Life Sciences Commons^™

Evaluation Of Hydrograph Separation Techniques With Uncertain End-Member Composition, Eileen Page Lukens, Bethany T. Neilson, Kenneth H. Williams, Janice Brahney

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Hydrograph separation is one of many approaches used to analyse shifts in source water contributions to stream flow resulting from climate change in remote watersheds. Understanding these shifts is vital, as shifts in source water contributions to a stream can shape water management decisions. Because remote watersheds are often inaccessible and have poorly characterized contributing water sources, or end-members, it is critical to understand the implications of using different hydrograph separation techniques in these data-limited environments. To explore the uncertainty associated with different techniques, results from two hydrograph separation techniques, mass balance and principle component analysis, were compared using 3 …

Examination Of The Time Delayed Induction Between Prior Encapsulation Of Catalytic Enzymes In P22 Virus-Like Particles, Andrea Hernandez Irias

Chemistry Theses

Protein cages found in nature have the ability to protect and develop new nanomaterials in order to enhance catalytic reactions. This is due to the ability of these organelle structures to mimic protein-based organelles such as Virus-Like Particles (VLPs). VLPs have the ability to not only resemble virus protein structures but to encapsulate enzymes while retaining their activity. This research examines the in vitro encapsulation withing the bacteriophage P22 derived VLP, and show that some enzymes may require a delay in encapsulation to allowed proper folding

and maturation before they can be encapsulated inside P22 as fully active enzymes. Exploring …

Neural And Cardiac Mechanisms In Friedreich's Ataxia With Patient-Derived Ipscs, Mariana Burgos Angulo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Friedreich's ataxia (FA) is an autosomal recessive disease caused, in most cases, by a GAA trinucleotide repeat expansion in the first intron of the frataxin (FXN) gene, which results in transcriptional repression of the encoded protein frataxin. FA is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, but the primary cause of death is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which occurs in 60% of the patients. Several functions of frataxin have been proposed, but none of them can fully explain why its deficiency causes the FA phenotypes nor why the most affected cell types are neurons and cardiomyocytes. It is possible that frataxin affects neural and cardiac …

Bio-Based Food Packaging Material For Intelligent Food Packaging Applications For Chicken Fillets, Kalpani Y. Perera, Amit K. Jaiswal, Swarma Jaiswal, Shubham Sharma

Articles

Bionanocomposite packaging is made up of bio- based materials that have high performance activity and are ecologically sustainable alternatives to packaging made of synthetic polymers. Intelligent packaging retains track of the state of the food and the environment in which it is stored, and communicates relevant changes to the consumer through visualization or other methods. The aim of this study was to develop a bionanocomposite intelligent packaging material by utilising sodium alginate, gelatin, nanoclay and curcumin. Sodium alginate, gelatin film incorporated with Curcumin (Cur), and Nanoclay (NC) in various concentrations (0% W/V, 0.5% W/V, 1% W/V and 1. 5% W/V) …

Optimization Of Microwave-Assisted Extraction Of Total Flavonoids From Leaves Of Moringa Oleifera Lam. By Response Surface Methodology And Its Antibacterial And Antioxidant Activities, Yang Li-Hua, Dong Xiao-Qing, Dong Qi-Lu, Li Xiao-Jiao

Food and Machinery

Objective:The purpose of this study is to improve the extraction rate of total flavonoids from the leaves of Moringa oleifera Lam. and evaluate their in vitro antibacterial and antioxidant capacity. Methods:The extraction of total flavonoids from the leaves of M. oleifera Lam. from Baoshan city was optimized by Box-Behnken response surface methodology, and its antibacterial and antioxidant activities were evaluated. Results: The optimal conditions for microwave-assisted extraction of total flavonoids from leaves of M. oleifera Lam. were solid-liquid ratio1∶29 (g/mL), microwave power 567 W, microwave time3.6 min and ethanol fraction 50%, and the highest extraction rate of total …

