Life Sciences Commons^™

The Development Of A Rabies Virus-Vectored Vaccine Against Borrelia Burgdorferi, Targeting Bbi39, Shantel Rios, Bibek Bhattachan, Kruthi Vavilikolanu, Chrysoula Kitsou, Utpal Pal, Matthias J. Schnell

Department of Microbiology and Immunology Faculty Papers

Lyme disease (LD) is the most common tick-borne illness in the United States (U.S.), Europe, and Asia. Borrelia burgdorferi, a spirochete bacterium transmitted by the tick vector Ixodes scapularis, causes LD in the U.S. If untreated, Lyme arthritis, heart block, and meningitis can occur. Given the absence of a human Lyme disease vaccine, we developed a vaccine using the rabies virus (RABV) vaccine vector BNSP333 and an outer surface borrelial protein, BBI39. BBI39 was previously utilized as a recombinant protein vaccine and was protective in challenge experiments; therefore, we decided to utilize this protective antigen in a rabies virus-vectored vaccine …

Targeting Innate Immunity In Glioma Therapy, Andrew G Gillard, Dong Ho Shin, Lethan A Hampton, Andres Lopez-Rivas, Akhila Parthasarathy, Candelaria Gomez-Manzano

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Currently, there is a lack of effective therapies for the majority of glioblastomas (GBMs), the most common and malignant primary brain tumor. While immunotherapies have shown promise in treating various types of cancers, they have had limited success in improving the overall survival of GBM patients. Therefore, advancing GBM treatment requires a deeper understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms that cause resistance to immunotherapy. Further insights into the innate immune response are crucial for developing more potent treatments for brain tumors. Our review provides a brief overview of innate immunity. In addition, we provide a discussion of current therapies …

Turtle Species And Ecology Drive Carapace Microbiome Diversity In Three Seasonally Interconnected Wetland Habitats, Matthew Parks, Jun Sheng Lee, Kassandra Camua, Ethan Hollender

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Different species of freshwater turtles exhibit primary behaviours ranging from aerial basking to benthic bottom-walking, cycle between wet and dry conditions at different time intervals, and undertake short-distance overland movements between aquatic habitats. These behaviours in turn may impact the accumulation of microbes on external shell surfaces of turtles and provide novel niches for differentiation of microbial communities. We assessed microbial diversity using 16S and 18S rRNA metabarcoding on carapace surfaces of six species of freshwater turtles residing in three adjacent and seasonally interconnected wetland habitats in southeast Oklahoma (United States). Communities were highly diverse, with nearly 4200 prokaryotic and …

Innovative Virtual Wellness Interventions At An Academic Medical Center: A Pilot Feasibility Study, Ritika Baweja, Michael Hayes, Aditya Joshi, Raman Baweja

Journal of Wellness

Introduction: There is generally a concerning likelihood of burnout in healthcare workers. Given the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers, our institution identified the need for wellness interventions to foster adaptive functioning and mitigate burnout. The purpose of this pilot project was to assess the feasibility of virtual holistic interventions like meditation, art, laughter therapy and dance and their impact on overall well-being of physicians and advanced practice providers (APPs).

Methods: A series of 12 virtual sessions (art therapy, dance therapy, mindfulness-based practices/meditation and laughter therapy) were offered to providers over a 6-month period. Participants completed an online survey reporting …

Twenty-Eight Years Of Gm Food And Feed Without Harm: Why Not Accept Them?, Richard E. Goodman

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Since the first genetically engineered or modified crops or organisms (GMO) were approved for commercial production in 1995, no new GMO has been proven to be a hazard or cause harm to human consumers. These modifications have improved crop efficiency, reduced losses to insect pests, reduced losses to viral and microbial plant pathogens and improved drought tolerance. A few have focused on nutritional improvements producing beta carotene in Golden Rice. Regulators in the United States and countries signing the CODEX Alimentarius and Cartagena Biosafety agreements have evaluated human and animal food safety considering potential risks of allergenicity, toxicity, nutritional and …

Twenty-Eight Years Of Gm Food And Feed Without Harm: Why Not Accept Them?, Richard E. Goodman

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Since the first genetically engineered or modified crops or organisms (GMO) were approved for commercial production in 1995, no new GMO has been proven to be a hazard or cause harm to human consumers. These modifications have improved crop efficiency, reduced losses to insect pests, reduced losses to viral and microbial plant pathogens and improved drought tolerance. A few have focused on nutritional improvements producing beta carotene in Golden Rice. Regulators in the United States and countries signing the CODEX Alimentarius and Cartagena Biosafety agreements have evaluated human and animal food safety considering potential risks of allergenicity, toxicity, nutritional and …

