Life Sciences Commons^™

Eph Receptors Activate Myeloid Checkpoint Receptor Lilrb5 To Support Tumor Development, Yubo He, Chengcheng Zhang, Lingxiao Tan, Mi Deng, Xiaoye Liu, Ryan Huang, Xing Yang, Jingjing Xie, Qi Lou, Meng Fang, Caroline Smith, Samuel John, Wei Xiong, Xin Li, Cheryl Lewis, Jade Homsi, Ankit Gupta, Ningyan Zhang, Zhiqiang An, Cheng Cheng Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Immunosuppressive myeloid cells are critical obstacles to T cell-centered immune checkpoint blockade therapies, which have been successful in treating a fraction of patients with cancer. How tumor cells interact with myeloid cells to regulate immune responses and tumor development is unclear. In this study, we report that certain membrane tyrosine kinase Eph receptors, including EphA7 and EphB1, specifically bind the immune inhibitory receptors leukocyte Ig-like receptor family B 5 (LILRB5) and LILRB2. These Eph receptors induce LILRB5-mediated signaling activation, and LILRB5 also activates Eph receptor signaling. Activation of LILRB5 promoted immunosuppressive marker expression and inhibited activating marker expression on myeloid …

Effect Of In-Season Potentiation And Priming On Jump Height In Collegiate D1 American Football Players, Benjamin Dagostino, Kody Cooke, Paulette Yamada, Trevor Short

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology

Neuromuscular priming and post-activation potentiation (PAP) are techniques utilized to increase nervous system excitation, muscle force, and rate of force development during subsequent muscle contractions in sport. PAP is a commonly used approach that has the potential to influence neuromuscular status monitoring and flagging, and optimize power training. Specifically, jump height is an important parameter in athletic performance and assessing inter-limb asymmetries. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to report the effects of different PAP strategies on jump height during a competitive D1 American football season. These findings will inform practitioners on optimal PAP strategies and their implications …

Unravelling Host Defense And Pathogen Virulence In Fusarium Proliferatum-Induced Sudden Decline Syndrome Of Date Palm In The Uae, Gouthaman Puthan Purayil

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

Sudden decline syndrome (SDS) poses a significant threat to the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera), a crop of critical agricultural and cultural importance in arid regions. Despite its growing impact, the molecular basis of the host-pathogen interactions driving this disease remains poorly understood. This dissertation investigates the disease dynamics of SDS, a severe affliction of date palm caused by the fungal pathogen Fusarium proliferatum DSM 106835 (Fp). The objective of this study is to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying Fp infection in date palm and characterize the plant defense responses. To achieve this, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of the novel Fp strain …

The Effect Of Family Communication On Adolescent Sexual Behaviors And Attitudes, Jonathan Young

Family Perspectives

Unhealthy sexual behaviors among adolescents, such as engaging with multiple partners or neglecting contraceptive use, can lead to significant physical, psychological, and relational consequences. This literature review explores the influence of family communication on adolescent sexual behaviors and attitudes, emphasizing the role of parent-adolescent discussions in promoting healthier sexual practices and reshaping sexual values. Research indicates that open, reciprocal family communication is associated with reduced sexual risk-taking, fewer sexual partners, delayed sexual debut, and increased contraceptive use. Moreover, conversations centered on positive sexual norms, such as love and respect, facilitate adolescents’ adoption of healthier sexual values. Effective family communication also …

Detecting Physical Activity Using Wearable Sensor Data, Dipok Deb

Data Science and Data Mining

This study focuses on detecting physical activity using wearable sensor data, specifically distinguishing between walking and running. A dataset comprising accelerometer and gyroscope readings is used to train and evaluate various machine learning models, including logistic regression, random forest, k-nearest neighbors, naïve Bayes, and XGBoost. Extensive preprocessing, such as creating lag features and rolling statistics, is performed to enhance temporal data representation. The models are evaluated using metrics like accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score. Incorporating lag and rolling features significantly improves model performance, with logistic regression achieving perfect scores across all metrics. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of enhanced …

Proceedings From The Sixth Annual Society For Sports Neuroscience Conference, Neurosports Editorial Staff

Journal for Sports Neuroscience

Proceedings from the Sixth Annual Society for Sports Neuroscience Conference

Genetic And Biochemical Analyses Reveal Litr's Role In Vibrio Fischeri Biofilm Formation, Brittany Loi Fung

