Digital Commons Network^™

Cell-Free Dna Ultra-Low-Pass Whole Genome Sequencing To Distinguish Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor (Mpnst) From Its Benign Precursor Lesion: A Cross-Sectional Study, Jeffrey J. Szymanski, R. Taylor Sundby, Paul A. Jones, Divya Srihari, Noah Earland, Peter K. Harris, Wenjia Feng, Faridi Qaium, Haiyan Lei, David Roberts, Michele Landeau, Jamie Bell, Yi Huang, Leah Hoffman, Melissa Spencer, Matthew B. Spraker, Li Ding, Brigitte C. Widemann, Jack F. Shern, Angela C. Hirbe, Aadel A. Chaudhuri

Open Access Publications

BACKGROUND: The leading cause of mortality for patients with the neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) cancer predisposition syndrome is the development of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST), an aggressive soft tissue sarcoma. In the setting of NF1, this cancer type frequently arises from within its common and benign precursor, plexiform neurofibroma (PN). Transformation from PN to MPNST is challenging to diagnose due to difficulties in distinguishing cross-sectional imaging results and intralesional heterogeneity resulting in biopsy sampling errors.

METHODS AND FINDINGS: This multi-institutional study from the National Cancer Institute and Washington University in St. Louis used fragment size analysis and ultra-low-pass …

Trauma-Informed, Integrated Primary Care: A Medical Home Model For Children With Prenatal Drug Exposure Who Enter Foster Care, Jill Mcleigh, Hilda Loria, Kelsey Craker, Susanna Bird

Integrated, Trauma-Informed Care

The rise in prenatal or childhood substance exposure diagnoses resulting from parental substance use has led to an increase in the number of children placed in foster care. Meeting the multifaceted health care needs of children with prenatal drug exposure (PDE) who enter foster care requires significant time, resources, and coordination. In addition to conditions resulting from their experiences of trauma, children in foster care often have unmet health care needs and experience disproportionate rates of adverse physical, mental and developmental health outcomes. This article outlines the barriers to providing comprehensive and high-quality care to this pediatric population and …

"I Wish There Was A Treaty We Could Sign": An Inquiry Into The Making Of The Global Pact For The Environment, Marie-Catherine Petersmann

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

This article provides ethnographic insights into the making of the latest UN-backed instrument for transnational environmental law and governance: the Global Pact for the Environment (GPE). It narrates the rise and fall of a contemporary policy project designed to unify and strengthen international environmental law. The story starts in 2015 on the premises of a Parisian legal think tank and ends in May 2019 at the headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme in Nairobi, where states ultimately decided not to adopt the GPE as a legally binding instrument but opted to prepare apolitical declaration to be presented in 2022 …

The Effect Of Restricted Parental Movement During The Covid-19 Pandemic On The Utilization Of Pasteurized Donor Breastmilk In The Nicu: A Quality Improvement Project, Cayenne Sirois

Student Projects for Graduate Degrees

The COVID-19 pandemic presented as a major health crisis that caused shutdowns and restricted access to healthcare facilities globally. Not only did this have an immeasurable impact on adult critical care units, but also on neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). One impact of COVID-19 was restricted access and movement to Providence Alaska Medical Center’s (PAMC’s) NICU, affecting both families and designated caregivers. This movement restriction caused families to choose whether to stay at the bedside or leave the NICU without the ability to re-enter for an undefined or restricted period of time. The purpose of this retrospective chart review was …

Reimagining Postmortem Conception, Kristine Knaplund

Georgia State University Law Review

Hundreds, likely thousands, of babies have been born years after a parent has died. Thousands more people have cryopreserved their sperm, ova, and embryos, or have requested that a loved one’s gametes be retrieved after death to produce still more such children. Twenty-three states have enacted statutes detailing how these postmortem conception children can inherit from their predeceased parents.

