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The blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni cleaves the coagulation protein high molecular weight kininogen (HK) but does not generate the vasodilator bradykinin.
No full textBackground: Schistosomes are blood dwelling parasitic worms that cause the debilitating disease schistosomiasis. Here we examined the influence of the parasites on their external environment by monitoring the impact of adult Schistosoma mansoni worms on the murine plasma proteome in vitro and, in particular, on how the worms affect the blood coagulation protein high molecular weight kininogen (HK).Keywords: Schistosoma mansoni, Coagulation, High molecular weight kininogen, Bradykinin, Calpain.Springer Open
Trophoblast differentiation, invasion and hormone secretion in a three-dimensional in vitro implantation model with rhesus monkey embryos.
No full textBackground: The initiation of primate embryo invasion into the endometrium and the formation of the placenta from trophoblasts, fetal mesenchyme, and vascular components are essential for the establishment of a successful pregnancy. The mechanisms which direct morphogenesis of the chorionic villi, and the interactions between trophectoderm-derived trophoblasts and the fetal mesenchyme to direct these processes during placentation are not well understood due to a dearth of systems to examine and manipulate real-time primate implantation. Here we describe an in vitro three-dimensional (3-D) model to study implantation which utilized IVF-generated rhesus monkey embryos cultured in a Matrigel explant system.Keywords: Embryo, Implantation, Trophoblast, Non-human primate.Springer Open
Dietary Assessment WASH, Food Security, Socio- economic Assessment.
No full textThis presentation was given at First National Workshop in Nepal
Harnessing the "Like": Understanding Peer Support's Effects on Exercise
No full textAbstract: This pilot study examined the relationship between receiving peer support on social media (SM) through "likes" and attitude towards, motivations behind, and frequency of exercise behaviors in college-aged students. Following recent research on brain activation in adolescents and emerging adults who viewed images they posted on SM with a high number of "likes", this pilot study sought to answer the questions of how the number of "likes" on an exercise selfie would affect frequency of, attitudes toward, and motivations behind physical activity (PA). It was hypothesized that higher number of "likes" would increase frequency of PA while creating more positive attitudes towards PA and motivations to be more socially oriented. Undergraduate students (N = 8) underwent a 1 week-long participation period in which they posted photos of exercise behaviors onto the study website which mimics one of the most popular SM sites, Instagram. Participants were randomly assigned into low and high "like" groups and their pictures were assigned "likes" based on their group. Deception was used to convince participants that their peers volunteered to "like" their photos on the site. It was predicted that high number of "likes" on SM posts related to exercise would increase exercise frequency and positive attitudes toward exercise while shifting motivations behind exercise to socially geared reasons. As the sample size of the pilot study was too small, no significant differences between the two time points were expected or revealed. However, the results, as well as the design, of this pilot study seek to inform future studies using social support of SM to change exercise behaviors. This pilot study has highlighted the importance of the timing of the study as well as the sample size and make up. It has also revealed the need to focus in on the concept of motivation over attitudes towards physical activity. Lastly, this pilot will yield a more efficient and effective website, one that can track exercise minutes and more accurately represent the target social media platform.Thesis (M.S.)--Tufts University, 2018.Submitted to the Dept. of Child Development.Advisor: Sasha Fleary.Committee: Julie Dobrow, and Justin Hollander.Keywords: Behavioral psychology, Health sciences, and Social psychology
SURVIVING IN A VARIABLE ENVIRONMENT: NUTRITIONAL ECOLOGY, BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY, AND ECOLOGICAL IMMUNITY IN HONEY BEES
