Digital Commons Network^™

Using The Grand Challenges For Sotl To Guide, Connect, And Extend Scholarship In Communication Sciences And Disorders, Jennifer C. Friberg-Fort

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

The International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL) recently identified five Grand Challenges for SoTL, offering a shared framework for understanding and advancing inquiry into teaching and learning across higher education. This paper argues that these Grand Challenges provide a productive cross-disciplinary framework for communication sciences and disorders (CSD), where SoTL work is often locally grounded and dispersed across programs, institutions, and professional contexts. Drawing on existing CSD SoTL literature, the paper illustrates how each Grand Challenge can be used to frame, interpret, and extend disciplinary inquiry. These examples are intended to be illustrative rather than exhaustive, …

Development And Validation Of A Harmonized Memory Score For Multicenter Alzheimer’S Disease And Related Dementia Research, Mark Sanderson-Cimino, Alden L Gross, Leslie S Gaynor, Emily W Paolillo, Rowan Saloner, Marilyn S Albert, Liana G Apostolova, Brooke Boersema, Adam L Boxer, Bradley F Boeve, Kaitlin B Casaletto, Hilary W Heuer, Leah K Forsberg, Savannah R Hallgarth, Valentina E Diaz, Lindsay R Clark, Ani Eloyan, Sarah Tomaszewski Farias, Pauline Maillard, Mitzi M Gonzales, Dustin B Hammers, Renaud La Joie, Yann Cobigo, Amy Wolf, Benjamin M Hampstead, Dawn Mechanic-Hamilton, Bruce L Miller, Gil D Rabinovici, John M Ringman, Lina M D'Orazio, Howie J Rosen, Sephira G Ryman, Jillian L Prestopnik, David P Salmon, Glenn E Smith, Charles Decarli, Kumar B Rajan, Lee-Way Jin, Jason D Hinman, David K Johnson, Danielle J Harvey, Myriam Fornage, Maria C Carrillo, Bradford C Dickerson, Joel H Kramer, Adam M Staffaroni, , Leads Consortium, And Diverse Vascular Contributions To Cognitive Impairment And Dementia (Diverse Vcid) Study Investigators

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: List-learning tasks (LLTs) are important for characterizing memory in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. However, as the Uniform Data Set Neuropsychological Battery (UDS-NB) historically did not require a specific LLT, centers have administered different LLTs. The newest UDS version (v4.0) requires one of two LLTs. To support harmonized UDS memory research, we developed a memory composite incorporating UDS memory tests and multiple LLTs.

Methods: Item-banking confirmatory factor analysis was applied to develop a memory composite in a diagnostically heterogeneous sample (n = 8716) that completed the UDS-NB and one of five LLTs. Construct validity was evaluated through associations with …

Guideline On Stress Echocardiography - 2026, Ana Cristina Camarozano, Salvador Vicente Spina, José Roberto Matos Souza, Marcelo Dantas Tavares De Melo, Daniela Do Carmo Rassi Frota, Silvio Henrique Barberato, Fabio Villaça Guimarães Filho, Harry Acquatella, Vera Márcia Lopes Gimenes, Jorge Alfredo Lowenstein, Ricardo H Pignatelli, José Maria Del Castillo, Joselina Luiza Menezes Oliveira, José Sebastião De Abreu, José Luis De Castro E Silva Pretto, Issam Shehadeh, Alex Dos Santos Felix, Mercedes Maldonado Andrade, Antônio Carlos Sobral Sousa, Maria Estefânia Bosco Otto, Andrea De Andrade Vilela, Pedro Gutierrez Fajardo, Liz Andréa Villela Baroncini, Cristiano Vieira Machado, Fábio Cañellas Moreira, José María Hernández Hernández, Marco Stephan Lofrano Alves, Samira Saady Morhy, Márcio Silva Miguel Lima, Miguel Osman Dias Aguiar, Wilson Mathias Junior, Letícia Dos Santos De Oliveira Rocha, João César Nunes Sbano, Barbara Athayde Linhares Martins Vrandecic, Fabio Roston, Arnaldo Rabischoffsky, Juliana Paixão Etto Rolim, Raphael Aparecido Barreto Da Silva, Guilherme De Rossi, Kamila Fernanda Staszko, Jolie Britt, Marcelo Luiz Campos Vieira

