Life Sciences Commons^™

Phase Ii Study Of Durvalumab (Anti-Pd-L1) And Trametinib (Meki) In Microsatellite Stable (Mss) Metastatic Colorectal Cancer (Mcrc), Benny Johnson, Cara L Haymaker, Edwin R Parra, Luisa Maren Solis Soto, Xuemei Wang, Arvind Dasari, Kanwal Raghav, Eduardo Vilar, Bryan K Kee, Cathy Eng, Christine M Parseghian, Robert A Wolff, Younghee Lee, Daniele Lorenzini, Caddie Laberiano-Fernandez, Anuj Verma, Wenhua Lang, Ignacio I Wistuba, Andrew Futreal, Scott Kopetz, Michael J Overman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Monotherapy with immune checkpoint blockade is ineffective for patients (pts) with microsatellite stable (MSS) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). This study investigates whether the combination of trametinib (T) with durvalumab (D) can alter the immune tumor microenvironment (TME) by successfully priming and activating T-cells.

Methods: Open-label, single-center, phase II trial with primary endpoint of immune-related response rate for combination of T+D in refractory MSS mCRC pts (NCT03428126). T is 2 mg/day orally starting 1 week prior to D, which is given 1500 mg intravenously every 4 weeks. Simon 2-stage design used to enroll 29 pts into first stage, …

Pathways And Barriers To Careers In Academic Clinical Cancer Prevention: A Qualitative Study, Melissa Y Kok, Janelle C Chavez, Pompeyo R Quesada, Oluwapelumi T Adegoke, Shine Chang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

National surveys document steady declines over time in interest in academic medicine and cancer prevention careers (Am J Prev Med 54(3):444-8, 2018). Through interviews with 16 academic cancer prevention physicians at one comprehensive cancer center, this study identifies motivations and barriers to physician careers in academic cancer prevention and proposes recommendations to increase recruitment. Participants reported that cancer prevention was vague to them early in training, impairing career exploration. Further, without role models and opportunities to learn about cancer prevention, many were ignorant of career options. Many had incorrect views about cancer prevention practice being mainly within the scope of …

Pulmonary Fibrosis Model Using Micro-Ct Analyzable Human Psc-Derived Alveolar Organoids Containing Alveolar Macrophage-Like Cells, Seri Choi, Jiwoong Choi, Seongmin Cheon, Jihong Song, Seung-Yeon Kim, Dae-Hwan Nam, Su-Man Kim, Hyung-Sik Kang, Kee K Kim, Sang Hoon Jeong, Ju-Han Lee, Eun-Kee Park, Minseob Lee, Hyang-Ae Lee, Ki-Suk Kim, Han-Jin Park, Won Keun Oh, Chungoo Park, Chang Hyun Lee, Eun-Mi Kim

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Human lung organoids (hLOs) are useful for disease modelling and drug screening. However, a lack of immune cells in hLOs limits the recapitulation of in vivo cellular physiology. Here, we generated hLOs containing alveolar macrophage (AMφ)-like cells derived from pluripotent stem cells (PSC). To bridge hLOs with advanced human lung high-resolution X-ray computed tomography (CT), we acquired quantitative micro-CT images. Three hLO types were observed during differentiation. Among them, alveolar hLOs highly expressed not only lung epithelial cell markers but also AMφ-specific markers. Furthermore, CD68

Knowledge Representation And Management: Notable Contributions In 2021

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: To select, present, and summarize the best papers in the field of Knowledge Representation and Management (KRM) published in 2021.

METHODS: Following the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) Yearbook guidelines, a comprehensive and standardized review of the biomedical informatics literature was performed to select the best KRM papers published in 2021, based on PubMed queries.

