Information Technology Systems and Services

This departmental history was written on the occasion of the UND Quasquicentennial in 2008.https://commons.und.edu/departmental-histories/1081/thumbnail.jp

Influence of Experimental Sheet Flow on Aquatic Foods Webs of the Central Everglades

Establishing historical water velocities is a goal of Everglades restoration because of their role maintaining landscape topographic relief. However, flows may also change the trophic state of marshes by phosphorus loading. I used fatty acid (FA) and stoichiometric data to quantify how increased sheet flow altered the relative heterotrophic and autotrophic contributions to aquatic consumers in a field experiment that introduced flowing water to an Everglades marsh in November, 2014. Algal taxonomic composition was different between pre-flow and flow sampling, marked by increases in the nutrient exploiting Mougeotia species (green algae) during flow sampling. Dietary tracer FAs in consumers reflected changes in algal resources, including an increase in green algae-derived and a decrease in bacteria-derived FAs. These food web responses indicate that establishing historic water velocity in degraded wetlands can shift the origins of organic matter from a more detrital to more algal supported web

Perceptions, Attitudes, and Behaviors of Primary Care Providers Toward Obesity Management: A Qualitative Study

Background and Problem Statement: Obesity is a serious, costly, and prevalent chronic condition, which affects adults and children all over the world. There is evidence that clinicians fail to screen, diagnose, and treat obesity in accordance with national evidence-based clinical guidelines. The purpose of this DNP project was to explore perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors toward obesity management by providers in primary care. Methods: A descriptive qualitative design using semi-structured face-to-face interviews was used along with thematic content analysis to analyze data for development of themes. A purposive sample of 12 primary care providers (PCPs), from hospital owned suburban practices, was chosen for this study and included six nurse practitioners (NPs) and six physicians age 30-65 who care for patients with obesity. Results: Participants reported a lack of knowledge, communication, and support for managing obesity. Many different provider approaches to managing obesity were observed, which are based on perceptions, beliefs, and anecdotal medicine rather than on scientific evidence. Common barriers to obesity management were identified and three major themes emerged: Provider centered obstacles, organizational obstacles, and provider perception of patient obstacles. Conclusion and Clinical/Application: This study confirms the presence of a trend in the delivery of care in a traditional healthcare system that places emphasis and value on episodic visits for disease management rather than on prevention. Organizational healthcare policies, protocols and guidelines must adapt and change to form a multidisciplinary integrated approach for managing this chronic condition. Future clinically and community focused initiatives must be innovative and are needed to support primary care providers in their delivery of evidence-based, patient-centered care to improve outcomes and reduce healthcare cost.D.N.P., Nursing Practice -- Drexel University, 201

High resolution visible to short-wave near-infrared CCD spectra of Mars during 1990

The 0.4 to 1.0 micron spectrum of Mars is dominated by a steep red, relatively featureless spectral slope. Earlier lower spectral observations interpreted the red color and the lack of absorption features in the spectra as evidence of poorly crystalline ferric oxide minerals. More recent higher spectral resolution observations and reinterpretations of older data sets have revealed measureable spectral structure, however. For example, absorption features near 0.65 and 0.86 micron were detected and spatially mapped in data obtained during the 1988 opposition. These absorptions were interpreted as evidence for crystalline hematite on Mars, occuring as an accessory phase in abundances of 3 to 6 percent in the soil. We are attempting to verify the existence of these subtle crystalline Fe(3+) absorption features and to map their spatial distribution in regions of the planet not imaged in 1988. During the 1990 opposition, we obtained imaging spectroscopic data of Mars from the University of Hawaii 2.24 m telescope at Mauna Kea Observatory. The data were obtained with the Wide Field Grism Spectrograph (WFGS), which uses an 800 x 800 CCD and a transmission grating ruled on a prism. We used a grating blazed at 4800 A in first order to obtain data from 0.50 to 0.94 micron at a spectral resolution of R = 200 to 350. The moon/Mars slit design used had projected dimensions of 0.29 x 153 inches, allowing for high spectral resolution and adequate cross-slit spatial sampling of the Martian disk

Common Phenolic Metabolites of Flavonoids, but Not Their Unmetabolized Precursors, Reduce the Secretion of Vascular Cellular Adhesion Molecules by Human Endothelial Cells