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Ultrasound-Enabled Refreshable Electrochemical Sensors For Cardiac Biomarker Monitoring, Mayank Garg, Heng Guo, Myeong Namkoong, Elizabeth Zhanov, Connor Malone, Md Saifur Rahman, Ayse Akcan-Arikan, Limei Tian

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) is the gold-standard biomarker for acute myocardial infarction, yet current laboratory-based high-sensitivity assays require centralized infrastructure, trained personnel, and serial testing, limiting their suitability for real-time or continuous monitoring in resource-limited settings. Point-of-care electrochemical sensors have shown promise for rapid cTnI detection, but their reliance on antibodies as biorecognition elements and redox mediator solutions, and single-use operation restricts practical translation. Here, we report an ultrasound-enabled refreshable electrochemical biosensor for sensitive, stable, and repeatable cTnI monitoring. The device employs a cTnI-specific peptide as the biorecognition element, providing enhanced stability during storage, transport, and operation. Label-free electrochemical impedance …

Macropinocytosis Inhibition Attenuates Profibrotic Responses In Lung Fibroblasts And Pulmonary Fibrosis Models, Ivan O Rosas, Aaron K Mcdowell-Sanchez, Santiago Sanchez, Juan D Cala-Garcia, Alan R Waich Cohen, Elisa Ruiz-Echartea, Scott A Ochsner, Daniel C Kraushaar, Lindsay J Celada, Dandan Sun, Francesca Polverino, Cristian Coarfa, Neil J Mckenna, Konstantin Tsoyi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a devastating chronic lung disorder with limited treatment options. Macropinocytosis is one of the key cellular processes involved in nutrient consumption from the extracellular environment under stress conditions. Here, we studied the role of macropinocytosis in experimental pulmonary fibrosis models. We found that macropinocytosis is increased in human lung fibroblasts (HLFs) derived from patients with IPF. The inhibition of macropinocytosis with 5-(n-ethyl-n-isopropyl)-amiloride (EIPA) inhibited profibrotic responses in IPF-derived and TGF-β1-stimulated HLFs and reduced pulmonary fibrosis in bleomycin-injured (Bleo-injured) mice. EIPA exerted its antifibrotic effects by regulating amino acid uptake, mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 …

Autophagic Flux Blockade Under Hypocapnia Reveals Co2-Sensitive Regulation Of Autophagy-Lysosome Homeostasis, Naghmana Ashraf, Zhen Sun, Jeanine L Van Nostrand

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Hypocapnia, a reduction in partial pressure of carbon dioxide (CO2), commonly occurs in clinical contexts such as mechanical ventilation, panic disorder, and brain injury, yet its impact on cellular homeostasis remains poorly understood. Given the central role of autophagy in stress adaptation, we investigated how low CO2 influences autophagic flux and lysosomal function. We found that hypocapnia induces autophagosome accumulation while impairing cargo degradation, indicating a blockade in autophagic flux. This response was accompanied by increased lysosome biogenesis but, paradoxically, reduced autophagosome-lysosome fusion and lysosomal proteolytic activity. Mechanistically, hypocapnia promoted TFE3 dephosphorylation and nuclear translocation, driving transcriptional activation of lysosomal …

Listener Factors In Integrating Syntax And Plausibility In Sentences Produced With Versus Without Stuttering, Gabriella L. Burgess Hayes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: Development of communication-focused therapy for people who stutter requires better understanding of how stuttering impacts oral comprehension. One aim was to investigate how stuttering impacts listeners’ ability to integrate syntax and world knowledge (plausibility) in sentence processing. A second aim was to investigate how listener factors predict ability to integrate information in sentences with stuttering.

Methods: 224 adults heard 24 experimental sentences interspersed with 24 fillers. Experimental sentences included six plausible double-object dative (DO) constructions, six plausible prepositional dative (PD) constructions, six implausible DO constructions, and six implausible PD constructions. Implausible constructions served as analogues of communication breakdowns. Half …

(Re)Claiming Homeplace: Dance As Embodied Resistance & Healing For Health & Spatial Justice, Preeya G. Kannan

University Honors Theses

This thesis argues that dance functions as both an upstream public health intervention and a form of radical spatial resistance; creating healing, agency, and belonging among historically marginalized communities. Drawing on bell hooks' concept of homeplace, Jasbir Puar's assemblage theory, Nancy Krieger's eco-social theory, and Katherine McKittrick's Black geographies, I position the body as both an ecological and political landscape shaped by histories of colonialism, racial capitalism, displacement, and resilience.