And yet, few of these children will be able to inherit. The statutes create a bewildering array of standards, with over a dozen definitions of consent, variations in signature and witnessing requirements, and hurdles imposed in one state but not another. …

Intellectual Property Through A Non-Western Lens: Patents In Islamic Law, Tabrez Y. Ebrahim

Georgia State University Law Review

The intersection of secular, Western intellectual property law and Islamic law is undertheorized in legal scholarship. Yet the nascent and developing non-Western law of one form of intellectual property—patents—in Islamic legal systems is profoundly important for transformational innovation and economic development initiatives of Muslim-majority countries that comprise nearly one-fifth of the world’s population.

Recent scholarship highlights the tensions of intellectual property in Islamic law because religious considerations in an Islamic society do not fully align with Western notions of patents. As Islamic legal systems have begun to embrace patents in recent decades, theories of patents have presented conceptual and theological …

August 2021 Library News, University Libraries

Library News

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Metagenomic Sequencing Using Targeted 16s And Whole Genome Shotgun Ngs On Microbial Dna Samples, Adam Daniel Parker

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station (OCNGS; Lacey Township, New Jersey, USA), affects the surrounding aquatic environment as the outflow water is approximately 5^oC warmer than ambient water temperature. A metagenomic analysis was performed to assess microbial biodiversity at 4 sites located in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, USA possibly in response to thermal gradients. A total of twelve samples from four sites was examined using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). These represented the outflow and intake of the OCNGS, as well as bay area and river control sites. In addition, we compared targeted (16S) and Whole Genome Shotgun (WGS) …

Investigating The Effects Of Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms On The Vulnerability To Shell Disease Of Northern Red-Bellied Turtles (Pseudemys Rubriventris) In New Jersey, Stephanie Getto

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

In 2019, an unknown shell disease was reported in Northern red-bellied turtles (Pseudemys rubriventris), a freshwater turtle species with a range that mainly includes southern New Jersey through North Carolina. This study investigates the effects of harmful cyanobacterial blooms on the vulnerability to shell disease of freshwater Northern red-bellied turtles (Pseudemys rubriventris) in New Jersey by characterizing and enumerating cyanobacteria in lake water and within the epizoic community with a goal to provide data-driven recommendations for P.rubriventris conservation. Phytoplankton community composition and cyanotoxinconcentration were measured in two affected lakes (Daretown Lake and Elmer Lake) and one unaffected lake (Lake Fred) …

Intergenerational Risk Of Maternal Childhood Maltreatment On Infant Health Concerns In Low-Income Mexican American Mother-Child Dyads, Amanda Flagg

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Childhood maltreatment confers greater risk for psychopathology, health problems, and early mortality in adulthood. Emerging literature suggests that maternal childhood maltreatment exposure may have intergenerational consequences for infant health by interfering with mothers’ abilities to engage in sensitive and responsive caregiving. Although no studies to date have investigated contributions of maternal sensitivity to infant health, parallel bodies of research have shown that sensitive responding is an important predictor of infant physiological regulation, which is also related to immune functioning. The current study examined the associations between maternal childhood maltreatment, infant health concerns, and maternal sensitivity in a low income, Mexican …

Molecular Simulation Of Rna Conformational Dynamics : An Example Of Micro-Rna Targeting Messenger Rna : Mir-34a-Msirt1, Parisa Ebrahimi

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

MicroRNA (miRNA), as a distinct class of biological regulators and a ”guide” member of non-coding RNA-protein complexes (RNPs), regulates more than 60% of protein-coding genes expression through base-pairing with targeted messenger RNA (mRNA) in the RNA-Induced Silencing Complex (RISC). Most of miRNAs identified in human, are conserved in other animals, which have preferentially conserved interaction sites particularly in 3’ untranslated regions (3’UTRs) of many human messenger mRNAs.The capability of a single miRNA to target more than hundreds of mRNAs, suggests that miRNAs influence essentially all developmental process and diseases, which also makes them interesting candidates as therapeutics agents. The primary …

Elucidating The Relationship Between Recombination Frequency And Antibiotic Resistance In Staphylococcus Aureus, Joseph R. Matthews

