Allison Becker - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Allison Becker

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Research paper thumbnail of The Development of a Model to Examine Critical Information Needs on Local Television News

Research paper thumbnail of Aquatic insects as an energetic subsidy to riparian consumers in the Olman River Basin, Alberta

Research paper thumbnail of Effects of Multi-Modal Sensory Stimulation on Neurophysiological Processing in Adults with Aphasia

This was an exploratory study that focused on measuring the P300 event related potential to deter... more This was an exploratory study that focused on measuring the P300 event related potential to determine changes in neurophysiological activity when subjects were presented with multi-modal sensory stimulation (auditory and visual) compared to uni-modal sensory stimulation (auditory only). Subjects were presented with auditory oddball paradigms. Activity was measured at multiple sites (Fz, Cz, and Pz) consistent with suggestions from electrophysiological research. Two adults with a diagnosis of aphasia were the subjects. The research question focused on how the presence of multi-modal sensory stimulation changed the latency, amplitude of the P300 response. Behavioral outcomes were also quantified. Results showed an overall increase in P300 amplitude at all sites in both participants. These results indicate possible changes in outlook for treatment in aphasia therapy. Further research in to this area is warranted to draw more conclusive results

Research paper thumbnail of 32. Improving Efficiency of Autism Screening

Academic Pediatrics, 2019

Research paper thumbnail of Adrenal Hemangioma Definite Diagnosis on CT, MRI, and FDG PET in a Patient With Primary Lung Cancer

Clinical nuclear medicine, 2018

Distinguishing adrenal incidentalomas (5% of all abdominal CT scans) from metastasis is a frequen... more Distinguishing adrenal incidentalomas (5% of all abdominal CT scans) from metastasis is a frequent diagnostic challenge in primary malignancies with a propensity for adrenal spread, such as lung cancer. Adrenal myelolipoma and adenoma can be definitively characterized as benign by demonstrating gross and microscopic fat, respectively, on CT and MRI and an absence of abnormal uptake on PET. Unfortunately, adrenal sampling is frequently necessary in indeterminate cases for adequate staging of extra-adrenal primary malignancy. We present a lung cancer case in which definite characterization of a rare adrenal hemangioma with CT, PET, and MRI avoided unnecessary adrenal sampling.

Research paper thumbnail of Extracellular Vesicles from Trypanosoma brucei Mediate Virulence Factor Transfer and Cause Host Anemia

Cell, Jan 14, 2016

Intercellular communication between parasites and with host cells provides mechanisms for parasit... more Intercellular communication between parasites and with host cells provides mechanisms for parasite development, immune evasion, and disease pathology. Bloodstream African trypanosomes produce membranous nanotubes that originate from the flagellar membrane and disassociate into free extracellular vesicles (EVs). Trypanosome EVs contain several flagellar proteins that contribute to virulence, and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense EVs contain the serum resistance-associated protein (SRA) necessary for human infectivity. T. b. rhodesiense EVs transfer SRA to non-human infectious trypanosomes, allowing evasion of human innate immunity. Trypanosome EVs can also fuse with mammalian erythrocytes, resulting in rapid erythrocyte clearance and anemia. These data indicate that trypanosome EVs are organelles mediating non-hereditary virulence factor transfer and causing host erythrocyte remodeling, inducing anemia.

Research paper thumbnail of The role of taxonomic expertise in interpretation of metabarcoding studies

ICES Journal of Marine Science, 2021

The performance of DNA metabarcoding approaches for characterizing biodiversity can be influenced... more The performance of DNA metabarcoding approaches for characterizing biodiversity can be influenced by multiple factors. Here, we used morphological assessment of taxa in zooplankton samples to develop a large barcode database and to assess the congruence of taxonomic identification with metabarcoding under different conditions. We analysed taxonomic assignment of metabarcoded samples using two genetic markers (COI, 18S V1–2), two types of clustering into molecular operational taxonomic units (OTUs, ZOTUs), and three methods for taxonomic assignment (RDP Classifier, BLASTn to GenBank, BLASTn to a local barcode database). The local database includes 1042 COI and 1108 18S (SSU) barcode sequences, and we added new high-quality sequences to GenBank for both markers, including 109 contributions at the species level. The number of phyla detected and the number of taxa identified to phylum varied between a genetic marker and among the three methods used for taxonomic assignments. Blasting th...

