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The Implementation Of Indoor Urban Gardening: A Microgreens Pilot Study In A University Setting, Kathryn Chang, Samantha Brink, Annette Gadegbeku Dec 2025

The Implementation Of Indoor Urban Gardening: A Microgreens Pilot Study In A University Setting, Kathryn Chang, Samantha Brink, Annette Gadegbeku

Transformative Medicine

Introduction: “Food deserts” are geographical areas that lack affordable full-service grocery stores and have higher densities of unhealthy or “fast food” options. These deserts not only exist in communities such as Philadelphia, but also on college campuses. One solution to creating access to fresh vegetables is urban farming, which refers to green areas (i.e. community gardens) that provide places for food to be grown by local residents. Microgreens Health Outreach Project (HOP), aimed to build and implement a small, indoor community garden cart within the Health Sciences Building (HSB) at Drexel University; the organization hoped that this cart would be …


Light-Induced Oslike1 Phosphorylation Enhances Rice Resistance Against Blast Disease, Jiangtao Liu, Lei Su, Wenya Wang, Jintao Wang, Weizhong Chen, Zhixiang Yang, Leiyun Yang, Gang Li, Xinyu Liu, Haifeng Zhang, Zhongqiang Qi, Yongfeng Liu, Yuqiang Liu, Ping Wang, Muxing Liu, Zhengguang Zhang Dec 2025

Light-Induced Oslike1 Phosphorylation Enhances Rice Resistance Against Blast Disease, Jiangtao Liu, Lei Su, Wenya Wang, Jintao Wang, Weizhong Chen, Zhixiang Yang, Leiyun Yang, Gang Li, Xinyu Liu, Haifeng Zhang, Zhongqiang Qi, Yongfeng Liu, Yuqiang Liu, Ping Wang, Muxing Liu, Zhengguang Zhang

School of Graduate Studies Faculty Publications

Rice blast caused by Magnaporthe oryzae poses a major threat to world food supply. Conditions conducive to the disease include insufficient light. Our previous studies found that light-dependent phosphorylation of light-harvesting complex II protein (LHCB5) mediates rice immunity; however, the underlying mechanisms, in particular, the upstream regulators of LHCB5 phosphorylation, remain unknown. Here, we show that OsLIKE1 functions as a lectin receptor-like kinase (LecRLK) to play a critical role in rice resistance against M. oryzae. OsLIKE1 interacts with and phosphorylates LHCB5. In addition, we find two phosphorylation sites in the kinase domain of OsLIKE1 important for its auto-phosphorylation and phosphorylation …


Perspectives On The Future Of The Profession Of Microbiology, Todd L Kelson, Heidi B Kaplan, Michelle Dziejman, Shilpa Gadwal, Irene Hulede, Jennifer Bennett, Roger Greenwell, Shelley Payne, Kyle Maclea, Eric Miller, Diana L Vullo, Rebecca Sparks-Thissen, Astral Bertolio, Jorge Cervantes Dec 2025

Perspectives On The Future Of The Profession Of Microbiology, Todd L Kelson, Heidi B Kaplan, Michelle Dziejman, Shilpa Gadwal, Irene Hulede, Jennifer Bennett, Roger Greenwell, Shelley Payne, Kyle Maclea, Eric Miller, Diana L Vullo, Rebecca Sparks-Thissen, Astral Bertolio, Jorge Cervantes

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The Profession of Microbiology (POM) embodies the bulk of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) members and represents the career preparation arm of the ASM for academia, industry, and clinical lab professions. The ASM Council on Microbial Sciences hosted a virtual retreat in 2025 to identify the future of the POM. The retreat presentations centered on workforce development, professional development, innovations in technology, and interdisciplinary collaborations. Various aspects were identified, such as the need to prepare for careers in industry, as an important goal of future training. It was also clear that scientists, in all walks of life, need professional …


The Loss Function Of Usda Forecasters: Evidence From Wasde Animal Product Price Forecasts, Chad Fiechter, Siddhartha S. Bora, Todd H. Kuethe Dec 2025

