Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Transport Of Bovine Milk Exosomes In Human Endothelial Cell, Rio Jati Kusuma

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) can be synthesized endogenously and cause gene repression. Encapsulation of miRNAs in exosomes confers protection against degradation and a vehicle for shuttling between cells and tissues, and cellular uptake by endocytosis. Exosomes can be found in biological fluids and foods including milk. Evidence suggests that humans absorb cow’s milk exosomes and deliver the microRNA cargo to peripheral tissues, consistent with gene regulation by nucleic acids across species boundaries. There is strong evidence that milk exosomes may cross the mucosa without re-packaging in mice. Here, we tested the hypothesis that human vascular endothelial cells transport milk exosomes by endocytosis, …

Physical Feature Encoding And Word Recognition Abilities Are Altered In Children With Intractable Epilepsy: Preliminary Neuromagnetic Evidence, Maria Pardos, Milena Korostenskaja, Jing Xiang, Hisako Fujiwara, Ki H. Lee, Paul S. Horn, Anna Byars, Jennifer Vannest, Yingying Wang, Nat Hemasilpin, Douglas F. Rose

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Objective evaluation of language function is critical for children with intractable epilepsy under consideration for epilepsy surgery. The purpose of this preliminary study was to evaluate word recognition in children with intractable epilepsy by using magnetoencephalography (MEG). Ten children with intractable epilepsy (M/F 6/4, mean ± SD 13.4 ± 2.2 years) were matched on age and sex to healthy controls. Common nouns were presented simultaneously from visual and auditory sensory inputs in “match” and “mismatch” conditions. Neuromagnetic responses M1, M2, M3, M4, and M5 with latencies of ∼100ms, ∼150ms, ∼250ms, ∼350ms, and ∼450ms, respectively, elicited during the “match” condition were …

Characterization And Investigation Of Fungi Inhabiting The Gastrointestinal Tract Of Healthy And Diseased Humans, Mallory J. Suhr

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Gastrointestinal microbiome studies have failed to include fungi in total community analyses. As a result, their diversity and function in the gut is poorly understood. Recent work has begun to uncover the role intestinal fungi play in diet, immune system development, interactions with other microorganisms in the gut, and pathogenesis of diseases. Advances in sequencing technologies allow for the ability to profile the fungal gut microbiome (“mycobiome”) in healthy and diseased states. This thesis explores the mycobiome in 1) healthy humans with a vegetarian diet and 2) pediatric small bowel transplant recipients that develop fungal bloodstream infections.

The gut mycobiome …

Transport Of Bovine Milk Exosomes By Human Colon Carcinoma Caco-2 Cells And Rat Small Intestinal Iec-6 Cells, Tovah Wolf

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

We have reported that microRNAs (miRNAs, miRs) in bovine milk regulate human genes. In milk, many miRNAs are encapsulated in exosomes, thereby conferring protection against degradation and a pathway for intestinal transport of miRNAs. We hypothesized that the uptake of bovine exosomes in human intestinal colon carcinoma Caco-2 cells and rat primary small intestinal IEC-6 cells is mediated by endocytosis. Transport studies were carried out using fluorophore-labeled exosomes purified from bovine milk. The transport of bovine exosomes exhibited saturation kinetics at 37°C (K_m= 55.5±48.6 µg/200 µL, V_max= 0.083±0.057 ng exosomal protein x 81,750 cells⁻¹ x …

Osteomyelitis Associated With Nocardiopsis Composta In A Dog, Elisa N. Salas, Debra Royal, Lance Kurz, J. Dustin Loy

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Osteomyelitis can be caused by bacterial or fungal agents or may be idiopathic. Cocci, bacilli, and filamentous bacteria such as members of the Actinomycetes have all been determined to be causes of osteomyelitis. Differential diagnoses for Gram-positive filamentous rods in the family Actinomycetales causing osteomyelitis in the dog, include members of the more frequently encountered genera Nocardia and Actinomyces. Bacteria gain access to the bone via several routes but are most often associated with direct inoculation (such as percutaneous injuries, compound fractures, or secondary to foreign bodies such as surgical or other material including dirt and wood) and fracture …