RESULTS: A total of 1,231 publications were retrieved from PubMed. We nominated 15 candidate best papers, and four of them were finally selected as the best papers in the KRM section. The topics covered by these papers include knowledge graph, ontology development, ontology alignment, …

Charting The Proteome Landscape In Major Psychiatric Disorders: From Biomarkers To Biological Pathways Towards Drug Discovery

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Schizophrenia (SZ), bipolar disorder (BD), and major depressive disorder (MDD) are major mental disorders that affect a significant proportion of the global population. Advancing our knowledge of the pathophysiology of these disorders and identifying biomarkers are urgent needs for developing objective diagnostic tests and new therapeutics. In this study, we performed a systematic review and then extracted, curated, and analyzed proteomics data from published studies, aiming to assess the proteome in peripheral blood of individuals with SZ, BD, or MDD. Then, we performed pathway and network analyses to illuminate the biological themes concatenated by the differentially expressed proteins by systematically …

The Paleoecology Of High-Elevation Bison In The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem And Implications For Modern Bison Conservation, Darian Bouvier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The national mammal of the United States, the American Bison (Bison bison) was once nearly extinct. Populations have recovered to the degree that thousands roam the Great Plains today. Due to their large numbers and body size, this species has an oversized impact on the ecological communities where it lives and is considered a keystone herbivore in modern North American grasslands. This study explores the detailed, seasonally resolved, paleoecology of seven bison from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem during the Late Holocene through stable isotope analyses and species niche modeling. Isotopic analyses of δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, …

Cyclic Di-Gmp Regulates Motility, Biofilm Formation, And Desiccation Tolerance In Acinetobacter Baumannii, Garrett Reynolds

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Acinetobacter baumannii is an increasingly multidrug-resistant pathogen contributing to hospital-acquired infections necessitating the discovery of novel treatments. A bacterial second messenger, cyclic diguanosine monophosphate (cyclic di-GMP), can regulate various persistence factors that are potentially advantageous for survival in hospital environments. Cyclic di-GMP–modulating enzymes and cyclic di-GMP–binding effectors predictively are encoded in the Acinetobacter baumannii genome. I hypothesized that cyclic di-GMP controls motility, biofilm formation, and desiccation tolerance in Acinetobacter baumannii. Disrupting cyclic di-GMP–modulating enzymes or cyclic di-GMP–binding effectors should alter the regulatory effectiveness of these phenotypes. I tested the multidrug-resistant isolate Acinetobacter baumannii strain AB5075 and identified several transposon …

Building Communities Of Teaching Practice And Data-Driven Open Education Resources With Neon Faculty Mentoring Networks, Kusum Naithani, Megan Jones, Kristine L. Richmond

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

With the growing availability and accessibility of big data in ecology, we face an urgent need to train the next generation of scientists in data science practices and tools. One of the biggest barriers for implementing a data-driven curriculum in undergraduate classrooms is the lack of training and support for educators to develop their own skills and time to incorporate these principles into existing courses or develop new ones. Alongside the research goals of the NEON, providing education and training are key components for building a community of scientists and users equipped to utilize large-scale ecological and environmental data. To …

How The “Blueprint” For Agriculture In Adventist Education Can Be Relevant In The 21st Century, Katherine Koudele

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Guidelines For Model Adaptation: A Study Of The Transferability Of A General Seagrass Ecosystem Dynamic Bayesian Networks Model, Paula Sobenko Hatum, Kathryn Mcmahon, Kerrie Mengersen, Paul Pao Yen Wu

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

In general, it is not feasible to collect enough empirical data to capture the entire range of processes that define a complex system, either intrinsically or when viewing the system from a different geographical or temporal perspective. In this context, an alternative approach is to consider model transferability, which is the act of translating a model built for one environment to another less well-known situation. Model transferability and adaptability may be extremely beneficial—approaches that aid in the reuse and adaption of models, particularly for sites with limited data, would benefit from widespread model uptake. Besides the reduced effort required to …

In Vivo Efficacy Of Pyrantel Pamoate As A Post-Exposure Prophylactic For Rat Lungworm (Angiostrongylus Cantonensis), John Jacob, Argon Steel, Lisa Kaluna, Steven Hess, Israel Leinbach, Carmen Antaky, Robert Sugihara, Lindsey Hamilton, Peter Follett, Kathleen Howe, Steven Jacquier, Supakit Wongwiwatthananukit, Susan Jarvi

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rat lungworm (Angiostrongylus cantonensis) is a neurotropic nematode, and the leading cause of eosinophilic meningitis worldwide. The parasite is usually contracted through ingestion of infected gastropods, often hidden in raw or partially cooked produce. Pharmaceutical grade pyrantel pamoate was evaluated as a post-exposure prophylactic against A. cantonensis. Pyrantel pamoate is readily available over-the-counter in most pharmacies in the USA and possesses anthelmintic activity exclusive to the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Administering pyrantel pamoate immediately after exposure should theoretically paralyze the larvae in the GIT, causing the larvae to be expelled via peristalsis without entering the systemic circulation. In this study, pyrantel …