The Loss Function Of Usda Forecasters: Evidence From Wasde Animal Product Price Forecasts, Chad Fiechter, Siddhartha S. Bora, Todd H. Kuethe

Department of Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications

The loss function is a mathematical representation of the costs experienced by a forecaster when observed outcomes differ from what was predicted. Prior studies suggest that USDA forecasts are not optimal based on an assumed mean-zero quadratic loss function. This study proposes an alternative view of forecast evaluation, which assumes all USDA forecasts are produced to minimize the forecasters’ costs, and searches for the dimensions of the loss function under which optimality holds. We illustrate the degree to which USDA loss functions vary across a series of WASDE price forecasts. A better understanding of USDA forecasters’ costs will benefit forecasters …


Advancing Skin Cancer Diagnostics: A Comparative Analysis Of Convolutional Neural Network Models For Skin Lesion Classification, Jesse Osuji, Tania Malik Dec 2025

Advancing Skin Cancer Diagnostics: A Comparative Analysis Of Convolutional Neural Network Models For Skin Lesion Classification, Jesse Osuji, Tania Malik

SURE Journal: Science Undergraduate Research Experience Journal

For many years, skin cancer diagnosis and cancer research have been major focal points in the healthcare sector. Accurate classification of different types of skin lesions, including cancerous ones, is essential for proper diagnostics. Many machine learning (ML) techniques and models are used to solve various problems across various domains. One of such techniques is called neural networks. Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) are primarily used in computer vision-based problems, allowing computer systems to process and understand images. CNNs offer a potential tool for diagnosing skin lesions from images, occasionally demonstrating superior accuracy compared to trained dermatologists. This project explores various …


Will Technology Help Us Understand Animals?, Frances I. Sacks Dec 2025

Will Technology Help Us Understand Animals?, Frances I. Sacks

Capstones

New technologies allow scientists to study animal communication like never before. Advanced surveillance devices ornament forests and oceans, recording animals over great stretches of distance and time. Artificial intelligence can absorb these enormous datasets, sorting tangled abstractions into coherent patterns. With a sufficiently robust library of analyzed data, some researchers believe that large language models will soon learn to translate whale communication systems.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ky6mPFjc-lNJFVK8CHebUa5zCSFUoMgkCB560pqxwfo/edit?tab=t.0


Society For Immunotherapy Of Cancer: Standards For Reporting Of Multiplex Immunohistochemistry/Immunofluorescence Assays (Stormi), Sam Sater, Carlo B Bifulco, Jaime Rodriguez-Canales, Joe Yeong, Guray Akturk, Michael Angelo, Carmen Ballesteros-Merino, Peter Bankhead, Subham Basu, Jorge M Blando, Saska Brajkovic, Marco Cassano, Benjamin J Chen, Ahmet F Coskun, Tricia R Cottrell, Carlos E De Andrea, Robin H Edwards, Colt Egelston, Logan L Engle, Marc S Ernstoff, Rong Fan, Michael Feldman, Bernard A Fox, Jerome Galon, Robyn Gartrell, Sacha Gnjatic, Benjamin F Green, James L Gulley, Anne Hellebust, Stephen Hewitt, Travis J Hollmann, Lucas A Horn, William J Howat, Clifford C Hoyt, Shawn M Jensen, Arutha Kulasinghe, Wiem Lassoued, Steven Lott, James Mansfield, Sebastian Marwitz, George Netto, David B Page, Edwin Parra, David L Rimm, Scott J Rodig, Roberto Salgado, Denis Schapiro, Kurt A Schalper, Joel C Sunshine, Michael J Surace, Alexander S Szalay, Magdalena Thurin, Jose C Villasboas, Keith Wharton, Ignacio I Wistuba, Jennifer H Yearley, Yinyin Yuan, Geroge Zaki, James Ziai, Janis M Taube Dec 2025

