Life Sciences Commons^™

Hydroponically Growing A Holistic Superfood Diet For Mars Exploration, Marianna Pezzella, Ruben A. Rosa Polonia

Beyond: Undergraduate Research Journal

In “Hydroponically Growing a Holistic Superfood Diet for Mars Exploration,” Project H.O.M.E. members conducted an experiment to help determine ways to provide future astronauts with a complete, balanced diet on a planet that does not receive as much sunlight as Earth. Sending massive amounts of food into space is incredibly expensive, takes up valuable spacecraft area, and is, overall, not a feasible way to provide astronauts with sustenance. Project H.O.M.E. has thus developed a hydroponic system to evaluate the growth and yield of various superfoods - including Moringa Oleifera, goji berries, and kale - under simulated Mars lighting conditions. Data …

Stratospheric Effects On Uv, Speed Of Sound, Pressure, And Temperature, Joshua V. Chis, Joana Diaz, Brianna E. Ortiz, Imani G. Robertson, Jelani A. Shadd

DePaul Discoveries

The atmosphere is composed of several layers, each with its own distinct environment varying in temperature, pressure, and levels of UV radiation. Quantifying these varying parameters proves to be useful in understanding atmospheric composition in greater detail. Variance in the composition of the atmosphere allows for the study of the evolution of physical phenomena at different altitudes. Our group quantified this variance using a high-altitude weather balloon and designed an experimental method to observe the nature of sound propagation through varying altitudes. The goal was to develop an altitude-dependent model of the speed of sound by using an open-air, microcontroller-based …

What's In Your Soil? A Comparative Assessment Of Total Lead In Soils In Southwest Side And North Side Chicago Communities, Jennifer Garcia

DePaul Discoveries

In Chicago, city officials continue to locate polluting industries in predominately Black and Hispanic/Latinx neighborhoods. Lower income families are disproportionately exposed to greater amounts of toxic chemicals such as lead (Pb). While the City of Chicago focuses its effort in removing industrial sites from the North Side, a predominately white community area, sources of industrial pollution are more likely to be found in communities of color. Due to the prevalent sources of Pb on the Southwest side, residential soil is often highly disturbed and contaminated. Pb is a serious neurotoxin, and ingestion or inhalation of Pb contaminated soil and dust …

Effects Of Elevated Co2 Concentrations And Elevated Temperatures On Isoprene Emissions Of Rhamnus Cathartica (European Buckthorn), Quercus Rubra (Red Oak) And Quercus Michauxii (Swamp Chestnut Oak), Janet G. Núñez

DePaul Discoveries

Tropospheric ozone is a ground-level pollutant and is produced from primary air pollutants like nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). While many VOCs are anthropogenic, isoprene is emitted from certain species of plants and reacts with nitrogen oxides to form ozone. Previous studies have found that isoprene can be suppressed by CO₂, but such suppression can be reduced under conditions of increased temperature. However, this pattern is not seen in all plants capable of emitting isoprene. The focus of this is study is to determine if similar patterns are present in the invasive tree species of buckthorn …

Atmospheric Phosphorus Deposition Into A Fresh Water Wetland: Prairie Wolf Slough Restored Wetland, Isaac B. Daitzchman

DePaul Discoveries

Phosphorus is a major element needed for plant growth. Excess phosphorus from agricultural runoff and urban stormwater can enter waterways, resulting in growth of toxic algal blooms that are deleterious to local fauna. One way to remove phosphorus is by diverting agricultural and urban runoff into wetlands. One such wetland is Prairie Wolf Slough (PWS), located in north suburban Chicago, IL. Stormwater enters PWS through an inlet channel and exits through an outlet pipe into the Chicago River. A 16-year study documented that a significantly greater mass of phosphorus leaves PWS than enters through the inlet. This study accounted for …

Synthesis Of Triaminopyrimidine Derivatives For Inhibition Of Inflammatory Caspases, Marianna C. Haddad, Caitlin Karver

