Plant-Parasitic Nematodes Associated with Breadfruit, Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg.

M.S. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 2017

A family of falsehoods: Deception, media hoaxes and fake news

“Fake news” became a concern for journalists in 2017 as news organizations sought to differentiate themselves from false information spread via social media, websites and public officials. This essay examines the history of media hoaxing and fake news to help provide context for the current U.S. media environment. In addition, definitions of the concepts are proposed to provide clarity for researchers and journalists trying to explain these phenomena

Transparency and Accountability for Bequests: The Case of Long Island College Hospital

Restricted bequests to not-for-profit organizations can be challenging. Often there is significant lag time between commitment of bequest and death of donor, when operational changes in the beneficiary organization may occur that make adherence to bequest restrictions difficult. Governance systems, external to and within the organization, should exist to monitor the organization’s acceptance and use of bequests. Using the $138 million bequest by Donald and Mildred Othmer to Long Island College Hospital as an example, we consider the stewardship of charitable bequests and the failure of the governance mechanisms in accepting and maintaining bequest restrictions

Target Cell APOBEC3C Can Induce Limited G-to-A Mutation in HIV-1

The evolutionary success of primate lentiviruses reflects their high capacity to mutate and adapt to new host species, immune responses within individual hosts, and, in recent years, antiviral drugs. APOBEC3G (A3G) and APOBEC3F (A3F) are host cell DNA-editing enzymes that induce extensive HIV-1 mutation that severely attenuates viral replication. The HIV-1 virion infectivity factor (Vif), expressed in vivo, counteracts the antiviral activity of A3G and A3F by inducing their degradation. Other APOBECs may contribute more to viral diversity by inducing less extensive mutations allowing viral replication to persist. Here we show that in APOBEC3C (A3C)-expressing cells infected with the patient-derived HIV-1 molecular clones 210WW, 210WM, 210MW, and 210MM, and the lab-adapted molecular clone LAI, viral G-to-A mutations were detected in the presence of Vif expression. Mutations occurred primarily in the GA context and were relatively infrequent, thereby allowing for spreading infection. The mutations were absent in cells lacking A3C but were induced after transient expression of A3C in the infected target cell. Inhibiting endogenous A3C by RNA interference in Magi cells prevented the viral mutations. Thus, A3C is necessary and sufficient for G-to-A mutations in some HIV-1 strains. A3C-induced mutations occur at levels that allow replication to persist and may therefore contribute to viral diversity. Developing drugs that inhibit A3C may be a novel strategy for delaying viral escape from immune or antiretroviral inhibition

The Relationship of Leadership and Student Achievement Across Societal Cultures

AbstractSchool leaders are aware that their effectiveness is often defined by student performance as measured by test scores. Of particular interest in the global arena are the results of the TIMSS and PISA international assessments that rank student performance by country. While researchers and educators seek to account for the high achievement on these assessments, many turn to the characteristics and behaviors of school leaders to explain the difference in rankings. However, to view effective school leadership behaviors and characteristics from a global perspective poses some challenges, as societal culture influences the leadership process. As way to investigate leadership by societal cultures across the globe, the investigators of this study turned to The Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) research survey, in which a research team described a large number of characteristics and behaviors, or universal leadership dimensions, to assess the different ways in which various societal clusters viewed leadership. The investigators of this study explore the relationship of global leadership using the GLOBE cultural leadership dimensions and student achievement as measured by TIMMS and PISA within cultural clusters. Findings indicated that four universal leadership dimensions, including charismatic/values based leadership, participative leadership, autonomous leadership, and self-protective leadership, were identified through ANOVA to be significant in predicting student achievement, which led the researchers to conclude that administering the GLOBE Survey to school leaders is necessary to determine the importance and value of the leadership dimensions relative to educational leaders across all cultures