Program And Proceedings: Nebraska Academy Of Sciences 1880–2015, 135th Anniversary Year, One Hundred-Twenty-Fifth Annual Meeting

Nebraska Academy of Sciences: Programs and Proceedings

Program

Aeronautics and Space Science

Chemistry and Physics

Collegiate Academy: Biology

Collegiate Academy: Chemistry and Physics

Anthropology

Biological and Medical Sciences

Junior Academy, Senior High Competition

Aeronautics and Space Science, Poster Session

Maiben Memorial Lecture: “Nebraska Biocontainment Unit Planning and Response to Ebola,” Ebola team, University of nebraska medical Center

Applied Science and Technology

Earth Science

Teaching of Science and Math

Junior Academy, Junior High Competition

Engineering Of A Light-Gated Potassium Channel, Christian Cosentino, Laura Alberio, Sabrina Gazzarrini, Marco Aquila, Eduardo Romano, Solei Cermenati, Paolo Zuccolini, Jan Petersen, Monica Beltrame, James L. Van Etten, John M. Christie, Gerhard Thiel, Anna Moroni

James Van Etten Publications

The present palette of opsin-based optogenetic tools lacks a light-gated potassium (K+) channel desirable for silencing of excitable cells. Here, we describe the construction of a blue-light–induced K+ channel 1 (BLINK1) engineered by fusing the plant LOV2-Ja photosensory module to the small viral K+ channel Kcv. BLINK1 exhibits biophysical features of Kcv, including K+ selectivity and high single-channel conductance, but reversibly photoactivates in blue light. Opening of BLINK1 channels hyperpolarizes the cell to the K+ equilibrium potential. Ectopic expression of BLINK1 reversibly inhibits the escape response in light-exposed zebrafish larvae. BLINK1 therefore provides a single-component optogenetic tool that can establish …

Controversial And Non-Controversial Topics Of Nanotechnology, Phillip Astorino

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Advancements in medicine have allowed people to heal the sick. Even though these accomplishments in medicine have cured some of the problems, there are those that even medicine cannot fix. So we look to science for help, and there is one field that is close to revoluAonizing the world with their advancements in technology. This field has a specific name: Nanotechnology. It’s long-­‐term goal is the full manipulaAon of atoms, molecules, and materials to form structures on the scale of one billionth of a meter, which is commonly known as a nanometer; not only can we use this to improve …

Effect Of Technology Use On Behavior, Janae Marion

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Technology has evolved over the years, and as time goes by it seems to have enhanced into something beger. Now the problem that is starting to occur is that people are starting to use it excessively. Technology is becoming a distraction and is problematic for young children, teenagers, and also adults. Technology is becoming a bigger issue than people can imagine and not only is it starting to create behavioral problems for people, it’s also controlling their lives.

Characteristics Of An Appropriate Instructor-Student Relationship In Allied Health, Julie K. Morbach

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In most allied health educational programs, the instructors are individuals who are experts in their field, but do not have a certificate in teaching. Furthermore, these individuals may feel a sense of loneliness when transitioning from working in a department with co-workers to being the sole instructor of a discipline-specific program. Because of this sense of isolation and the amount of time spent with the same students, instructors may begin to perceive students more as friends and confidants. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions of educators regarding the instructor-student relationship in allied health programs in …

Vestibular Dysfunction, Altered Macular Structure And Trait Localization In A/J Inbred Mice, Sarath Vijayakumar, Teresa E. Lever, Jessica Pierce, Xing Zhao, David Bergstrom, Yunxia Wang Lundberg, Timothy A. Jones, Sherri M. Jones

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

A/J mice develop progressive hearing loss that begins before one month of age and is attributed to cochlear hair cell degeneration. Screening tests indicated this strain also develops early onset vestibular dysfunction and has otoconial deficits. The purpose of this study was to characterize the vestibular dysfunction and macular structural pathology over the lifespan of A/J mice. Vestibular function was measured using linear vestibular evoked potentials (VsEPs). Macular structural pathology was evaluated using light microscopy, SEM, TEM, confocal microscopy and Western blotting. Individually, vestibular functional deficits in mice ranged from mild to profound. On average, A/J mice had significantly reduced …

Does American Society Blame Fast Food Too Much For Obesity?, Gabriella Barrios

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Obesity is a growing epidemic that could become the leading cause of death in American society. Society sees it and does nothing about it. I found that American society blames fast food too much for obesity, that we are doing nothing about it, and the restaurants are reacting by making changes.