Openkbp-Opt: An International And Reproducible Evaluation Of 76 Knowledge-Based Planning Pipelines, Aaron Babier, Rafid Mahmood, Binghao Zhang, Victor G L Alves, Ana Maria Barragán-Montero, Carlos E Cardenas, Zijie Chen, Jaehee Chun, Kelly Diaz, Harold David Eraso, Erik Faustmann, Sibaji Gaj, Skylar Gay, Mary Gronberg, Bingqi Guo, Junjun He, Gerd Heilemann, Sanchit Hira, Yuliang Huang, Fuxin Ji, Dashan Jiang, Jean Carlo Jimenez Giraldo, Hoyeon Lee, Jun Lian, Shuolin Liu, Keng-Chi Liu, José Marrugo, Kentaro Miki, Kunio Nakamura, Tucker Netherton, Dan Nguyen, Hamidreza Nourzadeh, Alexander F I Osman, Zhao Peng, José Darío Quinto Muñoz, Christian Ramsl, Dong Joo Rhee, Juan David Rodriguez, Hongming Shan, Jeffrey V Siebers, Mumtaz H Soomro, Kay Sun, Andrés Usuga Hoyos, Carlos Valderrama, Rob Verbeek, Enpei Wang, Siri Willems, Qi Wu, Xuanang Xu, Sen Yang, Lulin Yuan, Simeng Zhu, Lukas Zimmermann, Kevin L Moore, Thomas G Purdie, Andrea L Mcniven, Timothy C Y Chan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective.To establish an open framework for developing plan optimization models for knowledge-based planning (KBP).

Approach.Our framework includes radiotherapy treatment data (i.e. reference plans) for 100 patients with head-and-neck cancer who were treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy. That data also includes high-quality dose predictions from 19 KBP models that were developed by different research groups using out-of-sample data during the OpenKBP Grand Challenge. The dose predictions were input to four fluence-based dose mimicking models to form 76 unique KBP pipelines that generated 7600 plans (76 pipelines × 100 patients). The predictions and KBP-generated plans were compared to the reference …

Characterizing First-Year Biology Majors’ Motivations And Perceptions Of The Discipline, Jeremy L. Hsu, Lauren Dudley

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Understanding why students choose to major in biology provides important insight into the motivations of biology majors. It is similarly important to investigate how biology majors perceive the discipline, including associated activities, such as independent research, which can influence students’ interests in the field and likelihood to persist in science, engineering, technology, and math. However, there has been little work done examining biology student motivations and perceptions, particularly at non-research-intensive universities or after the COVID-19 pandemic started. To address this gap, we surveyed the first-year cohort of biology majors at a private, comprehensive university. We found that students largely reported …

Study On Optimization Of Extraction Technology And Antibacterial Activity Of Total Flavonoids From The Root Of Clausena, Xu Dan-Ni, Su Xiu-Fang, Huang Li-Juan

Food and Machinery

Objective:This study aimed to optimize the optimal extraction process of total flavonoids from the root of Clausena anisum-olens and determine the yield and antibacterial effect of total flavonoids from different producing areas. Methods:The total flavonoids were extracted by ultrasonic method from the roots of C. anisum-olens. Through single factor and orthogonal test, the effect of ultrasonic assisted extraction conditions on the extraction rate of total flavonoids from the root of C. anisum-olens was investigated, and the extraction and antibacterial test of total flavonoids from various producing areas were carried out. Results: The optimum extraction process of total flavonoids …

Study On Anti-Fatigue Activities Of Chick-Pea Oligopeptides, Jia Qian-Sheng, Liu Yuan-Yang, Li Dan

Food and Machinery

Objective:The purpose of this study was to explore the antioxidative activity in vitro experiments and the anti-fatigue activity of chickpea oligopeptides in mice. Methods:In this study, the antioxidant capacity of chickpea oligopeptide was detected by in vitro method, and the anti-fatigue capacity of chickpea oligopeptide was comprehensively evaluated by detecting physiological and biochemical indexes of mice. Results:The superoxide anion radical scavenging ability IC50of chickpea oligopeptide was 4.26 mg/mL, which was significantly higher than that of GSH positive control group (P＜0.05); The reducing power of chickpea oligopeptide was significantly higher than that of GSH positive control …

