cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Women and gender at the Office du Niger (Mali)
Creators: name: Twagira, Laura Ann
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2013

description: This study examines how rural women in twentieth century Mali integrated the technological infrastructure of an industrial agricultural scheme for their own food production needs.  The scheme called the Office du Niger (Office) is one of the most ambitious development projects in Africa.  Established in the French Soudan in the 1930s to produce primarily cotton and secondarily rice for export, the Office drew upon the Niger River to feed a vast irrigation network that radically altered the surrounding agricultural landscape.  Initially, the Office was populated through the forced migration of families.  Chronic hunger plagued residents at the colonial Office for many decades and recurred in the post-colonial years.  At the Office, women often struggled to produce food.  Yet, it was the quality and not simply the quantity of available food that concerned women.  Good food was measured by the taste for specific textures, smells, flavors, the sensations of fullness, as well as the nutritional content.  For women, maintaining control over food also meant attending to taste.  I argue that women used the resources of the Office to engineer a highly adaptive local food production system that depended on female labor power and made use of modest technologies (such as metal cooking pots) that are generally overlooked in favor of the more impressive irrigation infrastructure of the scheme.  Gradually women adapted the project elements (the new labor calendar, built-infrastructure, industrial machines, and market logistics) to their own needs.  This process of adoption spanned the colonial and post-colonial eras and entailed an interplay between women's labor, the environment, modest technologies, and industrial technologies.
Phrynobatrachus undetermined Boulenger 1900
Creators: name: Badjedjea, Gabriel
name: Masudi, Franck M.
name: Akaibe, Benjamin Dudu
name: Gvoždík, Václav
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Amphibia
Anura
Phrynobatrachidae
Phrynobatrachus
Phrynobatrachus undetermined

description: Phrynobatrachus sp. aff. auritus
Fig. 10A.
Area: Yalokole.
Season/survey: Wet (May 2018, Nov 2018).
Material: CSB:Herp: RNBK 107; IVB-H-CD 18185, 18187, 18189, 18239.
Comments: Only a few specimens of this presumably new species resembling P. auritus were recorded. All were found in primary forest, most of them syntopically with P. cf. giorgii in a swampy place surrounded by flooded forest on the bank of the Luo River. One specimen was found nearby, near the Bikongo stream in terra firma forest. The general coloration of this species seems to be lighter than in P. cf. giorgii, the venter is white, and the throat in adult males is gray or brownish but not deep black.
description: Published as part of Badjedjea, Gabriel, Masudi, Franck M., Akaibe, Benjamin Dudu & Gvoždík, Václav, 2022, Amphibians of Kokolopori: an introduction to the amphibian fauna of the Central Congolian Lowland Forests, Democratic Republic of the Congo, pp. 35-70 in Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 301) (e 301) 16 (1) on page 57, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.12761585
Leveraging single-cell transcriptomics to discover mechanisms of immune surveillance
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: The immune system not only attacks cancers—the basis of immunotherapy—it can stop them from starting. This process of “immune surveillance” is not well understood, but is attracting growing attention, as studies show that many normal tissues bear a high burden of oncogenic mutation, which is kept from progressing to malignancy.
 A superb system for studying this process is the fruit fly, Drosophila. Flies do not normally get cancer (they don’t live long enough), but oncogenic mutations can be introduced into individual cells of larvae and, depending on the mutation, the initially overgrowing cells are either killed, or brought back under control, so that the affected tissue appears normal (analogous phenomena have also been observed in mice). If an immune cell known as the hemocyte is eliminated, however, the same transformed cells will grow out of control (i.e. turn into cancer). The hemocyte is the fly homologue of the mammalian macrophage, and recent studies suggest that it enforces growth control at least in part through release of a ligand that is the fly homolog of TNF-alpha, a signaling molecule produced by activated human macrophages and implicated in immune surveillance.
 One of the least understood aspects of immune surveillance is how hemocytes/macrophages know which cells to target. Studies suggest that localized overgrowths disturb both tissue mechanics and the organization of molecules that mark cell polarity, but exactly how hemocytes—which are rare, free-living cells—recognize the sites of such disturbances is unknown. We propose to leverage fly genetics and single cell transcriptomics to address this question. Specifically, we will generate scattered groups of cells mutant for the tumor suppressor gene scribble, in larval wing imaginal discs; cells bearing such mutations are normally eliminated but grow into tumors if hemocytes are absent. We will use single-cell RNA sequencing to identify transcripts encoding molecules, especially secreted and cell surface signaling molecules, that are differentially expressed by mutant cells and/or their neighbors. We will subject validated findings to functional analysis by siRNA-mediated knockdown. The results have the potential to elucidate evolutionarily conserved pathways of immune surveillance that might be difficult to find by other means.
Phyllodesmium acanthorhinum Moore & Gosliner 2014
Creators: name: Tibiriçá, Yara
name: Pola, Marta
name: Cervera, Juan Lucas
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Mollusca
Gastropoda
Nudibranchia
Facelinidae
Phyllodesmium
Phyllodesmium acanthorhinum