DePaul Discoveries

Caspases are cysteine-dependent aspartic proteases whose functions are connected to different mechanisms of cell death and inflammation. As caspase-1 plays a significant role in the immune response, its activity has been of interest as a target for inhibitor development as its inhibition will reduce the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in inflammatory diseases, thus minimizing the symptoms that arise and serving as a possible therapeutic approach. Prior work discovered a family of potent inhibitors of caspase-1 with a common triaminopyrimidine scaffold. To further explore structure-activity relationship profiles of potential inhibitors of caspase-1, two different syntheses were attempted to create two new …

Optimization Of Dye Molecules For Use In Studying Inflammatory Caspase Enzymes, Josiah D. Stewart, Phasu Sirinit

DePaul Discoveries

Inflammatory caspases are important enzymes in the initial immune response to pathogens. A common method of studying caspase activity is through the use of fluorogenic assays, in which the cleavage of a substrate by an enzyme results in the emission of fluorescence. Fluorogenic assays require the use of fluorophores: molecules that will fluoresce upon the cleavage of a substrate. Different fluorophores have different characteristics, and these characteristics can be analyzed in order to determine which fluorophores will be most suitable for activity assays. Two commercially available fluorophores were compared for use in fluorogenic assays of inflammatory caspases: MCA and EDANS. …

Depaul Discoveries Volume 11 Cover Art, Dina Khdair

DePaul Discoveries

No abstract provided.

Who Owns This? Ways That Property Can Be Owned And Transferred In Nebraska, Jessica Groskopf, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Discusses ways that property can be owned and transferred in Nebraska in the context of farm management in Nebraska, United States.

Understory Plant Communities Show Resistance To Drought, Hurricanes, And Experimental Warming In A Wet Tropical Forest, Aura M. Alonso-Rodríguez, Tana E. Wood, Jamarys Torres-Díaz, Molly A. Cavaleri, Sasha C. Reed, Benedicte Bachelot

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Global climate change has led to rising temperatures and to more frequent and intense climatic events, such as storms and droughts. Changes in climate and disturbance regimes can have non-additive effects on plant communities and result in complicated legacies we have yet to understand. This is especially true for tropical forests, which play a significant role in regulating global climate. We used understory vegetation data from the Tropical Responses to Altered Climate Experiment (TRACE) in Puerto Rico to evaluate how plant communities responded to climate warming and disturbance. The TRACE understory vegetation was exposed to a severe drought (2015), 2 …

Advanced Age And Neurotrauma Diminish Glutathione And Impair Antioxidant Defense After Spinal Cord Injury, Andrew N. Stewart, Ethan P. Glaser, Caitlin A. Mott, William M. Bailey, Patrick G. Sullivan, Samir P. Patel, John C. Gensel

Physiology Faculty Publications

Advanced age at the time of spinal cord injury (SCI) exacerbates damage from reactive oxygen species (ROS). Mechanisms underlying this age-dependent response are not well understood and may arise from decreased antioxidant defense. We investigated how spinal cord levels of the antioxidant glutathione (GSH), and its regulation, change with age and SCI. GSH is used by GSH peroxidase to sequester ROS and is recycled by GSH reductase. Male and female, 4- and 14-month-old (MO) mice received a 60 kDyn contusion SCI, and the levels of GSH and its regulatory enzymes were evaluated at one and three days post-injury (dpi). The …

Long-Distance Vocalizations Of Spotted Hyenas Contain Individual, But Not Group, Signatures, Kenna D.S. Lehmann, Frants H. Jensen, Andrew Gersick, Ariana Strandburg-Peshkin, Kay E. Holekamp

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

In animal societies, identity signals are common, mediate interactions within groups, and allow individuals to discriminate group-mates from out-group competitors. However, individual recognition becomes increasingly challenging as group size increases and as signals must be transmitted over greater distances. Group vocal signatures may evolve when successful in-group/out-group distinctions are at the crux of fitness-relevant decisions, but group signatures alone are insufficient when differentiated within-group relationships are important for decision-making. Spotted hyenas are social carnivores that live in stable clans of less than 125 individuals composed of multiple unrelated matrilines. Clan members cooperate to defend resources and communal territories from neighbouring …

The Effects Of Mindful Meditation On Body Image In Female Collegiate Athletes During The Late Luteal And Early Follicular Phases Of The Menstrual Cycle, Katherine Jankevicius