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Staphylococcus aureus is a common commensal and opportunistic pathogen of humans. It causes a variety of diseases, ranging from skin and soft infections to life-threatening invasive diseases. Many strains of S. aureus have developed resistance to a variety of antibiotic classes, including many beta-lactams. The evolution and dissemination of antibiotic resistance in S. aureus lay in large part to its remarkable ability of acquiring DNA from other organisms through horizontal gene transfer and recombination. In this study, I elucidated the relationship between frequencies of recombination events and horizontally acquired antibiotic resistant genes in a population of S. aureus sampled from …

Two Dimensional Nanoparticles/Nanozymes For Biosensing Augmented By Machine Learning, Nidhi Chintan Nandu

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Biosensing is an ever-evolving field with many resources devoted towards new approaches in sensing and refining the existing methods. For a long time, such approaches involved use of state-of-the-art instruments and were often proved to be time consuming and expensive. Nanoparticles with their unique properties, inexpensive synthesis and ease of manipulation have found purpose in myriad fields including biosensing. Different nanoparticles based on their composition, morphology, dimensionality, and surface modifications have already gained foot hold in the biosensor ranks. The unique opto-electric properties due to the quantum effect in the nanoparticles have also made them one of the leading alternatives …

Molecular Simulation Of Rna Conformational Dynamics : An Example Of Micro-Rna Targeting Messenger Rna : Mir-34a-Msirt1, Parisa Ebrahimi

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

MicroRNA (miRNA), as a distinct class of biological regulators and a ”guide” member of non-coding RNA-protein complexes (RNPs), regulates more than 60% of protein-coding genes expression through base-pairing with targeted messenger RNA (mRNA) in the RNA-Induced Silencing Complex (RISC). Most of miRNAs identified in human, are conserved in other animals, which have preferentially conserved interaction sites particularly in 3’ untranslated regions (3’UTRs) of many human messenger mRNAs.The capability of a single miRNA to target more than hundreds of mRNAs, suggests that miRNAs influence essentially all developmental process and diseases, which also makes them interesting candidates as therapeutics agents. The primary …

Mic Check : Finding Hip Hop's Place In The Literary Milieu, Victorio Reyes

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The study of Hip Hop poetics has been slowly gaining momentum as an area for scholarly inquiry. Accordingly, Mic Check rests on one critical assumption: Hip Hop is the most significant American form of poetry ever invented. To back up this claim, this project investigates Hip Hop lyricism from five critical angles: tradition, form, tone, medium, and practice. I argue that music’s foundational position in African American literature clarifies Hip Hop’s experiments with language, which operate within and extend an ongoing, centuries-old tradition of linguistic, rhythmic, and poetic experimentation. Comprehension of the longstanding literary/oral territory from which Hip Hop is …

Child Temperament And Differential Susceptibility To Parenting : Implications For Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes Care, Anna J. Yeo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic autoimmune disease associated with increased risk for serious complications and premature mortality. T1DM treatment aims to maintain adequate glycemic control and involves a daily regimen of health behaviors (e.g., glucose monitoring, insulin administration, healthy diet). Among pediatric patients, both child self-regulation and quality of parental involvement have been found to influence treatment outcomes. However, it is unclear whether and how child and parental factors interact to shape glycemic control. The differential susceptibility hypothesis proposes that children with certain regulatory vulnerabilities (e.g., high negative affectivity [NA], low effortful control [EC]) may be more …

Uncle Tom's Women : Slavery And Black Female Sexuality, Natalia Davila

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In the United States, Black women grapple with harmful cultural representations of their womanhood and sexuality that are rooted in the minstrel tradition. Specifically, Black women are represented as objects of consumption or hypersexual. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin reveals an engagement with the minstrel tradition that has demonstrated both a perpetuation of negative portrayals of Black women but also a departure from these images. This paper focuses on the responses to Stowe’s characterization by the authors Zora Neale Hurston in Their Eyes Were Watching God and Gayl Jones in Corregidora that reclaim the minstrel tradition to reveal the …

Association Between Health Literacy Levels And Behavioral Health Hospitalizations And Emergency Department Utilization In The United States, Rebecca Lynn Hoen