description: Phyllodesmium acanthorhinum Moore & Gosliner, 2014
(Figure 35 H)
Material examined. Two specimens. MB28-005082, ZWH, 23 Dec. 2011, 18m, 17mm, collected by S. Bruck; MB28-005083, ZWH, 25 Jan. 2015, 14m, 12mm.
Habitats. Subtropical rocky reefs.
Occurrences. Zavora.
Geographic distribution. Indo-west Pacific. Japan, Australia (Moore & Gosliner 2009), India (Patel 2012) and Mozambique.
Remarks. First record for the western Indian Ocean.
description: Published as part of Tibiriçá, Yara, Pola, Marta & Cervera, Juan Lucas, 2017, Astonishing diversity revealed: an annotated and illustrated inventory of Nudipleura (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia) from Mozambique, pp. 1-133 in Zootaxa 4359 (1) on page 114, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4359.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/1069168
Cultures of glass in the late nineteenth-century European novel and contemporary Sinophone film
Creators: name: Tseng, Chia-Chieh
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2013

description: In my dissertation, I compare how the novelists and filmmakers utilize glass as a material, medium, and artistic trope to explore the relations between the city and the urban dweller, the public and the private, the perceiver and the things perceived in Western and Chinese modernity.  I analyze at length the following English and French novels: Charlotte Brontë’s Villette, Émile Zola’s The Lady’s Paradise, Henry James’s The Princess Casamassima, Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie, and Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day, Mrs. Dalloway, and To the Lighthouse, as well as Sinophone films: Xia Gang’s As Light as Glass, Ning Ying’s I Love Beijing, and Edward Yang’s Yi Yi: A One and a Two. In these novels and films, glass changes the urban fabric that it also reflects, unsettles existing conceptions of domestic and public spaces, and helps to define urban dwellers’ identity, spectatorship, affects, and desires.  I associate the appearance of a glass-soaked culture with urban modernity in the West, arguing that the Sinophone world’s relatively late use of glass manifests a desire to take on a Western modernity in its own cities. Glass is also frequently evoked as a trope to reflexively examine how these cultural productions are structured in relation to reality. The novel is often compared to a mirror that honestly reflects the real world; and film, through the lens-framed images, shows life in a series of transitory windows. While the nineteenth-century novel paints one portrait of urban reality in the West, film performs a similar task in the late twentieth-century Sinophone world. We currently lack a comprehensive and cross-cultural scholarship on glass culture and its representation in literary and film studies. My dissertation fills this gap by demonstrating the significant role of glass in shaping both urban experiences and cultural productions in Europe and Asia.
Hawkmoth-flower interactions in the urban landscape
Creators: name: Tartaglia, Elena S.
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2013

