Digital Commons Network^™

New Psychoactive Substances Intoxications And Fatalities During The Covid-19 Epidemic, Alfredo Fabrizio Lo Faro, Diletta Berardinelli, Tommaso Cassano, Gregory Dendramis, Eva Montanari, Marche Polytechnic University, Paolo Beretta, Simona Zaami, Francesco Paolo Busardò, Marilyn Ann Huestis

Institute of Emerging Health Professions Faculty Papers

In January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, declaring the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic in March 2020. Stringent measures decreased consumption of some drugs, moving the illicit market to alternative substances, such as New Psychoactive Substances (NPS). A systematic literature search was performed, using scientific databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and institutional and government websites, to identify reported intoxications and fatalities from NPS during the COVID-19 pandemic. The search terms were: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, coronavirus disease 2019, intox*, fatal*, new psychoactive substance, novel psychoactive …

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (Sars-Cov-2) Testing And Detection During Peripartum Hospitalizations Among A Multicenter Cohort Of Pregnant Persons: March 2020-February 2021, Miranda J Delahoy, Flor Munoz, De-Kun Li, Carmen Sofia Arriola, Nanette Lee Bond, Michael Daugherty, Jeannette Ferber, Nickolas Ferguson, Louise Hadden, Jillian T Henderson, Stephanie A Irving, Mary Juergens, Venkatesh Kancharla, Mara Greenberg, Roxana Odouli, Gabriella Newes-Adeyi, Erin G Nicholson, Lawrence Reichle, Momodou Sanyang, Margaret Snead, Fatimah S Dawood, Allison L Naleway

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Identifying severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections during peripartum hospitalizations is important to guide care, implement prevention measures, and understand infection burden.

METHODS: This cross-sectional analysis used electronic health record data from hospitalizations during which pregnancies ended (peripartum hospitalizations) among a cohort of pregnant persons at 3 US integrated healthcare networks (sites 1-3). Maternal demographic, medical encounter, SARS-CoV-2 testing, and pregnancy and neonatal outcome information was extracted for persons with estimated delivery and pregnancy end dates during March 2020-February 2021 and ≥1 antenatal care record. Site-stratified multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with testing …

A 17-Year Time-Series Of Fungal Environmental Dna From A Coastal Marine Ecosystem Reveals Long-Term Seasonal-Scale And Inter-Annual Diversity Patterns, Nathan Chrismas, R Allen, Mj Allen, Kimberley Bird, Michael Cunliffe

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Changing patterns in diversity are a feature of many habitats, with seasonality a major driver of ecosystem structure and function. In coastal marine plankton-based ecosystems, seasonality has been established through long-term time-series of bacterioplankton and protists. Alongside these groups, fungi also inhabit coastal marine ecosystems. If and how marine fungi show long-term intra- and inter-annual diversity patterns is unknown, preventing a comprehensive understanding of marine fungal ecology. Here, we use a 17-year environmental DNA time-series from the English Channel to determine long-term marine fungal diversity patterns. We show that fungal community structure progresses at seasonal and monthly scales and is …

Graphene-Conductive Polymer-Based Electrochemical Sensor For Dopamine Detection, Dipannita Ghosh, Md Ashiqur Rahman, Ali Ashraf, Nazmul Islam

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The central nervous system's (CNS) dopaminergic system dysfunction has been linked to neurological illnesses like schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease. As a result, sensitive and selective detection of dopamine is critical for the early diagnosis of illnesses associated with aberrant dopamine levels. In this research, we have investigated the performance of electrochemical screen-printed sensors for different concentrations of dopamine detection using graphene-based conductive PEDOT: PSS(G-PEDOT: PSS) and Polyaniline(GPANI) inks on the working electrode and compared the sensitivity. SEM characterization technique has been performed to visualize the microstructures of the proposed inks. We have investigated cyclic voltammetry (CV) electrochemical techniques with ferri/ferrocyanide …

The Impact Of Universal Glove And Gown Use On Clostridioides Difficile Acquisition: A Cluster-Randomized Trial, Daniel J Morgan, Erik R Dubberke, Tiffany Hink, Gwen Paszkiewicz, Carey-Ann D Burnham, Lisa Pineles, Larry Magder, J Kristie Johnson, Surbhi Leekha, Anthony D Harris

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Clostridioides difficile is the most common cause of healthcare-associated infections in the United States. It is unknown whether universal gown and glove use in intensive care units (ICUs) decreases acquisition of C. difficile.

METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of a cluster-randomized trial in 20 medical and surgical ICUs in 20 US hospitals from 4 January 2012 to 4 October 2012. After a baseline period, ICUs were randomized to standard practice for glove and gown use versus the intervention of all healthcare workers being required to wear gloves and gowns for all patient contact and when entering any patient …

Study Of The Graphene Energy Absorbing Layer And The Viscosity Of Sodium Alginate In Laser-Induced- Forward-Transfer (Lift) Bioprinting, Shuqi Zhou, Jianzhi Li, Ben Xu

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Laser induced forward transfer (LIFT) bioprinting has been viewed as a new and actively developed three-dimensional bioprinting technology due to its high accuracy and good cell viability. The printing quality is highly dependent on the jet formation and its stability in the LIFT bioprinting process. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of a graphene Energy Absorbing Layer (EAL) and alginate hydrogel (SA) (w.t. 1% and 2%) viscosity on jet generation in the LIFT bioprinting process. Since SA exhibits a shear-thinning behavior, it is a non-Newtonian fluid. The effect of EAL thickness and SA’s viscosity were addressed …

The Parthenon, February 8, 2023, Evan Green, Conner Woodruff, Matt Schaffer, Chayce Matheny, Victoria Ware, Shauntelle Thompson, Rafael Alfonso, Scott Price

The Parthenon

No abstract provided.

Body Mass Index And Molecular Subtypes Of Colorectal Cancer, Neil Murphy, Yin Cao, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Obesity is an established risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC), but the evidence for the association is inconsistent across molecular subtypes of the disease.

METHODS: We pooled data on body mass index (BMI), tumor microsatellite instability status, CpG island methylator phenotype status, BRAF and KRAS mutations, and Jass classification types for 11 872 CRC cases and 11 013 controls from 11 observational studies. We used multinomial logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) adjusted for covariables.

RESULTS: Higher BMI was associated with increased CRC risk (OR per 5 kg/m2 = 1.18, 95% CI = …

Hepatocytes Demarcated By Ephb2 Contribute To The Progression Of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis, Yang Xiao, Kirill Batmanov, Wenxiang Hu, Kun Zhu, Alexander Y Tom, Dongyin Guan, Chunjie Jiang, Lan Cheng, Sam J Mccright, Eric C Yang, Matthew R Lanza, Yifan Liu, David A Hill, Mitchell A Lazar

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Current therapeutic strategies for treating nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) have failed to alleviate liver fibrosis, which is a devastating feature leading to hepatic dysfunction. Here, we integrated single-nucleus transcriptomics and epigenomics to characterize all major liver cell types during NASH development in mice and humans. The bifurcation of hepatocyte trajectory with NASH progression was conserved between mice and humans. At the nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) stage, hepatocytes exhibited metabolic adaptation, whereas at the NASH stage, a subset of hepatocytes was enriched for the signatures of cell adhesion and migration, which were mainly demarcated by receptor tyrosine kinase ephrin type B receptor …

Transfusing Convalescent Plasma As Post-Exposure Prophylaxis Against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (Sars-Cov-2) Infection: A Double-Blinded, Phase 2 Randomized, Controlled Trial, Shmuel Shoham, Evan M Bloch, Arturo Casadevall, Daniel Hanley, Bryan Lau, Kelly Gebo, Edward Cachay, Seble G Kassaye, James H Paxton, Jonathan Gerber, Adam C Levine, Arash Naeim, Judith Currier, Bela Patel, Elizabeth S Allen, Shweta Anjan, Lawrence Appel, Sheriza Baksh, Paul W Blair, Anthony Bowen, Patrick Broderick, Christopher A Caputo, Valerie Cluzet, Marie Elena Cordisco, Daniel Cruser, Stephan Ehrhardt, Donald Forthal, Yuriko Fukuta, Amy L Gawad, Thomas Gniadek, Jean Hammel, Moises A Huaman, Douglas A Jabs, Anne Jedlicka, Nicky Karlen, Sabra Klein, Oliver Laeyendecker, Karen Lane, Nichol Mcbee, Barry Meisenberg, Christian Merlo, Giselle Mosnaim, Han-Sol Park, Andrew Pekosz, Joann Petrini, William Rausch, David M Shade, Janna R Shapiro, J Robinson Singleton, Catherine Sutcliffe, David L Thomas, Anusha Yarava, Martin Zand, Jonathan M Zenilman, Aaron A R Tobian, David J Sullivan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) convalescent plasma (CCP) for preventing infection in exposed, uninfected individuals is unknown. CCP might prevent infection when administered before symptoms or laboratory evidence of infection.

