Creation of a Computational Pipeline to Extract Genes from Quantitative Trait Loci for Diabetes and Obesity

Type 2 Diabetes is a disease of relative insulin deficiency resulting from a combination of insulin resistance and decreased beta-cell function. Over the past several years, over 60 genes have been identified for Type 2 Diabetes in human genome-wide association studies (GWAS). It is important to understand the genetics involved with Type 2 diabetes in order to improve treatment and understand underlying molecular mechanisms. Heterogeneous stock (HS) rats are derived from 8 inbred founder strains and are powerful tools for genetic studies because they provide a basis for high resolution mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTL) in a relatively short time period. By measuring diabetic traits in 1090 HS male rats and genotyping 10K single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within these rats, Dr. Solberg Woods\u27 lab conducted genetic analysis to identify 85 QTL for diabetes and adiposity traits. To identify candidate genes within these QTL, we propose creation of a bioinformatics pipeline that combines general gene information, information from the rat genome database including disease portals and Variant Visualizer as well as the Attie Diabetes Expression Database. My project has involved writing code to pull data from these databases to determine which genes within each QTL are potential candidate genes. I have scripted the code to analyze genes within a single QTL or multiple QTL simultaneously. The resulting output is a single excel file for each QTL, listing all genes that are found in the disease portals, all genes that have a highly conserved non-synonymous variant change and all genes that are differentially expressed in the Attie database. The program also highlights genes that are found in all three categories. After creating the pipeline, I ran the program for 85 QTL identified in my laboratory. The program identified 63 high priority candidate genes for future follow-up. This work has helped my laboratory rapidly identify candidate genes for type 2 diabetes and obesity. In the future, the code can be modified to identify candidate genes within QTL for any complex trait

THE IMPACT OF EXERCISE AND SPORTS ON THE PSYCHOSOCIAL WELL-BEING OF SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH

Psychosocial well-being is a concept that encompasses mental health and the psychosocial health of an individual. Recreational sports and physical activity have been used to promote health and overall well-being of individuals. The study main aim is to understand the impact that exercise and sports on the psychosocial well-being of Syrian refugee youth in Jordan. In addressing this aim, the following questions were addressed; What have Syrian refugee youth experienced after participation in sports and exercise? and how has exercise and sports affected the lives of Syrian youth refugee?. The hypothesis is that Syrian refugee youth who participate in sports programs or exercise will have an overall better psychosocial well-being. The study used a descriptive qualitative approach to collect data from participants. Data was collected from eight Syrian youth male refugee participants whom age ranged between 18-25 years and participated in sports or exercise programs not less than three months during the course of their lives while in Jordan. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Results revealed four main themes and nine sub-themes; the Psychological Impacts, the Social Impact, The Physical Benefits, and Barriers to Keep Going; The Undiscovered Talent. Each of these categories additionally have nine sub themes to better understand the impact. The sum of the results concluded a positive connection between sports and exercise and how it positively affects and benefits the psychosocial well-being of participants who actively and routinely participated in these activities. This study hopes to contribute to the advocacy of incorporating sports and exercise into mental health programs and interventions for vulnerable youth populations. It is recommended to include females and do further research into how Syrian youth refugees can advance in their sports journeys. Key Words: Mental health, Psychological Well-Being, Syrian refugee youth, Sports and exercis

Clustering and Micro-immiscibility in Alcohol-Water Mixtures: Evidence from Molecular Dynamics Simulations

We have investigated the hydrogen-bonded structures in liquid methanol and a 7:3 mole fraction aqueous solution using classical Molecular Dynamics simulations at 298K and ambient pressure. We find that, in contrast to recent predictions from X-ray emission studies, the hydrogen-bonded structure in liquid methanol is dominated by chain and small ring structures. In the methanol-rich solution, we find evidence of micro-immiscibility, supporting recent conclusions derived from neutron diffraction data.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

The effects of live modeling and specificity of verbal reinforcement on the modification of classroom behavior

This study attempted to increase the frequency of student on-task behavior in two. third grade classrooms. using live modeling and vicarious reinforcement. In a multiple baseline-counterbalanced treatments design two classrooms of students were exposed to live, peer modeling displays of on-task behavior. In one class­ room the teacher praised the model, using behaviorally specific praise while the second classroom teacher used non-specific praise. Praise conditions were later reversed. It was hypothesized that after exposure to the modeling display s a) the frequency of on-task behavior would be increased over baseline levels to a pre-determined treatment outcome , b) behaviorally specific vicarious reinforcement would result in greater increases in target behavior. than non-specific vicar­ ious reinforcement, c) behaviorally specific vicarious reinforcement would result in greater across-setting­ generalization of on-task behavior change , and d) on­ task behavior would remain above baseline levels in both classrooms at a one week follow-up check. Results indicated that modeling was inconsistent in the direction of its effects on student on-task behavior, that behaviorally non-specific vicarious reinforcement, was associated with higher levels of on-task behavior in the treated and generalization classrooms, and although on-task behavior remained above baseline levels in one classroom it remained below baseline levels in the second classroom at a one week follow-up. Possible confounding variables, and limitations on the conclusions of this study were discussed

Simulation of organismic morphology and behavior by synthetic poly-alpha-amino acids

Simulation of organismic morphology and behavior by synthetic poly-amino acid

Leveraging Epidemiology to Improve Risk Assessment.

The field of environmental public health is at an important crossroad. Our current biomonitoring efforts document widespread exposure to a host of chemicals for which toxicity information is lacking. At the same time, advances in the fields of genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, genetics and epigenetics are yielding volumes of data at a rapid pace. Our ability to detect chemicals in biological and environmental media has far outpaced our ability to interpret their health relevance, and as a result, the environmental risk paradigm, in its current state, is antiquated and ill-equipped to make the best use of these new data. In light of new scientific developments and the pressing need to characterize the public health burdens of chemicals, it is imperative to reinvigorate the use of environmental epidemiology in chemical risk assessment. Two case studies of chemical assessments from the Environmental Protection Agency Integrated Risk Information System database are presented to illustrate opportunities where epidemiologic data could have been used in place of experimental animal data in dose-response assessment, or where different approaches, techniques, or studies could have been employed to better utilize existing epidemiologic evidence. Based on the case studies and what can be learned from recent scientific advances and improved approaches to utilizing human data for dose-response estimation, recommendations are provided for the disciplines of epidemiology and risk assessment for enhancing the role of epidemiologic data in hazard identification and dose-response assessment