Background: Flavonoids have been implicated in the prevention of cardiovascular disease; however, their mechanisms of action have yet to be elucidated, possibly because most previous in vitro studies have used supraphysiological concentrations of unmetabolized flavonoids, overlooking their more bioavailable phenolic metabolites. Objective: We aimed to explore the effects of phenolic metabolites and their precursor flavonoids at physiologically achievable concentrations, in isolation and combination, on soluble vascular cellular adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1). Method: Fourteen phenolic acid metabolites and 6 flavonoids were screened at 1 μM for their relative effects on sVCAM-1 secretion by human umbilical vein endothelial cells stimulated with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). The active metabolites were further studied for their response at different concentrations (0.01 μM–100 μM), structure-activity relationships, and effect on vascular cellular adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 mRNA expression. In addition, the additive activity of the metabolites and flavonoids was investigated by screening 25 unique mixtures at cumulative equimolar concentrations of 1 μM. Results: Of the 20 compounds screened at 1 μM, inhibition of sVCAM-1 secretion was elicited by 4 phenolic metabolites, of which protocatechuic acid (PCA) was the most active (−17.2%, P = 0.05). Investigations into their responses at different concentrations showed that PCA significantly reduced sVCAM-1 15.2–36.5% between 1 and 100 μM, protocatechuic acid-3-sulfate and isovanillic acid reduced sVCAM-1 levels 12.2–54.7% between 10 and 100 μM, and protocatechuic acid-4-sulfate and isovanillic acid-3-glucuronide reduced sVCAM-1 secretion 27.6% and 42.8%, respectively, only at 100 μM. PCA demonstrated the strongest protein response and was therefore explored for its effect on VCAM-1 mRNA, where 78.4% inhibition was observed only after treatment with 100 μM PCA. Mixtures of the metabolites showed no activity toward sVCAM-1, suggesting no additive activity at 1 μM. Conclusions: The present findings suggest that metabolism of flavonoids increases their vascular efficacy, resulting in a diversity of structures of varying bioactivity in human endothelial cells

EURAD EC project – overview of the routes work package: identified key issues and open questions about waste management routes in Europe, from cradle to grave

The ROUTES Work Package (WP) is one of the two strategic studies being conducted as part of the European Joint Programme on Radioactive Waste Management (EURAD). ROUTES’ objectives are (i) to provide a framework for European Union’s member states (MS) to share methodologies, experiences, and knowledge in situations in which a waste management strategy is difficult to define as well as to (ii) to compare national approaches and strategies of waste management. The work considers national programmes at different stages of their development and deals with different amounts and types of radioactive waste. The expected output is identifying Research & Development (R&D) needs and opportunities for collaboration between MS, which need not be confined to ROUTES or EURAD frameworks. This work has enabled ROUTES partners to identify key issues such as retrieving poorly characterised legacy waste from a predisposal or disposal facility, implementing specific waste management solutions in the absence of well-defined WAC or developing innovative or shared solutions for MS that have only limited amounts of waste to manage. Discussion of these questions is illustrated through some of the case studies identified and analysed under the ROUTES WP

Composite Hydrogels with Engineered Microdomains for Optical Glucose Sensing at Low Oxygen Conditions

There is a growing need for advanced tools that enable frequent monitoring of biomarkers for precision medicine. In this work, we present a composite hydrogel-based system providing real-time optical bioanalyte monitoring. The responsive material, alginate-in-alginate (AnA), is comprised of an alginate hydrogel with embedded bioactive, nanofilm-coated phosphorescent microdomains; palladium tetracarboxyphenylporphyrin serves as an optical indicator, glucose oxidase as a model enzyme, and layer-by-layer deposited polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) as the diffusion barrier. Glutaraldehyde crosslinking of the nanofilms resulted in a dramatic reduction in glucose diffusion (179%) while oxygen transport was not significantly affected. The responses of the AnA hydrogels to step changes of glucose at both ambient and physiological oxygen levels were evaluated, revealing controlled tuning of sensitivity and dynamic range. Stability, assessed by alternately exposing the responsive AnA hydrogels to extremely high and zero glucose concentrations, resulted in no significant difference in the response over 20 cycles. These AnA hydrogels represent an attractive approach to biosensing based on biocompatible materials that may be used as minimally-invasive, implantable devices capable of optical interrogation. The model glucose-responsive composite material studied in this work will serve as a template that can be translated for sensing additional analytes (e.g., lactate, urea, pyruvate, cholesterol) and can be used for monitoring other chronic conditions

Die europaeische Sozialunion: Begriff, Entwicklung, Perspektiven

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