Cell-Type-Specific Profiling Of The Arabidopsis Thaliana Membrane Protein-Encoding Genes, Sergio Alan Cervantes-Pérez, Marc Libault

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Membrane proteins work in large complexes to perceive and transduce external signals and to trigger a cellular response leading to the adaptation of the cells to their environment. Biochemical assays have been extensively used to reveal the interaction between membrane proteins. However, such analyses do not reveal the unique and complex composition of the membrane proteins of the different plant cell types. Here, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the expression of Arabidopsis membrane proteins in the different cell types composing the root. Specifically, we analyzed the expression of genes encoding membrane proteins interacting in large complexes. We found that …

Cell-Type-Specific Profiling Of The Arabidopsis Thaliana Membrane Protein-Encoding Genes, Sergio Alan Cervantes-Pérez, Marc Libault

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Membrane proteins work in large complexes to perceive and transduce external signals and to trigger a cellular response leading to the adaptation of the cells to their environment. Biochemical assays have been extensively used to reveal the interaction between membrane proteins. However, such analyses do not reveal the unique and complex composition of the membrane proteins of the different plant cell types. Here, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the expression of Arabidopsis membrane proteins in the different cell types composing the root. Specifically, we analyzed the expression of genes encoding membrane proteins interacting in large complexes. We found that …

Exploring Bacterial Diversity Through Hand-Printing & Bacterial Art, Sudeshna Roy, Mark Abrahamson, Madhav Nepal, Nicholas Butzin

iLEARN Teaching Resources

Bacteria are present in a wide variety of environments, ranging from deep ocean floor to volcanoes. Based on their niche, bacteria can differ in their physiologies. This lesson is designed to make the students aware of the presence of bacteria in their surroundings. This lesson also aims to demonstrate the diversity in bacterial species using colorful bacteria. The bacteria used in this lesson require specific temperatures to grow and develop their color. By the end of this lesson, students will be able to visualize the different colored bacteria on the plate.

Toward Genetic Engineering: Teaching Transformation Using The Pglo Plasmid In High School Classrooms, Isaac Kovash, Tahmina Hossain, Sudeshna Roy, Michael Mitchell, Madhav P. Nepal, Nicholas Butzin

iLEARN Teaching Resources

In this lesson plan, students will learn about genetic engineering and perform the same transformation protocol used by scientists on a daily basis around the world. Genetic engineering is a technique used for direct manipulation, alteration, or modification of genes or genomes of an organism to manipulate the phenotypes. The use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has emerged everywhere as a mainstay from agriculture to pharmaceuticals. Through this lesson, students will transform Escherichia coli with pGLO plasmid, which give a brilliant fluorescent green glow under UV light. Students will also learn the central dogma of molecular biology: DNA à RNA …

Phylogenetic Diversity Of Animal Oral And Gastrointestinal Viromes Useful In Surveillance Of Zoonoses, Anthony Michael Esposito, Michelle Marie Esposito, Albert Ptashnik

Publications and Research

Great emphasis has been placed on bacterial microbiomes in human and animal systems. In recent years, advances in metagenomics have allowed for the detection and characterization of more and more native viral particles also residing in these organisms. The digestive tracts of animals and humans—from the oral cavity, to the gut, to fecal excretions—have become one such area of interest. Next-generation sequencing and bioinformatic analyses have uncovered vast phylogenetic virome diversity in companion animals, such as dogs and cats, as well as farm animals and wildlife such as bats. Zoonotic and arthropod-borne illnesses remain major causes of worldwide outbreaks, as …

Physiological Responses To Speed-Matched Running On Non-Motorized Assault Airrunner Versus Traditional Treadmills In Active Females: A Pilot Study, Noelle Morrow, Kayla Mitchell, Hannah Weighart, Diana Alonzo, Stephen Ives