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Body image has been studied in previous research but there is a gap in research with the consideration of body image changes during the phases of the menstrual cycle. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a mindful meditation intervention on body image during the late luteal and early follicular phases of the menstrual cycle in collegiate female athletes. Eight female collegiate athletes (age: 20.5 ± 1.8 years, height: 1.7 ± 0.1 m, weight: 62.4 ± 8.9 kg, body fat: 26.4 ± 6.9%) participated in both the control and mindful meditation intervention with each taking three …

Association Analyses Of Host Genetics, Root-Colonizing Microbes, And Plant Phenotypes Under Different Nitrogen Conditions In Maize, Michael A. Meier, Gen Xu, Martha G. Lopez-Guerrero, Guangyong Li, Christine Smith, Brandi Sigmon, Joshua R. Herr, James R. Alfano, Yufeng Ge, James C. Schnable, Jinliang Yang

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The root-associated microbiome (rhizobiome) affects plant health, stress tolerance, and nutrient use efficiency. However, it remains unclear to what extent the composition of the rhizobiome is governed by intraspecific variation in host plant genetics in the field and the degree to which host plant selection can reshape the composition of the rhizobiome. Here, we quantify the rhizosphere microbial communities associated with a replicated diversity panel of 230 maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes grown in agronomically relevant conditions under high N (+N) and low N (-N) treatments. We analyze the maize rhizobiome in terms of 150 abundant and consistently reproducible …

Designing Harvesting And Hauling Cost Models For Energy Cane Production For Biorefineries, Prabodh Illukpitiya, Firuz Yuldashev, Kabirat Nasiru

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

The harvesting and hauling operations of bioenergy feedstock is an important area in biofuel production. Production costs can be minimized by maintaining optimal machinery units for these operations. The objective of this study is to design an optimal harvesting unit for bioenergy refinery and estimate harvesting and hauling costs of energy cane. A biorefinery with the annual capacity of processing twenty-five million imp. gallons of ethanol were considered. Given the efficiency of harvesting, a two-row soldier system was considered. Considering the year-round supply of energy cane to the refinery, the optimal machinery unit was designed, and the combined operation costs …

Missouri Alot - Dc Experience, Amy Bax

Title III Professional Development Reports

I want to thank Lincoln University for sponsoring this trip. I had access to many high-level people in DC that wanted to hear my story of agriculture. These are people that have the power to create legislative practices and policies that are favorable to the agricultural industry. I had the opportunity to advocate for Lincoln and Lincoln University students.

Qualifying Factors That Predict Weight Loss Success Within Diet Interventions, Jordan Losavio

LSU Master's Theses

Evidence-based diet strategies lead to weight loss for some, while for others, the same diet approach could result in trivial weight loss or even in weight gain. This prompts the underlying research question: what factors predict that a given diet strategy will be efficacious for some, but not for others? This research was a secondary analysis of clinical weight loss studies to determine which factors influence an individual’s weight loss success for three diet intervention strategies: low-carbohydrate, low-fat, and low-calorie. A combination of physiological, psychological, behavioral, and dietary factors was evaluated for each diet study. Multiple linear regression and logistic …

Sweet Taste Signaling: The Core Pathways And Regulatory Mechanisms, Sunil Kumar Sukumaran, Salin Raj Palayyan

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Sweet taste, a proxy for sugar-derived calories, is an important driver of food intake, and animals have evolved robust molecular and cellular machinery for sweet taste signaling. The overconsumption of sugar-derived calories is a major driver of obesity and other metabolic diseases. A fine-grained appreciation of the dynamic regulation of sweet taste signaling mechanisms will be required for designing novel noncaloric sweeteners with better hedonic and metabolic profiles and improved consumer acceptance. Sweet taste receptor cells express at least two signaling pathways, one mediated by a heterodimeric G-protein coupled receptor encoded by taste 1 receptor members 2 and 3 (TAS1R2 …

Smokejumper Obituary: Goldammer, Albert Charles (Missoula 1964), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Targeting De Novo Lipogenesis And The Lands Cycle Induces Ferroptosis In Kras-Mutant Lung Cancer, Caterina Bartolacci, Cristina Andreani, Gonçalo Vale, Stefano Berto, Margherita Melegari, Dodge L Baluya, Kurt Hodges, Jacqueline Starrett, Katerina Politi, Sandra L Starnes, Daniele Lorenzini, Maria Gabriela Raso, Luisa M Solis Soto, Carmen Behrens, Humam Kadara, Boning Gao, Ignacio I Wistuba, John D Minna, Jeffrey G Mcdonald, Pier Paolo Scaglioni