Society For Immunotherapy Of Cancer: Standards For Reporting Of Multiplex Immunohistochemistry/Immunofluorescence Assays (Stormi), Sam Sater, Carlo B Bifulco, Jaime Rodriguez-Canales, Joe Yeong, Guray Akturk, Michael Angelo, Carmen Ballesteros-Merino, Peter Bankhead, Subham Basu, Jorge M Blando, Saska Brajkovic, Marco Cassano, Benjamin J Chen, Ahmet F Coskun, Tricia R Cottrell, Carlos E De Andrea, Robin H Edwards, Colt Egelston, Logan L Engle, Marc S Ernstoff, Rong Fan, Michael Feldman, Bernard A Fox, Jerome Galon, Robyn Gartrell, Sacha Gnjatic, Benjamin F Green, James L Gulley, Anne Hellebust, Stephen Hewitt, Travis J Hollmann, Lucas A Horn, William J Howat, Clifford C Hoyt, Shawn M Jensen, Arutha Kulasinghe, Wiem Lassoued, Steven Lott, James Mansfield, Sebastian Marwitz, George Netto, David B Page, Edwin Parra, David L Rimm, Scott J Rodig, Roberto Salgado, Denis Schapiro, Kurt A Schalper, Joel C Sunshine, Michael J Surace, Alexander S Szalay, Magdalena Thurin, Jose C Villasboas, Keith Wharton, Ignacio I Wistuba, Jennifer H Yearley, Yinyin Yuan, Geroge Zaki, James Ziai, Janis M Taube

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Multiplex immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry (mIF/IHC) are increasingly employed antibody-based technologies that use tissue sparingly and facilitate the detection of co-localized or neighboring biomarkers. Specifically, these platforms enable spatial analyses of the tumor microenvironment as well as extended applications, for example, describing normal tissue anatomy, autoimmunity, infectious diseases, etc. mIF/IHC has greatly enhanced biomarker discovery efforts, and a growing number of studies suggest superiority to traditional IHC. Standardization of staining approaches, reporting of image analysis strategies and resultant data is critical for facilitating cross-study comparisons, validation, deployment, and generalization of findings. To address this challenge, The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer …


Chaos Engineering In Multi-Gigahertz Solid-State Lasers: A Novel Approach To Optoelectronic Control, Mikhail V. Gorbunkov, Yulia Ya. Maslova, Yulia A. Sinichkina Dec 2025

Chaos Engineering In Multi-Gigahertz Solid-State Lasers: A Novel Approach To Optoelectronic Control, Mikhail V. Gorbunkov, Yulia Ya. Maslova, Yulia A. Sinichkina

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

This paper presents a comprehensive study of a multi-gigahertz chaotic generator of light pulses based on solid-state laser sources, including fiber lasers, governed by carefully designed positive and negative feedback loops. It harnesses the inherent nonlinear dynamics within a solid-state laser controlled by a combination of two inertial feedback loops, enabling the realization of complex chaotic behavior, including the logistic map scenario, under moderate amplification conditions. The laser system dynamics are rigorously investigated through theoretical modeling, employing a nonlinear map approach, and high-resolution picosecond simulations. The results of our numerical simulations highlight the efficacy of fast electro-optical feedback system with …


Trait-Like Visual Cortical Hyperactivity In Trait Anxiety, Zhaohan Wu, Yuqi You, Joshua A Brown, Raymond J Dolan, Wen Li Dec 2025

Trait-Like Visual Cortical Hyperactivity In Trait Anxiety, Zhaohan Wu, Yuqi You, Joshua A Brown, Raymond J Dolan, Wen Li

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Sensory processing varies across individuals, with some traits-particularly sensory hypersensitivity to basic non-valenced stimuli-linked to emotional traits and psychiatric risk. Traditional accounts attribute this sensory-emotion linkage to limbic or prefrontal modulation, but empirical support is limited. Growing evidence suggests sensory cortex itself flexibly encodes value beyond labeled-line analysis. Across four high-density EEG experiments with multi-wave assessments, we identified reliable visual cortical hyperactivity in high trait anxiety. The effect emerged as early as 46 ms, localized to V1/V2, and was specific to the parvocellular pathway. It was reproducible across arousal states, stimulus valence, extended intervals, and paradigms, and evident for both …


A Modular Design And Construction Framework For Enhancing The Sustainability Of National Housing Projects In Egypt, Ayman Ahmed Ezzat, Farah Ibrahim El Sahzly Dec 2025