Through this community-based participatory research study, Homeplace, I explore dance as a form of social prescription that centers liberation rather than pathology. Movement is often reduced in public health discourse …

Beyond Coiling: A Comparative Analysis Of Survey-Reported Preferences For Endovascular Cerebral Aneurysm Occlusion, Sanjana R Salwi, Thilan Tudor, Oleg Shekhtman, Georgios S. Sioutas, Pious D. Patel, Irina-Mihaela Matache, Mohamed Salem, Sonia Ajmera, Sandeep Kandregula, Jan-Karl Burkhardt, Visish M. Srinivasan

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Aneurysm treatment options are rapidly evolving, as evidenced by the recent introduction and widespread adoption of flow diversion and intrasaccular devices. However, there is a need to understand how these newer technologies are used for difficult-to-treat aneurysms. The main aims of this study were to investigate the variation in aneurysm treatment recommendations among neurosurgeons, interventional radiologists, and interventional neurologists and to generally describe trends in endovascular treatment.

METHODS: In this survey-based study conducted from June to September 2024, participants were presented with clinical vignettes and asked to choose preferred treatment options, with responses analyzed based on demographic variables including …

Regional Differences Between Puerto Rican And Hispanic Mainland U.S. Parents’ Perceptions Of Childhood Obesity, Kasandra Blanton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

The Neuroprotective Effect Of Cdc42 Inhibition In The G93a Mutant Hsod1 Mouse Model Of Als, Andrea Koly

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by the selective loss of upper and lower motor neurons, leading to muscle weakness, neuromuscular junction (NMJ) degeneration, paralysis, and eventual death due to respiratory failure. Despite extensive research, effective disease-modifying therapies remain limited, underscoring the need to identify novel molecular targets involved in ALS pathogenesis. Dysregulation of Rho family GTPases has been implicated in neurodegeneration, with Rac and Rho exerting opposing effects on neuronal survival; however, the role of the closely related GTPase Cdc42 remains poorly understood in ALS. In this study, the therapeutic potential of inhibiting …

Explaining Variation In Medical Aid In Dying Policy Across U.S. States, Abigail Hopper

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

This paper asks why Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) policy in the United States does not follow a simple partisan pattern between states. Existing scholarship on morality policy emphasizes ideological conflict and partisan alignment, but this framework cannot fully explain why states with similar political compositions have adopted different MAiD policy outcomes, indicating that some key mechanisms shaping the variation have been overlooked. To address this, this paper combines a national dataset of MAiD policies across all fifty states with a comparative case study of Montana, Colorado, and West Virginia, focusing on differences in institutional venues, framing strategies, and coalition …

Differential Roles Of Moesin And Vasp In Β-Catenin-Associated Networks During Zebrafish Heart Regeneration, Allen Rutman

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

With cardiovascular disease remaining as the leading cause of mortality worldwide, it is largely due to the limited regenerative capacity of the human heart. However, zebrafish (Danio rerio) can fully regenerate cardiac tissue following injury, providing a valuable model for studying the mechanisms of heart repair. To investigate these mechanisms, we used proteomics methods in the past. Proximity labeling is a technique that identifies proteins based on their physical proximity to a protein of interest. It can be applied in organisms and in living cells (Roux et al., 2012; Cho et al., 2020). We used proximity labeling to characterize protein …

Healthcare Experiences And Needs Of Patients With Pregnancy Of Unknown Location: A Qualitative Study, Kavita Vinekar, Zahava Shimshi, Amanda Doty, Samantha Kolowrat, Rebecca Mercier, Agatha Berger, Kristin L. Rising

Jefferson Center for Connected Care Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Patients presenting with bleeding or pelvic pain in early pregnancy are commonly found to have pregnancies of unknown location (PUL), with no sonographic findings of intrauterine nor ectopic pregnancy. We aimed to explore healthcare experiences and needs of patients presenting with PUL.

