Life Sciences Commons^™

Sweating The Small Stuff: Linking Plankton To Climate Change, Brian Kim '18 Makes Conncetions, Stephen Collins

Colby Magazine

It takes an expansive mind to connect microscopic marine copepods (certain crustacean plankton) unwittingly chomping on floating microplastics with a bigger picture: the planet’s carbon pump and global climate change. But that’s what Brian Kim ’18 decided to investigate during Jan Plan, working with Bigelow Lab Senior Research Scientist David Fields.

Wnt5a-Jnk Regulation Of Vascular Insulin Resistance In Human Obesity, Melissa G. Farb, Shakun Karki, Song-Young Park, Samantha M. Saggese, Brian Carmine, Donald T. Hess, Caroline Apovian, Jessica L. Fetterman, Rosa Breton-Romero, Naomi M. Hamburg, Jose J. Fuster, Maria A. Zuriaga, Kenneth Walsh, Noyan Gokce

Health and Kinesiology Faculty Publications

Obesity is associated with the development of vascular insulin resistance; however, pathophysiological mechanisms are poorly understood. We sought to investigate the role of WNT5A-JNK in the regulation of insulin-mediated vasodilator responses in human adipose tissue arterioles prone to endothelial dysfunction. In 43 severely obese (BMI 44±11 kg/m2) and five metabolically normal non-obese (BMI 26±2 kg/m2) subjects, we isolated arterioles from subcutaneous and visceral fat during planned surgeries. Using videomicroscopy, we examined insulin-mediated, endothelium-dependent vasodilator responses and characterized adipose tissue gene and protein expression using real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analyses. Immunofluorescence was used to quantify endothelial nitric oxide …

Red Flour Beetle, Tribolium Castaneum, Development On Rice Fractions And Oviposition Preference, Brook A. Hale

Student Theses and Dissertations

The red flour beetle (RFB), Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), is a stored-product insect commonly found in rice mills. To understand how RFBs develop on different types of rice fractions occurring in a rice mill, I conducted three studies. I examined egg to adult development on nine rice fractions (rough rice, rice hulls, paddy rice dust, brown rice, rice bran, milled broken kernels, milled whole kernels, milled rice dust and rice flour) and identified brown rice, bran, milled kernels and rice flour were best for development. A second study examined neonate adult development using rice fractions and temperature as variables and found …

Weighted-Samgsr: Combining Significance Analysis Of Microarray-Gene Set Reduction Algorithm With Pathway Topology-Based Weights To Select Relevant Genes, Suyan Tian, Howard H. Chang, Chi Wang

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Background: It has been demonstrated that a pathway-based feature selection method that incorporates biological information within pathways during the process of feature selection usually outperforms a gene-based feature selection algorithm in terms of predictive accuracy and stability. Significance analysis of microarray-gene set reduction algorithm (SAMGSR), an extension to a gene set analysis method with further reduction of the selected pathways to their respective core subsets, can be regarded as a pathway-based feature selection method.

Methods: In SAMGSR, whether a gene is selected is mainly determined by its expression difference between the phenotypes, and partially by the number of pathways to …

Implementing An Mhealth System For Substance Use Disorders In Primary Care: A Mixed Methods Study Of Clinicians’ Initial Expectations And First Year Experiences, Marie-Louise Mares, David H. Gustafson, Joseph E. Glass, Andrew Quanbeck, Helene Mcdowell, Fiona Mctavish, Amy K. Atwood, Lisa A. Marsch, Chanetelle Thomas, Dhavan Shah, Randall Brown, Andrew Isham, Mary Jane Nealon, Victoria Ward

Publications and Research

Background: Millions of Americans need but don’t receive treatment for substance use, and evidence suggests that addiction-focused interventions on smart phones could support their recovery. There is little research on implementation of addiction-related interventions in primary care, particularly in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) that provide primary care to underserved populations. We used mixed methods to examine three FQHCs’ implementation of Seva, a smart-phone app that offers patients online support/discussion, health-tracking, and tools for coping with cravings, and offers clinicians information about patients’ health tracking and relapses. We examined (a) clinicians’ initial perspectives about implementing Seva, and (b) the first …

Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis Of Two Brassica Napus Near-Isogenic Lines Reveals A Network Of Genes That Influences Seed Oil Accumulation, Jingxue Wang, Sanjay Kumar Singh, Chunfang Du, Chen Li, Jianchun Fan, Sitakanta Pattanaik, Ling Yuan

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Rapeseed (Brassica napus) is an important oil seed crop, providing more than 13% of the world’s supply of edible oils. An in-depth knowledge of the gene network involved in biosynthesis and accumulation of seed oil is critical for the improvement of B. napus. Using available genomic and transcriptomic resources, we identified 1,750 acyl-lipid metabolism (ALM) genes that are distributed over 19 chromosomes in the B. napus genome. B. rapa and B. oleracea, two diploid progenitors of B. napus, contributed almost equally to the ALM genes. Genome collinearity analysis demonstrated that the majority of the …

Water Management Decision Making In The Face Of Multiple Forms Of Uncertainty And Risk, Morey Burnham, Zhao Ma, Joanna Endter-Wada, Tim Bardsley

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

In the Wasatch Range Metropolitan Area of Northern Utah, water management decision makers confront multiple forms of uncertainty and risk. Adapting to these uncertainties and risks is critical for maintaining the long‐term sustainability of the region's water supply. This study draws on interview data to assess the major challenges climatic and social changes pose to Utah's water future, as well as potential solutions. The study identifies the water management adaptation decision‐making space shaped by the interacting institutional, social, economic, political, and biophysical processes that enable and constrain sustainable water management. The study finds water managers and other water actors see …

Navigating Change: Science Education Leadership Today, James Blake

SciComm 2016 - Lincoln, Nebraska, September 23-24, 2016

What’s new? Three-Dimensional Teaching & Learning

Implications of the Framework and NGSS for Instruction

Shift in Standards

How do we get there?

How Change Looks. How Change Feels.

Cognitive Dissonance Or Contrast?, Thomas R. Zentall

Animal Sentience

According to Festinger (1957), cognitive dissonance occurs when one’s behavior or belief is inconsistent with another belief and one modifies one of the beliefs in an attempt to reduce the dissonance. In nonhuman animals, we have examined a version of human cognitive dissonance theory called justification of effort, according to which the value of reward following more difficult tasks increases, presumably to justify (to oneself or to others) performing the more difficult task. We have examined the justification of effort effect in animals and found a pattern similar to the one in humans but we propose a simpler underlying …

A Novel Qtl Associated With Dwarf Bunt Resistance In Idaho 444 Winter Wheat, Jianli Chen, Mary J. Guttieri, Junli Zhang, David Hole, Edward Souza, Blair Goates

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

Dwarf bunt [Tilletia controversa J.G. Kühn [as ‘contraversa’], in Rabenhorst, Hedwigia 13: 188 (1874)] is a destructive disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) that reduces grain yield and quality. A number of distinct genes conferring resistance to dwarf bunt have been used by breeding programs for nearly 100 years. However, few markers were identified that can be used in selection of dwarf bunt resistance. A recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from the bunt-resistant germplasm, Idaho 444 (IDO444), and the susceptible cultivar, Rio Blanco, was evaluated for phenotypic reaction to dwarf bunt inoculation in four trials in …

Hypocretin/Orexin Peptides Alter Spike Encoding By Serotonergic Dorsal Raphe Neurons Through Two Distinct Mechanisms That Increase The Late Afterhyperpolarization, Masaru Ishibashi, Iryna Gumenchuk, Kenichi Miyazaki, Takafumi Inoue, William N. Ross, Christopher S. Leonard

NYMC Faculty Publications

Orexins (hypocretins) are neuropeptides that regulate multiple homeostatic processes, including reward and arousal, in part by exciting serotonergic dorsal raphe neurons, the major source of forebrain serotonin. Here, using mouse brain slices, we found that, instead of simply depolarizing these neurons, orexin-A altered the spike encoding process by increasing the postspike afterhyperpolarization (AHP) via two distinct mechanisms. This orexin-enhanced AHP (oeAHP) was mediated by both OX1 and OX2 receptors, required Ca(2+) influx, reversed near EK, and decayed with two components, the faster of which resulted from enhanced SK channel activation, whereas the slower component decayed like a slow AHP (sAHP), …