A Modular Design And Construction Framework For Enhancing The Sustainability Of National Housing Projects In Egypt, Ayman Ahmed Ezzat, Farah Ibrahim El Sahzly

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Egypt’s national housing sector faces mounting sustainability challenges due to outdated design and construction practices that cause material waste, high costs, and inefficient resource use. This study develops a framework for integrating modular design and construction principles into Egypt’s National Housing Projects (NHPs) to strengthen their social, economic, and environmental sustainability. A mixed-method approach combined a literature review, case studies, and a survey of Egyptian Architectural Design Firms (ADFs). The literature review revealed a global consensus on the benefits of modular design and construction, such as improved efficiency, reduced waste, and faster project delivery, yet found limited adoption in Egypt …


The Cost Of Getting To “No”: Cultural Evolution Of Community Psychology In Two Indiana Communities, Catherine Cullen, Megan Peek Dec 2025

The Cost Of Getting To “No”: Cultural Evolution Of Community Psychology In Two Indiana Communities, Catherine Cullen, Megan Peek

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.


Effects Of Alcohol Exposure On Recognition Memory And Marble-Burying Tasks In Male And Female Aged Mice, Roma Kamat, Tori Burke Dec 2025

Effects Of Alcohol Exposure On Recognition Memory And Marble-Burying Tasks In Male And Female Aged Mice, Roma Kamat, Tori Burke

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

Alcohol consumption in aging humans is a risk factor for cognitive impairment. This experiment assessed the effects of binge-like alcohol drinking in aged mice on memory (using the object recognition memory [ORM] task) and on anxiety-and compulsive-like behavior (using the marble-burying task). Subjects were 8 female and 10 male mice, 14–15 months old, selectively bred for low alcohol preference (LAP). Mice consumed either tap water or a 20% alcohol (v/v) solution in tap water through a drinking in the dark (DID) procedure for 4 consecutive days per week, for 3 consecutive weeks. One and 11 days after DID, mice completed …


Immunohistochemical Analysis Of The Effects Of Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetes On Mouse Testis, Rory E. Field, Brianna R. Demaio, Hannah R. Fioramonti, Makenna M. Landis, Jing Xu Dec 2025

Immunohistochemical Analysis Of The Effects Of Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetes On Mouse Testis, Rory E. Field, Brianna R. Demaio, Hannah R. Fioramonti, Makenna M. Landis, Jing Xu

Montview Journal of Research & Scholarship

Because diabetes mellitus (DM) poses harm to the reproductive systems of humans and mice on both the cellular and histological levels, we sought to understand the effects of streptozotocin-induced (STZ) diabetes mellitus on the spermatogenesis and Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) production of mice. The structural integrity of the testes is disrupted due to the high levels of oxidative stress caused by DM, which also hinders spermatogenesis. Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) have been found to induce autophagy in Sertoli cells, and the Sertoli cells of diabetic models have fewer tight junctions between them. This disorganization and decreased integrity of the seminiferous …


Butterflies & You: Considerations Of Human Relationships With The Natural World, M. E. Colby Dec 2025

Butterflies & You: Considerations Of Human Relationships With The Natural World, M. E. Colby

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Science communication only accounts for approximately 2% of the entire scientific output of 2017-2022 (Parejo-Cuéllar et. al, 2024). It is an under-researched and under-valued field, especially in an age that has devalued science as a whole. The delicate art of explaining complicated ideas to people who are unfamiliar with scientific jargon is vital to humans’ understanding of the world. Butterflies & You is a documentary film exploring the relationship between humans and the many different butterfly species that call Illinois home. Video-based science communication is important to research and practice because of its impact on environmental advocacy and the growing …


Mechanistic Insight Of Neuropilin-2 Expression During The Progression Of Prostate Cancer, Sanika Bodas Dec 2025

Mechanistic Insight Of Neuropilin-2 Expression During The Progression Of Prostate Cancer, Sanika Bodas