Dissertations

Quorum sensing controls numerous processes ranging from production of virulence factors to biofilm formation. Biofilms, communities of bacteria that are attached to one another and/or a surface, are common in nature and, when they form, can produce a quorum of bacteria. One model system to study biofilms is the bacterium Vibrio fischeri, which forms a biofilm that promotes colonization of its symbiotic host. Many factors promote V. fischeri biofilm formation in vitro, including the symbiosis polysaccharide (SYP), cellulose, and the LapV adhesin but, so far, only a handful of studies have probed connections between biofilm formation and quorum sensing. In …

Investigating The Consequences Of Conjugated And Secreted Isg15 On Coronavirus Pathogenesis, Mudassir Syed Ali

Dissertations

Coronaviruses have evolved a breadth of mechanisms to antagonize host innate immune responses. One widely studied mechanism is the ability to deconjugate ISG15 from target proteins in a process called deISGylation, which is catalyzed by the papain-like protease (PLP) domain of viral non-structural protein (nsp) 3. Since PLP activity is required for viral replication, it has been challenging to generate an infectious virus with a PLP that maintains protease activity but has lost deISGylase activity. In this study, we generated a chimeric MHV-A59 with its PLP2 domain replaced with that of the human coronavirus HKU1, which has been documented to …

Atp8b1 Regulates Pip2 Localization And Cleavage Of Pyroptotic Executioner Gasdermin D, Nilam Bhandari, Ashutosh Prince, Mariam R. Khan, Alicia Traughbera, Kalash Neupane, Shuhui W. Lorkowski, Gregory Brubaker, Elif G. Ertugral, Chandrasekhar R. Kothapalli

Chemical & Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Mutations in ATP8B1 cause progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis, with symptoms including pruritus, pancreatitis, fat malabsorption, intestinal inflammation, and failure to thrive. High-throughput studies showed interconnection between ATP8B1 and phosphoinositide (PIPs), but the mechanism linking ATP8B1, lipid metabolism, and inflammation remains unclear. Atp8b1G308V/G308V mouse model, unbiased RNAseq, high-resolution-stimulation emission depltion (STED)-microscopy, and Crispr-Cas9 generated ATP8B1-/- knockouts in hepatocytes/monocytes/macrophages were used to determine role of ATP8B1 in phosphatidylinositol,4-5-bisphosphate (PIP2) trafficking and inflammation. Human ATP8B1, purified from Sf9 insect cells and reconstituted in proteoliposomes, was used to test cell-free PIP2 flip. Various in-vitro techniques were used for testing direct interaction between PIP2 and …

Co-Designing A Digital Nutrition Intervention For Individuals With Severe Mental Illness Using The Behaviour Change Wheel, Ciara O'Sullivan, Tara Coppinger, Indika Dhanapala, Alison Merrotsy

Publications

Title: Co-Designing a Digital Nutrition Intervention for Individuals with Severe Mental Illness Using the Behaviour Change Wheel

Purpose: This study aims to develop a digital nutrition intervention for individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) residing in high-support mental health hostels, using a theoretically informed co-design approach.

Design/methodology/approach: This study will employ a participatory, mixed-methods approach, incorporating Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) to ensure user-centred intervention design. The Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) guides the selection of intervention functions, Behaviour Change Techniques (BCTs) and delivery methods. The study will consist of three phases: (1) Preparation, (2) Co-Design, and (3) Finalisation.

Findings: Data …

Creation Of An Open Access Textbook, Sue Ann Gardner

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Presentations

Slide presented during the PRCA Research Celebration, June 3, 2025, in the University Libraries, University of Nebraska-Lincoln titled Creation of an Open Access Textbook, about the development and publication of Concepts in Animal Parasitology, co-edited by Scott L. Gardner and Sue Ann Gardner and published by Zea Books (Lincoln, Nebraska, USA) in 2024.

Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Kinase 4 Mediates Sex Specific Outcomes In Sepsis Induced Cardiomyopathy, John Yap

Dissertations

During sepsis, males often experience worse cardiac outcomes than females. Here, we identified pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4) as a key contributor to this disparity. PDK4 is a mitochondrial protein that regulates glucose utilization by inhibiting pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH). Using a mouse model of endotoxemia, we induced acute inflammation with a sublethal dose of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which caused cardiac dysfunction and significantly increased myocardial PDK4 expression in males but not females. Cardiac-specific PDK4 overexpression promoted LPS-induced cardiac dysfunction in both sexes, whereas cardiac-specific PDK4 knockout provided protection. In wild-type males, LPS disrupted cardiac metabolism by decreasing PDH activity and fatty …

Interrogating The Dispersal Process And Relevant Genes In Vibrio Fischeri, Jeremy Esin