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Behavioral health disorders are common in the United States (US) and are associated with potentially preventable high-cost health care utilization, such as inpatient hospitalization and emergency department utilization. Health literacy (HL) may be an important modifiable contributing factor to this preventable utilization, as limited health literacy is common in the US and has been linked to increased risk of hospitalization and emergency department utilization. However, few published studies have examined the association between health literacy and behavioral health disorders, and no studies have examined either the association between health literacy and utilization or the potential effects HL interventions might have …

Factors Influencing Psychotherapy Completion In Children Exposed To Adverse Childhood Experiences, Cheryl Kayleen Best

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Child maltreatment and childhood adversity are associated with a broad range of poor mental and physical health outcomes throughout the lifespan. The consequences of childhood adversity have led psychologists in efforts to identify the most effective therapeutic approaches and interventions with which to address the negative effects of childhood trauma. Even as a number of efficacious treatments have been established as best practices for treating childhood trauma, barriers exist in community mental health settings that oftentimes prevent full implementation of these interventions and practices. A growing body of research has focused on better understanding the high rates of attrition from …

The Evolution Of Sex Differences In Mandrills (Mandrillus Sphinx): Micro- And Macroevolution, Jerred Klint Schafer

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Primates show diverse patterns of adaptive color and body size dimorphism produced by inter- and intrasexual selection. However, the specific microevolutionary processes that produce variation in secondary sexual characteristics remain largely unexplored in primates. Furthermore, sexual conflict theory predicts that female and male secondary sexual traits can coevolve in an antagonistic manner and promote speciation. This dissertation explores the microevolution of secondary sexual characteristics in mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) and the macroevolution of these characters in anthropoid primates. I address the microevolution of mandrill facial coloration and body mass by estimating the heritability, phenotypic selection, and genetic evolution of these traits …

Tccy Ombudsman Program Annual Report Fy 2020-2021, Tennessee. Commission On Children And Youth.

Ombudsman Program Annual Report

No abstract provided.

Demographic Predictors Of Math Anxiety In Elementary School Children, Melissa Flowerdew

Master's Theses

Due to the increasing interest of math anxiety in elementary level children, the present study explored math anxiety contextual factors through Bandura’s (1999) Social Cognitive perspective. Using the Children’s Anxiety in Math Scale, researchers gathered data from 40 primary-level children to explore four demographic predictors--grade-level, special needs identification, gender identity, and socioeconomic status-- of mathematics anxiety through a hierarchical regression model. Findings indicated demographic variables accounted for over one-third of the variance in math anxiety scores at 38.2% (grade level: 12.3%, SNI: 8.4%, gender identity: 13.2%, SES: 4.1%). With the exception of socioeconomic status, all predictors were significant. These findings …

Extended High Frequency Brainstem Auditory Evoked Testing In Aging Canines, Rebecca Arnold

Doctoral Scholarly Projects & Capstones

Presbycusis, or age-related hearing loss, has a common pattern of high frequency hearing loss that progresses as humans age. It is thought that canines experience a similar pattern of hearing loss as they age. Currently, there is little research on how aging impacts canine hearing acuity. This study was conducted to obtain data to determine if thresholds for the brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) were different for two types of acoustic stimuli in older dogs. Ten dogs age nine or older were tested but data from two dogs were removed after the initial analysis. Threshold estimations were performed using clicks …

Secrets, Lies, And Lessons From The Theranos Scandal, Lauren Rogal

UC Law Journal

Theranos, Inc., the unicorn startup blood-testing corporation, was ultimately laid low by a former employee whistleblower. The experience of that whistleblower during and after her employment illuminates detrimental secrecy practices within the startup sector, as well as legal and practical barriers to corporate accountability. Theranos sought to avoid exposure by cultivating an environment of secrecy and intimidation, and by aggressively extracting and enforcing nondisclosure agreements. The legal landscape for whistleblowers facilitated this strategy: while whistleblowing employees enjoyed certain protections under anti-retaliation statutes, trade secrets statutes, and common law contract principles, these protections were neither readily accessible nor certain. This Article …

The Role Of Genome Duplication In Big Sagebrush Growth And Fecundity, Bryce A. Richardson, Matthew J. Germino, Marcus V. Warwell, Sven Buerki

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Premise: Adaptive traits can be dramatically altered by genome duplication. The study of interactions among traits, ploidy, and the environment are necessary to develop an understanding of how polyploidy affects niche differentiation and to develop restoration strategies for resilient native ecosystems.