Theses & Dissertations

Advanced prostate cancer represents a particularly aggressive and challenging form of prostate cancer (PCa) that shows resistance to both traditional therapies, such as androgen deprivation therapy, and newer treatment modalities like hormone therapies and immunotherapies. For patients diagnosed with advanced stages of PCa, treatment options are limited, and chemotherapy is often the last line of defense. Unfortunately, chemotherapy can severely diminish the quality of life, particularly in older patients, due to its harsh side effects, including fatigue, immune suppression, and overall physical decline. Despite these challenges, researchers and clinicians remain focused on developing more effective and targeted treatments for patients …


Role Of Nadph Oxidase 4 In Murine Cancer-Associated Fibroblast, Faith M. Gomez Dec 2025

Role Of Nadph Oxidase 4 In Murine Cancer-Associated Fibroblast, Faith M. Gomez

Theses & Dissertations

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women in the United States. Frontline hormone therapies for breast cancer prove ineffective in triple negative breast cancer tumors wherein the hormones estrogen, progesterone, and HER2 are downregulated or absent; therefore, patients diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer are primarily limited to chemotherapies which carry a higher failure and resistance rate. Here we target cancer associated fibroblasts as potential drivers of chemoresistance in triple negative breast cancer. We investigated the mechanism by which Nox4 regulates the YAP/TAZ pathway in modulating DTX sensitivity and sought to determine if targeting Nox4 …


Contrasting Pathways To Tree Longevity In Gymnosperms And Angiosperms, Roel J. Brienen, Giuliano Maselli Locosselli, Stefan Krottenthaler, Emanuel Gloor, Robyn Wrigley, Steve L. Voelker, Jan Altman, Nela Altmanova, Leander D. Anderegg, Michele Baliva, Deepak Barua, Vaclav Bazant, Bryan Black, Peter M Brown, Gregorio Ceccantini, R Justin Derose, Jose Villanueva Diaz, Alfredo Di Filippo, Jiri Dolezal, Louis Duchesne, Christopher Earle, Pavel Fibich, Hardy Griesbauer, Samuli Helama, Stefan Klesse, Kirill Korznikov, David Lindenmayer, Shuhui Liu, Lidio Lopez, Maurizio Mencuccini, Thomas A. Nagel Dec 2025

Contrasting Pathways To Tree Longevity In Gymnosperms And Angiosperms, Roel J. Brienen, Giuliano Maselli Locosselli, Stefan Krottenthaler, Emanuel Gloor, Robyn Wrigley, Steve L. Voelker, Jan Altman, Nela Altmanova, Leander D. Anderegg, Michele Baliva, Deepak Barua, Vaclav Bazant, Bryan Black, Peter M Brown, Gregorio Ceccantini, R Justin Derose, Jose Villanueva Diaz, Alfredo Di Filippo, Jiri Dolezal, Louis Duchesne, Christopher Earle, Pavel Fibich, Hardy Griesbauer, Samuli Helama, Stefan Klesse, Kirill Korznikov, David Lindenmayer, Shuhui Liu, Lidio Lopez, Maurizio Mencuccini, Thomas A. Nagel

Michigan Tech Publications

Tree longevity is thought to increase in growth-limiting, adverse environments, but a quantitative assessment of drivers of global variation in tree longevity is lacking. We assemble a global database of maximum longevity for 739 tree species and analyse associations between longevity and climate, soil, and species' functional traits. Our results show two primary pathways towards long lifespans. The first is slow growth in resource-limited environments, consistent with the "adversity begets longevity" paradigm. The second pathway is through relief from abiotic constraints in productive environments. Despite notable exceptions, long-lived gymnosperms tend to follow the first path through slow growth in cold …


Macroinvertebrate Community Dynamics In A Recovering, Hypersaline Estuary, Catherine M. Eckert, Claudia A. Tamez, Erin E. Easton, David Hicks Dec 2025

Macroinvertebrate Community Dynamics In A Recovering, Hypersaline Estuary, Catherine M. Eckert, Claudia A. Tamez, Erin E. Easton, David Hicks