METHODS: This double-blinded, phase 2 randomized, controlled trial (RCT) compared the efficacy and safety of prophylactic high titer (≥1:320 by Euroimmun ELISA) CCP with standard plasma. Asymptomatic participants aged ≥18 years with close contact exposure to a person with confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the previous 120 hours and negative SARS-CoV-2 test within 24 hours before transfusion were eligible. The primary outcome was …

A Daycare Artist Residency In Minusio: Aesthetic Eunuciations In Borderspaces, R. Michael Michael Fisher

Artizein: Arts and Teaching Journal

This is a compilation of happenings from an artist residency at an urban core daycare and kindergarten site from July-December, 2021. The artist provides some notes on how to approach a residency, create site-specific art and work with the children, their teachers, care staff and the community surrounding the site. A newly coined concept of minusio, emerged over time and served as an invisible basis for art-care, in a sense the mirror(ing) of the gift of nurturing but also the lack of care—and offering a route to what human’s really desire, when they are not so busy and distracted …

2d Respiratory Sound Analysis To Detect Lung Abnormalities, Rafia Sharmin Alice, Kc Santosh

SDSU Data Science Symposium

Abstract. In this paper, we analyze deep visual features from 2D data representation(s) of the respiratory sound to detect evidence of lung abnormalities. The primary motivation behind this is that visual cues are more important in decision-making than raw data (lung sound). Early detection and prompt treatments are essential for any future possible respiratory disorders, and respiratory sound is proven to be one of the biomarkers. In contrast to state-of-the-art approaches, we aim at understanding/analyzing visual features using our Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) tailored Deep Learning Models, where we consider all possible 2D data such as Spectrogram, Mel-frequency Cepstral Coefficients …

Not 'Fit In More,' I Would Say 'Stand Out Less': Dialogical Learning With A Filipino-American High School Student In A Predominantly White High School: A Case Study, Cristofer G. Slotoroff Ed.D.

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

This piece seeks to amplify the voice of Jamie: a Filipino-American student in a predominantly White high school. Through a series of dialogues, the researcher seeks to take an intentional, purposeful step toward uncovering how Jamie's understanding of her school's cultural makeup influences her education, her self-conception, and her identity.

Through a series of qualitative interviews, the researcher seeks to value the singularity of Jamie's experience while, alternatively, taking note of how a better knowledge of her circumstances lends insight into the nuanced educational experiences of minority students in predominantly White schools. Using Shields's (2004) dialogical leadership for social justice …

Session 2: The Effect Of Boom Leveling On Spray Dispersion, Travis A. Burgers, Miguel Bustamante, Juan F. Vivanco

SDSU Data Science Symposium

Self-propelled sprayers are commonly used in agriculture to disperse agrichemicals. These sprayers commonly have two boom wings with dozens of nozzles that disperse the chemicals. Automatic boom height systems reduce the variability of agricultural sprayer boom height, which is important to reduce uneven spray dispersion if the boom is not at the target height.

A computational model was created to simulate the spray dispersion under the following conditions: a) one stationary nozzle based on the measured spray pattern from one nozzle, b) one stationary model due to an angled boom, c) superposition of multiple stationary nozzles due an angled boom, …

Out Of Left Field? Requiring Expertise To Teach Secondary Science: A Policy Brief, Dana Morris

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Teachers are considered the most influential factor in student learning outcomes (Burroughs et al., 2019; Luft et al., 2015, 2020). Their influence in the modern science classroom affects academic opportunities and the overall scientific literacy of our future society. Nonetheless, high school science teacher shortages exist across the United States, and low standards are the norm for new teachers entering the field. Compounding the problem is the presumption by most states that obtaining the expertise to teach one discipline in science qualifies a teacher to teach any area of science (National Council on Teacher Quality, 2010). Although No Child Left …

2023 Sdsu Data Science Symposium Speaker Information, Department Of Mathematics & Statistics

SDSU Data Science Symposium

This document contains Speaker bios and information for the 2022 SDSU Data Science Symposium.

