Scholarworks
ScholarWorks is an open access repository for the capture of the intellectual work of Montana State University (MSU) in support of its teaching, research and service missions. MSU ScholarWorks is a central point of discovery for accessing, collecting, sharing, preserving, and distributing knowledge to the Montana State University community and the world.
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The metabolome of male and female individuals with knee osteoarthritis is influenced by 18-months of weight loss intervention: the IDEA trial
(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2024-12) Welhaven, Hope D.; Welfley, Avery H.; Bothner, Brian; Messier, Stephen P.; Loeser, Richard F.; June, Ronald K.
Background. The Intensive Diet and Exercise for Arthritis (IDEA) trial was a randomized trial conducted to evaluate the effects of diet and exercise on osteoarthritis (OA), the most prevalent form of arthritis. Various risk factors, including obesity and sex, contribute to OA’s debilitating nature. While diet and exercise are known to improve OA symptoms, cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these interventions, as well as effects of participant sex, remain elusive. Methods/ Serum was obtained at three timepoints from IDEA participants assigned to groups of diet, exercise, or combined diet and exercise (n = 10 per group). A randomly selected subset of serum samples were extracted and analyzed via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry combined with metabolomic profiling to unveil mechanisms associated with types of intervention and disease. Extracted serum was pooled and fragmentation patterns were analyzed to identify metabolites that statistically differentially regulated between groups. Results. Changes in metabolism across male and female IDEA participants after 18-months of diet, exercise, and combined diet and exercise intervention mapped to lipid, amino acid, carbohydrate, vitamin, and matrix metabolism. The diverse metabolic landscape detected across IDEA participants shows that intervention type differentially impacts the serum metabolome of OA individuals. Moreover, dissimilarities in the serum metabolome corresponded with participant sex. Conclusions. These findings suggest that intensive weight loss among males and females offers potential metabolic benefits for individuals with knee OA. This study provides a deeper understanding of dysregulation occurring during OA development in parallel with various interventions, potentially paving the way for improved interventions, treatments, and quality of life of those impacted by OA.
Metabolic Profiles of Encapsulated Chondrocytes Exposed to Short-Term Simulated Microgravity
(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2024-12) Bergstrom, Annika R.; Glimm, Matthew G.; Houske, Eden A.; Cooper, Gwendolyn; Viles, Ethan; Chapman, Marrin; Bourekis, Katherine; Welhaven, Hope D.; Brahmachary, Priyanka P.; Hahn, Alyssa K.; June, Ronald K.
The mechanism by which chondrocytes respond to reduced mechanical loading environments and the subsequent risk of developing osteoarthritis remains unclear. This is of particular concern for astronauts. In space the reduced joint loading forces during prolonged microgravity (10−6 g) exposure could lead to osteoarthritis (OA), compromising quality of life post-spaceflight. In this study, we encapsulated human chondrocytes in an agarose gel of similar stiffness to the pericellular matrix to mimic the cartilage microenvironment. We then exposed agarose-chondrocyte constructs to simulated microgravity (SM) for four days using a rotating wall vessel (RWV) bioreactor to better assess the cartilage health risks associated with spaceflight. Metabolites extracted from media and agarose gel constructs were analyzed on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Global metabolomic profiling detected a total of 1205 metabolite features, with 497 significant metabolite features identified by ANOVA (FDR-corrected p-value < 0.05). Specific metabolic shifts detected in response to SM exposure resulted in clusters of co-regulated metabolites, with glutathione, nitrogen, histidine, vitamin B3, and aminosugars metabolism identified by variable importance in projection scores. Microgravity-induced metabolic shifts in gel constructs and media were indicative of protein synthesis, energy and nucleotide metabolism, and oxidative catabolism. Microgravity associated-metabolic shifts were consistent with our previously published early osteoarthritic metabolomic profiles in human synovial fluid, suggesting that even short-term exposure to microgravity (or other reduced mechanical loading environments) may lead to the development of OA. This work further suggests the potential to detect these metabolic perturbations in synovial fluid in vivo to ascertain osteoarthritis risk in astronauts.
Influence of Internal Molecular Motions in the Photothermal Conversion Effect of Charge-Transfer Cocrystals
(American Chemical Society, 2023-09) Navarro-Huerta, amando; Hall, David A.; Blahut, Jan; Gómez-Vidales, Virginia; Teat, Simon J.; Marmolejo-Tejada, Juan M.; Dračínský, Martin; Mosquera, Martín A.; Rodríguez-Molina, Braulio
Herein, we report two new charge-transfer organic cocrystals, CP-TCNQ and CP-TFBQ. The two cocrystals exhibit broad absorption, good thermal stability, and low photoluminescence quantum yields, the necessary requirements to show the photothermal conversion (PTC) effect. Indeed, the two cocrystals exhibit distinct PTC efficiencies of 11.0 ± 1.4% (CP-TCNQ) and 17.0 ± 1.0% (CP-TFBQ). The 55% improvement in the observed efficiencies is attributed to the fast in-plane reorientations of the TFBQ fragment, as determined by detailed ssNMR spectroscopy and DFT calculations. This work provides for the first time experimental and computational evidence that the molecular motion of a cocrystal coformer increases its PTC efficiency, paving the way to the design of new crystalline materials with PTC as a regulated property.
Zoning and Density Study (Unified Development Code 2024)
(Montana State University - Bozeman, 2024) Rheinschild, Royce; Cowan, Susanne
Bozeman faces rapid urban growth, with zoning changes being proposed to address housing affordability and density challenges. However, the public's limited understanding of zoning regulations and their implications for neighborhood density obstructs informed community engagement. Without accessible tools to visualize how these changes translate into real-world developments, residents are unable to make meaningful contributions to planning discussions. This gap in understanding fosters resistance to change and hinders the development of equitable, sustainable urban environments.
Embodying the pioneers: handcart pioneers, Mormon Trail re-enactments, and sensory history
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2024) Petersen, Steve; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Mark Fiege; Amanda Hendrix-Komoto (co-chair)
Sensory history provides scholars with a deeper understanding of the past by allowing them to tease out people's visceral experiences. The popularity of re-enactments also points to the value of sensory history. People create deeper connections to the past as they try to physically embody the past. Although there is great value in sensory history as a methodology to historians and those who engage in re-enactments, its use has been limited. By focusing on sensory history, historical accounts can reignite history for those who have turned away from the discipline. It can provide greater detail for those attempting to re-enact historical events. This dissertation calls for professional historians to take sensory history and re-enactments more seriously. The sensory history of the Martin and Willie handcart companies and the attempts to re-enact those events are an excellent case study. Latter-day Saints consider bodily refinement through trials essential for salvation. In October of 1856, two Mormon handcart companies became the quintessential example of enduring suffering to reach God. They became stranded in blizzard-like conditions 60 miles outside Casper, Wyoming at a place called Martin's Cove. Before a rescue party was able to reach them, over two hundred emigrants perished on the Mormon Trail. Today, thousands of young Latter-day Saints (Mormons) return to this place to re-enact their sensory experience for spiritual enlightenment. This dissertation argues that their attempts to recreate the pioneers' bodily experiences allow them to create a deeper connection with the past.