description: In this dissertation I examined the ecology of moths of the family Sphingidae in New Jersey and elucidated some previously unknown aspects of their behavior as floral visitors. In Chapter 2, I investigated differences in moth abundance and diversity between urban and suburban habitat types. Suburban sites have higher moth abundance and diversity than urban sites. I compared nighttime light intensities across all sites to correlate increased nighttime light intensity with moth abundance and diversity. Urban sites had significantly higher nighttime light intensity, a factor that has been shown to negatively affect the behavior of moths. I analyzed moths’ diets based on pollen grains swabbed from the moths’ bodies. These data were inconclusive due to insufficient sample sizes. In Chapter 3, I examined similar questions regarding diurnal Sphingidae of the genus Hemaris and found that suburban sites had higher moth abundances and diversities than urban sites. I also examined the nectar diets and flight distances of Hemaris moth populations. Pollen grains from purple flowers were significantly more abundant on moths’ bodies across all sites, suggesting a preference for this corolla color. Flight data indicate that Hemaris are vagrants and seldom return to the same patch to feed. In Chapter 4, I examined the foraging behavior of Hemaris compared to the Bombus spp. that they mimic and their Lepidopteran relatives, Papilio glaucus and Manduca rustica. I observed foraging by Hemaris sp., Bombus sp., and P. glaucus at Cirsium discolor, a thistle native to New Jersey. Hemaris individuals visited significantly fewer C. discolor inflorescences and probed significantly fewer C. discolor florets that Bombus or Papilio glaucus. Hemaris do forage more similarly to the related M. rustica than to the other two foragers. Finally, in Chapter 5, I explored Hemaris’s visitation to the native Cirsium discolor and non-native Centaurea spp. During the co-blooming period of C. discolor and Centaurea, Hemaris visited significantly more C. discolor inflorescences. Hemaris revert to visiting Centaurea after C. discolor’s bloom period ends. C. discolor nectar has a significantly higher sugar concentration than Centaurea nectar so this difference may partially account for Hemaris’ higher visitation to C. discolor.
Sum Frequency Generation Imaging of Breast Cancer
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Breast cancer, a leading cause of cancer deaths, is among the most frequently diagnosed cancers in women worldwide. Defining a tumor’s stage and spatial extent is crucial to planning treatment and evaluating changes associated with therapy and tumor growth. Studying the tumor microenvironment, such as the role of collagen in connective tissue, has been recognized as being important for understanding breast cancer initiation and progression. Although second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy, a powerful form of microscopy of particular use in imaging tissue disorders, has shown great promise in characterizing collagen structural changes in breast cancer, this technique suffers some limitations because it lacks chemical selectivity under typical operation conditions, making it difficult to determine which molecular parts give rise to the response. There is clearly a need to further develop multimodal multiphoton imaging techniques that can discover and identify biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis with chemical selectivity, structural specificity, and organizational sensitivity. We propose to explore the capability of a novel method, vibrationally resonant sum frequency generation (VR-SFG) microscopy, in characterizing the chemical, structural, and organizational changes of collagen in breast cancer. We will extract collagen features from VR-SFG images and establish their association with the outcome of ductal carcinoma in situ and invasive breast cancer. Besides exploring the different metrics previously used in SHG as a benchmarking study for VR-SFG, we will devise new metrics based on VR-SFG response because it can probe a wide range of chemical groups and provide detailed information on structural orientation, which is important for revealing changes at the submolecular and supramolecular levels and not accessible from SHG or other techniques. We will delineate the relative merits of different metrics for diagnostic and prognostic applications. The proposed project is significant because once collagen-based VR-SFG is established as a prime indicator of cancer signature, its application and future combination with the modalities of SHG and two-photon excitation fluorescence (a technique that can image the metabolism rate in tissue) will result in new and more effective approaches in cancer research.
Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) nanocarrier-based hydrogels for the prevention of vaginal HIV transmission
Creators: name: Sundara Rajan, Sujata
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2013

description: Women account for over half the global population with HIV. Given the high rate of new infections, the implementation of female-controlled preventive methods is critical to successfully curb HIV. Toward this end, vaginal microbicides- topically applied, self-administered products that protect against HIV are being investigated. A primary risk factor for cervicovaginal HIV acquisition is bacterial vaginosis (BV). BV is characterized by overgrowth of anerobic bacteria and decrease in healthy vaginal lactobacilli and acidity. The compromised vaginal environment in women with BV significantly increases their susceptibility to HIV. Thus a microbicide aimed at preventing and treating BV is likely to be effective at HIV prophylaxis.  The overall goal of this thesis is to develop and evaluate poly(ethylene) glycol (PEG) nanocarrier-based hydrogels for application as vaginal microbicides. The hydrogels are formed in situ by covalently cross-linking 8-arm PEG-SH and 4-arm PEG-NHS polymers via degradable thioester bonds. First, the vaginal coverage, distribution and retention of the hydrogels in mice were evaluated using MRI. Hydrogel volumes and surface contact were measured at various times post-dose and compared with hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) gel. The hydrogels showed significantly longer vaginal retention (12-24 h) than HEC gel (2 h).  In the second part of this thesis, PEG nanocarrier-based hydrogels for the controlled release of lactic acid were developed for maintaining vaginal acidity in women with BV. Nanocarrier-based hydrogels with covalently attached lactic acid showed sustained release (10-14% lactic acid) over several days, while hydrogels with passively entrapped lactic acid showed burst release (90% release within 30 min). Hydrogels with passively entrapped lactic acid inhibited the predominant BV pathogen Gardnerella vaginalis. The cytotoxicity of the polymers was also evaluated using vaginal epithelial cells.  Finally, hydrogels for the controlled release of subtilosin, an antimicrobial peptide with activity against G. vaginalis was developed. Subtilosin release from the hydrogels was two-phase with initial rapid release (4 µg/hr for 12 h) followed by slow release (0.26 µg/hr from 12-120 h). Subtilosin-containing hydrogels inhibited G. vaginalis but did not significantly inhibit healthy vaginal lactobacilli spp. The antiviral activity of subtilosin against HIV was investigated and subtilosin weakly inhibited HIV replication (IC50= 5.8 µM).
Wanellinae Chan & Dreyer & Gale & Glenner & Ewers-Saucedo & Pérez-Losada & Kolbasov & Crandall & Høeg 2021, SUBFAM. NOV.
Creators: name: Chan, Benny K. K.
name: Dreyer, Niklas
name: Gale, Andy S.
name: Glenner, Henrik
name: Ewers-Saucedo, Christine
name: Pérez-Losada, Marcos
name: Kolbasov, Gregory A.
name: Crandall, Keith A.
name: Høeg, Jens T.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Thecostraca
Balanomorpha
Balanidae