Community-Based Monitoring of Tigers in Nepal

Local citizens recruited and trained as bagh heralu (“tiger watchers”) helped us to collect information on the distribution of tiger throughout the Terai of Nepal. While the ultimate goal of the bagh heralu program was to map the current metapopulation of tigers in Nepal and to determine extent of breeding outside protected areas, the bagh heralu approach was useful not only because it facilitated data collection but also because it enhanced conservation efforts in multiple ways.Over the five years of the program, bagh heralu became knowledgeable about basic tiger biology and they became recognized in their communities as local tiger experts. Their knowledge of the ecological needs of tigers and strong local interest in the project increased discussions of tiger conservation in local communities throughout the lowlands. This case study indicates that the citizen monitoring programs has the potential to shift some of the responsibility for and economic benefits from biodiversity conservation from government agencies and non-governmental organizations to local communities, thus enhancing efforts to manage resources sustainably across entire landscapes. This case study serves as an example of a citizen monitoring project in a developing country and raises questions relevant to its possible expansion and to broader questions of citizen science in a developing country context

The NTPase activity of the double FYVE domain-containing protein 1 regulates lipid droplet metabolism.

Lipid droplets (LDs) are transient lipid storage organelles that can be readily tapped to resupply cells with energy or lipid building blocks and therefore play a central role in cellular metabolism. However, the molecular factors and underlying mechanisms that regulate the growth and degradation of LDs are poorly understood. It has emerged that proteins that establish contacts between LDs and the endoplasmic reticulum play a critical role in regulating LD metabolism. Recently, the autophagy-related protein, double FYVE domain-containing protein 1 (DFCP1/ZFYVE1) was shown to reside at the interface of the endoplasmic reticulum and LDs, however, little is known about the involvement of DFCP1 in autophagy and LD metabolism. Here, we show that DFCP1 is a novel NTPase that regulates free fatty acid metabolism. Specifically, we show that DFPC1-knockdown, particularly during starvation, increases cellular free fatty acids and decreases the levels of cellular TAGs, resulting in accumulated small LDs. Using selective truncations, we demonstrate that DFCP1 accumulation on LDs in cells and in vitro is regulated by a previously unknown NTPase domain. Using spectroscopic approaches, we show that this NTPase domain can dimerize and can hydrolyze both ATP and GTP. Furthermore, mutations in DFCP1 that either impact nucleotide hydrolysis or dimerization result in changes in the accumulation of DFCP1 on LDs, changes in LD density and size, and colocalization of LDs to autophagosomes. Collectively, our findings suggest that DFCP1 is an NTPase that modulates the metabolism of LDs in cells

Measuring the Impact of Biostatistical Methods on General Medical Research

Background: Novel statistical methods are constantly being developed within the context of biomedical research; however, the rate of diffusion of this knowledge into the field of general / internal medicine is unclear. This study highlights the statistical journal articles, the statistical journals, and the statistical methods that appear to be having the most direct impact on research in the field of general / internal medicine. Methods: Descriptive techniques, including analyses of articles’ keywords and controlled vocabulary terms, were used to characterize the articles published in statistics and probability journals that were subsequently referenced within general / internal medicine journal articles during a recent 10-year period (2000-2009). Results: From the 45 statistics and probability journals of interest, a total of 597 unique articles were identified as being cited by 900 (out of a total of about 10,501) unique general / internal medicine journal articles. The most frequently cited statistical topics included general/other statistical methods, followed by epidemiologic methods, randomized trials, generalized linear models, meta-analysis, and missing data. Conclusion: As statisticians continue to develop and refine techniques, the promotion and adoption of these methods should also be addressed so that their efforts spent in developing the methods are not done in vain

The Relationship of Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Summer Horsemanship School Instructors’ Evaluated Competencies to the Self-Perceived Competencies of Youth and Adult Participants