Applications Of Bioinformatics For Exploring The Genomic Landscape Of Cancer And Characterizing Treatment Response For Precision Oncology, Sharon Freshour

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

While the integration of next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics into cancer research has been immeasurably useful for advancing the field, there are still many gaps in understanding the genomic landscape of cancer due to the complexity of cancer development and evolution. Likewise, there are still many challenges for identifying and applying effective therapeutics for cancer treatment. Thus, there remains a need to continue characterizing the genomic landscape of cancer, to explore the evolution of cancer, and to understand how tumors respond to treatment. The projects described in this dissertation cover several applications of next-generation sequencing, bioinformatic analysis, and database resources for …

Reactivation Of The G1 Enhancer Landscape Underlies Core Circuitry Addiction To Swi/Snf, Katerina Cermakova, Ling Tao, Milan Dejmek, Michal Sala, Matthew D Montierth, Ivanshi Patel, Mario Loeza Cabrera, Dane Hoffman, Ronald J Parchem, Wenyi Wang, Radim Nencka, Eveline Barbieri, H Courtney Hodges

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Several cancer core regulatory circuitries (CRCs) depend on the sustained generation of DNA accessibility by SWI/SNF chromatin remodelers. However, the window when SWI/SNF is acutely essential in these settings has not been identified. Here we used neuroblastoma (NB) cells to model and dissect the relationship between cell-cycle progression and SWI/SNF ATPase activity. We find that SWI/SNF inactivation impairs coordinated occupancy of non-pioneer CRC members at enhancers within 1 hour, rapidly breaking their autoregulation. By precisely timing inhibitor treatment following synchronization, we show that SWI/SNF is dispensable for survival in S and G2/M, but becomes acutely essential only during G1 phase. …

Associations Between Genetically Predicted Plasma Protein Levels And Alzheimer’S Disease Risk: A Study Using Genetic Prediction Models, Jingjing Zhu, Shuai Liu, Keenan A Walker, Hua Zhong, Dalia H Ghoneim, Praveen Surendran, Adam Butterworth, Md Ashad Alam, Hong-Wen Deng, Chong Wu, Lang Wu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Specific peripheral proteins have been implicated to play an important role in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the roles of additional novel protein biomarkers in AD etiology remains elusive. The availability of large-scale AD GWAS and plasma proteomic data provide the resources needed for the identification of causally relevant circulating proteins that may serve as risk factors for AD and potential therapeutic targets.

METHODS: We established and validated genetic prediction models for protein levels in plasma as instruments to investigate the associations between genetically predicted protein levels and AD risk. We studied 71,880 (proxy) cases and 383,378 …

Multiplex Immunofluorescence Captures Progressive Immune Exhaustion With Advancing Penile Squamous Cell Cancer Stage, Filip Ionescu, Jonathan Nguyen, Carlos Moran Segura, Mahati Paravathaneni, G Daniel Grass, Niki M Zacharias, Xin Lu, Youngchul Kim, Junmin Whiting, Jasreman Dhillon, Steven A Eschrich, Juskaran Chadha, Keerthi Gullapalli, Gabriel Roman Souza, Hiroko Miyagi, Brandon J Manley, Philippe E Spiess, Jad Chahoud

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC) is a rare and deadly malignancy. Therapeutic advances have been stifled by a poor understanding of disease biology. Specifically, the immune microenvironment is an underexplored component in PSCC and the activity of immune checkpoint inhibitors observed in a subset of patients suggests immune escape may play an important role in tumorigenesis. Herein, we explored for the first time the immune microenvironment of 57 men with PSCC and how it varies with the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and across tumor stages using multiplex immunofluorescence of key immune cell markers. We observed an increase in …

Proceedings Of The 23rd International Conference Of Public Health Sciences

Journal of Health Research

Chulalongkorn University aims to be a prominent national institution with global recognition. Its primary focus is on producing knowledge and innovation that are crucial for the creative and sustainable development of Thai society. To achieve this vision, the university consistently provides support to all of its faculties, institutes, colleges, and other entities in carrying out a range of academic activities, including in-class teaching, research, and conferences, such as the one we are gathered for today. With a primary focus on graduate-level teaching in the field of public health and public health sciences, the College of Public Health Sciences is a …

Contrasting Tick Species Behaviors: A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (Cure), Sara Benham, Shovan Dutta, Rohan Maddamsetti, Clayton Wright, Alena Anderson, David T. Gauthier, Holly D. Gaff

Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics

Tick-borne diseases are on the rise throughout the world, and there is a need to better understand tick behavior in order to identify potential new interventions. Ticks have a complex life history and can survive months off-host. There is a lack of large-scale data on off-host tick behavior, which leaves a gap in understanding of tick biology outside of tick-host interactions. Introducing undergraduate students to authentic research early in their studies can help prepare them for independent inquiry in upper-level classes. To address the student needs and fill gaps in tick research, students in introductory biology courses recorded observations of …

Great Salt Lake Data And Insights Summary: A Synthesized Resource Document For The 2024 General Legislative Session, William Anderegg, Craig Buttars, Joel Ferry, Natalie Gochnour, Kim Shelley, Brian Steed, David G. Tarboton, Leila Ahmadi, Eric Albers, Blake Bingham, Paul D. Brooks, Tim Davis, Eric Dixon, Joanna Endter-Wada, Tage Flint, Candice Hasenyager, Timothy Hawkes, William Johnson, John Lin, John Mackey, Anna Mcentire, Bethany Neilson, Sarah Null, Kevin Perry, Ben Stireman, Courenay Strong, Laura Vernon, Marissa Weinberg, Matt Yost

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

In 2023, Great Salt Lake rose from the record-low elevation reached in 2022, aided by record-high winter snowfall and the adaptive management berm. Economic activity, public health, and the lake's ecosystems continue to be adversely impacted by low water levels. This summary synthesizes essential data and insights so decision-makers have the information they need to improve water management, increase water deliveries to the lake, mitigate adverse impacts, and recover the lake to a healthy range.

Identification Of Regulatory Elements In The Untranslated Regions Of Streptolysin S Associated Gene A Messenger Rna From Group A Streptococcus, Cameron R. Carroll, Sara G. Nibar, Alexis S. Brown, Lauren R. Angello, Gabriela C. Pérez-Alvarado, Brian M. Lee

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Streptococcus pyogenes, also known as group A Streptococcus (GAS), is a human pathogen associated with a variety of diseases such as strep throat, scarlet fever, toxic shock syndrome, and necrotizing fasciitis. One of the virulence factors released by GAS during an invasive infection is a cytotoxic peptide, streptolysin S (SLS), which inhibits the immune response to necrotizing fasciitis. The streptolysin S associated gene A product, SagA, is modified to produce SLS. Thesag operon includes sagA and the genes required for enzyme-mediated post-translational modifications of SagA and the export of SLS. The sagA gene is contained within the pleiotropic …

Regional Variability In The Prevalence Of Food Insecurity And Diet Quality Among United States Children, Jayna M Dave, Tzuan A Chen, Alexandra N Castro, Mamie White, Elizabeth A Onugha, Sloane Zimmerman, Debbe Thompson

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Understanding the association between food security status (FSS) and diet quality in children is crucial. This study investigated regional variability in FSS, participation in the federal nutrition assistance program (FNAP), and diet quality among US children. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data from 2013 to 2016 were analyzed. The association between FSS, FNAP participation, and diet quality (Healthy Eating Index—HEI-2015) was assessed using multiple linear/logistic regression models. The sample included 6403 children (mean age: 7.5 years; 51% male; 33% Hispanic). Within the sample, 13% reported child food insecurity, and 30% reported household food insecurity. Additionally, 90% participated in …

Are Too Many Or Too Few Babies Being Born?, E. Wesley F. Peterson

Cornhusker Economics

An additional 1.8 billion people will be added to the world’s population by 2050. At the same time, average incomes are likely to rise. Data from the Groningen Growth and Development Center suggest that average real (inflation-adjusted) GDP per capita increased by a factor of fifteen between 1820 and 2018 and World Bank data indicate that real per capita GDP more than tripled over the past 62 years. It is likely that these trends will continue and there will be more people with higher average incomes in the future straining global food systems and natural resources. Slower population growth rates …

Smokejumper Obituary: Jessup, Gerald M. (North Cascades 1959), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Smokejumper Obituary: Jessup, Gerald M. (North Cascades 1959), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

The Macrophage Autophagy-Lysosome System In Atherosclerosis Pathogenesis, Astrid Carolina Rodriguez Velez

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Cardiovascular diseases, particularly atherosclerosis, pose significant health concerns, necessitating a comprehensive understanding of underlying mechanisms for effective therapeutic interventions. In this dissertation, I studied diverse topics, ranging from dietary impacts to intracellular processes, shedding light on novel avenues for atherosclerosis research. It is divided in 4 core projects. In Chapter 2) I studied how dietary protein drives atherosclerosis and lesion complexity. We found that protein ingestion acutely elevates amino acid levels in blood and atherosclerotic plaques, stimulating macrophage mTOR signaling. This is causal in plaque progression as the effects are abrogated in macrophage-specific Raptor-null mice. Mechanistically, we find amino acids …