description: SUBFAMILY WANELLINAE SUBFAM. NOV.
Z o o b a n k r e g i s t r a t i o n: l s i d: u r n: l s i d: z o o b a n k. org:act: 8EEDFA1B-8E36-4217-8C78-92231F1C84CA
Diagnosis: Shell complete, one-plated, depressed; orifice and shell oval shaped; only inhabit fire corals (Millepora spp.).
Comment: From molecular analyses (Malay & Michonneau, 2014; Tsang et al., 2014), Wanella formed a separate clade, outside the pyrgomatid clade and inside the balanid clade. This argues for a subfamilylevel classification under Balanidae.
Wanella Anderson, 1993 (type genus) (three species)
description: Published as part of Chan, Benny K. K., Dreyer, Niklas, Gale, Andy S., Glenner, Henrik, Ewers-Saucedo, Christine, Pérez-Losada, Marcos, Kolbasov, Gregory A., Crandall, Keith A. & Høeg, Jens T., 2021, The evolutionary diversity of barnacles, with an updated classification of fossil and living forms, pp. 789-846 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 193 on page 836, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa160, http://zenodo.org/record/5637275
Hymenochirus Boulenger 1896
Creators: name: Badjedjea, Gabriel
name: Masudi, Franck M.
name: Akaibe, Benjamin Dudu
name: Gvoždík, Václav
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Amphibia
Anura
Pipidae
Hymenochirus

description: Hymenochirus Boulenger, 1896
This genus is well known from aquaria (Kunz 2007; Rabb and Rabb 1963), but wild populations are poorly known. Similarly, knowledge of the taxonomy of this genus is poor, with only four species currently listed (Frost 2021). The distribution of this genus is concentrated around the forested zone of Central Africa, from southern Nigeria to eastern DRC, and possibly westernmost Uganda.
description: Published as part of Badjedjea, Gabriel, Masudi, Franck M., Akaibe, Benjamin Dudu & Gvoždík, Václav, 2022, Amphibians of Kokolopori: an introduction to the amphibian fauna of the Central Congolian Lowland Forests, Democratic Republic of the Congo, pp. 35-70 in Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 301) (e 301) 16 (1) on page 57, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.12761585
Phyllodesmium crypticum Rudman 1981
Creators: name: Tibiriçá, Yara
name: Pola, Marta
name: Cervera, Juan Lucas
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Mollusca
Gastropoda
Nudibranchia
Facelinidae
Phyllodesmium
Phyllodesmium crypticum

description: Phyllodesmium crypticum Rudman, 1981
(Figure 35 I)
Material examined. Two specimens. MB28-004777 & MB28-004778, VIAIR, 12 Dec 2013, 4m, 18 and 17mm, respectively.
Habitats. Seagrass in the tropics.
Occurrences. Vamizi Island.
Geographic distribution. Indo-west Pacific. Japan, Australia, Philippines, Indonesia, Red Sea (Gosliner et al. 2008), South Africa (Gosliner 1987) and Mozambique.
description: Published as part of Tibiriçá, Yara, Pola, Marta & Cervera, Juan Lucas, 2017, Astonishing diversity revealed: an annotated and illustrated inventory of Nudipleura (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia) from Mozambique, pp. 1-133 in Zootaxa 4359 (1) on page 114, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4359.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/1069168
Outcomes for premenopausal women with triple negative secondary breast cancer
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: In the adolescent and young adult (AYA; 15-39 years) female population, breast cancer (BC) is the most common cause of cancer-related death. Overall, in premenopausal women under 50 years of age, BC is more likely to be tumor marker receptor negative (estrogen, progesterone, and human epidermal growth factor 2 receptor negative, i.e. triple negative), of higher grade, and diagnosed at more advanced stages--all factors associated with worse survival. In addition, multiple studies have shown that the AYA population has the highest absolute excess risk for secondary malignancies of any age group, including most commonly BC. Our prior work comparing primary and secondary BCs in premenopausal women has identified that secondary BCs present at earlier stages and tend to be lymph node negative. However, even with diagnosis at an earlier stage and accounting for tumor receptors and grade, being diagnosed with a secondary BC was associated with worse survival compared to a primary BC. Non-Hispanic Black women experience the worst prognosis after both primary and secondary BC.

 Traditionally, early stage BC is treated with different adjuvant therapies than more advanced staged BC. Chemotherapy is used less frequently, as is radiation. However, because early stage secondary BC has worse survival than early stage primary BC, treatment for secondary BC may need to differ or be more aggressive. Currently there are no guidelines that define or differentiate treatment for primary and secondary BC, leading to the important question of whether differences in treatment contribute to the survival disparities. Additionally, no study to date has assessed treatment, especially chemotherapy regimens utilized in young women with primary and secondary BCs, to determine treatment differences and the impact on survival.