Research paper thumbnail of The Development of a Model to Examine Critical Information Needs on Local Television News

Research paper thumbnail of Aquatic insects as an energetic subsidy to riparian consumers in the Olman River Basin, Alberta

Research paper thumbnail of Effects of Multi-Modal Sensory Stimulation on Neurophysiological Processing in Adults with Aphasia

This was an exploratory study that focused on measuring the P300 event related potential to deter... more This was an exploratory study that focused on measuring the P300 event related potential to determine changes in neurophysiological activity when subjects were presented with multi-modal sensory stimulation (auditory and visual) compared to uni-modal sensory stimulation (auditory only). Subjects were presented with auditory oddball paradigms. Activity was measured at multiple sites (Fz, Cz, and Pz) consistent with suggestions from electrophysiological research. Two adults with a diagnosis of aphasia were the subjects. The research question focused on how the presence of multi-modal sensory stimulation changed the latency, amplitude of the P300 response. Behavioral outcomes were also quantified. Results showed an overall increase in P300 amplitude at all sites in both participants. These results indicate possible changes in outlook for treatment in aphasia therapy. Further research in to this area is warranted to draw more conclusive results

Research paper thumbnail of 32. Improving Efficiency of Autism Screening

Academic Pediatrics, 2019

Research paper thumbnail of Adrenal Hemangioma Definite Diagnosis on CT, MRI, and FDG PET in a Patient With Primary Lung Cancer

Clinical nuclear medicine, 2018

Distinguishing adrenal incidentalomas (5% of all abdominal CT scans) from metastasis is a frequen... more Distinguishing adrenal incidentalomas (5% of all abdominal CT scans) from metastasis is a frequent diagnostic challenge in primary malignancies with a propensity for adrenal spread, such as lung cancer. Adrenal myelolipoma and adenoma can be definitively characterized as benign by demonstrating gross and microscopic fat, respectively, on CT and MRI and an absence of abnormal uptake on PET. Unfortunately, adrenal sampling is frequently necessary in indeterminate cases for adequate staging of extra-adrenal primary malignancy. We present a lung cancer case in which definite characterization of a rare adrenal hemangioma with CT, PET, and MRI avoided unnecessary adrenal sampling.

Research paper thumbnail of Extracellular Vesicles from Trypanosoma brucei Mediate Virulence Factor Transfer and Cause Host Anemia

Cell, Jan 14, 2016

Intercellular communication between parasites and with host cells provides mechanisms for parasit... more Intercellular communication between parasites and with host cells provides mechanisms for parasite development, immune evasion, and disease pathology. Bloodstream African trypanosomes produce membranous nanotubes that originate from the flagellar membrane and disassociate into free extracellular vesicles (EVs). Trypanosome EVs contain several flagellar proteins that contribute to virulence, and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense EVs contain the serum resistance-associated protein (SRA) necessary for human infectivity. T. b. rhodesiense EVs transfer SRA to non-human infectious trypanosomes, allowing evasion of human innate immunity. Trypanosome EVs can also fuse with mammalian erythrocytes, resulting in rapid erythrocyte clearance and anemia. These data indicate that trypanosome EVs are organelles mediating non-hereditary virulence factor transfer and causing host erythrocyte remodeling, inducing anemia.

Research paper thumbnail of The role of taxonomic expertise in interpretation of metabarcoding studies

ICES Journal of Marine Science, 2021

The performance of DNA metabarcoding approaches for characterizing biodiversity can be influenced... more The performance of DNA metabarcoding approaches for characterizing biodiversity can be influenced by multiple factors. Here, we used morphological assessment of taxa in zooplankton samples to develop a large barcode database and to assess the congruence of taxonomic identification with metabarcoding under different conditions. We analysed taxonomic assignment of metabarcoded samples using two genetic markers (COI, 18S V1–2), two types of clustering into molecular operational taxonomic units (OTUs, ZOTUs), and three methods for taxonomic assignment (RDP Classifier, BLASTn to GenBank, BLASTn to a local barcode database). The local database includes 1042 COI and 1108 18S (SSU) barcode sequences, and we added new high-quality sequences to GenBank for both markers, including 109 contributions at the species level. The number of phyla detected and the number of taxa identified to phylum varied between a genetic marker and among the three methods used for taxonomic assignments. Blasting th...

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