Methods: Growth and fecundity were measured in common gardens for 39 populations of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) containing two subspecies and two ploidy levels. General linear mixed-effect models assessed how much of the trait variation could be attributed to genetics (i.e., ploidy and climatic adaptation), environment, and gene–environment interactions.

Results: Growth and fecundity variation were explained well …

Nebline, August 2021

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

The Myths & Facts of Head Lice

Coping with Picky Eating

Recipes of the Month

6 Common Composting Questions

Garden Guide: Things to do this Month

Tips for a Fun and Educational Day at the Fair

Kissing Bugs in Nebraska

Lancaster County Super Fair, July 29-Aug. 7, 2021

Heart of 4-H Volunteer Award

4-H Teen Council Invites New Members

4-H Gold Tournament Fundraiser, Oct. 3

4-H’ers Test Family and Consumer Science Skills at Life Challenge

4-H Clover College: 48 Workshops of Hands-on Learning!

4-H’ers Test Their Knowledge of Animals and Decision-Making Skills at PASE

4-H District Horse Results

4-H Announcements …

Calling The Shots: Balancing Parental And Child Rights In The Age Of Anti-Vax, Mahrukh Badar

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

Vaccinations have become a contentious issue in recent times. Although there has always been opposition to vaccines, the internet has made it possible for pseudoscience and false information to spread like never before. This has led to alarming declines in vaccine confidence and adherence rates globally. High-income countries have seen the sharpest drop in vaccine confidence rates. Factors such as the complacency effect and religious objections likely explain this decline. Most countries have attempted to raise vaccine confidence levels by enacting laws that make vaccinations for children compulsory, with strict penalties for parents who refuse to comply. In addition to …

I Just Took A Dna Test—Turns Out, I'M 100% Breaching My Donor Anonymity Contract: Direct-To-Consumer Dna Testing And Parental Medical-Decision-Making, Morgan C. York

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

Part I of this note provides a brief history of assisted reproductive technology and its increased use throughout the world, illustrating the growing number of donor-conceived children and the related importance of knowing genetic information. Part I also surveys regulations concerning donor anonymity in the United States and the United Kingdom to illustrate different jurisdictions' approaches to the regulation of donor anonymity. This note uses the United Kingdom as a model of countries that have prohibited sperm donor anonymity. Part II of this note discusses direct-to-consumer DNA testing, specifically 23andMe's products. This note selects 23andMe as the direct-to-consumer company for …

Calibration Study Of A Bacterial Quantification Technique Using Transport Swabs And Line Inoculations On Agar Growth Medium, Seth Larue

Honors Theses

Enumeration of bacteria has been the subject of research for over a century. Some of the techniques that have been developed include viable plate counts, the most probable number assessment, and more modern molecular techniques. Many of the newer molecular-based techniques provide little or no information about the viability of the cells being counted, and are generally not quantitative. Having quantitative data for potentially pathogenic bacteria on surfaces can be very useful in many settings, particularly in healthcare facilities. Knowing the numbers of bacterial cells present on surfaces within healthcare facilities may be important to attempt to study the cause …

Discrepancies Amongst Utc Students' Diets And Their Understanding Of Their Role In Environmental Activism, Claire Reticker

Honors Theses

The present research attempts to analyze why university students claim a love for the outdoors but do not use means of dietary action to protect the environment. Through an extensive analysis of corresponding literature, the effects of gender, age, motivation, barriers, and attitudes are examined as they relate to diet. To obtain data regarding these effects, students enrolled in online or hybrid classes at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) were sent a survey via Google Forms, with 129 students willingly responding. Previous to survey collection and statistical analysis, I hypothesized that if students rated their love of the outdoors …