Early-Exercise Effects On Mice Tendon Remodeling, Miles Valencia

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Tendons connect and transmit energy between muscles and bones and play a key role in movement. Tendon remodels by breaking down and absorbing tendon components including collagen fibers and elastin while replacing them with newly formed tendon. These processes can be influenced by short- and long-term factors such as exercise and aging; the magnitude of influence on tendon remodeling remains unclear. I researched the effects of maturation and exercise on tendon remodeling using a mice colony artificially selected for high voluntary wheel running called high-runner mice. Control and high-runner linetype mice were separated into 2 age cohorts that started training …

Neonatal Islet-1+ Cardiovascular Progenitor Cell-Derived Exosomes And Their Functional Ability To Regulate Proliferation, Lourdes Ceja

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Heart failure affects many people around the world and can lead to disease progression and death. Consequently, new stem and exosome-based therapies are needed to address this major health issue and to provide therapeutic options that will improve outcomes for the increasing number of patients with heart disease. Stem cell-derived exosomes have captivated researchers’ attention over the past couple of years based on their functional role in cellular signaling which highlights the vital component of the secretome of stem and progenitor cells. Since neonates have significantly enhanced regenerative ability, we hypothesized that exosomes isolated from Islet-1+ expressing neonatal human cardiovascular …

The Effect Of Post-Harvest Storage Temperature And Drying Method On The Pathogen Load Of Edible Kelp, Jessica Vorse

All Theses And Dissertations

The American seaweed industry is growing, primarily into the edible sector, and as a result, more seaweed products are available for human consumption. It is necessary to evaluate the safety of industry’s current post-harvest storage and processing methods to ensure the risk of foodborne pathogens on edible seaweed remains low. We evaluated the pathogen load of edible kelp post-harvest under three different storage temperatures (4˚C, 10˚C, 20˚C) and two different drying methods (air- and freeze-drying). The focal pathogens for this project were six of the most common food-associated pathogens in the United States: Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, pathogenic …

The Migrant Crisis At The U.S. Southern Border, Matthew Ingber, Conner Muth, Nathanael Hall

Immigration Scholarship: History, Trends and Development in Global Immigration

The immigration policy of The United States of America is a divisive topic within American society. There is no doubt that this policy needs reform. This paper will investigate the ways in which The U.S. immigration policy at the Southern border negatively impacts those seeking asylum and will conclude with suggested policy changes that would potentially have the greatest positive impact on these individuals. Ever since 2016 media outlets have declared war on people crossing the southern border illegally. Media giants such as Fox News have repeatedly grouped those individuals within the same constructs as rapists, gang members, drug smugglers, …

Sustainable Development Goals: A Business Opportunity, Mariia Nezhyva, Viktoriia Mysiuk

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

Article deals with the economic importance of sustainable development its component and their impact on the economy and business. The preconditions, theoretical, and applied principles of sustainability are investigated. The article substantiates the need to determine the priorities of innovation for sustainable development. The measures and goals to be taken to implement the innovative component of sustainable development are proposed to get virality of business opportunity. Economic changes and environmental pressures are sparking new levels of global concern, shifting consumers' values, preferences, and behavior. In response, businesses should consider the idea of a purpose beyond economic profit to design products …

Determinants Of Rice Farming Efficiency In Karanganyar Central Java In The Period Of One Decade After Reformation, Umi Barokah, Wiwit Rahayu, Agustono Agustono, Ernoiz Antriyandarti

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

One of the rice producer districts in Central Java is the Karanganyar district. The productivity of rice in Karanganyar district can still be improved because until 2010 the average productivity achieved at the farm level was still below potential or the research results were 8 ton ha-1. The low performance of farming because farmers are faced by the situation of limited production factors used in business to achieve the goal of maximizing income/welfare. The popular approach to measure the level of efficiency at the farm level is to use the frontier production function to determine technical efficiency. This study aims …

Increasing Rosella Farmers Capacity By Double Diamond Design Thinking Approach, Florence Pribadi, Muliasari Kartikawati, Juli Karijati Njoto, Nurul Illahi Kusuma Sari, Farah Shania Nur