A Comparison Of Task-Based And Questionnaire Assessments Of Executive Control Aspects In Relation To Adolescent Marijuana Initiation, Ying Guo, Charles B. Fleming, Irina Patwardhan, Tiffany D. James, Jennifer Nelson, Kimberly A. Espy, Timothy D. Nelson, W. Alex Mason

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Prior research has linked deficits in executive control (EC) to marijuana use in adolescents but has relied either primarily on adolescent self-report of EC or tasked-based EC, and focused on limited aspects of EC, usually inhibitory control. We examined unique associations of three established aspects of EC (inhibitory control, working memory, and flexible shifting) assessed with both performance on laboratory tasks and self-report in relation to marijuana initiation. Participants were 260 youth (ages 14–18 years) from a small Midwestern city in the United States enrolled in the adolescent phase (beginning in 2017) of an ongoing study of EC development recruited …

Probing Amyloid-Beta Protein Structure And Dynamics With A Selective Antibody, Shikha Grover

Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. The AD brain is characterized by significant neuronal loss and accumulation of insoluble fibrillar amyloid-β protein (Aβ) plaques and tau protein neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. However, over the last decade, many studies have shown that the neurodegenerative effect of Aβ may in fact be caused by various soluble oligomeric forms as opposed to the insoluble fibrils. Furthermore, the data suggest that a pre-fibrillar aggregated form, termed protofibrils, mediates direct neurotoxicity, and triggers a robust neuroinflammatory response.

Antibodies targeting the various conformation of Aβ are important therapeutic agents to prevent the progression …

Characterizing Maternal Isolation-Induced Ultrasonic Vocalizations In A Gene-Environment Interaction Rat Model For Autism., Dorit Möhrle, Megan Yuen, Alice Zheng, Faraj L Haddad, Brian L Allman, Susanne Schmid

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Deficits in social communication and language development belong to the earliest diagnostic criteria of autism spectrum disorders. Of the many risk factors for autism spectrum disorder, the contactin-associated protein-like 2 gene, CNTNAP2, is thought to be important for language development. The present study used a rat model to investigate the potential compounding effects of autism spectrum disorder risk gene mutation and environmental challenges, including breeding conditions or maternal immune activation during pregnancy, on early vocal communication in the offspring. Maternal isolation-induced ultrasonic vocalizations from Cntnap2 wildtype and knockout rats at selected postnatal days were analyzed for their acoustic, temporal and …

Mechanistic Study Into Free Radical-Activated Glycan Dissociations Through Isotope-Labeled Cellobioses, Kimberly Fabijanczuk, Zaikuan Josh Yu, Rose M. Bakestani, Rayan Murtada, Nicholas Denton, Kaylee Gaspar, Tara Otegui, Jose Acosta, Hilkka I. Kenttämaa, Henk Eshuis, Jinshan Gao

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Inspired by the electron-activated dissociation technique, the most potent tool for glycan characterization, we recently developed free radical reagents for glycan structural elucidation. However, the underlying mechanisms of free radical-induced glycan dissociation remain unclear and, therefore, hinder the rational optimization of the free radical reagents and the interpretation of tandem mass spectra, especially the accurate assignment of the relatively low-abundant but information-rich ions. In this work, we selectively incorporate the ¹³C and/or ¹⁸O isotopes into cellobiose to study the mechanisms for free radical-induced dissociation of glycans. The eight isotope-labeled cellobioses include 1-¹³C, 3-¹³C, 1′- …

The Relationship Of Social Determinants And Distress In Newly Diagnosed Cancer Patients, Brandon Okeke, Cheron Hillmon, Jasmine Jones, Grace Obanigba, Ann Obi, Meagan Nkansah, Nicholas Odiase, Kamil Khanipov, Ikenna C. Okereke

Surgery Articles

Patients with a new cancer diagnosis can experience distress when diagnosed. There are disparities in treatment of cancer patients based on social determinants, but minimal research exists on the relationship of those social determinants and distress after a new cancer diagnosis. Our goals were to determine the social determinants associated with distress after a new cancer diagnosis and determine the relationship of distress with outcome. Patients with a new cancer diagnosis at one institution from January 2019 to December 2020 were analyzed. Patients were given the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) distress thermometer during their first visit. Demographics, tumor characteristics, …

When Normal Is Not Normal: A Theory Of The Non-Linear And Discontinuous Process Of Desired Change And Its Managerial Implications, Richard Boyatzis, Udayan Dhar

Faculty Journal Articles

Desirable change may appear chaotic, slow, or not sustainable. We may expect linear, continuous change, but it eludes us. Measurement and statistical analysis about behavior change often requires data showing continuity and having normal (i.e., Gaussian) distributions. When we encounter phenomenon that does not fit this expectation, we seek to transform the data to render it compatible with our method of analysis. We move from actual behavior to perception of it through surveys or transformations of the data. We believe this ignores “naturally” occurring data and what it says. Such techniques are convenient for statistics but may hide important features …

A Narrative Inquiry On Public Middle School Teachers Experiences With Demoralization, Jessica E. Alfieri

