A tumor suppressor protein; however, new research has demonstrated that CIP2A can act independently of PP2A through protein-protein interactions resulting in deregulation of the cell cycle and the development of therapeutic drug resistance, tumorigenesis, and cell proliferation. It has been shown that leucine rich repeat containing 59 protein (LRRC59) binds to and is required for the nuclear translocation of CIP2A, thereby making this interaction a target for drug therapy. Thus, …

Characterization Of E-Cadherin Regulation In Response To Zeb1 Inhibition In Endometrial Cancer Cell Lines, Chidozie Paul Chukwu

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Theses and Dissertations

Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is the process in which cells lose their epithelial structure during gastrulation. This process also affects the migration and movement of tumor cells and promotes invasion and metastases of endometrial carcinomas. Down-regulation of E-cadherin (CDH1) by transcription factors is the key target of EMT modulators and is achieved mainly by ZEB1 (zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 1). Current research looking at restoration of E-cadherin expression in vitro involves the use of small molecules such as histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors and DNA methyltransferase inhibitors. Trichostatin A (TSA) and small interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA) are tools that …

Mammalian Cell Line Development Platform For Recombinant Protein Production: Expanding The Protein Expression Toolbox For Research And Drug Discovery Applications, Elizabeth Del Greco

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Recombinant proteins have revolutionized the biomedical industry, providing therapeutics for life-threatening diseases and protein reagents for research applications. BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. develops recombinant protein therapeutics to treat rare diseases including lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs), a group of about 50 individually rare disorders together affecting 1 in 8,000 live births. With an increase in the number of novel therapeutics in our drug discovery pipeline, there is a high demand to produce a variety of recombinant proteins for early-stage drug development projects. In order to equip our protein production process with the tools and capability for diverse protein expression, it is valuable …

Dispositions Of First Year Teachers Who Teach Mathematics For Social Justice, Kyndall A. Brown

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

For over 10 years, mathematics educators have sought to use mathematics tasks with social justice contexts to engage students. While student teachers in the UCLA Teacher Education Program (TEP) engage in social justice tasks in their secondary mathematics method classes, very few teachers use these types of tasks with students in the classrooms. The master’s inquiry projects of three TEP students who engaged their students in social justice tasks are analyzed to determine how their backgrounds and positionality influenced their instructional decision making. Results show that personal experiences in the teachers’ lives, as well as a desire to increase motivation …

Kentucky Warbler (Vol. 93, No. 2), Kentucky Library Research Collections

The Kentucky Warbler

No abstract provided.

Species Differences In Egocentric Navigation: The Effect Of Burrowing Ecology On A Spatial Cognitive Trait In Mice, Jason N. Bruck, Noah A. Allen, Kelsey E. Brass, Brian A. Horn, Polly Campbell

Faculty Publications

© 2017 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour Efficient navigation is a critical component of fitness for most animals. While most species use a combination of allocentric (external) and egocentric (internal) cues to navigate through their environment, subterranean environments present a unique challenge in that visually mediated allocentric cues are unavailable. The relationship between egocentric spatial cognition and species differences in ecology is surprisingly understudied. We used a maze-learning task to test for differences in egocentric navigation between two closely related species of mice, the eastern house mouse, Mus musculus musculus, and the mound-building mouse, Mus spicilegus. The …

Effects Of Integrating Mathematical Concepts Into A Nutrition Unit In The Animal Science Curriculum, Andrea R. Gardner, Brian K. Warnick, Rebecca G. Lawver

Applied Sciences, Technology and Education Faculty Publications

Achievement test scores in mathematics have been a concern among educators for many years. Teaching contextualized mathematics has been found to be effective and includes providing a direct application to real-life scenarios rather than teaching linear equations and algebraic principles in isolation. This study measured the effects of integrating mathematical skills in one instructional unit in an animal science curriculum. Students from eight schools participated in the research study. Students completed a pretest measuring their existing mathematical skills and self-efficacy in math. All students were taught a unit of instruction about animal nutrition and feeding. The control group received a …