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The Bahia Grande is a 6,500—acre tidal basin located at the southernmost tip of Texas. Tidal flow into this coastal estuary was cut off in the 1930s, causing the basin to dry up for ~70 y. A pilot channel connecting the Bahia Grande to tidal waters was constructed in 2005, allowing flooding of the basin to occur. Throughout the period reported herein (2005–2019), the system remained characterized by persistent spatial and temporal episodes of extreme hypersalinity (>70)—a critical factor influencing estuarine community composition and driving key ecological processes. With additional rehabilitation actions forthcoming, characterization of the estuary is essential …


Exposures, Protections, And Barriers: Advancing Understanding Of Agricultural Worker Health, Alexandra A. Farfalla Dec 2025

Exposures, Protections, And Barriers: Advancing Understanding Of Agricultural Worker Health, Alexandra A. Farfalla

Theses & Dissertations

Farming is a hazardous occupation. Exposures are multifactorial, variable, and shaped by overlapping tasks, environments, and social contexts. This dissertation aimed to illustrate the complexity of agricultural exposures and the barriers to protective practices through three complementary studies.

The first study examined co-exposures to solvents and noise as risk factors for hearing loss (HL) among 7,495 farmers and ranchers in a 7-state region. Results indicated nearly 60% of co-exposed participants reported hearing loss, with an adjusted odds ratio nearly six-fold (OR=6.03, [4.67-7.78]) for moderate/severe HL. This work highlights the importance of recognizing chemical exposures as a modality in HL in …


Public Perception About Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy In South Central Nebraska, Rita Nnenne Oparaocha Dec 2025

Public Perception About Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy In South Central Nebraska, Rita Nnenne Oparaocha

Biology Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

The COVID-19 pandemic created a shift in the trajectory of vaccination hesitancy, altering risk perceptions and vaccination attitudes among individuals in rural communities. The 5C framework highlights confidence, complacency, constraints, calculation, and collective responsibility as influencing factors of vaccine hesitancy. This study assessed the proportion of adults who refused COVID-19 vaccination and identified the individual reasons for hesitancy among those who refused the COVID -19 vaccines in South Central Nebraska. Data was analyzed from a local cross-sectional public health survey administered to 2,034 adult participants over a six-month period (March-August 2024), including 91 respondents who were from outside the seven-county …


Comparisons Of Fish Communities Between A Restored And A Control Pool Of The Mississippi River: A Before-And-After Examination, Hannah Lenning Dec 2025

Comparisons Of Fish Communities Between A Restored And A Control Pool Of The Mississippi River: A Before-And-After Examination, Hannah Lenning

Biology Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

The quality and availability of valuable backwater habitats have declined in many rivers, including the Upper Mississippi River (UMR), due to river modifications and land use change. Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Projects (HREPs) are implemented by the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program and often aim to mitigate accelerated sedimentation and degradation of backwater habitats. One HREP in Pool 12 of the UMR targeted overwintering fish habitat by restoring four backwaters within 14 RKM. Fish community data was collected before (2006-2012) and after (2020-2024) restoration in Pool 12 and a downstream, control reach, Pool 13. The first objective of my study …


Regulation Of Chromatin Remodeling By The Post-Hsa Domain Of Brg1, A Subunit The Baf Atp-Dependent Chromatin Remodeling Complex, Min Sze Ewe Dec 2025

Regulation Of Chromatin Remodeling By The Post-Hsa Domain Of Brg1, A Subunit The Baf Atp-Dependent Chromatin Remodeling Complex, Min Sze Ewe

Theses & Dissertations

The ATP-dependent chromatin remodeler BAF complex regulates nucleosome positioning, chromatin accessibility, and tissue specific gene expression. Its catalytic subunit, BRG1, contains several regulatory domains including the post-HSA region, proposed to modulate ATPase activity. Multiple cancer-associated mutations map to these regulatory regions underscoring their importance, yet the precise role of the post-HSA region in chromatin remodeling remains poorly understood.