ASEAN Journal of Community Engagement

Rosella (Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn) is a well-known family medicinal plant (Toga). Spoilage due to the weather, and the consequent low revenue gained from selling dried rosella are two of the main challenges currently being encountered by rosella farmers. Regardless of previously practicing community engagement including regular training from local authorities, farmers are still encountering difficulties to implement the training materials, consequently experiencing loss. Method incorporated in this community engagement is the double diamond design thinking that ensures putting the farmers first in all stages. Method chosen for drying rosella was a mixed solar dryer equipped with heating lamps …

The Development Of Video Podcast As An Innovation In Online Nutrition Education And Its Engagement Data Analysis, Lini Anisfatus Sholihah

ASEAN Journal of Community Engagement

Podcasts have become more popular in Indonesia recently. Studies have shown that video podcasts, which incorporate education and entertainment aspects, are effective as a medium to study language and medical subjects among students and clinicians. This study aims to analyze video podcasts’ utilization in nutrition education and how they can engage viewers from the general community. This paper further aims to describe the development of a video podcast, NutriPodcast, as an innovative media to educate the community regarding nutrition topics. The number of audience views was calculated by utilizing the analytical feature on social media. The methodology to develop the …

Hydrochemistry Of High-Mountain Pamir Rivers: Formation, Changes And Influence On The Chemical Composition Of Irrigation Water, Parviz Inomovich Normatov, Inom Normatov, Akobir Karimzoda, Rano Eshankulova, Ayubdzon Normatov, Nurmakhmad Shermatov

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

The purpose of the research is to analyze the prospects for the agriculture development in the Central Asian region and Tajikistan in particular, in terms of identifying the main favorable and constraining factors for the further agriculture development. The Pyanj river is one of the main tributaries of the Transboundary Amu Darya River in the Central Asian region, whose waters are a source of drinking water supply for the population and 80% used for irrigation of agricultural land. The trend of deteriorating water quality of Central Asian River systems recently has been increasing, and monitoring water quality from the formation …

Range Of Children's Outdoor Playing Area In Densely Populated Area Towards Sustainable City, Dewi Lestari Simanjuntak, Hayati Sari Hasibuan, Donna Asteria

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

Children need to play, either alone or with friends, especially in outdoors spaces, to benefits their growth and development. Many densely populated areas do not provide children's playgrounds due to the limited area and not planned from the start of development. As a result, children play in the remaining space around the residence, which can threaten the safety and comfort of children. It is essential to pay attention to the safety and comfort aspects of children. This paper aims to explain the spatial reach of children when playing outdoors and children's perceptions about their playing area. This research was conducted …

Cisadon Forest Coffee Ecotourism Marketing Model: Fields Notes, Tommy Christomy, Fabianus Hiapianto Koesoemadinata, Rahmatia Ayu, Sunu Wasono, Frans Asisi Datang

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

Cisadon is one of the villages that has coffee as one of the main sources of income for the local community. This research develops the marketing of Cisadon Forest Coffee through the ecotourism sector. Based on applied research, this research proves that the synergy between Kampung Atas and Kampung Bawah can improve the quality of coffee production in Kampung Cisadon. Cisadon Coffee production is developed by conducting sports tourism activities in a virtual race with the focus of Cisadon Coffee as a marketing icon. This research aims to increase community engagement and marketing of Cisadon Forest Coffee. By involving the …

Storage And Collection River Debris Planning In Tanggul River Surakarta City, Indonesia As Source Of Waste Management Using The Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Method, Mega Mutiara Sari, Takanobu Inoue, Aninda Putri Nafisah, Regil Kentaurus Harryes, Kuriko Yokota, Iva Yenis Septiariva, Sapta Suhardono, Shigeru Kato, Suprihanto Notodarmojo, I Wayan Koko Suryawan

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

The Tanggul River in Surakarta City is a tributary that empties into the Bengawan Solo River. Domestic activities located on river borders can pollute with the waste generation. Therefore, managing waste sources such as storage and collection is crucial in waste management. This study aims to analyze waste management from river debris storage and collection around the study site. The technique used in this research is direct observation of the study area and performing a decision analysis for alternative processing. Decision support system has one model, namely Multi-Criteria Decision Making for environmental development. The activities for collecting and sorting river …