Dissertations

Biofilms are aggregates of bacteria encased in a matrix that shields bacteria from environmental hazards. These structures are formed in response to cues from the environment and drive colonization of new niches. Biofilms can be both beneficial and detrimental. Largely, research focuses on biofilms that have negative outcomes in clinical, environmental, and economical settings. However, the value of beneficial biofilms is recognized and studied. The marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri is part of a model system for studying symbiotic biofilms in a eukaryotic host. V. fischeri produces a transient biofilm at the surface of a specialized light organ and then disperses …

Culture Harder: Use More Specimen To Increase Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Culture Yield Relative To Pcr, Arvette E. Mitchell, Arpit P. Patel, Jennifer Dicandilo, Zachary W. Rebollido, Matthew Pettengill

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) causes considerable morbidity and mortality in both community-acquired and healthcare-associated infections, but detecting colonization with MRSA has been shown to improve patient outcomes in certain clinical settings. MRSA colonization detection has been carried out in a variety of ways, with molecular assays having superior sensitivity in most studies relative to culture, but culture is disadvantaged in some comparisons by utilization of low specimen volumes. We compared a commercial molecular assay to both low-volume (10 µl) and high-volume (650 µl) cultures and found that increasing the volume utilized for culture led to the detection of 25% more …

Posterior Predictive Design For Phase I Clinical Trials, Chenqi Fu, Shouhao Zhou, J Jack Lee

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Interval-based designs represent cutting-edge adaptive methodologies for phase I clinical trials to identify the maximum tolerated dose (MTD). These designs exhibit robust performance comparable to more intricate, model-based designs, and their pretabulated decision rule enables them to be implemented as simply as the conventional algorithm-based designs. In this paper, we introduce the posterior predictive (PoP) design, a novel interval-based design that leverages advanced Bayesian predictive hypothesis testing techniques for dose escalation and de-escalation. Our work moves beyond the existing model-assisted interval-based designs by achieving global optimality in dose transition. Theoretically, the global optimality ensures that the proposed design can consistently …

Mutant P53 Gain Of Function: Why Many See It, Why Some Do Not, Guillermina Lozano, Carol Prives, Kanaga Sabapathy

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Mutations in the TP53 tumor-suppressor gene in human cancer are unique in that 60% to 70% are of the missense variety, resulting in a full-length protein that is often highly expressed in patients' tumors. These missense mutant proteins often exhibit pro-oncogenic activities (referred to as gain of function) in mouse models and human cell lines and correlate with poor cancer prognosis in some cases.

Suggested Vegetable Planting Dates For Utah, Shawn Olsen

All Current Publications

This fact sheet provides suggested planting dates for vegetables in various areas throughout Utah. It also identifies resources for starting seeds at home.

Plasma Insulin-Like Growth Factor-Binding Protein-7 Is Positively Associated With Age, Obesity, Mortality, And Cancer In Postmenopausal Women, Melissa C Orenduff, Carl F Pieper, Emma H Allott, Michael F Coleman, Su Yon Jung, Mara Z Vitolins, Jenifer I Fenton, Chu Chen, Candyce H Kroenke, Fred K Tabung, Ana Barac, Electra D Paskett, Michael N Pollak, Jennifer Hays-Grudo, Shine Chang, Stephen D Hursting

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Predictors of premature death and cancer development are needed to more precisely identify individuals who may warrant preventive intervention. Circulating insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-binding protein-7 (IGFBP7) and, to a lesser extent, the IGFBP7/IGF-1 ratio are emerging biomarkers of renal and cardiovascular morbidity. However, their relationships with aging, obesity, mortality, and cancer risk remain unclear.

Methods: This hypothesis-generating study investigated plasma IGFBP7, IGF-1, and their ratio as predictors of all-cause mortality and the incidence of any cancer (excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer), obesity-related cancer (composite of 13 cancer types), and breast cancer in a large longitudinal cohort of postmenopausal women. We …

Restoration Of The Tumor Suppressor Function Of Y220c-Mutant P53 By Rezatapopt, A Small-Molecule Reactivator, Anna M Puzio-Kuter, Lizhong Xu, Mary Kate Mcbrayer, Romyr Dominique, Hongju H Li, Bruce J Fahr, Alyssa M Brown, Amy E Wiebesiek, Brandon M Russo, Chris L Mulligan, Hong Yang, Josh Battaglia, Kimberly A Robell, Dafydd H Thomas, Kuo-Sen Huang, Alexander Solovyov, Benjamin D Greenbaum, Jonathan D Oliner, Thomas W Davis, Melissa L Dumble, Melissa L Johnson, Shunbin Xiong, Peirong Yang, Guillermina Lozano, Marc M Fellous, Binh T Vu, Alison M Schram, Arnold J Levine, Masha V Poyurovsky