Luminescence And Excited-State Reactivity In A Heteroleptic Tricyanido Fe(Iii) Complex, Yating Ye, Pablo Garrido-Barros, Joël Wellauer, Carlos M Cruz, Rodrigue Lescouëzec, Juan Manuel Herrera

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Harnessing sunlight via photosensitizing molecules is key for novel optical applications and solar-to-chemical energy conversion. Exploiting abundant metals such as iron is attractive but becomes challenging due to typically fast nonradiative relaxation processes. In this work, we report on the luminescence and excited-state reactivity of the heteroleptic [FeIII(pzTp)(CN)3]− complex (pzTp = tetrakis(pyrazolyl)borate), which incorporates a σ-donating trispyrazolyl chelate ligand and three monodentate σ-donating and π-accepting cyanide ligands. Contrary to the nonemissive [Fe(CN)6]3–, a broad emission band centered at 600 nm at room temperature has been recorded for the heteroleptic analogue attributed to the radiative deactivation from a 2LMCT excited state …

Outcomes Of Patients With Multiple Myeloma And 1q Gain/Amplification Receiving Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant: The Md Anderson Cancer Center Experience, Oren Pasvolsky, Sassine Ghanem, Denái R Milton, Mikael Rauf, Mark R Tanner, Samer Srour, Paul Lin, Jeremy Ramdial, Yago Nieto, Guilin Tang, Yosra Aljawai, Hina N Khan, Partow Kebriaei, Hans C Lee, Krina K Patel, Sheeba K Thomas, Donna M Weber, Robert Z Orlowski, Elizabeth J Shpall, Richard E Champlin, Muzaffar H Qazilbash

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The prognostic impact of additional copies of chromosome 1q (1q + ) on outcomes of newly-diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM) patients undergoing autologous transplantation (autoSCT) is unclear. We conducted a retrospective single-center analysis of NDMM patients with 1q21 gain/amplification (3 or ≥4 copies of 1q, respectively) that received autoSCT between 2008-2018. 213 patients were included (79% 1q gain; 21% 1q amplification). The most commonly used induction regimen was bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone (41%). At day100 post-autoSCT and at best post-transplant response, 78% and 87% of patients achieved ≥VGPR, and 38% and 50% achieved MRD-negative ≥VGPR, respectively. Median PFS and OS for …

Isotherms, Kinetics And Thermodynamic Mechanism Of Methylene Blue Dye Adsorption On Synthesized Activated Carbon, Atef El Jery, Heba Saed Kariem Alawamleh, Mustafa Humam Sami, Hussein Abdullah Abbas, Saad Sh Sammen, M A Imteaz, Md Shafiquzzaman, Haitham Osman, Nadhir Al-Ansari

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The treatment of methylene blue (MB) dye wastewater through the adsorption process has been a subject of extensive research. However, a comprehensive understanding of the thermodynamic aspects of dye solution adsorption is lacking. Previous studies have primarily focused on enhancing the adsorption capacity of methylene blue dye. This study aimed to develop an environmentally friendly and cost-effective method for treating methylene blue dye wastewater and to gain insights into the thermodynamics and kinetics of the adsorption process for optimization. An adsorbent with selective methylene blue dye adsorption capabilities was synthesized using rice straw as the precursor. Experimental studies were conducted …

Delineating The Mechanism Of Fragility At Bcl6 Breakpoint Region Associated With Translocations In Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma, Vidya Gopalakrishnan, Urbi Roy, Shikha Srivastava, Khyati M Kariya, Shivangi Sharma, Bibha Choudhary

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BCL6 translocation is one of the most common chromosomal translocations in cancer and results in its enhanced expression in germinal center B cells. It involves the fusion of BCL6 with any of its twenty-six Ig and non-Ig translocation partners associated with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Despite being discovered long back, the mechanism of BCL6 fragility is largely unknown. Analysis of the translocation breakpoints in 5' UTR of BCL6 reveals the clustering of most of the breakpoints around a region termed Cluster II. In silico analysis of the breakpoint cluster sequence identified sequence motifs that could potentially fold into …

Molecular And Clinical Effects Of Aromatase Inhibitor Therapy On Skeletal Muscle Function In Early-Stage Breast Cancer, Tara A Seibert, Lei Shi, Sandra Althouse, Richard Hoffman, Bryan P Schneider, Cody A Altherr, Theresa A Guise, Andrew R Coggan, Tarah J Ballinger