 We propose extracting treatment data, including chemotherapy regimen data via the text fields, from the California Cancer Registry for premenopausal women diagnosed with triple negative BC, a significantly increased aggressive form of BC found in both the primary and secondary BC population. By determining the impact of these regimens on BC survival overall and by race/ethnicity and age group, we will identify areas for intervention to improve outcomes and reduce survival disparities in premenopausal patients with secondary triple negative BC.
The design of new substrates and ligands for rhodium catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation
Creators: name: Sun, Tian
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2013

description: Asymmetric hydrogenation is a significant research field in modern catalytic organic synthesis. In the past 50 years, the design of catalysts and substrates has been widely studied. A great number of phosphorus ligands for asymmetric hydrogenation have been developed. Three generations of catalysts have been reported by a number of scientists. The asymmetric hydrogenation becomes more and more efficient and applicable. High enantioselectivities and activities have been achieved. The design of substrates also makes significant progresses. Many successful examples have been reported in asymmetric hydrogenation of olefins, ketones, and imines.     In chapter one, the development of phosphorus ligands is reported. The characters of phosphorus ligands are discussed and compared. Examples of representative catalysts are listed. The asymmetric hydrogenation of different substrates is also summarized and discussed.     In chapter two, asymmetric hydrogenation of α-dehydroamino ketones catalyzed by a rhodium-chiral phosphorus ligand complex (up to 99% ee, 1000 TON) is reported. This reaction represents an efficient approach to chiral α-amino ketones. The reduction of α-amino ketones catalyzed by Palladium on carbon (Pd/C) leads to amphetamine precursors with quantitative yield and no significant enantioselectivity loss.     In chapter three, high enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) have been observed for the catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation of the α-ketone enol acetates. DuanPhos has been proved to be the most effective ligand for this reaction. High yield and enantioselectivity of the asymmetric hydrogenation of the α-ketone enol acetates demonstrates a feasible synthetic route to important pharmaceutical building blocks: α-hydroxy ketones.    In chapter four, a series of new chiral secondary phosphine oxide (SPO) ligands are reported. Compared with traditional bisphosphine ligands, the SPO ligands are air stable, and have shorter synthetic routes. However, poor to moderate results are obtained using the new chiral SPO ligands. The study of SPO ligands still has many unsolved problems. The potential applications and challenges of SPO ligands are also discussed in chapter four.
Evaluating cost effective care for differentiated thyroid cancer
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Thyroid cancer is one of the most common cancers in the United States and its incidence is increasing. Total thyroidectomy (removal of the thyroid gland) is the predominant treatment for thyroid cancer but carries the risk of hypoparathyroidism because of damage to the parathyroid glands (small organs that lay adjacent to the thyroid and are responsible for calcium homeostasis). Hypoparathyroidism is the most common complication following thyroidectomy and is responsible for the majority of emergency department (ED) visits and readmissions following surgery. The propensity for thyroid cancer to present in young populations, coupled with its good prognosis, increases the importance delivering safe, cost effective care for these patients. Complications of treatment, such as hypoparathyroidism, can debilitate patients for many years, and the economic impacts of these complications must be paid for by society for decades after they are incurred.

 The purpose of this study is to use California Cancer Registry (CCR) and Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) databases to: 1) assess the incidence of hypoparathyroidism in patients undergoing thyroidectomy for thyroid cancer and determine factors, including racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities, associated with hypoparathyroidism and 2) calculate hospitalization and ED costs associated with hypoparathyroidism

 To accomplish these objectives, we will identify patients with thyroid cancer who underwent a thyroidectomy between 2005 - 2018 in California using the CCR. Hospital readmission and ED discharge diagnoses will be obtained from the OSHPD databases. Patient data from the CCR and OSHPD will be linked to evaluate the incidence, risk factors, treatment disparities, and costs associated with hypoparathyroidism following thyroidectomy for thyroid cancer. We expect the findings of this study will provide the data to help establish programs to assure quality, equitable thyroid cancer care for all patients in California, including the economically underserved and racial/ethnic minorities.
Hymenochirus boettgeri
Creators: name: Badjedjea, Gabriel
name: Masudi, Franck M.
name: Akaibe, Benjamin Dudu
name: Gvoždík, Václav
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Amphibia
Anura
Pipidae
Hymenochirus
Hymenochirus boettgeri