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 15(4): 1262-1273, 2022. Treadmills are utilized as a training tool to improve aerobic fitness, but precise understanding of intensity and the corresponding physiological strain is critical for optimizing exercise prescription and associated adaptations. Running on non-motorized, curved treadmills may result in greater oxygen uptake (VO₂), increased heart rate (HR), and increased rating of perceived exertion (RPE) compared to traditional motorized treadmills. The purpose of this study was to investigate the physiological responses on non-motorized versus traditional motorized treadmills during speed-matched running. Participants were 4 college-aged, recreationally active females. HR, VO₂, respiratory …

Lessons Learned From The 2019 Nebraska Floods: Implications For Emergency Management, Mass Care, And Food Security, Eric E. Calloway, Nadine B. Nugent, Katie L. Stern, Ashley Mueller, Amy L. Yaroch

Nebraska Cooperative Extension: Faculty and Staff Publications

This qualitative study aimed to understand the actions, challenges, and lessons learned for addressing the food and water needs of flood survivors, with a special focus on vulnerable populations and the implications for food security, to inform future disaster response efforts in the U.S. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted from January to August 2020 with the local, state, and national stakeholders (n = 27) involved in the disaster response to the 2019 Nebraska floods, particularly those involved in providing mass care, such as food, water, and shelter, for the flood survivors. The challenge themes were related to limited risk …

Editorial: Mammalian Responses To Climate Change: From Organisms To Communities, Johan T. Du Toit, Robyn S. Hetem, M. Denise Dearing

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Mammals have displayed spectacular evolutionary success ever since an asteroid impact caused the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event ~66 million years ago, when the non-avian dinosaurs disappeared. Now another mass extinction event is underway because of another major planetary disturbance, but this time it is directly caused by just one over-achieving species among all those mammals: Homo sapiens.

Evaluation Of The Effects Of Wood-Sourced Biochar As A Feedlot Pen Surface Amendment On Manure Nutrient Capture, Jessica L. Sperber, Galen E. Erickson, Andrea K. Watson

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Feedstuffs utilized in U.S. feedlot finishing rations incorporate high concentrations of N and P, with less than 15% of fed N and P retained by the animal. The remaining N and P are excreted in the manure, where the opportunity for manure N loss via ammonia (NH3) volatilization from the feedlot pen surface is a risk to the environment and lowers the value of manure as a fertilizer. Two nutrient mass balance experiments were conducted during the winter and summer seasons to evaluate the effects of spreading unprocessed Eastern red cedar biochar onto the feedlot pen surface on manure nutrient …

Effect Of Ethephon Ripening And Peeling On Quality Of Fresh Walnut During Freezing Storage, Wu Xiao-Hua, Chen Bai, Li Ming-Ze, Zhang Rui, Feng Ji-Hu

Food and Machinery

Objective:To evaluate the feasibility of the production of ethephon in the freezing thawing and fresh keeping of fresh walnut, and to provide theoretical basis and technical support for fresh walnut freezing thawing and fresh keeping technology system. Methods:The late fruiting walnut variety 'Qingxiang' from Longnan county of Gansu province was used as the experimental material, and then the green walnut was picked by hand and then peeled by Ethephon. Meanwhile, the artificial peeling was used as the control (CK). The fresh walnut was peeled and stored in a constant temperature freezer with temperature of -7~-5 ℃ and humidity …

Variation In Morpho‑Physiological And Metabolic Responses To Low Nitrogen Stress Across The Sorghum Association Panel, Marcin Grzybowski, Mackenzie Zwiener, Mackenzie Zwiener, Hongyu Jin, Nuwan K. Wijewardane, Abbas Atefi, Michael J. Naldrett, Sophie Alvarez, Yufeng Ge, James C. Schnable

Center for Plant Science Innovation: Faculty Publications

Background: Access to biologically available nitrogen is a key constraint on plant growth in both natural and agricultural settings. Variation in tolerance to nitrogen deficit stress and productivity in nitrogen limited conditions exists both within and between plant species. However, our understanding of changes in different phenotypes under long term low nitrogen stress and their impact on important agronomic traits, such as yield, is still limited.