Emissions Of Nitrogen-Containing Organic Compounds From The Burning Of Herbaceous And Arboraceous Biomass: Fuel Composition Dependence And The Variability Of Commonly Used Nitrile Tracers, Matthew M. Coggon, Patrick R. Veres, Bin Yuan, Abigail Koss, Carsten Warneke, Jessica B. Gilman, Brian M. Lerner, Jeff Peischl, Kenneth C. Aikin, Chelsea E. Stockwell, Lindsay E. Hatch, Thomas B. Ryerson, James M. Roberts, Robert J. Yokelson, Joost A. De Gouw

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from residential wood and crop residue burning were measured in Colorado, U.S. When compared to the emissions from crop burning, residential wood burning exhibited markedly lower concentrations of acetonitrile, a commonly used biomass burning tracer. For both herbaceous and arboraceous fuels, the emissions of nitrogen-containing VOCs (NVOCs) strongly depend on the fuel nitrogen content; therefore, low NVOC emissions from residential wood burning result from the combustion of low-nitrogen fuel. Consequently, the emissions of compounds hazardous to human health, such as HNCO and HCN, and the formation of secondary pollutants, such as ozone generated by NOx, …

Human Metapneumovirus Induces Reorganization Of The Actin Cytoskeleton For Direct Cell-To-Cell Spread, Farah El Najjar, Nicolás Cifuentes-Muñoz, Jing Chen, Haining Zhu, Ursula J. Buchholz, Carole L. Moncman, Rebecca Ellis Dutch

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Paramyxovirus spread generally involves assembly of individual viral particles which then infect target cells. We show that infection of human bronchial airway cells with human metapneumovirus (HMPV), a recently identified paramyxovirus which causes significant respiratory disease, results in formation of intercellular extensions and extensive networks of branched cell-associated filaments. Formation of these structures is dependent on actin, but not microtubule, polymerization. Interestingly, using a co-culture assay we show that conditions which block regular infection by HMPV particles, including addition of neutralizing antibodies or removal of cell surface heparan sulfate, did not prevent viral spread from infected to new target cells. …

Investigating The Spatial Distribution And Effects Of Nearshore Topography On Acropora Cervicornis Abundance In Southeast Florida, Nicole D'Antonio, David S. Gilliam, Brian K. Walker

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Dense Acropora cervicornis aggregations, or patches, have been documented within nearshore habitats in Southeast Florida (SE FL) despite close proximity to numerous anthropogenic stressors and subjection to frequent natural disturbance events. Limited information has been published concerning the distribution and abundance of A. cervicornis outside of these known dense patches. The first goal of this study was to conduct a spatially extensive and inclusive survey (9.78 km²) to determine whether A. cervicornis distribution in the nearshore habitat of SE FL was spatially uniform or clustered. The second goal was to investigate potential relationships between broad-scale seafloor topography and …

Development Of A Novel Class Of Chemicals For Labeling Abasic Sites In Cellular Dna And Killing Cancer Cells, Shanqiao Wei

Wayne State University Dissertations

Abasic (AP) sites are the most common type of lesions in DNA. Numerous endogenous and exogenous agents and cellular processes can induce the formation of AP sites in DNA. If left unrepaired, the deleterious AP sites cause mutagenesis and cytotoxicity. Methoxyamine is known to react with AP sites and block base excision repair. Another alkoxyamine, aldehyde-reactive probe (ARP) tags AP sites with a biotin and has been widely used to quantify these sites. In this study, I have combined both these abilities into one alkoxyamine, AA3, which reacts toward AP sites with better reactivity than ARP at physiological pH. Additionally, …

Mccardell, James (Fa 905), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 905. Project titled: “Fishing Beliefs.” Project includes note cards with brief descriptions of fishing beliefs in Indiana, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Note cards include a brief description and informant’s name.

