Panama Bridge Project

The Panama Bridge project has partnered with Rio Missions Panama to design a bridge for the village of La Gigi, Panama. The mountain community of La Gigi experiences heavy rainfall during the rainy seasons. A stream runs along the community, separating locals from their fields and other communities further up the mountain. While passable during dry seasons, the stream floods and becomes impassable after heavy rains. The residents are effectively cut off from their livelihoods, church, health services, and other communities during this time. To accommodate this need, the Panama Bridge Team has spent the 2019-2020 school year designing an aluminum truss bridge, spanning 90 feet. The design includes a unique construction strategy to deal with challenging site constraints.https://mosaic.messiah.edu/engr2020/1020/thumbnail.jp

Panama Bridge Project

The Panama Bridge project has partnered with Rio Missions Panama to design a bridge for the village of La Gigi, Panama. The mountain community of La Gigi experiences heavy rainfall during the rainy seasons. A stream runs along the community, restricting their access to schools, employment options, and other communities. While passable during dry seasons, the stream floods and becomes impassable after heavy rains. The residents are effectively cut off from their livelihoods, church, health services, and other communities during this time. To accommodate this need, the Panama Bridge Team has spent the last two academic years designing a 90 foot aluminum truss bridge. The design includes a unique construction strategy to deal with challenging site constraints.https://mosaic.messiah.edu/engr2021/1011/thumbnail.jp

Pioglitazone administration alters ovarian gene expression in aging obese lethal yellow mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are often treated with insulin-sensitizing agents, e.g. thiazolidinediones (TZD), which have been shown to reduce androgen levels and improved ovulatory function. Acting via peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) gamma, TZD alter the expression of a large variety of genes. Lethal yellow (LY; C57BL/6J Ay/a) mice, possessing a mutation (Ay) in the agouti gene locus, exhibit progressive obesity, reproductive dysfunction, and altered metabolic regulation similar to women with PCOS. The current study was designed to test the hypothesis that prolonged treatment of aging LY mice with the TZD, pioglitazone, alters the ovarian expression of genes that may impact reproduction.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Female LY mice received daily oral doses of either 0.01 mg pioglitazone (n = 4) or an equal volume of vehicle (DMSO; n = 4) for 8 weeks. At the end of treatment, ovaries were removed and DNA microarrays were used to analyze differential gene expression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Twenty-seven genes showed at least a two-fold difference in ovarian expression with pioglitazone treatment. These included leptin, angiopoietin, angiopoietin-like 4, Foxa3, PGE1 receptor, resistin-like molecule-alpha (RELM), and actin-related protein 6 homolog (ARP6). For most altered genes, pioglitazone changed levels of expression to those seen in untreated C57BL/6J(a/a) non-mutant lean mice.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>TZD administration may influence ovarian function via numerous diverse mechanisms that may or may not be directly related to insulin/IGF signaling.</p