METHODS: This was a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews to explore healthcare experiences among patients with PUL. Patients were eligible if they presented with bleeding or abdominopelvic pain to the OB/GYN office or emergency department and were found to have a PUL followed in an electronic health record tracking list; had an initial human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) …

Deciphering Small Sequence Differences In T Cell Receptor-Antigen Pairing, Yi Han, Yuqiu Yang, James Zhu, Farjana J Fattah, Mitchell S Von Itzstein, Minying Zhang, Casey Bermack, Peixin Jiang, Shailbala Singh, Yanhua Tian, Yifei Hu, Yafang Deng, Xiongbin Kang, Donghan M Yang, Jialiang Liu, Yaming Xue, Chaoying Liang, Indu Raman, Chengsong Zhu, Olivia Xiao, Jonathan E Dowell, Jade Homsi, Sawsan Rashdan, Ke Pan, Shengjie Yang, Mary E Gwin, David Hsiehchen, Yvonne Gloria-Mccutchen, Fangjiang Wu, John V Heymach, Don Gibbons, Junzhou Huang, Chao Cheng, Jianjun Zhang, Cassian Yee, Alexandre Reuben, David E Gerber, Tao Wang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

T cells have important functions in development and disease processes through T cell receptor (TCR)-dependent activities. Many tools were developed to predict the binding between TCRs and antigens. However, one of the uncertainties is whether such tools can decipher how small changes in the TCRs or antigenic peptides contribute to binding. We develop a deep learning model, pMTnet-omni, which not only predicts the binding vs. non-binding of TCRs towards pMHCs, but also distinguishes the stronger vs. weaker binding of TCRs similar in sequence. We leverage this capability to interpret the biological rules that govern TCR-antigen pairing. This also enables pMTnet-omni …

School Policy, Health Equity, And Lgbtq+ Youth: Implications Of Mahmoud V. Taylor, Anna Folta

Online/Hybrid MPH Integrative Learning Experience (capstone projects)

School-based policy functions as a critical lever for reducing health disparities among LGBTQ+ youth, who face elevated risks of suicidality, bullying, unsafe school environments, and housing instability. An extensive body of research identifies inclusive school practices—such as affirming curricula, supportive staff, and student organizations—as key protective factors that foster belonging and improve mental health outcomes. However, recent political and legal developments threaten the implementation and consistency of these protections.

Using a structured literature review and comparative policy analysis of federal, state, and district responses, this project integrates public health evidence with legal interpretation to assess how emerging parental opt-out frameworks …

Aid As Leverage: How Humanitarian Assistance Shapes The Health Power Dynamics In Eastern Democratic Republic Of Congo, Emmanuella K. Mbuyu

University Honors Theses

This paper examines humanitarian aid in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where it serves as both relief and a force reshaping local power dynamics within ongoing conflict. Humanitarian organizations provide essential services in contexts of state collapse, but aid delivery is deeply embedded in systems of coercion, negotiation, and external influence. Drawing on critical humanitarianism and the aid economy, this study analyzes how humanitarian access is negotiated, how donor priorities shape definitions of need, and how temporary interventions create dependency and instability. The paper explores how humanitarian action can reinforce alternative structures of authority, particularly in weak or absent …

Nurses’ Knowledge Regarding Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia Prevention Bundle In Adult Cardiac Care Units, Marwa Abdo

Nursing

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is among the most common ICU infections for ventilated patients, associated with increased mortality (20-50%), morbidity, and health care costs. Nurses' knowledge of VAP prevention bundles is vital to reducing its incidence in critical care areas. Aim: To assess Nurses’ knowledge regarding the ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention bundle in Adult Cardiac Care Units. Study design: A cross-sectional study design was used. Setting: This study was conducted in both the adult cardiac intensive care unit and the cardiac care unit at Aswan Heart Centre–Magdy Yacoub Foundation, Egypt. Subject: A convenience sample of 67 nurses was selected. Data collection tool: …

Testing Potential Correlations Between Childhood Lead Exposure And Authoritarianism In Adulthood, Kragen Anderson

University Honors Theses

A significant body of research links lead exposure during childhood to negative effects ranging from increased impulsivity to societal level effects such as an increased likelihood of committing violent crime in adulthood. Due to exposure vectors such as lead water pipes, lead solder, lead based paints, and leaded gasoline there was significant lead exposure during childhood for large portions of the American population. This paper tested and found a statistically significant association between average population level lead exposure in childhood and likelihood of voting for candidate Trump later in life.