No full textAbstract: All living organisms need nutrients to grow, survive, and reproduce. Acquiring nutrients in a variable environment, however, is not simple. Foragers partake in a complex balancing act of obtaining nutrients while maximizing the rate of energy gain, which is made difficult by biotic and abiotic factors. Furthermore, nutrients in the environment vary spatially and temporally, both within and between food items. In this dissertation, I used behavioral ecology to better understand how honey bees obtain the right nutrients, and stay healthy, under various environmental stressors. To investigate how bees cope with changes in distribution and abundance in floral, and thus nutritional, resources, I ran both manipulative and observational field studies throughout the year. Regarding micronutrients, bees likely forage in compound-rich water for minerals their floral diet lacks. Micronutrient requirements shifted with environmental and physiological factors, likely in preparation for winter. Regarding macronutrients, when restricted to a diet lacking amino acids, bees brought more pollen, the main source of protein, back to the hive. There was no change, however, in the diversity of floral sources brought back to the hive. When lacking amino acids, honey bees likely partake in compensatory foraging but may not search for specific floral resources. I used thermal imaging to understand how adult bees inside the hive work together to protect the colony from heat stress and disease. When the hive is subjected to heat stress, bees absorb heat and radially dissipate it away from the vulnerable brood. When infected with a heat-sensitive pathogen, bees work together to generate a colony-level fever and again, protect the brood. This colony-level fever, however, is not successful in smaller colonies. Lastly, I helped to implement an updated method to measure physiological immune response, with pathogen biology in mind. This method can be applied to learn more about ecological immunity in honey bees and the specificity of physiological immunity in insects. Studying honey bee nutritional ecology and ecological immunity has implications in broadening the field of nutritional ecology and implementing insect pollinator conservation.Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2018.Submitted to the Dept. of Biology.Advisor: Philip Starks.Committee: Sara Lewis, Harry Bernheim, Benjamin Wolfe, and Heather Mattila.Keyword: Ecology
Phase II study of the oral selective inhibitor of nuclear export (SINE) KPT-335 (verdinexor) in dogs with lymphoma.
No full textBackground: Chemotherapeutic options for the treatment of canine lymphoma have not changed in several decades necessitating the identification of new therapeutics to improve patient outcome. KPT-335 (verdinexor) is a novel orally bioavailable selective inhibitor of nuclear export (SINE) that exhibited anti-tumor activity against non-Hodgkin lymphoma in a prior phase I study. The objective of this phase II study was to expand upon the initial findings and assess the activity and safety in a larger population of dogs with lymphoma.Keywords: Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Nuclear export, Clinical trial, Anti-tumor agent.Springer Open
Promoter expression of HERV-K (HML-2) provirus-derived sequences is related to LTR sequence variation and polymorphic transcription factor binding sites.
No full textBackground: Increased transcription of the human endogenous retrovirus group HERV-K (HML-2) is often seen during disease. Although the mechanism of its tissue-specific activation is unclear, research shows that LTR CpG hypomethylation alone is not sufficient to induce its promoter activity and that the transcriptional milieu of a malignant cell contributes, at least partly, to differential HML-2 expression.Keywords: Endogenous retrovirus, HERV-K, HML-2, LTR, Transcription, Tumorigenesis.Springer Open
"Woman, Dare to Be:" Hélène Brion and Militant Feminism, 1914-1922.
No full textHélène Brion was a French militant feminist, syndicalist, pacifist, socialist, and communist who led a small teacher’s union, a subsidiary of the General Confederation of Labor, in the years leading up to World War I. This project explores Brion’s political development in the period 1917-1921, as she faced a well-publicized trial for “defeatism” and began to publish her self-edited newspaper La Lutte Féministe. Four manuscripts are of particular interest (found at the Sylvia Beach Archives in Princeton, NJ), as they have been generally overlooked in scholarly accounts of her activism. This paper analyzes the relationship between Brion’s feminism and her leftist militancy as they contributed to her profound alienation from both movements. Ultimately, her pivot to communism in 1920, though short-lived, was the culmination of a growing isolation from mainstream activism between 1917-1921
Fetishes and Philanderers: A Translation of Two of Tanizaki's Early Works.
No full textA translation of two of Japanese writer Tanizaki Jun'ichiro's (1886-1965) early short stories: Beautiful Boy (Binan 美男) and Fumiko's Feet (Fumiko no Ashi 富美子の足)
Uncovering Comedy: Explorations of Humor in 19th Century American Literature.
No full textIn closely considering the role of humor across Moby-Dick, Ruth Hall, and The Last of the Mohicans, we can bring light to the fact that 19th c. American novels reveal the power, but also imprecision, of comedy as a political tool. Each author purposefully crafted their brand of humor to elicit a certain response from the reader, while also interjecting their opinion on a certain social, cultural or economic reality