To investigate the function of the post-HSA domain, we ectopically expressed FLAG-tagged BRG1 with post-HSA deletion (Δpost-HSA BRG1) in mouse embryonic stem cells. Western blot analysis confirmed expression of the mutant protein. To determine the effects of mutant protein expression on chromatin …


Two Major Ontario Hospital Labs Bought Research Dogs From U.S. Breeder With Troubled Pastdogs Bred For Scientific And Medical Testing Suffer Abuse As The Scientific Industry Increasingly Turns To Alternatives For Research., Allison Hunter, Mary Beech, Sami Marshak, Kate Morano Dec 2025

Two Major Ontario Hospital Labs Bought Research Dogs From U.S. Breeder With Troubled Pastdogs Bred For Scientific And Medical Testing Suffer Abuse As The Scientific Industry Increasingly Turns To Alternatives For Research., Allison Hunter, Mary Beech, Sami Marshak, Kate Morano

Capstones

The purpose-bred dog breeding industry for research is little known. Each year, thousands of dogs are bred for scientific and medical testing, supplied to research facilities by a handful of major commercial breeders. But gaps in enforcement and regulation have allowed abuses to persist, even as the industry increasingly turns to alternatives to animal testing. Animal rights advocates have been decrying the treatment of these dogs. A federal Inspector General report found lax oversight of the industry, raising further concerns about how dogs are treated. This story was reported in collaboration with the Investigative Journalism Bureau, based in Toronto, and …


Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge And Environmental Science For Sustainable Lake Conservation: Danu Kerthi In Bali, Ni Kadek Surpi, Si Luh Nyoman Seriadi, Ni Wayan Jemiwi Jero Dec 2025

Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge And Environmental Science For Sustainable Lake Conservation: Danu Kerthi In Bali, Ni Kadek Surpi, Si Luh Nyoman Seriadi, Ni Wayan Jemiwi Jero

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

This study investigates how the Danu Kerthi philosophy operates as a framework that integrates Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) with environmental science to support sustainable lake conservation in three upstream lakes in Bali: Beratan, Buyan, and Tamblingan. While previous scholarship has largely focused on the normative and symbolic dimensions of Sad Kerthi, empirical evidence on its ecological effectiveness remains limited. To address this gap, the study adopts a multi-site qualitative design involving participatory observation, document analysis, and semi-structured interviews with 30 participants representing traditional leaders, Hindu priests, tourism managers, village officials, and local residents. Thematic analysis shows that Danu Kerthi continues …


Single-Nucleus Multiomics Reveals The Disrupted Regulatory Programs In Three Brain Regions Of Sporadic Early-Onset Alzheimer’S Disease, Andi Liu, Citu Citu, Nitesh Enduru, Xian Chen, Chia-Hao Tung, Tirthankar Sinha, Sofia E Sepulveda, Astrid M Manuel, Damian Gorski, Brisa S Fernandes, Meifang Yu, Paul E Schulz, Lukas M Simon, Claudio Soto, Zhongming Zhao Dec 2025

Single-Nucleus Multiomics Reveals The Disrupted Regulatory Programs In Three Brain Regions Of Sporadic Early-Onset Alzheimer’S Disease, Andi Liu, Citu Citu, Nitesh Enduru, Xian Chen, Chia-Hao Tung, Tirthankar Sinha, Sofia E Sepulveda, Astrid M Manuel, Damian Gorski, Brisa S Fernandes, Meifang Yu, Paul E Schulz, Lukas M Simon, Claudio Soto, Zhongming Zhao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Sporadic early-onset Alzheimer’s disease (sEOAD) represents a substantial but less-studied subtype of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Here, we generated a single-nucleus multiome atlas derived from the postmortem prefrontal cortex, entorhinal cortex, and hippocampus of nine individuals with or without sEOAD. Comprehensive analyses were conducted to delineate cell type–specific transcriptomic changes and linked candidate cis-regulatory elements (cCREs) across brain regions. We prioritized eight conservative transcription factors in glial cells in multiple brain regions, including RFX4 in astrocytes and IKZF1 in microglia, which are implicated in regulating sEOAD-associated genes. Moreover, we identified the top 25 altered intercellular signaling between glial cells …


Function Of Drosophila Melanogaster Domesticated Transposable Element Protein Dplg3 In Oogenesis And Total Fitness, Aron Herrera Dec 2025

Function Of Drosophila Melanogaster Domesticated Transposable Element Protein Dplg3 In Oogenesis And Total Fitness, Aron Herrera