Healthcare Access Challenges Among Asian Americans, Phyo Theingi

University Honors Theses

Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial ethnic group in the U.S. According to the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau population estimate, Asian Americans account for 25.2 million (or 7.4%) of the nation's population. Asian Americans are not a monolith and represent a diversity of rich histories, cultures, languages and ethnicities. According to research conducted by the Pew Research Center, most Asian Americans face discrimination of some kind, including being treated as a foreigner in the U.S and being stereotyped as a model minority. They also experience health care access barriers. Research found that Asian Americans face barriers related to language …

Glycosphingolipids Regulate Phosphatidylserine Transport Machinery That Operates At Er-Pm Contact Sites, Ritchel Gannaban, Sher Ali, Wei Chen, Melanie Nguyen, Li Lai, Travis I Moore, Yubin Zhou, John F Hancock, Junchen Liu

The Brown Foundation: Institute of Molecular Medicine

Plasma membrane (PM) localization of KRAS requires specific glycosphingolipids in the outer leaflet and phosphatidylserine (PS) in the inner leaflet. PM PS content is controlled by lipid transport proteins ORP5 and ORP8, which operate at ER-PM membrane contact sites (MCSs). Using high-resolution imaging, we now show that GSLs, including GM3 and SM4, are required to maintain ORP5 and ORP8 localization to MCSs. Genetic deletion or pharmacologic inhibition of enzymes required for the biosynthesis of GM3 or SM4 displaces PI4-kinase Type IIIα (PI4KIIIα) and its adaptor EFR3A from the PM, thereby reducing PM phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PI4P) content. PM interactions of ORP5 …

Apolipoprotein B100 Predicts Cardiovascular And Limb Events In Type 2 Diabetes Patients With Chronic Limb-Threatening Ischemia, Federico Biscetti, Maria Margherita Rando, Maria Anna Nicolazzi, Flavia Angelini, Roberto Iezzi, Luis H. Eraso, Paul J. Dimuzio, Dario Pitocco, Massimo Massetti, Antonio Gasbarrini, Andrea Flex

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) undergoing lower extremity revascularization (LER) face high risks of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and major adverse limb events (MALE), despite guideline-directed lipid-lowering therapy. Apolipoprotein B100 (ApoB100), reflecting total atherogenic particle number, may identify residual risk beyond LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C). Therefore, we investigated whether baseline ApoB100 levels independently predict MACE and MALE beyond conventional risk factors in this high-risk population.

METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, 167 T2DM patients with CLTI undergoing LER were followed for 12 months with visits at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months post-procedure. …

Determination Of Hematobiochemical Parameters And Egg Quality Traits Of Turkish Sultan Chickens, Mehmet Naci̇ Oktay, Ruhi̇ Kabakçi, Ali̇ Karapinar, Gökhan Şen, Taha Altuğ, Yasi̇n Şenel

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

The present study aimed to investigate the hematological and biochemical blood parameters, along with selected egg quality traits, of Turkish Sultan chickens. A total of 90 blood samples collected from 60-week-old hens and roosters and 129 eggs collected from 50 hens were analyzed. The findings showed that hematological parameters such as red blood cells (RBC), hemoglobin (HGB), packed cell volume (PCV), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), and heterophil-to-lymphocyte (H/L) ratio, as well as biochemical markers such as aspartate aminotransferase (AST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and uric acid levels, were significantly higher in roosters. The average egg weight, shape …

The In Vitro Feeding Of Hyalomma Marginatum (Koch, 1844), Nesli̇han Ölmez, Bariş Sari, Zati̇ Vatansever

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

Ticks are obligate hematophagous ectoparasites that play a major role in the transmission of pathogens affecting both animals and humans. Investigations into tick biology, pathogen transmission, and the development of effective control strategies have traditionally depended on the extensive use of laboratory animals. Consequently, the development of reliable in vitro feeding systems is a valuable alternative approach with the potential to reduce animal use in tick research. In the present study, a previously described silicone membrane artificial feeding system was modified and applied for the in vitro feeding of Hyalomma marginatum (Koch, 1844). Feeding units were prepared using bovine blood …

Understanding Whole-Brain Dynamics Through Generative Modeling, Ruiqi Chen

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

A central goal in cognitive neuroscience is to map mental processes onto their physical substrates. Traditionally, this goal is pursued by associating different mental processes with spatially-based anatomic localization. On the contrary, much less is known about the temporal dynamics of neural activity, particularly at the scale of the whole brain. Research into whole-brain dynamics has been challenging primarily due to the lack of an analytic framework that can summarize such dynamics, expose the underlying mechanisms, and associate the mechanisms with cognitive processes. In this dissertation, I describe my doctorate research aimed at building such a framework and deploying it …

Motherwise In Nicaragua: The Implementation Of Culturally Adapted Relationship Education For Women During Pregnancy And Postpartum, Amanda Key Correa Love