Should People Be More Educated On Type 1 Diabetes?, Adrianna Braggs

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Many people know about so many diseases that are happening in the world today yet Type 1 Diabetes remains a mystery. Type I Diabetes (TD1) is an autoimmune disease in which a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone that enables people to get enough energy from food. Research on this topic is important because many children and young adults are diagnosed with the disease yet the education is lacking.

Drug Testing Government Assistance Recipients, Justin Galles

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Eligibility for government assistance is based on income levels and is generally given to single parents and lower income families. Government assistance programs like welfare, SNAP (food stamps), and unemployment all help support people who have less income than what is necessary to support themselves and or their families. Programs like welfare and unemployment give checks that can be cashed and used at the discretion of the recipient. Who is to say recipients aren’t spending tax payer dollars on illegal drugs? People aren’t going to admit to government officials that they use illegal drugs so to be sure that they …

Drug Policy In Sports, Autumn Wimbush

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

I always wanted to look at how drugs impacted high school athletes and how many of them actually start using drugs. With the research I found, I hoped to analyze why athletes aren’t gettng tested and why associations aren’t trying to test them. With my research I found that most leagues and associaNons don’t take the right precautions to testing their athletes. High school athletes feel pressured to do better because of scholarships and competitions. The pressure causes many athletes to start using performance-­‐enhancing drugs and several leagues are still trying to figure out how to end the epidemic.

Relationship Between Heat-Labile Enterotoxin Secretion Capacity And Virulence In Wild Type Porcine-Origin Enterotoxigenic Escherichia Coli Strains, Prageeth Wijemanne, Jun Xing, Emil M. Berberov, David B. Marx, David H. Francis, Rodney A. Moxley

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) is an important virulence factor secreted by some strains of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC). The prototypic human-origin strain H10407 secretes LT via a type II secretion system(T2SS). We sought to determine the relationship between the capacity to secrete LT and virulence in porcine-origin wild type (WT) ETEC strains. Sixteen WT ETEC strains isolated from cases of severe diarrheal disease were analyzed by GM1ganglioside enzyme- linked immunosorbent assay tomeasure LT concentrations in culture supernatants. All strains had detectable LT in supernatants by 2 h of culture and 1 strain, which was particularly virulent in gnotobiotic piglets (3030-2), had …

Reply To Kjartansdóttir Et Al.: Chlorovirus Atcv-1 Findings Not Explained By Contamination, Robert H. Yolken, Lorraine Jones-Brando, David Dunigan, Geetha Kannan, Faith Dickerson, Emily Severance, Sarven Sabunciyan, C. Conover Talbot Jr., Emese Prandovszky, James Gurnon, Irina Agarkova, Flora Leister, Kristin L. Gressitt, Ou Chen, Bryan Deuber, Fangrui Ma, Mikhail V. Pletnikov, James L. Van Etten

James Van Etten Publications

We agree with Kjartansdóttir et al. (1) that extreme caution must be used when interpreting high-throughput sequencing results in new hosts. The situation demands thorough investigation and validation beyond the identification of a few sequencing reads. However, we believe it is unlikely that random laboratory contamination explains the results reported in Yolken et al. (2) for the following reasons. ...

Therefore, the conclusions in our report are based not only on “a few sequence reads” (1), but on confirmatory assays, as well as a highly controlled animal model of oral exposure and subsequent measurement of immune response and behavior. We …

Deletion Of Shank1 Has Minimal Effects On The Molecular Composition And Function Of Glutamatergic Afferent Postsynapses In The Mouse Inner Ear, Jeremy P. Braude, Sarath Vijayakumar, Katherine Baumgarner, Rebecca Laurine, Timothy A. Jones, Sherri M. Jones, Sonya J. Pyott