2025 Fall Honors Capstones Projects - Archive

Transposable elements (TEs) are selfish DNA segments capable of self-replication and reinsertion within genomes, often harming hosts. Rarely, host genomes can adopt TEs and use their proteins for new cellular functions through molecular domestication. One example primarily expressed in Drosophila melanogaster ovaries is DPLG3. Previous Betrán Lab students generated DPLG3 loss-of-function flies and found that their ovaries misregulated one primordial and 14 testis-specific genes, leading to variable ovarian malformations. However, it is unclear when during oogenesis these misexpressions occur. We will extract RNA from non-rudimentary ovaries at early and late stages to generate cDNA for qRT-PCR analysis of three …


Impact Of Gas Supersaturation On The Development Of Gas Bubble Trauma In Paedomorphic Eurycea Salamanders, Trent Furr Dec 2025

Impact Of Gas Supersaturation On The Development Of Gas Bubble Trauma In Paedomorphic Eurycea Salamanders, Trent Furr

Biology Theses

There are eleven species of paedomorphic lungless salamanders endemic to Texas. Of these, eight are considered threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). One of these, the Barton Springs Salamander (Eurycea sosorum), is found only in springs and aquifers in and around Austin, Texas. A large population of this species is found in Barton Springs, located in Austin, TX–where dissolved gas saturation has been measured as high as 134%. Morbidity and mortality events in Barton Springs Salamanders have been documented coinciding with periods of dissolved gas supersaturation. This study seeks to understand what environmental conditions lead to …


Hybrid Machine And Deep Learning Framework For Secure Fog-Based Vanets, Hadeer Kamal, Amira Y. Haikal, Mahmoud M. Saafan Dec 2025

Hybrid Machine And Deep Learning Framework For Secure Fog-Based Vanets, Hadeer Kamal, Amira Y. Haikal, Mahmoud M. Saafan

Mansoura Engineering Journal

As a conventional implementation of intelligent transportation systems (ITS), a Vehicular Ad-hoc Network (VANET) facilitates smart communication between vehicle nodes and network infrastructures. Nevertheless, the distributed and dynamic characteristics of VANETs make them vulnerable to numerous cyberattacks like DOS and spoofing. Rapid detection of these threats is crucial. It is essential to respond promptly to mitigate threats before they impact vehicle coordination or infrastructure functionality. In this context, fog computing presents an effective solution. Transferring computational tasks from centralized cloud servers to fog nodes allows for quicker detection within the VANET environment. This research utilizes computational resources for swift and …


Habitat Disturbance And Biodiversity In Glade Habitats, Maddie Smith, Becky Hansis-O'Neill, Aimee Dunlap Phd Dec 2025

Habitat Disturbance And Biodiversity In Glade Habitats, Maddie Smith, Becky Hansis-O'Neill, Aimee Dunlap Phd

Undergraduate Research Symposium

The Ozark glades are home to a variety of reptiles, amphibians, rodents, and invertebrates such as tarantulas and scorpions. Glade inhabitants face challenges like habitat fragmentation and degradation, but they could be facing even bigger challenges as outdoor recreation becomes more popular. People looking for wildlife to photograph or collect often look under rocks without leaving them how they were found. This study focused on monitoring rock disturbance at two protected glades- Shaw Nature Preserve and a more accessible undisclosed glade in Jefferson County. Disturbing the glade habitat to look for wildlife is prohibited at both sites. Twenty rocks at …


Face Value: A Computational Approach To Subjective Impressions Of Faces, Kevin Kpankou Dec 2025

Face Value: A Computational Approach To Subjective Impressions Of Faces, Kevin Kpankou

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Various computational models of first impressions have been developed to uncover the mechanisms driving these judgments. However, the implicit notion of a singular ``human'' often overlooks meaningful individual differences in beliefs, attitudes, and associations, as well as culturally grounded group-level constructs. In this paper, we extend Cultural Consensus Theory (CCT) to estimate culturally shared beliefs about faces by incorporating latent constructs structured around interpretable facial features extracted via computer vision algorithms. We apply our model to a large-scale dataset of people’s first impressions of faces. Our approach reveals a robust mapping between facial features and culturally constructed impressions, allowing us …