The Situation And Improvement Of The Public Participation Mechanism Under The Background Of Food Safety Social Co-Governance In China, Li Hongfeng

Food and Machinery

The principle of food safety social co-governance was put forward in the newly revised and implemented China Food Safety Law, which points out the development direction for the food safety governance in China. The public, as the main participant of the food safety social co-governance, is the inevitable choice of the food safety governance in theory and practice. Currently, the atmosphere for the public participation in the food safety social co-governance is also gradually coming into being, but the public participation still is faced with many problems such as the low degree of the organization, lack of interactivity in participation, …

Safety, Interest And Humanity On Package Design Of Kids Food, Yang Ping

Food and Machinery

Safety, interest and humanity is the main value of children's food packaging design. However, the children's food packaging design still exists many problems, such as lacking of children’s angle of view, excessive pursuit of profits and ignore safety, can not correctly handle the relationship between the interest and the safety. it is necessary to take some valid measures, such as emphasizing the user experience, laying the safety in the first place, and the interesting ways on the basis of ensuring the safety, to ensure the realization of the corresponding value of children's food packaging design.

Problems In The English Translation Of Food Packaging Text And Its Standardization, Gong Jianming

Food and Machinery

The main problems existing in the process of English translation of Chinese food packaging text include mechanical translation, grammatical errors, literal translation, and the lack of understanding the culture of the exporting country, etc. It is necessary to pay enough attention to the standardization of English translation of food packaging text, including the basic word translation, grammatical norms and cultural background differences. This will help to provide practical solutions for improving the packaging translation of food enterprises in China.

Effect Of Chitosan Coating On The Quality Of Wulong Loin Jujube Fruit During Storage, Cheng Hong, Wu Xiyu, Xu Dan, Liu Xing

Food and Machinery

As a local fresh jujube species in Chongqing, Wulong loin jujube has high nutritional value and excellent flavor. But the storage period of Wulong loin jujube was very short, and this was the reason why its industry development was hindered the development. In this study, fresh Wulong loin jujubes were coated with chitosan at different concentrations (1.0%, 1.4%, and 1.6%), and then they were stored at （1±0.5） ℃ with 90% relative humidity to examine the preservation effects of chitosan coating. The results showed that the dosages of 1.4% chitosan coating could delay the reductions of firmness, and Vc and the …

Functional Analysis And Evaluation On Commercially Available Enzyme Food, Zhang Si, Wang Lei, Zhang Zhixu, Yang Jiguo, Ren Jie, Liu Dongbo

Food and Machinery

UV spectrophotometric, titration and HPLC method were used to test the scavenging ability of DPPH, superoxide anion and hydroxyl radical, the activities of lipase, amylase and the number of organic acid of 16 kinds of enzymes in market. Further, the corresponding evaluation system was established. The results showed that the enzymes have strong free radical scavenging ability, nearly 1~2 times of 20 μg/mL Vc, a certain lipase and amylase activity and 3~7 kinds of organic acids. Therefore, enzyme foods have good antioxidant capacity, digestive function and intestinal flora regulation.

Perkins, Larry (Fa 903), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 903. Project titled: “Farm Implements and Hand Tools.” Project includes survey sheets with brief descriptions of non-mechanized farm implements in Barren County, Kentucky. Sheets include a brief description, informant’s name, and a photo of the implement or hand tools.

Nitrogen Loading Leads To Increased Carbon Accretion In Both Invaded And Uninvaded Coastal Wetlands, Jason P. Martina, William S. Currie, Deborah E. Goldberg, Kenneth J. Elgersma

Faculty Work

Gaining a better understanding of carbon (C) dynamics across the terrestrial and aquatic landscapes has become a major research initiative in ecosystem ecology. Wetlands store a large portion of the global soil C, but are also highly dynamic ecosystems in terms of hydrology and N cycling, and are one of the most invaded habitats worldwide. The interactions between these factors are likely to determine wetland C cycling, and specifically C accretion rates. We investigated these interactions using MONDRIAN, an individual-based model simulating plant growth and competition and linking these processes to N and C cycling. We simulated the effects of …