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a concerning public health issue of global proportions, particularly within rural and under-resourced settings. Communities in these settings face elevated risk for relationship abuse, further compounded by barriers to access culturally responsive preventive intervention programming. This qualitative study investigated participant experiences, cultural adaptation, and implementation of the MotherWise program, a healthy relationship education intervention in rural Leon, Nicaragua. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with former and current program participants as well as the program facilitator following the initial program implementation. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify patterns related to participant experiences, the types of …

Artificial Intelligence In Biomedical Scientific Publishing, Tomasz J Guzik, Victor Aboyans, Stefan Agewall, Steven Bailey, Adrian Baranchuk, Magnus Bäck, Michael Böhm, Robert O Bonow, George W Booz, Giuseppe Boriani, Biykem Bozkurt, Nico Bruining, Davide Capodanno, Çetin Erol, Péter Ferdinandy, Alessia Gimelli, Gerd Heusch, Thomas Kahan, Chim Choy Lang, Gerald Maurer, Robert J Mentz, Marco Metra, Philip Moons, Daniel Piskorz, Massimo Piepoli, Piotr Ponikowski, Alexandra Popma, Bianca Rocca, Juan Sanchis Fores, Philipp Sommer, Rhian M Touyz, Zoltan Ungvari, Pascal Vranckx, Joseph A Hill, Thomas F Lüscher, Filippo Crea

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Artificial intelligence is now embedded across the scientific research and publishing ecosystem, influencing discovery, analysis, knowledge translation, authorship, peer review, and editorial workflows. In cardiovascular and biomedical sciences, these developments offer substantial opportunities to accelerate knowledge generation, integrate complex datasets, and improve efficiency and consistency. At the same time, they introduce new risks related to bias, transparency, data integrity, and authorship responsibility, potentially endangering trust in the scientific record. This commentary examines the evolving role of AI in biomedical publishing, with particular attention to generative models and machine learning tools. We review both benefits and limitations, highlight risks such as …

Domain-Specific Associations Between Physical Activity And Tinnitus In Nhanes 2015-2018, Mitra Britton, Peter A Hosick

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Background/Objectives: Tinnitus is a prevalent auditory condition associated with significant psychological burden and limited treatment efficacy. While physical activity confers broad health benefits, its relationship with tinnitus remains understudied. This study examined associations between domain-specific physical activity and tinnitus in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults. Methods: Data from NHANES 2015-2018 were analyzed. The final analytic sample comprised 4301 adults aged 20 years and older. Tinnitus was assessed via the NHANES audiometry questionnaire. Physical activity was categorized as low, moderate, and high (MET-min/week) separately for work-related (WORK) and non-work-related (NW) domains. Survey-weighted multivariable logistic regression models, adjusted for age, …

Single-Nucleus Profiling Reveals A Core Disease Signature And Cell Type-Specific Vulnerabilities In Early Rett Syndrome, Yan Li, Ashley G Anderson, Guantong Qi, Sih-Rong Wu, Jean-Pierre Revelli, Hu Chen, Zhandong Liu, Huda Y Zoghbi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Rett syndrome (RTT) is an X-linked neurological disorder caused by MECP2 mutations, creating distinct cellular environments in females (mosaic) versus males (nonmosaic). Despite female patients representing most cases, how mosaicism contributes molecularly to RTT pathogenesis, particularly in presymptomatic stages, remains poorly understood. To address this question, we profiled hippocampal transcriptomes of young female and male RTT mice using bulk and single-nucleus RNA sequencing. We identified a core disease signature of consistently dysregulated genes only in MeCP2− cells across RTT models. Moreover, we uncovered non–cell autonomous effects exclusively in female MeCP2+ excitatory neurons, suggesting that these circuits are more vulnerable early …

Financial Implications Of Vascular Surgery Conference Fees, Alexandra Kats, Gerard M. Martin, Sanath Patil, Joshua R. Chen, Paul J. Dimuzio, Dawn Salvatore, Michael Nooromid, Babak Abai

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Conferences are an important venue for trainees and students to engage in scholarly activities and networking. However, cost presents a significant consideration for students looking to attend conferences as institutional funding varies. In this study, we analyze the attendance costs of vascular conferences.

METHODS: Thirty-one vascular surgery conferences were identified with 12 regional and 6 national, and 13 international. Invitation-only conferences were excluded from the analysis. Cost of attendance was stratified by early and regular registration timing and attending, trainee, and student status. Additionally, conference websites were queried individually for scholarship opportunities. Data was presented descriptively and compared using …