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We evaluated biochemical changes in skeletal muscle of women with breast cancer initiating aromatase inhibitors (AI), including oxidation of ryanodine receptor RyR1 and loss of stabilizing protein calstabin1, and detailed measures of muscle function. Fifteen postmenopausal women with stage I-III breast cancer planning to initiate AI enrolled. Quadriceps muscle biopsy, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, isokinetic dynamometry, Short Physical Performance Battery, grip strength, 6-min walk, patient-reported outcomes, and serologic measures of bone turnover were assessed before and after 6 months of AI. Post-AI exposure, oxidation of RyR1 significantly increased (0.23 ± 0.37 vs. 0.88 ± 0.80, p <  0.001) and RyR1-bound calstabin1 significantly decreased (1.69 ± 1.53 vs. 0.74 ± 0.85, p <  0.001), consistent with dysfunctional calcium channels in skeletal muscle. Grip strength significantly decreased at 6 months. No significant differences were seen in isokinetic dynamometry measures of muscle contractility, fatigue resistance, or muscle recovery post-AI exposure. However, there was significant correlation between oxidation of RyR1 with muscle power (r = 0.60, p = 0.02) and muscle fatigue (r = 0.57, p = 0.03). Estrogen deprivation therapy for breast cancer resulted in maladaptive changes in skeletal muscle, consistent with the biochemical signature of dysfunctional RyR1 calcium channels. Future studies will evaluate longer trajectories of muscle function change and include other high bone turnover states, such as bone metastases.

Texcot22, Md Ahmed Al Muzaddid, William J. Beksi

Computer Science and Engineering Datasets - Archive

The TexCot22 dataset is a set of cotton crop video sequences for training and testing multi-object tracking methods. Each tracking sequence is 10 to 20 seconds in length. The dataset contains of a total of 30 sequences of which 17 are for training and the remaining 13 are for testing. Among the training sequences, 2 of them consist of roughly 5,000 annotated images, which can be used to train a cotton boll detection model. The video sequences were captured at 4K resolution and at distinct frame rates (e.g., 10, 15, 30). There are typically 2 to 10 cotton bolls per …

Machine Learning-Based Soybean Yield Prediction And Optimizing Lidar-Mounted Uav Efficiency, Leticia Santos

LSU Master's Theses

The first chapter of this thesis explores the predictive capabilities of random forests algorithm on datasets obtained from field plot experiments on crop management systems in soybean. Furthermore, the chapter presents a complementary analysis of model performance according to dataset sizes and two techniques on how to impute and deal with missing data. Random forests are being compared with standard statistical techniques such as linear regression on a well-structured, information-rich agronomic experiment. The key findings of this chapter includes the best hyperparameters adjustment and the identification of the dataset threshold for optimal algorithms performance. The second chapter has a research …

Reducing Global Food Loss And Waste Could Improve Air Quality And Lower The Risk Of Premature Mortality, Alessandro Gatto, Maksym Chepeliev

Department of Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications

While the global food system substantially contributes to environmental degradation and climate change, significant amounts of lost or wasted foods along the food supply chain actively contribute to global air pollution and related health risks. In this study, we use an environmentally-extended input–output model to quantify air pollution embedded in global food loss and waste (FLW) and investigate how FLW reduction policies can mitigate air pollution linked to food consumption, decreasing associated premature mortality risks across global regions. While estimating a positive impact of FLW reduction policies on decreasing air pollution levels (from −1.5% of SO2 emissions to −10.2% of …

Smokejumper Obituary: Komberec, Charles Richard "Dick" (Pilot 0000), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Smokejumper Obituary: Komberec, Charles Richard "Dick" (Pilot 0000), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Hypoxia-Activated Prodrug And Antiangiogenic Therapies Cooperatively Treat Pancreatic Cancer But Elicit Immunosuppressive G-Mdsc Infiltration, Arthur Liu, Seth T Gammon, Federica Pisaneschi, Akash Boda, Casey R Ager, David S Hong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We previously showed that ablation of tumor hypoxia can sensitize tumors to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). Here, we used a Kras+/G12D TP53+/R172H Pdx1-Cre-derived (KPC-derived) model of pancreatic adenocarcinoma to examine the tumor response and adaptive resistance mechanisms involved in response to 2 established methods of hypoxia-reducing therapy: the hypoxia-activated prodrug TH-302 and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) blockade. The combination of both modalities normalized tumor vasculature, increased DNA damage and cell death, and delayed tumor growth. In contrast with prior cancer models, the combination did not alleviate overall tissue hypoxia or sensitize these KPC tumors to ICB therapy …