Determination Of Ssc Content In Single Grape Based On Nir Combined With Wavelength Selection, Guo Cheng, Ma Yue, Liang Mengxing, Yan Hui

Food and Machinery

The soluble solid content (SSC), one of the important index for evaluating the qualities, in a single grape were measure real-timely and non-destructively in this study, This might help to improve the management of the fruits as well as prolong their storage time, satisfying the needs of different customers. The near infrared (NIR) spectra of grapes was detected by using a hand-held NIR spectrometer, wavelength ranging from 950 to 1, 650 nm. Based on partial least squares (PLS) data, the prediction model for SSC content in grapes was established. In order to reduce redundancy and uninformative variables while increase prediction …

Problems And Countermeasures Of Tourism Food Safety Based On The Industrial Chain, Zhu Songjie

Food and Machinery

Tourism food safety is the important foundation for sustainable development of Tourism. Starting from the tourism food industry chain, this article analyzed the relationship between the tourism food industry chain and tourism food safety by studying the characteristics of complexity, biochemical, and hysteresis of tourism food industry chain. Thus, aiming at the existing problems of tourism food industry chain in our country, such as unbalanced development, asymmetric information, profit distribution imbalance, low degree of the scale, this article put forward the corresponding countermeasures and suggestions for risks and problems of food safety in China, such as forming the interests-coordination mechanism …

Research Of Designing Compression Equipment With Open Mold And Closed Mold For Potato Pulp Processing, Guo Wenbin, Gao Jingjing, De Xuehong

Food and Machinery

The purpose of this research was to design and manufacture a multifunctional equipment for processing potato pulp and its mixture with other agroforestry wastes. The equipment combined the methods of compressing with both open and closed mold, considering adequately the densification and dewatering characteristics of potato pulp. During the compressing, the closed and open mold can be converted to each other flexibly by changing the piston of a sleeve. By this means, it is easy to observe and compare the effectiveness of the two methods. Moreover, the densification and dewatering of potato pulp under different conditions were investigated. Finally, the …

Dynamic Characteristics Of Quick Actuating Valve Of Expangding Machine, Ma Li, Sun Guoyou, Fang Shuqi, Bai Jing

Food and Machinery

No abstract provided.

Design Of Automatic Steam Control Of Integrated Processing Device For Fish Noodle, Cheng Hong, Jiang Zhigang, Fan Zhuo, Xiang Peng

Food and Machinery

A fish noodles integrated processing device, with steam volume controlled automatically, was designed in this study. Using this device, the thickness of fish noodles and operation speed could be detected real-timely. A least square method was used to calculate the corresponding steam volume, and then a smart the intelligent control of steam was realized. Simultaneously, the automatic operation of pressuring, steaming and cutting was integrated, by using motor-driven transmission shaft, and then transmission belt was driven to run fish noodle. The fish noodles device could ensure the quality of fish noodle processing and provide technical support for both the producing …

Design Of Needle-Typed Moisture Content Detecting Instrument Of Grains, Wang An, Wu Yang, Liu Quan

Food and Machinery

In order to enhance the speed and precision of grain moisture content measurement, and to satisfy the need of online detection of drying machinery, a new symmetric needle typed moisture content sensor which direct thrust into the grain was proposed, which was cooperated with high precision testing circuit and optimization algorithm, and the corresponding new equipment was designed. The trial results indicated that the error of paddy moisture content measurement was no more than 1% and the response time was less than 2 s. Through simple parameters setting, this equipment could be applied to measure moisture content of other grains. …

A Design Of Transfer Robot Based On Electro-Pneumatic Controlling Technologies, Qian Min, Zhang Xingguo

Food and Machinery

A type of transfer robot was designed based on electro-pneumatic controlling technologies and module structure combination. Structure of the robot was explained in detail, and the corresponding draw for the working principle of the pneumatic system adopted valve island technology was analyzed. Furthermore, the control program and hardware of the control system were demonstrated. The electro- pneumatic transfer robot integrated the characteristics of cylindrical coordinates and polar (ball) coordinates, it can achieve 5 degrees of freedom movement.