Evaluating The Functional Traits Of The Pioneering Species: Insights To Forest Restoration, Rovana Mansul Jawani, Nomar Ali Ramoncito, Gretchen Quimson

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

The influence of plant traits on interspecific demographic rates to growth and mortality has recently received an increasing attention because it allows understanding of the underlying determinants of species success especially in open degraded areas. This study examined the trait-based approach in selecting potential species for forest restoration. Five (5) native/indigenous pioneer species were evaluated for functional traits such as plant height, branching architecture, leaf dry matter content, specific leaf area, stem density, and bark thickness. All samples were collected from healthy and well grown mature trees growing in secondary forest of Central Mindanao University. The range of values for …

Using Atomic Force Microscopy To Study Dna And Rad51 Protein Interaction, Samrin Shahnaz, Justin Peters Ph.D.

Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium

Recombinase proteins, such as RAD51, play a central role in repairing double-strand breaks of DNA through the process of homologous recombination. In this project, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) was used to generate scans of RAD51 proteins bound to double-stranded DNA. Due to the cooperativity of RAD51 binding, we observed a nucleation effect where RAD51 proteins generally tended to bind to DNA that already had other RAD51 proteins bound.

Identification Of Microorganisms From The Depths Of Wind Cave, Abbie Bangs, Justin Peters Ph.D., Joshua Sebree Ph.D.

Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium

During 2022, samples were collected at Wind Cave National Park on three different trips. As the team goes deeper and deeper into the cave, the goal is to actively trace the types of microorganisms (fungi, bacteria, and archaea) throughout the cave. The process to obtain species level identification of these samples utilizes PCR amplification of different sections of their genomic DNA followed by sequencing analysis. An initial phylogenetic tree showing relatedness of the identified microorganisms is presented.

Evaluation Of Methods To Extract Genetic Material From Wild Bees, Brody Jack, Mila Haynes, Ai Wen Ph.D.

Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium

Genetic studies on bees are essential to the understanding of the genetic and species diversity of bees, as well as general prairie health. Diversification of species and genetics are in decline, this means a decline in overall prairie health is inevitable. The University of Northern Iowa has ongoing studies looking into the health of prairies as well as the bee population, with a need for an understanding of how to properly store and extract genetic material from wild bees. We examined the concentration of DNA and fragment size shown in a gel from the bees that were killed using two …

Exploring Microbes At Wind Cave As An Analog For Exobiological Environments Off Earth, Abby K. Sliwiniski, Emma W. Pellegrino, Nicole Geerdes, Marek K. Sliwinski

Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium

Subterranean environments on Earth serve as an analog for the study of microbes on other planets. This has become an active area of research with the discovery of exoplanets. To learn about the microbial species living in Wind Cave, we are comparing methods to sample environmental DNA because most microbes cannot be cultivated using standard laboratory methods. We are then probing the environmental DNA with broad primers that are designed to amplify most life and narrower primers such as those specific to the domain Archaea. Of the methods compared, the Qiagen DNeasy Powerbiofilm kit produced the purest template as measured …

Comparison Of Plant Richness And Density In Crp-42 Fields Between 2018 And 2022, Liz Wilgenbusch, Ai Wen Ph.D.

Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium

Recently, the number of pollinators have decreased dramatically throughout the United States. Pollinators play an important role in food production with around ⅓ of the world’s food crops being dependent on pollinators. Providing a high-forage habitat for pollinators is a proposed solution to combat their decline. In the upper Midwest United States, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) helps protect pollinator habitats by providing farmers with annual payments to retire their old farmland. The purpose of this study was to compare plant density and richness in CRP fields between year 3 and year 7 post planting to find trends in the …

Developing Methods To Assess The Role Of Lumbricus Terrestris On Seed Predation In Prairie Restoration [Poster], Jacey Meier, Laura L. Jackson Ph.D.

Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium

Much of Iowa and the midwest used to be covered in tallgrass prairie– now only a small percentage of it remains. Many prairie restoration efforts to revitalize prairie lands are in place, but native prairie seed prices are extremely high. In addition, seedling establishment rates of native prairie seed are low. There are many events that can occur to prevent a seed from germinating into a seedling. One of those events is seed predation (or granivory). Seed predation is when seeds are used as a primary food source for animals. Granivores that commonly come to most minds include mice, squirrels, …