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Restoration of the tumor suppressor function of tumor-associated p53 mutants, including the Y220C substitution, has posed a significant challenge for therapeutic discovery. In this study, we describe rezatapopt (PC14586), part of a series of compounds designed to reactivate the p53 Y220C mutant. These compounds restore p53 tumor suppressor function by correcting its conformation and enabling it to bind DNA and activate downstream target genes, thus inducing antiproliferative changes in tumor cells. Our findings are supported by biochemical and structural analysis, in vitro and in vivo transcriptomics, and functional data, revealing the recovery of multiple aspects of the wild-type p53 program. …

Prescribed Fire Leads A Pine Flatwoods Specialist Tree Frog To Seek Local Refugia, Ian Biazzo, Pedro F. Quintana-Ascencio

Faculty Publications

Pine savannas of the southeastern United States evolved with frequent low-intensity wildfires. Today, land managers use prescribed fires to restore this ecological process while also controlling vegetative fuel accumulation. Given the ubiquitous application of this management tool, studies should consider impacts on target and nontarget taxa in these systems. During fires, animal populations persist in the landscape when individuals emigrate to unburned areas or seek refugia within the burn zone; otherwise, they experience local extirpation. We examined the effect of prescribed fires on a pine flatwoods specialist frog, the pinewoods treefrog Dryophytes femoralis, in a frequently burned pine landscape. …

Present And Future Of Microbiome-Targeting Therapeutics, Lauren E Lynch, Rachel Lahowetz, Christian Maresso, Austen Terwilliger, Jason Pizzini, Valeria Melendez Hebib, Robert A Britton, Anthony W Maresso, Geoffrey A Preidis

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

A large body of evidence suggests that single- and multiple-strain probiotics and synbiotics could have roles in the management of specific gastrointestinal disorders. However, ongoing concerns regarding the quality and heterogeneity of the clinical data, safety in vulnerable populations, and the lack of regulation of products containing live microbes are barriers to widespread clinical use. Safety and regulatory issues must be addressed and new technologies considered. One alternative future strategy is the use of synthetic bacterial communities, defined as manually assembled consortia of two or more bacteria originally derived from the human gastrointestinal tract. Synthetic bacterial communities can model functional, …

Arts-Based Sustainability: From New York To Malawi, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Recognizing that libraries serve multiple constituencies and subject areas, this chapter documents and advocates for development of transdisciplinary arts-based research (ABR) and culture-related projects linked to environmental challenges. Libraries contribute collections and spaces, as well as the research of library and information scientists. Libraries are currently among invisible contributors to sustainability planning and services. The chapter will link this invisibility to the value of what visual arts refer to as negative space elements in subjects ranging from traditional ecological knowledge to environmental science. Library collections, projects, and research contribute to education for sustainable development (ESD) as required to achieve the …

Walk A Mile: Exploring Cause-Based Charity Event Participation As A Catalyst For Increasing Physical Activity Behavior, Kimberly S. Fasczewski, Andrey A. Sanko Posada, Meg Hopkins

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Despite the known benefits of physical activity (PA), more than half of U.S. adults do not meet the American College of Sports Medicine’s PA recommendations for health, often resulting in negative health outcomes. Developing programming that increases motivation for PA participation is critical for healthcare professionals to combat physical inactivity. Previous research has demonstrated that framing disease-based PA charity fundraising events as “helping a cause” improved motivation for PA due to the individual’s emotional connection to the cause. There is currently no congruent research on motivation for participation in cause-based charity events. Behavioral economics theory posits that cognitive, emotional, and …

Soybean Embryogenic Cell Culture Genetically Engineered, Gabriel Carrasquillo

Tennessee State University Alumni Theses and Dissertations

The inflation of population in the world has led to a high and consistent food demand which has reinvigorated worldwide interest to create high-yielding varieties of legumes. Soybean Glycine max (L.) Merrill, a member of this legume family has become one of the most essential food crops in the United States as well as in the world due its edible oil and protein content up to 20% and 54%, respectively. Because of its high importance as a food crop, major objectives in soybean breeding, improvement of protein and oil production need to be achieved. These objectives can be addressed using …

Allelopathy Of Western Red Cedar, Douglas Fir, And Western Hemlock On Seed Germination, Lainey E. Mendoza Ms.