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Mutant KRAS (KM), the most common oncogene in lung cancer (LC), regulates fatty acid (FA) metabolism. However, the role of FA in LC tumorigenesis is still not sufficiently characterized. Here, we show that KMLC has a specific lipid profile, with high triacylglycerides and phosphatidylcholines (PC). We demonstrate that FASN, the rate-limiting enzyme in FA synthesis, while being dispensable in EGFR-mutant or wild-type KRAS LC, is required for the viability of KMLC cells. Integrating lipidomic, transcriptomic and functional analyses, we demonstrate that FASN provides saturated and monounsaturated FA to the Lands cycle, the process remodeling oxidized phospholipids, such as PC. Accordingly, …

Lisdexamfetamine Is An Effective Monotherapy For Moderate To Severe Binge Eating Disorder, Benjamin Young

Clinical Research in Practice: The Journal of Team Hippocrates

A clinical decision report using

McElroy SL, Hudson J, Ferreira-Cornwell MC, Radewonuk J, Whitaker T, Gasior M. Lisdexamfetamine dimesylate for adults with moderate to severe binge eating disorder: Results of two pivotal phase 3 randomized controlled trials. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2016;41(5):1251-1260. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2015.275

for a young woman requesting a novel pharmacological intervention for a Binge Eating Disorder (BED).

Precipitation Intensification Increases Shrub Dominance In Arid, Not Mesic, Ecosystems, Martin C. Holdrege, Andrew Kulmatiski, Karen H. Beard, Kyle A. Palmquist

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Precipitation events have been predicted and observed to become fewer, but larger, as the atmosphere warms. Water-limited ecosystems are especially sensitive to changes in water cycling, yet evidence suggests that productivity may either increase or decrease in response to precipitation intensification. Interactions among climate, soil properties, and vegetation type may explain different responses, but this is difficult to experimentally test over large spatial scales. Simulation modeling may reveal the mechanisms through which climate, soils, and vegetation interact to affect plant growth. We use an individual-based plant ecohydrological model to simulate the effects of 25%, 50%, and 100% increases in precipitation …

The Biological Activity Of Tea Tree Oil And Hemp Seed Oil, Lakatos Lakatos, Samuel Obeng Apori, Julie Dunne, Furong Tian

Articles

The interest in hemp seed oil (HSO) and tea tree oil (TTO) in the medical and food industries is increasing. The current study compares their bioactivity to other plant oils, mainly focusing on hemp seed oils (HSOs) with various cannabidiol (CBD) contents. A DPPH assay was employed to evaluate the antioxidant activity. The antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella enteritidis was evaluated using time–kill, minimum inhibition concentration (MIC), and Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion methods. Tea tree oil showed significantly higher antimicrobial activity against S. enteritidis compared to E. coli and S. aureus (p < 0.05). The antioxitant activity range (lowest to highest) was sesame < vetiver < rosehip < tea tree < organic hemp < pure hemp < 5% CBD < vitamin C. Tea tree oil and 5% CBD showed antioxidant activity at IC50 of 64.45 μg/mL and 11.21 μg/mL, respectively. The opposing antimicrobial and antioxidant results for TTO and HSO indicate that these activities arise from different components within the oil compositions.

Are Sharks Attracted To Caged Fish And Associated Infrastructure?, Charlie Huveneers, Yuri Niella, Michael Drew, Joshua Dennis, Thomas M. Clarke, Alison Wright, Simon Bryars, Matias Braccini, Chris Dowling, Stephen J. Newman, Paul Butcher, Scott Dalton

Fisheries Research Articles

Huveneers Charlie, Niella Yuri, Drew Michael, Dennis Joshua, Clarke Thomas M., Wright Alison, Bryars Simon, Braccini Matias, Dowling Chris, Newman Stephen J., Butcher Paul, Dalton Scott (2022) Are sharks attracted to caged fish and associated infrastructure?. Marine and Freshwater Research 73, 1404-1410.

