![190974-Thumbnail Image.png](https://d1rbsgppyrdqq4.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/styles/width_400/public/2023-12/190974-Thumbnail%20Image.png?versionId=i.4rgrrBr5KPwJY9J_ClbxrFr93vYv5q&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIASBVQ3ZQ42ZLA5CUJ/20240618/us-west-2/s3/aws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20240618T081237Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=120&X-Amz-Signature=285946644e776a5d001e87e066f47d4063a461471877dc64f5fb1350fea762df&itok=UsxzNrzY)
![190882-Thumbnail Image.png](https://d1rbsgppyrdqq4.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/styles/width_400/public/2023-12/190882-Thumbnail%20Image.png?versionId=EY8AyqSy1e8U6OySyUqN8.892Mo.rQ3W&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIASBVQ3ZQ42ZLA5CUJ/20240618/us-west-2/s3/aws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20240618T000954Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=120&X-Amz-Signature=501f0cb9f5cc64cb11a65df193df3f66995f7c5b921d3b0c45cafc46eecd4163&itok=gohiO1TL)
Insect pheromones are crucial for survival and reproduction because they influence insect behavior, communication, and interactions within and outside the colony. Honey bees (Apis mellifera) have one of the most complex pheromonal communication systems. One pheromone, known as Queen Mandibular Pheromone (QMP), is released by the queen bee to regulate physiology, behavior, and gene expression in the female worker caste. The pheromone acts as a signal of queen presence that suppresses worker reproduction. In the absence of reproduction, young workers focus on taking care of the queen and larvae, known as nurse tasks, while older workers forage. In nurse bees, QMP has fundamental physiological impacts, including increasing abdominal lipid stores and increasing the protein content of hypopharyngeal glands (HPG). The HPG are worker-specific glands that can synthesize royal jelly used in colony nourishment. In workers, larger HPG signifies the ability to secrete royal jelly, while shrunken glands are characteristic of foragers that do not make jelly. While it is known that QMP increases abdominal lipid stores, the underlying mechanism is unclear: Does the pheromone simply make workers consume more pollen which provides lipids and protein, or does QMP also increase lipogenesis? In this study, I measured abdominal lipogenesis as fatty acid synthase (FAS) activity and monitored abdominal protein content and HPG size in caged, nurse-aged worker bees. In cages, workers were exposed to QMP or not, and they were provided with a lipid less diet in a full factorial design experiment. I found that QMP did not influence abdominal FAS activity or protein, but significantly increased HPG size. The data also revealed a significant positive correlation between abdominal protein and HPG size. My results do not support the idea that QMP modulates lipogenesis in worker bees, but my data can be interpreted to reflect that QMP mobilizes abdominal protein for the production of jelly in the HPG. This finding is in line with a previous study revealing a role of honey bee Brood Pheromone in mobilization of a major protein used in jelly production. Overall, my results support a fundamental role of QMP in worker metabolic processes associated with colony nourishment.
![168722-Thumbnail Image.png](https://d1rbsgppyrdqq4.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/styles/width_400/public/2022-08/168722-Thumbnail%20Image.png?versionId=kUks4RNSfVP6944UKnTUgrAruB1flMxm&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIASBVQ3ZQ42ZLA5CUJ/20240618/us-west-2/s3/aws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20240618T092942Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=120&X-Amz-Signature=d345d9ca87ed39109208636f03ad9c9c28459d79d28b7d4f0f2ffce9c2076356&itok=dfQZuRI3)
Maternal morbidity and mortality rates in the United States continues to rise, with a wide range of contributing factors such as mental illness, cardiovascular disease and systemic inequality. This metastudy provides a holistic view of the research that has been published on the issue of U.S. maternal healthcare from 2000-2022. The patterns of publications on specific topics over time can tell us what is perceived as a current major cause by physicians, public leaders, researchers, and the public. A deeper dive into systemic inequality as a cause of maternal morbidity and mortality highlights it as a major contributor to these high rates, but that progress is slowly being made through the implementation of detection and prevention tactics, as well as accessible prenatal programs and care.