Results: Here we quantified variation in the metabolic, physiological, and morphological responses of a sorghum association panel assembled to represent global genetic diversity to long term, nitrogen deficit stress and the relationship …

The Pioneer Advantage: Filling The Blank Spots On The Map Of Genome Diversity In Europe, Taras K. Oleksyk, Walter Wolfsberger, Khrystyna Schubelka, Serghei Mangul, Stephen James O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

Documenting genome diversity is important for the local biomedical communities and instrumental in developing precision and personalized medicine. Currently, tens of thousands of whole-genome sequences from Europe are publicly available, but most of these represent populations of developed countries of Europe. The uneven distribution of the available data is further impaired by the lack of data sharing. Recent whole-genome studies in Eastern Europe, one in Ukraine and one in Russia, demonstrated that local genome diversity and population structure from Eastern Europe historically had not been fully represented. An unexpected wealth of genomic variation uncovered in these studies was not so …

Associations Of 24-Hour Movement Behaviors, Parental Academic Support, And Academic Achievement In Alaskan Adolescents, You Fu, Ryan D. Burns, Nora Constantino, Xavier Lopez, Samantha Dyer

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between meeting recommendations for 24-hour movement behaviors, parental academic support, and student academic achievement in a sample of Alaskan adolescents. Data were obtained from the 2019 Alaska Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS; N = 1,897; mean age = 15.8 ± 1.3 years old). The associations between meeting recommendations for the 24-hour movement behaviors of physical activity, screen use, and sleep with high academic achievement (mostly A’s and B’s) were examined using weighted multivariable logistic regressions. Subpopulation analyses determined if associations differed by levels of parental academic support. Approximately 18.8% of …

Drosophila Melanogaster As A Model For Male Reproductive System Ethanol Toxicity, Gbemisola Ilelaboye

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Drosophila melanogaster has been extensively used in different types of research as a model organism due to its high reproductivity, short life span, and easy maintenance. In this paper, we examined drosophila as a model for ethanol toxicity in the male reproductive system. We developed three assays: The DAPI assay, sperm viability assay, and tubulin staining assay. The DAPI assay is a nuclear staining assay that assesses the effects of various ethanol concentrations in late spermiogenesis in which increased detrimental effects to the sperm bundles were observed. The second assay consisted of the sperm viability assay which showed an increase …

Can Body Mass Index Influence The Skin Temperature Of Adolescents? A Preliminary Study With The Use Of Infrared Thermography, Hamilton Henrique Teixeira Reis, Ciro José Brito, Alisson Gomes Da Silva, Manuel Sillero-Quintana, Victória Esther Teixeria Reis, Francisco Zacaron Werneck, Ismael Fernández-Cuevas, Matheus Santos Cerqueira, João Carlos Bouzas Marins

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

– Infrared thermography (IRT) has been used to assess skin temperature (Tsk), especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, as an important tool in medical screening not only of the general population, but also of young athletes. However, the subcutaneous adipose tissue can act as an insulator when the Tsk is assessed by IRT, modifying the normal Tsk data and leading to their misinterpretation. Considering that the body mass index (BMI) is an important predictor of obesity, the objective of this study was to verify if the Tsk measured by IRT is affected by the BMI in adolescents. A preliminary study was …

Mutations In Bcor, A Co-Repressor Of Crx/Otx2, Are Associated With Early-Onset Retinal Degeneration, Maéva Langouët, Christine Jolicoeur, Awais Javed, Pierre Mattar, Micah D Gearhart, Mette Bertelsen, Nanna D Rendtorff, Karen Grønskov, Catherine Jespersgaard, Rui Chen, Zixi Sun, Hui Li, Najmeh Alirezaie, Jacek Majewski, Vivian J Bardwell, Ruifang Sui, Robert K Koenekoop, Michel Cayouette

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Many transcription factors regulating the production, survival, and function of photoreceptor cells have been identified, but little is known about transcriptional co-regulators in retinal health and disease. Here, we show that BCL6 co-repressor (BCOR), a Polycomb repressive complex 1 factor mutated in various cancers, is involved in photoreceptor degenerative diseases. Using proteomics and transcription assays, we report that BCOR interacts with the transcription factors CRX and OTX2 and reduces their ability to activate the promoters of photoreceptor-specific genes. CUT&RUN sequencing further shows that BCOR shares genome-wide binding profiles with CRX/OTX2, consistent with a general co-repression activity. We also identify missense …