Doctor of Education Program Dissertations

Teachers may become demoralized when they feel they are unable to access the moral rewards of teaching. Some moral rewards of teaching include building relationships with students, adjusting methods of instruction that impacts individual student growth, and completing a creative and engaging lesson plan. The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry was to explore the experiences of public middle school teachers with demoralization in the context of their teaching environments. Six participants who self-identified as demoralized completed semi-structured interviews over Zoom. These interviews were then restoried into narratives, then manually coded into themes. The themes that were developed included time …

System For Controlling The Concentration Of Single And Multiple Dissolved Gases In Beverages, Gregory S. Osborn

Patents Granted

A system and method of controlling a concentration of one or more gases dissolved in a beverage is shown. The system includes a saturation tank having a gas head space, a brite tank, and a beverage supply system to pass the beverage between the saturation tank and the brite tank. A beverage supersaturated with the gas from the head space is formed in the saturation tank. The supersaturated beverage is passed from the saturation tank to the brite tank. Once the amount of gas added to the beverage exceeds saturation, some of the gas escapes from solution from the beverage …

Analysis Of Electromyographic Effects Of Peripheral Sensory Stimulation On Essential Tremor In Tremor Suppression Study, Christian Jakob Metzner

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Electrical stimulation of peripheral muscles below motor neuron threshold (sensory stimulation) has shown potential as an effective, low-cost, and minimally invasive treatment for Essential Tremor (ET), one of the most common movement disorders. Past studies have shown that asynchronous sensory stimulation of antagonist muscles out of phase with tremor can suppress ET. Synchronous sensory stimulation, which stimulates antagonists simultaneously and is easier to implement, has yielded mixed results. To optimize available therapies and to understand tremor suppression mechanisms better, I investigated the effects of synchronous sensory stimulation with different stimulation frequencies on electromyographic tremor-band power and frequency in ET patients, …

A Critical Review On Water Overconsumption In Lignocellulosic Biomass Pretreatment For Ethanol Production Through Enzymic Hydrolysis And Fermentation, Jikai Zhao, Juhee Lee, Donghai Wang

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Global demand for renewable and sustainable energy fostered the considerable development of biomass-to-ethanol valorization strategies. Thermochemical pretreatment methods have been proposed to render biomass more amenable to enzymatic and microbial digestion. However, the efforts have not led to its industrial-scale worldwide realization. One of the obstacles to commercialization could be related to water overconsumption, as excessive water washing of the pretreated slurry is often performed to remove inhibitory compounds and residual chemicals after biomass pretreatment. Only increasing solid loading for biomass pretreatment results in ineffective pretreatment performance, more inhibitors formation, and high viscosity, which in turn necessitates the water washing …

Program Review Report 2-7-23, Angela Brock

Program Review Committee

No abstract provided.

Meeting Minutes 2-7-23, Angela Brock

UCC Agendas/Minutes

No abstract provided.

Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy And Hematopoiesis, Bryanna Reinhardt, Patrick Lee, Joshua P. Sasine

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a promising treatment option for patients suffering from B-cell- and plasma cell-derived hematologic malignancies and is being adapted for the treatment of solid cancers. However, CAR T is associated with frequently severe toxicities such as cytokine release syndrome (CRS), immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS), macrophage activation syndrome (MAS), and prolonged cytopenias—a reduction in the number of mature blood cells of one or more lineage. Although we understand some drivers of these toxicities, their mechanisms remain under investigation. Since the CAR T regimen is a complex, multi-step process with frequent adverse events, ways …

Evaluation Of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Repeatability And Reproducibility For Preclinical Mris Using Standardized Procedures And A Diffusion-Weighted Imaging Phantom, Dariya Malyarenko, Ghoncheh Amouzandeh, Stephen Pickup, Rong Zhou, Henry Charles Manning, Seth T Gammon, Kooresh I Shoghi, James D Quirk, Renuka Sriram, Peder Larson, Michael T Lewis, Robia G Pautler, Paul E Kinahan, Mark Muzi, Thomas L Chenevert

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Relevant to co-clinical trials, the goal of this work was to assess repeatability, reproducibility, and bias of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) for preclinical MRIs using standardized procedures for comparison to performance of clinical MRIs. A temperature-controlled phantom provided an absolute reference standard to measure spatial uniformity of these performance metrics. Seven institutions participated in the study, wherein diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) data were acquired over multiple days on 10 preclinical scanners, from 3 vendors, at 6 field strengths. Centralized versus site-based analysis was compared to illustrate incremental variance due to processing workflow. At magnet isocenter, short-term (intra-exam) and long-term (multiday) …