description: Hymenochirus cf. boettgeri (Tornier, 1896)
Fig. 11A.
Area: Bechuchuu, Yalokole.
Season/survey: Wet (Nov 2018), dry (July 2020).
Material: CSB:Herp: RNBK 831; IVB-H-CD 18216– 18220, 18308, 18397–18401, 18402–18406, 18410– 18424, 18456–18465, 18480–18488, 18529, 18551.
Comments: This species is common in Kokolopori, usually found in syntopy with Xenopus pygmaeus in stagnant water in forests, typically in pools at the periphery of flooded forest. The general appearance resembles the type of H. boettgeri (ZMB 11521), which was described from the Ituri Forest, northeastern DRC. Given the relatively distant type locality in a different ecoregion, we assume that this population may represent a distinct taxon.
description: Published as part of Badjedjea, Gabriel, Masudi, Franck M., Akaibe, Benjamin Dudu & Gvoždík, Václav, 2022, Amphibians of Kokolopori: an introduction to the amphibian fauna of the Central Congolian Lowland Forests, Democratic Republic of the Congo, pp. 35-70 in Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 301) (e 301) 16 (1) on page 59, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.12761585
Neurocognitive Processes for Mammographic Detection of Breast Cancer
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Understanding the nature of medical expertise in cancer diagnostics imaging could be fundamental for cancer diagnostics, clinical training, and development of computer aided detection programs. This project is aiming at directly assessing the characteristics of underlying neurocognitive processes for medical expertise in cancer diagnostics imaging. SPecifically it is hypothesized that two dissociable cognitive processes (discrete processing of focal lesions and continuous holistic processing) jointly support mammogram diagnostics, the dual-process hypothesis. We will use a combination of novel behavioral paradigms, individual differences, computational, and MRI methods to assess three key predictions of the dual-process hypothesis. First, expertise in mammogram reporting (e.g., mammographers as opposed to medical students) should manifest more in “gist” information, as opposed to focal information, that can be extracted from mammogram images. Second, processing of holistic mammogram image features should occur earlier than detection of local signs of cancer. Third, acquisition of the processing of holistic mammogram image features should manifest in the Fusiform Face Area of the brain, but in asymmetrical way. The project will develop a novel Hierarchical Bayesian method to assess dissociable cognitive processes underlying mammogram reporting (Aim 1), which will used in conjunction with a novel experimental paradigm to assess the neural mechanisms (Aim 2) for mammogram reporting. Some pilot data collected in a NIH funded Medical Perception Lab at the 2019 Annual Conference of Radiological Society of North America has provide preliminary support for the central hypothesis.

 We have developed an interdisciplinary team with the experimental, computational/analytic, neuroimaging, and clinical expertise for the proposed research. The UC CRCC seed grant will support the team to develop subject recruitment mechanism for the targeted enrollment of the specific subject populations, collect pilot data, and establish feasibility for future grant applications. The long-term goals of the project are to further our understanding of medical expertise, to provide the theoretical footing for computer aided medical diagnostic programs, and to develop medical training components that target the core neurocognitive processes.
Phyllodesmium magnum Rudman 1991
Creators: name: Tibiriçá, Yara
name: Pola, Marta
name: Cervera, Juan Lucas
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Mollusca
Gastropoda
Nudibranchia
Facelinidae
Phyllodesmium
Phyllodesmium magnum

description: Phyllodesmium magnum Rudman, 1991
(Figure 35 J)
Material examined. Three specimens. MB28-004643, ZD, 0 6 Dec. 2012, 30m; ZMBN105099, VIES3, 16 May 2015, 7m, 36mm, collected by Y. Tibiriçá & M. Malaquias; ZMBN105143, VIPP, 19 May 2015, 7– 10m, 22mm, collected by Y. Tibiriçá & M. Malaquias.
Habitats. Subtropical rocky reefs and tropical coral reefs.
Occurrences. Zavora and Vamizi Island.
Geographic distribution. Indo-west Pacific. Marshall Islands, Hong Kong, New Caledonia (Rudman 1991), Guam, Papua New Guinea (Gosliner et al. 2008) Australia (Rudman 1991), Philippines, Indonesia (Gosliner et al. 2008), Thailand (Mehrotra & Scott 2015), Red Sea (Koretz 2005), Tanzania (Gosliner et al. 2008), Madagascar (Rassat 2015), South Africa (Fraser 2001) and Mozambique.
description: Published as part of Tibiriçá, Yara, Pola, Marta & Cervera, Juan Lucas, 2017, Astonishing diversity revealed: an annotated and illustrated inventory of Nudipleura (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia) from Mozambique, pp. 1-133 in Zootaxa 4359 (1) on page 115, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4359.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/1069168
Engineered vasculature for long-term culture of tumoroids: in-situ polymerization of scaffolding
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Cancer research has uncovered a small number of fundamental principles that govern the disease's progression, including the formation of a favorable micro-environment. Indeed, tumors induce the growth of blood vessels. The blood flow is essential as it provides sustenance through an influx of nutrients and oxygen and an outflux of waste while contributing to metastasis. Therefore, biomimetic culture environments for cancer research should be vascularized. Engineering a functional vasculature is a mechanical challenge as the vessel walls need to be soft and permeable while retaining their shape under physiological stresses.

