Organisms Commons^™

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Oral Dosages Of The Nsaid Aspirin Decreased The Growth Rate Of Species Found In The Human Gut Microbiome Including Akkermansia Muciniphila, Bacteroides Fragilis, Clostridium Sordellii, And Clostridium Difficile, Wyatt H. Greenbaum, Garrett J. Greenbaum, Anna Spiezio

PANDION: The Osprey Journal of Research and Ideas

Over past few decades, new insight has been revealed in the scientific community about the importance of the human gut microbiome relating to general health. It is known that imbalances in the species that reside in the human gut can cause organism-wide problems in humans. When prescribing or injecting oral medications, the thought of the downstream effects on the gut microbiome are not always considered. By exposing known healthy members of the gut; Akkermansia muciniphila, Bacteroides fragilis, Clostridium sordellii, and Clostridium difficile to the Aspirin, this study attempted to provide insight into the effects of the drug on bacterial growth. …

Knockout Of Endospanin 1 Via Crispr In Zebrafish, Danio Rerio, Jared Kittinger

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

I made endospanin 1 knockout (KO) zebrafish to examine its effects on lipid and bone metabolism. Endospanin 1, or leptin receptor overlapping transcript (leprot), is a cytosolic protein linked to the protein hormone leptin that influences the trafficking of leptin receptors to the plasma membrane of cells. Genes for endospanin and tyrosinase (a pigmentation enzyme) were targeted via a microinjection of guide RNAs and CRISPR Cas9 into zebrafish embryos at 2-4 cell stages. I was able to disrupt the endospanin 1 gene (based upon the disruption of tyrosinase), but very few mutant zebrafish fully developed into adults. Only low KO …

Impact Of Alcohol On Bone Health In People Living With Hiv: Integrating Clinical Data From Serum Bone Markers With Morphometric Analysis In A Non-Human Primate Model, Alexandra Denys, Allison Norman, Daniel S. Perrien, Larry J. Suva, Liz Simon, Lee S. Mcdaniel, Tekeda Ferguson, Kim Pedersen, David Welsh, Patricia E. Molina, Martin J.J. Ronis

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

People living with HIV (PLWH) represent a vulnerable population to adverse musculoskeletal outcomes due to HIV infection, antiretroviral therapy (ART), and at-risk alcohol use. Developing measures to prevent skeletal degeneration in this group requires a grasp of the relationship between alcohol use and low bone mass in both the PLWH population and its constituents as defined by sex, age, and race. We examined the association of alcohol use with serum biochemical markers of bone health in a diverse cohort of PLWH enrolled in the New Orleans Alcohol Use in HIV (NOAH) study. To explore the effects of alcohol on bone …

Purification And Functional Characterization Of The Iron-Responsive Transcription Factor Aft1 From C. Glabrata, Jade Ikahihifo-Bender

Senior Theses

Due to its unique ability to serve as both an electron donor and acceptor, iron is utilized as a co-factor for many biological processes, including electron transfer, oxygen binding, and vitamin synthesis. Iron is also a key factor during fungal infections as the human host and invading pathogens battle over limited iron pools. The primary iron-responsive transcription factor Aft1 in the opportunistic pathogenic yeast Candida glabrata responds to iron deficiency by activating expression of iron acquisition genes. However, the mechanisms for sensing intracellular iron levels and regulating Aft1 activity in response to iron are unknown. The C. glabrata iron regulation …

How Immune T-Cell Augmentation Can Help Prevent Covid-19: A Possible Nutritional Solution Using Ketogenic Lifestyle, Ravi K. Kamepalli Md,Fidsa,Cwsp

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Hypoxia On Brain Cell Proliferation In Weakly Electric Fish, Petrocephalus Degeni, Kaitlin Klovdahl

Senior Theses and Projects

Oxygen levels tend to remain at a steady state concentration in the Earth’s atmosphere, yet in some bodies of water, they can fluctuate and decrease drastically. Many organisms that inhabit the swamps, lakes, streams, and parts of the ocean where this occurs have evolved adaptations to manage this environmental uncertainty and continue normal oxygen consumption. The Lwamunda swamp in Uganda is chronically hypoxic, yet it is home to many species, including the electric fish Petrocephalus degeni. P. degeni are unusual by nature of their immense brain, and the Lwamunda swamp appears ill-suited for maintaining this large, metabolically active organ. To …

Control Of Antiviral Innate Immune Response By Protein Geranylgeranylation, Shigao Yang, Zhaozhao Jiang, Katherine A. Fitzgerald, Donghai Wang