Honors Projects

Understanding the allelopathic interactions of native Pacific Northwest conifers, Douglas Fir, Western Hemlock, and Western Red Cedar is crucial to understanding the interactions of each species within their ecological niche. As of now there is little research on allelopathy of PNW conifers, specifically how different damaged states of the conifer tissue could impact the germination rates and radicle growth of a model organism. Analyzing these allelopathic interactions may be crucial to help predict forest regeneration of the PNW in the future. Presented here is the analysis of Douglas Fir, Western Hemlock, and Western Red Cedar tissue that is undamaged, damaged, …

The Ecophysiology Of The Enigmatic Namib Succulent, Lithops Ruschiorum, Garrett Macleod Althausen

Environmental Studies Senior Theses

Water availability is the primary constraint for plant survival and reproduction in hyper-arid ecosystems. In such environments, plant fitness depends on an alignment between physiological traits and limited water resources. The Namib Desert of Namibia exemplifies this extreme selection pressure. Within the Namib Desert, Lithops ruschiorum, a succulent endemic to the gravel plains, exhibits habitat specificity and numerous physiological adaptations to cope with the hyper-aridity.

This research explores the intersection of two fitness strategies for L. ruschiorum: habitat selection and exploitation of alternative moisture sources. The first chapter explores the population dynamics and micro-site habitat conditions preferred by …

Application Of High-Pressure Processing And Real-Time Pcr For Preventing Foodborne Bacterial Diseases, Ranju Kafle

Tennessee State University Alumni Theses and Dissertations

Foodborne pathogens pose significant risks to public health and food safety, necessitating innovative control strategies. High-pressure processing (HPP) was evaluated as an intervention against Listeria monocytogenes in cold-smoked rainbow trout, with treatments at 500 MPa and 4.4 °C and 60.0 °C achieving up to a 5.03 log CFU/g reduction. The efficacy of nisin in suppressing Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria innocua during refrigerated storage was also examined, demonstrating significant microbial inhibition, particularly in the early storage phase, supporting its application as a hurdle technology. Additionally, the synergistic effects of HPP (400 MPa, 4 °C) and natural bioactive compounds, including lactic acid, …

Exploring Soft Polymeric Nanoparticles For Targeted Biomolecule Delivery In Plant Cells, Mohammad Rashid

Theses and Dissertations

Safe and efficient agricultural practices require innovative technologies. Nanotechnology offers promising solutions for advancing plant agriculture by enabling the targeted delivery of biomolecules such as agrochemicals and nucleic acids. This study focuses on developing a safe nanotechnological approach for delivering molecules of interest into plant cells. We investigated the ability of four types of polymeric nanoparticles such as Polyethylene glycol N, Nʹ-dibutylethylenediamine (PEG-DB), Polyethylene glycol 2-pyrrolidin-1-yl-ethyl-amine (PEG-PY), Polyethyleneimine (PEI), Arabinoxylan (AX)+, and Zein+ to form conjugates with plasmid DNA (pDNA). Our findings confirm that plant-derived cationic nanopolymers, AX+ and Zein+, effectively bind negatively charged pDNA (pGFPGUSPlus) carrying a GFP reporter …

Judgment Bias, Fear, And Stress Responses Of Red Junglefowl And Athens Canadian Random Bred Chickens, Victor J. Oyeniran, Rosemary H. Whittle, Sara K. Orlowski, Shawna L. Weimer

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Understanding how poultry perceive and interpret their environment is essential to enhancing their welfare. Animal welfare science relies on measures of the behavioral and physiological components of affective states (positive and negative) as welfare indicators. There has been growing interest in using the judgment bias test (JBT) to study birds' affective states by assessing their responses to ambiguous cues. The objective of this study was to investigate the affective state of two chicken breeds with different evolutionary histories: the Red Junglefowl (RJF), the primary ancestor of modern chickens, and the Athens Canadian Random Bred (ACRB), a rustic domesticated breed, using …

Cisplatin Palbociclib Combination Differentially Modulates Pten Akt Signaling Via Hsp90 In Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells., Eman Ramadan

Pharmacy

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) presents a significant global health challenge, marked by high mortality and recurrence. This study investigated the synergistic potential of cisplatin and palbociclib (C + P) against HCC cell lines. RT-qPCR revealed that C + P significantly downregulated HCC-related genes, including Hsp90, β-catenin, and components of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, compared to cisplatin alone and controls. Western blotting confirmed a reduction in phosphorylated AKT (P-AKT) with palbociclib and C + P, while PTEN, a tumor suppressor, was upregulated in the C + P group. Annexin V-FITC assays demonstrated a substantial increase in apoptosis in palbociclib and C + P …