Designing Optimal Convolutional Neural Network Architecture Using Differential Evolution Algorithm

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are deep learning models used widely for solving various tasks like computer vision and speech recognition. CNNs are developed manually based on problem-specific domain knowledge and tricky settings, which are laborious, time consuming, and challenging. To solve these, our study develops an improved differential evolution of convolutional neural network (IDECNN) algorithm to design CNN layer architectures for image classification. Variable-length encoding is utilized to represent the flexible layer architecture of a CNN model in IDECNN. An efficient heuristic mechanism is proposed in IDECNN to evolve CNN architecture through mutation and crossover to prevent premature convergence during …

In Silico Evaluation Of The Antimalarial Potential Of The Phytoconstituents Of The Azadirachta Indica Plant, Areh E.T., Atolani O., Kambizi L

Al-Bahir

Background and Objectives: Malaria, a parasitic protozoan disease caused primarily by Plasmodium falciparum, has killed millions of people in Africa, particularly those with meager or no access to orthodox medical facilities and therapies. Extracts from the Azadirachta indica (neem) plant is believed to possess antimalaria properties among the locals that rely on herbs. Numerous in - vivo studies have suggested the antimalarial properties of neem extract and phytochemicals. This study employs an in - silico method through molecular docking techniques to provide insight while adding credence to the antimalarial potential of phytochemicals of neem plants as claimed …

Single-Cell Rna Sequencing Reveals Molecular Features Of Heterogeneity In The Murine Retinal Pigment Epithelium., Ravi S Pandey, Mark P. Krebs, Mohan Bolisetty, Jeremy R. Charette, Juergen K. Naggert, Paul Robson, Patsy M. Nishina, Gregory W. Carter

Faculty Research 2022

Transcriptomic analysis of the mammalian retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) aims to identify cellular networks that influence ocular development, maintenance, function, and disease. However, available evidence points to RPE cell heterogeneity within native tissue, which adds complexity to global transcriptomic analysis. Here, to assess cell heterogeneity, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing of RPE cells from two young adult male C57BL/6J mice. Following quality control to ensure robust transcript identification limited to cell singlets, we detected 13,858 transcripts among 2667 and 2846 RPE cells. Dimensional reduction by principal component analysis and uniform manifold approximation and projection revealed six distinct cell populations. All …

Changes Of Physicochemical Properties Of Rice Glutelin Fibril Aggregates During Storage, Huang Hui, Wang Chuan-Yang, Li Shi-Chao, Yu Jian, Wang Fa-Xiang, Liu Yong-Le, Li Xiang-Hong

Food and Machinery

Objective:To explore the relationship between functional properties of rice glutelin fibril aggregates (RGFAs) solution formed by different storage and heating time.Methods:The RGFAs samples were prepared by heating rice glutelin (RG) at 85 ℃ and pH 2.0 for 2~15 h, and stored at 4 ℃ for 1 day and 4 days, respectively. The surface hydrophobicity, emulsifying property, shear viscosity of RGFAs samples as well as the gelatinization characteristics and hydrolysis rate of the mixture of RGFAs and starch were measured.Results:After storage at 4 ℃ for 4 days, the emulsifying properties were significantly improved. The surface hydrophobicity …

Pando's Pulse: Vital Signs Signal Need For Course Correction At World-Renowned Aspen Forest, Paul C. Rogers

Aspen Bibliography

Upland aspen (Populus spp.) forests contribute significantly to biodiversity in their circumboreal role as keystone species. As aspen ecosystems flourish or diminish, myriad dependent species follow suit. The 43-hectare Pando aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) clone in Utah, USA, is thought to be the largest living organism on earth, but is faltering due to chronic herbivory. Long-term resilience in aspen communities, including Pando, rests on successful recruitment of vegetative suckers that are nutritiously desirable to browsing ungulates. Here, I evaluate aspen reproduction alongside numerous vital indicators of Pando's status in the first trend assessment of this embattled iconic forest. …