Katherine A. Fitzgerald

The mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS) orchestrates host antiviral innate immune response to RNA virus infection. However, how MAVS signaling is controlled to eradicate virus while preventing self-destructive inflammation remains obscure. Here, we show that protein geranylgeranylation, a posttranslational lipid modification of proteins, limits MAVS-mediated immune signaling by targeting Rho family small guanosine triphosphatase Rac1 into the mitochondria-associated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes (MAMs) at the mitochondria-ER junction. Protein geranylgeranylation and subsequent palmitoylation promote Rac1 translocation into MAMs upon viral infection. MAM-localized Rac1 limits MAVS' interaction with E3 ligase Trim31 and hence inhibits MAVS ubiquitination, aggregation, and activation. Rac1 also facilitates …

Characterizing Aft1/2-Grx3/4 Interaction And The Role Of Bol2 During Iron Regulation In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, William Rivers

Senior Theses

Iron dysregulation has been linked to a variety of human diseases, such as anemia, Friedreich’s ataxia, X-linked sideroblastic anemia, sideroblastic-like microcytic anemia, and myopathy. Thus, it is vitally important to understand the mechanisms for regulating intracellular iron. Here, we use fluorescence microscopy techniques in live cells to study interactions of the yeast proteins Grx3/4, Aft1/2, and Bol2, which have been shown to be involved in turning off iron import when the cell has adequate iron. Modified versions of genes encoding these proteins have been incorporated into several yeast backgrounds to use fluorescence to monitor interactions under varying iron levels.

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 …

Human Milk Cortisol Is Associated With Infant Temperament, Katherine R. Grey, Elyssia Poggi Davis, Curt A. Sandman, Laura M. Glynn

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

The implications of the biologically active elements in milk for the mammalian infant are largely unknown. Animal models demonstrate that transmission of glucocorticoids through milk influences behavior and modifies brain development in offspring. The aim of this study was to determine the relation between human milk cortisol levels and temperament of the breastfed infant. Fifty-two mother and infant pairs participated when the infants were three-months old. Milk cortisol levels were assessed and each mother completed the Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ), a widely used parent-report measure of infant temperament. Analyses revealed a positive association between milk cortisol and the negative affectivity …

Biochemical Enrichment And Biophysical Characterization Of A Taste Receptor For L-Arginine From The Catfish, Ictalurus Puntatus., William Grosvenor, Yuri Kaulin, Andrew I Spielman, Douglas L Bayley, D Lynn Kalinoski, John H Teeter, Joseph G Brand

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: The channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, is invested with a high density of cutaneous taste receptors, particularly on the barbel appendages. Many of these receptors are sensitive to selected amino acids, one of these being a receptor for L-arginine (L-Arg). Previous neurophysiological and biophysical studies suggested that this taste receptor is coupled directly to a cation channel and behaves as a ligand-gated ion channel receptor (LGICR). Earlier studies demonstrated that two lectins, Ricinus communis agglutinin I (RCA-I) and Phaseolus vulgaris Erythroagglutinin (PHA-E), inhibited the binding of L-Arg to its presumed receptor sites, and that PHA-E inhibited the L-Arg-stimulated ion conductance …

Signal Transduction In Bacterial Chemotaxis, Edward Heath Rowsell

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This study investigated the site of ATP utilization in the signal transduction pathway of bacterial chemotaxis and localized the point of convergence of a methylation-independent system of chemotaxis with the methylation-dependent system. The identity of the signal originating from the phosphotransferase system was investigated by substituting the fructose-inducible HPr-like protein FPr for HPr in transport and chemotaxis. In addition, a novel chemoattractant, glycerol, was identified for Salmonella typhimurium. Histidine-auxotrophic S. typhimurium strains ST23 (hisF) and ST171 (hisF cheB) were depleted for ATP. The times required for the bacteria to adapt to a step increase in serine, …

The Duration Of The Effect Of Different Carbohydrates On Neutrophilic Phagocytosis, Judy L. Reeser

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

In order to determine the duration of the effect of glucose, fructose, sucrose, honey, starch, and orange juice on neutrophilic phagocytosis, 10 subjects underwent a complete series of carbohydrate tolerance tests. Blood samples were drawn at specific time periods following ingestion of 100 grams of each carbohydrate. Blood was then analyzed for glucose and phagocytic index (the mean number of bacteria engulfed per leukocyte); a red blood cell and white blood cell count and differential white cell count were done also on about 1/2 of the samples. In addition, 7 other subjects participated in a fasting study in which no …