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Abstract

Shank proteins (1-3) are considered the master organizers of glutamatergic postsynaptic densities in the central nervous system, and the genetic deletion of either Shank1, 2, or 3 results in altered composition, form, and strength of glutamatergic postsynapses. To investigate the contribution of Shank proteins to glutamatergic afferent synapses of the inner ear and especially cochlea, we used immunofluorescence and quantitative real time PCR to determine the expression of Shank1, 2, and 3 in the cochlea. Because we found evidence for expression of Shank1 but not 2 and 3, we investigated the morphology, composition, and function of afferent postsynaptic densities …

Environmental Microbes And Uveitis: Is Microbial Exposure Always Bad?, Chandirasegaran Massilamany, A. Gangaplara, J. Reddy

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

The eye generally is considered to be an immune-privileged organ, but this notion is being increasingly challenged as ocular antigens can be expressed in the generative lymphoid organs, resulting in attainment of self-tolerance. What triggers a break in this tolerant state is a fundamental question in autoimmunity research. The general belief is that exposure to environmental microbes can break self-tolerance in genetically susceptible individuals, leading to the induction of autoimmune responses. The molecular mimicry hypothesis has been proposed as one major mechanistic, pathway through which microbes, by generating crossreactive immune responses, can induce ocular damage of the kind that might …

Ectoparasitism Shortens The Breeding Season In A Colonial Bird, Charles R. Brown, Mary Bomberger Brown

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

When blood-feeding parasites increase seasonally, their deleterious effects may prevent some host species, especially those living in large groups where parasites are numerous, from reproducing later in the summer. Yet the role of parasites in regulating the length of a host’s breeding season—and thus the host’s opportunity for multiple brooding—has not been systematically investigated. The highly colonial cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota), a temperate-latitude migratory songbird in the western Great Plains, USA, typically has a relatively short (eight to nine week) breeding season, with birds rarely nesting late in the summer. Colonies at which ectoparasitic swallow bugs (Oeciacus vicarius) were experimentally …

Short Course In The Microbiome, Kimberly Falana, Rob Knight, Camilia R. Martin, Romina Goldszmid, K. Leigh Greathouse, Joanne Gere, Howard Young, Winston Patrick Kuo

United States Public Health Resources

Over the past decade, it has become evident that the microbiome is an important environmental factor that affects many physiological processes, such as cell proliferation and differentiation, behaviour, immune function and metabolism. More importantly, it may contribute to a wide variety of diseases, including cancer, inflammatory diseases, metabolic diseases and responses to pathogens. We expect that international, integrative and interdisciplinary translational research teams, along with the emergence of FDA-approved platforms, will set the framework for microbiome-based therapeutics and diagnostics. We recognize that the microbiome ecosystem offers new promise for personalized/precision medicine and targeted treatment for a variety of diseases. The …

The Leishmania Years At Unl (Or, My Life As A Cell Biologist, 1966-1981), John J. Janovy Jr.

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Slides for a talk during which Professor Janovy discussed the methods he used in researching Leishmania during the years 1966-1981. Includes lists of references.

Spatial And Temporal Characteristics Of Error-Related Activity In The Human Brain, Maital Neta, Francis M. Miezin, Steven M. Nelson, Joseph W. Dubis, Nico U.F. Dosenbach, Bradley L. Schlaggar, Steven E. Petersen

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

A number of studies have focused on the role of specific brain regions, such as the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex during trials on which participants make errors, whereas others have implicated a host of more widely distributed regions in the human brain. Previous work has proposed that there are multiple cognitive control networks, raising the question of whether error-related activity can be found in each of these networks. Thus, to examine error-related activity broadly, we conducted a meta-analysis consisting of 12 tasks that included both error and correct trials. These tasks varied by stimulus input (visual, auditory), response output (button …

Sci Pop Talks! Presenter Guidelines, Kiyomi D. Deards, Raychelle Burks

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

Presenter guidelines for the nUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) Sci Pop! Talks series.

