OPUS: Open Ulethbridge Scholarship
Open ULeth Scholarship (OPUS) is the University of Lethbridge's open access research repository. It contains a collection of materials related to research and teaching produced by the academic community.
Self-archiving your research in OPUS is one way to meet Open Access policies of granting agencies. It is important to retain your final, post-peer-reviewed drafts for submission to OPUS, as this is often the only version publishers will allow to be archived. Click here for information on the U of L Open Access Policy.
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Atomic mutagenesis of stop codon nucleotides reveals the chemical prerequisites for release factor-mediated peptide release
(National Academy of Sciences, 2018) Hoernes, Thomas Philipp; Clementi, Nina; Juen, Michael Andreas; Shi, Xinying; Faserl, Klaus; Willi, Jessica; Gasser, Catherina; Kreutz, Christoph; Joseph, Simpson; Lindner, Herbert; Hüttenhofer, Alexander; Erlacher, Matthias D.
Termination of protein synthesis is triggered by the recognition of a stop codon at the ribosomal A site and is mediated by class I release factors (RFs). Whereas in bacteria, RF1 and RF2 promote termination at UAA/UAG and UAA/UGA stop codons, respectively, eukaryotes only depend on one RF (eRF1) to initiate peptide release at all three stop codons. Based on several structural as well as biochemical studies, interactions between mRNA, tRNA, and rRNA have been proposed to be required for stop codon recognition. In this study, the influence of these interactions was investigated by using chemically modified stop codons. Single functional groups within stop codon nucleotides were substituted to weaken or completely eliminate specific interactions between the respective mRNA and RFs. Our findings provide detailed insight into the recognition mode of bacterial and eukaryotic RFs, thereby revealing the chemical groups of nucleotides that define the identity of stop codons and provide the means to discriminate against noncognate stop codons or UGG sense codons.
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Twelve days in the career of a China missionary: Timothy Richard at the Protestant Conference in Shanghai in 1890
(Cambridge Core, 2025) Kwong, Luke
This article proposes to examine an obscure episode in the long career of the well-known Welsh Baptist missionary Timothy Richard, who went to China in 1870 and spent most of the next 45 years there. Richard attended the second general Protestant Missionary Conference in Shanghai in 1890 and served on committees, spoke at meetings, and presented a paper. The information available, though scanty, confirms key components of his approach to mission at this time: his goal was to achieve Chinese ‘salvation’ by promoting the principles and practices of what might be broadly termed ‘Christian civilisation’; his means of propagation was the written word; his preferred point of entry was contact with members of China's ‘ruling’ or ‘governing’ classes. In response to his call for action against anti-Christian, anti-Church propaganda, the conference appointed a permanent committee, with Richard as chair, to present an address on the ‘missionary question’ to the Qing government. It was this project that took him to Beijing in 1895, where he met with court officials and members of the educated elite, and established connections that involved him, rather haphazardly, in court politics in 1898. The sequence of events sheds light on an intriguing aspect of Sino–foreign relations during the late Qing period.
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A time series analysis of trending dengue cases in Sri Lanka.
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Health Sciences, 2025) Kurukulasuriya Perera, Ruvani; Oosterbroek, Tracy; Patel, Nimesh
The study aimed to predict dengue case numbers in Sri Lanka from January 2024 to December 2025. The prediction will assist the National Dengue Control Unit of Sri Lanka in assessing the potential dengue case numbers before a seasonal dengue crisis. This allows the Ministry of Health of Sri Lanka to plan effective healthcare mobilization and manage its resources during dengue seasons. Secondary data on all island dengue cases was obtained from the National Dengue Control Unit's national surveillance system from 2015 to 2023. A seasonal ARIMA(0,1,1)(0,0,2)[12] model was generated in R software by the forecast package’s time series function based on the Box-Jenkins method. The ARIMA model was validated as a good fit for prediction with the Ljung-Box (p-value >0.05), Shapiro-Wilk (p-value >0.05), and ADF (p-value <0.05) tests. The prediction’s MAPE was estimated as accurate for forecasting (4.46). The seasonal ARIMA model demonstrated the ability to make a short-term prediction in univariate analyses.
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Predictors of detoxification services use in Alberta: a provincial socio-demographic and utilization analysis
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Health Sciences, 2025) Mekonnen, Abreham M.; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Health Sciences; Lee, Bonnie
Detoxification is the first step in the substance use and addictive behaviours recovery process, serving as the transition between dependency and reduced use or abstinence. Completing detoxification is an important milestone in initiating recovery and remission of withdrawal symptoms, as well as facilitating follow-up treatment. However, high non-completion rates, low transition to residential treatment, and frequent use of detoxification services pose significant challenges to substance use disorder and behavioural addiction treatment and detox programs. This is the first study of the predictors in detoxification programs in Alberta, marking a significant step in understanding the predictors of completion and non-completion rates of detoxification, transfer to residential treatment, and repeated use of detox services based on data from five residential withdrawal management services in Alberta, Canada. The thesis consists of three manuscripts: (1) The first manuscript identifies the factors that predict detoxification service use, estimates program completion and non-completion rates, and the proportion of clients who cycle between completion and non-completion; (2) The second manuscript estimates clients' transition rates from detoxification to residential treatment services and identifies predictors of such transitions; (3) The third manuscript estimates the prevalence of repeated use of residential withdrawal management services in Alberta, Canada and identifies predictors of frequent use.
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Entomopathogenic fungi: an alternative for the biological control of aphids (Phorodon cannabis) in cannabis (Cannabis sativa) plants
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Biological Sciences, 2024) Lopez Restrepo, Daniel A>; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science; Kovalchuk, Igor
The rapid expansion of the cannabis industry in Canada post-legalization has heightened the prevalence of pests, particularly the cannabis aphid Phorodon cannabis,which poses significant threats to crop health. This study investigates the immediate effects of P. cannabis on Cannabis sativa plants and explores biological control strategies utilizing entomopathogenic fungi. The research aims to test the antagonistic activity of various fungal isolates against aphids, analyze the immune responses of cannabis plants to infection, assess the impact on metabolite production and yield, and develop effective application strategies for these biocontrol agents.
Fungal isolates of Beauveria and Metarhizium were isolated and characterized. Infection tests on aphids demonstrated the potential of these fungi to control aphid populations without the environmental drawbacks associated with chemical insecticides. Bioassays revealed that both fungi achieved 100% aphid mortality at high conidial concentrations (1×10⁷ conidia/mL), with Beauveria bassiana demonstrating faster efficacy. In greenhouse trials, Beauveria bassiana maintained aphid populations below 20 aphids throughout the experiment across all varieties and maintaining cannabis growth parameters comparable to the chemical insecticide. Untreated aphid infections substantially reduced plant height and biomass across three cannabis varieties tested, reaching heights of 40-48 cm and under 4 g of dry biomass.
Cannabinoid and terpene analyses revealed that Beauveria bassiana-treated plants exhibited higher concentrations of key metabolites, including THCa, CBDa, and total terpenes, compared to chemically treated plants. The findings highlight Beauveria bassiana as an eco-friendly alternative for pest management that not only effectively controls aphids but also supports the biochemical quality of cannabis plants.
Findings suggest that entomopathogenic microorganisms can significantly mitigate the impact of P. cannabis on cannabis seedlings, offering a sustainable alternative to chemical controls. This research contributes to the understanding aphid interactions with cannabis plants and promotes eco-friendly pest management practices within the burgeoning cannabis industry.