The purpose of this study was to determine if participants of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Summer Horsemanship School Program, from 2006 through 2014, perceived increases in learning and competency. In addition, the relationship of the horsemanship school instructors’ evaluated competencies with the self-perceived learning and competency of youth and adult participants was tested. A non-random, purposive sample of 37 different instructor teams, comprised of 58 different, individual instructors (53 female, 5 male), were evaluated, along with participants at 202 of the 239 horsemanship schools, resulting in a non-random, purposive sample of 2,701 completed questionnaires. Evaluations were grouped by county and year and compared to the scores of instructor teams who taught those groups. Questionnaires were analyzed for both all ages of participants and 4-H age (8-19) only. Analysis of data revealed that all participants perceived an increase in learning (M = 3.89, SD = 0.54) and competency (M = 3.90, SD = 0.50) after completing the horsemanship school. When analyzed separately, data with only 4-H ages indicated that participant learning and competency increased as rider age increased (p < 0.01). Data showed no significant relationships among instructor teams’ competency (pattern and speaking scores) and participants’ learning and competency, either of all ages or 4-H ages only; however, significant positive relationships (p < 0.01) were found between instructors’ pattern and speaking scores, as well as between participants’ learning and competency. No significant relationship was seen between instructor teams’ scores on a specific horsemanship maneuver and the degree of perceived learning in the participants they taught on that same horsemanship maneuver. When participants of all ages were analyzed, data indicated that learning declined (p < 0.05) as instructors taught more schools. Additionally, analysis of data pointed to a decline in learning (p < 0.05) of participants of all ages, as the instructor got older, and when reviewing participants of 4-H age only, data revealed that both learning (p < 0.01) and competency (p < 0.05) were negatively related to instructor age. These results could be a starting point for future studies of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Summer Horsemanship School Program. Analysis of data revealed that all participants perceived an increase in learning (M = 3.89, SD = 0.54) and competency (M = 3.90, SD = 0.50) after completing the horsemanship school. When analyzed separately, data with only 4-H ages indicated that participant learning and competency increased as rider age increased (p < 0.01). Data showed no significant relationships among instructor teams’ competency (pattern and speaking scores) and participants’ learning and competency, either of all ages or 4-H ages only; however, significant positive relationships (p < 0.01) were found between instructors’ pattern and speaking scores, as well as between participants’ learning and competency. No significant relationship was seen between instructor teams’ scores on a specific horsemanship maneuver and the degree of perceived learning in the participants they taught on that same horsemanship maneuver. When participants of all ages were analyzed, data indicated that learning declined (p < 0.05) as instructors taught more schools. Additionally, analysis of data pointed to a decline in learning (p < 0.05) of participants of all ages, as the instructor got older, and when reviewing participants of 4-H age only, data revealed that both learning (p < 0.01) and competency (p < 0.05) were negatively related to instructor age. These results could be a starting point for future studies of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Summer Horsemanship School Program

Great (and Reasonable) Expectations: Fourth Amendment Protection for Attorney-Client Communications

Most motor vehicle crashes are traceable to “some failure of judgment that fully reveals its dangers only when it is too late. That is precisely why they are accidents.” For example, speeding is one of the most prevalent factors contributing to vehicular crashes. Although especially deadly when combined with driver intoxication, speeding is a significant contributing factor in fatal crashes involving sober drivers. Part II of this Article briefly discusses the development of accident insurance. It examines courts\u27 struggles in determining whether an insured\u27s death was an accident for purposes of awarding accidental death benefits, and approaches to resolving this issue.Part III reviews the case law on drunk drivers\u27 deaths as accidents within the meaning of accidental death insurance, examining representative cases in three categories. First, cases reflecting the majority rule that drunk drivers\u27 deaths are not accidents. Second, cases characterizing drunk drivers\u27 deaths as accidents--the present minority view. Third, cases in which courts deny accidental death benefits not because they characterize intoxicated drivers\u27 deaths as non-accidental, but because of policy exclusions. Part IV explains the analytical framework that courts should employ when attempting to determine whether an intoxicated driver\u27s death was accidental. This approach was proposed nearly twenty years ago in Wickman v. Northwestern National Insurance Co., but many courts that have attempted to apply it have misconstrued its elements, or have substituted value judgments for legal ones. This Part strives to correct such errors and to appropriately guide future courts