 The proposed work aims to produce artificial vessels to enable the long-term study of tumoroids in vitro. We will build on the most recent and promising advances in bio-printing that leverage microgels as a printing medium. In microgel particles, cancer cells move and proliferate to form tumoroids whose properties are strikingly similar to those of tumors. However, diffusion limits molecular transport, and the tumoroids stop developing as cells lack oxygen and nutrients. To this day, there is no technology capable of producing a stable, functional vasculature in a microgel bath.

 Leveraging our expertise in fluid dynamics through low porosity environments, we are uniquely positioned to tackle this challenge. We will seek to further the fundamental knowledge necessary to develop an artificial vasculature. From an engineering standpoint, a vessel is a hollow tube that allows fluid flow. In microgels, open vessels collapse due to local rearrangements. Our strategy fills the vessels with a scaffolding of solid particles separated by small voids permeable to the flow. The solid particles prevent the collapse of the vessel whose walls remain permeable. To mitigate the challenges of particle transport, we will rely on an emulsion to form the vessels. The emulsion droplets will then be polymerized in-situ to become solid and facilitate the molecular transport to and from the tumoroid.

 This seed grant will support our work in a pivotal year. We will demonstrate the printing of a stable permeable channel in microgel through (1) the injection of the emulsion and (2) the in-situ polymerization of the scaffold. With this proof of concept, we will seek extramural funding to further advance cancer research with engineered micro-environments.
Tumor microenvironment-induced epigenomic remodeling promotes persistent invasion
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Breast cancer metastasis, which is responsible for ~90% of breast cancer deaths, is driven in part by mechanical properties of the tumor extracellular matrix (ECM). Tumor ECM stiffness correlates with disease progression, and stiffness per se has been shown to drive proliferation and invasion, even from non-malignant mammary epithelial cells1,2. A firm foundation has been built elucidating how mechanotransduction pathways can alter gene expression and ultimately phenotype3–7. However, it is not well understood how ECM mechanics influence the epigenome; modifications to chromatin that potently regulate gene expression, to give rise to malignant phenotypes. Epigenomic reprogramming could explain why cancer cells maintain their malignant, invasive phenotypes after metastasizing away from the stiff primary tumor.

 The overall objective of this proposal is to determine how ECM mechanical properties activate histone deacetylases (HDACs) to induce epigenomic reprogramming and promote persistent breast cancer invasion. My central hypothesis is that mechanosignaling pathways differentially activate HDACs, causing epigenomic changes that promote and sustain malignant traits. Our very recent work indicates that stiff ECM causes misregulation of both lamina-associated chromatin and chromatin accessibility. Further, we showed that chromatin modifiers histone deacetylases (HDAC) 3 and 8 promote malignancy in response to stiff ECM.

 Specific Aims
 1. Determine the mechanism by which tumor stiffness promotes differential HDAC activity to induce a tumorigenic phenotype in a 3D breast cancer model.
 We will use 3D hydrogel matrices with tunable mechanical properties that have been shown to induce a tumorigenic phenotype and standard molecular biology characterization techniques to complete this Aim.

 2. Determine the contributions of epigenomic reprogramming to driving persistent invasion.
 We will use dynamically tunable 3D hydrogel matrices to vary ECM properties over time to assess the maintenance of the reprogrammed epigenome and the invasive phenotype. We will evaluate the efficacy of HDAC inhibitors in reversing these chromatin modifications and preventing further invasion.