Community-Engaged Public Health Research To Inform Hospital Campus Planning In A Low Socioeconomic Status Urban Neighborhood, Jeri Brittin, Sheila Elijah-Barnwell, Yunwoo Nam, Ozgur Araz, Bethany Friedow, Andrew Jameton, Wayne Drummond, Terry T.-K. Huang

Architecture Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

Objective: To compare sociodemographic and motivational factors for healthcare use and identify desirable health-promoting resources among groups in a low socioeconomic status (SES) community in Chicago, IL. Background: Disparities in health services and outcomes are well established in low SES urban neighborhoods in the United States and many factors beyond service availability and quality impact community health. Yet there is no clear process for engaging communities in building resources to improve population-level health in such locales. Methods: A hospital building project led to a partnership of public health researchers, architects, and planners who conducted community-engaged research. We collected resident data …

Enabling Real-Time Ultrasound Imaging Of Soft Tissue Mechanical Properties By Simplification Of The Shear Wave Motion Equation, Aaron J. Engel, Gregory R. Bashford

Biomedical Imaging and Biosignal Analysis Laboratory

Ultrasound based shear wave elastography (SWE) is a technique used for non-invasive characterization and imaging of soft tissue mechanical properties. Robust estimation of shear wave propagation speed is essential for imaging of soft tissue mechanical properties. In this study we propose to estimate shear wave speed by inversion of the firstorder wave equation following directional filtering. This approach relies on estimation of first-order derivatives which allows for accurate estimations using smaller smoothing filters than when estimating second-order derivatives. The performance was compared to three current methods used to estimate shear wave propagation speed: direct inversion of the wave equation (DIWE), …

Caregiver Perceptions Of Their Influence On Cancer Treatment Decision Making: Intersections Of Language, Identity, And Illness, Janice L. Krieger, Angela L. Palmer-Wackerly, Jessica L. Krok-Schoen, Phokeng M. Dailey, Julianne C. Wojno, Nancy Schoenberg, Electra D. Paskett, Mark Dignan

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Serious illness of a loved one can disrupt a caregiver’s sense of self and relationships. We examined the language caregivers use to describe the cancer treatment decision making of a loved one to understand how caregivers frame their own identity relative to a patient’s illness. We analyzed transcripts from in-depth interviews conducted with caregivers (N = 58) of cancer patients to examine the intersection among language, identity, and illness. Caregivers with a patient-level personal identity frame used phrases such as their body, their decision. Caregivers with a relational identity frame used plural pronouns such as we or our when describing …

The Need For Theory To Guide Concussion Research, Dennis Molfese

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

While the focus on concussion research has expanded greatly over the past decade, progress in identifying the mechanisms and consequences of head injury, the recovery path and the development of potential interventions to facilitate recovery have been largely absent. Instead, the field has largely progressed through an accumulation of data without the guidance of any systematic theory to guide the formulation of research questions or generate testable hypotheses. As part of this special issue on sports concussion, we advance a theory to describe the evolution of a neural network during the development of a cognitive process as well as the …

Programmed Physical Exertion In Recovery From Sports-Related Concussion: A Randomized Pilot Study, Arthur C. Maerlender, Wanda Rieman, Jonathan Lichtenstein, C. Condiracci

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Although no data exist, general practice recommends only rest following concussion. This randomized clinical trial found that programmed physical exertion during recovery produced no significant differences in recovery time between groups of participants. However, high levels of exertion were deleterious. This study provides initial evidence that moderate physical activity is a safe replacement behavior during recovery.

Resting-State Brain Connectivity After Surgical And Behavioral Weight Loss, Rebecca J. Lepping, Amanda S. Bruce, Alex Francisco, Hung-Wen Yeh, Laura E. Martin, Joshua N. Powell, Laura Hancock, Trisha M. Patrician, Florence J. Breslin, Niazy Selim, Joseph E. Donnelly, William M. Brooks, Cary R. Savage, W. Kyle Simmons, Jared M. Bruce

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Objective: Changes in food-cue neural reactivity associated with behavioral and surgical weight loss interventions have been reported. Resting functional connectivity represents tonic neural activity that may contribute to weight loss success. This study explores whether intervention type is associated with differences in functional connectivity after weight loss. Methods: Fifteen participants with obesity were recruited prior to adjustable gastric banding surgery. Thirteen demographically matched participants with obesity were selected from a separate behavioral diet intervention. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was collected 3 months after surgery/ behavioral intervention. ANOVA was used to examine post-weight loss differences between the two groups in …