https://doi.org/10.1071/MF22039

Integration Of Remote Sensing Approaches For In-Season Nitrogen Management, Murilo De Santana Martins

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Nitrogen (N) management is being conducted at flat rate in Louisiana due to practicality and convenience, but the price of N fertilizer and high breakeven costs are forcing producers to find ways to reduce costs and optimize N application. In this scenario, precision agriculture technologies, specifically the use of optical sensors on board of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to variable rate N application on farm is showing a promising approach to save inputs and reduce environmental impacts. However, the general goal of this research was to develop and evaluate in-season N management approaches for N recommendation in corn (Zea …

Defining Toxicological Endpoints Of Aphis Gossypii Feeding, Flinn O'Hara

LSU Master's Theses

The cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is a destructive agricultural pest, due to photosynthate removal and plant virus transmission. This project consisted of two main goals. First, we employed toxicity bioassays and electrical penetration graph (EPG) methodology to quantify changes to feeding behavior and toxicity of A. gossypii after exposure to commercialized aphicides. Commercialized aphicides containing flupyradifurone, sulfoxaflor, thiamethoxam, thiamethoxam + lambda cyhalothrin, and bifenthrin induced > 90% aphid mortality within 4 hours of exposure. This was supported by our EPG results that showed a significant reduction in the proportion of aphids that continued to probe on cotton 4 …

Optimising Response To An Introduction Of African Swine Fever In Wild Pigs, Kim M. Pepin, Vienna R. Brown, Anni Yang, James C. Beasley, Raoul Boughton, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Ryan S. Miller, Sarah N. Bevins

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

African swine fever virus (ASFv) is a virulent pathogen that threatens domestic swine industries globally and persists in wild boar populations in some countries. Persistence in wild boar can challenge elimination and prevent disease-free status, making it necessary to address wild swine in proactive response plans. In the United States, invasive wild pigs are abundant and found across a wide range of ecological conditions that could drive different epidemiological dynamics among populations. Information on the size of the control areas required to rapidly eliminate the ASFv in wild pigs and how this area should change with management constraints and local …

Nutrition’S Impact On Mental Well-Being, Amy A. Kauer

University Honors Program

This honors thesis examines the relationship between nutrition and mental well-being by investigating nutrition’s relationship with mood, cognition, mental dexterity, chronic disease, mental health, and treatment plans. The author of the thesis researched and investigated the following questions: 1. Is diet and mood intertwined? 2. How does nutrition impact cognition and mental dexterity? 3. How does nutrition impact chronic disease? 4. What is the correlation between nutrition and mental health, and is nutrition being addressed in mental health treatment? The author found six key components to a healthy diet through a literature review. These six components include complex carbohydrates, EFAs …

Respect Your Elders: An Examination Of Elder Care In The United States, Amy Jassman

University Honors Program

Insurance, healthcare, and workplace conditions are concerns of many senior citizens in the United States. This paper examines the repercussions of governmental policies and older adult stereotypes on the overall quality of care for older adults in the United States of America. This quality of care will be determined by analyzing how England’s, South Korea’s, Germany’s, Canada’s, and India’s programs and values with respect to elder care have impacted the health and well-being of the elderly. Studies on insurance systems, long-term care facilities, and workplace discrimination will be reviewed and compared. The findings show the United States to be trailing …

Characteristics Of Eating Behavior Profiles Among Preschoolers With Low-Income Backgrounds: A Person-Centered Analysis, Jennifer Orlet Fisher, Sheryl O Hughes, Alison L Miller, Mildred A Horodynski, Holly E Brophy-Herb, Dawn A Contreras, Niko Kaciroti, Karen E Peterson, Katherine L Rosenblum, Danielle Appugliese, Julie C Lumeng

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Background: Individual differences in eating behaviors among young children are well-established, but the extent to which behaviors aggregate within individuals to form distinct eating behavior profiles remains unknown. Our objectives were to identify eating behavior profiles among preschool-aged children and evaluate associations with temperament and weight.

Methods: A secondary, cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from 2 cohort studies was conducted involving 1004 children aged 3-4 years and their parents with low-income backgrounds. Children's eating behaviors and temperament were assessed by parental report. Body mass index z-scores and weight status were calculated using measured heights and weights. Latent profile analysis (LPA) …