The overarching goal of my research unfolds over three aims: (i) evaluating circRNAs and their predicted impact on transcriptional regulatory networks in cell-specific RNAseq data; (ii) developing a novel solution for de novo detection of full length circRNAs as well as in silico validation of selected circRNA junctions using assembly; and (iii) application of these assembly based detection and validation workflows, and integrating existing tools, to systematically identify and characterize circRNAs in functionally distinct human brain regions. To this end, I have developed novel bioinformatics workflows that are applicable to non-polyA selected RNAseq datasets and can be used to characterize circRNA expression across various sample types and diseases. Further, I establish a reference dataset of circRNA expression profiles and regulatory networks in a brain region-specific manner. This resource along with existing databases such as circBase will be invaluable in advancing circRNA research as well as improving our understanding of their role in transcriptional regulation and various neurological conditions.
![156777-Thumbnail Image.png](https://d1rbsgppyrdqq4.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/styles/width_400/public/2021-09/156777-Thumbnail%20Image.png?versionId=WCG9QaXl3x3wbPQL2zYGtMxccHID4X3D&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIASBVQ3ZQ42ZLA5CUJ/20240618/us-west-2/s3/aws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20240618T082636Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=120&X-Amz-Signature=8d75b6953cb8b10fbced9716454ea8e9b4618a31dbd61fa7ef98441a4f65b7bc&itok=4_q2hBby)
This research introduces ARTAKA: Architecture for Real-Time Application of Knowledge Artifacts, as a concrete floor-to-ceiling technological blueprint for both provider heath IT (HIT) and vendor organizations to incrementally introduce value into existing systems dynamically. This is made possible by service-ization of curated knowledge artifacts, then injected into a highly scalable backend infrastructure by automated orchestration through public marketplaces. Supplementary examples of client app integration are also provided. Compilation of knowledge into platform-specific form has been left flexible, in so far as implementations comply with ARTAKA’s Context Event Service (CES) communication and Health Services Platform (HSP) Marketplace service packaging standards.
Towards the goal of interoperable human processes, ARTAKA’s treatment of knowledge artifacts as a specialized form of software allows knowledge engineers to operate as a type of software engineering practice. Thus, nearly a century of software development processes, tools, policies, and lessons offer immediate benefit: in some cases, with remarkable parity. Analyses of experimentation is provided with guidelines in how choice aspects of software development life cycles (SDLCs) apply to knowledge artifact development in an ARTAKA environment.
Portions of this culminating document have been further initiated with Standards Developing Organizations (SDOs) intended to ultimately produce normative standards, as have active relationships with other bodies.
![156520-Thumbnail Image.png](https://d1rbsgppyrdqq4.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/styles/width_400/public/2021-09/156520-Thumbnail%20Image.png?versionId=Ha0R3_5jytoEV7rIQbzjic4qLJHRDC6G&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIASBVQ3ZQ42ZLA5CUJ/20240618/us-west-2/s3/aws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20240618T092942Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=120&X-Amz-Signature=06d52de9a6ebb07cbd95a46a2c6592738d7527aa83fa50db3262572b7547a962&itok=aC3Tj-HH)
Practical impediments to comparative genomic analysis of dog and human include challenges identifying similarities in mutation type and function across species. For example, canine genes could have evolved different functions and their human orthologs may perform different functions. Hence, I undertook a systematic statistical evaluation of dog and human cancer genes and assessed functional similarities and differences between orthologs to improve understanding of the roles of these genes in cancer across species. I tested this pipeline canine and human Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL), given that canine DLBCL is the most comprehensively genomically characterized canine cancer. Logistic regression with genes bearing somatic coding mutations in each cancer was used to determine if conservation metrics (sequence identity, network placement, etc.) could explain co-mutation of genes in both species. Using this model, I identified 25 co-mutated and evolutionarily similar genes that may be compelling cross-species cancer genes. For example, PCLO was identified as a co-mutated conserved gene with PCLO having been previously identified as recurrently mutated in human DLBCL, but with an unclear role in oncogenesis. Further investigation of these genes might shed new light on the biology of lymphoma in dogs and human and this approach may more broadly serve to prioritize new genes for comparative cancer biology studies.