 Successful completion of these aims has the potential to identify a novel mechanism driving malignancy and sustaining the invasive potential of metastatic cells.
Targeting Novel Signaling Pathways for Neuroblastoma Therapy
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Children with high-risk neuroblastoma (NB) have poor outcomes despite intensive treatment, and new therapeutic combinations targeted at biologically relevant pathways are more likely to be effective. Amplification of MYCN remains the best-characterized genetic marker of risk in NB and is found in ∼25% of all NB tumors and in 50% of high-risk tumors. MYCN amplification correlates with high-risk disease and poor prognosis, and MYCN-mediated signaling networks therefore represent candidate targets for new therapies.
 Systems biology analyses have been used to model complex intracellular networks, and therapies based on systems biology-based analyses can both enhance cancer treatment efficacy and minimize side effects and the emergence of treatment resistance. In collaboration with the UCSD Institute for Network Medicine (iNetMed), we have performed systems biology-based analyses using Boolean models to identify invariant gene expression relationships associated with MYCN expression that are relevant in all patients despite inter- and intra-tumoral heterogeneity. Our preliminary analyses have identified a cluster of genes that regulate intracellular signaling that is strongly associated with MYCN expression, suggesting that a coordinated network of intracellular signaling pathways regulated by MYCN are likely associated with NB pathogenesis and represent novel and likely universal candidate therapeutic targets.
 We propose to investigate novel therapeutic vulnerabilities in NB tumors by identifying and validating candidate genes associated with MYCN expression in NB tumors, and we will use high-throughput screening studies to identify candidate compounds effective against NB cells via inhibition of MYCN-mediated signaling. We anticipate that targeting MYCN-mediated signaling will be effective against NB and will lead to candidate compounds to be developed as universally effective agents for NB patients. Our proposed studies leverage innovative algorithms and software developed by the UCSD iNetMed and will address a critical gap in our understanding of the mechanisms underlying NB pathogenesis and identify novel targets for future drug development. Therefore, our studies represent an opportunity to identify innovative potential therapeutic approaches for children with NB.
Chemical Tools for Visualizing the Glycocalyx in Cancer Cells and Tissue with Nanoscale Resolution
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: The glycocalyx is a layer of polysaccharide molecules that coats the surface of every cell in the human body. Sialic acids are saccharide components of the glycocalyx that are particularly relevant in cancer. Hypersialylation of the glycocalyx enables cancer cells to evade immune detection and metastasize to new tumor sites. While it is appreciated that increased sialylation correlates with cancer severity, it is not well-understood how the nanoscale organization of the hypersialylated glycocalyx specifically relates to cancer processes. This lack of clarity is due to the paucity of imaging methods that allow in situ glycocalyx visualization with sufficient nanoscale resolution on non-specialist instrumentation. As glycocalyx heights are between tens to hundreds of nanometers, they challenging to resolve on the diffraction-limited fluorescence microscopes that are found in most biology laboratories. Expansion microscopy (ExM) is an appealing imaging modality in this regard, as it enables super-resolution imaging dimensions on commonplace microscopes. ExM is a materials-based (rather than optics-based) approach that physically expands the imaging specimen to achieve super-resolution. Biomolecules of interest in cells or tissues are tagged with fluorophores, then tethered to a swellable hydrogel mesh. Osmotic swelling of the hydrogel physically separates the tagged fluorophores to achieve super-resolution; fluorophores that were initially indistinguishable are physically separated into distinct pixels for improved resolution.

 This proposal explores chemical strategies for visualizing the sialic acid glycocalyx using ExM. Aim 1 develops ExM-compatible bioorthogonal probes to selectively tether, expand, and image sialic acid residues. As imaging resolution is proportional to the hydrogel swelling ratio, the major limit to glycocalyx resolution is the swelling factor of the polymer network, which can be tuned via hydrogel chemistry innovations. Aim 2 describes molecular engineering approaches to push the limits of glycocalyx visualization using ExM. Finally, as ExM processing renders samples optically transparent, low-background super-resolution imaging may be achieved on tissue samples that typically suffer from fluorescence scattering. Aim 3 explores the notion of visualizing sialic acids in human breast cancer tissue microarrays using expansion microscopy.
In vivo CAR and TCR cancer immunotherapy using in vitro reconstituted virus-like particles
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Gene therapy delivering ex vivo T cell receptors (TCRs) or chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) has revolutionized oncology. Two CAR therapies targeting CD19 on B cells to cure previously fatal B cell leukemias and lymphomas are FDA approved. But barriers remain to harnessing T cell gene therapy to its full potential. Clearing solid tumors has been unsuccessful, as they require more persistent and vigorous immunity, given a large local tumor burden that creates a hostile microenvironment. And up to now TCR/CAR therapies have involved: leukapheresis; massive ex vivo expansion of T cells to condition them for transduction in large numbers; lentiviral delivery of a TCR/CAR gene; and infusion. This process drives T cells to abnormal differentiation and exhaustion, reducing functional capacity and limiting survival. Additionally, the requirement for huge numbers of T cells risks cytokine storm and insertional oncogenesis.

 An ideal alternative approach for TCR/CAR gene therapy would include: in vivo gene delivery under physiologic conditions that do not alter cell function; ability to control the number of transduced cells so that therapy can be ramped up gradually and maintained to persist long term; and avoidance of permanent modification of the genome that risks oncogenesis.

 We are pursuing such an approach in a collaboration combining expertise from two research groups. Dr. Gelbart has developed RNA delivery technology using in vitro reconstituted virus-like particles (VLPs): capsid modification allows cell targeting, and packaged RNA serves as mRNA. In particular, we propose in vivo TCR/CAR gene delivery targeted to T cells via CD3 engagement. Cells transduced in situ would be unmanipulated and fully functional, and the process could be repeated and titrated to control numbers of transduced T cells over time. Because there is no genomic modification and RNA is transient, this approach would avoid risks of cytokine storm and oncogenesis. Dr. Yang, whose group has extensive experience in TCR and CAR manipulation, will collaborate with Dr. Gelbart to develop VLP technology to deliver genes for TCRs/CARs, providing proof-of-concept that T cells can be functionally retargeted, in vivo, via this approach.

 KEY WORDS: T-cell therapy; T-cell receptors (TCRs); chimeric antigen receptors (CARs); in vivo T-cell transformation; targeted virus-like-particles (VLPs)